Cumnock became a market town in the early sixteenth century and went on to flourish both as an agricultural centre and a focus for local industry. Initially, industrial activity was concentrated around handloom weaving and the manufacture of snuff boxes, but aided by the arrival of the railways in the 1850s coal began to be mined on a large scale. Famous resident James Keir Hardie put Cumnock on the map when he formed an early labour union in the town, later becoming a founder member of the Scottish Labour Party. His story features in the book, along with photographs of many of Cumnock's best-known sights. Several of these, such as the Bell Tree, Hillside House and the old open-air swimming pool in Woodroad Park, have now vanished. Photographs of the neighbouring communities of Cronberry and Lugar are included also.

History of the County of Ayr by James Paterson, first published in 1847, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

This is the first book to take a comprehensive view of the historical geography of Scotland since the Union. The period is divided into sections separated by the Napoleonic Wars and the First World War, and each section offers a general view followed by detailed studies giving a balanced coverage of regional and urban-rural criteria, and the economic infrastructure. The book contains a number of original researches and Dr Turnock attempts to set the Scottish experience in a framework of general ideas on modernisation.