RICCARTON IN SCOTLAND

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22747, 27 June 1939, Page 3

RICCARTON IN SCOTLAND

AN AYRSHIRE TOWN ASSOCIATION WITH THE DEANS FAMILY An interesting sketch of the Scottish village of Riccarton, after which the local borough was named, and of the Deans family, the original settlers of Riccarton, New Zealand, is given in an article, “Riccarton in Scotland,” by J. Watt, in the “New Zealand Centennial News.” The article is as follows: — “Because it has one •of the leading racecourses of the country, Riccarton is known to all New Zealanders, at least by name. But how many New Zealanders know that this suburb, of what has often been described as the most English city outside of England, is named after a village in Scotland, or that the river which flows through the city is named after a Scottish river?

“The Scottish village of Riccafton is in Ayrshire, close by the town of Kilmarnock, of which now it is, indeed, reckoned a part. Many New Zea- ( landers on their way to visit Burns’s j cottage at Alloway must have passed) through Riccarton, but probably with- j out being aware of the fact. The traveller who is bound for Ayr from Glasgow passes through Riccarton just; after leaving Kilmarnock and crossing • the Irvine by the bridge on the main \ road. But there is another bridge to i the left, and. if the traveller crosses j that it takes him into the older part \ of the village of Riccarton. “The parish church is a prominent) landmark since it stands on a small hill. If the traveller goes exploring i he will discover presently, at a little i distance behind the church, the dilapi- | dated gateway of what was once the j ‘big house’ of Riccarton. The carriage, drive is overgrown with weeds, and the house, standing amid fine old trees, is obviously uninhabited. There is no glass in the windows, the front door is always open; and not far from the front door are the headworks of a coal-mine. If he inquires of the older inhabitants of Riccarton, they"' will tell him that the name of the house is Kirkstyle, and that they remember when Mr Deans used to live there. Home of Deans Brothers “This was the Scottish home of the Deans brothers, John and William, who settled on the Canterbury Plains, near the future site of Christchurch, years before the first English settlers arrived. They called their New Zealand home Riccarton, and they named the river after the Avon which flows through Lanarkshire and joins the Clyde near Hamilton, And one of the farms, still owned by the Deans family in Canterbury, is known as Kirkstyle. “The Scottish home of the Deans has been abandoned for years now. The walls are as stout as ever, but the interior is a wreck. The Mr Deans whom the older inhabitants of Riccarton remember was a brother of John and William. He died at an advanced age more than 30 years ago. A lawyer by profession, as his father had been before him, he was a country gentleman ’by inclination—a fine figure of a man, those who remember him say. He loved horses, green park lands, fine old trees, and beautiful gardens. He knew there was coal beneath his land, but he always resisted the most tempting offers for the rights to delve for tbis hidden wealth. However, he did not marry, and after he died there was no one to care for the estate. So it was not long before a colliery company had intruded on the ancestral domain of the Deans. “Anyone is free to enter and wander round the old house, but it is a rather melancholy experience for anyone who knows its history.”