When Lord Glasgow was attacked by the mob!

The shock attack on The 6th Earl of Glasgow, George Frederick Boyle, happened in Kilwinning amid rioting in the town against Conservative voters of the period. The 1832 UK general election, the first after the Reform Act which dramatically increased the amount of voters by 8 to 1 in Scotland, saw the Whigs win a large majority, with the Tories winning less than 30% of the vote.

Mr Robert Hunter of Hunterston was called upon by the civil authorities to bring his Yeomanry troops to try and restore law and order.

In response to allegations of cruelty, he stated: 'I received an order from the Sheriff to bring my detachment of soldiers to Kilwinning in aid of the civil power, The reason for our being called in was that there had been considerable rioting, and that many of the Conservative voters had been grossly insulted or spat upon.

'I know that Lord Kelburne had been attacked by the mob, had part of his clothes torn off, and with difficulty escaped.

'I may mention, that we had our swords drawn upon entering the town. Shortly after arriving, however, I was told it would please the people if I would cause the men to return their swords; and if I do so, they promised to be quite. I accordingly did so, and we received three cheers.

'In withdrawing from the town, and as soon as our backs were turned, we were assailed by a complete shower of stones. I did not, however, allow any of the men to turn. If we had rode over or wounded any of the mob, it would have afforded to their instigates a good handle of complaint against the yeomanry. In returning, our swords were not drawn, and as it was no individual was attacked or in any way injured by our men; on the contrary, several of the yeomanry were a good deal hurt and cut by stones.' Largs was considered a major weaving town and had close links with Paisley with industry hitting a good spell when Queen Victoria giving her seal of approval to the Paisley shawl.

Local public houses included The Eagle Inn owned by Mrs Crawford and The Weavers Arms Inn, Gallowgate Street, while north of the Inn was was a small shop bearing the name Bankier, nail-maker and the next shop is that of William Boyd and co, Medical Hall.

Fishing was another big industry in Largs and contributed greatly to Greenock, Glasgow and Paisley via steamers and carriers. Local fishermen used to meet in M.King, spirit dealers shop where they would receive their earnings.

There were two churches in Largs during the early period of the 19th century, the United Secession Church in Waterside Street and new Parish Church built in 1811 to hold 1100.

A part of the Parish Church was called the Fairlie Loft, and there was also a Skelmorlie one, as each community did not have a church at that point. The church was sometimes brimming full though with as many as 2000 inside during the Disruption, when Joseph Welsh, the minister"s assistant was to preach, and he always had well-attended bible classes.

In 1834, when the working man had to pay for his children"s education, the subjects taught in the schools of Largs were English, English grammar, Latin and Greek, writing and arithmetic, book-keeping, natural history and geography. In 1836, there was a sixteen loom weaving shop.

Five out of the eight teachers taught their classes in empty weaving shops in Largs. A child went to school at six years of age and at eight years of age went as draw-boys or girls to assist the weavers.

During the 'hungry 40s' it was not uncommon for three or four from a family working in this occupation with around 200 children employed in Largs.

A great calamity took place during this period though during the harvest period in Largs. Each family owned a pig and manure was used to boost the crop. 'On a single day, a great change took place,' recalled weaver Hugh Miller, 'the flowers got black, the leaves got black, and the potatoes got black and oh! what a smell they emitted! This was the cause of the potato famine - by some thought to be a special judgement.

'It was a serious matter to parents - the principle food for dinner and supper gone for a long time. What was to take its place? The four pound-loaf was out of the question. Shell-fish were plentiful at low tides, other fish were plentiful, but the "tatties were sadly missed.' A group of fishermen went to the rescue of a French vessel laden with wheat which was driven ashore near Fort Street (so called because an old circular fort used to be close by). The drama continued to Broomfields in front of hundreds of spectators. With lines fastened to their bodies, the fishermen rushed into the raging waves and, at last, a connection was made. Roped was tied around the crew of the stricken vessel and they were able to be guided ashore.

Recalling the aftermath of the drama, Mr Miller recalled: 'When the last one landed, a great cheer burst from the spectators. Some of the sailors were very much exhausted, and were taken to the houses of Broomfields and they were very kindly treated. Provided with boilers, those places a hot or cold water sea-water bath could be got. Some of the rescued crew squatted in these bathing boxes for a time. They wore wooden shoes stuffed with straw.' A storm caused havoc in Largs shortly after the opening of the new pier in 1836 in which all the boats berthed at the harbourside were "smashed to pieces" including a brand new sloop of 50 tons from Cumbrae. Two old thatched houses in Gateside Street collapsed and two men went missing that night.

In an article espousing the strong links between Largs and Paisley, not just in terms of weaving, the Clark family, who masterminded the Anchor Thread Mills in Paisley, had a significant influence.

Mr John Clark provided Largs with a hospital and a church, and was commodore of Largs Sailing Club, and practically financed it in its early days. It was as a compliment to the commodore that the 'town regatta' of the club was instituted and used to be held during the Paisley holiday so Clark"s fellow townsmen could visit the town and witness a regatta during their annual holiday.