Welcome to Kilwinning Heritage

We are a local history group in Kilwinning, Ayrshire in Scotland. This website is intended to give members and visitors information about KH and its activities, and also about Kilwinning’s rich history, which stretches back to prehistory. Please check back regularly, as we will add news and information from time to time.

Heritage Centre

The Heritage Centre is located in the clock tower which dates from 1816 and lies in the grounds of the 12th century Tironensian Benedictine Abbey. The Tower is owned and maintained by North Ayrshire Council, and staffed by volunteer members of Kilwinning Heritage. We welcome around 1200 visitors from all over the world each year and our volunteers lead guided tours of the Tower.
Find out more about the Heritage Centre

More About Us

Some of our local historians share their knowledge

Our Tower Team welcome visitors to the Abbey Tower Heritage Centre located in the heart of the town alongside the Abbey Church. We also have an Archive Team working on a project to discover and protect documents from Kilwinning's past. Others are working on individual research projects, and we occasionally present special exhibitions of local interest. We provide other activities such as summer visits to places of historic interest and a programme of guest speakers in the winter months.

We are always keen to hear from local people interested in history who may be willing to become a volunteer guide or to take part in our other activities. For more information, contact us.

Community Archive Project

We have been given a unique opportunity to discover stories from Kilwinning's past through a collection of historical legal documents. A team of volunteers are working to clean, conserve and digitally preserve an estimated 20,000 documents from the 18th, 19th and early 20th century. We hope that with appropriate funding, we will be able to open opportunities for the community to get actively involved in this exciting opportunity to get immersed in local history and share stories which help to build community pride.

Abbey Tower repair works
Heritage Centre closed

The volunteers of Kilwinning Heritage apologise for the closure of the Abbey Tower Heritage Centre since February 2025. North Ayrshire Council is planning a programme of repairs. Other KH activities will continue as normal: free public talks, research, community archive project, book sales etc. For up-to-date information, contact us or follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Kilwi...

Latest News

Work on Abbey Tower again delayed

The Abbey Tower Heritage Centre is now unlikely to re-open before Spring 2026. North Ayrshire Council, who owns the Tower, has confirmed it will use almost £200,000 of funding to help restore one of the region’s most beautiful and iconic landmarks. The works - required to ensure its long-term conservation - include building fabric repairs and improvements that will ensure water ingress is prevented. Lost features will also be reinstated, and a range of other improvements will be carried out to preserve the asset and enhance the visitor experience throughout the building. The works at Kilwinning Abbey Tower are being funded by a range of sources including internal Council budgets, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Programme. The allocation of Crown Estates funding will maximise the level of external investment in the project and provide additional contingency funding due to the nature of the works.

Please keep an eye on social media posts by Kilwinning Heritage where we will keep you up to date with the progress.

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Donate to Kilwinning Heritage

We are always happy to receive donations. These can be made via PayPal as a one-off or recurring payment, for a value of your choosing.