In December 2019, my book entitled Time Piece, a history of James Blair and the clocks, clock & watchmakers of Kilwinning, 1719-2019, was published by Kilwinning Heritage and launched at an event at Nethermains Community Centre, in January 2020. It sold out in the first year and was subsequently reprinted. It has now been updated and revised with full-colour clocks …
The 1930 Saltcoats Railway Disaster
We have added another fascinating story to our ‘Stories‘ section of the website and it is all about a railway disaster that occurred at Canal Street, Saltcoats when a 7-coach train derailed and crashed in 1939. On Saturday 05 August 1939 a disastrous railway crash took place at Canal Street, Saltcoats, which killed 4 people and injured 27. To read …
Kenny Dalglish at Victoria Park in 1967
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. When Irvine Victoria were drawn to play at home against Cumbernauld United in the 1st Round of the Scottish Cup in 1967/68 they couldn’t possibly have known they’d be facing one of the greatest players ever to be produced in Scotland. …
New Exhibition: ‘They Wore It So Well’
We have a brand-new exhibition at our Heritage Centre in Saltcoats and it’s all about fashion! We are going back to the 60’s and 70’s for ‘They Wore It So Well’, an exhibition which celebrates the fashions from those two decades. The exhibition features a lovely variety of dresses, shoes, handbags and coats and it’s all from the collection of …
North Ayrshire’s D-Day Roll of Honour
Have you seen the latest addition to our website? We have prepared something special to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings: North Ayrshire’s D-Day Roll of Honour. Our website now has a permanent page dedicated to those from North Ayrshire who fell during the invasion, whose names are on the British Normandy Memorial. The British …
John Parkinson 1874-1918, Poet and Writer on Islam
This blog post was kindly provided by Christine Watson from Kilwinning Heritage. Check out their website to plan your visit to the Heritage Centre at Kilwinning Abbey Tower. Or why not give them a follow on their Facebook page? As part of the Kilwinning Heritage Trail, there is a blue plaque on the Main Street at the entrance to Garden Square which names John Parkinson, …
The Largs War Memorial has Been Added to the Stories Section
Another new addition to our ‘Stories’ section is the Largs War Memorial. Dedicated on the 19th of September, 1921 the memorial features three soldiers carved from white freestone by sculptor William Kellock Brown. The statue bears the names of 85 men who were killed in the First World War and 67 who were killed in the Second World War. You …
PS Waverley has Been Added to the Stories Section
The legendary paddle steamer PS Waverley is now in the Stories section of our website! You can learn all about the history of the PS Waverley, from it’s launch on the 2nd of October, 1946 to it being withdrawn from service in 1973 and ultimately sold to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society for £1. The text, paintings, photos, programmes and …
The Witchcraft Trials in North Ayrshire
We are delighted to announce the addition of a wonderful piece of individual research relating to the whole of North Ayrshire has been added to the ‘Stories’ section of our website. ‘The Witchcraft Trials in North Ayrshire‘ is the latest submission to NA Heritage by regular contributor Heather Upfield. This well-researched piece incudes details of the victims of the witchcraft …
What Are The Odds?
Back in November 2023, Heather Upfield from Kilwinning Heritage, was in correspondence with Bob Farace from Clinton, Connecticut, USA about a painting relating to Kilwinning. In December 2023, she was in correspondence with Brett Hamm from Leduc, Alberta, Canada, about a Kilwinning-made James Blair longcase clock. Both have ancestors in Kilwinning and Dalry, and in the excitement of the post …