Mauchline

Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAU : Mauchline

Mauchline is a town in the division of Kyle, Ayrshire, Scotland. The town has a population of 5,500. It lies 8 miles east southeast of Kilmarnock and 11 miles northeast of Ayr by the Glasgow and South-Western railway. It is situated on a gentle slope about 1 mile from the River Ayr, which flows through the south of the parish of Mauchline.

History

It was noted for its manufacture of snuff-boxes and knickknacks in wood, and of curling-stones. There was also some cabinet-making, besides spinning and weaving, and its horse fairs and cattle markets had more than local celebrity. The parish church, dating from 1829, stands in the middle of the village, and on the green a monument, erected in 1830, marks the spot where five Covenanters were killed in 1685. Robert Burns lived with his brother Gilbert on the farm of Mossgiel, about a mile to the north, from 1784 to 1788. Mauchline kirkyard was the scene of the Holy Fair; at Poosie Nansies (Agnes Gibsons) still, though much altered, a popular in the Jolly Beggars held their highjinks; near the church, in the poet's day an old, barn-like structure, was the Whiteford Arms inn, where on a pane of glass, Burns wrote the epitaph on John Dove, the landlord; auld Nanse Tinnocks house, with the date of 1744 above the door, nearly faces the entrance to the churchyard; the Reverend William Auld was minister of Mauchline, and Holy Willie, whom the poet scourged in the celebrated Prayer, was one of Daddy Aulds elders; behind the kirkyard stands the house of Gavin Hamilton, the lawyer and firm friend of Burns, in which the poet was married. The braes of Ballochmyle, where he met the heroine of his song, The Lass o Ballochmyle, lie about a mile to the southeast. Adjoining them is the village of Catrine, where Dr. Matthew Stewart (1717-1785), the father of Dugald Stewart had a mansion. Barskimming House, 2 miles south by west of Mauchline, the seat of Lord-President Miller (1717-1789), burned down in 1882. Near the confluence of the Fail and the Ayr was the scene of Burns' parting with Highland Mary.

References

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.