Auchinleck
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  Auchinleck Location withinEast Ayrshire | |
| Population | 3,630 (2022)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NS548223 |
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| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CUMNOCK |
| Postcode district | KA18 |
| Dialling code | 01290 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 55°28′24″N4°17′55″W / 55.473349°N 4.298517°W /55.473349; -4.298517 | |
Auchinleck (/ˈæflɛk/AF-lek;Scots:Affleck[ˈaflɛk];[2]Scottish Gaelic:Achadh nan Leac[2]) is a village 5 miles (8 km) southeast ofMauchline, and 2 miles (3 km) northwest ofCumnock inEast Ayrshire,Scotland.
Surrounding the village is Auchinleck Estate, centred onAuchinleck House, past home of thelawyer,diarist andbiographerJames Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck.
Auchinleck is in the heart of the ancientKyle district of Scotland. The place-name means "field of (flat) stones" inScottish Gaelic, fromachadh ('field') andleac ('slab').[3] The small locality ofAuchincloich has a comparable meaning.
Although record of a community exists from as early as 1239, reliable records can really only be said to date from the arrival of the Boswell family in 1504. The barony of Auchinleck had been forfeited to the crown and was granted byKing James IV to his "good and faithful servant" Thomas Boswell.[4]
The Boswells proved to be assiduous in their estate husbandry, and by the early 1700s a viable village community and a thriving estate had begun to emerge from the surrounding barren moorland. TheNew Statistical Account of 1837 documents early mining and quarrying in the area which was to become the impetus for the region to boom. By 1881 the parish population had blossomed and was 6,681, four times what it had been in 1831[4]
Nationalisation of coal in 1947 brought investment and with the building of the Barony Power Station, which was commissioned in 1957, the future of the region seemed assured. However, within 30 years the fortunes of the area, so tied to coal, followed the spectacular demise of deep pit mining.[4] Lacking an economic source of fuel as mines closed, the power station shut down in 1989, High House pits closed in 1983, and Auchinleck village subsided into post-industrial recession. However, with the recent acquisition and subsequent development ofDumfries House in the area byPrince Charles,Duke of Rothesay, and with new building taking place in the area there are signs of 'green shoots'.
The village is home to thejunior football clubAuchinleck Talbot, who play at the 4,000-capacity Beechwood Park.[5] The 'Bot is one of the most successful clubs in Scotland at their level. They share a fierce rivalry with near neighboursCumnock Juniors in theWest of Scotland Premier Division, the sixth tier of Scottish football.
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Auchinleck has two primary schools, namely Auchinleck Primary School and St Patrick's Primary School. The town's secondary school, Auchinleck Academy, closed in late 2020, with pupils moving to the newRobert Burns Academy. This is part of the Barony Campus in Cumnock which has incorporated a number of local schools and nurseries into one site.
Administrative Centre: East Ayrshire Council Headquarters,Kilmarnock, London Road, KA3 7BU Council structure: Chief Executive –Eddie Fraser;Provost of the Council –Cllr Claire Leitch;Leader of the Council –Cllr Douglas Reid | ||
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Neighbouring council areas:South Ayrshire,North Ayrshire,Dumfries and Galloway,East Renfrewshire,South Lanarkshire | ||
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