Whilst strolling through the old burial ground, surrounding St. Columba's Parish Church, I was interested to note the various trades and professions which I came across inscribed on the headstones. Trades that would be common-place to every town, but sadly are outdated or just no longer required.
Nowadays the number of manufacturing industries within Stewarton are greatly reduced from those of yesteryear. In days goneby you had a tradesman whom you could rely on to REPAIR, or Make a new part, for you. Whereas today you REPLACE the faulty item or worse still replace the entire piece of equipment. We accept this as the norm but in our fathers day the hammer which had belonged to his grandfather may have had three new shafts and two new heads but it still worked.
The following are some of the trades which I noted, only a few of which still exist in the town:- Auctioneer; Baker; Banker; Blacksmith; Bonnetmaker; Bonnet Manufacturer; Cabinetmaker; Carpet Manufacturer; Carrier; Cattle Dealer; Clockmaker; Clockwork manufacturer; Clothier; Collector of Customs; Cooper; Damask manufacturer; Draper; Dyer; Factor; Farmer; Flesher; Hotel keeper; Inn Keeper; Jeweller; Joiner; Land valuator; Mason; Miller; Merchant; Minister of the Gospel; Notary Publick; Pastor; Portioner; Saddler; Sculptor; Ship and Insurance Broker; Ship Master; Shoemaker; Slater; Spindlemaker; Spirit Merchant; Surgeon; Tailor; Teacher; Town Clerk; Watchmaker; Weaver; Worsted Spinner; and Wright.
You may ask — What was a Flesher, Who was a Worsted Spinner, and what was a sculptor doing in Stewarton? These questions are quite easily answered. A Flesher is now known as a butcher. Worsted spinning produced a coarse type of cloth such as used in old style blankets. The sculptors main employment would have been the making of gravestones and there are many fine examples to be found in the churchyard.
Other occupations to be observed are of a military nature:- Captain of Scots Guards, Lance Sergeant, Surgeon in the Royal Navy and Quarter Master Sergeant.
As you can see, many of the old trades are gone. The ones that are left are the age old necessities of community life ie. Banker, Teacher, Joiner to mention a few. There are several bakers shops in the town but none of them actually bakes bread locally.
You will notice that there are no electricians, motor-mechanics, washingmachine repair men, video recorder repairers, computer operators etc. Although only a few years less than a century have past since the owners of the aforementioned skills have passed away, look at the advances man has made in that time.
Were they really the "good old days"?