Kilmarnock

"Killie" redirects here. For the association football club, see Kilmarnock F.C.
For other uses, see Kilmarnock (disambiguation).

Kilmarnock
Administrative centre, town and former burgh
Skyline of Kilmarnock
Coat of Arms of the Burgh of Kilmarnock
Coat of Arms
Kilmarnock is located in East Ayrshire
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Location within East Ayrshire Council area
Kilmarnock is located in Scotland
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Location within Scotland
Kilmarnock is located in East Ayrshire
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Location within East Ayrshire
Area27.3 km2 (10.5 sq mi) [3]
Population46,970 (2022)[4]
• Density1,721/km2 (4,460/sq mi)
OS grid referenceNS429381
• Edinburgh56 mi (90 km)
• London335 mi (539 km)
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townKILMARNOCK
Postcode districtKA1-KA3
Dialling code01563
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
WebsiteEast Ayrshire Council
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°36′40″N 4°29′45″W / 55.61106°N 4.49571°W / 55.61106; -4.49571

Kilmarnock (/kɪlˈmɑːrnək/ kil-MAR-nək; Scots: Kilmaurnock; Scottish Gaelic: Cill Mheàrnaig, IPA: [kʲʰiːʎ ˈvaːɾnəkʲ]) is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996[5] and is the region's main commercial and industrial centre.[6]

The town grew considerably during the 1870s and the town's growth subsumed the village of Bonnyton,[7] and by the 1960s, new purpose built suburbs such as New Farm Loch were constructed to accommodate the increasing population of Kilmarnock.[8] By mid–2020, the population of the town was estimated to be 46,970,[9] making Kilmarnock the 14th most populated settlement in Scotland as well as the largest town in Ayrshire by population.[10]

The first passenger conveying railway in Scotland originated in Kilmarnock in 1812 as a horse-drawn 4 ft-gauge plateway and became known as the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway.[11] The first printed collection of works by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published in 1786 in Kilmarnock. Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, was published by John Wilson, and became known as the Kilmarnock Edition. The internationally best–selling whisky Johnnie Walker was established in the town in the 19th century and was produced and bottled at the Hill Street plant until closure in 2012, following an announcement by owners Diageo in 2009 that the plant would close as part of company restructuring.[12][13][14][15]

  1. ^ "Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba – Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland – Database". gaelicplacenames.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Map of Scotland in Scots – Guide and gazetteer" (PDF). D3lmsxlb5aor5x.cloudfront.net.
  3. ^ "Kilmarnock (East Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Kilmarnock town centre · East Ayrshire Council". East-ayrshire.gov.uk. 25 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Kilmarnock town centre". www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk. East Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  7. ^ "KILMARNOCK – A HISTORICAL SURVEY" (PDF). www.kilmarnockhistory.co.uk. Kilmarnock History Group. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  8. ^ Beattie, Frank (2012). Kilmarnock Through Time. Amberley Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 9781848684102.
  9. ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". www.nrscotland.gov.uk. National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Ayrshire – New Municipalism Scotland". Newmunicipalism.ballotbox.scot. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Kilmarnock and Troon Railway". www.nationaltransporttrust.org.uk. National Transport Trust. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  12. ^ Kilmarnock's Johnnie Walker factory to shut. Kilmarnock Standard. Retrieved on 16 July 2013.
  13. ^ "More than 20,000 take to streets to protest Johnnie Walker plant closure". The Daily Telegraph. London. 26 July 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  14. ^ Khan, Stephen (2 July 2009). "Kilmarnock is Johnnie Walker". The Guardian. London.
  15. ^ Keep Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock. Scotland.gov.uk (15 July 2009). Retrieved on 2013-07-16.