Symington is a parish in the north-west of Kyle, Ayrshire. It is bounded by Dundonald, Riccarton, Craigie, and Monkton. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Muirhouse, Rosemount, Symington, Williamfield
Coodham, Dankeith, Townend House
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church of Symington belonged to the Ministry of the Red Friars of Fail. It was restored in 1919.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1642-1854 | Symington | 618 | OPR |
| 1855-1968 | Symington | 618 | RD |
| 2009 | South Ayrshire, Prestwick | 675 | RD |
| 2026 | South Ayrshire Council; Symington Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Cunningham, Dunlop, Hamilton, Martin, Murdoch, Neil, Patton, Smith, Sprott, Young
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr William Logan.
"The population in 1792 was 610 inhabitants, 406 of whom were in the country. The village of Symington is situated in the centre of the parish. It contains 56 families, or separate dwellings; in all 204 inhabitants. The number of males in the parish 295, of females 315; of persons under 10 years of age 156. Members of the Established Church number about 592; there is 1 family of Antiburger Seceders, and 1 family of Burgher Seceders. Five persons were born in Ireland.
There are 24 farmers, 2 keepers of alehouses, 5 smiths and apprentices, 1 mason, 3 wrights, 10 weavers, 7 shoemakers, 5 tailors, 2 millers, 1 cooper, 1 hosier, 30 unmarried male servants, 30 unmarried female servants, 2 plough-makers, and 25 day-labourers.
The inhabitants of this parish, in general, are sober and industrious, attentive to their respective callings, and exemplarily regular in their attendance on divine ordinances. They are, for the most part, moderate in their religious sentiments, charitably disposed, and seem contented with their condition. They have a taste for dress, and young women of the middle, and even of the lower ranks, would now blush to be seen in the blue cloaks, red plaids, and plain caps, which only 20 years ago, adorned their sex. Our young men are not to be seen, at church or market, in a coat of their mother's spinning, but dress themselves in English broad cloths, fashionable cotton stripes, and fine linen. Every stripling, as soon as he arrives at puberty, must have a watch in his pocket; whereas, only 40 years ago, there were but 3 in the parish."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 5, p. 394
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 5, Section I, p. 565
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
