History of GLENGYRON ROW

and its inhabitants

Parish of Old Cumnock, 1872–1940

by Kay McMeekin       Download the PDF of this page (6.7 MB)

Introduction

The author has been interested in Glengyron Row since taking up family history research. She knew her husband’s family lived there for many years, but unexpectedly found her great grandparents lived there too. By all accounts it was a close-knit community and fondly remembered by those who lived there. Facilities were primitive by our standards; they didn’t get mains water until 1880. Large families lived there in two rooms, often with lodgers for extra income.
Situated on a hill to the south west of Cumnock, it was built by the Eglinton Iron Company about 1872 to house its workforce of coal and iron miners.

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It consisted of a single row of 44 north-facing houses with one room and one kitchen with box beds. By the 1911 census, two of the houses—No. 8 (Andrew Baird), and No. 37 (Hugh Blackwood)—were split differently giving them 3 rooms. The neighbouring houses still had 2 rooms so I don’t know how this was achieved (see the 1913 account below). Number one was the store at the west end of the row; latterly No. 5 was the reading room.
In front of the houses was a green and, beyond that, a railway ran past the front on a banking. I think there was a halt near the bridge. It was the Ayr and Cumnock branch line of the G&SW Railway. Nearby stations were at Skares, Dumfries House and Cumnock. The row was occupied from May 1872 (maybe slightly earlier, but after the census of April 1871), and many of the new tenants were miners, recruited from England—the Midlands, Cornwall, Durham, and elsewhere. Presumably, they travelled by rail to move to the area.

The earliest reference to the Row that I have found was the marriage of Elijah Penrose to Louisa Carne on 17 May 1872. Both lived at Glengyron Row. They were originally from Cornwall, fathers both copper miners:

1863 STATUTORY MARRIAGE: Parish of Old Cumnock, County of Ayr

married: 17th May 1872   at: Cumnock
After Banns, according to the Forms of the Church of Scotland

Elijah Penrose   His X mark, iron miner (Bachelor)
age: 25   of: Glengyron Row
father: John Penrose, copper miner  mother:  Elizabeth Polkenorn

Louisa Carne   (Signed), dressmaker (Spinster)
age: 19     of: Glengyron Row
father: Joseph Carne, copper miner   mother: Jane Liddicoat

minister: Rev. James Murray    witnesses: Eliza Rundell; Marion McGee; James Robertson (his x mark)

In the 1875 valuation roll, the owner of the row was Eglinton Iron Company of Lugar. The Prices and Yates (Yetts) were from the Dudley area; David Jackson and James McGavock were from Ireland. The 28 tenants in alphabetical order:

1875 VALUATION ROLL: Glengyron Row

Anderson, James	McKay, John
Armstrong, William	Murphy, James
Boyle, James	Park, Samuel
Brown, David	Price, Joseph
Campbell, Alexander	Price, Joseph
Dunlop, Matthew	Rankine, John
Fisher, John	Russell, Alexander
Gardner, Laurence	Scott, Samuel
Graham, Alexander	Simpson, Adam
Hill, James	Simpson, Alexander
Jackson, David	Wallace, Drummond
Macbride, Thomas	Wardrop, William
Macgarock [sic], James	Yetts [sic], Abraham
Macgown, Joseph	Yetts [sic], Joseph

 

The 1881–1911 censuses, and the 1920, 1925 and 1930 valuation rolls are at the end. There was a report on miners’ rows published in 1918:

Glengyron Rows, Parish of Old Cumnock

(Owned by William Baird & company.)
Glengyron Rows are about a mile from Old Cumnock, and are owned by William Baird & Company, Limited. There are 44 two-apartment houses. Of these, two families have three apartments at the expense of another two families, who have now only single apartments.*
The kitchens measure 15 feet by 12 feet, the rooms 10 feet by 9 feet.
The rent is £4, 16s. a year, exclusive of rates.
The paths are unpaved, but not very dirty when we saw them on 4th December 1913.
There is one dry-closet for every three tenants, coal-houses for each tenant, and a washing-house for every six tenants. These are all under one roof which, in our opinion, is a bad arrangement. Some of the closets we saw were ill-kept, one with the door off, and very filthy.
The houses are in a bad state of repair. In one house we saw rain getting in and being caught in a basin. Another we saw with half of the window of the room boarded up. We were informed that it had been in this state for a year, in spite of repeated inquiries of the tenants as to when it would be glazed.
The floors are of brick tiles, and broken.
There is a supply of gravitation water taken from the supply of the Burgh of Old Cumnock.

* This is not borne out by the 1911 census

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Community

It was a small, close-knit community and many families lived there for years, their children marrying neighbours’ children. Widows continued to live on in their miners’ cottages.
David Jackson, born in Ireland, appears in the 1875 valuation and lived there until his death in 1909:

• his daughter Harriet married neighbour Joseph Price
• son Samuel married neighbour Elizabeth Yates who was a kinsman of the Prices
• daughter Elizabeth married neighbour John Penrose
• daughter Mary Ann married neighbour Andrew Baird
• son James Jackson married Mary Hyslop from nearby Garrallan (maybe he had a bike!).

In all, he had 11 known children. Sadly, son Joseph, aged 4, had a horrible accident in 1876 when he fell in front of a wagon at Glengyron “lye”, as reported in the Edinburgh Evening News. He died half an hour later.
As well as from Ireland and places in Scotland, families moved in from Cornwall and the Black Country in the English Midlands:

• The Yates, Prices, Rolinsons, Hunts and Jones were all related and came from the Black Country.
• The Penroses, Burleys, Mitchells and Smetherhems were originally copper and tin miners from Cornwall. Some of them stopped off in Durham or Cumberland on their way north.

In the twentieth century, miners from further afield joined the community. In the 1911 census, a Lithuanian family, Gustitas (or Gostar), was at No. 11, and a German family under the name of Thomson at No. 31. Victor Carballo from Spain was present in 1925 and 1930.

The two-year-old Willie Gustitas died after falling into an open fire in 1909 while his mother Catherine went to the store. She was found guilty under the Children Act of failing to take reasonable precaution for the safety of her child, and was fined 20 shillings (£1) or 7 days’ imprisonment.

Around 1939–40, people were moving out of Glengyron Row to live in the new houses in the town. In the 1940 valuation roll, many of the Glengyron Row houses were empty or “uninhabitable”. The annual rent was £6/8/-; that is £6, 8 shillings (£6.40p). These were the remaining tenants:

1940 VALUATION ROLL: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

3	Thomas Bell, miner	31	Andrew Bell, collier
8	Thomas McMeekin, collier	32	Victor Carballo
12	John Hall, boiler fireman	33	James McCreadie
13	John Hutchison jnr, collier	34	William Docherty, collier
14	Mrs Marion McKay, widow	37	Robert Fleming, collier
19	James Brown	39	George Johnson, collier
26	Robert Faddes, collier	40	Gilbert Wilson, labourer
29	Henry Carruthers, labourer	41	William Jolly, labourer
30	Mrs Sarah Bradford	44	Mrs Mary Fleming, widow

 

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They were rehoused in newly built council houses at Glenlamont and Glencairn. In the 1940 valuation roll, the tenants had not been present for the whole year (which ran from Whitsunday). The annual rent was £13/8/-, considerably higher than at Glengyron Row. In Glenlamont, odd numbers (1–31) were all occupied, and the even numbers (2–20) were “in the course of erection”. In Glencairn, odd numbers 11–17 and even numbers 26–40 were “in the course of erection”.
Joseph Price Jolly (son of William) was in 42 Glengyron Row in December 1939, and in December 1940 he was at 23 Glencairn (marriage certificates of his brother William 31 Dec 1939, and his own 27 Dec 1940).

David and Isabella McMeekin left in 1939 (according to their son John) to 48 Glencairn, and her mother, Mrs Mary Fleming, (still at 44 Glengyron Row in 1940) was across the road. James Anderson’s family moved from 18 Glengyron Row to nearby Glenlamont.

Glengyron Row was demolished soon after this and only the foundations and the gardens and the railway were left. Now there is nothing to see.

[The small boy in the front row with the cap is also a James McCreadie, son of the photographer. Information supplied Feb 2020 in comments to this post by Jim McCreadie, grandson.—ed.]

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Sources

National Library of Scotland maps (A slider on this map allows the viewer to see the modern map as an overlay)
Scotland’s People for censuses, valuation rolls, and vital records
Scottish Mining Website
Strawhorn, John; The New History of Cumnock, 1966
Wikipedia article: Ayr to Mauchline Branch

Memories of family members
Cumnock Chronicle
The Scotsman

See also:

Cumnock Connections family tree for more on the people
Cumnock History Group website for a wealth of information and photos

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Census and Valuation Rolls

Head of household and any other surname only. Please check Cumnock Connections tree or Scotland’s People for the full details. [For the following tables, I have added some additional details for anyone appearing in our family tree. Also, direct ancestors are marked in purple, and extended family members are marked in green —ed.]

1881 CENSUS: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1	Shop
2	Fisher
3	Abraham Yates
4	Joseph Yates
5	Joseph Hunt
6	empty
7	Emmanuel Rolinson
8	James Rolinson
9	empty
10	empty
11	James McGowan
12	Charles Dunsmuir
13	James Ferguson
14	Adam Comlin
15	John Kelly
16	Alex Russel
17	Jane McGavrick
18	James Goorlay
19	James Anderson
20	empty
21	Andrew Wilson
22	Samuel Scott
23	Elizabeth Murdoch	James Rae
24	Mary J McVicker
25	George Brown	and Woods; b. England
26	John & Elizabeth McKay	and: Andrew; James; Jane; William; Robert; David; Agnes
27	empty
28	empty
29	James Hancock	brother-in-law of Joseph Price
30	David Jackson	father in law of Joseph Price, and Elizabeth Yates d/o Abraham
31	Joseph Price	married to Harriet Jackson, nephew of John Rolinson
32	empty
33	Janet Russell
34	empty
35	John Nolans
36	Hugh Blackwood	born in Chile
37	empty
38	James Broadford
39	David Gordon
40	James McMillan
41	James Broadfoot
42	James Bradford	married to Sarah Nicol
43	William Armstrong
44	Robert McLean

 

1891 CENSUS: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1	empty	23	James Dunsmuir / Caddis
2	Fisher / Laing	24	Andrew McMurdo / Comlin
3	Ann Yates	25	Joseph Cree
4	Joseph Yates	26	Samson Mitchel
5	empty	27	Robert Fleming
6	empty	28	Mrs Adam Combin
7	Gourlay	29	Jane Robertson
8	John & Eliz McKie (William, Robert, Agnes)	30	empty
9	John & Elizabeth Penrose	31	Jackson
10	Brown	32	Price
11	McGowan	33	Hunter / Dunsmuir
12	Kath Dunsmuir	34	Potter / Chas Dunsmuir
13	Kelly / Wilson	35	Houston
14	Agnes Comlin	36	Hewitson
15	James Rae / Helen Yates	37	Blackwood / Bryden
16	James & Cath Stewart	38	Kerr
17	Alexander Russell	39	McBride / Thomson
18	McBride / Ethridge	40	Hancock
19	Anderson / Cameron	41	Samuel Jackson
20	John McMeekin	42	Hugh Bradford
21	Andrew & Lizzie McKie (Jessie, Mary)	43	George Ranken
22	Thomas McMurdo / Stevenson	44	James Bradford

 

1901 CENSUS: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1	Shop	23	Connor
2		24	Ranken
3		25	Gourlay
4	Broadfoot	26	Robert Fleming
5	Dunsmuir	27	Baird
6	John & Ann Yates	28	William Burley
7	John McMeekin	29	Kerr
8	John Mitchell / Ellen Yates	30
9	Furnace / Sloan	31	David Jackson
10	John & Elizabeth Penrose	32	James Jackson
11	Samson Mitchell	33	Hunter / Blair Dunsmuir
12	Armstrong	34	Pendergast
13	Cunningham	35	McGregor
14	Kelly	36	Edward Burley
15	William McKay	37	Blackwood
16	Robertson	38	Nicol
17	Stewart	39	Healy
18	Richard & Kate Penrose	40	Thomas Penrose
19	Dunsmuir	41	Alfred Harris
20	Robertson	42	McCutcheon
21	Robertson	43	Joseph Price
22	Lucas Burley	44	Corbett

 

1911 CENSUS: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1	Shop	23	empty
2	Adam Simpson	24	George Rankin
3	Samson Mitchell	25	Daniel Skillin
4	John & Ann Yates	26	Robert Fleming
5		27	Thomas Kinnaird
6	John McMeekin	28	William Burley
7	Thomas Connor	29	William Jolly
8	Andrew Baird	30	George Penrose
9	Thomas Dunsmuir	31	Jos Thomson / Patrick / Tomelas  [German]
10	John Mitchell	32	James Jackson
11	David Fleming	33	James Bradford
12	James Smitherham	34	Arthur Burely / Samson Mitchell
13	Thomas Bradford	35	Adam Bradford
14	William McKie	36	John Kelly / William Kirk
15	William Robertson	37	Hugh Blackwood  [South American]
16	John Hastings	38	Terrance Nicol
17	William Gustitas  [Lithuanian]	39	Hugh Fleming
18	Lucas Burley	40	Blair Dunsmuir
19	James Bradford / Young / Nicol	41	Alfred Harris
20	William Findlay	42	Thomas Connor
21	Hugh Bradford	43	Joseph Price
22	empty	44	empty

 

1920 VALUATION ROLL: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1		23	James Smetherhem
2		24	George Young
3	Peter Pollock	25	Thomas Burley
4	John Mitchell	26	Robert Fleming
5		27	William Blane
6	John McMeekin	28	James Hutchison
7	John Yates	29	Henry Carruthers
8	John Hastings	30	James Bradford
9	Adam Montgomery	31	Arthur Burley
10	John Hewitson	32	Mrs Kelly
11	David Fleming	33	James Bradford
12	James Anderson	34	Alexander McPheators
13	James Stewart	35	James Hampson
14	Mrs Marion McKay	36	George Rankin
15	William Morton	37	Robert Milligan
16	Mrs Andrew Duncan	38	Terence Nichol
17	James Ross	39	William Hampson
18	Thomas McMillan	40	Blair Dunsmuir
19	Dennis Stewart	41	Alfred Harris
20	John Coughtree	42	William Jolly
21		43	Mrs Harriet Price
22	Hugh Bradford	44	Hugh Fleming

 

1925 VALUATION ROLL: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1	Store	23	Thomas Smith
2	George McMurdo	24	George Young
3	Thomas Scott	25	Thomas Burley / Stewart
4	John Mitchell	26	Robert Fleming
5		27	David Mawhinney
6	John McMeekin (reading room)	28	James Hutchison
7	John Yates	29	Henry S. Carruthers
8	James Bradford	30	James Bradford
9	Robert Galloway	31	Andrew Bell
10		32	Victor Carballo
11	David Fleming	33	Thomas McMillan
12	James Anderson / Timpany	34	Alex McPheators
13	James Stewart	35	Isaac Hewitson
14	Mrs Marion McKay	36	George Rankin
15	William Morton	37	John Coughtrie
16	Mrs Andrew Duncan	38	Terence Nicol
17	James Ross	39	George Johnson
18	John Edgar	40	Blair Dunsmuir
19	Mrs Stewart	41	James McCreadie
20	George McCabe	42	William Jolly
21	John Robertson	43	Mrs Harriet Price
22	Hugh Lorrimer	44	Hugh Fleming

 

1930 VALUATION ROLL: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1	Store Eglinton Iron Works	23	Mrs Thomas Smith
2	William Rankin	24	David McMeekin, collier
3	William McCallum, collier	25	Martin Dignam, collier
4	John Mitchell, collier	26	Robert Faddes, collier
5	selves	27	Charles Spiers, collier
6	James Stewart, collier	28	James Hutchison, miner
7	William McFarlane, collier	29	Henry Carruthers, labourer
8	George Young, collier	30	James Bradford, engineman
9	David Walker, collier	31	Andrew Bell, collier
10	Samuel McComb, collier	32	Victor Carballo, collier
11	David Fleming, collier	33	James McCreadie, collier
12	John Hall, boiler fireman	34	William Docherty, collier
13	John Hutchison	35	Isaac Hewitson, collier
14	William McKay, collier	36	Henry Harris, collier
15	Thomas Burley, collier	37	Robert Fleming, collier
16	Mrs Christina Duncan, widow	38	Terence Nicol, miner
17	William Edgar, collier	39	George Johnson, collier
18	James Anderson, labourer	40	James Duncan, labourer
19	Mrs Katherine Stewart, widow	41	Alfred Harris, collier
20	Allan Lorimer, collier	42	William Jolly, fireman
21	Robert Findlay, collier	43	Mrs Harriet Price
22	Robert McMeekin, collier	44	Hugh Fleming, collier

 

1935 VALUATION ROLL: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1		23
2		24	David McMeekin, collier
3		25
4		26
5		27
6		28
7		29
8		30
9		31
10		32
11		33
12		34
13		35
14		36
15		37
16		38
17		39
18		40
19		41	Jane Harris
20		42
21		43
22	Robert McMeekin, collier	44

 

1940 VALUATION ROLL: Glengyron Row, Old Cumnock

1	[ some uninhabitable ]	23	[ rent = £6/8/- ]
2		24
3	Thomas Bell, miner	25
4		26	Robert Faddes, collier
5		27
6		28
7		29	Henry Carruthers, labourer
8	Thomas McMeekin, collier	30	Mrs Sarah Bradford
9		31	Andrew Bell, collier
10		32	Victor Carballo
11		33	James McCreadie
12	John Hall, boiler fireman	34	William Docherty, collier
13	John Hutchison jnr, collier	35
14	Mrs Marion McKay, widow	36
15		37	Robert Fleming, collier
16		38
17		39	George Johnson, collier
18		40	Gilbert Wilson, labourer
19	James Brown	41	William Jolly, labourer
20		42
21		43
22		44	Mrs Mary Fleming, widow

 

1940 VALUATION ROLL: Glenlamont & Glencairn

Glenlamont		Glencairn
1	Terence Nicol	11–17 under construction
3	Campbell Samson	19	Robert McMeekin
5	Geron. Donis	21	William McCall
7	Mary Margaret Walker	23	William Jolly snr
9	John Mitchell	25	Duncan Cameron
11	William Walker	26–40 under construction
13	Isaac Edgar	42	Henry Harris
15	William Fleming	44	Mrs Agnes Hewiston
17	Thomas Burley	46	John Anderson
19	William McKay	48	David McMeekin
21	William Edgar
23	Alexander Anderson
25	Mrs Mary McCrindle
27	Mrs Margaret Lorimer
29	Mrs Janet Smith
31	Mrs Isan Dignam
2–20 under construction