IRVINE, a royal and parliamentary burgh, market town, and seaport of Ayrshire, Scotland, is situated on the north bank of the estuary of the Irvine river, and on the Glasgow and South-Western Railway, 29 miles southsouth-west of Glasgow and 10 north of Ayr. It is connected with the suburb of Fullarton on the south side of the river by a fine stone bridge of four arches, originally built in 174G and widened in 1827. The principal street is wide and spacious; and a number of handsome villas have been erected in the suburbs. Among the public buildings are the new town-hall, erected near the site of the old town-hall and jail, which dated from the end of the 14th century; the academy, erected in 1814; and several elegant churches. The ancient cross was removed in 1694. Two miles distant is Eglintυn castle, the seat of the earls of Eglinton. The principal relics of antiquity are the square tower of Stanecastle, and the ancient Seagate castle, which contains some good specimens of Norman architecture,—notably a fine arch. A water-supply has lately been introduced at a cost of about <£45,000. The industries include engine-making, shipbuilding, iron-founding, brass-founding, the manufacture of chemicals, brewing, and soapmaking. The shipping trade, which had considerably declined, has been steadily increasing since about 1865. The exports consist principally of coal, iron, and chemical products, and the imports of grain, timber, limestone, ores, and general produce. The population of the royal burgh in 1871 was 4229, and in 1881 it was 4511, that of the parliamentary burgh in the same years being 6866 and 8503....