Living OUR AREA Auchinleck

Auchinleck, whose name is possibly from Gaelic meaning "field of flagstones" is a town and parish in East Ayrshire. It was a centre of Covenanters, home of biographer James Boswell and birthplace of William Murdoch, the pioneer of gas lighting.

Auchinleck has a population of 3887 and is a fairly compact community surrounded by farm land. Until 1989 mining was the main occupation of the local people, who make up a warm-hearted and friendly community.

The Boswells of Auchinleck had been landed proprietors since the 15th century and took part in many of the violent activities which characterised Scotland's turbulent history. Several of the Boswell family married into the nobiltity - two brought Royal blood into the family by marrying connections of the Scottish Royal house. James Boswell, the biographer of Samuel Johnson, was born in Edinburgh 1740, the son of Lord Auchinleck, a prominent advocate. James was privately educated by a tutor until he was 13, after which he reluctantly studied law in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Utrecht. In 1762 he passed the examination in Civil Law, and proceeded to London with the aim, once more, of entering a guards regiment. It was in London that he met Samuel Johnson for the first time on the 16th May 1763, a meeting vividly described in Boswell's journal and in his biography of Johnson. In 1769 Boswell married his cousin Margaret Montgomerie, and settled in Edinburgh to pursue a practice in law, however the pleasures of London life, the pursuit of his strong political ambitions, and more importantly his intimate friendship with Samuel Johnson continually drew Boswell away from Edinburgh. On his father's deathbed in 1782, Boswell succeeded to the family estate of Auchinleck. The last 13 years of his life, however, were marked by much personal difficulty. In 1784 Johnson died. Boswell committed his energies to collecting material for a biography of his friend and mentor, the writing proved a long and difficult process, and the work was not published until 1791. Boswell died on 19th May 1795.

The Auchinleck Boswell Society was founded in 1970 by 3 men who desired to see some form of Memorial to James Boswell, the biographer of Samuel Johnson. They were John MacCulloch, stationmaster at Auchinleck, John Paterson, session clerk of the Barony Church and Gordon P. Hoyle, an incomer from Yorkshire. When the ruins of the old church and adjoining Mausoleum were donated, the society undertook to restore the buildings as a museum. The museum was opened on 19th August 1978 by Willie Ross, Lord Ross of Marnock.

Auchinleck Community Council with East Ayrshire Council were delighted to officially unveil the new Auchinleck Millennium Clock on the 6 th December 2002. The millennium clock is a four-sided tower in the shape of pit winding gear, which is also a tribute to the area's heritage and history. Former Chair Arthur Burley conceived the original idea for the clock tower in 1998 and the Council's Technical Services Department designed the clock tower.