Pictorial History of Ayr

UK: Alloway Publishing Ltd, 1980. Soft cover. Near Fine. 19.3 x 1 x 25 cm. Much has been written about the town of Ayr over the years and it would be impossible to cover its 800 years of settlement history in detail one volume. The pictures chosen for this collection however and Dane Love's interesting and fact filled narrative provide a fascinating insight into the past of one of Scotland's most ancient coastal communities. The historical narrative traces events on the site from as far back as the Bronze Age and covers the arrival of Christianity, the construction (and demise) of the many castles, great houses and fortifications built there at different times, attacks by Norwegian raiders in 1263, the battles of William Wallace and Robert Bruce against the English and Bruce's parliament held at Ayr on 26th April 1315 at which the Scottish succession was decided. Many great personages have visited the town over the centuries including Mary Queen of Scots in 1522 and Oliver Cromwell and his forces in the 1650s. The town's growth and increasing prosperity through the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries are charted and the author provides more detailed background information in dedicated sections on Religion, Education, Industry, Commerce and Recreation in the town. From the Publisher The illustrations and photographs which accompany Dane Love's history in this volume are quite spectacular ranging from engravings, plans and sketches of early buildings to later photographs taken in the 19th and 20th centuries including one of the Auld Brig o'Doon made famous by Robert Burns in Tam o'Shanter.