School pupils meet notable old boys and girls

Kilwinning school pupils have been meeting some of their town’s most notable FPs – in this case standing for Former Persons.

Irvine Bay Regeneration Company and Heritage Lottery Fund are funding the Kilwinning Community Archaeology Project – better known as the Kilwinning Dig.

The first visits from local schools saw pupils coming from Abbey Primary and Greenwood Academy. They were greeted at the heritage centre by our Junior Tour Guides, teams of medieval re-enactors from P7 at Corsehill Primary. The Junior Tour Guides have dressed up and taken on the roles of notable figures from the history of Kilwinning Abbey including Abbot Robert, Sir Richard de Morville, Dorothea de Moreville, James Mechell (the last monk) and townsfolk. They guide the visiting pupils around the site, bringing to life the monks and townsfolk of 14th century Kilwinning. See a short clip of our guides in action!

Traces of ancient schools have been identified through finds from the dig which suggest that between the 13th and 15th centuries the monks were running a school in the Abbey for the children of wealthy families.

But this is not the only school that has been on the site. From 1646 all parishes were responsible for maintaining a school and in 1800 the kirk session built a new parish school over part of the east range of the cloisters, extending over Vaults Lane to the south. Digging in the warming room of the east range has started to find traces of this 1800s school.

So while our visiting pupils are coming to see the Abbey and the excavations, they are also visiting two of the oldest schools that Kilwinning has ever had!

Patrick Wiggins, Chief Executive of Irvine Bay said: “The Dig is a fantastic community project that teaches young people and the wider community more about their town and its fascinating history. The use of youngsters as guides and the programme of school visits also fits well alongside our own extensive education programme.”

You can also follow the Project and ask questions of the team on their Facebook page.