Irvine, a royal burgh in Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland by the waters of the Firth of Clyde. A golfing resort since Victorian times; birthplace of James Montgomery and John Gault, and home to poet Robert Burns for a while in 1781/82 when he was a flax dresser in the town.
But in 1966 Irvine was designated a New Town - the last new Town in Scotland (in fact, Stonehouse was the last place in Scotland to be designated a New Town, but it never actually became a New Town, whereas Irvine did, even although the plan was not fully implemented).
What did becoming a New Town mean for Irvine? Would the old town survive? What would be demolished to make way for the futuristic abomination that was to be plonked on the edge of the old High Street and extend all the way down to the harbour? Would Irvine become just another Cumbernauld?
Irvine's New Town development was thankfully never completed. Original plans show that it would have extended from Bridgegate House on the High Street right down to the harbour area. But the buildings - cinema, hotel and office complex - that were to link Bridgegate House with the Rivergate Shopping Centre were never built, and the development never got as far as the railway station.
Nevertheless, what was built had a huge impact on Irvine. The 18th century bridge over the River Irvine - the only route between the old town and the harbour - was demolished in the 1970s, and a long shopping mall built over the river, stretching all the way from close to Bridgegate House to the vast car-park by the railway station.
But old Irvine survived, even if areas like Fullarton were flattened. We wander along Seagate, by the 16th century castle, down the High Street, by Bridgegate House, and into Glasgow Vennel to see where Robert Burns lived and worked for a year or so. We then follow the course of Hill Street, an ancient medieval byway that unfortunately brings us back to Bridgegate House and the entrance to the Rivergate Shopping Centre.
With old maps and one or two old photos we look at what Irvine lost when it became a New Town, and how the town's fortunes could have been made much worse had the full development been completed.
2 окт 2024
