Cumnock
| Cumnock | |
| Ayrshire | |
|---|---|
 Murray Park, Cumnock | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NS569200 |
| Location: | 55°27’11"N, 4°15’50"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 13,000 |
| Post town: | Cumnock |
| Postcode: | KA18 |
| Dialling code: | 01290 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Ayrshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock |
Cumnock is a town in Ayrshire. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. With three neighbouring housing projects which lie just outside the town boundaries and with the former ironworks settlement of Lugar, Cummock and its immediate area have a population of some 13,000.
Cumnock housed many miners, and also served as the market town for the other, smaller towns in the district, like Auchinleck, Ochiltree, Lugar, Muirkirk and New Cumnock.
Cummock's position as a miners' town bred a strong socialist political bent. James Keir Hardie's father lived in the town for a large part of his life, and a statue to him sits outside the town hall; a small housing scheme in the town is named Keir Hardie Hill after him.
According to the book, The Wallace, by Blind Harry, William Wallace spent 3 months in the seat of Patrick Dunbar at Cumnock or Cumno in 1296, the village now known as "New Cumnock". Robert Burns is said to have spent time at Cumnock, and the town now finds itself in the heart of an area designated as "Burns Country".
Cumnock's economy suffered badly when the railway was withdrawn and industries declined. It has avoided becoming a ghost town but has suffered severe social problems and high unemployment. In recent years though new commuter suburbs have been built, benefiting from a new link road to Kilmarnock and Glasgow.
References
Outside links
- cumnock.net The local community site for Cumnock, more information on Cumnock