After a hugely successful talk at Largs Museum, Gordon Black is continuing with a series of on-site talks about Halie Neolithic Tomb! Three talks in March, starting at the entrance to Douglas Park, where Gordon will walk with visitors up to the Neolithic Tomb and tell the story of this fascinating part of North Ayrshire history. The talks are being …
Hugh Drennan – Interview
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. Hugh Drennan signed for Meadow in season 1954-55. After breaking into the team he helped Meadow win the Western League Cup, the Irvine & District Cup and the Western League Championship, beating Auchinleck Talbot 1-0 after a 4-4 draw in the …
Frigate Goes for Conservation
The Heritage Centre Team said a fond but temporary goodbye to a really special object from our collection yesterday. This gorgeous model ship is sailing off to AOC Archaeology for some conservation work. The frigate, Caledonia, was made by a Mr William Dunlop, who was a member of the congregation of Ardrossan Parish Church in the building that now houses …
The Tombsters and Haylie Neolithic Tomb
The Haylie Neolithic Chambered Cairn in Largs is looking great. When I first arrived in Largs some four years ago it was in a sad state: overgrown, fence down and no interpretation board (there had been one but it had rotted away). What I didn’t know was that local historical enthusiast Richard Topping was on the case. And through his …
1989-90 – Meadow are Best in the West
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. When Irvine Meadow ran out at Newlandsfield Park in front of a crowd of 1,100 on a sunny Wednesday evening in 1990, they were looking to win the West of Scotland Cup for the seventh time. There had been a gap …
Davy McDougall
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. Davy McDougall only played one season for Irvine Meadow XI before setting off on a remarkable footballing journey, which took him all round the United Kingdom. He signed up in 1898 and played at outside left when Meadow beat Newmilns 4-0 …
The 1880 Lifeboat Rescue of the Matilda Hillyards is Now in the Stories Section
Yet another story has been added to our ‘Stories’ section and it is a daring tale from the sea’s at Ardrossan! In 1880, the barque ‘Matilda Hillyards’ departed Ardrossan Harbour en-route for Yarmouth. 4 miles outside of the Harbour, the ship was caught in a violent storm and sent out a signal requesting assistance. The Ardrossan Lifeboat crew was called …
Heritage Centre Closed Until 2026
Our Heritage Centre is currently closed as we get our windows replaced and some other essential maintenance works completed. We had hoped to re-open before Christmas but the Heritage Centre will now not reopen until 2026. We will still be active here on our website and on our Facebook page. Keep an eye on for updates on when we will …
The Crash of Whitley Bomber Z9362 at Saltcoats Harbour is now Available to Watch
We are delighted to announce that our video interview with John and Ian McCallum about the crash of Whitley Bomber Z9362 at Saltcoats Harbour in 1943 is now live on YouTube for everyone to watch. In this fascinating interview, Ian McCallum tells the story of the crash, what went wrong and what happened to the crew. Then, he passes to …
1911 Irvine Meadow XI v Kilwinning Rangers – Scottish Cup, 3rd Round Replay
The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian. There are photographs of Irvine Meadow XI going all the way back to the beginning of their step up to the Junior ranks in 1897. In fact, there is also a photo from their days as a Juvenile club which is …