Description
This publication presents a detailed transcription of the Burial Register for the former Head Street United Presbyterian Church, Beith, Ayrshire. The congregation began in 1783–84, when a new church was built in classical style and aligned with the Relief Synod, later joining the United Secession Church in 1847 and subsequently uniting with other local congregations before the building passed into community use. The churchyard has remained throughout these changes, containing a compact burial ground whose stones still survive.
The burial register transcribed in this volume covers interments from 12 July 1856 to 25 December 1952. It records names, addresses, lair numbers, and lair ownership. The first part lists cemetery burials to 1900, and the second lists lair owners with all interments up to the final burial in 1952. The original register—once held by Cunninghame District Council—has since been lost, making this transcript the only known surviving record of the full 143 lairs sold.
This edition also includes supplementary material: a graveyard plan, photographs from 2025, stone transcriptions, and comparative examples illustrating how lair records and monumental inscriptions can differ. Additional insights come from the lair purchase ledger of the former Relief Church.
For family history researchers, genealogists, and local historians, this register offers a valuable source for tracing Beith families. Its preservation ensures continued access to a rare and fragile record of a long‑standing community burial ground.
More than 200 surnames are recorded in the register and lair ledger; the most represented include: Crawford, Jamieson, Kerr, Craig, Gillies, Dunlop, Smith, Hamilton, Barr, Fulton, Caldwell, Ferguson, Kennedy, Kirkwood, and Allan.
The 104-page PDF, created by John Wotherspoon, is available from the GWSFHS as a research aid, priced at £5.50.
ISBN for PDF: 978-1-915941-56-5
