Ayrshire Heritage

by Andrew Boyle

Andrew Boyle has written several books on the history of Ayrshire including Ayrshire Heritage and the Burns lore of Ayrshire.

He started his talk by pointing out that although it is essential to maintain historical buildings the true heritage of Ayrshire lies in the achievements of its sons and daughters. For its size Scotland has made an astonishing contribution to developments in the world and Ayrshire folk have featured high in these achievements. For this talk, Andrew had selected three people born in Ayrshire who had gone on to enjoy success in the world.

William Reid:
William was born in 1822 and was a late member of a big family living on a small farm with a limited income. He went to school in Riccarton and experienced great problems with a bad chest such that the school doctor pointed out that he had to get out of Ayrshire and seek a warmer climate. At the age of 13 years, and with five pounds in his pocket given to him by his father, William gained a working passage on a ship heading south. Eventually, William arrived in Madeira which he described as heaven. At this time Madeira was not a holiday centre and there were no entertainments or hotels or luxury apartments. He gained a job in a bakery run by a German family and worked and saved the 10 years until at the age of 24 he decided to go into business on his own as a wine merchant. Madeira wine was becoming very popular in Europe and William built a very successful business.

Despite his success, William had always dreamt of building a beautiful hotel on the Madeira cliff tops and when the Madeira wine trade fell on hard times, he bought a villa on the island which he turned into a holiday home for top-class aristocracy. This venture was a great success and he bought more villas and became increasingly wealthy. Eventually, William achieved his complete dream when he built the Madeira Palace Hotel high on the cliff tops overlooking the sea and built to the highest and finest standards for the rich and famous. William died at 66 years old shortly before the project was finished, but his hotel still flourishes and carries his name.

James Thorn:

At 13 years old, James was probably living in Kilmarnock, and was already working as a self-taught stonemason. By 18 or 19 years all, James was working on a headstone in Cosbie Kirk in the parish of Dundonald. A Mr all wanted a statue of burdens and been impressed by the work of James Thorn commissioned him to sculpt a bust. This was so successful that James became a full-time sculptor and received many commissions.

Amongst these commissions were the statues of Tam O'Shanter, Souter Johnnie, the Inn keeper and his wife. These were the first visual images ever produced of these characters from Robert Burn's famous poem and so James Thorn is therefore responsible for establishing our mental pictures of these famous faces which have been repeated in paintings and drawings ever since. James also created the statue of William Wallace that stands in a small niche high up in a wall at the end of Newmarket Street.

As James fame spread, he held many exhibitions in Europe and America.

James died in 1849/50 of tuberculosis.

Tom Garvin:
Tom was born in Galston in the Newmills area in 1686. As a student of medicine at Glasgow University he supported himself by working in the physic Garden where they grew herbs for medicinal purposes. Once qualified, Tom travelled Europe.

When Peter the Great became Czar of Russia he decided to make Russia more modern. He called in many people of all skills, many from Scotland, and amongst them, Tom Garvin took up practice in St Petersburg. The Emperor of China sent an envoy to Russia asking for doctors to be sent to increase the venery and improve the sex life in the Chinese court. Tom Garvin was amongst a group of doctors selected by Peter the Great to travel to China. The group set out in 1713 and 12 out through the mosque or Urals, Siberia, Lake Bakal and Mongolia and on to the China wall. Tom was therefore one of the first Scots to see the China wall and he finally ended up at the Chinese court having travelled the distance of all the 4500 miles.

The Emperor of China was very impressed with the work undertaken by the group of doctors and he gave them many gifts. Tom finally returned to Scotland and married the sister of the Earl of Eglington and became Provost of Ayr. He still holds the record for being the Provost of Ayr seven times running.

Tom Garvin was a remarkable man.

Inspired by Andrew's talk we are setting up a database of Ayrshire's 'Famous Names'. If you would like to make any suggestions or contributions, please contact us.

John Rattenbury.