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Jean Hay of Maybole has provided the programme below, published for the Coronation Pageant, held in Maybole on Saturday 30th May 1953. The programme was scanned and converted to text and images by Jim Millar. Click on the images below or use the scroll bar of your browser to view the pages following the table. Pages 1 - 8 │ Pages 9 - 18 │ Pages 19 - 28 (photos) │ Pages 29 - 38 │ Pages 39 - 49 │ Advertisements |
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| Front Cover | Inside Front Cover | Royal Tribute to Maybole | Town Council & Organisations | Title Page |
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| Date and Details | Stage Crew | Introduction to Procession | The Story of Maybole | The Romans, Scots and Picts |
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Royal Tribute To Maybole
MADE BY THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RECEIVING THE FREEDOM OF EDINBURGH IN THE USHER HALL ON 1st MARCH, 1949 There are in this world hundreds of things which are right but which cannot be legislated for things which will never be done unless someone is prepared to do them for no reward except possibly a clear conscience. Once upon a time it was a relatively easy matter to clear one's conscience by contributing money to various charities and organisations which set out to do the right thing This method as you all know is not so easy now, and yet there is just as much to do It will be fatal for us if we ever come to think that merely by passing laws we can get out of our responsibilities towards our fellow men. I have come across two examples of what can be done. There is the case of Ladywell playing field at Maybole in Ayrshire, which was laid out, levelled and turfed almost entirely by voluntary labour, and then, not content, they built themselves a grandstand and changing rooms. In the case of Sighthill, here in Edinburgh, the residents got together and made themselves a bowling green. To achieve this, the craftsmen gave their services and others helped with their hands. In both these cases unselfish service was freely given, and I refuse to believe that the glow in the hearts of those who took part is not the brighter for what they have done." - 1- |
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THE PAGEANT OF MAYBOLE
Town Council
Responsible Organisations British Legion (Maybole Branch)
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The Pageant of Maybole Written and Produced by RAYMOND LEWIS |
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The Pageant Comprises
Date: Saturday. 30th May, 1953, weather permitting. If the weather is unsuitable the Pageant will be postponed until the following Saturday − 6th June. The decision will be taken before 10am on Saturday, 30th May. If a postponement is considered necessary, a notice to this effect will immediately be posted in the Town Hall, the Carnegie Library, and in a number of shops. In addition, a series of short blasts will he delivered by factories' hooters. Timing:
1) Procession starts from Carrick Academy at 2 30. and progresses via Kirkoswald Road, Whitehall, High Street and Cassillis Road to Kirkmichael Road. It does not go into the Arena, but is dispersed near the Quarry.
2) The band will play in the Sheep Park for thirty minutes after the end of the procession reaches Kirkmichael Road. This will allow spectators who have watched the procession in Maybole to be in time for the Spectacle.
3) The "Sporting Spectacle" will take place in the Sheep Park.
Pageant Ball
There will be a "Historical Costume Ball" in the Town Hall beginning at 8pm. Admission by ticket only. For details see advertisement in Town Hall window.
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Equipment Makers for Knights and their Mounts: Mr and Mrs Scott, Mrs Rennie, Mr McCrindle
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Introduction to HistoricalProcession
WHEN measured against the life of an individual the period of history covered by the procession is considerable: when measured against the life of the human species, slight. This is shown in the diagram below in which the continuous line measures the "life" of man (there being indications that he existed in the latter part of the Ice Age) and the dotted line the portion covered by the procession.
The early civilisations arc important to us, because from them we borrowed and adapted much to include in our own civilisation in later years. The Egyptians 6,000 years ago gave the world a calendar with 365 days in the year, and 366 every fourth year. The Babylonians gave the world hours and minutes, weights and measures. The Romans, like the Babylonians, studied the sky, calling certain planets such as Jupiter and Saturn after the names of their gods. The Phoenicians, living along the coast of Syria, gave us our alphabet. The Jews of Palestine taught us to believe in one God. Such words as poetry, arithmetic, mathematics, astronomy, history, geography, theatre, tragedy, comedy, physician, surgeon, Olympic Games, and parliament, which originated with the Greeks, give but a slight indication of their influence on our modern civilisation. They rejoiced in beauty, in searching for explanations for all the wonders of life, and in striving for physical perfection. "We who live in Great Britain are descended from many races: but in mind we are the heirs of the Greeks". The "Story" which follows, together with the notes on pages 32 to 36 give information about the individuals and scenes in the procession.
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The Story of Maybole Carrick in Olden Times
CARRICK derives its name from the Celtic, Carraig, meaning a rock. The fertile land, which to-day produces abundant crops and supports fine herds of dairy cattle, was once covered with dense forest, bog and swamps. The hills which to-day support sheep and grow timber, were once a mixture of bare rock and tangled gorse. There were no towns. The people lived in lake dwellings (crannogs), or in hill forts, which were abundant in what is now the Maybole area.
The early history is obscure and as a result there are several theories advanced to explain the origin of the many tribes which for hundreds of years lived, fought and died in Carrick. Some think that the first inhabitants came from Spain: others that they came from France. It is, however, generally accepted that when Christ was on earth the people in Carrick were Celtic, with the possible exception of the Picts, who may have been of Scandinavian origin.
The word "Celtic" includes a number of different peoples, such as Britons, Belgae, Scots and Cruithne. They were all of Gallic extraction.
The first written references to Carrick appear in Latin, written by the Romans, during their occupation which started in a.d. 80. They refer to the local inhabitants as the Damnii. The Damnii were Britons, who were closely connected with the Celtic tribes of Galloway and Wales. Their religion was Druidism. Evidence of this can be found in the many burial grounds on the tops of the surrounding hills, and on the site of the Druidical circle at Kirkoswald. The Carrick Britons spent much of their time fighting the Pictish raiders from the North-East, and the Scots raiders from the North-West and from Ireland.
Crannog Dwellers
The earliest known settlement in the district was at Loch Spouts. This dwelling was built in the lake by the use of wooden piles. The erection, which was built on a foundation of beams, brushwood and branches, was circular in shape, contained three fireplaces, and was ninety-five feet in diameter. The floor was made of oak beams, the fireplaces of stone embedded in yellow - 7 - |
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clay. Its inhabitants probably lived by hunting and fishing, and perhaps in addition by grazing cattle. They were primitive metal workers, and also made beads and ornaments for personal adornment. A sandstone spindle whorl which was excavated suggests that weaving was also practised. This "crannog" was probably inhabited at various times up to the first century. The inhabitants were converted to Christianity by followers of St. Ninian, who carried the Gospel to Carrick in the early part of the fifth century.
In a.d. 446 the Romans withdrew from Britain, and the tribes of what is now Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire, Dumfriesshire, Liddesdale, Teviotdale, Galloway, much of Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire, formed themselves into a distinct kingdom called Alcluyd, (Strathclyde). The history of this kingdom is one of war. War between the kingdom and the Picts: between the kingdom and the Scots: between the kingdom and the Anglo-Saxons: between parts of the kingdom itself.
In a.d. 843 the Scots and Picts, who for centuries had fought bitterly, combined under one king, and frequently attacked Alcluyd. Peace had scarcely been secured between them by the marriage of the King of Alcluyd to the daughter of the Scottish king, when they were faced by a new danger, the Vikings. In a.d. 870 the Viking fleet sailed up the Clyde, seen no doubt by the sentries on the fort at Balchriston. The Vikings having plundered the country returned the following year to Dublin, their base, taking with them as prisoners Picts, Britons and Scots. After another raid in a.d 875, large numbers of the kingdom of Alcluyd set out to join their Celtic kinsmen in Wales. Although attacked by the Anglo-Saxons at Lochmaben they managed to force their way to Wales, where their descendants live to this day. Alcluyd, weakened by the loss of so many warriors became once again a prey to the Scots, and in a.d. 975 alcluyd was broken up, Carrick being annexed by the Scottish kingdom. The Scots had earlier, in a.d. 945, ceded Cumberland to England, but in 1018, after the battle of Carham, gained Lothian.
Before the invasion of Britain by the Angles in the fifth century, Celtic, in various forms and dialects seems to have been spoken over the whole of Britain. The language spoken in Carrick and Strathclyde for about 1,000 years after the birth of Christ was very similar to Welsh as spoken in Wales to-day. When Carrick became a part of Scotland the Highlanders introduced their Gaelic: the Anglo-Saxons, English: the Normans, French. The fusion over - 8 - |