Kilmarnock Cross is a public square in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the historic centre of the town and was the site of the original marketplace and the old gallows. In Rambles Around Kilmarnock (1875), Archibald R. Adamson described it as "most spacious, although of a most peculiar form, having no less than seven streets branching off it."
Location and Layout
The square is formed by the convergence of several streets. The seven streets (in clockwise order starting from the north) were Portland Street, Fore Street, Regent Street, Duke Street, Waterloo Street, King Street, and Bank Street, with Croft Street opening more onto Portland Street. The area is locally nicknamed "the town."
History
Kilmarnock grew from the Cross, with six different streets departing from it in six directions, causing it to become a busy junction. Various methods were used to control traffic flow, including a roundabout at one point. In 1975, Kilmarnock Cross was permanently closed to all traffic and later became a pedestrianised area.
A major redevelopment of the town in the 1970s saw some streets demolished, including Duke Street, Fore Street, Regent Street, and Waterloo Street. Shops were built along the line of Fore Street's northern end, becoming the Foregate. The Burns shopping mall was built over the old Duke Street area, and a bus station and multi-storey car park replaced the Regent Street area.
Statues
A marble statue of Sir James Shaw, who rose from a humble position to become Lord Mayor of London, stood at the Cross from 1848 until 1929, when it was removed and placed at London Road. Today, a statue of the poet Robert Burns (1759–1796) together with John Wilson (1759–1821), the printer of the first edition of Burns's poems in Kilmarnock, stands at the Cross.
Associated Streets
- King Street – Opened in 1804, running from the Cross over the Kilmarnock Water to the junction with Titchfield Street. Many of its original buildings, including the Town House and King Street Church, were demolished during 1970s redevelopments.
- Portland Street – Opened around 1805. A bus station was established here in 1924, which served the town until it was demolished in the 1970s. Portland Street was completely demolished and rebuilt with modern buildings housing shops, a bingo hall, and a super pub.
