Royal Burgh of Irvine minutes
Minutes of the Town Council meetings of the 18th & 19th century were found in the Town House loft by David Dunlop, the burgh foreman and a halberdier, in the 1960s - they had probably been transferred from the old Tolbooth when it was demolished in 1861.
The papers, after safe storage in the Burgh Museum in Wellwood, are now preserved by the North Ayrshire Archive service.
Tolbooth keys
Among the artefacts found in the Town House loft were the Tolbooth keys, one of which was given to David Dunlop. On his death, as he was a member of Irvine Burns Club, his family presented the key to the Irvine Lasses Burns Club for display at Wellwood.
On the transfer of the Burgh Museum contents from there to North Ayrshire Archives, it passed into their safe-keeping.
Seagate House
No longer in existence, Seagate House, the family home of David Dunlop, was once the home of Dr John McKenzie, founder President of Irvine Burns Club.
