Old Mearnskirk
Following Mearns Road, you cannot fail to spot the beautiful Mearnskirk Parish Church built in 1813. Prior to 1830 and the creation of the ‘New Line’ or Kilmarnock Road (Ayr Road), Mearns Road was part of the main route to Kilmarnock and the church would have occupied a prominent position. Indeed, the place where it stands has been a site of worship for many centuries and has been occupied by earlier church buildings.
The church has a historic graveyard with stones dating back to the 17th century, many of which have fascinating inscriptions. Recently a team of volunteers has recorded these and produced a book, CD-Rom and Mearns Kirk Yard website, which is invaluable to the family and local historian and of great general interest.
One mysterious stone, which rests against the east wall of the church depicts a cross and a sword. One theory is that it could be the gravestone of a crusading knight, the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller having held land in the Mearns area.
Mearnskirk, now mostly residential, was once a busy focal point for the area. The parish school was sited near the church until it was replaced in 1875 by a school on the Kilmarnock Road. From 1930 until the 1990s Mearnskirk Hospital operated in the area, first as a hospital for children suffering from tuberculosis and later as a general hospital. Some of the original hospital buildings still exist and have been incorporated into a housing development, and the bronze statue of Peter Pan which was erected to commemorate Dr John Wilson, O.B.E., Physician Superintendent of the hospital from 1929-1946 still stands in the grounds.
In earlier times, less than a mile from Mearnskirk, stood the hamlet of Alton (Aldton). This settlement predated the ‘Nova Villa de Mernes’ from which the village of Newton Mearns developed. Close to the Alton stood Mearns Castle which was built in the 15th century by the landowner, Herbert de Maxwell. This imposing fortress castle to which Maxwell Mearns Parish Church is attached still towers over the landscape.
To see more information on the history of the area go to the Portal to the Past website.
