Kilbirnie

Coordinates: 55°45′18″N 4°41′10″W / 55.755°N 4.686°W / 55.755; -4.686

Kilbirnie (Gaelic Cill Bhraonaigh) is a small town of 7642 inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around 20 miles (30 km) south-west of Glasgow and approximately 10 miles (16 km) from Paisley and Irvine respectively. Historically, the town built up around the flax and weaving industries before iron and steelmaking took over in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The suburb of Kilbirnie in the New Zealand capital of Wellington is named after the town.

History

Archaeological digs conducted in the 19th century have shown that the area was inhabited during the Bronze Age. A crannog with a connecting causeway was discovered in Kilbirnie Loch. The town derived its name from the parish church, the "Auld Kirk". In 1740 there were only three houses; the population grew to 959 people by 1801. Half a century later, and the town had grown substantially. In 1851 Kilbirnie contained 5,484 people, due to the Industrial Revolution, hastened by the locality of the Ayr and Glasgow railways. During this time the town was a hub of industrial activity with 2 flax-spinning mills, linen-thread mills, wincey factories, 5 fishing-net factories, 2 rope-works, engineering works, mines and ironworks. The steelworks opened in 1841 and quickly became the main industry in the area causing an inpouring of people and during the early to mid 20th Century the town grew to its height of around 10,000 people. However, the industry entered a decline and was eventually closed. The Decoy Bride a film starring David Tennant and Kelly Macdonald was partially filmed in Kilbirnie.

Kilbirnie (disambiguation)

Kilbirnie is a town in Ayrshire, Scotland. Kilbirnie may also refer to:

In Ayrshire

Elsewhere