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Burgh of Kilmarnock

Burgh of Kilmarnock

Since the very earliest times Kilmarnock has played a prominent part in the history of Ayrshire and Scotland. Its roots in fact run so deep that they are now lost in the mists of obscurity, but it is accepted as a place of great antiquity. The town derives its name from Saint Mernoc, or Marnock, a follower of the Irish Saint Columba. Saint Marnock is supposed to have taken up residence in the vicinity. The Celtic word "kil" signifies the cell, the church of the burial place of Saint Marnock, and tradition has it that the cell of Saint Marnock stood near the present site of the Laigh Kirk, that his sanctity and teachings drew men to the area, and that the original village of Kilmarnock grouped itself on the west bank of the Kilmarnock Water at the point now occupied by the Cross and its immediate surroundings. The early residents of Kilmarnock served the local countryside.

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