List of Ayrshire place-names beginning with 'A'
Afton Bridge
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS618132
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 189m
Elements: en Afton Water SSE bridge
Description:
This bridge crosses over the Afton Water.
The OS Name Book records it as: 'A Bridge of one arch of considerable span - over the Afton at Afton Bridgend', beneath which is added the note, 'This is a Co[unty] Bridge' (OS1/3/49/104).
Afton Bridgend
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS620133
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 186m
Elements: en Afton Bridge + SSE end
Description:
A small village beside Afton Bridge. It is now part of New Cumnock.
Afton Hotel
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS618140
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 184m
Elements: en Afton Water + SSE hotel
Description:
The Afton Hotel in fact sits on the River Nith; Bob Guthrie notes that the name will have been designed to play on the Burns connection when established in the 1880s. The hotel burned down in 1963. A photo of the incident, and many other details about the site, can be seen at https://newcumnockheritage.com/2014/06/19/afton-hotel-and-the-auld-kirkyard/
Afton Reservoir
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS634042
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 412m
Elements: en Afton Water + SSE reservoir
Description:
'The landscape [of Glen Afton] changed dramatically in 1931 when Ayr County Council began work on creating the Afton Reservoir with the Afton Water dammed at Craigbraneoch Hill and four years later the Afton Water Works were formally opened. Forestry at the southern end of the reservoir were named Afton Plantations' (Afton Water, Glen Afton – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY).
Afton Water
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS621140
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 183m
Description:
This probably contains a Celtic word meaning ‘river, flowing water’. It could be G abh, OG ab, aub ‘a river’ (the b being pronounced more like v). This word, which is behind names such as Awe (Loch and River) ARG is discussed in detail in a place-name context by W. J. Watson (1926, 477). Alternatively it could be the Northern Brittonic cognate of abh, namely *aβ ‘river, stream’ (BLITON s.v.) (the β representing a sound between b and v). If this is the case, then the second element is best seen as a yet to be identified name-forming suffix or extension.
‘Source of the Afton’ is marked on the OS 6 inch 1st and 2nd editions at NS641015 at a height of 562m.
Airds Hill
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS633175
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 313m
Elements: G àird + SSE hill
Description:
The first element probably derives from G àird ‘a height, a high place’. The element hill has been added after the Gaelic-speaking era when*Aird was no longer understood, so that the name continued to express the fact that it was a high place. The medial s is, however, difficult to explain. It may have been influenced by the name Airds Moss, an extensive upland area in the north-west part of the neighbouring parish of Auchinleck (AUK). However, Airds Moss is more likely to be earlier *Ayr's Moss (see under Airds Moss for more details).
Airds Hill is described in the OS Name Book as: ‘A conspicuous Arable hill on the Farm of Nether Guelt well known in the locality’ (OS1/3/52/112).
Airds Moss
Auchinleck (AUK), Sorn (SRN)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS600240
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 195m
Elements: en Ayr + Sc moss
Description:
This would appear to be a name describing the extensive blanket-bog around the upper reaches of the river Ayr, which passes through its northern parts where it forms the boundary of the parish with Sorn and Muirkirk. The early forms all suggest ‘Air’ or ‘Ayr’ is the specific here, with Airds only solidifying as a spelling in the late 18th century. Airdsgreen, situated on the River Ayr in Muirkirk (Airsgreen, Roy; Airs | Gren, Blaeu) has likely followed the same development.
Airds Moss was the site of an important battle for the Covenanters in 1680.
This is now a nature reserve: http://www.ea-cei.org.uk/airds-moss/
RN
Alhang
Carsphairn (CPH), New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS642010
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 628m
Elements: G ail + G eang or G teanga
Description:
This name has been discussed at some length on both the New Cumnock History (NCH) and the Place-Names of the Galloway Glens (PNGG) websites, with a fine photograph of Alhang and neighbouring Alwhat hills on the former. See links below.
Both analyses agree that the first element is most likely G ail ‘cliff, rock’. The second element is more difficult. PNGG suggests eng ‘a nook, gusset, primarily something angular or triangular’ (Watson 1926, 180) and more tentatively G teanga ‘a tongue (of land)’. NCH suggests perhaps G cumhang ‘narrow’ (OG cumung, cumang etc.) (Ansell, New Cumnock News), although the phonetics make this unlikely.
The stress is on the second syllable.
Alhang Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS637019
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 477m
Elements: en Alhang + SSE burn
All Saints' Ch. (Epis.)
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Ecclesiastical
Grid reference: NS578180
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 158m
Elements: SSE church
Description:
A Scottish Episcopal church built in the grounds of Glaisnock House in the latter part of the 19th century and dedicated to All Saints.
Alwhat
Carsphairn (CPH), Dalry (DAY), New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS646020
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 620m
Elements: G ail + G cat
Description:
‘Rock or cliff associated with wild cats or, less likely, a wild cat'. It is beside Alhang. For a good photo of Alwhat and Alhang, see Alwhat; Alwhat Burn – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY
It is described in the OS Name Book as: ‘A high ridge of sheep pasture land, on which is a portion of the boundary between Ayrshire and Galloway’ (OS1/3/49/11). Three parishes meet on its summit, namely New Cumnock (NCU) AYR, Dalry (DAY) KCB and Carsphairn (CPH) KCB.
Alwhat Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS640031
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 433m
Elements: en Alwhat + SSE burn
Annquin
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS488231
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 86m
Description:
This name, and the settlement to which it applies, only recently appear on OS maps. It may be a personal name: there is an author Ann Quin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Quin - or a transferred name: there is a place in France called Annequin. Given that it is so recent, its origin is probably known locally. If anyone has local information about this name, do please contact the project.
Ardnith
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS603130
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 190m
Elements: Ardnith
Description:
House-name element Ardnith
As with Ardoon DAL, this name looks like a 19th-century confection of G àrd ‘high; height’ and a river-name, in this instance the Nith, although it does not lie especially high and is about one mile from the Nith. As it was built somewhat later than Ardoon, which was built for the manager of the Dalmellington Iron Company. In fact the name may have been directly modelled on Ardoon. It was built for Robert Brown, one of the three partners of the Lanemark Coal Company, formed in 1865. It is now demolished.
Ardoon
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS440086
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 200m
Elements: en (River) Doon
Description:
'Ardoon House was built in the 1870's as a residence for the managers of the Dalmellington Iron Company. Jacobean in style, and constructed with buff sandstone and a slated roof, the house was located on the hillside above the ironworks. In recent years, the now derelict property has seen some development, including windows and new doors. Work is currently being done on the building to make it habitable.' (Dalmellington CAA, 33).
According to Close 'Ardoon, c. 1850, is the manager's house, buried amid rhododendrons, and with a view across the valley.' (1992, 160).
The name is presumably a 'reviaed' Gaelic house name: G ard + en Doon to indicate its height over the Doon Valley (and river).
Arran View
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS436184
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 121m
Elements: en Arran + SSE view
Description:
This settlement appears on maps in the second half of the 20th century. The meaning of the name is transparent.
Ashbeugh Glen
Dalmellington (DAL), New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS517077
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 313m
Elements: Sc ashbeugh + Sc glen
Description:
'Ash-bough glen; a glen associated with ash or ash-boughs'? Sc beugh, also beuch, is Scots for a bough of a tree, so ashbeugh would be 'an ash-bough’. It is also possible that Ashbeugh is an existing name.
The OS Name-Books describe this site: ‘A grassy hollow through which a Stream flows in a westerly direction into Cumnock Water.’ OS1/3/49/146
Ashmark
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS611106
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 269m
Elements: Sc esch + Sc merk
Description:
'A merkland characterised by one of more ashtrees'. A merkland is a piece of land valued at one merk or mark (13s. 4d.).
Ashmark Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS608095
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 359m
Elements: en Ashmark + SSE hill
Auchencloigh
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS493166
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 199m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G clach
Description:
‘Farm of the stone’; modern Gaelic Achadh na Cloiche. G clach in place-names often refers to a standing stone or other conspicuous stone. There is no obvious candidate for the eponymous stone. It can be assumed that the earliest forms refer to Auchencloigh Castle (which see).
In the past 60 years the unstressed medial syllable representing the G definite article na ‘of the’ has come to be written -en- rather than -in-. The first indication of the change is found in a note made by an OS Reviser following a visit in 1959: ‘The spelling of the above is now "Auchencloigh". The farm name is now changed to the new spelling (notice board). The name was also confirmed verbally’ (Canmore ID 42644). It was both Auchencloigh (farm) and Auchencloigh Castle on OS Explorer map 327 (Edition A, revised 2000, printed 2001).
The farm of Auchencloigh is no more: ‘Farmstead demolished when Piperhill opencast coal mine extended onto grounds.’ (Love 2021, 304).
Auchencloigh Castle (remains of)
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Antiquity
Grid reference: NS494166
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 196m
Elements: en Auchencloigh + SSE castle
Description:
It can be assumed that the earliest forms of Auchencloigh refer to the castle. See under Auchencloigh for more details.
When it was visited by RCAHMS in 1978 the following brief report was given: ‘Auchincloigh (now Auchencloigh) Castle: Some of its walls are still standing and are between 0.6 and 1.6m in height and in some places several feet in thickness. These walls form a rectangle and the interior seems to be subdivided into several small rooms. The castle stands on a mound and fallen rubble lies all around’ (Canmore ID 42644).
RN
Auchencloigh Lodge
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS496174
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 171m
Elements: en Auchencloigh + SSE lodge
Description:
This building first appears on maps around 1960. The name presumably refers to its position at the start of the road into Auchencloigh Castle, but it was not historically the lodge for that building.
Auchengibbert
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS593193
Certainty: 2
Altitude: 190m
Elements: G achadh + pn Gilbert
Description:
‘A farm associated with a family or individual man called Gilbert?’ The medial -en/-in- in Gaelic names usually represents the definite article, so ‘farm of the ...’. If the final element is indeed a personal name, then the definite article here would be decidedly odd. One possibility is that the first element went into Scots as Auchen- as so many names beginning with Auch- have this form. This may also be the case in Auchingilsie OCU.
A second possibility is that the final element is not a personal name, but it is hard to suggest an alternative.
The lands of Auchengibbert were fairly extensive and were later divided into Little Auchengibbert, Meikle Auchengibbert (formerly Upper Auchengibbert) and North Auchingibbert. The approximate NGR is of a point between Little and Meikle Auchengibbert.
Auchinbay
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS485234
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 98m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G beithe
Description:
'Farm of the birch-tree or birch-trees'. In modern Gaelic it would be Achadh na Beithe (singular) or Achadh nam Beith (plural).
Dane Love (2012, 301) notes that in the late 18th century this farm was occupied by John Tennant, son of John Tennant of Glenconner (qv), with whom Robert Burns had been at school in Ayr. Burns refers to him in his poem ‘Epistle to James Tennant of Glenconner’, by the name of his farm: ‘And Auchenbay, I wish him joy’.
Auchincally
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS601081
Certainty: 2
Altitude: 317m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G cailleach
Description:
'Farm or field of the old woman or (mountain) hag', G achadh na cailliche? This analysis is tentative, as the forms of this name are relatively very late. If it is correct, then the element cailleach might have been applied in the sense of 'hag' or 'malevolent being that haunts wild places'. Given that it is extraordinarily high for permanent settlement, it is possible that the name was coined humorously or superstitiously to evoke a wild and uninhabited place. The name survives only in the names Auchincally Burn and Auchincally Hill.
The NGR is of a small building, possibly a shieling or sheep-fank, on the banks of the Carcow Burn a short distance south of where the Auchincally Burn joins the Carcow.
For further discussion of this name, see Ansell New Cumnock News, Issue 4 (Spring 2020).
Auchincally Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS600080
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 323m
Elements: en Auchincally + SSE burn
Auchincally Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS601066
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 504m
Elements: en Auchincally + SSE hill
Auchincloigh High Wood
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS502161
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 230m
Elements: en Auchencloigh + SSE high + SSE wood
Description:
This refers to a plantation of trees, evidently planted between the first and second editions of the Ordnance Survey 6 inch maps; it formed a continuation with Auchlin High Wood (qv). It was gone by the 1950s.
Auchincross
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS577136
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 215m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G crois
Description:
'Farm of the cross or crossing'.
See also NCH website:
Auchingee
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS573121
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 253m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G gaoth
Description:
‘Farm of the wind’ (G gaoth 'wind'). Achadh na Gaoithe. This is much more likely than NCH’s first suggestion that the specific is G gèadh (m. and f., gen. sing. and pl. geòidh) ‘a goose’. As NCH points out, ‘Auchingee is located on a hilltop and exposed to the wind’, and another settlement in the same group of lands is Windyraw (1549 RMS iv no. 327).
There was another settlement called Auchingee in Ochiltree parish, also in an exposed position in the south of the parish. It disappeared in the late 19th century, the name surviving only in Auchingee Hill.
See Research Notes.
Good photos of the farm on https://farminginthecumnockarea.blogspot.com/ and Auchingee – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY
Auchingee
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS467137
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 275m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G gaoth
Description:
‘Farm of the wind’; in modern Gaelic it would be Achadh na Gaoithe. Auchingee was one of the highest-lying farms in the parish. The farm-steading shown on OS 6-inch 1st edn (1859), and described in the OS name books as comprising ‘A farmsteading dwelling & outhouses attached, one storey thatched & in bad repair’, had completely disappeared by OS 6-inch 2nd edn (1897), along with the name, which survives only in neighbouring Auchingee Hill.
The proximity of this place to Knockguldron OCH (q.v.) makes it likely that Auchingee is represented in early charters as Autitigill, Hachingill. This puts the derivation from gaoth wind in some doubt, although clearly by the 17th century the name had been interpreted as such. The earliest form suggests perhaps a name in allt ‘stream, burn’, but the transcriptions in this volume of RMS are not always reliable. To explain both early forms and later development, we might suggest it was originally *auchti- , probably from G ochdamh ‘an eighth part of a larger unit of land’, which is likely also found in Auchtitench AUK (q.v.). If this is the case, the original name may have been something like *ochdamh geal ‘white eighth-part’.
Dane Love (202, 305) notes that it, along with two other farms on the Bonnyton estate, were merged into a new steading at Ravenscroft after 1860 (qv).
There is another place called Auchingee in the neighbouring parish of New Cumnock, also high-lying. This may have influenced the development of the name in Ochiltree.
Auchingee Hill
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS470133
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 311m
Elements: en Auchingee + SSE hill
Auchingibbert Plantation
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS598194
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 227m
Elements: en Auchingibbert + SSE plantation
Description:
A plantation which took its name from the nearby settlements of Meikle Auchingibbert (now Meikle Auchengibbert) and North Auchingibbert, between which it lay.
Auchingilsie
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS550162
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 287m
Elements: G achadh + ? an +
Description:
‘Farm associated with a person or family called *Gilsie or *Gilshie’?? Possible candidates for the personal name in question are: Gilles, representing the Gaelic name Gille-Íosa (literally ‘Servant of Jesus’); or the Anglo-Norman name Giles. The medial -en/-in- in Gaelic names usually represents the definite article, so ‘farm of the ...’. If the final element is indeed a personal name, then the definite article here would be decidedly odd. One possibility is that the first element went into Scots as Auchen- as so many names beginning with Auch- have this form. This may also be the case in Auchengibbert OCU.
A second possibility is that the final element is not a personal name, but it is hard to suggest an alternative.
The NGR is supplied by Meikle Auchingilsie.
Most if not all of the lands of Auchingilsie have been destroyed by opencast mining.
Auchingilsie Wood
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS544157
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 290m
Elements: en Auchingilsie + SSE wood
Auchinleck
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Parish (extant / non-extant), Settlement
Grid reference: NS551215
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 142m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G leac
Description:
'Farm of the flat stones'. Modern Gaelic Achadh nan Leac. The flat stones or slabs referred to in the name are the thin beds of sandstone exposed in the rock-face near the old castle of Auchinleck. For more details, including a picture, see 'The Name Auchinleck', a blog on the Place-Names of the Coalfield Communities website on the University of Glasgow server.
The NGR is of Auchinleck parish church, although the name itself was coined in relation to the old castle NS499232. This lay 5.5km east of the church.
Auchinleck Burn
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS545206
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 97m
Elements: en Auchinleck + Sc burn
Description:
The earliest record of the name of this burn is as ‘Kirk burn’, so called because it flowed past the old kirk of the parish. The change of name likely post-dates the renaming of the settlement around the church as Auchinleck.
Auchinleck Burn Bridge
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS554213
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 126m
Elements: en Auchinleck Burn + SSE bridge
Description:
A bridge at the southern end of Auchinleck crossing over the Auchinleck Burn. The name is to be found on the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map, but not on the OS 6 inch 1st edn (which shows the name of the adjacent mill as Bridgend Mill). It now forms part of the modern B7083 road.
Auchinleck Castle
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Antiquity
Grid reference: NS499232
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 90m
Elements: en Auchinleck + SSE castle
Description:
The remains of the earliest seat at Auchinleck, a castle on a promontory between the Lugar Water and the Dippol Burn. In the 17th century, Auchinleck Old House took its place as the residence of the holders.
OS Explorer map marks this as 'Castle (rems of)' (Antiquity).
Auchinleck House
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Antiquity
Grid reference: NS507229
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 134m
Elements: en Auchinleck + SSE house
Description:
This fine neo-classical mansion was built c.1760 by Alexander Boswell (the 8th Lord Auchinleck), father of James Boswell the writer, replacing Auchinleck Old House (q.v.).
Auchinleck Mains
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS503226
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 115m
Elements: en Auchinleck + Sc mains
Description:
Axccording to OSNB (OS1/3/3/36), this was the home farm of the Auchinleck estate, though it is marked on the OS 6 inch maps at a slight distance from the main farm steadings (NS506228), which are now referred to as Home Farm (q.v.). It is noted that ‘Mains or Auchinleck Mains was let in 1784 and 1798 to Andrew Dalrymple, the baron officer who also rented ploughed land in Barnsdale and grazing in Woodside Park.’ (The Correspondence, p.217).
Auchinleck Old House
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Antiquity
Grid reference: NS500231
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 102m
Elements: en Auchinleck + SSE old house
Description:
This is the dwelling place developed in the 17th century to replace the medieval castle; it was superseded in its turn in 1760 after the building of the current Auchinleck House. Substantial ruins remain.
Auchintow
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS593072
Certainty: 2
Altitude: 373m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G toll
Description:
'Farm of the hole(s) or hollow(s)'. Achadh an Tuill or Achadh nan Toll? If the final element is derived from toll 'a hole, hollow', then it is more likely to be plural 'holes, hollows'. It is not known what the specific element refers to.
The name survives only in the hill-name Auchintow Hill. It is not known where the settlement was to which this name applied, assuming it was a settlement. Given the height and nature of the land here, it must have been somewhere near the small settlement of Monquhill. This would make it the highest of all the achadh-settlements in the parish. Past this site flows the Carcow Burn. On this same burn, just over 1 mile (1.7km) downstream, the settlement of Auchincally may have lain.
Auchintow Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS597057
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 498m
Elements: en Auchintow + SSE hill
Auchinway
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS531179
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 201m
Elements: G achadh + G an + G magh
Description:
‘Farm of the plain or level land’? The G word magh often also implies good, arable land.
Auchinway Wood
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS529177
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 208m
Elements: en Auchinway + SSE wood
Auchlin
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS498169
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 195m
Elements: G achadh + G linne
Description:
‘Farm of the pool or waterfall’ (Achadh Linne). G linn(e) f., gen. sing. linne can mean a pool, especially one below a waterfall, as well as the waterfall itself. The eponymous linn(e) is on the Burnock Water, which forms the eastern boundary of the lands of Auchlin. The apparent absence of the definite article here (instead of the expected Achadh na Linne) may suggest that the name is of considerable age.
Auchlin was part of the Ochiltree Estate until 1805. In the OS Name Books 1855-57 it is described as ‘Farmsteading Consisting of dwellinghouse and out offices the former two and the latter one Storey high all Slated and in good repair.’ (OS1/3/51/1/64).
Auchlin Bridge
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS502173
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 173m
Elements: en Auchlin + SSE bridge
Description:
A bridge over the Closs Burn to the north-east of Auchlin.
Auchlin High Wood
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS510161
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 234m
Elements: en Auchlin + SSE high + SSE wood
Description:
This refers to a plantation of trees, evidently planted between the first and second editions of the Ordnance Survey 6-inch maps; it formed a continuation with Auchencloigh High Wood (qv). It was gone by the 1950s.
Auchlin Rig
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS507146
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 285m
Elements: en Auchlin + Sc rig
Description:
A hill at the head of the Closs Burn. Described in the OS Name Books 1855-57 thus: ‘A small oval Shaped rough pasture hill, having a gentle declivity on all sides. Probable height from its base 100 feet.’ (OS1/3/51/1/62).
Auchtitench
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS719181
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 370m
Elements: G ochdamh + G tànais(t)e
Description:
The first element is probably G ochdamh 'an eighth part of a larger unit of land'. Three ochdamh-names are found in Lesmahagow parish to the north (Auchtyfardle, Auchtygemmell and Auchtykirnal). These appear to be relatively late formations, since two appear to have non-Gaelic specifics, the third the Anglo-Scandinavian male personal name Gammel. See Taylor 2009, 78-9.
It is not certain what the second element is, but it will most likely be Gaelic—though note the Lanarkshire names above and their non-Gaelic specifics. The earliest spellings perhaps suggest OG tánaise, ScG tànaiste meaning ‘anything parallel or next to another’ (perhaps in reference to its proximity to the parish and county border?), but also referring to a position in the hierarchy, e.g. in OG tánaise ríg, the heir-apparent to a king. This position is, however, not well-evidenced in Scotland, though cf. the meaning attested in ScG ‘next heir to an estate’. The original name in this case would be *Ochdamh Tànais(t)e. The later forms look more as if they contain something related to the Gaelic word teinteach ‘fiery’, or similar, but it is hard to see how this would be an appropriate specific for a settlement, and it would be hard to explain the early forms with -a-.
RN
Auchtitench Hill
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS712183
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 464m
Elements: en Auchtitench + Sc hill
Auchtitench Lane
Auchinleck (AUK), Kirkconnel (KCL), New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS721193
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 341m
Elements: en Auchtitench + Sc lane
Description:
This burn forms the upper reaches of the Guelt Water. The use here in Kyle of the element lane ‘a slow moving, meandering stream’, which is generally said to be confined to Dumfries and Galloway, is notable. There are a number of other examples in this parish (Back Lane, Boghead Lane, etc.).
Auld Byres
Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS429190
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 110m
Elements: Sc auld + Sc byre
Description:
‘Old byres or cattle houses’.
This farm was in the parish of Stair until 1901.
Auldnaw Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS519092
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 273m
Elements: G allt + G an + G àth ('kiln') or G àth + SSE burn
Description:
‘Burn of the kiln or of the ford’? NCH website gives both possibilities but prefers the former Auldnaw BURN & GLEN – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY although no clear reason is given for this. However, I would agree that ‘kiln’ makes more sense as a specific element for a water-course, since ‘ford’ is not a very convincing identifier given that most burns and rivers have a ford at some place or other along their course.
NCH website also points out that ‘there is a Kiln Burn at the opposite end of the parish that flows from near Over Cairn farm into the River Nith’, which further strengthens the interpretation of the second element of Auldnaw as àth ‘kiln.’
Auldnaw Glen
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS514095
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 301m
Elements: en Auldnaw (Burn) + SSE glen
Description:
For the analysis of Auldnaw, see under Auldnaw Burn.
Avenue Bridge
Auchinleck (AUK), Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS537206
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 94m
Elements: en (The) Avenue + SSE bridge
Description:
An eighteenth-century bridge on the Dumfries House Estate crossing over the Lugar Water and thus the parish boundary between Auchinleck and Old Cumnock. It takes its name from The Avenue, a carriage drive from Bridgend to Dumfries House.
'Although the Avenue Bridge was clearly functional it was designed for aesthetic effect, and its steep rise would have afforded the visitor a striking view of the house' (Simpson & Brown 2008, 83). The bridge was built in the 1760s with four obelisks and a balustrade (ibid.).
Avisyard
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS609188
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 265m
Elements: ? + Sc yaird
Description:
In the earliest forms the first element looks like Older Scots ic(e) ‘ice’. Might it be a garden with an ice-house? If so, the later forms are difficult to explain. The second element is Sc yarid etc. ‘a yard or (kitchen-) garden.
Avisyard Burn
New Cumnock (NCU), Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS624197
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 201m
Elements: en Avisyard + Sc burn
Description:
This burn takes its name from the lands of Avisyard OCU and forms their eastern boundary. It rises in NCU, but the name is only applicable in OCU according to OS Name Book. According to the Blaeu map (1654) this was formerly the Garleffan Burn (Garleffen b.). It forms the western boundary of the lands of Garleffan. It is therefore a good example of a feature whose names differ according to the settled location of the namer.
Avisyard Hill
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS608181
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 328m
Elements: en Avisyard + SSE hill
Ayr Road
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS568200
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 118m
Elements: en Ayr + SSE road