Lace and penicillin: telling Darvel's story

Few towns of Darvel's size can claim two stories of world importance. Darvel has both – and residents want them told properly.
The first is lace. Darvel's history and very existence are bound up with weaving, and by the 1920s the lace furnishings industry in the Irvine Valley had become the largest in the world. It was once said that local people were "Darvel bred and Darvel fed". The last of the town's power looms closed in 2007, and Darvel is now largely a commuter town – but the heritage remains in its weavers' cottages and houses and its water-powered looms.
The second is Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, who was born in Darvel. He attended the local primary school and Kilmarnock Academy, and a memorial to him stands in Hastings Square.
The Darvel Community Action Plan 2014–2019 said there was a great opportunity to make more of both. Its vision for 2020 described Darvel as a great place to learn about the history of lace manufacturing and weaving, and a great place to learn about Sir Alexander Fleming.
Residents clearly agreed. In the Community Views Survey, people described the town's heritage as amazing, singling out the lace industry and Fleming in particular.
The plan's community profile listed a wider set of heritage features too: the Town Hall, the Telephone Museum, the SAS and war memorials, Darvel Parish Church, and the Dagon Stone, which the plan tentatively described as a possible Bronze Age monolith. It also noted a chambered cairn at Loanfoot Farm and the site of a Roman encampment by Loudoun Hill, though the latter is no longer visible.
The surrounding landscape carries history as well. The Lanfine Estate, popular for local walks, was built by James Armour of Mauchline, father of Jean Armour, who married Robert Burns.
Under the Environment and Heritage theme, the plan proposed to:
• develop proposals and recommendations for further interpretation of Sir Alexander Fleming's role in modern medicine and of Darvel's lace-making past
• take action to develop facilities, interpretation and information based on those recommendations
The organisations named were the Darvel Improvement Group, the Irvine Valley Regeneration Partnership, the Community Council, local businesses, other Irvine Valley communities and East Ayrshire Council.
The plan saw heritage as an economic asset as well as a source of pride. Alongside the music festival and the walking routes, it described Darvel's heritage as part of a potent mix that could help drive the town's regeneration and bring visitors to its door.