1897-1913
The rows expanded along the main road to Dalmellington, inlcuding the Honeymoon Row and the Bankbrae Row, with the High Boig Row running parallel. A New Football Row was built opposite the Old Football Row, whilst the Store Row was built across from the Long Row. Lanemark Coal Company was absorbed by the New Cumnock Coal Collieries Ltd. in 1909 and 100 new houses built on the Bankbrae Row (left hand side) and the Railway Terrace ( Washer Row) at the end of the Long Row.
The Lanemark Coal Company formed in 1865 required to attract miners from other coalfields to work their coal reserves in the vicinity of the farms of Straid, Lanemark and South Boig. New houses were erected in the late 1860's on the park-land to the west of Connel Burn, the beginning of a mining community that soon would be known as Connelpark, or Connel Park.
The first houses were built of stone and all carried the address of Connel Park, but these rows would later be christened with their own local appellations in the form of simple descriptive names. The Long Row, stretching towards Knockshinnoch was the first to be completed. A measure of the success of the company to attract new people is witnessed by the fact that not one of the occupants of this row of 29 homes were New Cumnock born [Sanderson].
Ordnance Survey , Second Edition 1897
Ordnance Survey 1908 with 1938 additions
1881-1897
According to the 1881 Census Records there were 104 homes that fell under the address of Connel Park . A total of 505 people, almost half of which were New Cumnock born. Most of course were the offspring of incoming miners - only 11 heads of households had been born in the parish. The community developed at the intersection of the Boig Row with the main thoroughfare (Old Low Boig Row ) and in the vicinity of the football ground ( Old Football Row.)
Connelpark | Rows1913 | Census1881
History of the Parish
of New Cumnock
by Robert Guthrie
.........
NEW CUMNOCK
Miners' Rows : Connel Park
The Connelpark area was rich in coal and by the 1940's the Seaforth Mine and Knockshinnoch Castle Colliery marked the next major developments. Housing was now the responsibility of Ayr County Council and plans were drawn up to build a large housing scheme at South Boig. However, these plans were abandoned, and the scheme would be built at Afton Bridgend some years later.
The Connelpark rows were finally demolished in the 1960's and today the junction of the Boig Road and the Dalmellington road is bare and lifeless.
Copyright: RCAHMS