Ayrshire Archives

15/10/2026

Today is Global Handwashing Day🧼

Established in 2008, the World Health Organisation (WHO) created this event to promote handwashing with soap and water as an easy, effective, and affordable way to prevent disease and save lives.
Here at Ayrshire Archives, washing your hands or wearing gloves is a constant routine we have especially when dealing with some of our records.... You never know when your are going to get coal dust from 1795 on your hands (as seen in the picture of the blue glove).

Rules for Washhouse Cleaning - Acc 15/274
Management of Outbreaks of Foodborne Illness - Acc 25/031

13/10/2026

Our Archivists recently attended the Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Conference, which was held at the Irvine Harbour Arts Centre. The conference included many fantastic speakers who discussed a wide variety of topics including Irvine Harbour and the Irvine Development Corporation.

Our Archivists exhibited some items from our collections which illustrated the historical changes which have taken place throughout Ayrshire which ultimately changed the landscape. Our exhibition included records from our Irvine Burgh, Irvine Development Corporation and ICI Ardeer Explosives Manufacturers collections.

Thank you to the for having us!

09/10/2026

We recently attended the Lace Festival exhibition at Morton Hall, Newmilns, exhibiting some items from the British Lace Furnishings Association collection 🪡

The Love Newmilns Association have a great display of lace history available to view at the hall today and tomorrow, highlighting Newmilns connections to the lace industry, anti-slavery, football and much more. Thank you to the association for having us!

07/10/2026

We are offering opportunities for volunteers to attend oral history training, interview respondents, be interviewed about your memories, edit audio recordings, create interpretive artwork, stories and poetry, or research the heritage of the Ardeer Peninsula.

If you would like to know more, please contact us!

Lottery Heritage Fund
Past & Futures Society
Morrison's Oral History Research & Training Consultancy
of Stevenston
Towns Explored
Story Collective
Strathclyde Heritage Group
's Southside+ Stories

02/10/2026

Newmilns Regeneration Association is a voluntary organisation concerned with preserving the heritage of Newmilns and promoting regeneration within the town.

24/09/2026

On this day in 1595, a charter to the Burgh of Newton on Ayr was signed by King James VI. Although the 'Burgh of Newtoun of Air' was already in existence, the privileges of an established burgh were confirmed in this charter and precept of sasine. Such privileges included rights to trade, establishing burgh courts and having a townhall and market cross.

Reference B6/32/1, B6/32/2 and BA/32/1

17/09/2026

This weekend sees Ayr Racecourse hosting the annual Ayr Gold Cup Festival, when racegoers from all over will visit dressed in their finery to cheer on their favourite horses.
The first Ayr Gold Cup was run in 1804, when the racecourse was situated in the Seafield area of Ayr, at what is now known as the Old Racecourse. The Western Meeting Club formed in 1824 and in the same year the Western Meeting, now the (Ayr) Gold Cup Festival was established, with an annual donation of £25 from the town council. Ayr Gold Cup, the premier award, was provided by subscriptions. By 1838 the Western Meeting had grown and boasted £2000 in prize money with the race for two year olds the most valuable race of the season in Britain. In 1855 the Ayr Gold Cup became a handicap race.
This six-furlong handicap has evolved from a parochial meeting into the richest race of its kind in Europe, with a current total prize fund of £180,000, and approximately £92,772 going to the winner. Anchoring the Western Meeting each September, the race draws large fields of quality sprinters and crowds that make it the flagship event on the Scottish racing calendar.
With the race being run for the last two centuries it makes the Gold Cup one of Britain's oldest surviving sprint handicaps, although due to the course being waterlogged, it had to be cancelled for the first and only time in 2017.
To finish, here are some interesting factoids:
The last Scottish-trained winner of the Gold Cup was in 1975, when Roman Warrior won for trainer Nigel Angus of Cree Lodge, Ayr
The fastest finish came in 2024 with Lethal Levi crossing the line to win in 1 minute 7.75 seconds.
Race distance - 6 furlongs
First winner - Chancellor
Most successful horse - Dazzle (1889, 1890, 1891)
Race type - Flat/thoroughbred
Horse age - 3 years old and up
Maximum runners - 25
Good luck to all the runners, riders and racegoers attending the Western Meeting for this years Ayr Gold Cup.
Images:
AA/DC424/4/1 - Black and white photograph of the Old Racecourse, no date.
Acc. 15/300 - Western Meeting - Ayr, plan of new Race Course, 1907.
Acc. 15/300 - Western Meeting - Ayr, drawing of new Race Course stands, 1907.
Acc. 15/300 - Abstract Description of arrangement and accommodation provided in stands and official buildings, 1907.
ATD112/4/6 - 2 extracts from Rules of The Western Meeting, with List of Members, 1938
ATD112/4/6 - Scottish Racing Fixtures, 1938

02/09/2026

To celebrate this years Ayr Show, we thought we’d showcase some of our aviation collections.

The first image comes from our Highland Express Archive. Highland Express was an airline company based at Prestwick Airport and was founded by Randolph Fields in c 1984. Randolf Fields was also the joint founder of Virgin Atlantic with Richard Branson, until they had a falling out.

The next image is from our Scottish Aviation Collection and shows two planes flying over the east side of Great Cumbrae, dated October 1945.

Lastly, we have some images from our Irvine Development Corporation Collection showing the Concord at Prestwick Airport in June 1973.

28/08/2026

Continuing with our ‘Back to School’ theme, we thought we’d share some extracts from the Logbook of Wallacetown School dated 1898 (CO3/10/7/64/1/1), which is held within our collections.

The entries were written by the Headteacher who seems frustrated by the poor attendance of his pupils and the excuses made by the parents to explain their absences. Explanations for the absences range from pupils tending to their sick mother who had a ‘sore throat’, to the school gates being shut and pupils claiming they were having their boots mended. In some instances, the Headteacher went to the pupil’s house to confront the parents over the absence!

All of our school catalogues are available on our new online catalogue Epexio: https://catalogue.ayrshirearchives.org.uk/collections/education

26/08/2026

For all the family historians out there, some new items available from the Scotland's People online shop.

New, at our online Shop: We’ve created a beginner’s guide packed with activities to help you learn to trace, record and connect your story across generations.

Find out more about our workbooks 👉bit.ly/SPHistoryBook