Ayrshire in the 18th Century
John Lapraik lived all his life in the vicinity of Muirkirk, in Ayrshire,
Scotland - south west of Glasgow.
When the “Kirk of the Muir” was built in 1631 it is recorded that there was not a single house in the vicinity and the Kirk was described as "a puir wee kirk, theeked wi' heather".
Life was harsh - during the 1740s the population of Muirkirk was reduced by one third over a single winter on account of the cold weather.
A vivid description of what it was like to live in Muirkirk contained in an extract from The Edinburgh Magazine (1761)
In the middle of the 18th Century the then Lord Dundonald started to collect coal tar in the surrounding area which was used to protect ships from attack by worm. The adoption of copper for sheathing the vessels of the navy brought the business to an early end.
In the second half of the 18th Century Muirkirk underwent radical change. The village thrived and expanded with the start of the Industrial Revolution.
In 1787 the Muirkirk Iron company was formed and this, along with coal mining nearby - a coal mine begun in 1799 which subsequently became known as the Kames Colliery - provided a further boost to the economy.
© John Lapraik http://www.lapraik.com/history.htm Image produced from the www.old-maps.co.uk service with permission of Landmark Information Group Ltd. and Ordnance Survey