Historic Mauchline

Archaeology and Development

by E Patricia Dennison, Dennis Gallagher & Gordon Ewart

Mauchline first appeared in the historical record in the 12th century, when it was granted to the Cistercian abbey of Melrose. It served as the administrative centre of a monastic estate until the Reformation and the 15th-century Abbot Hunters Tower still stands in the heart of the medieval town as testament to its importance in this era.

Granted the status of a burgh in 1510 and situated at a junction of the road from Glasgow to Dumfries and the old route from Ayr to Edinburgh, Mauchline was well placed to serve as a market town and in 1707, when the lands passed to the Earl of Loudon, the rights to a weekly market and two annual fairs were documented.

The later 18th century witnessed the arrival of the town’s most famous resident, the poet Robert Bums. The town’s connections with Bums have been well documented elsewhere and this volume serves to better illuminate other facets of Mauchline’s fascinating history, economy and development up to the present day. The authors look at the archaeological potential of key sites in the town, to direct more detailed research and further the conservation of Mauchline’s heritage.

Info: 70pp, full-colour broadsheet, 30 b&w illustrations;
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