Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/180

Rh ment have been obtained, which sanction harbour improve ments at Irvine and Girvan, and a large wet-dock is in course of formation at Ayr. The dock at Ayr is important, as Ayr is the natural outlet for the great coal-fields up the river, and for the ironworks at Dalmellington, Lugar, and Muirkirk, as well as the fields which are being developed on the railways, called the Ayrshire lines, between Cum- nock and the river Doon. The Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway was parti ally opened in 1840, and soon after completed. A con nection was made a few years later from the Ayr line at Kilwinning to Ardrossan, and an extension from Kilmar nock to Gumnock, with a branch to Muirkirk. Extensions followed from Cumnock to Dumfries and Carlisle, and from Ayr to Dalmellington, and to Maybole and Girvan ; and the Troon Railway was acquired from the duke of Portland, as a connecting link of what is now the Glasgow and South-Western Railway system. Other important branches have been made, and a trunk line is now in course of formation between Girvan and Stranraer, which will give a connection between Glasgow and Ayrshire and the north of Ireland by the shortest sea passage. Ayr shire is thus well supplied with railways. The antiquities of Ayrshire are not of much note. There are cairns in Galston, Sorn, and other localities ; a road, supposed to be a work of the Romans, which extended from Ayr, through Dalrymple and Dalmellington, towards the Solway ; camps, attributed to the Norwegians or Danes, on the hills of Knockgeorgan and Dundonald ; and the castles of Loch Doon, Turnberry, Dundonald, Porten- cross, Ardrossan, &amp;lt;fcc. There are interesting remains of the celebrated abbeys of Kilwinning and Crossraguel ; and the ruins of the little church of Alloway, amid the lovely scenery near the birthplace of Burns, have become more famous from their associations than many great works of architectural genius. The rural population of Ayrshire is decreasing, but the mining population has increased, and the towns are grow ing. At the last census there were 27,132 inhabited houses, and the population reached 200,745. The county valuation last year amounted to 1,1 78, 183, 5s. 10d., being an increase of more than 50,000 from the previous year. The amount for Kyle was 446,874, 18s. 5d.; for Cunningham, 411,504, Is. 6d.; for Carrick, 177,168, 10s. 3d. ; for the burgh of Ayr, 63,273, 16s. 6d. ; for Kil marnock, 63,202, 19s.; and for Irvine, 16,159, Os. 2d. AYE, the capital of the above county, is situated at the mouth of the river of the same name, and about 40 miles S.S.W. from Glasgow The spot has probably been inhabited from a remote antiquity. Nothing, however, is known of its history till the close of the 13th century, when it was made a royal residence, and soon afterwards a royal burgh, by William the Lion. The charter con ferring upon it the latter privilege has been preserved, of which a fac-simile will be found in vol. i. of the National Manuscripts of Scotland. During the wars of Scottish independence the possession of Ayr and its castle was, according to tradition, an object of importance to both the contending parties. In Blind Harry s Life of Wallace they are frequently mentioned, and the scene is laid there of one of the patriot s greatest exploits ; but the authen ticity of many of the minstrel-historian s statements is more than doubtful. On better authority, the records of the burgh, it is known that early in the 1 6th century Ayr was a place of considerable influence and trade. The liberality of William the Lion had bestowed upon the cor poration an extensive grant of lands ; while in addition to the well-endowed church of St John s, it had two monas teries, each possessed of a fair revenue. When Scotland was overrun by Oliver Cromwell, Ayr was selected as the site of one of those forts which he built to command the ountry. This fortification, termed the citadel, enclosed an area of ten or twelve acres, and included within its Limits the church of St John s, in which the Scottish Parlia ment on one occasion met, and confirmed the title of Robert Bruce to the throne. The church was converted into a storehouse, the Protector partly indemnifying the inhabitants for this seizure by liberally contributing towards the erection of a new place of worship, now known as the Old Church. Ayr proper lies on the south bank of the river, and is connected with Newton and Wallacetown on the north by two bridges, the Old and the New, the &quot; Twa Brigs&quot; of Burns. Of late years the town has extended greatly on the Ayr side of the stream. Nearly the whole of Cromwell s Fort is now covered with houses, and to the south, in the direction of the race- arse, numerous fine villas have been erected. Ayr possesses several good streets and a number of elegant public and other edifices. The County Buildings, which afford accommodation for the circuit and provincial courts, as well as for the various local authorities, occupy the west side of Wellington Square. Contiguous to these is the jail, a well-regulated establishment, partly used as a penitentiary. The Town s Buildings, near the New Bridge, is a handsome erection, the effect of which is somewhat impaired by the lowness of the site. They contain assembly rooms and a reading-room, and are surmounted by a spire 217 feet high, designed by Hamilton, of Edin burgh, and considered by many the finest in the west of Scotland. All the Edinburgh and Glasgow banks have branches in Ayr, and some of them have built ornamental structures for their accommodation. Besides the old church already mentioned, there is another parish church called the New, and a number of dissenting places of worship, none of them, however, noteworthy on account of their architecture. The Academy, a large building in a convenient position, includes, or has superseded, the Grammar School of the burgh, the existence of which can be traced back as far as the 13th century. A portion of the tower of St John s Church still remains, but, to the regret of the antiquary, has been completely modernised. The &quot; Wallace Tower &quot; is a Gothic structure in High Street, erected on the site of an old building of the same name taken down in 1835. A niche in front is filled by a statue of the Scottish hero by Thorn, a self-taught sculptor, who executed in a much more successful manner the statues of Tarn o Shanter and Souter Johnnie, now in the grounds of Burns Monument. Ayr Hospital is a plain but substantial erection near the Townhead railway station. There are two subscription libraries in the town, and it also supports one weekly and one bi-weekly news paper. Its religious and charitable societies are numerous. A market is held every Tuesday, and there are five yearly fairs. The Western Meeting takes place in September of every year on Ayr racecourse, a large enclosure in the suburbs, which has been reserved for this purpose for more than a century. Alloway Kirk and Burns Monument are distant 2 miles. The principal manufactures of Ayr are leather, carpets, woollen goods, &c. ; and fisheries and shipbuilding are also carried on to a small extent. There are several foundries and engineering establishments. Ayr has a general trade of considerable value. Large quan tities of timber are imported from Canada and from Norway ; coal and iron are the chief exports. The har bour occupies both sides of the river from the New Bridge to the sea, and has been built at a very considerable ex pense in a most substantial manner. The south pier projects some distance into the sea ; on the north side is a large breakwater protecting the entrance, and on the north pier are three lights, two bright and one red from 1 2 to

