Ayrshire Miners' Rows
In the days of the private mine owner, family accomodation of varying
quality was provided for their employees in what became known as Miners
Rows.
A report on these rows was produced in 1913, which can be read on the
Ayrshire History
website at www.ayrshirehistory.org.uk/Bibliography/monos/amr.pdf
(note that this an Adobe Acrobat pdf file for which you will require the
free reader software).
Mentions of Muirkirk in this report include:-
Ayrshire had 14,000 coal miners producing 4 million tons annually
- for household use; for factories; for the blast furnaces of Glengarnock,
Kilwinning, Stevenston, Waterside, Lugar and Muirkirk; for the locomotives
of the Glasgow and South Western Railway; and for export to Ireland through
Ardrossan, Troon, and Ayr.
MUIRKIRK SOUTH, PARISH OF MUIRKIRK.
Owned by Wm. Baird & Co. General Notes.
Muirkirk South is a considerable village on the south side of the River
Ayr from Muirkirk proper. It is built in rows, having 237 dwellings, with
a population of 1064, exclusive of official’ houses and of Linkieburn,
most of which is tenanted by Spaniards, making it a little difficult to
get exact figures. It belongs to Messrs. William Baird & Co., Ltd.,
and is tenanted chiefly by miners. In Linkieburn and Linkieburn Square
there are a number of furnace workers, the Muirkirk furnaces being quite
near.
Linkieburn.
The document available on the Ayrshire
History website is a transcription of the original report and gives
a good flavour of living conditions in Muirkirk, Glenbuck and other areas
at that period of time
|
