Cumnock

For other uses, see Cumnock (disambiguation).
Cumnock
Scottish Gaelic: Cumnag

Cumnock Old Church and mercat cross
Cumnock
 Cumnock shown within East Ayrshire
Population 13,000 
LanguageEnglish
Scots
OS grid referenceNS569200
Council areaEast Ayrshire
Lieutenancy areaAyrshire and Arran
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town CUMNOCK
Postcode district KA18 1xx
Dialling code 01290 42xxxx
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentAyr, Carrick and Cumnock
Scottish ParliamentCarrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 55°27′11″N 4°15′50″W / 55.45294°N 4.2638°W / 55.45294; -4.2638

Cumnock (Cumnag in Gaelic) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie just outside the town boundaries, Craigens, Logan and Netherthird, with the former ironworks settlement of Lugar also just outside the town, contributing to a population of around 13,000 in the immediate locale. A new housing development, Knockroon, was granted planning permission on 9 December 2009 by East Ayrshire Council.[1]

History

Early Cumnock

Etymology

The name, "Cumnock" has been debated over the years and several interpretations have been offered.

Early History

This part of Ayrshire has seen human settlement for over 5,000 years. There are to be found, many Bronze Age burial sites around the nearby area. [2]

Mediaeval History

It is believed that a place of worship has existed in Cumnock's Square for over 1,100 years, though the earliest records begin in about 1275. The patron saint of Cumnock is Saint Conval. James IV created the Burgh of Cumnock. [2]

Industrial Cumnock

Cumnock housed many miners, and also served as the market town for the other, smaller towns in the district, like Auchinleck, Lugar, Muirkirk, Ochiltree and New Cumnock (the original Cumnock/Comenagh/Comno/ etc.)

The town has a strong socialist heritage due to its role as a mining centre. The father of the Labour Party, James Keir Hardie, lived in the town for a large part of his life, and a statue to him sits outside the town hall. A small housing scheme in the town (Keir Hardie Hill) is named after him. The popular left-wing politician Emrys Hughes was local MP for a time in the mid-20th century, and also lived in the town.

William Wallace allegedly spent 3 months in the seat of Patrick Dunbar ((New)Cumnock or Cumno in 1296), according to the poem, The Wallace, by Blind Harry. Cumnock is also in the heart of Robert Burns country and the poet is said to have spent time there.

Churches

The town has six churches, the Congregational Church, Old Cumnock Old Parish Church, St. Andrew's United Free Church, Trinity Church. West Church and the Roman Catholic Church of St. John.

Sports

Cumnock have a team in the West of Scotland Junior football league, Cumnock Juniors, who play their home matches at Townhead Park. The team is famous for their bitter rivalry with local neighbours, Auchinleck Talbot. The town also boasts an athletics park and Rugby club, as well as a modern sports centre containing fitness gym and swimming pool.

Education

For many years there were two secondary schools, Cumnock Academy and Saint Conval's High School - which was later annexed with St Joseph's Academy in Kilmarnock and became known as St Joseph's Cumnock Campus. In 2004 however St Joseph's Cumnock Campus was shut down due to falling attendance figures, and the town's Catholic children now attend the original St Joseph's Academy in Kilmarnock. Cumnock Academy's catchment towns include, Cumnock, Drongan, Rankinston, New Cumnock, Ochiltree, Muirkirk, Logan and Lugar.

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. ↑ East Ayrshire Council
  2. 1 2 3 Cumnock History Group

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.