Kirkmichael, a village and a parish in Carrick district, Ayrshire. The village stands, 176 feet above sea-level, on Dyrock Burn, 3 miles E by S of Maybole, under which it has a post office. The environs are pleasant; and the place itself presents a neat, agreeable appearance, with little gardens attached to its houses, and with interspersions of trees. Pop. (1861) 463, (1871) 372, (1881) 343.
The parish, containing also the village of Crosshill, is bounded N by Dalrymple, E by Straiton, S by Dailly, SW by Kirkoswald, and W by Maybole. Its utmost length, from N to S, is 8 7/8 miles; its breadth varies between 5 furlongs and 5 1/8 miles; and its area is 16,1142/3 acres, of which 185 are water. The river Doon winds 6 ¼ miles westward along all the northern boundary; Girvan Water, after running 6½ furlongs northward along the eastern boundary, meanders 4¾ miles west-by-southward through the interior, and next flows 2¾ miles south-south-westward along the Straiton and Kirkoswald border; and Dyrock Burn, issuing from Shankston Loch, runs 5 ¼ miles west-south-westward along the eastern boundary, and through the interior, till it falls into Girvan Water, 1 mile below Kirkmichael village. On the eastern border lie triangular Loch Spallander (3 x 2 furl.) and Shankston Loch (2 ¼ x 1 furl.); and near the latter are Barnsham Loch (3 x 1 furl.) and Loch Crom (1½ x ¾ furl.). Along the Doon the surface declines to 140, along Girvan Water to 93, feet above sea-level; and, from N to S, it attains 629 feet at Lochhill near Shankston Loch, 642 near Guiltreehill, 711 at Glenside Hill near Loch Spallander, and 1406 at Glenalla Fell. The predominant rocks are igneous and Devonian. Sandstone has been quarried, and limestone largely worked; but coal has been sought for without success, and lead ore is only supposed to exist in one of the hills. The soil, on some lands adjacent to the streams, is a rich sharp mould; on other low lands is of a clayey nature, inclining to loam on slopes; of some of the lower hills is light and gravelly; and on the higher uplands is a thin turf on a shingly bottom. A large proportion of the land is in a state of high cultivation, and nearly 1200 acres are under wood. There are traces of two ancient circular forts on Guiltreehill Farm, and of three others at Deanston, Cassanton, and Castle-Downans; and ruins of a preReformation chapel existed, till a recent period, on Lindsayston Farm. Kirkmichael House, 3 furlongs S of Kirkmichael village, is a large fine mansion, with beautiful pleasure-grounds; its owner, John Shaw-Kennedy, Esq. (b. 1826; suc. 1877), holds 1689 acres in the shire, valued at £2601 per annum. Other mansions, noticed separately, are Cassillis House and Cloncaird Castle; and the property is mostly divided among eight. Giving off a large piece to the quoad sacra parish of Crosshill, and a fragment to that of Patna, Kirkmichael is in the presbytery of Ayr and synod of Glasgow and Ayr; the living is worth £298. The parish church, at the NE end of Kirkmichael village, was built in 1787, and contains 660 sittings; its picturesque graveyard is surrounded by large old ash trees. The public school, with accommodation for 148 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 93, and a grant -of £68, 10s. Valuation (1860) £12,769, (1883) £16,407, 7s. 2d. Pop. (1801) 1119, (1831) 2758, (1861) 2823, (1871) 2254, (1881) 1989, of whom 969 were in the ecclesiastical parish.—Ord. Sur., sh. 14, 1863.
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