Ayrshire



Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir in ) is a region of south-west, located on the shores of the. Its principal s include, and the  (and ancient ) of. The town of (pop. 20,000) on the coast has hosted the  twice in the last seven years, eight times in total, including the most recent one in 2004. Approximately 200,000 visitors come to Troon during this period.

Ayrshire, under the name the County of Ayr, is a. The electoral and valuation area named Ayrshire covers the three council areas of, and , therefore including the ,  and. The three islands were part of the until  and are not always included when the term Ayrshire is applied to the region. The same area is known as  in other contexts.

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, cattle (see below) and summer berries such as strawberries are grown abundantly.

The area used to be heavily industrialised, with, and in Kilmarnock numerous examples of  manufacturing, most famously  whisky. In more recent history, had a large manufacturing plant near Ayr from about 1976 until the company was taken over by  in 1998. Some supplier companies grew up to service this site and the more distant plant at  in. Scotland's aviation industry has long been based in and around and its, and although aircraft manufacture ceased at the former  plant in 1998, a significant number of aviation companies are still based on the Prestwick site. However, unemployment in the region(excluding the more ) remains high, above the national average.

The area became part of the kingdom of Scotland during the. In, the Scots successfully drove off a group of s in a skirmish known as the.

A notable historic building in Ayrshire is Turnberry Castle, which dates from the or earlier, and which may have been the birthplace of.

The historic or  of Ayr was divided into three districts or bailieries which later made up the  of Ayrshire. The three districts were:
 * in the south
 * in the centre, which included the of
 * in the north which included the royal burgh of.

The established a uniform system of s in Scotland and realigned the boundaries of many of Scotland’s counties.

, serving, is located in Ayrshire. It has a niche in history as the only place in Britain visited by, on his way home from Army service in Germany in 1960.

Local government



 * See also ''

Ayrshire was created in 1890, under the. In 1930 three districts were formed within the county, under the, to administer functions previously the responsibility of s: the districts of , and.

In 1975 the county council was abolished and the county area was divided between four new districts within the two-tier :, ,  and. The Cunninghame district was larger than the pre-1975 district: it included the, and , which had been administered previously as part of the.

In 1996 the two-tier system of was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between the  of, , and. North Ayrshire includes the Isle of Arran, and the Cumbrae islands.

Parliamentary constituencies
There was an of the  of the  from 1708 to 1801 and of the  from 1801 until 1868, when the constituency was divided into  and.

During the whole of the 1708 to 1868 period, and until 1950, the s of and  were s, represented as components of. In 1832 became a parliamentary burgh, to be represented as a component of  until 1918. Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs were, and quite different in character from later Ayr and Kilmarnock constituencies.

From 1918 to 1983 Ayrshire and 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, but the next reform of constituency boundaries was not until 1983.

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.

Rivers in Ayrshire
The main rivers flowing to the Clyde coast are, from north to south, the following:

Some notable people born in Ayrshire

 * Hew Ainslie (1792-1878), poet
 * Sir (1773-1860), Scottish soldier and colonial administrator, after whom the city of  is named.
 * prolific striker.
 * (1880-1971), winner
 * (1274-1329), possibly at Turnberry Castle.
 * (1759-1796), poet, in Alloway;
 * Thomas Craig (1855-1900), noted professor of mathematics, editor, and author.
 * (1840-1921), Scottish inventor of the pneumatic tire, in Dreghorn.
 * (1862-1928), 5th Prime Minister of Australia 1908-1909, 1910-1913, 1914-1915;
 * (1881-1955), inventor/discoverer of penicillin, in Darvel;
 * (1779-1839), author;
 * , entrepreneur and philanthropist
 * , Scotlands youngest
 * (1993-), Amazing Golfer, Hailed to be next Tiger Woods
 * (1756-1836), engineer, responsible for a system of road design;
 * (1811-1894), noted of the  and president of what would be.
 * , writer.
 * (1806-1886), born in Ayrshire, physician and United States Congressman from Missouri.
 * (1754 - 1839), Inventor of gas lighting and Engineer.
 * (1979-),James Johnston, and Ben Johnston of.
 * (1913-1981), successful manager
 * (1687-1768), noted mathematician and professor of mathematics for 50 years
 * , Father of one of Scotland's greatest national heroes, in Riccarton, Kilmarnock.