Free Gardeners Close - Ayr
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Free Gardeners Close - Ayr by Raibeart MacAoidh as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
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Image: © Raibeart MacAoidh Taken: 8 Mar 2018
This close is named for the Order of Free Gardeners, a mutual aid and friendly society with Scottish origins, which had a hall here in the 19th Century until 1946. Such societies offered training and provided support for members who couldn't work, as well as their widows and orphans. The Free Gardeners were first recorded in Haddington in 1676, but by the 1950's had largely died out across Scotland. Lodges were named after flowers : Ayr's was Daisy, while others included Sweet Lavender, Lowly Hyssop and Rose of Ballochmyle etc. Order of Free Gardeners https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Free_Gardeners