Rambles Round Kilmarnock
by Archibald R Adamson
Book supplied and transcribed by Christene Geis for which many thanks.

RAMBLE
ROUND KILMARNOCK

WITH AN INTRODUCTORY SKETCH OF THE TOWN.
BY
ARCHIBALD R. ADAMSON.
__________________

KILMARNOCK:
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY T. STEVENSON, “STANDARD” OFFICE
MDCCCLXXV

CONTENTS

• Preface

• Click here to see map of Kilmarnock
  This map provided by Streetmap.co.uk and you can zoom in to see the street map.

Kilmarnock Town Centre

First Part

• Chapter 1
  Progress of the Town-The Cross-Flesh Market Bridge--Corn Exchange--Clerk’s Lane--Fore Street--High Church and Burying Ground--King Street--Wellington Street--Fever Hospital--Portland Street.

• Chapter 2
  Green Bridge and its environs--London Road--Milldykes--The Irving and Struthers’ Steps--Saint Andrew’s Burying Ground and Church--Glencairn Square and its associations--High Glencairn Street--King Street--King Street U.P. Church--The Council House.

• Chapter 3
  Cheapside Street--The Old Tolbooth--The Low Church of former days and its associations--The Churchyard--Dickie Street--Dunlop Street--The Astronomical Observatory--Langlands Street--The New Theatre--St. Marnock Street--The Court-House--Kilmarnock House--Dundonald Road--The Public Park--Waterside--Sandbed Street.

Kilmarnock 25th Sept. 2013

Second Part

• Chapter I
  The Bridges connecting Kilmarnock with Riccarton, and the objects of interest in their vicinity--Caprington Castle--Riccararton Castle: its site and traditions--Traditions of Sir William Wallace--Riccarton--The Parish Church--Sandy M'Crone--The Church-yard--Old Stones--The East Shaw Street Miser--The Old Church--Village Worthies--The Village past and present--The Manse.
• Chapter II
  Craigie Road--Knowehead and its surroundings--The Buchanan Bequest--Treesbank Manor House--Scargie--John Burtt--Knockmarloch--Craigie Hill--Craigie Hill--Craigie Church--The Village--The Witch Stane--Craigie Castle--A Strange Story--A Curious Stone.
• Chapter III
  From Craigie to Barnweill--Barnweill Kirk and Graveyard--The Wallace Monument--Fail Castle--The Warlock Laird--Tarbolton--Willie's Mill--Peden's Pulpit and Cave--Through the Fields to Ayr Road--The Halfway House--The Estate of Coodham--Peace-and-Plenty--Back to Kilmarnock.
• Chapter IV
  Wild flowers--The Macwheelan Murder--The Cairn--Symington--The Church and Graveyard--Witherington--Old Sandy Neil--"Laird" M'Pherson--"Jock o' the Whalps"--The Glen.
• Chapter V
  The House of Auchans--Dundonald Castle--The Village and Parish Church--Extracts from the Parochial Registers--Smuggling--Tam Fullarton--Newfield--"Fairlie o' the Five Lums"--Old Rome--Home again.
• Chapter VI
  Beansburn--Dean Castle: its situation and appearance--The Castle besieged--Destroyed by fire--A Tradition of the Persecution--The Boyd Family--From the Dean to Craufurdland--Craufurd-land Castle and Grounds--Craufurdland Bridge--Up the Stream to Fenwick.
• Chapter VII
  Low Fenwick--Old John Kirkland--"The Kirk-town."--The erection of the Parish and orign of the name--The Parish Church and Burying Ground--The Rev. William Guthrie--The Burial Place of the Howies--Captain Paton.
• Chapter VIII
  The Churchyard continued--John Fulton--King's Well-Lochgoin: its Traditions and Relics--Duntan Cove--Back to Kilmarnock.
• Chapter IX
  The influence of sunshine--Glasgow Road and its scenery--An Adventure--Specimens of Kilmaurs cutlery--The Reservoir--From it to Rowallan Castle--The situation and appearance of the Castle described--The interior of the building--The garden--A fox story--Traditions.
• Chapter X
  The origin and descent of the Mures of Rowallan--A letter from Queen Mary to Sir John Mure--Sir William Mure: his writings and version of Psalm xxiii.: events in his life--The last of the Mures--The late Countess of Loudoun's attachment to the Castle --The grounds the resort of pleasure parties--An Address to Rowallan--A ride into the town.
• Chapter XI
  From Kilmarnock to Stewarton--The Parish and its Boundaries--The Town: its Buildings, Trades, and Eminent Characters--Corsehill Castle and its Traditions--The Parish Church--The late William Cunninghame of Lainshaw--The Churchyard--The Viaduct--Lainshaw Castle--The Murder of Hugh, fourth Earl of Eglinton.
• Chapter XII
  From Stewarton to Kilmaurs--The appearance of the Village--The Council House and Juggs--Kilmaurs of the olden time: its Government and Churches--The Monk's Well--My Lord's Place --Jock's Thorn--Kilmaurs Castle--The Glencairn Family--An Incident.
• Chapter XIII
  Kilmaurs continued--The old Church: its appearance and history--An Anecdote of the Rev. Hugh Thomson--The Glencairn Aisle and Monument--The appearance of the Vault when opened--A Ghastly Keepsake--The Rev. George Paxton--"Wee Miller"--"The Double Suicide"--The Old Manse--Covenanting Relics--A Stroll along Crosshouse Road--The Estate of Plann--Busbie Castle--The Tumulii at Greenhill Farm--Home again.
• Chapter XIV
  From Kilmarnock to Grougar--The ruins of Tammie Raeburn's Cottage--His self-imposed vow, personal appearance, courtship, witticisms, &c.--Grougar Row--Loudoun Kirk--The Gueir--Lady Flora Hastings: her melancholy death: the character of her poems--Janet Little, the poetical correspondent of Robert Burns--George Palmer--An obscure Covenanter--A relic of Loudoun Kirk.
• Chapter XV
  The Policies of Loudoun Castle--The external and internal appearance of the building--The family portraits--The Library--The old Yew Tree--The Loudoun Family, and salient points in the history of some of its members--The old Castle of Loudoun: its destruction by the Kennedys, &c.
• Chapter XVI
  Loudoun Braes--Newmilns: its appearance, history and trade--The Radical proclivities of the inhabitants--The old Tower, and incidents associated with it--The Parish Church--Norman Macleod--The Churchyard--Interesting Tombstones commemorative of Nisbet of Hardhill and other Covenanting natives of the Parish who suffered during the Persecution--The Workmen's Institute --"The Lass o' Patie's Mill."
• Chapter XVII
  The village of Darvel: its appearance and trade--Loudoun Hill and its Historic Associations--Wallace's Attack on the English Convoy--A Scottish Victory--Drumclog--The Laird of Torfoot's account of the Battle--His fight with Captain Arrol and his encounter with Claverhouse--The appearance of the field after the engagement--The Covenanters and their achievements.
• Chapter XVIII
  From Newmilns to Galston--The Institue--Barr Castle--The Boss Tree--Cessnock Castle--The appearance of the buildings--The Campbells of Cessnock--Sire Hew, and the charges brought against him--The Alienation of the Castle and Lands--The main Street of Galston--The Parish Church and Graveyard--Stones commemorative of local Covenanters--John Wright, the Galston Poet--Titchfield Street--A mining Settlement--From Galston to Hurlford--The Village: its buildings and inhabitants--Crookedholm--Back to Kilmarnock--Conclusion.

Second Edition

TO WHICH IS ADDED, AN ACCOUNT OF THE BURNS MONUMENT AND KAY PARK INAGUARTION.

KILMARNOCK: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY DUNLOP & DRENNAN, "STANDARD" OFFICE.

See also his book "Rambles Through The Land of Burns"