Townhead StreetTownhead Street means quite simply "head or top of the town". In the olden days it was the main centre in Cumnock for cotton weaving - the houses were single-storey, thatched with two main rooms, one of which held the handloom. Almost every house would have a handloom - some having as many as six. In 1791 Cumnock had 35 handlooms plus 39 muslin weavers and 7 stocking weavers. By 1811 there were 70 muslin weavers and by the 1820s over 120 looms were in operation.
The American Civil War and the introduction of the power loom c1860 led to the decline of the trade and by 1899 only three weavers remained.
The fair in Cumnock may have been held at the east end of Townhead Street, after it was moved from its original site near Stepends Ford
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Weavers` Cottages, Townhead Street
Alex. Muir & Sons, Townhead Street
McCubbins Corner, Townhead Street
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