Ayr, the county town of Ayrshire, at the mouth of the river Ayr, 40 1/2 miles SSW. of Glasgow by rail. The Town's Buildings, with a spire 226 feet high, were erected in 1828, and greatly enlarged in 1881. The so-called ' Wallace Tower' is a Gothic edifice of 1834, 113 feet high. There are also the County Buildings, modelled after the temple of Isis in Rome, the Academy (founded 1764; new building, 1880), and the Carnegie library (1893). Three bridges span the river, and connect Ayr proper with Newton-upon-Ayr and Wallacetown - a railway viaduct, and the 'Twa Brigs' of Burns. Of these the narrow four-arched ' Auld Brig' dates probably from the end of the 15th century, and the ' New Brig' (1788) was rebuilt in 1879. There are statues of General Smith Neill, the thirteenth Earl of Eglinton, and Burns. Part of the tower of the old church of St John, built in the 12th century, and turned into a fort by Cromwell, is still standing, and now forms, with additions, a dwelling-house. Harbour improvements, including a wet dock and slip dock, have been carried out since 1874 at a cost of over £150,000. The tonnage of vessels entering the port has increased in seventeen years from 140,000 to 345,000. The chief export is coal; grain and timber are imported; and there are manufactures of lace and woollen fabrics, carpets, large sawmills, etc. A splendid new water-supply, drawn from Loch Finlas, 20 miles distant, was introduced in 1887. William the Lion made Ayr a royal burgh about 1200; and it unites with Campbeltown, Irvine, Inveraray, and Oban in sending a member to parliament. Pop. (1841) 15,749; (1861) 18,573; (1901) 28,697.