a royal burgh, the capital of Ayrshire, is situated at the mouth of the river Ayr, 30 miles S.S.W. from Glasgow. The spot has been inhabited from a remote antiquity. It was the site of a Roman station; and it has been ascertained that a hamlet remained here until the year 1197, when William the Lion enlarged a new town upon it, which about the year 1202 he constituted a royal burgh. In ancient times Ayr was distinguished both for its trade and military strength; and being an important point of concentration on the W., it was the scene of frequent conflicts, and repeatedly changed hands during the wars of Scottish independence in the time of the Edwards and the Bruces. Here Edward I. fixed a powerful garrison, and here the patriotic exploits of Sir William Wallace commenced. When Scotland was overrun by Oliver Cromwell, he fixed upon it as the site of one of the four forts which he built to command the country. This fortification, termed the citadel, inclosed an area of about ten or twelve acres, including the old church where the Scottish parliament met and confirmed the title of Robert Bruce to the throne. The church was converted into a storehouse; the Protector partly indemnifying the inhabitants for this seizure by liberally contributing towards the erection of a new place of worship, which was made large enough to accommodate 2000 individuals. The town of Ayr forms a tolerably regular parallelogram, extending up the S. side of the river Ayr, which is crossed by two bridges; and it possesses several good streets and a number of elegant public and other buildings. The Ayr academy is a handsome edifice; and the town-house is considered one of the finest structures of the kind in the W. of Scotland. There are also the county buildings, which afford extensive accommodation for the circuit and provincial courts and the various local authorities. Contiguous to these stands the jail, a well-regulated establishment. In addition to the church already mentioned, there is another parish church of modern erection, besides several dissenting places of worship and a Roman Catholic chapel. The new "Wallace Tower," a Gothic structure, erected on the site of the old one, which was taken down in 1835, has, at the top, the clock and bells of the dungeon steeple. In a niche in front is a rude statue of Wallace, executed by Thom, a self-taught sculptor. The "Public Buildings" is a handsome edifice, containing assembly rooms and a reading room, and surmounted by a spire 217 feet high. Ayr possesses numerous charitable establishments, a dispensary, a mechanics' institution, an extensive subscription library, a theatre; and it also supports two weekly newspapers. There are two weekly markets and four yearly fairs. The principal manufactures of Ayr are woollen and cotton goods, carpets, shoes, &c.; the fisheries and ship-building are also carried on to a small extent. It has a considerable general trade, and imports timber and deals from America, hemp and iron from the Baltic, and provisions from Ireland. Its principal export is coal. The gross amount of customs collected at the port during 1850 was £1,835. The harbour at the mouth of the river is formed by two piers projecting a considerable way into the sea, but the bar has only a depth of about 5 feet of water at ebb tides, and not above 15 at high-water springs. On the north pier in Lat. 55.27. N. Long. 4.38. W. are three lights, two bright and one red, from 12 to 35 feet above high water. In 1849, 49 vessels (of 6483 tons) belonged to the port. Ayr is connected by railway with Glasgow, Kilmarnock, &c. It unites with Campbeltown, Inverary, Irvine, and Oban, in returning a member to parliament. In 1851 the municipality of Ayr contained 9115 inhabitants; the parliamentary burgh 17,624, consisting of part of the parish of Ayr (7894), of Newton-upon-Ayr (4470), and of St Quivox (5260). Alloway Kirk, and Burns' Monument, are within 2½ miles of Ayr.

NEWTON UPON. While the town of Ayr extends along the S. side of the river Ayr, this small parish is situated on the N. side of the same river. It is a burgh of considerable consequence, having a baronial jurisdiction, and is governed by a magistracy elected by freemen, and (since 1832) is comprehended within the parliamentary burgh of Ayr. It is of very ancient erection, owing its privileges to Robert Bruce; who, upon being attacked by leprosy, came to reside in this place, and was induced to establish a lazarhouse, and to confer considerable favours on the town, and on the small village of Priestwick, about two or three miles distant. In Newton-upon-Ayr are a number of very good houses. From its situation on the banks of the Ayr and the sea-coast, the soil is mostly flat and sandy. Its extent is about three miles in length and one-and-a-half in breadth. Pop. in 1851, 4814.

a river in Ayrshire, which takes its rise in the high grounds dividing the shire on the E. from Lanarkshire, and pursuing a westerly course for 18 miles, falls into the sea at the town to which it gives name. The volume of its waters is not large, but it sometimes shifts its bed, and does considerable damage. It contains those whetstones called Water-of-Ayr stones, which are exported in considerable quantities.