Troon, United Kingdom

From 1812 Troon was the terminus of the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, a horse-drawn railway connecting it to the duke's coal mines around Kilmarnock. This was not licensed for passengers, a minor technicality evaded by weighing those wishing to travel and charging them freight rates. Troon (old) railway station was one of the first passenger stations in Scotland, formed in 1839 when the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway was upgraded to run steam locomotives as part of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway. The town is now served by Troon railway station.

Troon is the birthplace of C. K. Marr, who left a fund to the people of Troon which was used to construct Marr College, the town's secondary school.

The artist's impression and the theoretical master plan for Troon that the Duke of Portland had drawn up was almost on as grand a scale, relative to its size, as that of Edinburgh's New Town. The broad streets with a grid network and ample space for civic amenities created for a thriving community built around the industry of the harbour. Troon's prosperity allowed this confident plan to be proposed. The drawing shows two spires, the taller spire was of that proposed by Troon Parish Church. Although the new building was erected in 1895 the spire was never completed. To the right a smaller spire indicates Portland Street United Free Church.

The first railway in Scotland (Troon to Kilmarnock 1811) is clearly showing in the background. It was the Glasgow and South Western Railway in 1892 who altered this plan by building a loop to bring passengers closer to the beach and town. The park never came to pass but public spaces on the promenade, (where the bandstand was built), the ballast bank and Fullarton ground allow residents and visitors scope for leisure. The industrial units to the right of the harbour line towards Barassie were the gas works and slaughter house.

The Annual Reports of the Fishery Board for Scotland provide an insight into the state of fishing from Troon in the years before the First World War.

The very high result for 1909 is explained as follows: "fish nearly all landed by steam trawlers and sent to Glasgow market. Lobster fishing locally unsuccessful".

Fullarton House was built by William Fullarton of that ilk in 1745 and altered by his son, however it was demolished in 1966 by the council who had been unable to maintain the building after purchasing it in 1928. The entrance route had been changed by the Duke of Portland and the house design altered so that the back became the front, with grand views opened up of the Isle of Arran and Firth of Clyde. After centuries of occupation the Fullarton lines possession had thus come to an end when the 3rd Duke of Portland purchased the property in 1805. He lived here for a while as his principal residence in Scotland, however he had a greater interest in developing Troon harbour and the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway.

The grounds are now a park with some signs of the old house still apparent, such as the magnificent stable block, the ornamental pediments, walled gardens, doocot and an ice house. Reed Loch was located near Lochgreen House and was used latterly as a curling pond.

The name is thought to come from the office of 'Fowler to the King', the purpose of which was to supply wild-fowl to the King as required. The dwelling which came with the post was called Fowlertoun and the family may have eventually adopted the name. The Fullarton's of Angus had been required by Robert I to supply him with wild-fowl at his castle of Forfar.

Alanus de Fowlertoun was in possession of the lands shortly before his death in 1280 and the family continued in a nearly unbroken line from father to son. William Fullarton, the builder of the house, inherited the estate from his grandfather in 1710, he having inherited it from his brother in turn. Colonel Fullarton died in 1808, the last Fullarton of that Ilk laird. He wrote in 1793 the seminal A General View of the Agriculture in the County of Ayr and was one of the few on record to praise Robert Burns's skills as a farmer, commenting favourably on a method of dishorning cattle which the poet had demonstrated. Burns is said to have visited Fullarton.

Robert II granted the old Crosbie estate to the Fullartons in 1344 and by the 18th century the old castle was partly demolished and converted into an ice house for Fullarton House, with a doocot nearby. In 1969 more of the ice house was demolished to make it safe. The building had been known as Crosby Place and later became Fullarton House, not long before the new building of the same name replaced it.