Ayr Parkhouse were formed in
1886 and took their name from the Parkhouse farmhouse where the club's players trained,
William Frew, a centre-forward for Parkhouse, was the son of the farmer who owned it. They initially played their home games at Ballantine Drive, before moving to the Ayr Racecourse ground, now known as the Old Racecourse. In
1888 Ayr vacated the better developed Beresford Park, and Ayr Parkhouse moved in, where they played for the remainder of their existence, although altering the ground since moving in, . In 1891 they joined the
Ayrshire Football League, but moved onto the
Ayrshire Football Combination in 1893, of which they were founder members along with
Ayr with whom they would develop a healthy rivalry. However, Ayr Parkhouse decided to remain a faithfully
amateur club, only turning
professional in
1905. Despite the club's amateur status, they competed well in their league and the
Scottish Cup, reaching the quarter finals of the competition in the
1894–95 season, where they fell to that
year's runners-up
Renton. Local success continued, but the rivalry that was built up with
Ayr ceased to have a regular outlet when that club were admitted to membership of the
Scottish Football League in
1897. Ayr Parkhouse's ambitions were beginning to outgrow their local successes and the club's early
amateurness fuelled hostility to membership of the professional
Scottish Football League was waning. In
1901 they unsuccessfully applied for membership, but, after finishing second in the
Scottish Amateur Football League they managed to get elected to full league status in
1903, just ahead of
St. Johnstone. Their initial season in the
league was a disaster. They finished bottom of
Division Two and therefore had to reapply for membership, but they declined to do so.
Aberdeen were elected instead. After two seasons out of the
league, playing instead in the
Scottish Football Combination, Ayr Parkhouse were accepted back into the
Second Division. This was in
1906. The club performed without much distinction in the following four seasons. At the end of the
1909–10 season,
Ayr and Ayr Parkhouse merged to form
Ayr United. == Colours ==