219-501: Kilmarnock ( / k ɪ l ˈ m ɑːr n ə k / kil- MAR -nək ; Scots : Kilmaurnock ; Scottish Gaelic : Cill Mheàrnaig , IPA: [kʲʰiːʎ ˈvaːɾnəkʲ] ) is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main commercial and industrial centre. The town grew considerably during
438-696: A Protestant convert, but he was distrusted by Scottish Calvinists who noticed the physical displays of affection between him and the king and alleged that Lennox "went about to draw the King to carnal lust". In August 1582, in what became known as the Ruthven Raid , the Protestant earls William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie and Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus lured James into Ruthven Castle , imprisoned him, and forced Lennox to leave Scotland. On 19 September 1582, during James's imprisonment, John Craig , whom
657-406: A parliamentary burgh was ranked as equal to other nearby royal burghs such as Ayr and Irvine. Its close proximity to Troon and its harbour helped Kilmarnock's trade and economy and its reputation of a strong and important burgh despite its inland position. Goods such as coal were frequently transported from Kilmarnock to Troon for export, and by 1812 a new railway line between Kilmarnock and Troon
876-684: A secret correspondence with James to prepare in advance for a smooth succession. With the queen clearly dying, Cecil sent James a draft proclamation of his accession to the English throne in March 1603. Elizabeth died in the early hours of 24 March, and James was proclaimed king in London later the same day. On 5 April, James left Edinburgh for London, promising to return every three years (a promise that he did not keep), and progressed slowly southwards. Local lords received him with lavish hospitality along
1095-923: A 1996 trial before the Census, by the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO), suggested that there were around 1.5 million speakers of Scots, with 30% of Scots responding "Yes" to the question "Can you speak the Scots language?", but only 17% responding "Aye" to the question "Can you speak Scots?". It was also found that older, working-class people were more likely to answer in the affirmative. The University of Aberdeen Scots Leid Quorum performed its own research in 1995, cautiously suggesting that there were 2.7 million speakers, though with clarification as to why these figures required context. The GRO questions, as freely acknowledged by those who set them, were not as detailed and systematic as those of
1314-528: A Catholic ceremony held at Stirling Castle . His godparents were Charles IX of France (represented by John, Count of Brienne ), Elizabeth I of England (represented by the Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford ), and Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (represented by ambassador Philibert du Croc ). Mary refused to let the Archbishop of St Andrews , whom she referred to as "a pocky priest", spit in
1533-650: A Scots language listing. The Ferret, a UK -based fact-checking service, wrote an exploratory article in December 2022 to address misconceptions about the Scots language to improve public awareness of its endangered status. In Scotland, Scots is spoken in the Scottish Lowlands , the Northern Isles , Caithness , Arran and Campbeltown . In Ulster , the northern province in Ireland , its area
1752-456: A closer political union, the kingdoms of Scotland and England remained sovereign states , with their own parliaments, judiciaries, and laws, ruled by James in personal union . James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots , and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII , King of England and Lord of Ireland, and thus a potential successor to all three thrones. He acceded to the Scottish throne at
1971-469: A collection of children's nursery rhymes and poems in Scots. The book contains a five-page glossary of contemporary Scots words and their pronunciations. Alexander Gray 's translations into Scots constitute the greater part of his work, and are the main basis for his reputation. In 1983, William Laughton Lorimer 's translation of the New Testament from the original Greek was published. Scots
2190-433: A continuum ranging from traditional broad Scots to Scottish Standard English . Many speakers are diglossic and may be able to code-switch along the continuum depending on the situation. Where on this continuum English-influenced Scots becomes Scots-influenced English is difficult to determine. Because standard English now generally has the role of a Dachsprache ('roofing language'), disputes often arise as to whether
2409-522: A description of the poetic tradition in his mother tongue of Scots , applying Renaissance principles. He also made statutory provision to reform and promote the teaching of music, seeing the two in connection. One act of his reign urges the Scottish burghs to reform and support the teaching of music in Sang Sculis . In furtherance of these aims, James was both patron and head of a loose circle of Scottish Jacobean court poets and musicians known as
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#17327727983102628-484: A full cabinet meeting of East Ayrshire Council that the station clock was to be removed and landscaped "with immediate affect" due to continuous technical difficulties preventing the clock and its LED lighting from working properly. Scots language Scots is a language variety descended from Early Middle English in the West Germanic language family . Most commonly spoken in the Scottish Lowlands ,
2847-462: A great deal of money, his account of the circumstances was not universally believed. In 1586, James signed the Treaty of Berwick with England. That and his mother's execution in 1587, which he denounced as a "preposterous and strange procedure", helped clear the way for his succession south of the border. Queen Elizabeth was unmarried and childless, and James was her most likely successor . Securing
3066-400: A grocery shop in 1820, was transformed into a global whisky brand, and is the world's best selling brand of whisky. The Titchfield Street drill hall was completed in 1914. The Kilmarnock War Memorial was constructed in temple style and completed in 1927, becoming dedicated to local men who died "for king and country" during World War I . Following World War II , more plaques were added to
3285-435: A head when James finally called a Parliament in 1621 to fund a military expedition in support of his son-in-law. The Commons on the one hand granted subsidies inadequate to finance serious military operations in aid of Frederick, and on the other—remembering the profits gained under Elizabeth by naval attacks on Spanish gold shipments—called for a war directly against Spain. In November 1621, roused by Edward Coke , they framed
3504-650: A horse-drawn 4 ft-gauge plateway and became known as the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway . The first printed collection of works by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published in 1786 in Kilmarnock. Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect , was published by John Wilson, and became known as the Kilmarnock Edition . The internationally best–selling whisky Johnnie Walker was established in
3723-710: A key railway location when the Glasgow and South Western Railway re-located their workshops from Cook Street in Glasgow to Bonnyton . Homes were constructed for the workers of the Glasgow & South Western Railway Company at Bonnyton Square and at other areas in Bonnyton. These houses were later demolished in 1966 and 1967. A comparatively modest settlement until the Industrial Revolution , Kilmarnock extended considerably from around 1800 onwards, requiring
3942-484: A king may impose new laws by royal prerogative but must also pay heed to tradition and to God, who would "stirre up such scourges as pleaseth him, for punishment of wicked kings". Basilikon Doron was written as a book of instruction for the four-year-old Prince Henry and provides a more practical guide to kingship. The work is considered to be well written and perhaps the best example of James's prose. James's advice concerning parliaments, which he understood as merely
4161-415: A language from a dialect , scholars and other interested parties often disagree about the linguistic, historical and social status of Scots, particularly its relationship to English . Although a number of paradigms for distinguishing between languages and dialects exist, they often render contradictory results. Broad Scots is at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum , with Scottish Standard English at
4380-550: A large Massey-Harris factory on the outskirts of the town. It later became Massey Ferguson , and closed in 1980. Glenfield and Kennedy still survives, albeit with a fraction of its former workforce, which at its height numbered in the thousands. Kilmarnock is served by NHS Ayrshire and Arran , one of fourteen regions of NHS Scotland . NHS Ayrshire and Arran was formed in 2004, with Kilmarnock being served by NHS Ayrshire and Arran's largest hospital, University Hospital Crosshouse , situated less than one mile outwith Kilmarnock between
4599-584: A large part of the Rowallan Business Park, which is also home to Food Partners, a nationwide sandwich franchise. Nowadays, the economy of Kilmarnock is largely based on public service and office work, with local property redevelopment and regeneration company, The KLIN Group occupies the former Andrew Barclay Sons & Co offices in West Langland Street, Brodie Engineering operate two production factories for locomotives in
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#17327727983104818-471: A living and had already been driven to the edge of poverty by having troops stationed with them as part of the anti-Covenanter measures. Parish churches throughout Scotland collected money for the relief of these homeless citizens. In 1592, King James VI of Scotland granted a charter to Thomas, Lord Boyd, erecting Kilmarnock into a burgh of barony. The charter confirms that the Boyd family to be in possession of
5037-433: A lump sum of £600,000 to pay off the king's debts plus an annual grant of £200,000. The ensuing prickly negotiations became so protracted that James eventually lost patience and dismissed Parliament on 31 December 1610. "Your greatest error", he told Salisbury, "hath been that ye ever expected to draw honey out of gall". The same pattern was repeated with the so-called " Addled Parliament " of 1614, which James dissolved after
5256-632: A majority of 5,119. The member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Kilmarnock is Willie Coffey , having represented the area as the MSP of the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency since 2007. Following the 2017 East Ayrshire Council election , the SNP formed a minority government for East Ayrshire, following the result of a hung council. At present, the Scottish Labour party is
5475-514: A meeting with Tycho Brahe , James and Anne returned to Scotland on 1 May 1590. By all accounts, James was at first infatuated with Anne and, in the early years of their marriage, seems always to have shown her patience and affection. The royal couple produced three children who survived to adulthood: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales , who died of typhoid fever in 1612, aged 18; Elizabeth , later queen of Bohemia ; and Charles , James's successor. Anne suffered from recurrent bouts of sickness and
5694-454: A mere nine weeks when the Commons hesitated to grant him the money he required. James then ruled without parliament until 1621, employing officials such as the merchant Lionel Cranfield , who were astute at raising and saving money for the crown, and sold baronetcies and other dignities, many created for the purpose, as an alternative source of income. Another potential source of income was
5913-518: A more phonological manner rather than following the pan-dialect conventions of modern literary Scots, especially for the northern and insular dialects of Scots. James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death in 1625. Although he long tried to get both countries to adopt
6132-540: A new translation and compilation of approved books of the Bible to resolve discrepancies among different translations then being used. The King James Version , as it came to be known, was completed in 1611 and is considered a masterpiece of Jacobean prose. It is still in widespread use. In Scotland, James attempted to bring the Scottish Kirk "so neir as can be" to the English church and to reestablish episcopacy ,
6351-596: A number of carpet makers from Dalkeith to Kilmarnock. BMK Carpets was founded in Kilmarnock in 1908, quickly earning a reputation for the top carpet manufacturer of choice for major venues. It remained Kilmarnock's main employer until closure in 2005. Glenfield and Kennedy became the largest company of hydraulic engineers in the British Empire . All three companies – BMK Carpets, Saxone Shoes and Glenfield and Kennedy, became widely known and trusted in export markets internationally. Johnnie Walker whisky, established as
6570-466: A nurses' training school were added in 1891. In 1923 it had a capacity of 130 beds. With hospital services transferred to Crosshouse Hospital, the infirmary building and the accident and emergency building were demolished in the late 1980s. The listed nurses' home was demolished under a Dangerous Building Notice in September 1997. Work on University Hospital Crosshouse, which was commissioned to replace
6789-632: A peace policy, and tried to avoid involvement in religious wars , especially the Thirty Years' War that devastated much of Central Europe. He tried but failed to prevent the rise of hawkish elements in the English Parliament who wanted war with Spain. He was succeeded by his second son, Charles I. James was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots , and her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley . Mary and Darnley were great-grandchildren of Henry VII of England through Margaret Tudor ,
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7008-573: A period of decline and disrepute. Salisbury's passing gave James the notion of governing in person as his own chief Minister of State, with his young Scottish favourite Robert Carr carrying out many of Salisbury's former duties, but James's inability to attend closely to official business exposed the government to factionalism. The Howard party (consisting of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton; Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk; Suffolk's son-in-law William Knollys, Lord Knollys ; Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham ; and Thomas Lake ) soon took control of much of
7227-405: A petition asking not only for war with Spain but also for Prince Charles to marry a Protestant, and for enforcement of the anti-Catholic laws. James flatly told them not to interfere in matters of royal prerogative or they would risk punishment, which provoked them into issuing a statement protesting their rights, including freedom of speech. Urged on by George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham , and
7446-706: A policy that met with strong opposition from presbyterians . James returned to Scotland in 1617 for the only time after his accession in England, in the hope of implementing Anglican ritual. James's bishops forced his Five Articles of Perth through a General Assembly the following year, but the rulings were widely resisted. James left the church in Scotland divided at his death, a source of future problems for his son. Throughout his life James had close relationships with male courtiers, which has caused debate among historians about their exact nature. In Scotland Anne Murray
7665-581: A principal cause of the Highlanders' shortcomings and sought to abolish it. It was against this background that James VI authorised the " Gentleman Adventurers of Fife " to civilise the "most barbarous Isle of Lewis " in 1598. James wrote that the colonists were to act "not by agreement" with the local inhabitants, but "by extirpation of thame". Their landing at Stornoway began well, but the colonists were driven out by local forces commanded by Murdoch and Neil MacLeod. The colonists tried again in 1605 with
7884-659: A process "specifically aimed at the extirpation of the Gaelic language, the destruction of its traditional culture and the suppression of its bearers." In the Northern Isles , James's cousin Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney , resisted the Statutes of Iona and was consequently imprisoned. His natural son Robert led an unsuccessful rebellion against James, and the Earl and his son were hanged. Their estates were forfeited, and
8103-522: A recent neologism merging Ulster and Lallans. Scots is a contraction of Scottis , the Older Scots and northern version of late Old English : Scottisc (modern English "Scottish"), which replaced the earlier i-mutated version Scyttisc . Before the end of the fifteenth century, English speech in Scotland was known as "English" (written Ynglis or Inglis at the time), whereas "Scottish" ( Scottis ) referred to Gaelic . By
8322-610: A recorded population of 46,159 inhabitants. The census data highlighted that 45,379 were white (with 42,915 identifying as White Scottish ), 121 mixed or multiple ethnic groups, 548 Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British, 148 Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British and 204 Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British. Other ethnic groups included Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British and Caribbean or Black: Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British. At
8541-731: A regular passenger service provided prior to the construction work being complete. In 1904, Kilmarnock built its own tramway system, the Kilmarnock Corporation Tramways . An electric power station was built on the south bank of the River Irvine at Riccarton and overhead power lines and tram lines were laid. With continued upgrading and expansion, the tram network at its peak went from Ayr Road in Riccarton at its southerly point, to Knockinlaw Road in Beansburn in
8760-612: A representative sample of Scotland's adult population) claim to speak Scots to varying degrees. The 2011 UK census was the first to ask residents of Scotland about Scots. A campaign called Aye Can was set up to help individuals answer the question. The specific wording used was "Which of these can you do? Tick all that apply" with options for "Understand", "Speak", "Read" and "Write" in three columns: English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots. Of approximately 5.1 million respondents, about 1.2 million (24%) could speak, read and write Scots, 3.2 million (62%) had no skills in Scots and
8979-458: A result, both Kilmarnock whisky and shoe made products became widely popular in Brazil. The shoe production business continued to grow, and by 1900, Clark's shoe business, Saxone, had a total of 40 shop premises in Brazil. Additionally, Kilmarnock gained a reputation of being a location for quality carpet making, following Charlotte Maria Gardiner, half auntie of the 4th Earl of Kilmarnock, bringing
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9198-492: A result, new quality housing has been constructed on the northern fringes of the town for commuters to Glasgow and the central belt of Scotland. Recent house price in and around Kilmarnock have reflected the towns location for commuters to the country's largest city. In 2015, Kilmarnock was named 'Scotland's Most Improved Town' at the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum awards. The panel recognised
9417-657: A single parliament for England and Scotland. In his reign, the Plantation of Ulster and English colonisation of the Americas began. At 57 years and 246 days, James's reign in Scotland was the longest of any Scottish monarch . He achieved most of his aims in Scotland but faced great difficulties in England, including the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and conflicts with the English Parliament . Under James,
9636-550: A stock as to praise fools ... You see how many things you did not well ... I wish you would make use of your liberty with more modesty in time to come". As James's reign progressed, his government faced growing financial pressures, partly due to creeping inflation but also to the profligacy and financial incompetence of James's court. In February 1610, Salisbury proposed a scheme, known as the Great Contract , whereby Parliament, in return for ten royal concessions, would grant
9855-451: A suitable medium of education or culture". Students reverted to Scots outside the classroom, but the reversion was not complete. What occurred, and has been occurring ever since, is a process of language attrition , whereby successive generations have adopted more and more features from Standard English. This process has accelerated rapidly since widespread access to mass media in English and increased population mobility became available after
10074-563: A time during the second world war to manufacture bomb shells for the war effort. Glenfild & Kennedy, also based in the town, made components for anti-tank guns among other war-related engineering projects, including valves for mulberry harbours. Local mansions around the town were requisitioned, such as Bellfield House, with many becoming operational bases for training Special Air Services personnel. Kilmarnock Swimming Baths were also used for this purpose. The town's prominent cooling towers were painted in camouflage to prevent them being visible to
10293-471: A two way street for traffic. Considerable growth of the town occurred in the second half of the 19th century, and following World War I , major efforts began to construct new homes to be "fit for heroes". New residential and commercial streets around the town were created, with large housing schemes being built in the years which followed the end of World War II . The first new housing estate in Kilmarnock following World War II would become Shortlees, followed by
10512-456: A variety of other healthcare services including dental treatment and pharmacies. Until the 18th century, means of transportation in and around Kilmarnock relied on rough tracks which were narrow, twisting and, at times, impassable, to link the town with neighbouring settlements. The Ayrshire Turnpike Act 1767 was passed which allowed for the rough tracks to be expanded in width and improved by turnpike trusts who additionally held responsibility for
10731-581: A working population of 34,104 (16–74) in Kilmarnock, with 4,915 recorded part–time employees, 13,504 full–time, 1,978 self–employed, 2,156 un–employed and 1,094 full–time students. The economy of Kilmarnock had historically been centred around heavy manufacturing and goods based services. However, in recent years, and in trend with other towns and cities across Scotland, Kilmarnock's economic dependence has shifted from manufacturing and instead become more reliant on skills-based knowledge. Companies such as Vodafone ( Webhelp Call Centre) and Teleperformance occupy
10950-506: Is Councillor Douglas Reid of the SNP , who has been leader since 2007. The chief executive is Eddie Fraser, who has been Chief Executive since 2020. Kilmarnock is both the largest town in East Ayrshire and its administrative centre, and the largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town had an estimated population of 46,970 residents in 2020, making it the 14th largest settlement in Scotland . At Scotland's 2011 census, Kilmarnock had
11169-469: Is a sister language of Modern English , as the two diverged from the same medieval form of English. Scots is recognised as an indigenous language of Scotland by the Scottish government, a regional or minority language of Europe, and a vulnerable language by UNESCO . In a Scottish census from 2022, over 1.5 million people in Scotland reported being able to speak Scots. Given that there are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing
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#173277279831011388-562: Is in Scots, for example. Scott introduced vernacular dialogue to his novels. Other well-known authors like Robert Louis Stevenson , William Alexander, George MacDonald , J. M. Barrie and other members of the Kailyard school like Ian Maclaren also wrote in Scots or used it in dialogue. In the Victorian era popular Scottish newspapers regularly included articles and commentary in the vernacular, often of unprecedented proportions. In
11607-592: Is lykest to our language..." ( For though several have written of (the subject) in English, which is the language most similar to ours... ). However, with the increasing influence and availability of books printed in England, most writing in Scotland came to be done in the English fashion. In his first speech to the English Parliament in March 1603, King James VI and I declared, "Hath not God first united these two Kingdomes both in Language, Religion, and similitude of maners?" . Following James VI's move to London,
11826-763: Is now made at a new Diageo bottling plant in the eastern coast of Scotland in Leven, Fife . Over the years, Kilmarnock has been the home to other well-known companies, Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. , and Saxone Shoes. Following the closure of the Hill Street plant, the building was demolished and the site is now home to both the Kilmarnock campus of Ayrshire College and The HALO Urban Regeneration . Kilmarnock's traditional industries were based around textiles and heavy engineering such as locomotives ( Andrew Barclay Sons & Co ) from 1837, and valves (Glenfield and Kennedy), which are still in production. Glenfield and Kennedy
12045-502: Is now trading as Glenfield Valves and still operates a base from Kilmarnock, and Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. is now trading as Brodie Engineering. Blackwood's (often known as Blackwood Brothers) produced woollen garments and yarns in Kilmarnock for a number of years, and in 1908, Robert Blackwood formed a partnership with Gavin Morton, establishing Blackwood and Morton of Kilmarnock, which better became known as BMK which specialised in
12264-591: Is sometimes used in contemporary fiction, such as the Edinburgh dialect of Scots in Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh (later made into a motion picture of the same name ). But'n'Ben A-Go-Go by Matthew Fitt is a cyberpunk novel written entirely in what Wir Ain Leed ("Our Own Language") calls "General Scots". Like all cyberpunk work, it contains imaginative neologisms . The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
12483-567: Is used to describe the Scots language after 1700. A seminal study of Scots was undertaken by JAH Murray and published as Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland . Murray's results were given further publicity by being included in Alexander John Ellis 's book On Early English Pronunciation, Part V alongside results from Orkney and Shetland, as well as the whole of England. Murray and Ellis differed slightly on
12702-540: Is usually defined through the works of Robert John Gregg to include the counties of Down , Antrim , Londonderry and Donegal (especially in East Donegal and Inishowen ). More recently, the Fintona -born linguist Warren Maguire has argued that some of the criteria that Gregg used as distinctive of Ulster-Scots are common in south-west Tyrone and were found in other sites across Northern Ireland investigated by
12921-482: Is well known that the king of England / fucks the Duke of Buckingham". Buckingham himself provides evidence that he slept in the same bed as the king, writing to James many years later that he had pondered "whether you loved me now ... better than at the time which I shall never forget at Farnham, where the bed's head could not be found between the master and his dog". Buckingham's words may be interpreted as non-sexual, in
13140-606: The Authorized King James Version ), and the 1604 revision of the Book of Common Prayer . Anthony Weldon claimed that James had been termed "the wisest fool in Christendom ", an epithet associated with his character ever since. Since the latter half of the 20th century, historians have tended to revise James's reputation and treat him as a serious and thoughtful monarch. He was strongly committed to
13359-454: The Battle of Langside , forcing her to flee to England, where she was subsequently kept in confinement by Elizabeth. On 23 January 1570, Moray was assassinated by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh . The next regent was James's paternal grandfather, Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox , who was carried fatally wounded into Stirling Castle a year later after a raid by Mary's supporters. His successor,
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#173277279831013578-564: The Castalian Band , which included William Fowler and Alexander Montgomerie among others, Montgomerie being a favourite of the king. James was himself a poet, and was happy to be seen as a practising member of the group. By the late 1590s, James's championing of native Scottish tradition was reduced to some extent by the increasing likelihood of his succession to the English throne. William Alexander and other courtier poets started to anglicise their written language, and followed
13797-476: The Economy of Scotland . The window and door company, Scotia have their main headquarters in Kilmarnock, as well as a manufacturing and production plant. The internationally best–selling Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker was established in Kilmarnock in 1820 by John 'Johnnie' Walker . Originally known as Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky , the brand first started trading from the town in the mid-1800s. The whisky
14016-481: The English Dialect Dictionary , edited by Joseph Wright . Wright had great difficulty in recruiting volunteers from Scotland, as many refused to cooperate with a venture that regarded Scots as a dialect of English, and he obtained enough help only through the assistance from a Professor Shearer in Scotland. Wright himself rejected the argument that Scots was a separate language, saying that this
14235-433: The English Parliament , "compassed with one sea and of itself by nature indivisible?" In April 1604, however, the Commons refused his request to be titled "King of Great Britain" on legal grounds. In October 1604, he assumed the title "King of Great Britain" instead of "King of England" and "King of Scotland", though Francis Bacon told him that he could not use the style in "any legal proceeding, instrument or assurance" and
14454-561: The German Luftwaffe . The town suffered one air raid attack by the Luftwaffe, which killed four people on 6 May 1943. The Luftwaffe dropped a total of fourteen bombs in a line, from South Dean Farm to Kilmarnock cemetery. A 50 kg bomb landed on a block of four residential houses in the towns Culzean Crescent, killing four residents; Janet MacGeachie, Alice MacGeachie, John Bissett and Dorothy Armour. In 1945 an attempt by
14673-740: The Kilmarnock Infirmary , began on the site in August 1972 with completion expected in May 1977. The contractor, Melville Dundas & Whitson , encountered difficulties with the water supply and ventilation systems and the facility was only officially opened by George Younger , Secretary of State for Scotland , as Crosshouse Hospital in June 1984. Services provided at University Hospital Crosshouse include an Emergency Department covering both East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire , Maternity Unit (covering
14892-566: The Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency, had long been considered a "safe seat" for the Scottish Labour Party , having been represented by a Labour MP since the establishment of the constituency in 1983. However, at the 2015 general election, the seat changed hands from Labour to the Scottish National Party with the election of Alan Brown , at an election which resulted in a landslide victory for
15111-509: The Linguistic Survey of Scotland . Dialects of Scots include Insular Scots , Northern Scots , Central Scots , Southern Scots and Ulster Scots . It has been difficult to determine the number of speakers of Scots via census, because many respondents might interpret the question "Do you speak Scots?" in different ways. Campaigners for Scots pressed for this question to be included in the 2001 UK National Census . The results from
15330-569: The Lordship of the Isles by James IV of Scotland in 1493 had led to troubled times for the western seaboard. James IV had subdued the organised military might of the Hebrides , but he and his immediate successors lacked the will or ability to provide an alternative form of governance. As a result, the 16th century became known as linn nan creach , the time of raids. Furthermore, the effects of
15549-501: The Low Countries . Scots also includes loan words in the legal and administrative fields resulting from contact with Middle Irish , and reflected in early medieval legal documents. Contemporary Scottish Gaelic loans are mainly for geographical and cultural features, such as cèilidh , loch , whisky , glen and clan . Cumbric and Pictish , the medieval Brittonic languages of Northern England and Scotland, are
15768-566: The Northern Isles of Scotland , and northern Ulster in Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots ), it is sometimes called: Lowland Scots , to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic , the Celtic language that was historically restricted to most of the Scottish Highlands , the Hebrides , and Galloway after the sixteenth century; or Broad Scots , to distinguish it from Scottish Standard English . Modern Scots
15987-638: The Orkney and Shetland islands were annexed to the Crown. In 1597–98, James wrote The True Law of Free Monarchies and Basilikon Doron ( Royal Gift ), in which he argues a theological basis for monarchy. In the True Law , he sets out the divine right of kings , explaining that kings are higher beings than other men for Biblical reasons, though "the highest bench is the sliddriest to sit upon". The document proposes an absolutist theory of monarchy, by which
16206-628: The Popish Recusants Act , which could require any subject to take an Oath of Allegiance denying the pope's authority over the king. James was conciliatory towards Catholics who took the Oath of Allegiance, and tolerated crypto-Catholicism even at court. Henry Howard, for example, was a crypto-Catholic, received back into the Catholic Church in his final months. On ascending the English throne, James suspected that he might need
16425-630: The Protestant Church of Scotland adopted the 1611 Authorized King James Version of the Bible; subsequently, the Acts of Union 1707 led to Scotland joining England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain , having a single Parliament of Great Britain based in London. After the Union and the shift of political power to England, the use of Scots was discouraged by many in authority and education, as
16644-547: The Scottish Government , First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond and local MP and MSP Cathy Jamieson and Willie Coffey , the owner of Johnnie Walker, Diageo , decided to close the bottling plant, originally by the end of 2011, ending the link between the whisky brand and the town. In September 2009, Diageo confirmed the plant in Kilmarnock would close, despite local protests. Production of Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock ceased during March 2012, after 192 years. It
16863-469: The Second World War . It has recently taken on the nature of wholesale language shift , sometimes also termed language change , convergence or merger . By the end of the twentieth century, Scots was at an advanced stage of language death over much of Lowland Scotland . Residual features of Scots are often regarded as slang. A 2010 Scottish Government study of "public attitudes towards
17082-594: The University of Aberdeen , and only included reared speakers (people raised speaking Scots), not those who had learned the language. Part of the difference resulted from the central question posed by surveys: "Do you speak Scots?". In the Aberdeen University study, the question was augmented with the further clause "... or a dialect of Scots such as Border etc.", which resulted in greater recognition from respondents. The GRO concluded that there simply
17301-487: The Witchcraft Act 1563 . Several people were convicted of using witchcraft to send storms against James's ship , most notably Agnes Sampson . James became concerned with the threat posed by witches and wrote Daemonologie in 1597, a tract inspired by his personal involvement that opposed the practice of witchcraft and that provided background material for Shakespeare's Macbeth . James personally supervised
17520-522: The coronation was preached by John Knox . In accordance with the religious beliefs of most of the Scottish ruling class, James was brought up as a member of the Protestant Church of Scotland , the Kirk. The Privy Council selected George Buchanan , Peter Young , Adam Erskine (lay abbot of Cambuskenneth ), and David Erskine (lay abbot of Dryburgh ) as James's preceptors or tutors. As
17739-569: The prestige dialect of most of eastern Scotland. By the sixteenth century, Middle Scots had established orthographic and literary norms largely independent of those developing in England. From 1610 to the 1690s during the Plantation of Ulster , some 200,000 Scots-speaking Lowlanders settled as colonists in Ulster in Ireland. In the core areas of Scots settlement, Scots outnumbered English settlers by five or six to one. The name Modern Scots
17958-620: The provost of East Ayrshire and Depute Provost of East Ayrshire In 2004, the Rough Guide to Scotland described the town as "shabby and depressed, saddled with some terrible shopping centres and a grim one-way system". In early 2006, an application to Historic Scotland 's Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme was successful, and in July 2006 an application under the Heritage Lottery Fund 's Townscape Heritage Initiative Scheme
18177-555: The " Buchan Claik ". The old-fashioned Scotch , an English loan, occurs occasionally, especially in Ulster. The term Lallans , a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands [ˈlo̜ːlən(d)z, ˈlɑːlənz] , is also used, though this is more often taken to mean the Lallans literary form . Scots in Ireland is known in official circles as Ulster-Scots ( Ulstèr-Scotch in revivalist Ulster-Scots) or "Ullans",
18396-442: The "Golden Age" of Elizabethan literature and drama continued, with writers such as William Shakespeare , John Donne , Ben Jonson , and Francis Bacon contributing to a flourishing literary culture. James was a prolific writer, authoring works such as Daemonologie (1597), The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598), and Basilikon Doron (1599). He sponsored the translation of the Bible into English (later named after him,
18615-488: The 1870s and the town's growth subsumed the village of Bonnyton , and by the 1960s, new purpose built suburbs such as New Farm Loch were constructed to accommodate the increasing population of Kilmarnock. By mid–2020, the population of the town was estimated to be 46,970, making Kilmarnock the 14th most populated settlement in Scotland as well as the largest town in Ayrshire by population. The first passenger conveying railway in Scotland originated in Kilmarnock in 1812 as
18834-519: The 2011 census, 12,143 residents were aged over 16 and had no formal qualifications, while 8,983 residents had at least one qualification in Level 1, with 5,185, 4,044 and 7,339 having a qualification Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 (or above) respectively. There were a total of over 20,000 households in Kilmarnock at the time of the 2011 census, ranging from semi–detached, detached, bungalows, flats and maisonette properties. The 2011 census of Scotland recorded
19053-511: The 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century is widely regarded as a "boom period" for housing construction in Kilmarnock. Large numbers of farm land was purchased by housing developers, with an "unprecedented" number of houses being completed, notably at Southcraig, Dunsmuir Park and the Johnnie Walker estate. The largest house building projects in Kilmarnock were undertaken at Southcraig and Dunsmuir Park. Kilmarnock, as part of
19272-523: The Burgh Council of Kilmarnock to cope with increasing traffic was made by removing the statue of Sir James Shaw and re-developing the Cross into a roundabout. In 1976, a one-way traffic system was introduced around the town centre which is still in use today as of December 2023, however, that same month, it was confirmed that studies were being conducted which would see the town centre converted back to
19491-554: The Crowns in 1603, the Standard English of England came to have an increasing influence on the spelling of Scots through the increasing influence and availability of books printed in England. After the Acts of Union in 1707 the emerging Scottish form of Standard English replaced Scots for most formal writing in Scotland. The eighteenth-century Scots revival saw the introduction of a new literary language descended from
19710-645: The Duke of Buckingham" whom the king would, recalled Sir Edward Peyton , "tumble and kiss as a mistress". Restoration of Apethorpe Palace , Northamptonshire, undertaken in 2004–08 revealed a previously unknown passage linking the bedchambers of James and Villiers. Some biographers of James argue that the relationships were not sexual. James's Basilikon Doron lists sodomy among crimes "ye are bound in conscience never to forgive", and James's wife Anne gave birth to seven live children, as well as suffering two stillbirths and at least three other miscarriages. Contemporary Huguenot poet Théophile de Viau observed that "it
19929-541: The Earl of Mar, "took a vehement sickness" and died on 28 October 1572 at Stirling. Mar's illness, wrote James Melville , followed a banquet at Dalkeith Palace given by James Douglas, Earl of Morton . Morton was elected to Mar's office and proved in many ways the most effective of James's regents, but he made enemies by his rapacity. He fell from favour when Frenchman Esmé Stewart, Sieur d'Aubigny , first cousin of James's father Lord Darnley and future Earl of Lennox , arrived in Scotland and quickly established himself as
20148-472: The English succession became a cornerstone of his policy. During the Spanish Armada crisis of 1588, he assured Elizabeth of his support as "your natural son and compatriot of your country". Elizabeth sent James an annual subsidy from 1586 which gave her some leverage over affairs in Scotland. Throughout his youth, James was praised for his chastity, since he showed little interest in women. After
20367-508: The Grange Estate, Bellfield and Onthank during the 1960s. During this period, the priority continued to be on the construction of council housing, however, there was still a demand for houses in the private market, and with that, the construction of the Grange Estate would push the boundary of Kilmarnock's built up area. Despite the new housing estates at Shortlees, Bellfield, Grange and Onthank, housing demand continued to be strong, and
20586-544: The Gunpowder Plot was atypical. Instead, it was the previous session of 1604 that shaped the attitudes of both sides for the rest of the reign, though the initial difficulties owed more to mutual incomprehension than conscious enmity. On 7 July 1604, James had angrily prorogued Parliament after failing to win its support either for full union or financial subsidies. "I will not thank where I feel no thanks due", he had remarked in his closing speech. "... I am not of such
20805-546: The Keep of the Dean Castle . The Romans held a "tentative grip" on the area in and around Kilmarnock, with forts nearby at Loudoun Castle as well as possessing costal harbours around Ayrshire . Early references to the town are vague in regards to population numbers and the geographical size of the town, however, it is widely believed that at this time, the town was little more than a small cluster of dwellings situated around
21024-454: The Kingdom of Great Britain, there is ample evidence that Scots was widely held to be an independent sister language forming a pluricentric diasystem with English. German linguist Heinz Kloss considered Modern Scots a Halbsprache ('half language') in terms of an abstand and ausbau languages framework, although today in Scotland most people's speech is somewhere on
21243-506: The Laigh Kirk church. By the end of the sixteenth century, Kilmarnock had become a burgh of barony, and had a weekly market stall and by the 1600s had grown into a small network of narrow streets, with the population relying on industries such as spinning wool, knitting bonnets and the manufacturing of metal cutlery to make a living. A fire engulfed the town in 1668, following the hunting of Covenanters by government troops. The core of
21462-720: The Middle English of Northumbria due to twelfth- and thirteenth-century immigration of Scandinavian-influenced Middle English–speakers from the North and Midlands of England . Later influences on the development of Scots came from the Romance languages via ecclesiastical and legal Latin , Norman French , and later Parisian French , due to the Auld Alliance . Additionally, there were Dutch and Middle Low German influences due to trade with and immigration from
21681-552: The Palace Theatre and out to the London Road) built over. In 1996 the two-tier system of regions and districts was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between the unitary council areas of East Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kilmarnock & Loudoun District and Cumnock & Doon Valley District), North Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Cunninghame District Council) and South Ayrshire (covering
21900-575: The Philosopher's Stane , a Scots translation of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , was published by Matthew Fitt . The vowel system of Modern Scots: Vowel length is usually conditioned by the Scottish vowel length rule . The orthography of Early Scots had become more or less standardised by the middle to late sixteenth century. After the Union of
22119-480: The Privy Council, as well as five Scottish nobles. In the early years of James's reign, the day-to-day running of the government was tightly managed by the shrewd Cecil, later Earl of Salisbury , ably assisted by the experienced Thomas Egerton , whom James made Baron Ellesmere and Lord Chancellor , and by Thomas Sackville , soon Earl of Dorset , who continued as Lord Treasurer . As a consequence, James
22338-694: The Reformation were slow to affect the Gàidhealtachd , driving a religious wedge between this area and centres of political control in the Central Belt . In 1540, James V had toured the Hebrides, forcing the clan chiefs to accompany him. There followed a period of peace, but the clans were soon at loggerheads with one another again. During James VI's reign, the citizens of the Hebrides were portrayed as lawless barbarians rather than being
22557-466: The SNP at the expense of Scottish Labour. Brown defeated Labour candidate Cathy Jamieson with an overwhelming majority with Brown receiving 30,000 votes with Jamieson only receiving 16,363. At the 2024 election , Scottish Labour regained the seat from the SNP, the first time they have gained the seat from the SNP since 2015, when Scottish Labour candidate Lillian Jones won the election with 19,055 votes with
22776-480: The Scots language was also featured. It was found that 1,508,540 people reported that they could speak Scots, with 2,444,659 reporting that they could speak, read, write or understand Scots, approximately 45% of Scotland's 2022 population. The Scottish Government set its first Scots Language Policy in 2015, in which it pledged to support its preservation and encourage respect, recognition and use of Scots. The Scottish Parliament website also offers some information on
22995-419: The Scots language" found that 64% of respondents (around 1,000 individuals in a representative sample of Scotland's adult population) "don't really think of Scots as a language", also finding "the most frequent speakers are least likely to agree that it is not a language (58%) and those never speaking Scots most likely to do so (72%)". Before the Treaty of Union 1707 , when Scotland and England joined to form
23214-581: The Scottish Executive recognises and respects Scots (in all its forms) as a distinct language, and does not consider the use of Scots to be an indication of poor competence in English. Evidence for its existence as a separate language lies in the extensive body of Scots literature, its independent – if somewhat fluid – orthographic conventions , and in its former use as the language of the original Parliament of Scotland . Because Scotland retained distinct political, legal, and religious systems after
23433-557: The Spanish ambassador Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar , James ripped the protest out of the record book and dissolved Parliament. In early 1623, Prince Charles, now 22, and Buckingham decided to seize the initiative and travel to Spain incognito, to win Infanta Maria Anna directly, but the mission proved an ineffectual mistake. Maria Anna detested Charles, and the Spanish confronted them with terms that included
23652-638: The Standard English cognate . This Written Scots drew not only on the vernacular, but also on the King James Bible , and was heavily influenced by the norms and conventions of Augustan English poetry . Consequently, this written Scots looked very similar to contemporary Standard English, suggesting a somewhat modified version of that, rather than a distinct speech form with a phonological system which had been developing independently for many centuries. This modern literary dialect, "Scots of
23871-642: The Tower of London, where he had been placed at the king's request. Among those convicted of the murder were the Earl and Countess of Somerset; the Earl had been replaced as the king's favourite in the meantime by Villiers. James pardoned the Countess and commuted the Earl's sentence of death, eventually pardoning him in 1624. The implication of the king in such a scandal provoked much public and literary conjecture and irreparably tarnished James's court with an image of corruption and depravity. The subsequent downfall of
24090-497: The Union, many Scots terms passed into Scottish English. During the 2010s, increased interest was expressed in the language. The status of the language was raised in Scottish schools, with Scots being included in the new national school curriculum . Previously in Scotland's schools there had been little education taking place through the medium of Scots, although it may have been covered superficially in English lessons, which could entail reading some Scots literature and observing
24309-463: The West of Scotland . Kirklandside Hospital , in neighbouring village Hurlford closed between 2018 and 2020. Kirklandside hospital provided consultant-led services for frail elderly patients. It had 25 long-stay beds for inpatient care and a day hospital which provided assessment and rehabilitation facilities. Kilmarnock is served by a number of general practice (GP) surgeries under NHS Scotland and
24528-493: The West of Scotland, the line was converted from a plateway to a railway and realigned in places. The line became part of the Glasgow and South Western Railway system. Much of the original route is part of the present-day Kilmarnock to Barassie railway line, although the extremities of the original line have been lost. When elected county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 ,
24747-704: The activities of those such as Thomas Sheridan , who in 1761 gave a series of lectures on English elocution . Charging a guinea at a time (about £200 in today's money ), they were attended by over 300 men, and he was made a freeman of the City of Edinburgh . Following this, some of the city's intellectuals formed the Select Society for Promoting the Reading and Speaking of the English Language in Scotland. These eighteenth-century activities would lead to
24966-470: The age of thirteen months, after his mother was forced to abdicate in his favour. Four regents governed during his minority , which ended officially in 1578, though he did not gain full control of his government until 1583. In 1589, he married Anne of Denmark . Three of their children survived to adulthood: Henry Frederick , Elizabeth , and Charles . In 1603, James succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I ,
25185-530: The area of the former Kyle and Carrick District). Following this, Kilmarnock now came under East Ayrshire Council which was formed in April 1995 to replace the Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Cumnock and Doon Valley District Councils, and the part of Strathclyde Regional Council which related to the area. The newly formed East Ayrshire Council were granted responsibility for areas such as education, social work, leisure and planning, among other services, for Kilmarnock and
25404-529: The beginning of the fifteenth century, the English language used in Scotland had arguably become a distinct language, albeit one lacking a name which clearly distinguished it from all the other English variants and dialects spoken in Britain. From 1495, the term Scottis was increasingly used to refer to the Lowland vernacular and Erse , meaning "Irish", was used as a name for Gaelic. For example, towards
25623-521: The book" or Standard Scots, once again gave Scots an orthography of its own, lacking neither "authority nor author". This literary language used throughout Lowland Scotland and Ulster, embodied by writers such as Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Murray , David Herbison , James Orr, James Hogg and William Laidlaw among others, is well described in the 1921 Manual of Modern Scots . Other authors developed dialect writing, preferring to represent their own speech in
25842-575: The border between English and Scots dialects. Scots was studied alongside English and Scots Gaelic in the Linguistic Survey of Scotland at the University of Edinburgh , which began in 1949 and began to publish results in the 1970s. Also beginning in the 1970s, the Atlas Linguarum Europae studied the Scots language used at 15 sites in Scotland, each with its own dialect. From the mid-sixteenth century, written Scots
26061-487: The burgh of Kilmarnock was deemed capable of running its own affairs and so was excluded from the jurisdiction of Ayrshire County Council. Further local government reform in 1930 brought the burgh within the area controlled by Ayrshire County Council, but classed as a large burgh , which allowed the town to continue to run many local services itself. Kilmarnock Town Council was based at the Town Hall at 28 King Street, which
26280-454: The child's mouth, as was then the custom. The subsequent entertainment , devised by Frenchman Bastian Pagez , featured men dressed as satyrs and sporting tails, to which the English guests took offence, thinking the satyrs "done against them". Lord Darnley was murdered on 10 February 1567 at Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh, perhaps in revenge for the killing of Rizzio. James inherited his father's titles of Duke of Albany and Earl of Ross . Mary
26499-411: The closure or significant reduction of many of its traditional large employers: Glenfield and Kennedy, Massey Ferguson, BMK and Saxone. Although significant attempts have been made to halt this decline and attract new employers, Kilmarnock saw a continuing net loss of jobs in the five years to 2005. Although traditionally a main shopping area for most of the surrounding districts, patterns have changed over
26718-463: The construction of additional housing estates continued through the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mass housing construction to create the New Farm Loch estate aimed to meet the increased demands of the towns population by providing additional space for homes as well as vehicles. More land was allocated than in previous house building projects to meet these demands. A 1923 Act of Parliament granted
26937-460: The construction of new homes at Scott Roads Fulton's Lane, Townholm and Landmark. Additional acts of Parliament in 1924 and 1925 allowed the commencement of construction of additional homes at Annanhill, Ayr Road, Bonnyton, Craigie Road, Granger Road, London Road, Longpark, New Mill Road, New Street, Stoneyhill Avenue and Yorke Place. By 1973, an outer-town bypass was formed to take away the heavy through traffic that had been travelling in and throughout
27156-503: The context of 17th-century court life, and remain ambiguous despite their fondness. It is also possible that James was bisexual. When the Earl of Salisbury died in 1612, he was little mourned by those who jostled to fill the power vacuum. Until Salisbury's death, the Elizabethan administrative system over which he had presided continued to function with relative efficiency; from this time forward, however, James's government entered
27375-491: The cradle of Scottish Christianity and nationhood. Official documents describe the peoples of the Highlands as "void of the knawledge and feir of God" who were prone to "all kynd of barbarous and bestile cruelteis". The Gaelic language, spoken fluently by James IV and probably by James V, became known in the time of James VI as "Erse" or Irish, implying that it was foreign in nature. Parliament decided that Gaelic had become
27594-403: The creation of Scottish Standard English . Scots remained the vernacular of many rural communities and the growing number of urban working-class Scots. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the use of Scots as a literary language was revived by several prominent Scotsmen such as Robert Burns . Such writers established a new cross-dialect literary norm. Scots terms were included in
27813-566: The crossing had been abandoned, James sailed from Leith with a 300-strong retinue to fetch Anne personally in what historian David Harris Willson called "the one romantic episode of his life". The couple were married formally at the Bishop's Palace in Oslo on 23 November. James received a dowry of 75,000 Danish dalers and a gift of 10,000 dalers from his mother-in-law, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow . After stays at Elsinore and Copenhagen and
28032-502: The early town appears to have lain around what is now the Laigh Kirk, Kilmarnock (Low Church), although the oldest parts of the current building are no earlier than the 17th century, extending north and northwest. In 1668 the town was largely destroyed by an accidental fire. About 120 families lost most of their possessions and were forced to live destitute in the fields surrounding the town. These tradespeople had no other way of making
28251-749: The early twentieth century, a renaissance in the use of Scots occurred, its most vocal figure being Hugh MacDiarmid whose benchmark poem " A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle " (1926) did much to demonstrate the power of Scots as a modern idiom. Other contemporaries were Douglas Young , John Buchan , Sydney Goodsir Smith , Robert Garioch , Edith Anne Robertson and Robert McLellan . The revival extended to verse and other literature. In 1955, three Ayrshire men – Sandy MacMillan, an English teacher at Ayr Academy ; Thomas Limond, noted town chamberlain of Ayr ; and A. L. "Ross" Taylor, rector of Cumnock Academy – collaborated to write Bairnsangs ("Child Songs"),
28470-440: The eldest son and heir apparent of the monarch automatically became Duke of Rothesay and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland . Five days later, the English diplomat Henry Killigrew saw the queen, who had not fully recovered and could only speak faintly. The baby was "sucking at his nurse" and was "well proportioned and like to prove a goodly prince". He was baptised "Charles James" or "James Charles" on 17 December 1566 in
28689-627: The end of the decade. During World War II , a local battalion of the Home Guard was established in the town to protect the area during the war. The Kilmarnock Guard was known as the 4th North Kyle Home Guard, with men from Kilmarnock, Galston , Newmilns , Darvel , Hurlford , Fenwick and Craigie part of the battalion. The battalion was commanded by Lieutenant- Colonel D.M. Wilkie, with F. Richmond Paton as second in command, and Major Hugh B. Farrar as adjutant. Kilmarnock based carpet manufacturing company BMK ceased production of carpets for
28908-525: The end of the fifteenth century, William Dunbar was using Erse to refer to Gaelic and, in the early sixteenth century, Gavin Douglas was using Scottis as a name for the Lowland vernacular. The Gaelic of Scotland is now usually called Scottish Gaelic . Northumbrian Old English had been established in what is now southeastern Scotland as far as the River Forth by the seventh century, as
29127-447: The establishment and operation of a number of nurseries within Kilmarnock, namely at Westmoor, Holmes, Burnside, New Park and New Pit, despite the towns heavy reliance on heavy industry for economic strength. Kilmarnock had one of the earliest tram railways in the world, running to Troon over the recently restored Laigh Milton viaduct . The Glasgow & South Western Railway set up their works here, producing nearly 400 locomotives by
29346-461: The fifteenth century, much literature based on the Royal Court in Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews was produced by writers such as Robert Henryson , William Dunbar , Gavin Douglas and David Lyndsay . The Complaynt of Scotland was an early printed work in Scots. The Eneados is a Middle Scots translation of Virgil 's Aeneid , completed by Gavin Douglas in 1513. After
29565-455: The first of James's powerful favourites. James was proclaimed an adult ruler in a ceremony of Entry to Edinburgh on 19 October 1579. Morton was executed on 2 June 1581, belatedly charged with complicity in Darnley's murder. On 8 August, James made Lennox the only duke in Scotland. The king, then fifteen years old, remained under the influence of Lennox for about one more year. Lennox was
29784-587: The first year of his reign, despite the smoothness of the succession and the warmth of his welcome: the Bye Plot and Main Plot , which led to the arrest of Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham and Walter Raleigh , among others. Those hoping for a change in government from James were disappointed at first when he kept Elizabeth's Privy Councillors in office, as secretly planned with Cecil, but James soon added long-time supporter Henry Howard and his nephew Thomas Howard to
30003-623: The government and its patronage. Even the powerful Carr fell into the Howard camp, hardly experienced for the responsibilities thrust upon him and often dependent on his intimate friend Thomas Overbury for assistance with government papers. Carr had an adulterous affair with Frances Howard, Countess of Essex , daughter of the Earl of Suffolk. James assisted Frances by securing an annulment of her marriage to free her to marry Carr, now Earl of Somerset. In summer 1615, however, it emerged that Overbury had been poisoned. He had died on 15 September 1613 in
30222-521: The improvements made to the town centre of Kilmarnock due to a £43 million investment, and local authority intervention to restore derelict buildings including the former Johnnie Walker bond building and the Opera House. In April 2018, East Ayrshire Council published a plan to protect and enhance the towns historic and listed buildings. Structures such as the former ABC cinema (previously the King's Theatre) on Titchfield Street has lay derelict since
30441-561: The king had personally appointed royal chaplain in 1579, rebuked him so sharply from the pulpit for having issued a proclamation so offensive to the clergy "that the king wept". After James escaped from Falkland on 27 June 1583, he assumed increasing control of his kingdom. He pushed through the Black Acts to assert royal authority over the Kirk, and denounced the writings of his former tutor Buchanan. Between 1584 and 1603, he established effective royal government and relative peace among
30660-504: The king to London after 1603. James's role as active literary participant and patron made him a defining figure in many respects for English Renaissance poetry and drama, which reached a pinnacle of achievement in his reign, but his patronage of the high style in the Scottish tradition, which included his ancestor James I of Scotland , became largely sidelined. From 1601, in the last years of Elizabeth's life, certain English politicians—notably her chief minister Robert Cecil —maintained
30879-473: The king's "head court", foreshadows his difficulties with the English House of Commons : "Hold no Parliaments," he tells Henry, "but for the necesitie of new Lawes, which would be but seldome". In the True Law , James maintains that the king owns his realm as a feudal lord owns his fief, because kings arose "before any estates or ranks of men, before any parliaments were holden, or laws made, and by them
31098-477: The king's person occurred in August 1600, when James was apparently assaulted by Alexander Ruthven , the younger brother of John Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie at Gowrie House , the seat of the Ruthvens. Ruthven was run through by James's page John Ramsay , and the Earl of Gowrie was killed in the ensuing fracas; there were few surviving witnesses. Given James's history with the Ruthvens and the fact that he owed them
31317-447: The land of Kilmarnock and assures any future line of succession. At the beginning of the 16th century, Kilmarnock was described as "a large village and of great repair" with nearby Kilmaurs notably larger than Kilmarnock. However, over the course of the next one hundred years, the expansion of Kilmarnock was evident. Its expansion led to Kilmarnock becoming larger than Kilmaurs and becoming Ayrshire 's largest inland centre and challenging
31536-622: The language in Scots. In September 2024, experts of the Council of Europe called on the UK Government to "boost support for regional and minority languages", including the Scots Language. The serious use of the Scots language for news, encyclopaediae, documentaries, etc., remains rare. It is reportedly reserved for niches where it is deemed acceptable, e.g. comedy, Burns Night or traditions' representations. Since 2016,
31755-574: The language used in different situations. Such an approach would be inappropriate for a Census." Thus, although it was acknowledged that the "inclusion of such a Census question would undoubtedly raise the profile of Scots", no question about Scots was, in the end, included in the 2001 Census. The Scottish Government's Pupils in Scotland Census 2008 found that 306 pupils spoke Scots as their main home language. A Scottish Government study in 2010 found that 85% of around 1000 respondents (being
31974-472: The last Tudor monarch of England and Ireland, who died childless. He continued to reign in all three kingdoms for 22 years, a period known as the Jacobean era , until his death in 1625. After the Union of the Crowns, he based himself in England (the largest of the three realms) from 1603, returning to Scotland only once, in 1617, and styled himself " King of Great Britain and Ireland ". He was an advocate of
32193-399: The last 20 years; traditional centres such as Ayr have been joined by new developments at Braehead and East Kilbride . This difficult economic climate is most visible in the town centre, the eastern part of which has been extensively redeveloped, with important historic buildings such as King Street Church and the town hall being demolished and Duke Street (the link from Kilmarnock Cross to
32412-458: The leather making industry in the town, and by 1837, local shoemakers were making in excess of 2,400 pairs of shoes and boots. In 1840, George Clark's shoe making company, established and based in the town, began exporting shoes to Brazil, using the merchant venture system which was created to allow producers to make use of any spare space on cargo ships. It is widely believed that Clark used cargo ships mostly carrying Kilmarnock whisky exports, and as
32631-571: The local dialect. Much of the material used was often Standard English disguised as Scots, which caused upset among proponents of Standard English and proponents of Scots alike. One example of the educational establishment's approach to Scots is, "Write a poem in Scots. (It is important not to be worried about spelling in this – write as you hear the sounds in your head.)", whereas guidelines for English require teaching pupils to be "writing fluently and legibly with accurate spelling and punctuation". A course in Scots language and culture delivered through
32850-508: The lords, ably assisted by John Maitland of Thirlestane , who led the government until 1592. An eight-man commission known as the Octavians brought some control over the ruinous state of James's finances in 1596, but it drew opposition from vested interests. It was disbanded within a year after a riot in Edinburgh, which was stoked by anti-Catholicism and led the court to withdraw to Linlithgow temporarily. One last Scottish attempt against
33069-528: The loss of Lennox, he continued to prefer male company. A suitable marriage, however, was necessary to reinforce his rule, and the choice fell on fourteen-year-old Anne of Denmark , younger daughter of the Protestant Danish king Frederick II . Shortly after a proxy marriage in Copenhagen in August 1589, Anne sailed for Scotland but was forced by storms to the coast of Norway. On hearing that
33288-461: The maintenance of roads. Following the 1767 act, numerous new and improved roads were completed in the town, such as roads linking Kilmarnock with Ayr , Irvine , Kilmaurs , Stewarton , Kingswell and Flockbridge. An additional act, the Ayrshire Turnpike Act 1774, named a total of 39 new roads for Ayrshire, and included several roads in and around Kilmarnock to link the town with Symington , Riccarton, Dundonald and Hurlford . Improved roads around
33507-411: The manufacturing of carpets . Blackwood and Morton of Kilmarnock (BMK) ceased production and closed in 2005, following the closure of Stoddard Carpets and at this time, Stoddard Carpets was the oldest carpet manufacturing company still in operation at that time in Scotland. Carpets manufactured in Kilmarnock were internationally known for their quality and intricacy since the late 19th century. Shoe making
33726-415: The medium of Standard English and produced by the Open University (OU) in Scotland, the Open University's School of Languages and Applied Linguistics as well as Education Scotland became available online for the first time in December 2019. In the 2011 Scottish census , a question on Scots language ability was featured In the 2022 census conducted by the Scottish Government , a question in relation to
33945-421: The military, as had been expected during the war effort. A considerable effort began to construct "homes for heroes" in Kilmarnock following World War II, taking "years, even decades, to complete". New companies opened in Kilmarnock by the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as Glacier Metal Massey–Harris. The first post–war housing scheme in Kilmarnock, at Shortlees, was completed by the 1960s, followed by Bellfield by
34164-422: The necessary finance, they prevailed upon James to call another Parliament, which met in February 1624. For once, the outpouring of anti-Catholic sentiment in the Commons was echoed in court, where control of policy was shifting from James to Charles and Buckingham, who pressured the king to declare war and engineered the impeachment of Lord Treasurer Lionel Cranfield, by now made Earl of Middlesex , when he opposed
34383-407: The negotiations for almost a decade. The policy was supported by the Howards and other Catholic-leaning ministers and diplomats—together known as the Spanish Party—but deeply distrusted in Protestant England. When Walter Raleigh was released from imprisonment in 1616, he embarked on a hunt for gold in South America with strict instructions from James not to engage the Spanish. Raleigh's expedition
34602-420: The newspaper The National has regularly published articles in the language. The 2010s also saw an increasing number of English books translated in Scots and becoming widely available, particularly those in popular children's fiction series such as The Gruffalo , Harry Potter , Diary of a Wimpy Kid , and several by Roald Dahl and David Walliams . In 2021, the music streaming service Spotify created
34821-421: The north. Today the town is served by Kilmarnock railway station , which operates services from the town to all major locations in Scotland connecting with Stranraer for the ferries to the Port of Belfast as well as Larne Harbour in Northern Ireland and as far as Carlisle and Newcastle in England. Despite an expensive upgrade to the railway station clock in 2008, it was announced in December 2022 following
35040-401: The old court Scots, but with an orthography that had abandoned some of the more distinctive old Scots spellings and adopted many standard English spellings. Despite the updated spelling, however, the rhymes make it clear that a Scots pronunciation was intended. These writings also introduced what came to be known as the apologetic apostrophe , generally occurring where a consonant exists in
35259-408: The old town centre. Despite the growth in population of Kilmarnock, the town did not grow in terms of proportion, and construction of new building took place mostly on "gap sites", the construction of houses at Robertson Place by the Kilmarnock Building Company, being an exception. This expansion led to the town becoming a major centre in the west of Scotland. By 1856, Kilmarnock was widely regarded as
35478-446: The older sister of Henry VIII . Mary's rule over Scotland was insecure, and she and her husband, being Roman Catholics , faced a rebellion by Protestant noblemen. During Mary's and Darnley's difficult marriage, Darnley secretly allied himself with the rebels and conspired in the murder of the queen's private secretary, David Rizzio , just three months before James's birth. James was born on 19 June 1566 at Edinburgh Castle , and as
35697-642: The opening of King Street , Portland Street, and Wellington Street. Added later was John Finnie Street, which is regarded as "one of the finest Victorian planned streets in Scotland." The Sandbed Street Bridge is the oldest known surviving bridge in the area. During the 19th century, the traditional cottage crafts in the town which had been "around for generations", expanded and grew into major industries. A number of Kilmarnock industries established both national and international reputations, such as leather makers who were sought to make items such as belts, saddles and other leather goods. Boots and shoes began to dominate
35916-421: The opening of the Odeon cinema at Queens Drive. Buildings such as this are considered to be irreplaceable listed buildings. East Ayrshire Council has committed to regenerating the town, with buildings such as the former Opera House on John Finnie Street which was destroyed by fire in the late 1980s, being reconstructed with its original facade retained and is now office space for East Ayrshire Council. The end of
36135-592: The opposition in the East Ayrshire parliament with their leader, Maureen McKay alongside the Scottish Conservative Party, independent councillors and one councillor elected from local campaign group party, The Rubbish Party . Kilmarnock is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council , with the council headquarters and debating chamber situated on the London Road. In local council elections, Kilmarnock comprises four wards: Kilmarnock North , Kilmarnock East and Hurlford , Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse , and Kilmarnock South . The current leader of East Ayrshire Council
36354-401: The other. Scots is sometimes regarded as a variety of English, though it has its own distinct dialects; other scholars treat Scots as a distinct Germanic language, in the way that Norwegian is closely linked to but distinct from Danish . Native speakers sometimes refer to their vernacular as braid Scots (or "broad Scots" in English) or use a dialect name such as the " Doric " or
36573-497: The past (e.g. Corby or the former mining areas of Kent ). In the 2022 census conducted by the Scottish Government , it was found that 1,508,540 people reported that they could speak Scots, with 2,444,659 reporting that they could speak, read, write or understand Scots, approximately 45% of Scotland's 2022 population. Among the earliest Scots literature is John Barbour's Brus (fourteenth century), Wyntoun 's Cronykil and Blind Harry 's The Wallace (fifteenth century). From
36792-422: The plan on grounds of cost. The outcome of the Parliament of 1624 was ambiguous: James still refused to declare or fund a war, but Charles believed the Commons had committed themselves to finance a war against Spain, a stance that was to contribute to his problems with Parliament in his own reign. After the Gunpowder Plot, James sanctioned harsh measures to control English Catholics. In May 1606, Parliament passed
37011-422: The prospect of a Spanish dowry from a marriage between Charles, Prince of Wales, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain . The policy of the Spanish match , as it was called, was also attractive to James as a way to maintain peace with Spain and avoid the additional costs of a war. Peace could be maintained as effectively by keeping the negotiations alive as by consummating the match—which may explain why James protracted
37230-404: The region was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria . By the tenth century, Middle Irish was the language of the Scottish court , and the common use of Old English remained largely confined to this area until the thirteenth century. The succeeding variety of Northern Early Middle English spoken in southeastern Scotland is also known as Early Scots . It began to further diverge from
37449-413: The remainder had some degree of skill, such as understanding Scots (0.27 million, 5.2%) or being able to speak it but not read or write it (0.18 million, 3.5%). There were also small numbers of Scots speakers recorded in England and Wales on the 2011 Census, with the largest numbers being either in bordering areas (e.g. Carlisle ) or in areas that had recruited large numbers of Scottish workers in
37668-427: The repeal of anti-Catholic legislation by Parliament. Though a treaty was signed, Charles and Buckingham returned to England in October without the infanta and immediately renounced the treaty, much to the delight of the British people. Disillusioned by the visit to Spain, Charles and Buckingham now turned James's Spanish policy upon its head and called for a French match and a war against the Habsburg empire. To raise
37887-639: The route and James was amazed by the wealth of his new land and subjects, claiming that he was "swapping a stony couch for a deep feather bed". James arrived in the capital on 7 May, nine days after Elizabeth's funeral. His new subjects flocked to see him, relieved that the succession had triggered neither unrest nor invasion. On arrival at London, he was mobbed by a crowd of spectators. James's English coronation took place on 25 July at Westminster Abbey . An outbreak of plague restricted festivities. The Royal Entry to London with elaborate allegories provided by dramatic poets such as Thomas Dekker and Ben Jonson
38106-400: The same result, although a third attempt in 1607 was more successful. The Statutes of Iona were enacted in 1609, which required clan chiefs to provide support for Protestant ministers to Highland parishes; to outlaw bards; to report regularly to Edinburgh to answer for their actions; and to send their heirs to Lowland Scotland , to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. So began
38325-462: The seventeenth century, anglicisation increased. At the time, many of the oral ballads from the borders and the North East were written down. Writers of the period were Robert Sempill , Robert Sempill the younger , Francis Sempill , Lady Wardlaw and Lady Grizel Baillie . In the eighteenth century, writers such as Allan Ramsay , Robert Burns , James Orr , Robert Fergusson and Walter Scott continued to use Scots – Burns's " Auld Lang Syne "
38544-492: The skilled diplomacy of the delegation, in particular Robert Cecil and Henry Howard, now Earl of Northampton . James celebrated the treaty by hosting a great banquet. Freedom of worship for Catholics in England, however, continued to be a major objective of Spanish policy, causing constant dilemmas for James, distrusted abroad for repression of Catholics while at home being encouraged by the Privy Council to show even less tolerance towards them. A dissident Catholic, Guy Fawkes ,
38763-403: The support of Catholics in England, so he assured Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland , a prominent sympathiser of the old religion, that he would not persecute "any that will be quiet and give but an outward obedience to the law". In the Millenary Petition of 1603, the Puritan clergy demanded the abolition of confirmation , wedding rings, and the term "priest", among other things, and that
38982-421: The supremacy of the royal burghs of Ayr and Irvine . During the 19th century, due to the growing rate of expansion due to the industrial expansion, Kilmarnock's population growth increased significantly from 6,000 in 1800, 21,000 in 1851 and 35,000 by 1901. In the early nineteenth century, Kilmarnock was developed considerably, with the town improvement committee creating plans to improve the road network around
39201-408: The suspected source of a small number of Scots words, such as lum (derived from Cumbric) meaning "chimney". From the thirteenth century, the Early Scots language spread further into Scotland via the burghs , which were proto-urban institutions first established by King David I . In fourteenth-century Scotland, the growth in prestige of Early Scots and the complementary decline of French made Scots
39420-412: The third consecutive Scottish monarch to ascend to the throne as an infant. The care of James was entrusted to the Earl and Countess of Mar , "to be conserved, nursed, and upbrought" in the security of Stirling Castle. James was anointed King of Scotland at the age of thirteen months at the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling, by Adam Bothwell , Bishop of Orkney , on 29 July 1567. The sermon at
39639-426: The three Gaelic elements mo , 'my', Ernán (name of the saint) and the diminutive ag , giving Church of My Little Ernán . According to tradition, the saint founded a church there in the 7th century. The name Kilmarnock literally means "Marnock's Church". There are 12 Church of Scotland congregations in the town, plus other denominations. In 2005, the Reverend David W. Lacy , minister of the town's Henderson Church,
39858-424: The time it was absorbed by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in 1923. Some work continued, but heavy repairs were sent to St Rollox . Locomotive repairs finished in 1952, and the works closed in 1959. Nevertheless, locomotives are still made by Brodie Engineering, as well as the maintenance of existing diesel and electric multiple units. From 1949 self-propelled combine harvesters were built in Kilmarnock in
40077-419: The title was not used on English statutes. James forced the Scottish Parliament to use it, and it was used on proclamations, coinage, letters, and treaties in both realms. James achieved more success in foreign policy. Never having been at war with Spain, he devoted his efforts to bringing the long Anglo–Spanish War to an end, and a peace treaty was signed between the two countries in August 1604, thanks to
40296-435: The torture of women accused of being witches. After 1599, his views became more sceptical. In a later letter written in England to his son Henry, James congratulates the prince on "the discovery of yon little counterfeit wench. I pray God ye may be my heir in such discoveries ... most miracles now-a-days prove but illusions, and ye may see by this how wary judges should be in trusting accusations". The forcible dissolution of
40515-403: The town and neighbour village Crosshouse . The town was previously served by the Kilmarnock Infirmary which opened in 1868 in Portland Street, to meet the growing population of the town. The original building was designed by the prolific Kilmarnock architect, William Atkinson Railton. The foundation stone was laid in September 1867 and the building opened in October 1868. A children's block and
40734-457: The town as they considered the narrow streets that had been in place at the time to be a hindrance for potential trade and development. Plans for new grid-based streets were developed following the consideration of the town improvement committee which resulted in thoroughfares through King Street , Titchfield Street, John Finnie Street and surrounding roadways. The full planned course of the development were never fully completed, resulting in many of
40953-449: The town centre and Utopia Computers also have their headquarters and main site situated in Kilmarnock in High Glencairn Street. Kilmarnock is also home to The HALO Urban Regeneration with a focus on digital learning, inspiration to innovative thinking and providing a conducive environment for spin-out, new-start, scale-ups, digital, manufacturing and cyber businesses. HALO is set to provide £205 million of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to
41172-419: The town had a positive effect on trade and business in Kilmarnock. By the start of the 19th century, William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland , wanted "the best way" to transport coal between Kilmarnock and the seaside settlement of Troon for onward shipping. In 1812, the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway opened, the first railway in Scotland, mainly to carry coal from the area to the harbour at Troon, but also had
41391-423: The town in the 19th century and was produced and bottled at the Hill Street plant until closure in 2012, following an announcement by owners Diageo in 2009 that the plant would close as part of company restructuring. The name Kilmarnock comes from the Gaelic cill ( cell ), and the name of Saint Marnock or Mernoc who is also remembered in the name of Portmarnock in Ireland and Inchmarnock . It may come from
41610-416: The town. In 1974, the Foregate pedestrianised shopping area was opened, to be followed by a new bus station, a multistorey car park, a civic centre, and a re-shaped central precinct for the town. The textile and manufacturing sectors across Scotland suffered significant decline in the post-war period and in particular from the 1960s, in the face of greater foreign competition. Kilmarnock was no exception, with
41829-484: The towns older streets and lanes within the new grid-based developments, including Bank Street, Croft Street and Nelson Street not being redeveloped. The refurbished streets were lined with commercial properties, and John Finnie Street is considered one of the most complete examples of Victorian architecture in Scotland. Although never granted the title of royal burgh , largely due to its geography as an inland settlement with no port to enhance trade at sea, Kilmarnock, as
42048-697: The twentieth-century biographer of James Boswell (1740–1795), described James's view of the use of Scots by his father Alexander Boswell (1706–1782) in the eighteenth century while serving as a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland : He scorned modern literature, spoke broad Scots from the bench, and even in writing took no pains to avoid the Scotticisms which most of his colleagues were coming to regard as vulgar. However, others did scorn Scots, such as Scottish Enlightenment intellectuals David Hume and Adam Smith , who went to great lengths to get rid of every Scotticism from their writings. Following such examples, many well-off Scots took to learning English through
42267-423: The varieties of Scots are dialects of Scottish English or constitute a separate language in their own right. The UK government now accepts Scots as a regional language and has recognised it as such under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . Notwithstanding the UK government's and the Scottish Executive's obligations under part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages,
42486-450: The war memorial to commemorate local men who died during World War II, and later, plaques to commemorate those who fought in the Korean War were added.The first post–war housing scheme in Kilmarnock, at Shortlees, was completed by the 1960s, followed by Bellfield by the end of the decade. Following the second World War, many of the towns factories and production sites had to be transformed into meeting civil needs, rather than those needs of
42705-438: The wearing of cap and surplice become optional. James was strict in enforcing conformity at first, inducing a sense of persecution amongst many Puritans; but ejections and suspensions from livings became rarer as the reign continued. As a result of the Hampton Court Conference of 1604, some Puritan demands were acceded to in the 1604 Book of Common Prayer , though many remained displeased. The conference also commissioned
42924-465: The whole body of the State in general". The sensational discovery of the "Gunpowder Plot", as it quickly became known, aroused a mood of national relief at the delivery of the king and his sons. The Earl of Salisbury exploited this to extract higher subsidies from the ensuing Parliament than any but one granted to Elizabeth. Fawkes and others implicated in the unsuccessful conspiracy were executed. The co-operation between monarch and Parliament following
43143-411: The whole of the Ayrshire region), paediatric inpatient services, a Combined Assessment Unit and Ayrshire Doctors on Call (ADOC). A new maternity unit, which replaced a similar facility at Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine was opened in the grounds of the hospital in 2006. In March 2012, the hospital officially became University Hospital Crosshouse as a result of a partnership with the University of
43362-431: The wider East Ayrshire geographical area. Kilmarnock became the administrative centre for the newly formed East Ayrshire Council, with the council purchasing the former James Hamilton Academy building on London Road for £1. The building was refurbished and has since been the meeting place for elected councillors, the cabinet of East Ayrshire Council and is the main seat for the Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council,
43581-456: The young king's senior tutor, Buchanan subjected James to regular beatings but also instilled in him a lifelong passion for literature and learning. Buchanan sought to turn James into a God-fearing, Protestant king who accepted the limitations of monarchy, as outlined in his treatise De Jure Regni apud Scotos . In 1568, Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle, leading to several years of sporadic violence. The Earl of Moray defeated Mary's troops at
43800-406: Was a "quite modern mistake". During the first half of the twentieth century, knowledge of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literary norms waned, and as of 2006 , there is no institutionalised standard literary form. By the 1940s, the Scottish Education Department 's language policy was that Scots had no value: "it is not the language of 'educated' people anywhere, and could not be described as
44019-538: Was a disastrous failure, and his son Walter was killed fighting the Spanish. On Raleigh's return to England, James had him executed to the indignation of the public, who opposed the appeasement of Spain. James's policy was further jeopardised by the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War , especially after his Protestant son-in-law, Frederick V, Elector Palatine , was ousted from Bohemia by the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand II in 1620, and Spanish troops simultaneously invaded Frederick's Rhineland home territory. Matters came to
44238-435: Was a dominating industry during the height of Kilmarnock's industrial strength, with both Clarks and Saxone Shoes producing shoes from warehouses within the town. The Saxone Shoe factory in Kilmarnock was the largest shoe production factory in operation in Scotland with a staff base of 1,000 employees at the plants peak. Saxone Shoes was bought by the British Sears group and became defunct when Sears sold it to Stylo . Coal
44457-486: Was already unpopular, and her marriage on 15 May 1567 to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell , who was widely suspected of murdering Darnley, heightened widespread bad feeling towards her. In June 1567, Protestant rebels arrested Mary and imprisoned her in Lochleven Castle ; she never saw her son again. She was forced to abdicate on 24 July 1567 in favour of the infant James and to appoint her illegitimate half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray , as regent . This made James
44676-516: Was built in 1805 and demolished in the 1970s. The growth of Kilmarnock in population and geographical area swallowed up the old separate village communities of Beansburn, Bonnyton , and Riccarton. This led to such communities and villages around the town losing their identities due to the process of rehousing people who were dispersed to the new housing schemes. These large new housing areas lacked adequate shopping and recreational facilities, and most of them were not within convenient walking distance of
44895-542: Was constructed to allow trade to flow from the town much easier. The line opened in 1812, and was the first railway in Scotland to obtain an authorising Act of Parliament; it would soon also become the first railway in Scotland to use a steam locomotive; the first to carry passengers; and the River Irvine bridge, Laigh Milton Viaduct , is the earliest railway viaduct in Scotland. It was a plateway , using L-shaped iron plates as rails, to carry wagons with flangeless wheels. In 1841, when more modern railways had developed throughout
45114-472: Was deferred to 15 March 1604. Dekker wrote that "the streets seemed to be paved with men; stalls instead of rich wares were set out with children; open casements filled up with women". The kingdom to which James succeeded, however, had its problems. Monopolies and taxation had engendered a widespread sense of grievance, and the costs of war in Ireland had become a heavy burden on the government, which had debts of £400,000. James survived two conspiracies in
45333-437: Was discovered in the cellars of the parliament buildings on the night of 4–5 November 1605, the eve of the state opening of the second session of James's first English Parliament. Fawkes was guarding a pile of wood not far from 36 barrels of gunpowder with which he intended to blow up Parliament House the following day and cause the destruction, as James put it, "not only ... of my person, nor of my wife and posterity also, but of
45552-405: Was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . The town's precise origins are largely unclear, however, it is believed that a community was established between the fifth–seventh centuries at the Laigh Kirk Church by a Saint Marnock. The earliest known mention of the town was in the 14th century, with Clan Boyd coming to prominence in the area during that time, building
45771-455: Was free to concentrate on bigger issues, such as a scheme for a closer union between England and Scotland and matters of foreign policy, as well as to enjoy his leisure pursuits, particularly hunting. James was ambitious to build on the personal union of Scotland and England to establish a single country under one monarch, one parliament, and one law, a plan that met opposition in both realms. "Hath He not made us all in one island," James told
45990-595: Was increasingly influenced by the developing Standard English of Southern England due to developments in royal and political interactions with England. When William Flower , an English herald , spoke with Mary of Guise and her councillors in 1560, they first used the "Scottyshe toung" . As he found this hard to understand, they switched into her native French. King James VI , who in 1603 became James I of England , observed in his work Some Reulis and Cautelis to Be Observit and Eschewit in Scottis Poesie that "For albeit sindrie hes written of it in English, quhilk
46209-667: Was known as the king's mistress. After his accession in England, his peaceful and scholarly attitude contrasted strikingly with the bellicose and flirtatious behaviour of Elizabeth, as indicated by the contemporary epigram Rex fuit Elizabeth, nunc est regina Iacobus (Elizabeth was King, now James is Queen). Some of James's biographers conclude that Esmé Stewart, Duke of Lennox; Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset ; and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, were his lovers. John Oglander observed that he "never yet saw any fond husband make so much or so great dalliance over his beautiful spouse as I have seen King James over his favourites, especially
46428-434: Was mined within the vicinity of Kilmarnock, with former mines being located within the areas of Grange, Bonnyton and Portland. Quarrying took place at areas such as Dean, Holm and elsewhere, with clay works for bricks and tiles being produced in Gargieston. Clay was also made into sanitary ware at Hillhead, Longpark and Bonnyton, with the produced products being exported extensively from Kilmarnock. Garden produce relied on
46647-415: Was not enough linguistic self-awareness amongst the Scottish populace, with people still thinking of themselves as speaking badly pronounced, grammatically inferior English rather than Scots, for an accurate census to be taken. The GRO research concluded that "[a] more precise estimate of genuine Scots language ability would require a more in-depth interview survey and may involve asking various questions about
46866-434: Was originally produced, blended and bottled at the Johnnie Walker Bond building, known as "The Bond", in the town centre. Operations continued from The Bond until September 1956 when a new, state of the art and sector leading production plant was opened at Hill Street in the town. At the time of opening in 1956, the Hill Street plant was the world's largest bottling plant. In 2009, to much public backlash as well as backlash from
47085-414: Was pending, allowing work to be finished on a quality housing development on the site of the former Kilmarnock Infirmary , north of the town centre, which was completed by local property development company The KLIN Group . With a journey time of 20 minutes from Kilmarnock to Glasgow , the M77 motorway received an extensive upgrade in 2005 to accommodate Kilmarnock's emerging status as a commuter town. As
47304-402: Was seriously ill from 1617. James visited Anne only three times during her last illness. She died before her husband , in March 1619. James's visit to Denmark, a country familiar with witch-hunts , sparked an interest in the study of witchcraft , which he considered a branch of theology. He attended the North Berwick witch trials , the first major persecution of witches in Scotland under
47523-414: Was the land distributed, which at first was wholly theirs. And so it follows of necessity that kings were the authors and makers of the laws, and not the laws of the kings." In the 1580s and 1590s, James promoted the literature of his native country. He published his treatise Some Rules and Cautions to be Observed and Eschewed in Scottish Prosody in 1584 at the age of 18. It was both a poetic manual and
47742-432: Was the notion of "Scottishness" itself. Many leading Scots of the period, such as David Hume , defined themselves as Northern British rather than Scottish. They attempted to rid themselves of their Scots in a bid to establish standard English as the official language of the newly formed union. Nevertheless, Scots was still spoken across a wide range of domains until the end of the eighteenth century. Frederick Pottle ,
47961-439: Was translated into Scots by Rab Wilson and published in 2004. Alexander Hutchison has translated the poetry of Catullus into Scots, and in the 1980s, Liz Lochhead produced a Scots translation of Tartuffe by Molière . J. K. Annand translated poetry and fiction from German and Medieval Latin into Scots. The strip cartoons Oor Wullie and The Broons in the Sunday Post use some Scots. In 2018, Harry Potter and
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