In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Kilwinning like this:
Kilwinning, town and par. with ry. sta., N. Ayrshire - par., 10,989 ac., pop. 7037; town, on river Garnock, 3½ miles NW. of Irvine, 25½ SW. of Glasgow, and 392 NW. of London, pop. 3469; P.O., T.O., 2 Banks. Kilwinning has some remains of an abbey, founded in 1140 and destroyed in 1561. ...
It is traditionally the birthplace of Scottish Freemasonry, and the Kilwinning Lodge claims (or claimed) to be the Mother Lodge of Scotland; in the Statutes of 1599, however, precedence was given to the lodge at Edinburgh. The Royal Company of Archers of Kilwinning dates from at least 1488; their annual custom of shooting at the papingo or popinjay is described in Scott's Old Mortality. Kilwinning has a woollen factory and large engineering and fireclay works, and many of the inhabitants find employment in the neighbouring Eglinton Ironworks.
Kilwinning through time
Kilwinning is now part of North Ayrshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how North Ayrshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Kilwinning itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Kilwinning in North Ayrshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/16766
Date accessed: 24th April 2024
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