With a population of over forty five thousand, Kilmarnock is definitely not what you'd call a small town. It is also quite close to Glasgow and anybody who has ever stepped foot into that behemoth knows that all around its greater borough area there are plenty of sizable towns that are little more than outcroppings of the massive girth of the city. It would truly be a disservice to Kilmarnock to categorize it as little more than a suburb of Glasgow, however. On the contrary, Kilmarnock is a lovely and beautiful city with a rich history and is in fact one of the most vital towns in all of Scotland.
As one of the more decidedly Gaelic towns in Scotland, Kilmarnock has a direct link to the traditions that have been a part of Scottish and Gaelic culture for thousands of years. Even Kilmarnock's name is derived from the Gaelic language as the words Church of Saint Marnock. St. Marnock was one of the most beloved saints in history and it is believed that he had erected a church in the town during the 600s. While this supposed church no longer exists it would certainly fall in line with most towns in the United Kingdom at the time. Most of the cities that are now part of England and Scotland were little more than abbeys with a few tents around them up until the 700s and beyond. A church would invite the inevitable traffic of pilgrims and eventually some semblance of a market square would arise and allow the towns to become something real.
While it is a shame that the chuch of Saint Marnock no longer stands, it is even more depressing to note that much of Kilmarnock's past is also unavailable to us today. This is due to the fact that a massive fire swept through the town in 1668. Nobody knows how the giant blaze was started but it is not believed that it was an act of arson. Either way, the majority of the town burned to the ground and over a hundred families were left destitute, homeless, and starving. The citizens of the town were forced to live and sleep on the dirt and forage for food in the form of plants and wildlife. Thankfully Saint Marnock must have been watching over the people of his eponymous town because many neighboring cities began to set up relief funds and feed and clothe these poor sufferers. As such, there are no buildings in Kilmarnock that are older than the 1600s. This is truly a shame but we can rest easy knowing that there is still plenty of fascinating and beautiful examples of Golden Age architecture all around Kilmarnock. The town truly came into prominence during the Industrial Revolution and so many of these fantastic edifices are still proudly on display for all to see. This alone is well worth a trip to Kilmarnock and once there you'll see far more that will enthrall you beyond belief.
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