Irvine, North Ayrshire

Irvine is a coastal new town in Ayrshire, Scotland, administered by North Ayrshire council.

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Irvine Royal Burgh Crest

The town was once a haunt of none other than Robert Burns, who now has two streets in the town named after him, Burns Street and Burns Crescent. Despite being classed as a new town, Irvine has had a long history stretching back many centuries and was classed as a Royal Burgh. There are also conflicting rumours that Mary, Queen of Scots was briefly involved in the towns history. Some say she stayed briefly at Seagate Castle. To this day there is still an annual festival, called Marymass held in the town.

Harbour History

The harbour for Irvine has had a long history and once was one of the most prominent ports in Scotland after Glasgow. Across from the main harbour itself there was a terminal for the ICI-Nobel Explosives plant on the River Garnock. Much of the harbour went into decline in the 19th Century when Glasgow, Greenock and Port Glasgow achieved higher prominence as sea ports. Despite this, there was still commercial sea traffic though the harbour went into further decline in the 20th Century. A shipyard, Ayrshire shipbuilding remained active until after World War II, though it's last ship was built just prior to the war. Afterwards it was involved in refitting ships and also in the manufacture of fitting for liners including the Queen Elizabeth 2. Irvine Harbour is now officially closed as a commercial port and now houses a small number of pleasure craft. It is also now home to part of the Scottish Maritime Museum.

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Irvine Pilot House and Tidal Indicator

Irvine Harbour is home to a unique and distinctive building which marked the tide level. Built in 1906 and devised by Martin Boyd, the Harbour Master at that time. The tide was marked in two ways depending on the time of day. During daylight, the level was marked with a ball and pulley system attached to the mast. At night, a number of lamps marked the tidal level. Unfortunately the building has fallen into some disrepair. The mast has been partially dismantled.

New Town Development

Unlike most New Towns which were either completely new build or only had small villages near them, Irvine was already a sizeable town. A company, Irvine Development Corporation was set up in the 1960's to oversee the development of Irvine which involved massive and sometimes controversial development to the old parts of the town. IDC was widely criticised for some of their actions including the demolition of many historical buildings. One positive development of IDC's was the Irvine Beach Park. This area, behind the harbour had been largely industrial wasteland for many years and was regarded as an eyesore. The area was developed with vast amounts of greenery making it a pleasant place to walk.

The beach itself for many years was criticised for its lack of cleanliness due to an extremely dated outflow pipe from the sewage system and regularly was classed as one of the dirtiest beaches in Scotland.

Constituency

The Westminster Constituency of Central Ayrshire is held by the Labour Party. The Member of Parliament is Brian Donohoe.

Transport

Irvine is well served with numerous transport links. A railway station, originally built by the Glasgow and South Western Railway company, is situationed at the west end of the town which is on the main line between Stranraer and Glasgow. The rail company responsible for local routes is First ScotRail who operate the carmine and cream liveried Diesel and Electric Multiple units of Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive. Bus routes are centred round Irvine Cross, though some routes have been diverted to nearby Bank Street. These routes are primarily operated by the companies First Group and Stagecoach.

There are two primary road crossings over the River Irvine, the most southerly of which has been critiscised for some years. It is situated on the site of the former Irvine-Kilmarnock rail link which has long since been closed. The bridge over the river there has long been unsuitable for heavy traffic being of a Bailey Bridge design which has been constantly repaired over the years.

Further Reading

• Pettigrew, D (1997) Old Irvine