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Coordinates: 55°32′N 4°40′W / 55.54°N 4.66°W / 55.54; -4.66

Troon
Scottish Gaelic: An Truthail / An t-Sròn[1]
Scots: The Truin[2]
Troon  Troon shown within South Ayrshire
Population	14,766 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	NS345255
Council area	South Ayrshire
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Troon
Postcode district	KA10
Dialling code	01292
Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Central Ayrshire
Scottish Parliament	Ayr
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services — the P&O Express to Larne and a yacht marina. In May 2006, a ferry service to Campbeltown was added, although this was withdrawn the following year.

In the 2001 census the population of Troon, not including the nearby village of Loans but including the Barassie area, was estimated at 14,766 — a 4.77% increase on the 1991 estimate of 14,094.^[3]

Name[link]

The name Troon is likely from a Brythonic or Pictish name cognate with Welsh trwyn ("nose, cape"). When Scottish Gaelic became the main language, it is possible that the Gaelic form An t-Sròn ("the nose") pronounced [ənˠ̪ t̪ʰɾɔːn] was used for the name Troon. Since the words sròn and trwyn are cognate, it could have been easily adapted from one language to the other.^[1] This is similar to the Gaelic name of Stranraer (An t-Sròn Reamhar, the fat nose), which lies further south on the coast.^[4] However, it is not certain if An t-Sròn was the Gaelic name, as its usage cannot be traced back any further than Johnston’s Place-names of Scotland (1932). It is more likely that a gaelicized respelling, such as An Trùn, was used.^[1]

The name An Truthail was used by Gaelic speakers on nearby Arran Island up until the 20th century.^[1]

History[link]

Troon is famous for its Royal Troon golf course, one of the hosts to the Open Golf Championship. The course is chosen to host this annual event roughly every seven years.

The Duke took the existing natural harbour on the north side of the headland and added docks. Later improvements included increasing the protection afforded by the headland with an artificial "ballast bank" made from the dumped ballast of incoming merchant ships. And from 1812 Troon was the terminus of a horse-drawn railway connecting it to the Duke of Portland's coal mines around Kilmarnock. This was not licensed for passengers, a minor technicality evaded by weighing those wishing to travel and charging them freight rates.

Troon Harbour played a notable part in the development of the town for many years. It was home to the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, which constructed many vessels for worldwide customers but mainly small passenger and various merchant vessels. The fishing fleet from Ayr moved to Troon Harbour and a revitalisation of the abandoned section of the harbour started. An approach road was constructed to connect to a P&O terminal which operates a service to Ireland. The Seacat high speed ferry service briefly operated from Troon Harbour but has now ended.

Troon Harbour is now a fishing port, yachting marina, seasonal passenger ferry port and Ro-Ro ferry terminal for timber and containers. The shipbuilding industry at Troon Harbour ended in 2000.^[5]

The town is served by Troon railway station. Troon (old) railway station was one of the first passenger stations in Scotland as part of the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway. A line had been there previously used by the Duke of Portland for the transport of coal from the collieries in East Ayrshire but was upgraded to run Steam locomotives. Troon has its own secondary school, Marr College.

Troon is also the birthplace of C.K. Marr, who left a considerable fortune upon death to the people of Troon which was used to construct the towns only secondary school Marr College.^[6]

Troon has over the past few years become a popular place for Kitesurfing. The strong winds coming from the Atlantic and from the north down the Firth of Clyde make it an ideal spot.

Troon also hosts an annual music Festival held in the autumn known as Live@Troon. Details of what's on and when can be found at www.liveattroon.com. The event is run by a charitable trust for the promotion of the town and local musical talent.

Extension of Troon[link]

Feuing Plan of the proposed Extension of Troon part of the Estate of Fullarton

The artist's impression and the theoretical master plan for Troon that the Duke of Portland had drawn up was almost on as grand a scale, relative to its size, as that of Edinburgh's New Town. Certainly, the broad streets with a grid network and ample space for civic amenities created for a thriving community built around the industry of the harbour. Troon's prosperity allowed this confident plan to be proposed. The drawing shows two spires, the taller spire was of that proposed by Troon Parish Church. Although the new building was erected in 1895 the spire was never completed. To the right a smaller spire indicates Portland Street United Free Church, which sat behind where WH Smith is today. The first railway in Scotland (Troon to Kilmarnock 1811) is clearly showing in the background. It was the Glasgow and South Western Railway in 1892 who altered this plan by building a loop to bring passengers closer to the beach and town. The park sadly never came to pass but public spaces on the promenade, (where the bandstand was built), The Ballast Bank and Fullarton ground allow residents and visitors much scope for leisure. The industrial units to the right of the harbour line towards Barassie were the Gas Works and Slaughter House.

SeaCat service[link]

SeaCat were most notable for opening Troon as a passenger harbour back in 1999. They were followed by P&O Irish Sea in 2003. SeaCat closed the following year in 2004. As P&O operate a catamaran as their passenger ship, the term 'SeaCat' is often used to refer to the P&O service.

The former SeaCat terminal is still fenced off and is currently used as log storage.

Notable residents[link]

• Colin Montgomerie, Golfer^{[citation needed]}
• Gordon Brown, Rugby Player
• Andrew Cotter, BBC Sports Broadcaster^{[citation needed]}
• Jamie Ness, footballer for Glasgow Rangers
• Alan Hutton, Footballer^{[citation needed]}
• Richard McTaggart, Boxer^{[citation needed]}
• Ronni Ancona, Actress^{[citation needed]}
• Brian Whittle, Athlete
• Steve Nicol, Footballer
• Susannah York, Actor
• Duncan Lunan, Writer
• George Hunter, Footballer

Fullarton House[link]

Fullarton House was built by William Fullarton of that ilk in 1745 and altered by his son, however it was demolished in 1966 by the council who had been unable to maintain the building after purchasing it in 1928.

The entrance route had been changed by the Duke of Portland and the house design altered so that the back became the front, with grand views opened up of the Isle of Arran and Firth of Clyde.^[7] After centuries of occupation the Fullarton lines possession had thus come to an end when the Duke of Portland purchased the property in 1805. He lived here for a while as his principal residence in Scotland, however he had a greater interest in developing Troon harbour and the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway.

The grounds are now a park with some signs of the old house still apparent, such as the magnificent stable block, the ornamental pediments, walled gardens, doocot and an ice house.^[8]

The Fullarton family[link]

A pediment from the old Fullarton House.

The name is thought to come from the office of 'Fowler to the King', the purpose of which was to supply wild-fowl to the King as required. The dwelling which came with the post was called Fowlertoun and the family may have eventually adopted the name. The Fullarton's of Angus had been required by Robert I to supply him with wild-fowl at his castle of Forfar.^[7]

Alanus de Fowlertoun was in possession of the lands shortly before his death in 1280 and the family continued in a nearly unbroken line from father to son. William Fullarton, the builder of the house, inherited the estate from his grandfather in 1710, he having inherited it from his brother in turn. Colonel Fullarton died in 1808, the last Fullarton of that Ilk laird.^[7] He wrote in 1793 the seminal A General View of the Agriculture in the County of Ayr and was one of the few on record to praise Robert Burns's skills as a farmer, commenting favourably on a method of dishorning cattle which the poet had demonstrated. Burns is said to have visited Fullarton.^[9]

The Fullarton grotto and stables[link]

• 

  The old Fullarton grotto.

• 

  Alcoves in the old grotto.

• 

  The courtyard of Fullarton stables.

• 

  The Robert Adam designed Fullarton stables.

Crosbie Castle[link]

Robert II granted the old Crosbie estate to the Fullartons in 1344 and by the 18th century the old castle was partly demolished and converted into an ice house for Fullarton House, with a doocot nearby.^[8] In 1969 more of the ice house was demolished to make it safe. The building had been known as Crosby Place and later became Fullarton House, not long before the new building of the same name replaced it.^[7]

Over the centuries the castle was rebuilt three times, in the same typical square design as seen at Dundonald Castle. The remains today mainly represent the Castle's dungeon. Many of Crosbie Castle's stones were used in the construction of the first Fullarton House. The dungeon, had an underground stream, making it the ideal cold storage cellar or ice house.^[10]

• 

  A corner of the old castle walls.

• 

  Marriage stone of William Fullarton and Anne Brisbane.

• 

  The old Ice House constructed from the ruins of Crosbie Castle.

• 

  The old entrance and spiral staircase at the Ice House / Crosbie Castle.

Crosbie church and cemetery[link]

The old church's gable end.

First recorded in 1229, the present structure dates from 1691. Tradition claims that the roof blew off on the day in 1759 that Robert Burns was born and it was left to become a ruin. One of the graves is that off David Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, son of, James, alleged assassin of the Regent Moray, bastard son of James V. This event occurred in 1570 and David died in 1619. David Fullarton of that Ilk had married David's sister.^[8]

Constructed on the site of the original chapel, the name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'Crossbye', signifying the dwelling of the cross; a fairly common placename. The cemetery dates from circa 1240 and was held in secular times by Fullarton of Crosbie in the 14th century after being passed on from relatives. Records indicate that this ground was used by a holy order before the Fullartons arrived in the area.^[10] The chapelry of Crosbie, together with that of Richardstoun (Riccartoun) were attached to Dundonald and were granted by the second Walter Stewart to the short lived Gilbertine Convent which he had founded at Dalmulin in 1238. The convent was dis-established in 1238 and the chapel passed to the monks of Paisley Abbey.^[11]

The cemetery was the burial ground for Troon until 1862 and family lairs were still in use until after the First World War. One the other side of the road, the remains of the church manse can still be seen (2009). The 'Wrack Road' was the Fullarton Estate estate road used by tenants who took their carts down to the shore to collect seaweed or wrack as fertilizer and it was the main road from Troon for funerals going to Crosbie.^[10]

Janet McFadzean was buried in Crosbie cemetery in 1761 and the front of her tombstone reads: Here lyes the corps of Janet McFadzean, Spous of William McFadzean, Quarter-Master Sergean in Lovetenan General Homs Regiment of Sol., who died August 22, 1761, aged 27 years.

The reverse side reads:

Views of the cemetery[link]

• 

  Crosbie church gates.

• 

  Church and cemetery.

• 

  David Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh's gravestone.

• 

  The inscription on David Hamilton's gravestone.

An epistle by John Laing suggests that Crosbie Kirk is haunted:

See also[link]

• Colin Montgomerie - golfer
• Gordon Brown (rugby player) - the legendary "Broon frae Troon"
• James Logan (footballer) - footballer
• Laigh Milton viaduct - the Kilmarnock and Troon railway or tramway.
• Mike Russell- MSP

References[link]

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Blair, Anna (1983). Tales of Ayrshire. London : Shepeard - Walwyn. ISBN 0-85683-068-2.
• Dougall, Charles S. (1911). The Burns Country. London: A & C Black.
• Love, Dane (2003), Ayrshire: Discovering a County. Ayr: Fort Publishing. ISBN. 0-9544461-1-9.
• Millar, A. H. (1885). The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire. Glasgow : Grimsay Press. ISBN 1-84530-019-X.
• Paterson, James (1863–66). History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton. V. - II - Kyle. Edinburgh: J. Stillie.

Further reading[link]

• McPherson, I (2000) Old Troon
• Wylie, Stewart C. and Wilson, James (1991) Troon in Old Picture Postcards
• MacIntosh, I.M. (1969) Old Troon

External links[link]

• Photo Tour of Troon
• About Troon
• South Ayrshire Council
• Pictures of Troon Harbour

Marianne Vos

Vos wearing the rainbow jersey in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Marianne Vos
Born	(1987-05-13) May 13, 1987 (age 25) 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight	58 kg (130 lb; 9.1 st)[1]
Team information
Current team	Stichting Rabo Women Cycling Team
Discipline	Road, cyclo-cross, MTB, Track
Role	Rider
Professional team(s)
2006–	DSB-Ballast Nedam
Major wins
UCI Women's Road World Cup (2007) La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (2007–2009) UCI Road Race World Championships (2006) UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships (2006, 2009–2012)
Medal record Competitor for the  Netherlands Cyclo-cross World Championship Gold 2006 Zeddam Elite Gold 2009 Hoogerheide Elite Gold 2010 Tábor Elite Gold 2011 Sankt Wendel Elite Gold 2012 Koksijde Elite Silver 2008 Treviso Elite Road bicycle racing World Championship Gold 2006 Salzburg Elite road race Silver 2007 Stuttgart Elite road race Silver 2008 Varese Elite road race Silver 2009 Mendrisio Elite road race Silver 2010 Geelong Elite road race Silver 2011 Copenhagen Elite road race Track cycling Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Points race World Championship Gold 2008 Manchester Points race Gold 2011 Apeldoorn Scratch
Infobox last updated on 15 February 2012

Marianne Vos, ( pronunciation (help·info)) (born 13 May 1987) is a Dutch cyclo-cross, road bicycle racer and track racer. After winning a junior European and world championship in road racing, she continued in senior cycling by becoming world champion in cyclo-cross and road racing at the age of 19. Vos added track racing world championships when she won the points race in 2008 and the scratch race in 2011. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the points race.

Early years[link]

Marianne Vos was born in 's-Hertogenbosch, Noord-Brabant and lives in the small village of Meeuwen. She started her career when she was six years old after she watched her older brother who was already a cyclist.^[2] At first she trained with her brother's team as she was not allowed to participate in races; during the winter she started training in cyclo-cross as well. When she was eight, she was able to ride races.^[2] Vos also participated in speed skating and inline speed skating. At 14 she replaced inline skating with mountain biking.

Professional career[link]

2002, 2003[link]

In 2002 she won two national championships and finished second in another. She became Dutch mountain biking champion and won the national junior road race,^[3][4] while she finished second in the Dutch time trial championship behind Roxanne Knetemann.^[5] In 2003 Vos successfully defended her national junior mountain bike title.^[3] At the time trial championships she again finished second, this time behind Maxime Groenewegen while 2002 champion Roxanne Knetemann finished fourth.^[6]

2004[link]

Vos excelled in cyclo-cross for the first time in 2004 when she won her first international race in Gieten, beating Birgit Hollmann and Arenda Grimberg.^[7] She finished third in the Dutch junior road race and time trial, unable to beat Ellen van Dijk who won both events.^[8][9] Continuing her cyclo-cross season she added wins in Surhuisterveen and Pijnacker-Nootdorp. In the last she beat Hanka Kupfernagel and Daphny van den Brand.^[10][11] For the third straight time she became Dutch junior champion in mountain biking before heading to Verona for the junior road world championship.^[3] Aged 17 and a first-year junior, Vos broke away in the final of five laps on the climb. She stayed clear and became world champion.^[12] At the end of 2004 Vos was elected Sport FM Sportswoman of the year 2004^[13]

2005[link]

As junior world champion Vos claimed her first Dutch junior national road title in front of 2004 champion Ellen van Dijk.^[14] Van Dijk was able to defend her time trial title successfully before Maxime Groenewegen, while Vos finished third again.^[15] Participating as a senior at the Dutch cyclo-cross championship Vos finished second behind Daphny van den Brand.^[16] She then won her fourth Dutch junior mountain bike title, before winning a junior World Cup meeting in Houffalize.^[3] She finished fourth at the world junior cyclo-cross championship and won a race held in Heeswijk a week later.^[3] From then on Vos occasionally took part in senior road races. One was the Omloop van Borsele which she won by beating Adrie Visser.^[17] Including Vos's world championship in 2004 The Netherlands had won the last three editions of the junior championship (the others being Loes Markerink in 2002 and Suzanne de Goede in 2003).^[12] Vos's goal was to add a fourth title by defending her title in Salzburg, but she finished second behind Denmark's Mie Bekker Lacota.^[18]

Vos went to cyclo-cross again. Six weeks after her silver medal from Salzburg she won in Harderwijk and Suameer.^[19][20] Her next aim was the European cyclo-cross championship in Pont-Château, France. She started in the élite field and was expected to assist Daphny van den Brand but instead beat the favourites, including van den Brand who won silver.^[21] After the European championship she won two cyclo-crosses in Gieten and Loenhout.^[22][23] Vos was named Sport FM Sportswoman of the year 2005'.'^[13]

2006[link]

Vos won her first race of 2006 on 1 January in Pétange.^[24] Less than a week later, the Dutch championship in Huijbergen was again a clash between Vos and van den Brand, this time van den Brand becoming champion while Vos took silver.^[25] Vos then concentrated on the world cyclo-cross championship in her own country, in Zeddam. On 29 January 2006 she was in excellent form, with only Hanka Kupfernagel and Daphny van den Brand able to catch her. Van den Brand changed bikes and lost her lead, following at a minute to take bronze. The gold medal was decided in the last metres when Vos outsprinted Kupfernagel.^[26]

During the 2006 road season Vos took part in the Gracia-Orlova Tour in the Czech Republic and won the 5th stage, 2:20 before the pack.^[27] In that same week she won the Omloop van Borsele for the second time in a row, beating Vera Koedooder and Bertine Spijkerman.^[28] In Spain she took part in the Emakumeen Bira and won the 1st stage.^[29] She then travelled back to Holland for the national road championship in Maastricht. Vos showed up in the group containing all favourites and outsprinted Sharon van Essen and Suzanne de Goede to win the title.^[30] On 28 June 2006 Vos was named Dutch Sports Talent of the year 2006 in front of pentathlete Laurien Hoos and gymnast Epke Zonderland. The additional award was handed to her by former swimming star Erica Terpstra.^[31]

A few weeks later she was strongest in the Omloop van Valkenburg where she again finished in front of de Goede.^[32] She still had the age of a junior and took part in the European road race championship in Valkenburg. She won the sprint against Italy's Tatiana Guderzo.^[33] She went on to win two stages and overall in the Tour Féminin en Limousin.^[34] In July, she won criteriums in Steenwijk, Draai van de Kaai, Oostvoorne and Pijnackerow.^[35]

In August, she signed a five-year deal with the Dutch Team DSB-Ballast Nedam.^[36] It wasn't long before she won her first race with DSB. At the end of the 4th stage of the Trophée d'Or Féminin Vos beat Tanja Schmidt-Hennes.^[37]

With the silver medal won in 2005 in mind, Vos returned to Salzburg for the senior road race at the World Championship of road cycling. Vos remained in the bunch until Nicole Cooke started the action in the fifth of six laps. Cooke attacked on the second climb and only Nicole Brändli and Vos were able to catch her. A few others came back a few kilometres later. Judith Arndt left the group by herself. Vos made the jump to Arndt and they led for a few minutes until the chasers came back. From then, the group stayed together apart from attacks on either the flat road or the second climb. The race went to a sprint of 15 riders, Vos taking another rainbow jersey.^[38]

In the 2006 UCI Cyclo-cross European Championships Vos won a bronze medal behind Daphny van den Brand and Hanka Kupfernagel.^[39]

2007[link]

Vos competing in the Grand Prix Adri van der Poel cyclo-cross race in January 2007

Vos won La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and the Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt World Cup events before going on to win the series overall. She also finished second in the Road Race World Championships, conceding her title to Marta Bastianelli of Italy who broke away in the last 15 km of the race.

2008[link]

Vos added a track cycling world title to her list when she won the Women's Points Race at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. In doing so, she became the first woman to have held world championship titles on the road, track and cyclo-cross. Vos became Olympic points race champion at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

2009[link]

In 2009, Vos started by winning the Cyclo-cross world championships. She also had success on the road, as she won La Flèche Wallonne Féminine for the third time. Later that year, she finished second in the UCI Road World Championships.

2010[link]

In 2010, Vos again won the silver medal in the UCI Road World Championships, but became world champion Cyclo-cross again.

2011[link]

Vos captured her fifth consecutive silver medal at the UCI Road World Championships. She won the scratch race in the UCI Track World Championships, and the world cyclo-cross championship.

2012[link]

In 2012, Vos won the world cyclo-cross championship again.

Outside sports[link]

Vos is an ambassador for Youth United for Sri Lanka (YU4SL), set up by young people to help underprivileged people in Sri Lanka. Speed skater Ireen Wüst and other Dutch celebrities joined Vos as an ambassador.^[40]

Achievements[link]

Marianne Vos's palmarès, a list of her main achievements:^[41][42]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marianne Vos

• Official Marianne Vos website
• Marianne Vos profile at CycleBase.nl
• Marianne Vos profile at Cycling Archives

Sporting positions
Preceded by Regina Schleicher	World Road Race Champion 2006	Succeeded by Marta Bastianelli
Preceded by Hanka Kupfernagel	World Cyclo-cross Champion 2006	Succeeded by Maryline Salvetat
Preceded by Hanka Kupfernagel	World Cyclo-cross Champion 2009–2012	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by  Nicole Cooke (GBR)	UCI Women's Road World Cup Champion 2007	Succeeded by  Nicole Cooke (GBR)
Preceded by  Nicole Cooke (GBR)	UCI Women's Road World Cup Champion 2009–2010	Succeeded by  Annemiek van Vleuten (NED)
Awards
Preceded by Marleen Veldhuis	Dutch Sportswoman of the Year 2008–2009	Succeeded by Nicolien Sauerbreij