Kilbirnie, Local History and Cultural Things – Page 2

KIlbirnie and Glengarnock Shared Memories

You can read the book here – you need to sign up but it is completely free.

Colville’s Staff Magazine 1925

Another excerpt from the Steel work magazine, 1925 about Glengarnock, the main feature covering the death of Robert Taylor of Stevenson, also there’s a poem from Hugh Higgins and mentions of garden awards for the Garden City. Apologies for the poor quality scan.

All of these magazines are held at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow.

Townhead, Kilbirnie

Here is an old and a new picture of Townhead Street. The long white building which is demolished where the trees are in the new picture was Martin’s Shed, a local meeting place. Gospel Hall meetings took place there before the Gospel Hall was built in 1897.

Hamilton Gray Park

Hamilton Gray Park, the son of Samuel Park and Isabella Gray, was born in Kilbirnie, Scotland, on 25th November 1826. It seems he became a Mormon and was baptised in the town. Most likely in the river Garnock before emigrating to Utah.

I had no idea that there was a Mormon Church in the town at that time – the whole story is here https://localhistoryvideos.com/kilbirnie-scotland/

Hugh McDonald Watson, Soldier WW2.

I don’t know much about him except that he lived in Muirend Street. Kilbirnie. He became quite well known.

Let me know if you have any further information.

The photo came from The Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald.

Beith High Church, Windows and Tower

Hebron Hall, Glengarnock

Kilbirnie Home Guard

The Bing, Fudstone, Kilbirnie (a poem)

I couldn’t resist publishing this again, it’s my poem about the “Bing” which was a huge amount of debris that sat as a mound at the corner or Place View and Newhouse Drive, Kilbirnie before it was converted into a small playpark for kids around 1983 or 1984.

In Scottish terminology, a “Bing” refers to a large pile or heap of waste material, especially the waste rock and debris piled up in the process of mining, such as coal mining. These Bings are remnants of the industrial era, particularly in Scotland’s coal mining regions, where they were created from the spoil that was brought to the surface during the mining process. Over time, some of these Bings have become landmarks or have been reclaimed for various uses, while others still dominate parts of the Scottish landscape.