Garnock Connections Landscape and Heritage Study

Executive Summary

Prepared For: Garnock Connections Landscape Partnership

By: MVGLA, Northlight Heritage, Vanessa Stephen, Talamh 22 May 2017

Introduction

1.1 This is a study of the landscape and cultural heritage of the Garnock Connections Landscape Partnership area, between and Irvine Bay. The study considers the character of the landscape and how it has been influenced by natural and cultural history and shaped by these to form the unique area that it is today. The approach has involved a review of both the landscape character and heritage environment of the area, from published information and fieldwork, and drawing together the findings to better understand the human influences on the physical landscape.

1.2 The Garnock Connections Landscape Partnership (GCLP) submitted an successful first stage application to Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) under the Landscape Partnership Scheme in 2016. As part of the Development Phase, the Partnership commissioned this assessment of the landscape and the cultural heritage of the area to support the second stage application, to be submitted late 2017. The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the cultural heritage and landscape assets of the area, and to test the proposed partnership area boundary for robustness, and to identify landscape and cultural heritage themed opportunities for projects that would provide ongoing benefits to the landscape, heritage assets and local community. The study area

1.3 The boundary of the study area, as shown on Figure 1 is of 385km2. It was selected to include the water catchment of the River Garnock up into the Clyde Muirshiel Hills, Lochwinnoch and , and Irvine Bay south to . A 2km buffer around this area was set to allow consideration of the boundary. The findings of the study lead to recommendations that the boundary be refined: to include , but to follow the North Council boundary near Barassie; to follow the Garnock catchment area through the hills to the west; to follow the Council boundary on the western side; and to follow the settlement edge around the eastern side of Irvine. The refined area, shown on Figure 2, would be 360km2. The Garnock Connections Area

1.4 The Garnock Connections area encompasses one of the largest-scale valley landscapes in Ayrshire, running from Lochwinnoch to Irvine Bay. The Garnock Connections area was a glaciated valley, and as such provides a broad flat bottomed valley that was ideal for settlement in historic times, and continues to be an important area for agriculture, industry and settlements today.

1.5 Elements of the historic environment show how, where and why people have settled and worked in the area since earliest times. Early prehistoric communities fished by rivers, lochs and the sea shore and moved seasonally along the valley's natural corridor. As people adopted farming, they marked the significance of places with large monuments, open-air rock art, votive deposits and funerary cairns in the Neolithic and Bronze Age. From the 1st millennium BC a more legible settlement pattern emerges along the valley. On the boggy valley floor, some people lived in crannogs on lochs, using log boats for transport and fishing, while others established enclosed settlements on the better-drained valley sides, from where they could have exploited upland resources. This pattern may have continued into the 1st millennium AD and, if the Roman Army's presence in the Image 1: The barbed antler point from Shewalton Sands (centre), reproduced from region disturbed it, there is so far no evidence for that. Saville 2004: 195

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1.6 The kingdoms of Kyle and Cunningham emerged in the early medieval period and the existing British society was washed by successive waves of linguistic and political influences including Anglian and Gaelic. The upper valley seems to have had ecclesiastical and artistic links to the Clyde in the 10th to 12th centuries. By the 13th century, it became thoroughly enmeshed in the feudal system under the Crown's vassals and large reformed monastic houses. Open farming settlements populated by tenants were established across the lowland plateaux, while Irvine - a royal burgh from the 14th century - rose in prominence as a wealthy, thriving port and the main harbour for Glasgow.

1.7 The area is close to the Clyde and Glasgow, and has long been a strategic lowland link between Irvine Bay and Glasgow, which gave it importance for settlement, trade, transport and industry at an early stage. Industry began shaping the landscape from the 1600s, with coal pits on the Eglington estate, and from the later 1700s it grew to be an abiding aspect of life. Cottage industries in handloom weaving in Dalry, and Lochwinnoch gave way to water- powered textile mills along the valley. Coal mining around the bay expanded throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries to become the area's main industry, with many tons exported each year from Irvine and until the Image 2: Disused waterwheel, Kilbirnie 1880s, when the Clyde was dredged and these harbours became redundant. Munitions and chemicals manufacture around the bay grew to become the dominant industry in the 20th century. On the lowlands, 18th- to 19th-century agricultural improvements transformed the medieval settlement pattern to one of large, enclosed farms.

1.8 The historic environment of the study area is especially rich for medieval, post-medieval and early modern periods. The histories of mineral extraction, maritime trade, manufacture and engineering are linked to particular areas of the landscape, river and shore and to social histories - some of which are still accessible in living memory. The unique characteristics of the area's historic environment create considerable potential to engage local people, attract research and stimulate conservation to enhance narratives about the past and present in the Garnock Connections Landscape Partnership. Landscape Character

1.9 The landscape of the Garnock Connections Area has been studied using four broad zones; Uplands, Valley, Lowlands and Coast, further dividing these into 20 local landscape areas (see Figure 3).

1.10 Uplands: The uplands areas, formed by the Clyde Muirshiel Hills are of igneous rocks that resisted erosion during the ice age, and today form hills up to 522m AOD (Hill of Stake) The hills have smooth profiles and form the visual backdrop to the Garnock Water valley. The uplands would have been used for hunting and seasonal grazing, with cairns and hut circles attesting early occupation. Resources included game, minerals, water and wind that have been harvested at different times in the area’s history, and more recently sport and recreation have become more important, in an area where traditional farming methods are still used.

1.11 Valley: The main valley within the Garnock Connection area runs from north to south, with the Garnock Water catchment which drains southwards, but Kilbirnie Loch, Bar Loch and Castle Semple Loch drain northwards to the Black Cart Water. The valley is ‘U shaped’ in cross section, indicative of glacial action, with steep sides and a flat valley floor. The transition from hillsides to valley sides to the west is complex, with ridges and secluded side valleys, which, further south, give way to drumlins.

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1.12 The valley would have provided fertile grazing and woodland areas for early people, who lived in crannogs or settlements along the edges of the valley floor wetlands. The valley formed a key lowland connection between the Clyde at Glasgow and the Ayrshire Coast, forming a corridor for trade, defence and settlement. Tower houses and estates predate mills and industries, which, prior to industrial decline, thrived in the strategic position, with railways Image 3: The curved dam of Barcraigs Reservoir creating easy access to and from ports both north and south.

1.13 The valley sides have relatively fertile soils, and would once have been covered with woodland. Evidence suggests that the woodland was cleared by the end of the 1st century AD, and the landscape was subject to 18th century agricultural improvement that forms the field pattern and woodland structure that remains. The character of the valley today is of a settled valley with agriculture dominating the side slopes, and settlement and industry extending along the valley floor and lower slopes. Connections tend to be along the valley, with the watercourses, roads and railways, both active and former railways that now form pathways.

1.14 Lowlands: The lowlands to the east of the main valley area form a broad undulating plateau of agricultural land, with higher ground to the north (the Barcraig Hills). The lowlands are varied, with semi- improved or improved agricultural farmland, and estates with rich woodlands. Other areas are windy and exposed, with few trees and poorly draining soils. Several bogs and mosses occupy the plateau south of , likely to be remnants of pre-improvement landscapes, and of rich ecological value. Three of these mosses are designated as SSSI, while other fragmented areas form an important opportunity for recreating a network of these habitats.

1.15 Coast: The coastal parts of the Garnock Connections area includes the low lying land that was once part of a larger bay when sea levels were higher. Here the sea left marine deposits as far inland as the northern side of . Settlements developed along the edges of this bay, forming the historic cores of existing settlements that have expanded with industrial fringes, to occupy most of the coastal landscape. The character of the coast area today is of a mosaic of different environments, from active industrial, to brownfield to wildlife sites, on low lying land close to the sea. Industry past and Image 4: Family Story Walk, Irvine Beach present is evident throughout. Forces for Change

The one constant thing about our landscape is that it will change

1.16 Change in the landscape is an inevitable process, driven by climate, ecology and human activity. Many forces for change acting on the Garnock Connections are will also affect other parts of , but local issues include:

 The localised effects of climate change acting on hydrology, ecology and local weather

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 Ecological change through disease (e.g. loss of field boundary trees to ash dieback) and invasive species threatening the river ecology

 Changes in agricultural funding mechanisms that affect land uses

 Lack of woodland management leading to loss of ancient woodlands and landmark tree clumps

 Decline of upstanding cultural heritage features and loss of local knowledge

 Decline in structural landscape features such as walls, hedges trees and woodlands through insufficient maintenance

 Development in the valley for settlement expansion, industry, transport (e.g. the Dalry bypass) and renewable energy in the hills Image 5: Workers at the Caledonia Cabinet Works in Beith including windfarms

1.17 The Garnock Connections Landscape Partnership area is a valley that connects two of the most historically important centres of trade, settlement and industry, the Ayrshire Coast and Irvine with the Clyde Basin and Glasgow. This connection, formed by glacial erosion, created a lowland corridor between the Clyde and the coast, an overland link that was fertile, accessible, strategically important and convenient for the location of industries. There are no other valleys in Scotland that form this type of link between key ports, except the Central Belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

1.18 Throughout history, Irvine Bay has been a focus of settlement and trade, with the valley behind it forming a vital resource for agriculture, minerals and water. The valley floor and valley sides have had distinctive environments and uses through time. The valley floor has been a focus for water management and improvement for agriculture, as well as a strategically beneficial corridor for industry. Industry here was made possible by the local resources of coal, iron ore, and strategic position, and led to an increased working population housed in planned towns. The valley sides are drier and were easier to settle and farm, and provided vantage points overlooking the valley for defensive and status reasons.

1.19 The ‘headline qualities’ of the area as a whole, drawn from the studies undertaken, can be summarised as follows:

 A glacial valley forming a link between the Ayrshire Coast and the Clyde Basin;

 A rich resource of coal, iron ore, copper, barytes and other minerals, as well as stone for building;

 A rich agricultural area with fertile soils and a range of agricultural practices, from traditional sheep hillfarming to intensive arable, and coniferous forestry to ley pasture with a history of hay meadows;

 Important ecological resources in:

o the peatlands on upland hills, the valley floor and on the lowlands, with a history of bronze age votive offerings,

o the rivers and extensive lowland wetlands and waterbodies in the valley and at the coast, albeit with a history of change and attempts at drainage,

o the ancient woodlands in gullies, on hill scarps and as part of estate woodlands, and

o hedgerows and wildflowers;

 Wild undeveloped hills as ecological, conservational and recreational resources very close to major centres of population;

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 Clustered evidence of early prehistoric use of the coastal fringe around the inundated Irvine Bay, from fishing and hunting in the estuarine environment to the large ceremonial complex at Dryburgh and probable links to Arran;

 A major regional gathering place at Walls Hill from as early as the late 2nd millennium BC, which would have involved and drawn in the communities from a wide area;

 Contemporaneous use in the 1st millennium BC of valley floor for water-based crannog lifestyle and drier valley sides for forts and duns on vantage points;

 Early medieval kingdoms of Kyle and Cunningham, early conversion to Christianity and the link to Govan evidenced by the Dumb Proctor carved stone;

 Links to Robert the Bruce during and the Stewart line at Dundonald Castle and William Wallace at Auchenbathie Tower;

 The late medieval control of landscapes in the north from tower houses on the transitional slopes and from more extensive estates in the south, with families like the Sempills and Earls of Eglington influencing the development of each area respectively;

 Late 17th century influence of the Industrial Revolution as a turning point in the valley’s history, with a change from estates and agriculture to a focus on industry, workers and transport;

 Irvine as the primary port, royal burgh and focus of industry and trade till the Clyde was dredged and Glasgow became dominant in the 1880s, and medieval and later sea links to Arran and the continent;

 The coal industry made possible by local geology and the servitude of mining workers and later the steel industry dependent on local coal, ore and transport, with the construction of the railway in 1840;

 The influx of people to work in the industries, likely to have included people escaping from the Irish famine (1845-1852);

 Water power harnessed in the valley for textile mills, working with wool, linen and later cotton imported on ships returning to Irvine;

 Nobel and the explosives industry starting up in the 1870s, just as the coal and steel industries were starting to decline;

 20th century New Town at Irvine and incentives for local light industries;

 A history of movement along the valley, from short journeys to the hills for hunting or between mining towns and steel works, or longer journeys to Irvine or Glasgow and beyond for trade, passage, or commuting;

 Post-industrial brownfield sites, included contaminated land, often with natural regeneration and increasing ecological value; Image 6: An old gate post, Kilbirnie

 Continuing use of natural resources through the water supply reservoirs in the uplands serving Irvine and Paisley, and recent windfarms providing renewable energy from the wind resource of the hills.

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1.20 The main themes emerging from these qualities, in terms of forces for change, threats and opportunities include:

 The need to collect and preserve information about the history of the area, from data on early prehistoric finds, research into the roles of key people or places in the history of the local and wider (including global) context, to recording history in living memory;

 The need to preserve physical remains of the history of the area, including artefacts, upstanding remains and site investigations of existing and yet-to-be-discovered sites;

 The need to preserve, conserve and enhance the water environment network, including water quality and hydrology, and habitats from lochs, marshland, mudflats, peatbogs, riverbanks, loch fringes and elements of the water supply network;

 The need to preserve, conserve and enhance the drier environment and structural elements of the landscape, from wildflower and hay meadows to hedgerows, ancient woodlands and shelterbelts to scrub on brownfield sites;

 The need to understand and prepare for forces for change in the area such as climate change and agri-funding, biosecurity and the inevitable loss of trees and erosion of historical assets with time;

 To raise awareness of the value of the area as an important valley throughout history, in particular its significance as a connection from Glasgow to Irvine made much of during the Industrial Revolution, and as an important valley today for its connectivity and value to people who choose to live there; and

 The need to present the area in a way that will attract people to come to live, work, visit and invest in the area and its landscape.

MVGLA, May 2017

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