The electoral and valuation area named Ayrshire covers the three council areas of East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire, therefore covering the whole historic county of Ayrshire but also including theIsle of Arran,Great Cumbrae andLittle Cumbrae from the historic county ofButeshire. The three council areas together also form theAyrshire and Arranlieutenancy area.
The largest settlement in Ayrshire by population isKilmarnock, closely followed byAyr, thecounty town.
Ayrshire is roughly crescent-shaped and is a predominantly flat county with areas of low hills; it forms part of theSouthern Uplands geographic region of Scotland. The north of the county contains the main towns and bulk of the population. East of Largs can be found the Renfrewshire Heights, which continue south to the hill-country aroundBlae Loch.
Ayrshire is one of the most agriculturally fertile regions of Scotland. Potatoes are grown in fields near the coast, using seaweed-based fertiliser, and in addition the region produces pork products, other root vegetables, and cattle (see below);[1] and summer berries such as strawberries are grown abundantly.
A number of small islands in the Firth of Clyde are part of Ayrshire, the chief of these beingHorse Isle,Lady Isle andAilsa Craig.
A notable historic building in Ayrshire isTurnberry Castle, which dates from the 13th century or earlier, and which may have been the birthplace ofRobert the Bruce.
The historicshire orsheriffdom of Ayr was divided into three districts orbailieries which later made up thecounty of Ayrshire. The three districts were:
Carrick in the south. It was situated between the Doon and the wild district of Galloway in the adjoining Stewartries, an area that was little else than a vast tract of hills and mosses.[2]
Kyle in the centre, which included theroyal burgh of Ayr, occupied the central district between theRiver Irvine in the north, and theRiver Doon in the south and south-west, an area that is quite hilly inland. It was subdivided into "Kyle Stewart",[3] (sometimes called "Stewart Kyle"[2] or "Walter's Kyle"[4]) and "King's Kyle," the former embracing the country between the Irvine and theRiver Ayr; and the latter, the triangular portion between the Ayr and the Doon, which is honoured as the birthplace and youthful home ofRobert Burns.[2]
Cunninghame in the north which included the royal burgh of Irvine was that part of the county which lay north of the Irvine water, and was in an area that is generally level and fertile.[2]
The area used to be heavily industrialised, withsteel making,coal mining and in Kilmarnock numerous examples ofproduction-line manufacturing, most famouslyJohnnie Walker whisky. In more recent history,Digital Equipment had a large manufacturing plant near Ayr from about 1976 until the company was taken over byCompaq in 1998. Some supplier companies grew up to service this site and the more distantIBM plant atGreenock inRenfrewshire. Scotland's aviation industry has long been based in and aroundPrestwick and itsinternational airport, and although aircraft manufacture ceased at the formerBritish Aerospace plant in 1998, a significant number of aviation companies are still based on the Prestwick site. However, unemployment in the region (excluding the more rural South Ayrshire) is above the national average.
The administrative subdivisions covering Ayrshire. Arran is administered as part of the North Ayrshire council area, but is historically part of Buteshire.County Buildings, the former headquarters of Ayrshire County Council
Commissioners of Supply were created in 1667 for each shire, and formed the main administrative body for the area until county councils were created in 1890 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889. The 1889 act also led to a review of boundaries of many of Scotland's counties; in the case of Ayrshire the two parishes ofBeith andDunlop, which had both straddled Ayrshire andRenfrewshire, were brought entirely within Ayrshire.[5] Theburghs of Ayr and Kilmarnock were both excluded from the area controlled by the county council when it was created in 1890, being deemed capable of running their own services.[6][7]
In 1930 theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1929 was implemented. This brought Ayr and Kilmarnock under the control of the county council, and re-designated all burghs as eitherlarge burghs orsmall burghs. Ayr and Kilmarnock were both classed as large burghs, allowing them to retain control of many functions, whilst the county'sother burghs were all classed as small burghs, ceding many functions to the county council. The 1929 act also abolished theparish councils. In Ayrshire in excess of 30 parishes were consolidated into tendistrict councils. The District Councils were Ayr, Cumnock, Dalmellington, Girvan, Irvine, Kilbirnie, Kilmarnock, Maybole, Troon and Saltcoats. Ayrshire County Council was based atCounty Buildings in Wellington Square in Ayr.[8]
In 1996 the two-tier system ofregions and districts was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between theunitary council areas ofEast Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kilmarnock & Loudoun District and Cumnock & Doon Valley District),North Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Cunninghame District Council) andSouth Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kyle and Carrick District).[12]
The boundaries of the historic county of Ayrshire are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being aregistration county.[13]
During the whole of the 1708 to 1868 period, and until 1950, theburghs of Ayr and Irvine wereparliamentary burghs, represented as components ofAyr Burghs. In 1832Kilmarnock became a parliamentary burgh, to be represented as a component ofKilmarnock Burghs until 1918. Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs weredistricts of burghs, and quite different in character from later Ayr and Kilmarnock constituencies.[citation needed]
From 1918 to 1983 Ayrshire andButeshire were treated as if a single area for purposes of parliamentary representation, with their combined area being divided into different constituencies at different times. Scottish local government counties were abolished in 1975, in favour ofregions and districts, but the next reform of constituency boundaries was not until 1983.[citation needed]
Constituencies covering Ayrshire may be listed by periods as below, but the story is somewhat more complicated than the lists may imply: until 1918, Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs included burghs lying outside both Ayrshire and Buteshire; a particular constituency name may represent different boundaries in different periods; in 1974, there were boundary changes without the creation of any new constituency names.[citation needed]
A number of railway lines connect the towns of northern Ayrshire to each other and also to Glasgow, as well as south toStranraer and south-east toDumfries.
Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, servingGlasgow and the west of Scotland more generally, is located 32 miles (51 km) away from Glasgow in Ayrshire; it provides various passenger flights to Spain, Portugal, Italy and Poland.[15] The nameGlasgow was added in front ofPrestwick as per American military airport naming conventions, as the airport was in the past oft-used as a stopover by US military personnel on their way to and from military bases inGermany. Moreover, it is known inrock history as the only place in Britain visited byElvis Presley, on his way home from army service in Germany in 1960.[16][17]
Robert Simson (1687–1768), mathematician and professor of mathematics for 50 years
Elaine Smith (1962–), former actress who emigrated to Australia and found fame on television seriesNeighbours in 1985 as original characterDaphne Clarke.
^abcdDouglas, William Scott (1874).In Ayrshire; a descriptive picture of the County of Ayr, with relative notes on interesting local subjects, chiefly derived during a recent personal tour. Kilmarnock M'Kie & Drennan. p. 2.
^Murray, David (1924).Early burgh organization in Scotland: as illustrated in the history of Glasgow and of some neighbouring burghs. Vol. 2. Maclehose, Jackson & Co.
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