Social History
Originally known as Kilbirnie Ironworks village, Glengarnock was the title chosen by the community when it became large enough to warrant its own identity. The original Glengarnock was a medieval castle whose ruins are still visible some 3 miles upstream and north of Kilbirnie. The community consisted of a number of migrant workers from Ireland and Lithuania who were brought in to man the works and housed in the "raws", i.e., rows of terraced cottages. A significant community existed with a number of local shops and facilities but these slowly dwindled when the community moved to better housing in Kilbirnie itself and by the 1970s had declined to only a small number of local shops. When the steelworks closed in the 1980s Glengarnock as a village consisted of two pubs, a hairdresser's and a post office.
One of the first libraries in North Ayrshire was formed by Mr William Rabey who opened a Reading room at the Steel Works.
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