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Prestwick History!


For the first millennium of its existence, Prestwick was a Burgh of Barony and only really expanded when the railway was built in 1840. This allowed well-to-do Glaswegians to build houses further out of the city, near the coast. In its long history many kings visited Prestwick including Robert the Bruce. He was said to have been cured of leprosy after bathing in the water from the well at the Church of St Ninian which still exists today.

The Prestwick Old Golf Course was the original home of the Open Golf Championships from 1860 to 1872. One of the oldest buildings is the old Parish church near the railway station. Now a ruin, it dates back to the 12th century and has an ancient graveyard where Andrew Straith, the first Keeper of the Green at the Golf Club was buried.