contemporary housing estates such as Barngore and Highpark form today's Coylton village. The village is said to take its name from "Auld King Coil of Coilsfield" (Coel Hen) but old records have it spelt Quiltoun or Cuilton. The village at the heart of the parish is almost linear, being spread along the length of the Ayr to Cumnock A70 road - which is used by the heavy trucks sustaining the modern open-cast coal mining industry. Low Coylton is the oldest part of the village, featuring the Coylton Arms and the few remains of an older life, such as the village cemetery and old kirk, a site of possibly medieval origins which was last repaired in 1776, along with the former manse dating from 1839, itself built on the site of an earlier manse. The current parish church, built in 1832, is located in Hillhead alongside houses that were miner's row houses in the late 19th century, more of which can be seen in Joppa. The modern village features a number of residential developments seeking to provide homes for people working in Ayr and district. Coylton was once a rural village that was transformed by the development of mining in the area and has since changed dramatically again with the cessation of all coal mining. The local farms, such as that at Duchray, have sustained some of Ayrshire's agricultural heritage. The village of Joppa was reputedly named for an ale-house kept by a man named Hendry. Local lore has it that he fed his customers with salt herrings which became known as "Joppa hams". The Castle and Barony of Gadgirth were located in the Parish of Coylton. The castle was demolished in 1808 and replaced by Gadgirth House which after becoming a children's home in 1949 was demolished in 1968. Coylton and Burns An offshoot of the original Trysting Thorn, immortalised by Robert Burns in "The Soldier's Return," has been moved from its original site to a spot farther from the road, by Coylton Burns Club. The thorn which is situated on the land of Millmannoch, near Coylton has romantic memories for many couples in the village, and even now the old meeting place of lovers is still a popular spot for ramblers. The original thorn, which, is known to have existed long before Burns was alive, died in 1916. The tree was left for two years in the hope that