Springside, North Ayrshire

Springside is a village in the parish of Dreghorn, in the council area of North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is three miles (five kilometres) from Irvine, 1+1⁄2 miles (2.5 kilometres) west of Crosshouse, and four miles (six kilometres) from Kilmarnock. In the 18th, 19th and mid-20th centuries, the locality was a highly industrialised coal mining district. The settlement is on the Garrier Burn, which forms the boundary with East Ayrshire. Springside had a population of around 1364 in 1991. The A71 now bypasses the village, 1⁄4 mile (400 metres) to the south.

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Springside railway station

Springside railway station was a railway station serving the village of Springside, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway.

1.1 km

Thorntoun house and estate

Thorntoun School was opened by Barnardo's in September 1971 for children with emotional difficulties aged 11 to 16 years. The school closed in 1990 and Thorntoun is now a nursing home. The complex lies between the villages of Springside (North Ayrshire) and Crosshouse, Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The old Thorntoun mansion house was demolished in the late 1960s, leaving the West Lodge, some of the home farm outbuildings, the stables and the walled garden as 'memorials' to the ancient history of the site. Many fine trees remain from the estate policies and the surviving gardens are very well maintained (2007). An entrance with a slight deviation from the old course has been created to serve the large modern buildings which house the nursing home.

Dreghorn railway station

Dreghorn railway station was a railway station serving the village of Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was originally part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway. The line forms part of National Cycle Route 73, and the site of the station is marked by signs at the junction with Station Brae, Dreghorn.

Dreghorn

Dreghorn is a village in North Ayrshire, Scotland, 3.5 kilometres (2+1⁄4 miles) east of Irvine town centre, on the old main road from Irvine to Kilmarnock. It is sited on a ridge between two rivers. As archaeological excavations near the village centre have found a significant neolithic settlement provisionally dated to around 3500 BC, as well as medieval structures, scholars have suggested that Dreghorn could be Britain's oldest continuously inhabited village. Both Irvine and Dreghorn have grown in size and they are now separated by the Annick Valley Park, which incorporates a footpath and National Cycle Route 73 on the route of the disused Irvine to Busby railway line. It had an estimated population of 3,450 in 2020. The Church of Scotland Dreghorn and Springside Parish Church, at the centre of the village, dates from 1780. Its octagonal plan, which is unusual in Scotland, was produced by the church's principal benefactor, Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton. The village's most famous inhabitant, John Boyd Dunlop, was born at a Dreghorn farm in 1840. When practicing as a veterinary surgeon in Belfast, in 1887 he invented pneumatic tyres for bicycles.