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The town of Kilwinning, Ayrshire, grew up around a 12th century Benedictine abbey, whose church continued to be in use as the parish church until 1775. After the Reformation the estates of the abbey passed through various hands, and eventually to the Montgomerie earls of Eglinton. The economy of the town was based largely on its function as a local market and to a lesser extent on handloom weaving. The nearby Eglinton Ironworks dated from 1846 and contributed to a doubling of the population of the parish between 1831 and 1861 (from 3772 to 7717).In 1889 Kilwinning became a police burgh under the 1862 Police Act (General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act 1862, 25 & 26 Vict., c.101). Burgh administration thereafter was carried out by a provost, baillies and six police commissioners. The commissioners were replaced by a town council in January 1901 (Town Councils (Scotland) Act 1900, 63 & 64 Vict., c.49). The town council was abolished in 1975 and its powers transferred to Strathclyde Regional Council and Cunninghame District Council (Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, c.65).
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