The Glenfield Ramblers

In 1872, workers at the Glenfield and Kennedy company in Kilmarnock, who constructed heavy machinery, benefited from a change in their working hours which meant that employees no longer had to work after 9.30am on Saturdays. An unofficial society was formed by several workers to use this free time for visits to local sites of historical and natural interest, but it was not until March 1884 that the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers Society was formally founded in for "the purpose of recreation and the enjoyment of its members by country rambles, the study of natural history and for mutual improvement". Its summer outings and winter lecture meetings were recorded in Annals, as were essays and monographs on locally relevant historical and scientific topics. 

At first membership was restricted to the workers of Glenfield and Kennedy Ltd, and in the first year there were 78 members paying 2d entrance fee and 1d each month from April to September. Early membership books record that many of the men were brass finishers, iron turners, pattern makers, enginemen and blacksmiths. Soon though the society was open to all, although the name 'Glenfield' was retained. 

During the 1890's and 1900's the Ramblers had considerable influence in Kilmarnock, with many respected public figures in their ranks. They pressed hard for better museum accommodation and as a result Kilmarnock Town Council identified Elmbank House as the site for a new museum and library. Many of the museum displays were set out by the Ramblers, and the Council's Public Library Committee appointed the President of the Glenfield Ramblers on to the Museum Committee, reflecting how highly regarded the group was and the work it had done. 

Elmbank House was soon found to be too small, and after the Dick Institute was opened in 1901 the Ramblers worked enthusiastically, displaying the fossil collections of James Thomson and John R.S. Hunter-Selkirk, and donating specimens themselves. The Glenfield Ramblers wanted to systematically collect a specimen of every bird in Ayrshire, and so an arrangement was made with Archibald Fairbairn, an ornithologist and taxidermist from Wellwood, Muirkirk, Ayrshire, to get and mount specimens for the collections. Many of these original objects collected and donated by the Ramblers still exist within the museum, forming the basis of later collections and collecting areas, and still influence the displays that can be put on at the Dick Institute. 

After a disastrous fire in the Dick Institute in 1909 the Ramblers helped the museum to rise from the ashes. They started new collections of birds and mammals, donated their personal collections, and re-displayed the salvaged specimens. Archibald Fairbairn's personal collection of 131 birds was donated to the museum in 1925. Additional donations from John McCrindle and E. Richmond Paton made the bird collection one of the best in Scotland. 

The Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers, who now have no connection to the Glenfield company other than in name, are still in existence and continue to be well-supported. They walk every second Saturday from April until September. Between November and March a series of lectures are held in Kilmarnock Technical College. New members of all ages are welcomed and further details can be supplied by Mrs. C. Rowan, Secretary, The Glenfield Ramblers, 88 Bridgehousehill Road, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, SCOTLAND KA1 4QD