Chapter 7

Leisure and pleasure

It would appear that sport, recreation and entertainment were not invented until the latter half of the 19th century as far as Stewarton is concerned.

    In the statistical accounts of 1791 and 1841, not one word is written about how the people spent  their  time,  which probably was little in those times when work was hard and hours were long.

   The traditional day of rest, Sunday would be a day for going to church and walking, and in the strict Puritanical community no frivolous pursuits would be tolerated. Holy Days (which became holidays) would be spent in a similar manner.

   Going further back to Stewarton's earlier days, it is difficult to imagine the De Morvilles of Langshaw (or Lainshaw) playing croquet on the lawn as they were probably  too  busy  sharpening  their swords or cooking French ragouts over an open fire in the castle kitchen.

   There is nothing in old writings to indicate if the Montgomeries of Lainshaw and the Cunninghame’s of Cunninghamhead  arranged  inter-family  football matches. Murder most foul was the name of THEIR game.

   Sir   Alexander   Cunnmghame   of Corsehill may have arranged the Great Agreement with the Glasgow Incorporation of Bonnet makers but did he enjoy a quiet game of chess or draughts in the evenings at his Corsehill mansion above the burn? This we shall never know.

   And William Cuninghame (the younger) of Lainshaw was probably too busy writing his outlandish books and keeping a look-out for the Second Advent to be bothered practising his golf swing or playing the works of Mozart or Chopin on his grand piano in the front lounge at Lainshaw.

   What the commoners or peasants of Stewarton did to while away a few hours is also unknown, except fortheir misdeeds in the records of the Baron Court and the court of the Bonnet-makers.

   Entertainment of sorts must have taken place and Stewarton has always had a fine musical tradition so presumably concerts were held with performances of light opera and musical evenings by local choirs and soloists.

       It was not until the Kilmarnock Standard was first published in the 1860s and reports of sport and entertainment in Stewarton began to appear in its columns that this aspect of life became public knowledge.

   Previously, it is known that Sabbath School outings took place in the summers, usually to a country site or field at a farm. It is also known that horse fairs were held and farmers competed in "ploughing matches."

    Stewarton's oldest recreational event was the Cadgers' Fair which was held on the first Monday in May, a local public holiday. School chfldren used to get a week's holiday at this time.

   Last   century the Cadgers’ Fair included horse racing along the main streets, where stalls and sideshows were erected. Sports were held at Hillhouse or Lainshaw Holm. It was also a feeing fair where farm servants and domestic workers were engaged for the next six months.

   In 1869, Main Street and Avenue Square were packed with gambling tables, nut barrows, pommelling machines, medical respirators, a sparring booth, a cave of magic and a monkey exhibition. The public houses were packed and people were warned about pickpockets. The procession of the Cadgers took place at 12 noon led by the Grand Marshall followed by the Stewarton Brass Band in their smart uniforms.  The thirty Cadgers were all on horseback, gaily bedecked for the occasion. The parade finished at Hillhouse Farm where horse racing took place.  One of the chief features was a Velocipede Race along the main streets to Darlington, both ways twice over. The behaviour of the crowd was highly creditable and there was little or no drunkenness. But it was a bitterly cold day "Cadgers' Fair weather it used to be called, even in the 1930s.

   By 1884 there were hobby horses and shooting galleries in the Square and lottery stands and punching machines etc. in Main Street.

    Later the Cadgers' Fair and the Cattle Show were held on the same weekend and foot and horse racing events were held at Lainshaw Holm.

   The big race of the day was the 1.000 yards which was keenly contested by local runners. Bookies took bets on both aces for the men and horses.

   The Cattle Show dance was held in the evening.

   Sometimes called “the veal fair" because everybody in the town ate veal that weekend, during this century hordes of Stewarton children used to walk up Dunlop Road to meet the show folk and their caravans.  Back in the Show park the weans then assisted in erecting the   roundabouts and were rewarded with a free ride on the hobby horses or the chair o' planes. Little did they know they were only testing the machines for safety?

   During the 1930s there was rivalry each year between top showmen, W. Codona and J. White, who made bids to the Town Council to rent the Showpark. Towards the end of this decade the Ben Hur, the Moon Rocket and the Waltzer replaced the older roundabouts, sometimes over-spilling into the Square. There was always a chip van at the Showpark entrance   selling chips of unpeeled potatoes.

   The Cadgers' Fair was suspended during the war and it never recovered. Although attempts were made to revive it, the magic was lost and it became a festival of days gone by. The shows still come to Stewarton occasionally but on a small scale.

   The cattle show, now known as the Stewarton and Dunlop Agricultural Association Show, is still being held each May at Lainshaw Holm field and last year they celebrated their 75th anniversary.

   Last century horse fairs were held in Avenue Square with as many as one hundred horses up for sale and good prices were usually obtained.

  The Stewarton Flower Show was another annual event dating back to at least the mid 19th century. It was held in the Institute Hall when very large entries were submitted to as many as 132 different classes with good prizes to be won. Unfortunately this was another event that did not survive the 1939 war, Sunday school. Band of Hope, and Foundry Boys soirees were special nights for the children and they were held in various halls in the town for around a century. The programme at those events consisted of the best singers and reciters doing their party pieces on stage. Halfway through the proceedings came the highlight of the evening when tea and poke were served. Bags of food, which had been made up by local bakers, usually consisted of a Paris bun, a chocolate biscuit, and a cake. The biscuit and cake were scoffed in no time while the dry tea bread provided the ammunition for the obligatory bun fight.

   Sunday school Christmas parties were other festive occasions and it was strange that the Sunday schools always had their biggest roll call the week before the party. This was to ensure an invitation.

   Summer trips were much anticipated outings, especially for children.  Last century and early this century the venue was often a farm field not far away and the  children  and  their  teachers were escorted there by horse and cart or brake to  Lainshaw Holm, Holmhead or "the jubilee" field on the banks of the Annick. "The jubilee" was so-named because a gala day was held there to celebrate Queen Victoria's Jubilee.

   Later the seaside was the destination and the Foundry Boys always went to Troon on the first Saturday in June. The Rechabite trip was in July and Irvine shore was the venue.

   The Higher Grade School organised two  trips;  one  semi-educational  to Edinburgh or Stirling etc by special train; and a picnic to Lamlash by train and boat.

   But the big "day of days was always the Sunday Schools trip, known locally as "the jant" which was held on the third Saturday of June. It went to Prestwick at one time but latterly always to South Beach. Two special trains were booked one for the John Knox Church and the Cairns Church, and the other for the Laigh Kirk  and  the  Congregational Church.  •

   That morning the children gathered at their respective halls, the girls dressed in colourful, print frocks, usually made by their mothers; while the boys sported short grey flannels supported by a striped belt and a white open-necked shirt. Ah wore sandshoes or sandals and each child had the ubiquitous tinny hung round his or her neck with white tape.

   After the march to Stewarton Station it was into the compartments, down with the windows and out with the streamers. A big cheer arose as the train left the platform and then it was singing, singing all the way to the sea.

    At South Beach, sites had been allocated to the different churches and the church banners were erected, the hampers of food and sports equipment were dropped off on the site, and soon the games were in progress. Then it was circle on the grass time when the tinnies were filled with tea or mill: and the sandwiches half pies and cream cakes were devoured with relish. In the afternoons it was either paddling in the sea, or a visit to the Saltcoats shops before running in the races.

   Sunday school trips are still held but not on the scale of yesteryear. Nowadays the churches go their separate ways and they no longer go to South Beach.

   The oldest sports club in Stewarton still in existence is Stewarton Bowling Club which was founded in 1861. It is believed that bowls were played before that date but there was no proper green until the land on the then outskirts of the town near the top of Avenue Street was acquired and flattened. A small clubhouse was also erected.

   Although the Stewarton bowlers have had many successes over the years, the Club's greatest triumph took place back in 1907 when four members won the Scottish Rinks Championship at Queen's Park, Glasgow. John Roberton was the skip and the others were James Ferguson, Alex Dunlop, and John Cuthbertson. When the victorious quartet arrived back home that evening they were given a tremendous reception and even the Town Band turned out to greet them.

   In the 1950s there was a shortage of members and funds were low. This changed when the town's population began to increase in the Sixties coincidentally with the acquisition of a drinks licence and the provision of a bar. The Clubhouse had to be extended and refurbished to cope with the larger membership and later a further extension was erected at right angles to the main building.

   In 1987 Stewarton Bowling  Club celebrated  its  125th  anniversary. The present membership is the largest in the club's  history  with  a  senior  section, ladies section and junior section. There is a ten year waiting list to join. As well as playing bowls, the members enjoy the social scene in their lounge where they can partake of refreshments after a match or entertain  their  numerous  guests  from other clubs. Today Stewarton Bowling Club is thriving and is in a healthy, financial position.

   Quoiting is an old game winch was played early last century either by town's men or farmers on spare pieces of ground.

   There is no official record of exactly when Stewarton Quoiting Club was formed but it was sometime in the 1850s. Although  the  national  successes  of Stewarton quoiters were few during the club's  hundred  years'  existence,  they won the Scottish Cup in 1886 and 1906.

   Among the greatest and best known exponents of the game in Stewarton were my ancestors, the Barclays, including at one stage five brothers who played in the Stewarton team. My father, Tom Barclay, was also highly rated in quoiting circles. One man more than any other kept the game going in Stewarton and Tommy Thomson was both player and secretary for almost half a century.

   The quoiting ground was situated at Biaehead off Vennel Street now the church car park and it had a small, brick clubhouse which was erected by the Mackie Trust.

   Glasgow Fair Saturday was THE day in the Stewarton quoiting calendar when the main event of the season, the Stewarton Quoiting Tournament, was played. Quoiters came from far and near to compete and the tournament started early that morning and continued sometimes until the wee  sma'oors when candles or matches had to be lit to allow the competition to be completed. Bets were placed on most of the games.

   The last tournament was held on Saturday, 13th July 1957 and the club was wound up three years later.

   Golf was fashionable in the 17th century and played by the Stuart Kings but it was a long time before it reached Stewarton. In 1912 Stewarton Golf Club was established and its members played on a nine hole course at Gameshill. It was opened on the 1st of June that year when Provost Sim drove the first ball. The terms for membership were: Gentlemen 12s6d, Ladies 7s6d and visitors 6d per round for 18 holes twice round the course.

   Due to land leasing problems the course had to be altered from time to time and even the clubhouse was shifted more than once. At one stage an 18 hole course was attamed but it did not last long and the members had to revert to nine holes, This course was situated between the Cutstraw and Fenwick roads and the holes were given affectionate names like Blaw Wearie, Village, Dug's Leg, Tipperary, and the Kilns, and this was the most prosperous period in the club's history.

   No golf was played in Stewarton during World War II and this was really the death-blow for local golf. Stewarton Golf Club continues to exist however, and its members still play their competitions at courses at Kilmarnock and elsewhere. There are also local golfers who are members of various clubs in North Ayrshire.

   Tennis has been played in Stewarton since 1923 when a group of enthusiasts formed a club. Two courts were laid on ground at Corsehillbank Street and wire netting erected around them. The Gala Opening took place on 1st September, 1923 and was performed by Mrs Neilson of Chapeltoun, and from then on it was "anyone for tennis" in Stewarton. A third court  was added  in  1925  when the membership was over one hundred. On the social side, the annual Tennis Dance was a highlight in the local social calendar.

   During the war the army requisioned the site, and the courts and the surrounding netting were badly damaged over the next few years. At the end of hostilities it was some time before tennis was able to be played in Stewarton but compensation was eventually received from the military authorities and this, combined with local voluntary work, enabled the courts to reopen and the club to be reformed.

   A post war tennis boom lasted for about fifteen years with a record membership, but interest waned and the number of members decreased accordingly. Efforts were made to save the club by running fund-raising events but the courts were by this time in a rather delapidated condition and in 1970 Stewarton Town Council volunteered to take over the place. The club members agreed on the condition that the ground would always be used for tennis as long as there was a demand, Improvements were made and tennis continued to be played although not on the scale of the peak years. Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council is now in charge of the courts where local youngsters are given instruction by a qualified Scottish Lawn Tennis Association coach. and partly due to the influence of the considerable television coverage of this game, tennis is quite popular in Stewarton' once more.

   Stewarton has always been a fitba' daft toun and organised  "association football" goes back to the 1870s. In those days the town, with a population of around 3,000 had three clubs Stewarton, Stewarton Cunninghanie and Vale of Annick and a fourth club known as The Rising Star came into being a short time later. The first three clubs were members of the Ayrshire Football Association and played in a league with other clubs from the county.

   Stewarton Cunninghame was the best known club whose park was at High Cross Farm while the Vale of Annick played in a field at Causeyhead above Dean Street, now known as Merrygreen. The oldest club, Stewarton, came into existence in 1875 and played on a pitch at Standalane with their "clubhouse" at the Railway Hotel at the Cross.

   Stewarton became Stewarton Juniors and played their home games at Hillhouse for a spell but they then were gifted anew pitch by their keenest and most affluent supporter, Gabriel Cochrane, mine host of the Railway Hotel. It was appropriately named Cochrane's Park behind Lainshaw Street towards the railway. Their finest hour and a half came in 1903 when they won the Ayrshire Junior Cup beating Darvel in the final.

   In the early 1920s Stewarton Juniors adopted the title of Stewarton Thistle for a short time before reverting back and they played at Burnside Park at Kirkford. One  memorable match took place there when Stewarton J uniors played Parkhead from Glasgow in the 6th round of the Scottish Cup before 5,000 spectators. Although Stewarton was the better team on the day, the referee from Clydebank gifted Parkhead two soft penalties to allow them to win 3-2. Incidentally, my father, Tom Barclay, played centre half for the Juniors on that occasion, and he signed for St Mirren shortly afterwards.

  When Stewarton became "dry" in 1920, this was the beginning of the end for Junior football in the town as supporters of other clubs refused to follow their team to a town in which they could not obtain  alcoholic  liquid   refreshment. Although Stewarton Juniors played on the new Strandhead Park in 1926, they went out of existence shortly afterwards.

   Stewarton   Town   Council   was responsible for the construction of Strandhead  Park  which  unfortunately was situated on a slope. It had an inferior grass  surface  which  was  allowed  to deteriorate due to lack of attention over the years. There was also a ramshackle club house which had been shifted from another  site  and  its  one  redeeming feature was a small grandstand on the far side of the pitch.

   In the late Twenties, Stewarton YMCA formed a team and joined the Ayrshire Churches  League,  which,  despite  its religious affiliations, was a mighty tough football arena. "The YM," as they were known, soon established themselves as one of the top teams in the county, and their greatest triumph took place on the 10th May, 1934 when they won the Scottish Churches Cup by beating Mossvale YMCA in the final at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock by eight goals to two. It was a tremendous achievement considering that 250 teams from all over Scotland competed for that cup.  Mattha  Roberton  and  Charlie Ferguson were the "managers" and the winning team was: Porter A Fraser and Ferguson T Redmond, Porter J. and Wilson; Murdoch, Chynoweth, Lament, McCutcheon, and Ferguson R.

   Another notable Stewarton victory happened in 1930 when the Higher Grade School Football team won the Kilmarnock and District Schools' Cup. They too played on the famous Rugby Park where they beat Glencairn School from Kilmarnock in the final. The whole town turned out to welcome the triumphant lads home later that night. The team was: George Brown; Robert Sim, and Davie Ogilvie; Jimmy Ferguson, Tom Currie, and Alex McCrae; Davie  Moncur, Alee Rcken, Jacky Craig, Tom Wilson, and Willie McCill.

   Many other local football teams have come and gone during the last fifty years. They include Stewarton Amateurs, the British Legion, Stewarton United, Strandhead Rovers, and Rigghead Amateurs. The game was given a boost in recent years due to the activities of Annick Youth Club football section in which eight teams of various age groups play in leagues and cup competitions in the district.

    The high point in their year is the biannual meetings with the West German club, Hamburger Turnershafte 1816, in Hamburg and Stewarton alternately. The two clubs have been meeting for twelve years, and as well as competing against each other in football tournaments, sightseeing and entertainment have formed part of the intinerary.

   There  are  two  amateur clubs in Stewarton at the present time Stewarton Thistle and Annick Amateurs.

   Local football players who have made their mark by winning important medals or being' capped  for  Scotland include Davie Russell, who was known as "Dave" when he played in the great Preston North End team of late last century. In 1888, Russell won both English League and English F.A. Cup badges. After he quit  football Dave Russell took to the music hall stage where he was quite successful as an entertainer.

  Two  men from Stewarton won Scottish Cup medals with St. Mirren in 1926, Tom Barclay and Willie McDonald.

Ten years later Willie Sim won a Scottish Junior Cup medal playing for Arthurlie and was capped forjunior Scotland. Derek Hamilton, a relation of Davie Russell, a former Rigghead Amateurs player, won several honours with  Aberdeen before winning a Scottish Cup medal with St. Mirre in 1987.

   Many local men have kept football alive  in  Stewarton  since  the war and without their enthusiasm and perseverance, the game might not have survived. Although I have a huge list of names before me, rather than risk omitting one or two and thereby offending them or their relatives, I shall mention only one John Roy, the Secretary of Rigghead Amateurs and Stewarton Thistle for 25 years.

   The players, former players (and I include myself) and the spectators are indebted to all those who gave and give their time and energy to run football teams in our town.

   Stewarton Ladies Football Club was founded in 1961 when a group of netball players were asked to  form a football team for one game. Over the years the team has played all over the country and in foreign parts and many trophies have been won. Although the Club still exists the matches are now played in Kilmarnock. Their most famous player is Rose Reilly, who emigrated lo first France then Italy to play professionally and become an international star with the Italian team. A stalwart of female football in Stewarton is  Elsie  Cook, former player and now a manager.

   Strandhead  Park, Stewarton's main recreational area since the early Thirties, replaced the Back Road field as the town park, and it has seen some changes during that  spell.  In  1930/31, the Pond was constructed  when  the  Town  Council received a large grant from the government towards its expenditure. This provided the town with an additional amenity and during its construction provided employment for local men who had been on the dole. The Pond was used by children for sailing yachts, paddling and boating in summer, and in cold winter it became the local skating and curling rink. There were even lights across the area for evening sport.

    A putting green was laid out at Strandhead and swings plus other play equipment for children were also installed. The putting green was extremely popular with both  adults  and  children and  Dick Redmond followed by Tommy Currie were in charge. It was closed later due to misuse by football hooligans.

   In  1976.  when  Kilmarnock  and Loudoun District Council look over the park, the football pitch was levelled and covered with red blaes to convert it into an all-weather pitch. With the disappearance of the putting green due to vandalism, in 1982 this site was converted into a new play area for youngsters in a joint project by Stewarton Round Table and Stewarton Community Council. Other play areas exist in other parts of the town but in certain cases they have been vandalised to such an extent that the equipment has had to be removed.

   Gardening has always been a pastime and large flower and fruit gardens were a feature  of local  estates  and  mansion houses at Lainshaw, Robertland, Lochridge, Wardhead and Chapeltoun. William Cuningham of Lainshaw added extensive gardens when he acquired the estate from the Montgomeries.

   Ordinary  folks  too  were  keen gardeners and Stewarton Flower Show was a most ambitious event for the best part of a century. In 1901 there were 132 different classes and a huge prize list. Sadly the Show did not survive the 193945 war. This pleasant hobby is still popular however and the Community Council run a garden competition annually.

   Stewarton's most noted horticulturist was James Kerr of Westmount whose garden of Alpine plants, roses and rhododendrons  was  unique.  Mr  Kerr  was president of the Scottish National Sweet Pea, Rose and Carnation Society for over twenty years. His famous sweet pea was named "Molly" after his daughter Molly Kerr.

   Angling or fishing is one of the oldest pastimes known to man, both as means of survival and a sport. No doubt, through the ages, Stewartonians would fish in local burns and rivers for trout or even eels to provide sustenance for their families at the same time enjoying a few hours in the fresh air.

   Like some other sports or pastimes, it  was  a  long  time  before  an  official body was formed in connection with fishing and it was not until 1930 that Stewarton Angling Club came into being. The organisers included Bob Templeton, Andrew Gillies and Bobby Nelson.

   The first meeting took place in the Institute  Committee  Room on  Friday, 26th September,  1930 when sixteen members were present.

   A year later a trout hatchery was constructed at the Quarryhouse, off the Old Glasgow Road, which entailed much hard graft at weekends for those involved. This was where young trout were bred and then deposited in local rivers and the High Quarry.

   One notable achievement took place after the war when the Town Council succeeded in obtaining the fishing rights to the  White  Loch,  which  was  then Stewarton's reservoir.

   The Angling Club still exists with a large membership.

   Stewarton has never had aboxing club although members of the Mabon family were keen exponents of this sport, and rugby has only been played at the schools. Darts are played in local pubs, especially the Smugglers Arms, and there is a local chess club.

   The breeding and showing of cage birds was once  a hobby  practised in Stewarton and the Cage Bird Show was an annual event. There was also a Flying Club for devotees of pigeon breeding and racing and there are still a few pigeon fanciers in the town who are members of Stewarton and District Flying Club.

   Riding  to hounds  or fox-hunting, a sport to some; a cruel, barbaric pastime to others, took place at Chapeltoun and probably elsewhere. This was the manner in which the landed gentry and their well-heeled associates enjoyed themselves and hunts took place around the local countryside over a long period.

   The construction and flying of model aircraft was a popular pastime for boys after the second world war and Bobby Burns used to run a club for devotees of this hobby.

   Freemasonry goes back a long time in Stewarton and a lodge has existed since 1771. The local lodge has had several names and different numbers. For many years it has been Lodge Thistle No. 127 with "the brawest lodge in Scotland" at Springwell Place. There is also a branch of the Eastern Star in Stewarton.

   Curling is no longer able to be played locally but keen curlers play on rinks elsewhere. Those who like to play indoor bowling go to the Magnum in Irvine or to other venues.

   Carpet bowls, draughts, dominoes and card games are played by older men in their club at the rear of the Institute.

   Bums Suppers are still held by most local organisations.

   Stewarton ladies take part in many leisure   activities   including   aerobics, country dancing, weight watching, whist drives and other pursuits.

   The Open Door Club was founded in the Seventies for over sixties and the mixed membership meet every Thursday afternoon  during the winter months. Special outings are arranged and a week's holiday is organised.

   Stewarton   Old  People's  Welfare Association  is  active among the over seventies and a summer trip, a winter concert  and  a  Christmas  present  are among the items enjoyed by members. This organisation was founded in the Thirties and Jack and Ruby Hamilton were instrumental in  its formation and its continued existence.

   Rifle   shooting   was   popular   in Stewarton early this century when this sport was practised at Lainshaw in 1909 and a club was formed two years later. The members at that time were allowed to shoot in the rifle range at Standalane. For many years the club was out of existence until it was reformed in 1958 when shooting was allowed in the then Drill Hall and also outside at Lainshaw. Several years ago the Standalane range, which had been used as a Council store, was allocated  to  the  Rifle  Club  whose members refurbished it and constructed a new range. The Club is still going strong in 1988.

   Curling and skating used to be popular in winter weather when a field known as "the Bug," between the Fenwick and Old Kilmarnock roads used to become flooded. When it froze these pastimes were enjoyed by many people. Keen curlers were sometimes served with meals from the Railway Hotel between games and oil lamps were lit to allow play to continue after dark. In 1931 the Pond at Strandhead Park was opened and took over from the Bug as Stewarton's skating rink. Those were the days of the old fashioned skates which had to be clamped on to ordinary boots which sometimes came loose thereby sending the skater crashing on the ice.

   A sport, if that is the correct term, practised  by  the  farming  community was the ploughing match. This involved one farm as a venue with other farmers corning from all over on the appointed day to compete against one another on the amount of land ploughed in a certain time.

   Although  football  was  by  far Stewarton's most popular game, cricket was also played at one stage and the Kirkford Cricket Club existed in the early 1870s. After a brief existence it broke up in 1876 but the cricketers had a reunion in 1893 for old time's sake. Many years later in 1919, the surviving members of this club  invited  Sir John Anthony of Govan, a Stewartonian, and others, to a function  in  the  Institute  Hall. Two hundred people attended and they enjoyed "a sumptuous repast." In the 1930s, Mr I.T. Parker, an Ayr C.C. cricketer and a maths teacher at Stewarton School, introduced the game to the boys of the Higher Grade.

   One strange game they used to play on ground at Standalane near the Drill Hall (now the Centre) was called pitch and toss. It was a gambling game in which men pitched a penny at a mark on the ground and the one who came nearest got the first toss of the coins and the best chance of winning money. Sometimes special copper "tossers" were used which were heavier than a penny.

   Another similar gambling game was played at "tossing schools." These took place at the water planting or the High Quarry on Sunday afternoons when a crowd of men gathered to bet on the toss of two pennies, either "heids two" or "tails two." Sometimes a great  deal of cash changed hands. An occasional police raid would bring forth the shout: "Here's the  poalis!" when  the  crowd  would disappear in a few seconds. In fact, "the poalis" usually turned a blind eye to the proceedings.

   Among boys, football was by far the most popular game and many boys' teams were formed including the School team. Sometimes a few youngsters would decide to start a team naming it the Standalane Rovers or the Dauriintoun Dumplins or similar. They would then scribble out a note and go round the doors in an effort to raise funds to buy a football. The note read:

"The sky's blue, The sea's deep, But the Standalane Rovers are hard to beat.

Ladies and Gentlemen sit at your ease Put your hand in your pocket and give what you please A ha'penny, a penny, anything at all As long as it helps to buy a new ball."

  As often as not, the "team" was never formed and the cash collected was duly spent on fish suppers and "McCallums" in the local "Tally's shop."

   There were also seasonal pastimes for boys like bools with glessies and steelies; making bogies, "bullying" with chestnuts, making   "sugar-ally-waiter,"   spinning peeries, flying home-made kites, running with girds and decks, and making turnip lanterns at Hallowe'cn. In high summer crowds flocked to the local "dookin' holes" like the Auld Dam, the Munt, the  ladies dooking  hole  and  "Andra Sweelzies." With the exception of the Auld Dam. all of these haunts still exist but nobody "dooks" in them any more.

    Peter's planting and the water planting were among the play areas with cowboys and indians the popular game. Moncur's Stables was another meeting place and play site for local lads, and the Corsehill and Annick  banks  were  also  children's haunts fishing with a net for minnows or paddling.

   The lassies played with their skipping ropes, and their dolls and wee prams. Their favourite ball game was "plainy clappy" in their younger days, but netball was a very popular game at school. Other girls'  games  in  which  the  boys  often joined were run sheep run, tig, hide and seek,  birds  and  beasts  and  flowers, peevers, and rounders. There were also singing games  for the wee lassies like "Water water wall flower" and "There's a big ship sailing through the Eally Alley oh."

   Indoor entertainment played a big part in life in Stewarton and in the second half of the  19th century church and sabbath school soirees were held regularly and the Band of Hope held their sprees in the Good Templars Hall at Springwell Place.  In  1882  a  Choral Society was formed and concerts were given in the Institute Hall.

   Early this century William Ballantyiie's Juvenile Class used to present light operas or pantomimes in the Institute Hall before full houses. In 1906 the show was  "Jack  the  Giant  Killer,"  and Cinderella" was another production.

   Andrew Kerr was another exceptionally gifted musical maestro who pioneered a local choir that achieved fame by its performances  of leading  works  both locally  and beyond. Andrew was also responsible  for  bringing  the  famous Australian baritone, Peter Dawson, to sing iii Stewarton in 1905 and 1906.

   Another prominent figure in musical circles was A.Y. Lochhead, who founded a Choral Society in 1892. His choirs entered and won competitions and gave performances  and  he  also  organised Kinderspiel Socials.

   During the early part ot this century Stewarton had its own Literary Society.

   Iii 1901 the Stewarton Military Band was founded or reformed and William Eaglesham was appointed Bandmaster at a salary of £21 per annum plus a bonus of £5 for extra work in forming the band. After soliciting subscriptions the Town Council  purchased  instruments  from Boosey Musical Industries of London.

   A new concept of leisure and pleasure came to Stewarton in 1910 when the Manders brothers brought "cinennatograph entertainment" to the town. The shows ran from October to April in a marquee in the show park and heating was provided from a coke stove. Admission was 3d for a seat and 2d to stand and Manders' shows were packed almost every night as people flocked to watch the silent flickering images on the "silver screen."

  Tom Manders was best known in Stewarton and he was a showman and former circus ringmaster who eventually lived permanently in the town. Before his cinema shows he used to parade up and down outside the marquee with a clown named Wee Jimmy Ready, who also settled here, and their repartee outside attracted the customers inside. Their shows became so  popular that  in 1911  it was once propsed at a meeting of the Town Council that they would be stopped as fewer people were attending local clubs etc. The suggestion was thrown out and the shows carried on.

   In  1914  two  Englishmen the Orbell brothers opened the picture house in Lainshaw Street. At first the audiences  retamed  their  loyalty  to Manders' shows but the cosiness and warmth of the picture house eventually beat the relatively cold tent and this was the start of something big.

   For the next sixteen years silent pictures were shown with appropriate musical   accompaniment  by  William Eaglesham's small orchestra and later by Gilbert Shedden on piano, who had to change his tune, happy or sad, to match the scene on the screen.

   When "the talkies''came, it closed for a spell and a consortium of local businessmen took over and refurbished it and provided new sound equipment. John Sim, a local hosiery manufacturer, eventually took control and the Picture House thrived under his administration.

   The first talking picture to be seen in Stewarton was "New Moon," starring Grace Moore and Lawrence Tibbett on Monday 30th November 1931.Therewere three changes of programme per week with a children's matinee on Saturday afternoons. Everybody in the town went to "the pictures" at least once a week.

   Tom Manders was appointed operator and during the 1930s Dick Brown was the "Chocolate boy" who went round the hall selling   chocolate   and  other  goodies. Others who had long associations with the picture house in its heyday were Bill and Molly Wilson. Bill was the operator for years.

   When television came to the West of Scotland m 1952, this was the beginning of the end for Stewarton Picture House, Various owners took over for the next fifteen years or so, one of whom changed the name to The Roxy, but the big times were m the past as audiences dwindled. It finally  closed  its  doors  in  the  early Seventies.

   Agroup of local people then purchased the premises and converted it into a club and this was the start of Stewarton Social Club, still in existence today.

   Other forms of indoor entertainment included whist drives, candle teas, church social evenings, and, of course, dances. And who remembers Magic Lantern shows?

   Stewarton, being ahead of its time in education, had a library as far back as 1810. There was also a separate reading room. Today, reading continues to be a primary  pastime  in  the  town  and Stewarton Library handles 2,000 transactions each week.

   The great Sir Harry Lauder once appeared in Stewarton. The date was 23rd October 1941 and the occasion was a  charity concert in the Picture House when all the artistes gave their services free.

   In his inimitable style Harry Lauder sang "She's ma daisy," "Stop yer ticklin' Jock," and  other favourites. He also raffled strings of onions which were scarce at the time.

   After finishing with "Keep right on to the end of the road," he left the stage to very loud applause and cheers. A tenor from Newmilns was the next turn and he gave a rendering of "Drink to me only with thine eyes" then left the stage. Just at that moment the kilted Sir Harry made his departure and as he came down the steps leading to the nearby exit in view of the capacity audience, he was given a rousing send-off with tumultous cheering. The man from Newmilns, thinking the ovation  was  for  him,  came  beaming back on to the stage and said effusively: "Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen - for my encore I give you 'Ae fond kiss'."

   During the late Forties and early Fifties Mrs Meg Donaldson ran the annual Highland Ball in the Drill Hall when "Miss Stewarton" was chosen.

   Dances have been held in the Institute and Drill Halls (the Centre) by various organisations over a long number of years and concerts and functions were and are held in the Church halls. In recent years many evening social gatherings are held in the Millhouse Hotel Function Suite and Wardhead Park and Chapeltoun House Hotels.

   The concerts produced by the Laigh Kilk Girls' Association were extremely popular for several decades and some of the "girls" who appeared are still to the fore in town.

   In the  early part  of this  century billiards was played in the Liberal Club in Brown Street. Later this game was played in the Recreation Club in the ground floor below the Institute Hall where carpet bowls was also played. At the Tory Club in High Street there were two billiards tables. Today, snooker and pool have taken over from billiards and the former is played in the 147 Club in New Street which has a large membership. Tournaments  are  played  and  many trophies are up for competition annually. pool, an American game, is played at the Bowling Club and in a local public house.

   In 1903 a large building was erected at Standalane and named the Stewarton Volunteer Drill Hall to train local reserve soldiers  of the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers. For many years between the wars and afterwards it was used for dances and other social functions. It was also the headquarters of Stewarton Y.M.C.A. and was equipped as a gymnasium at one time.

   In  the  early  Seventies  Stewarton Annick Youth and Community Association converted it into a recreation hall mainly for the youth of the town but also for  general use. It  was extended and refurbished and it was officially opened in June 1973. The man behind the scheme was lan McKie, at one time the local police sergeant.

   Since then it has been in constant use seven nights per week, catering for the young. Discos are held almost weekly and the main hall is also equipped for indoor games.

   George Moncur is the present Chairman and he is proud of all the trophies the  members, including the  football teams, have won over many years.

    In the early days of wireless, devotees used to experiment with "cats whiskers" and earphones in an effort to pick up the first wireless transmissions. Those crude pieces of equipment were soon replaced by valve sets large, cumbersome boxes which required an outside aerial. The early models were powered by batteries including high tension and grid bias, plus "accumulators" which had to be recharged at regular intervals. The all-mains sets did away with all this bother.

   Listening to "the wireless” became one of the most popular leisure pastimes in the history of man. Among the favourite programmes were the dance bands which broadcast several times a day, and the variety shows.

   When television was first shown in the West of Scotland those who could afford it rushed to buy a set. This was in 1952 when there was only one channel from the BBC and the pictures were black and white. It was a wonderful novelty and everybody watched "the telly." By the end of the Sixties colour television had been introduced when viewers gradually acquired  new  colour  sets with larger screens.

   It was around this era that the term "Hi-Fi" was heard for the first time and stereo  record  playing  equipment  and cassettes . began to replace  radiograms. Back in the late Twenties and Thirties the the gramophone, with its crude sound box and mechanical turntable, had appeared on the scene. But high fidelity equipment including radio, record player and tape recorder introduced a new dimension to home entertainment. Later video cassette recorders and video tapes were put on the market followed by lazer record players and compact discs.

   Holidays as we know them today did not exist a hundred years ago. The only outings most people enjoyed were with their  "Sabbath School" or the annual works ja'nt by brake to a field in the country, usually only a few miles out of town. In 1886 the Free Church Sabbath School broke with tradition and went to South Beach and on arrival the children were supplied with tea, milk and bread, which must have been a "day of days" for those attending.

   That  same  year  the workers of W. & J. Wyllie, Corsehill Bonnet Works, travelled to Ardrossan then on to Lamlash byboat.

   It   was   this  century  before  most residents of Stewarton took holidays at the seaside. There was no holiday with pay in those days and workers had to save even to live whilst off work for the two weeks at Kilmarnock Fail, By the Twenties and Thirties the Ayrshire coast was the destination  of  holidaymakers,  to  Troon, Prestwick, Ayr, Saltcoats or Largs with Arran  and  Rothesay other favourite resorts. Families usually took a room or rooms in a private house, sometimes "with  attendance," which meant the visitors bought their own food and the landlady cooked and served it. Only the better-off could afford to goto a boarding house and hotels were almost exclusively for the well-to-do.

   It  was not until after the war when holidays with pay became the norm that more and more people extended their horizons and raised their standards in accommodation. Blackpool, the Isle of Man, Scarborough and the south coast of England as well as all over Scotland were soon the holiday destinations, to the detriment of the Ayrshire coast resorts.

   In pre war days very few "ordinary people" owned cars and it was not until the 1950s that "the working man's car" started to become a reality. This increased the scope of travel, for day trips and for holidays to every part of the country and even beyond.

    It was the invention of the jet engine and the construction of large aircraft that altered holiday habits for the masses for  all  time.  By  the  Sixties Spanish holidays were taking over from British haunts for more and more vacationers. Since then the world has become smaller as destinations increased and Stewarton people took advantage of flights to all over Europe, to Australia, the USA, and Canada, etc., etc. either to visit relatives or to see for themselves countries which previously had been places on a map.

   The Boys' Brigade in Stewarton goes back. a long time and they had a brass band at the  start of this  century when the company held concerts in the Institute Hall. On the 11th of July, 1903 the B.B. held their Annual Inspection, Athletic Sports and Musical Promenade in the Holm Field Lainshaw. The Brigade went out of existence for some years but was reformed and is now a thriving organisation with many members. The .bugle band plays regularly in local parades.

   The Boy Scouts 20th Ayrshire Group was formed in 1908 and has always been well supported by local men leaders and boys. Recently the Scouts moved into new premises at the former school building at Corsehillbank Street which they renovated to suit their requirements and this is the first time in their long history that they have obtained permanent headquarters.

   The Guides too have existed for a long time and still meet in the Guide Hut at Standalane. One other youth group for girls is the 1st Stewarton Company Girls' Brigade.

   Stewarton Drama Group came into being in the early Seventies and since then  members  have  performed  in Stewarton and elsewhere with tremendous success. They have staged many one act and full length plays in the Institute Hall, some of which have been entered in various drama  festivals and numerous prizes have been won. The Group's annual Christmas show, which is presented in the Institute for a week in December, is one of the highlights in the town's entertainment calendar and the hall is packed at every performance.

   Another  all-female   group  who entertain  around  this district are  the Stewartones. Formed about twenty years ago they performed at the Bonnet Guild's Music Hall shows for fifteen years and they put on regular shows at old folks' homes. woman's guilds and clubs around Ayrshire and even Glasgow. The Stewartones have made many donations to local charities. John McFadden acts as compere/vocahst and Nessie Sheach is the producer who also appears in the shows.

   Stewarton Majorettes were formed in 1968 by Bill Jackson and have made numerous

   A very well known and popular pair of entertainers are the Brodie Sisters Betty Bennett and Nancy Fleming who used to be Betty and Nancy Broadhurst who have been singing together in public since they were small girls. They made their debut at a Band of Hope soiree in the Thirties and have been singing at all kinds  of  concerts,  weddings,  Bums Suppers and other sprees all their lives, both in the town and around the district.

   When the Bonnet Guild Festival started in 1933 it gradually replaced the Cadgers' Fair as the main gala evenl in the Stewarton year. How it all began and what has occurred since will appear elsewhere in this book.