Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 2

IRO
53
IRV
of the Convention of Estates in 1561, and usually
spoken of with mingled lugubriousness and indig-
nation, as if it occasioned the irretrievable loss of
valuable books, and was an act more Gothic than
any ever perpetrated by Goths, has probably done
little else than relieve sober inquirers into facts from
a thousand perplexities additional to those of the
traditions current on the island, and almost certainly
made away with no book worth possessing which
was not elsewhere preserved. Population of the
island, in 1808, 386; in 1831, 350.
IRONGRAY. See Kirkpatrick-Irongray.
IRVINE (The), a river in Ayrshire, forming,
from a short distance beneath its source, to its en-
trance into the frith of Clyde, the boundary-line
between the districts of Cunningham and Kyle.
What, in the region earliest drained, bears the name
of the Irvine, rises in two head- waters, the one in a
moss at Meadow-head, on the eastern boundary of
the parish of Loudon or of Ayrshire, and the other
a mile eastward in the parish of Avondale in Lan-
arkshire, near the battle-field of Drumclog. The
rills making a junction a mile below their respective
sources, the united stream traces the boundary of
Ayrshire a mile southward, and then turns west-
ward, enters the interior of the county, and thence,
till very near its embouchure, pursues a course
which — with the exception of very numerous but
brief and beautiful sinuosities — is uniformly due
west. About 2J miles from the point of its entering
the county, it is joined from the north by Glen
water. This, in strict propriety, is the parent-
stream, on account both of its length of course and
its volume of water; for the stream of the Glen rises
at Crossbill in Renfrewshire, a mile north of the
Ayrshire frontier, and runs 6 miles southward, drink-
ing up five rills in its progress, to the point of con-
fluence with the Irvine. Swollen by this large tri-
butary, the Irvine immediately passes the village of
Derval on the right, — 1^- mile onward, the village
of Newmills, — at 2| miles farther on, the village of
Galston, on the left. A mile and a quarter below
Galston it receives from the north Polbaith burn;
J of a mile lower down, it is joined from the south
by Cessnock water ; and 3 miles westward in a
straight line — though probably double the distance
along its channel, the course here being almost emu-
lative of the lesser windings of the Forth — it passes
Kilmarnock and Riccarton on opposite sides, and
receives on its right bank the tributary of Kilmar-
nock water. Nearly 2J miles onward, measured
in a straight line, but 4 miles or upwards along its
bed, it is joined on the same bank by Carmel water;
and 2i miles farther on, it receives still on the same
bank, the tribute of the Annack. The river now
runs 1| mile in a direction west of north, passing
through the town of Irvine at about mid-distance ;
It then suddenly bends round in a fine sweep till it
dssumes a southerly direction; and opposite the town
of Irvine — at 3 furlongs' distance from its channel —
when running northward, abruptly expands into a
basin J of a mile broad, which receives Garnock
river at its north-west extremity, and communicates
by a narrow mouth or strait with the frith of Clyde.
The parishes which come down on the river's south
bank are Galston, Riccarton, and Dundonald; and
those which it washes on its north side are Loudon,
Kilmarnock, Kilmaurs, Dreghorn, and Irvine. If
the beauty of the stream, gliding slowly on its pebbled
bed, the richness and verdure of its haughs, the open-
ness of its course, the quality of the adjacent soil,
the progress of agriculture along its banks, the array
of noblemen's and gentlemen's seats looking down
upon its meanderings, the crowded population and the
displays of industry and wealth which salute it in its
progress, are taken into view, the Irvine will be pro-
nounced, if not one of the thrillingly attractive rivers
of Scotland, at least one of the most pleasing, and
one on whose scenery combined patriotism and taste
will fix a more satisfied eye than on that of streams
which have drawn music from an hundred harps, and
poesy from clusters of men gifted with the powers
of description and literary painting. The mansions
of note situated near the river demand notice in
crowds, and must be disposed of in simple enumera-
tion. Loudon-castle and Cessnock-house, both the
residence of noble owners, Lanfine, Holms, Kilmar-
nock-house, Peel-house, Caprington, Fairly-house,
Craig-house, Newfield, Auchens, Shewalton, some
of them the homes of men distinguished by title or
important influence in their country,— these mansions
and others, besides many handsome villages, over-
look the river. On the banks of its tributaries, too,
are similar adornings, — such as Crawfordland and
Dean-castle on the Kilmarnock, Rowallan, Kilmaurs,
and Busby castles on the Carmel, and Lainshaw,
Annack, Lodge, and Bourtreehill on the Annack.
IRVINE, a parish in the south part of the dis-
trict of Cunningham, Ayrshire. It is bounded on
the north-west and north by Kilwinning; on the
north-east by Stewarton ; on the east and south-east
by Dreghorn; on the south by Dundonald; and on
the west by Stevenston. On all sides, except the
north-east, its boundary is traced by rivers, — on the
east and south-east by the Annack, — on the south
by the Irvine, — on the south-west by the Garnock,
— and on the north-west and north by the Lugton.
Its greatest length, from the Garnock on the south-
west, to the boundary with Stewarton on the north-
east, is about 4i miles ; and its greatest breadth,
between a bend in tbe Annack on the east and the
confluence of the Garnock and the Lugton on the
west, is 3£ miles; but its average breadth is only
about 2 miles. A small district on the left bank of
the river Irvine, on which stands the large suburb
of the burgh called Halfway, was formerly viewed
as belonging to the parish; but in 1824 it was de-
cided by the court-of-session to be comprehended in
Dundonald. The south-w r estern division of the
parish is low and sandy; but in some parts it con-
sists of a light loam ; and — with the exception of a
sandy common of about 300 acres north- west of the
town — it all produces heavy crops of all sorts of
corn and grass. The north-eastern division, espe-
cially toward the extremity, is more elevated, though
not strictly hilly, and has a soil of stiffish clay. In
this district, the burgh possesses a considerable tract
of land which, half-a-century ago, yielded a revenue
of about £500 a-year. The face of the country is
greatly beautified by circular clumps of plantation
on most of the eminences. Most of the farm-houses
are large, neat, and indicative, both in their own
aspect and in that of the offices and the extensive
farms which surround them, of prosperity and opu-
lence. Bourtreehill, on the Annack, about 1| mile
from the town, is the only gentleman's seat. But
the beautiful and finely-wooded policy of Eclinton
castle [which see] stretches far into the interior, and
comes down into conterminousness with the town-
lands of the burgh. From some of the rising grounds
toward the north-east, fascinating views are obtained
of tbe rich carpeting of the lower part of tbe parish
and of adjacent districts on the foreground, and of
j the brilliant scenery of the frith of Clyde and the
far-expanding bay of Ayr in the distance — Near
J Bourtreehill, on the Annack, is an old castellated
structure, called Stone-castle, belonging to the Earl
of Eglinton, which is said to be the remains of an
■ ancient nunnery, where there were a chapel, a ceme-
! tery, and a small village. The parish is traversed