1881 Census

1881 finds John and Margaret with their younger children in a smaller cottages with only two rooms at 9 Southhook, near Knockentiber (west of Knockentiber, where the road crosses the Garrier Burn, past West Plann Farm), Kimarnock in Ayrshire. John Campbell is now age 55, with Andrew, my great grandfather, being the eldest child, at 16, still living with the family.

Agnes and Matthew being nine and twelve years old attend school, William is a grocer’s apprentice and Andrew, my great grandfather, is an ironstone miner, while his father John is a pit fireman.

WEE SOUTHHOOK ROW, Knockintiber 
Living Conditions
This row was originally made up of nine single apartment houses, but in two cases the tenants have rented two houses each. The row is built of stone. There are two dry-closets with doors, but there are no washing-houses nor coalhouses. Several people have built wooden coalhouses for themselves. The kitchen measures approximately 15 feet by 12 feet, and the rent is 1s per week. Where the people have rented two houses the rent is 2s per week, including rates. The houses belong to the South Hook Coal and Fire Clay Co., and are inhabited by their workpeople. The roadway is unpaved, but owing to being properly covered with ashes is quite dry, and the syvor, which runs the length of the row, is made of white glazed bricks, and it is kept very clean by the tenants. There are gardens in front of the houses, and they are well cultivated. The houses arc said to be about 8o years old.

HIGH SOUTH HOOK ROW, Knockintiber 
This row consists of 20 two-apartment houses built of brick. The kitchen measures approximately 12 feet by 12 feet and the room 10 feet by 9 feet. The kitchen has a brick floor and the room a wooden one. There is one pump, which supplies the water for the row, and we were informed that the water comes from a well at the pit close by. The tenants complain that in the summer time they are very short of water. There are six dry-closets for the row, four washing-houses, and three ashpits. The houses are very damp, and in wet weather the rain comes into the houses. Coalhouses are provided. The rent is 2s per week. The houses are said to be about 40 years old. The closets and ashpits are built in front of the houses. The roadway in front of the houses is unpaved, and very dirty. The houses are owned by the South Hook Coal Co., and their work is in the immediate vicinity.

Archibald Adamson walking through the area in 1875 remarks on the handsome railway bridge and his view of the Plann estate and the extensive fireclay works of John McNight and Son, the senior partner being the owner of the estate of Plann. A pit had been sunk near the mansion house and to the surprise of all the experts, good quality ironstone was found. Top quaility coal and fireclay were also found in the vicinity. He describes Knockentiber as being a row of old houses occupied by miners.

The County Council in 1932 planned to demolish most of the old miners’ rows, a local case being Southhook Row near Southhook farm. (possibly now called West Plann Farm)

Southhook Pit, one of the oldest clay pits in south west Scotland is situated near Knockintiber, just outside Kilmarnock. Now closed down, it once belonged to Southhook potteries, Ltd., one of the countries foremost manufacturers of sanitary ware and bricks. The first recorded use of the site was in 1877 but it is probable that ironstone was worked there earlier. The clay was peculiarly free from impurities and was specially adapted for the manufacturing of large pieces such as baths, urinals and sinks. The glazes were highly lustrous and guaranteed to be leadless and non-crazing. The pottery’s Bonnyton works in Kilmarnock were where they manufactured most of their products including their salt-glazed drainage pipes. In 1963 Shanks acquired Southhook Potteries, and then 2 years later in 1965 Shanks & Co. also acquired J&R Howie from Hurlford, and traded under the name of Howie Southhook. Shanks Holdings Limited merged with Armitage Ware Limited in 1969 to form Armitage Shanks.

Southhook Fireclay Works, Dreghorn, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire