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 the
Isle of Arran,
Great Cumbrae and
Little Cumbrae from the historic county of
Buteshire. The three council areas together also form the Ayrshire and Arranlieutenancy area.
The largest settlement in Ayrshire by population is
Kilmarnock, closely followed by
Ayr, the
county town.
Geography
Ayrshire is roughly crescent-shaped and is a predominantly flat county with areas of low hills; it forms part of the
Southern 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 around
Blae Loch.
Southern Ayrshire shares with the
Galloway counties some rugged hill country known as the
Galloway Hills. These hills lie to the west of the A713 (Ayr to
Castle Douglas road) and they run south from the
Loch Doon area almost to the
Solway Firth. To the east of this route through the hills lie the
Carsphairn and Scaur Hills which lie to the south east of
Dalmellington and south of
New Cumnock. Glen Afton runs deep into these hills.
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 being
Horse Isle,
Lady Isle and
Ailsa Craig.
Rivers
The main rivers flowing to the Clyde coast are, from north to south, the following:
A notable historic building in Ayrshire is
Turnberry Castle, which dates from the 13th century or earlier, and which may have been the birthplace of
Robert the Bruce.
The historic
shire or
sheriffdom of Ayr was divided into three districts or bailieries which later made up the
county 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 the
royal burgh of Ayr, occupied the central district between the
River Irvine in the north, and the
River 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 the
River Ayr; and the latter, the triangular portion between the Ayr and the Doon, which is honoured as the birthplace and youthful home of
Robert 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, with
steel making,
coal mining and in Kilmarnock numerous examples of
production-line manufacturing, most famously
Johnnie Walker whisky. In more recent history,
Digital Equipment had a large manufacturing plant near Ayr from about 1976 until the company was taken over by
Compaq in 1998. Some supplier companies grew up to service this site and the more distant
IBM plant at
Greenock in
Renfrewshire. Scotland's aviation industry has long been based in and around
Prestwick and its
international airport, and although aircraft manufacture ceased at the former
British 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.
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 the
Local 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 of
Beith and
Dunlop, which had both straddled Ayrshire and
Renfrewshire, were brought entirely within Ayrshire.[5] The
burghs 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 the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 was implemented. This brought Ayr and Kilmarnock under the control of the county council, and re-designated all burghs as either
large burghs or
small burghs. Ayr and Kilmarnock were both classed as large burghs, allowing them to retain control of many functions, whilst the county's
other burghs were all classed as small burghs, ceding many functions to the county council. The 1929 act also abolished the
parish councils. In Ayrshire in excess of 30 parishes were consolidated into ten
district councils. The District Councils were Ayr, Cumnock, Dalmellington, Girvan, Irvine, Kilbirnie, Kilmarnock, Maybole, Troon and Saltcoats. Ayrshire County Council was based at
County Buildings in Wellington Square in Ayr.[8]
In 1996 the two-tier system of
regions and districts was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between the
unitary council areas of
East 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) and
South 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 a
registration county.[13]
During the whole of the 1708 to 1868 period, and until 1950, the
burghs of Ayr and Irvine were
parliamentary burghs, represented as components of
Ayr Burghs. In 1832
Kilmarnock became a parliamentary burgh, to be represented as a component of
Kilmarnock Burghs until 1918. Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs were
districts of burghs, and quite different in character from later Ayr and Kilmarnock constituencies.[citation needed]
From 1918 to 1983 Ayrshire and
Buteshire 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 of
regions 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]
Bute and Northern Ayrshire,
Central Ayrshire, Kilmarnock,
Ayr and South Ayrshire
Transport
A number of railway lines connect the towns of northern Ayrshire to each other and also to Glasgow, as well as south to
Stranraer and south-east to
Dumfries.
Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, serving
Glasgow 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 name Glasgow was added in front of
Prestwick 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 in
Germany. Moreover, it is known in
rock history as the only place in Britain visited by
Elvis 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 series Neighbours in 1985 as original character
Daphne 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.