History

The town of Kilbirnie

The first mention of a Church or "Cell" was in the year 1127. This church, now known as the Auld Kirk, has been in continuous use since this time. It is the second oldest Church in Scotland to be continually worshipped in.

Kilbirnie at that time was an agricultural community controlled by three major estates, each with their own castles, Kilbirnie, Glangarnock and Ladyland. It was not until the railway from Glasgow to the coast came into existence in 1840 that Kilbirnie changed to an industrial community. In this Victorian time a large Iron works opened in Kilbirnie with vast resources of Coal, Ironstone and Water. This in particular increased the population of Kilbirnie from only 651 in 1755 to 5484 in 1855. With the influx of people to the town, churches were opened to accommodate the demand in society.

The Salvation Army in Kilbirnie

The Salvation Army in Kilbirnie was opened on the 2nd of June 1892. The origin of the corps can be traced to one man in particular, John Canning. John was a converted "drunkard" from nearby Kilwinning who moved to Kilbirnie for work. He and his family would walk every Sunday to the Army outpost in Beith. After the birth of his seventh child, John wrote to the Salvation Army Headquarters to request the possibility of a Corps being opened in Kilbirnie. Forthwith, the first Commanding Officer of Kilbirnie Citadel Corps, Polly Tandrum was appointed. Soon after the Army opened fire in Kilbirnie from the old barracks in Townhead.

Life for the early Salvationists in Kilbirnie would undoubtedly be very hard. There was no regular worship hall and as well as the old barracks, meetings were held in the Templers Hall, the Masonic Hall and the "Tin Hut" which literally was a corrugated iron building in Milton Road.

An important development for early Salvationists was the building of the hall in Newton Street. The hall was opened with great rejoicing on a very wet day on 11th March 1939 by the then Territorial Commander Lieut Commissioner Albert Orsborn.

A significant part in the development of the Corps was the establishment of musical sections. The Senior Band was inaugurated in 1912 under the leadership of Hugh Brennan. Following this the Songsters were formed in 1920 under the leadership of Andrew Canning. This was followed by the formation of the Y.P. Band and the Singing Company in 1924 and 1926 respectively. Music is a tradition that has been an important part of Kilbirnie and all sections are going strong to the present day.