553
about the year 1790 by Miss Scot, who is now Duchess of Portland, and to
whom the patronage at present belongs. In 1641, the parliament considering
the great extent of the parish, passed an act for building a new church for the
northern part of the parish of Kilmarnock, when this district was detached from
it, and a separate parish was established which was called Fenwiek. Notwith-
standing this separation, the great increase of the people of this manufacturing
town has made this the most populous parish in Ayrshire. Besides the parish
church which stands at the town of Kilmarnock, there was built at the same
town in 1731, an additional church for the accommodation of the increasing
people which belonged to the established religion. There are now in this town
three ministers of the established church, two of whom are presented by the
patroness of the parish, and the third is presented and paid by the parishioners.
In addition to those establishments, there are three dissenting meeting houses
in Kilmarnock. The Burgher seceders have their house, the Anti-burghers
have theirs, and the Reformed Presbyterians have their separate place of
worship; and each society being indulged in its own conceits, all those religious
people live quietly. As they are busily employed, this essential circumstance
promotes tranquility full as much as their religious observances. This town was
inhabited in 1821 by upwards of 11,000 people. [The parish church has 1,401
communicants. Three other Established churches have 1,542 communicants.
Six Free churches have 2,599 members. Four U.P. churches have 1,893
members. There are also Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Original Secession, 2
Evangelical Union, and Baptist churches.]
38. FENWICK parish, as we have just seen, is of modern origin. It was
established as a distinct parish, and a new church was built under an act of
parliament of 1641, which directed that the new parish should be called the
New Kirk of Kilmarnock (b). A new church being thus built in 1643, an
additional minister was established in 1644, and provided for out of the tithes
of the old parish of Kilmarnock (c). The new church was for some time called
New Kilmarnock; but as the new church stood in the vicinity of a village
which was called Fenwick, both the new establishments, the church and parish
were named Fenwick, which the populace will call them notwithstanding the
law. There are two villages in Northumberland called Fenivick, from the
Anglo-Saxon of that extensive district. The name of Fenwick is derived from
the Fen-wic of that significant speech, signifying the village at the Fen. This
is descriptive of the situation of the new kirk town, which stands on the verge
of what was once a bog. At the parish church there has arisen a village called
the Kirktown, which in 1791 contained 42 families, and the adjacent village of
(6) Acta Parl., v. 431-2.
(c) A glebe was assigned to him, and a manse was built for him near the new church.