New Kilmarnock
Fenwick is a parish in Cunningham, Ayrshire. It is bounded on the north by Renfrewshire, on the east by Loudon, on the south by Kilmarnock, and on the west by Stewarton. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Fenwick or Kirktown of Fenwick, Rose-Fenwick, Upper Fenwick, Waterside
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
At the desire of the General Assembly the parish of Fenwick was disjoined from Kilmarnock, and erected by Parliament, 9 October 1641. The parish was annexed by the Synod to the Presbytery of Glasgow 17 October 1677, but was retransferred to that of Irvine in 1689. Fenwick Church was built in 1643.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1644-1854 | Fenwick | 592 | OPR |
| 1855-1968 | Fenwick | 592 | RD |
| 2009 | East Ayrshire | 666 | RD |
| 2026 | East Ayrshire Council; Fenwick Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Alexander, Craig, Currie, Dunlop, Fulton, Gemmill, Lindsay, Thomson, Watt, Young
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr William Boyd.
"Besides the village here called Fenwick-town, there is another called, from its situation, the Kirktown. It contains about 42 families. The other contains about 36 families. The prevailing trades in the Kirktown are shoemakers; in Fenwick-town, weavers. The last is increasing in houses and inhabitants. All the other inhabitants of the parish are farmers.
The number of families, including the two villages, is about 244. The average number in each family will be 5, or rather more. Of these, the great majority are of the class called Burgher-Seceders, who left the Establishment at the settlement of the present incumbent. Also a considerable number of Antiburghers, of old standing; and those who call themselves the Reformed Presbytery, or those who adhere to the covenanted work of Reformation.
In the parish, there are 46 weavers' looms, of which are 14 muslin looms; and, I believe, there will soon be more. There are 16 shoemakers, 5 tailors and their apprentices, 3 wrights' shops, 3 coopers, and 1 flax-dresser. We have 9 masons, and 2 malt-men. It is now more common for the sons of farmers to be bound apprentices to some of these trades than formerly.
In every place, a diversity of characters is to be met with; and we are not without our share of the unruly and regardless. But the people, in general, are sober and industrious. Some few have enlisted into the army. In their circumstances, the people are, upon the whole, easy, and have reason to be contented."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 14, p. 51
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 5, Section I, p. 773
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
