Parish of Symington

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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1791-99: Symington 1834-45: Symington

Symington, a village and a parish in the NW of Kyle district, Ayrshire. The village stands 3½ miles NNE of Monkton station, and 6 SSW of Kilmarnock, under which it has a post office.

The parish is bounded NE by Riccarton, E by Craigie, S and SW by Monkton, and W and NW by Dundonald. Its utmost length, from NNE to SSW, is 4³/₈ miles; its breadth varies between 1 and 2¼ miles; and its area is 3736½ acres, of which 11½ are water. In the extreme S the surface declines to close on 100 feet above sea-level; and thence it rises gently to a maximum altitude of 333 feet at a point 2¹/₃ furlongs NNE of the church, from which it sinks again to 201 feet near the Riccarton border. It thus exhibits a pleasing diversity of swells and slopes, and contains many vantage-grounds commanding extensive views of great part of Ayrshire, the Firth of Clyde, and the Isle of Arran. Trap rock has been quarried for road metal, and sandstone for building; whilst limestone and coal exist, but not under profitable conditions. The soil, in general, is of a clayey character., on a hard subsoil. Nearly all the land, except about 300 acres under wood, is regularly or occasionally in tillage. The principal residences are Coodham, Dankeith, Rosemount, and Townend; and 5 proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 5 of between £100 and £500. Symington is in the presbytery of Ayr and the synod of Glasgow and Ayr; the living is worth £350. The parish church is an old building with Norman features, and, as entirely remodelled in 1880, contains 359 sittings. There is also a Free church; and the public school, with accommodation for 132 children, had (1884) an average attendance of 85, and a grant of £69, 16s. Valuation (1860) £6560, (1885) £7104, 5s. 3d. Pop. (1801) 668, (1841) 918, (1861) 855, (1871) 792, (1881) 697.—Ord. Sur., shs. 22, 14, 1865-63.

Symington, a small Clydesdale parish in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, containing, at its NW border, Symington Junction on the Caledonian railway, 6¾ miles SSE of Carstairs, 19 W by S of Peebles, and 3¼ WSW of Biggar, under which there is a post office. It is bounded NW by Covington, N by Libberton and Biggar, E by Culter, SE by Lamington, and SW by Wiston. Its utmost length, from ENE to WSW, is 4³/₈ miles; its utmost breadth is 2¹/₈ miles; and its area is 5⁵/₈ square miles or 3549⁴/₅ acres, of which 46 are water. The Clyde winds 6½ miles north-north-eastward and north-westward along or close to all the Lamington, Culter, Biggar, and Libberton boundary, though the point where it first touches and that where it quits the parish are only 3½ miles distant as the crow flies; and two little affluents of the Clyde, Lanimer and Kirk Burns, trace most of the south-western and north-western boundaries. In the N, beside the Clyde, the surface declines to close on 650 feet above sea-level; and thence it rises to 754 feet near Annieston, 854 at the Castle Hill, 1261 at Wee Hill, 1925 at Scaut Hill, and 2335 at Tinto, which culminates just on the meeting-point of Symington, Wiston, Carmichael, and Covington parishes. The rocks are variously Devonian, Silurian, and eruptive; and the soil ranges from fertile alluvium on the level lands fringing the Clyde to moorish earth on the hills. According to Ordnance Survey, 2274 acres are arable, 193 under wood, 674 moorland, and 249 rough pasture. Fatlips Castle, the chief antiquity, is noticed separately; on the Castle Hill, ½ mile SW of the village, are vestiges of an earthwork rampart; and at Annieston is a ruinous tower, The parish derived its name from Symon Loccard, progenitor of the Lockharts of Lee, who appears to have founded its church between 1153 and 1165; and from early in the 14th, till towards the middle of the 17th, century, the barony was held by Symingtons of that ilk. Now there are 4 proprietors owning each an annual value of more than £500, and 2 of between £100 and £500. Symington is in the presbytery of Biggar and the synod of Lothian and Tweeddale; the living is worth £194. The parish church, near Symington village, ¾ mile SE of the station, is an old building, repeatedly repaired, and containing 200 sittings. The public school, with accommodation for 72 children, had (1884) an average attendance of 76, and a grant of £71, 8s. Valuation (1860) £4879, (1885) £6558, 9s. Pop. (1801) 308, (1831) 489, (1861) 528, (1871) 442, (1881) 462.—Ord. Sur., shs. 23, 24, 1865-64.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer