THE POPULAR BELIEF IS THAT THE TOWN-NAME, 'STEWARTON', IS DERIVED FROM THE HIGH STEWARD OF SCOTLAND; 'STEWARD' SUBSEQUENTLY BECAME 'STEWART' - WHICH GAVE THE ROYAL FAMILY ITS DISTINGUISHED NAME.

Recorded existence of the town dates back to, at least, the 12th. century, when it was ruled over by some of William the Conqueror's Norman nobles, including members of the de Morville family, who were granted lands which included Langshaw, or Lainshaw, Estate. Another Norman, Godfrey de Ross, was ensconced in Ruenscrige Castle, later to be known as Ravenscraig Castle, the scant ruins of which (now known as Corsehill Castle) still stand in a field off the Stewarton-to-Dunlop road. Malcolm Canmore, who killed Macbeth and eventually (in 1058) became King Malcolm III, also had a somewhat tenuous connection with Stewarton: it is reputed that, when on the run before Macbeth, Canmore's life was saved by a Stewarton farmer, named Cunninghame, who hid Malcolm under forked hay; upon kingship, Malcolm III gifted the farmer the Stewarton-located Corsehill Estate. Thus, allegedly, arose the origin of the Cunninghame coat of arms which depicts an image of a hay-fork - by way of a letter 'Y' - and the motto, "Over, Fork Over". Others presiding over the local estates, through the years, were the Fitzalans, the Montgomery family, the Earl of Douglas, the Cunninghames of Robertland, the Arnots of Lochrig (presently, Lochridge), the Cunninghames of Lainshaw, and the Cunninghames of Cunninghamhead. In the early- 15th. century, a fued arose between the Montgomeries, and the Cunninghames of Cunninghamhead; it was to last, on-and-off, for a hundred years culminating, on 15th. April 1586, in the murder of the 4th. Earl of Eglintoun, at Annick Bridge. Stewarton might not warrant mention in many history books, but it certainly has a fascinating past involving the age-old lust for power and greed, with attendant nefarious schemes, battles, and murders. However, that was in the past....

'The Bonnet Toun'

Even today, despite a decline in the town's industrial element, Stewarton is widely known as 'The Bonnet Toun' because of its bonnet-making industry which dates back to the 16th. century.

'Balmoral' - Knitted in top quality Saxony

yarns, they are supplied to Scottish

Regiments, Pipe Bands, and to all who

wear the kilt. Successor to the original

'Kilmarnock Bonnet'.

Originally, from cottage-based workshops in homes of the townsfolk, hand-knitted woolen bonnets were sold mainly at three local fairs per year: in January, May, and October; but this was no unsupervised hotchpotch, as production and marketing control was effected by the parochial Bonnet Court of Corsehill. However, although hitherto much slower, the inevitable 'march of progress' was to broaden the local trade into a burgeoning national industry when, on 12th. April 1650, 'The GreatAgreement' was signed: this was a contract between, on the one hand, Sir Alexander Cunninghame, Laird of Corsehill and Deacon Heritable of the Bonnet Court of Corsehill and, on the other hand, one Gavin Naismith, deacon of the Incorporation of Bonnetmakers and Dyers of Glasgow; as a result, the Laird of Corsehill gnaranteed a sufficiency of Stewarton bonnets for sale in the Glasgow markets.

'Glengarry' - Manufacture requires some fourteen

mostly-handwork processes, and is completed

with a hand-made silk rosette; the diced version

is considered to be, perhaps, the aristocrat of

all bonnets.

The now-guaranteed quantity of bonnets, for Glasgow, had also to meet stringent quality criteria in respect of, for example, dye-colour and weight of wool used. 'Sighters', or inspectors, were employed - in the city, as well as rurally - to ensure compliance with the new rules: any failed products were burned! A measure of the labor-intensity of bonnet- making may be gleaned from the fact that, at this stage in the industry's progression, all the bonnets were still hand-knitted, or 'peekied'; the needles were supported on a leather belt worn by each knitter. During the Industrial Revolution period, numerous factories were built on the banks of the River Annick; the process of hand-knitting now became mechanized. The first factory, known as Robertland Mill, was established by Robert Sim, in 1820; it remained in productive existence until 1987.

Bonnet Guild Festival