Darvel

   DARVEL, a village, in the parish of Loudoun, district of Cunninghame, county of Ayr, 1½ mile (E.) from Newmilns; containing 1362 inhabitants. This is a considerable place, and it would seem that several lands here formerly belonged to the Knights Templars, as many of them still bear the name of Temple, and do not hold of any superior, not even of the crown. A large part of the population is engaged in hand-loom weaving, the children assisting in the minor branches of the manufacture. The Reformed Presbyterians have a place of worship; and there is a school partly supported by the Marchioness of Hastings, and of which the master is allowed a dwelling-house and garden. Near the village is a place called Glen Chapel, but there remains no vestige of a religious edifice; and in the vicinity are the ruins of an ancient castle.