founded about 1240. Our Lady and St Cuthbert Catholic Church in Maybole was opened in 1878 and it was largely funded by Catholic convert Margaret Radclyffe Livingstone Eyre (born Kennedy). In the early 20th century, Maybole added a Baptist church. This was admitted to the Baptist Union in 1901 and appointed its first full minister in 1919, a year after the Great War finished. Kirkoswald, where Robert Burns spent his seventeenth year, learning land-surveying, lies a little farther west. In the parish churchyard lie the real people who inspired two of Burns's fictitious characters Douglas Graham (Tam o' Shanter) and John Davidson. Farther south are the ruins of Turnberry Castle, where Robert the Bruce is said to have been born. A few miles to the north of Culzean are the ruins of Dunure Castle, an ancient stronghold of the Kennedys. Education The town has three primary schools: Cairn Primary, Gardenrose Primary and St Cuthberts Primary. The secondary school for Maybole is Carrick Academy (a school of Rugby). Sports The local football club, Maybole F. C., play at Ladywell Stadium. Notable cultural references The lyrics of The Waterboys' "Glastonbury Song" include: "I dreamed myself from the sultry plains, To the old green square back in old Maybole ..." Notable residents Sir Gilbert Blane (1749–1834), 18th–century physician and Royal Navy reformer. Bernard Fergusson, Baron Ballantrae (1911–1980), part of the Fergusson family, and Governor-General of New Zealand, 1962–67. Robert MacBryde (1913–1966), a well-known painter of the 'Modern' school of art and theatre designer. John Loudon McAdam (1756–1836), Scottish engineer and roadbuilder of the eighteenth century. Norris McWhirter (1925–2004), founder of the Guinness Book of World Records, is descended from the McWhirters of Maybole. Sir William Montgomery-Cuninghame (1834–1897), recipient of the Victoria Cross in 1854 during the Crimean War Rev R Guy Ramsay (1895–1976), Scottish Baptist minister and President of the Baptist Union of Scotland, 1948–49. Thomas Ramsay (1857–1934), first pastor of Maybole Baptist Church, 1901–19, and President of the Baptist Union of Scotland, 1921–22. Rev Dr William King Tweedie (1803–1863), Scottish historian, biographer and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. Twin towns Belœil, Belgium Crosne, France Schotten, Germany Arco, Trentino, Italy See also Minishant References Sources External links Maybole Home Page About Maybole Its page in the Gazetteer for Scotland Towns in South Ayrshire Carrick, Scotland