List of Ayrshire place-names beginning with 'D'
Dalblair
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS644192
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 232m
Elements: G dail + G blàr
Description:
Gaelic name Dail Blàir. 'Haugh or water-meadow associated with or characterised by a piece of open, level land, muir or rough grazing'? G blàr is a difficult element to define. The -is ending on the early forms is the Scots plural ending indicating that the lands were already divided.
The Correspondence, App. 1 (p.220), notes: “Dalblair (V[ery] L[arge farm]) was acquired with Hole of Dalblair from James Gibb in 1767.” Hole seems part of Dalblair, though distinct from it. The farm of Constablemark is linked frequently in the records to Dalblair. It seems to have disappeared, and its location is uncertain. It contains the Scots word mark ‘a portion of land originally valued at one mark’. The specific, constable, might in context have originally referred to the keeper of Kyle Castle.
James Boswell wrote the following in his Journal of his journey through Scotland with Dr Johnson: 26 AUGUST 1773 Forres We drove over the very heath where Macbeth met the witches, according to tradition. Mr. Johnson repeated solemnly again “How far is’t called to Forres?” etc., parodying it to me: “All hail Dalblair!”8 Footnote 8 Expanded and explained in the published Tour: “I had purchased some land called Dalblair; and, as in Scotland it is customary to distinguish landed men by the name of their estates, I had thus two titles, ‘Dalblair’ and ‘Young Auchinleck.’” From Boswell’s Journal of a Tour of the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 1773 edited from the original manuscript by Frederick A. Pottle and Charles H. Bennet (Yale 1936), p. 84.
10 October 1773
I talked with Coll, and found by his calculation that going to Icolmkill would probably consume ten days. I considered that in that case we should not reach Auchinleck before the sitting down of the Session; so that I should lose having Mr. Johnson at the romantic seat of our family, and with my father, and upon my own land of Dalblair, all which was of much more value than our being at Icolmkill. (p. 290).
Dalblair Bridge
Auchinleck (AUK), Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS644192
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 232m
Elements: en Dalblair + SSE bridge
Description:
This road bridge crosses Glenmuir Water and also the boundary between Auchinleck and Old Cumnock parishes at Dalblair AUK, from which it takes its name.
Dalblair Cottage
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS644192
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 232m
Elements: en Dalblair + SSE cottage
Dalblair Wood
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS644193
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 234m
Elements: en Dalblair + SSE wood
Dalfad
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS621222
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 245m
Elements: G dail + G fada or G fòid
Description:
It is possible that the Blaeu form derives from a name with different generic, e.g. *Tìr Fad(a). But it may also be that the more familiar ‘dal-’ has replaced the original generic, since the location was not evidently on haughland. The variant form Defad is noted in The Correspondence, App. 1 (p. 221) where it is noted that it was part of the Barony of Glenmure, and had been acquired for the Auchinleck estate in 1762 “with Carbellow in 1762 and attached to Stonebriggs”.
The location of Dalfad near the moss of that name may suggest that the second element is in fact G fòid ‘turf, peat’, and so the original would have been perhaps Dail (or Tìr) Fòid. However the form of the second element does not suggest an original long -o- in the name.
Dalfad Moss
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS626222
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 260m
Elements: en Dalfad + SSE moss
Description:
In 1855-57, the OSNB (OS1/3/3/111) describes this as “A considerable portion of Moss extending in a N E [North East] direction from Hillhead Moss to the Gasswater Limeworks.”
Dalfad Pit (Coal)
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS624223
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 221m
Elements: en Dalfad + SSE pit
Description:
RN
Dalfarson
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS478027
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 188m
Dalfarson Hill
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS490022
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 303m
Elements: en Dalfarson + SSE hill
Dalfarson Plantation
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS481021
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 266m
Elements: en Dalfarson + SSE plantation
Dalgig
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS558129
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 218m
Elements: G dail + G geug
Description:
The first element is clearly ‘haugh, water-meadow, low land by water’, referring to the low land along the River Nith beside the farm. The second element is problematic. While pronounced today with a soft j as in ‘jam’, the early forms indicate a hard g as in ‘game’. The only word that suggests itself is G geug ‘a branch or bough of a tree’ (OG géc or gég). This would most likely be plural (G dail (nan) gèug; Old Gaelic dail géc, Middle Gaelic dail géag), since the singular would appear as Sc G dail gèige, OG dail géice MG dail géaga.This might then suggest a conspicuous tree or trees at or around the original farm-steading. However, no trees are shown on Blaeu (Kyle) (1654) anywhere near Dalgig.
Pronunciation: daljig with stress on jig. /dal’dȝig/ or /dal’dȝɪg/.
Dalgig Bridge
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS557129
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 214m
Elements: en Dalgig + SSE bridge
Description:
Dalgig Bridge is shown and named on the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map (published in 1896), replacing the former Ford that is marked on the OS 6 inch 1st edn map published almost forty years earlier (in 1860). It crossed over Dalgig Burn beside the settlement of Dalgig.
Both the settlement and bridge have now been lost to opencast mining.
Dalgig Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS559128
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 214m
Elements: en Dalgig + Sc burn
Dalgig Plantation
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS557129
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 216m
Elements: en Dalgig + SSE plantation
Dalhanna Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS616108
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 213m
Elements: en Dalhanna + Sc burn
Dalhanna Farm
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS618106
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 239m
Elements: G dail + pn Senach + SSE farm
Description:
‘A haugh or holm (level land by water) associated with a person called Senach’, the origin of the surname Hanna, Hannay etc. (Black 1946 (Surnames) under Hanna). It is relatively rare to find a personal name combined with G dail, and where this is the case it tends to be the name of a saint. However Dalricket NCU, only a few km to the west, contains the personal name Richard, not a saint. The male personal name Senach, modern Gaelic Seanach, is common in medieval Ireland for both laymen and saints, and it is found in hypocoristic (pet-name) form in Kilmashenachan in Kintyre Saints in Scottish Place-Names - Senán, Mo Senóc, Senach, Senchán (ns) (gla.ac.uk).
There is a fine picture of the eponymous holm or haugh on NCH website Dalhanna – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY.
Dalhanna Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS620112
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 346m
Elements: en Dalhanna + SSE hill
Dalharco
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS416112
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 166m
Dalharco Colliery (Disused)
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS420114
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 195m
Elements: en Dalharco + SSE colliery
Description:
By the time of the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map, which was published in 1897, the two coal mines of Dalharco Colliery were no longer in use. Dalharco No. 1 was shortlived, existing only in 1854. Dalharco No. 2 started in 1864 and remained in operation until 1894. It had a depth of 92 fathoms (Smith 1967, 237).
Dalleagles
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS572105
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 237m
Elements: G dail + G eaglais
Description:
‘A haugh or holm (level land by water) associated with a church’. There are wide stretches of level land between the farm of Dalleagles and the Laneburn, clearly the haughs or holms referred to in the name. Where the eponymous church was can no longer be determined, but it may well have been a chapel of ease, serving the needs of parishioners who in the medieval period would have had great difficulty going to their parish church in Old Cumnock on a regular basis, especially in winter.
Dalleagles Bridge
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS573106
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 233m
Elements: en Dalleagles + SSE bridge
Description:
The OS Name Book describes this as: 'A Bridge of one arch over Dalleagles Burn at Dalleagles It is a County Bridge' (OS1/3/49/50).
Dalleagles Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS582112
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 207m
Elements: en Dalleagles + Sc burn
Dalleagles Mount
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief, Vegetation
Grid reference: NS570101
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 299m
Elements: en Dalleagles + SSE mount
Description:
This former plantation lay to the south of Dalleagles, from which it took its name. It is shown but not named on the OS 6 inch 1st edn map.
Dalmellington
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Parish (extant / non-extant), Settlement
Grid reference: NS480057
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 173m
Elements: G dail or G ail + en *Melidun
Description:
The name Dalmellington is not a simple one. The first element of the current name is certainly Gaelic dail 'haugh, holm, water-meadow' referring to one or another of the various holms along the Doon. The earliest forms, however, have instead the element Al- which (if not just a scribal error) is the Gaelic element ail, originally meaning a rock, but often found in hill names in this part of Scotland (e.g. Alhang, Alwhat).
In these earliest forms (Almelidun, Almelidon), it looks as if the second part was an existing name, not one containing Sc toun, but rather an Old English name, perhaps *mǣle-dūn, possibly “variegated hill” (perhaps referring to Mains Hill?); this is the origin of the name Meldon in Devon, for instance. We should not be surprised by the incorporation of an existing Old English place-name in a later name governed by a Gaelic element: this is exactly what happens in the name Tarbolton (Gaelic tòrr “(conical) hill” with existing name *Bolton). This sort of layering of languages in place-names is what we should expect in a region with such a rich mix, and which had likely been under Northumbrian rule in the 8th and 9th centuries. It looks as if the name later became assimilated to much more common place-name elements, such as toun, giving us Dalmellington.
Dalmellington Iron Works
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS441083
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 170m
Elements: en Dalmellington + SSE ironworks
Dalmellington Moss
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS464063
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 161m
Elements: en Dalmellington + SSE moss
Dalmellington Road
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS438084
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 170m
Elements: en Dalmellington + SSE road
Dalricket
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS571132
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 214m
Elements: G dail + pn Richard
Description:
‘A haugh or holm (level land by water) associated with a man called Richard’. It is noteworthy that we have an Anglo-Norman name combined with a G generic element, underlining the strength of Gaelic in these parts well after the later 12th century, when men with Anglo-Norman names first held land here. There is no indication as to the identity of this Richard (see Dalricket, Dalricket Cottage – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY).
While appearing as Dalricket Mill on OS Explorer 327 (2001), on earlier editions of the OS it is always simply Dalricket. That the mill was an important feature of the settlement, however, can be seen not only from Roy’s map (c.1755), which calls the settlement mill of Dalrichle, but also from the OS Name Book entry for Dalricket (1857): 'A good farm house with a water mill for thrashing [threshing] attached occupied by James Kennedy, the property of Mr Ranken, Glenlogan. There was a Corn mill here at one time, but is now converted into a Thrashing [Threshing] mill' (OS1/3/49/41).
Dalricket Bridge
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS572133
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 208m
Elements: en Dalricket + SSE bridge
Description:
This bridge crosses the River Nith beside Dalricket Mill, which is shown as Dalricket on the OS 6 inch 1st and 2nd edn maps.
Dalricket Cottage
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS571132
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 214m
Elements: en Dalricket + SSE cottage
Dalricket Mill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS571132
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 214m
Elements: en Dalricket + Sc miln
Description:
While appearing as Dalricket Mill on OS Explorer 327 (2001), on earlier editions of the OS it is always simply Dalricket. That the mill was an important feature of the settlement, however, can be seen not only from Roy’s map (c.1755), which calls the settlement mill of Dalrichle, but also from the OS Name Book entry for Dalricket (1857): 'A good farm house with a water mill for thrashing [threshing] attached occupied by James Kennedy, the property of Mr Ranken, Glenlogan. There was a Corn mill here at one time, but is now converted into a Thrashing [Threshing] mill' (OS1/3/49/41).
NOTE
From Dalricket, Dalricket Cottage – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY
‘A reference to the ‘grain mill of Nith‘ can be found in a charter of 1549’ I’ve asked Bob Guthrie for the ref. 05 02 24’.
Dalsalloch Plantation
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS546228
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 171m
Elements: en Dalsalloch + SSE plantation
Description:
In 1855-57, the OSNB (OS1/3/3/46) describes this as “A narrow strip of plantation chiefly Fir.”
Dalshalloch
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS548225
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 177m
Elements: G dail + G salach
Description:
Gaelic Name: Dail Salach. 'Dirty haugh or water-meadow'. It cannot be a coincidence that the place is called Dirt hillock on Roy (c.1750). We are either dealing with a part translation from Gaelic into Scots or an independently coined name with reference to the same characteristic that gave rise to the Gaelic name. The land of the original settlement lay on the south side of the Dippol Burn, and hence, presumably, its designation as a haugh.
The Correspondence, App. 1 (p. 216) notes it as two farms, Dalsalloch East and Dalsalloch West, rented out across the 1780s and 1790s, but there is no clear trace of this division in subsequent maps.
The settlement was subsumed in the outgrowth of Auchinleck from the 1920s on, and is now a district of Auchinleck. It is from maps from the 1920s that we first start to see the (unhistorical) spelling -shalloch, which is now, unfortunately, its official map form. It is not clear where this spelling emerged from, as it had been consistently -salloch before this. It is locally still pronounced Dalsalloch, and the map form with -sh- is widely understood as a mistake.
See https://cumnockhistorygroup.org/ploughing-up-our-past/ploughing-up-our-past-blog/ under Dalsalloch, Auchinleck, for further details, and a fine picture of the farmhouse in the earlier 20th century.
Dalvey
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS544112
Certainty: 2
Altitude: 257m
Elements: G dail + G beithe
Description:
‘Haugh or watermeadow characterised by birch’. On the Blaeu map of 1652, based on Timothy Pont’s map of 50 or so years earlier, it is shown as a settlement immediately east of Waterhead Castle (Waterhead Cast.). It does not appear on later maps or other records.
Dame Helen's Castle (rems of)
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Antiquity
Grid reference: NS485056
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 191m
Darmalloch
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS609202
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 203m
Elements: G dail + G meallach
Description:
The first element may be G dail ‘haugh. water-meadow’, with the r a result of dissimilation before l in the second element i.e. originally *Dalmalloch’. The second element may be G meallach 1. ‘abounding in lumps, heaps or clusters 2. knobby, bossy [i.e bumpy] 3. hilly, abounding in eminences’, OG mellach ‘protuberant, bulging, knobby’. It is the adjective from G meall, a common hill-name referring to a roundish, lumpy hill. Knowledge of the local terrain would greatly help with the interpretation of this name.
It lies beside the Glenmuir Water.
RN
Darmalloch Bridge
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS610202
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 202m
Elements: en Darmalloch + SSE bridge
Description:
This bridge on Glenmuir Water Road takes its name from its proximity to Darmalloch.
Darmalloch East Wood
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS614196
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 237m
Elements: en Darmalloch + SSE east + SSE wood
Darmalloch West Wood
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS607196
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 232m
Elements: en Darmalloch + SSE west + SSE wood
Darnconnar Pit (Ironstone)
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS575243
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 195m
Elements: en Darnconner + SSE pit
Darnconner
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS576240
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 192m
Elements: en Darnconner
Description:
For analysis of the name, see under ‘Darnconner Farm’.
This name is essentially ephemeral: it was the name given to the mining village which was established to the east of the original settlement of Darnconner (see under Darnconner Farm), from which it took its name. It grew to serve the various mines that had sprung up in the vicinity in the earlier 19th century (see Darnconner Pit, recorded in the OS 6 inch 1st edn), rising to a population of 550 in the 1881 census, and was double that in 1891, before halving again in 1901 (Love 2017, 112), and had been dismantled by the time of the second world war. The OS 6 inch 2nd edn thus catches its relatively brief existence.
The Royal Commission report on housing in 1913 mentions the names of the different units within Darnconner: ‘Low Square’, ‘High Square’, ‘Railway Rows’, ‘School Row’, ‘Store Row’. It summarises the situation thus: ‘The population of Darnconner is approximately 400, and there is not a closet [i.e. toilet], for the whole of the population, with a door on it. There is not a washing house, and the whole place reeks of human dirt and 'glaur'.’
(see http://www.ayrshirehistory.org.uk/Bibliography/monos/amr1.htm#darnconner )
For further information about this lost village, see: https://www.thelostvillages.co.uk/background/darnconnor/ , including a photograph, potentially of the village’s last resident.
Darnconner Farm
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS575238
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 192m
Elements: G doire + G an + G conair + SSE farm
Description:
The name in modern Gaelic orthography would be *Doire na Conaire.
There is an identical name, anglicised slightly differently, in Darnaconner, Barr Parish (NX277832).
'A copse or clump of trees associated with a path or road; a path-side copse'. W. J. Watson noted in his Celtic place-Names of Scotland that ‘Conair, fem., common in Ireland, is not used in our common speech, but that it was so used at one time is shown by the name Bad na Conaire, “clump or spot of the path,” in Sutherland. Darnconner and Darnaconnar in Ayrshire are probably for doire na conaire, “path-side copse.”’ (Watson 1926, 486). The element conair may also be attested in Connor Hill (q.v.).
The farm gave its name to the nearby mining village of Darnconner, which existed during the second half of the 19th century into the first half of the 20th. A house to the east of the main farmhouse is labelled ‘Darnconner’ on several maps (e.g. OS 1:10,560 map published in 1967), but seems now to be named ‘Forrest View’. The appellation ‘Farm’ has presumably been added to this name in the late 19th century to distinguish it from its larger new neighbour.
Darnlaw
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS539226
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 156m
Elements: Sc dern(e), darn(e) + Sc law
Description:
'Hidden law or hill', containing Sc dern(e), darn(e) 'hidden, concealed'. There is nothing on the face of it that is ‘hidden’ about the rise on which Darnlaw sits, but perhaps at the time the name was coined the landscape was different.
Darnlaw was among the rented lands of the Barony of Auchinleck, and features prominently in records: see The Correspondence, App. 1 (p.216).
Darntaggart
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS512169
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 200m
Elements: G doire + G an + G sagart
Description:
‘Grove, small wood or clump (of trees) of the priest’ (Doire an t-sagairt).
Doire and daire alternate as forms for this word in Gaelic, originally referring to a grove of oak-trees (Early Gaelic dair, ‘oak’), but latterly any sort of grove or small wood. This helps explain the variation between Dor- and Dar- in the earliest forms; names containing doire are also frequently rendered in Scots as Der- or Derry, as is reflected in some of the forms also.
The allusion to it belonging to ‘the priest’ (an sagart) is interesting—there are comparatively few references to ecclesiastical property in the area, and this location is nowhere near the parish church of Ochiltree. There is a reference to a chapel of the Virgin Mary at Stamley, about 2 miles north of Darntaggart, but that chapel looks like it was established in the 15th century, and we would probably not expect new Gaelic coinages in this part of Ayrshire at that point. Nonetheless, the best explanation would probably be that the local priest had rights to the resources of the woodland which must have been here in the middle ages, during the period when Gaelic was spoken.
There is little sign of woodland here on maps; the farm was given over to open-cast mining in the 1980s, according to ‘Ploughing up the Past’: https://farminginthecumnockarea.blogspot.com/search/label/Darntaggart.
Darntaggart Plantation
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS512174
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 185m
Elements: en Darntaggart + SSE low + SSE plantation
Description:
A plantation of trees to the north of the former farm of Darntaggart, over the road; it lay on lower ground, and hence the name.
Darntaggart Wood
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS524160
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 246m
Elements: en Darntaggart + SSE wood
Description:
Although Darntaggart contains a reference to woodland in its first element, this plantation of trees does not seem to be extant at the time of the OS 6 inch 1st edition, so it can be presumed a recent plantation at the time of its first recording. Hence, this is not the eponymous doire in the name Darntaggart.
Dennigall Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS717173
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 401m
Elements: ? + SSE hill
Description:
Until new light can be cast on this name it is wise not to attempt any analysis. The OS Name Book is no help, describing it simply as: ‘A Small Hill in the N.E. Corner of the Parish, over which is a footpath leading to Auchtitench’ (OS1/3/49/5).
Dettingen Mount
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS556200
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 154m
Elements: en Dettingen + SSE mount
Description:
This is described in the OS Name Book in the mid-1850s as: 'A circular plantation on elevated ground chiefly Forest trees a little west of Bankend' (OS1/3/52/30). It takes its name in commemoration of the part played by William Crichton-Dalrymple, 5th earl of Dumfries & 4th earl of Stair in the Battle of Dettingen on 27 June 1743, during which he served as aide-de-camp to his uncle, 2nd earl of Stair, Commander-in-Chief at this battle (Simpson & Brown 2008, 34). The battle is best known as the last battle in which a British monarch led his troops in combat (George II). It was fought between the so-called Pragmatic Army, composed of British, Hanoverian and Austrian troops, and a French army. The Pragmatic Army won. Dettingen is now part of the town of Karlstein and lies in Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) south-east of Frankfurt.
This is one of a series of artificial circular mounts or mounds which were planted with trees to provide focal points in the landscape on the Dumfries House Estate. These were in existence before the completion of Dumfries House in 1759 (Green 2019, 116).
More details can be found in the short article 'Dettingen Woods' by George Scott on the Cumnock History Group website:
Dickston
Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS452178
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 124m
Elements: pn Dick + SSE town
Description:
‘Farm associated with a person or persons with the surname Dick.’ That Dick was a well-established name in the parish can be seen from the fact that land in Tarelgin was inhabited by ‘Robert Dick and Patrick Dick’ (Rob. Dik et Pat. Dik) in 1538 (RMS iii no. 1807). Dickston lies c.2.5km or 1.5 miles south-west of Tarelgin.
There was another farm of the same name, rendered generally Dixton, in Auchinleck parish (see Dixton, also Dickston Pit).
Dickston Pit (Ironstone)
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS584214
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 185m
Elements: en Dickston + SSE pit
Description:
Ephemeral mining pits—as the label makes clear these were for ironstone rather than coal. For the eponym, see Dixton.
Dickston Pit (Ironstone)
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS582215
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 184m
Elements: en Dickston + SSE pit
Description:
Ephemeral mining pits—as the label makes clear these were for ironstone rather than coal. For the eponym, see Dixton.
Dingle Brae
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS639086
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 415m
Elements: SSE dingle + SSE brae
Description:
‘A brae or slope with or beside a dingle or small valley’. SSE dingle is a rare element in Scottish place-names. For a full discussion of this name, along with a photograph of the probable dingle, see Dingle Brae – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY
It is described in the OS Name Book simply as: ‘An eminence immediately north of Blackcraig’ (OS1/3/49/168).
Dippol Burn
Auchinleck (AUK), Mauchline (MAU), Sorn (SRN)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS499232
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 90m
Elements: G dubh + G poll or Br dūß + Br *pol
Description:
The name means the ‘dark burn’ or ‘black water’. The name is relatively common in various forms across southern and eastern Scotland (Dippol, Dippool, Dippal, Dupple). These burn names containing pol- or ‑pol may come either from Northern Brittonic or from Gaelic; in the case of this name there is nothing to indicate clearly which it is, although the bulk of the pol- and -pol names in the vicinity do seem to be Gaelic.
The fact that it forms part of the boundary with Mauchline parish, which belonged to the monastery of Melrose in the 12th century and hence features in its records, means that this burn is one of the earliest names we have on record from Auchinleck.
Dippol Burn Bridge
Auchinleck (AUK), Sorn (SRN)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS536231
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 146m
Elements: en Dippol Burn + SSE bridge
Description:
This bridge on the main A76 road to Auchinleck crosses over the Dippol Burn near Meikle Heateth.
It is one of three bridges of the same name which appear on the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map published in 1897. All three cross over the Dippol Burn, the parish boundary between Auchinleck and Sorn parishes. The other two bridges are not named on the OS Explorer map.
Dippol Burn Bridge
Auchinleck (AUK), Sorn (SRN)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS563232
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 171m
Elements: en Dippol Burn + SSE bridge
Description:
A bridge crossing over the Dippol Burn to the north-east of Berryhill.
It is one of three bridges of the same name which appear on the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map published in 1897. All three cross over the Dippol Burn, the parish boundary between Auchinleck and Sorn parishes. This is one of two of these bridges that are not named on the OS Explorer map.
Dippol Burn Bridge
Auchinleck (AUK), Sorn (SRN)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS551230
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 164m
Elements: en Dippol Burn + SSE bridge
Description:
A bridge over the Dippol Burn on the B705 road from Dalshalloch to Catrine SRN.
It is one of three bridges of the same name which appear on the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map published in 1897. All three cross over the Dippol Burn, the parish boundary between Auchinleck and Sorn parishes. This is one of two of these bridges that are not named on the OS Explorer map.
Dippolburn (Ruin)
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS534230
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 147m
Elements: en Dippol Burn
Description:
A farm cottage which existed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, named after the burn of the same name. The OSNB (1855-57) noted: “This name applies to the ruins of a farm Steading now connected with Darnlaw Farm.”
The Correspondence, App. 1 (p. 216) notes it among the rented lands of the Barony of Auchinleck, and also notes many variant spellings from the Boswell Family papers: ‘Dippelburn, Depol Burn or Deep Pool Burn was let to James Farquhar in 1782 and 1796.’
Dixton
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS583209
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 169m
Elements: pn Dick + Sc toun
Description:
‘farm or settlement named after someone with the family name Dick’.
It was among the rented lands of the Barony of Auchinleck in the late 18th century (see The Correspondence, App. 1, p. 216). Its name would appear very recently to have been changed to Tarff Cottage, presumably a transferred name from one of the rivers called Tarff (in Kirkcudbrightshire, Angus, and Invernesshire).
Docken Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS671128
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 224m
Elements: SSE docken + SSE burn
Description:
‘A burn characterised by dockens’.
Dog Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS663117
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 409m
Elements: SSE dog + SSE hill
Description:
‘A hill associated with a dog or dogs.’ See discussion under Brans Knowe NCU.
OS Name Book: ‘A Hill Situated on the eastern end of the Knipe range’ (OS1/3/49/130).
Doon Bank
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS425095
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 159m
Elements: en (River) Doon + SSE bank
Doon Bridge
Dalmellington (DAL), Straiton (STT)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS461059
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 163m
Elements: en (River) Doon + SSE bridge
Description:
Doon Bridge crosses the River Doon to the north of Bogton Loch. It was formerly known as Auchenroy Bridge, as shown on the OS 6 inch 1st edn map (published in 1860), as it lay on the main road (B741) between Auchenroy STT and Dalmellington. However, the name had changed to Doon Bridge by the time of the second edition of the map, published in 1897. At this time the name Auchenroy Bridge had been transferred to the bridge beside Auchenroy at NS450060.
Dornal
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS633194
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 212m
Elements: G dòrn + G -el
Description:
'Place characterised by large pebbles'? 'Place of a fist-like structure'? The name almost certainly derives from G dòrn, the basic meaning of which is 'fist', but which can metaphorically come to mean 'large pebble, fist-like stones'. There is another Dornal in Colmonell Parish AYR, and a Dornell in Balmaghie Parish KCB (NX700662): see discussion of this name on Place-Names of the Galloway Glen, s.n. ‘Dornell’.
Dornal lies on the Glenmuir Water, and it may be that the river here is especially stony. However, beside the farm-steading of Dornal there is a large enclosed feature 'Dornal Moat' marked on OS maps as an antiquity, and classified by RCAHMS (HES) Canmore as 'earthwork (period unknown)' (Canmore ID 44692). The various descriptions in Canmore indicate that no-one is sure what it was, and so an excavation would be highly desirable. If this was some kind of early fortified site, it is possible that dòrn applies metaphorically to a place of strength, as is found in the name Dundurn, the large and very important early historic fort at the west end of Strathearn in Perthshire, which contains the same element.
The final element is probably the place-name forming G suffix -el. It should be noted that cognate elements can also be found in Brittonic (see BLITON, s.v. durn, -el, though these names are not noted), so it is not impossible that this (and the other names like it) are Brittonic rather than Gaelic in origin.
The farm of Dornal was among the feued lands of the Barony of Glenmure in the late 18th century (see The Correspondence, App. 1, p. 226).
Dornal Burn
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS641193
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 222m
Elements: en Dornal + SSE burn
Description:
This feature lies at a bit of a distance from the settlement of Dornal, but may have formed its boundary. The burn rises from Dornal Moss.
RN
Dornal Hill
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS636208
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 294m
Elements: en Dornal + SSE hill
Dornal Moat
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Antiquity
Grid reference: NS632193
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 211m
Elements: en Dornal + SSE moat
Description:
This is classified by RCAHMS (HES) Canmore as 'earthwork (period unknown)' (Canmore ID 44692). The various descriptions in Canmore indicate that no-one is sure what it was.
Dornal Moss
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS646212
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 311m
Elements: en Dornal + SSE moss
Dornal Wood
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS631195
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 210m
Elements: en Dornal + SSE wood
Double Row
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS619235
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 206m
Elements: SSE double + SSE row
Description:
This is one of the four rows of miners’ cottages at Gasswater surveyed as part of the 1913 Royal Commission report into housing. This one (there called ‘Row no. 1') is described thus “There are no closets, no washhouses, and no coalhouses. The only water supply is from a pipe running into a horse trough on the side of the road about 300 yards from the houses.” It is not clear where it gets its name from: there is no description which suits this name. This row had been demolished by the 1950s.
Douglaston Cottage
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS555193
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 164m
Elements: en Douglaston + SSE cottage
Description:
There is no place called Douglaston in the vicinity, the nearest being the small coastal village of that name in Kirkoswald parish AYR. The OS Name Book gives no clue as to the origin of the name, describing it simply as: ‘A neat Cottage with garden adjoining the property of And occupied by Mr Adam Thompson’. In the list of informants for this name, Adam Thomson is described as the proprietor (OS1/3/52/46).
Dow Craig
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS541117
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 232m
Elements: Sc doo + Sc craig
Description:
‘A crag or rock associated with pigeons’. For full details and a photograph, see dow craig – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY. It is described in the OS Name Book as: ‘A ledge of rock and some cra[?gs] on an angle in Beoch Lane Burn near Waterhead’ (OS1/3/49/38).
This may be the crag or rocky outcrop (G creag) referred to in the name of nearby Craigman NCU, which see for more details.
Downieston
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS415110
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 172m
Elements: pn Downie + Sc toun
Downiestonmill
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS414107
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 151m
Elements: en Downieston + SSE mill
Drongan
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS443184
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 111m
Elements: en Drongan
Description:
A large former mining village, it takes its name from Drongan (House) to the north-east, which in turn takes its name from Drongan Castle to the south. See Drongan Castle (Site of) for a full discussion of this name. The village began as rows of miners’ cottages at Taiglum, first Taiglum Cottages and then Drongan Cottages on the OS 6 inch 1st edn. When the decision to build a new village to accommodate the various miners’ families from the area was taken, the name Drongan was applied. See Love (2021: 64-71) for a good account of these developments.
The NGR is of approximately the centre of the village.
Drongan Castle
Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Antiquity
Grid reference: NS449178
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 107m
Elements: G drong + G -an + SSE castle
Description:
The Gaelic word drongan means ‘a place of assembly’. This suggests that it was an important social and political focus within the wider area in the early medieval period. For more details of this significant place-name element, see under drong in the Elements Index. It is assumed in this analysis that the -an suffix has a place-name forming function rather than a diminutive one.
The most likely site for the assembly is near Drongan Castle, which is why the full analysis of this name appears here rather than under the name Drongan, now applied to the former mining village of that name, whose centre lies c.1km to the north-west. Drongan Castle is defined by Canmore (RCAHMS) as a Tower House. In the entry for Drongan Castle it cites Retter 1978 9-13, 72 [Retter, J. (1978) Drongan: the story of a mining village]: ‘The Drongan lands were granted to the Crawfurds in the 1390s; Drongan Castle, built early in the following century, was their stronghold for two and a half centuries. All that remains is a mound and a heap of rubble’ (Canmore ID42665). The site of the castle is now part of Drongan Mains farm-steading.
Drongan Castle Colliery
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS453169
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 132m
Elements: en Drongan Castle + SSE colliery
Drongan Coal Pit
Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS446190
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 105m
Elements: en Drongan + SSE coalpit
Drongan Cottages
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS448183
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 112m
Elements: en Drongan + SSE cottage
Description:
Formerly Taiglum Row, these cottages housed miners from the colliery at Drongan, hence the name. They formed the beginning of what was to become the village of Drongan. See Love (2021: 64-71) for discussion.
Drongan House
Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS450195
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 120m
Elements: en Drongan + SSE house
Description:
'Drongan House, a moderately sized stone mansion, dates from the late 18th century; it appears on Armstrong's map of 1775 [as Drongan]. Its kitchen premises are formed by the earlier crowstepped farmhouse of Lochmark' (Retter 1978, 23, 74) cited Canmore ID42654.
Drongan Mains
Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS449178
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 108m
Elements: en Drongan + SSE mains
Description:
This lies on the site ofthe former Drongan Castle. for a full analysis of the name, see that entry.
Drongan Pottery
Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS445199
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 97m
Elements: en Drongan + SSE pottery
Description:
Dane Love provides an excellent account of the Drongan Pottery and its development in his history of Ochiltree (2021, 226-8). He notes (p.227): 'The pottery at Drongan maufactrued a variety of items, including black and brown ware, chimney cans and garden pots. The proximity of the clay pit to the works, and the redy supply of coal from Drongan pits, meant that the wares produced were often cheaper than the competitors. Drongan ware was sold across south-west Scotland....It is also known to have been sold in the Highlands and some was exported to America.'
Drongan Station
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS445189
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 109m
Elements: en Drongan + SSE station
Drongan Wood
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS444198
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 108m
Elements: en Drongan + SSE wood
Description:
The name refers to woods which once wrapped around Drongan House. Only two patches now remain, each given the name Drongan Wood. This entry refers to the more northern of the two.
Drongan Wood
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS445192
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 114m
Elements: en Drongan + SSE wood
Description:
The name refers to woods which once wrapped around Drongan House. Only two small portions remain, each given the name Drongan Wood. This entry refer to the more southern of the two.
Drove Road
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS593228
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 181m
Elements: SSE drove + SSE road
Description:
A drove road, according to DSL, is ‘a road or track used for the driving of sheep or cattle to annual fairs or cattle markets’ (https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/drove ). In this case, however, one wonders if it was used to distinguish an industrial road which used animal haulage from the nearby railways.
This feature is only named on the OS 6 inch 1st edn map, and in the OSNB, where it is described as a road extending from Common Farm to the Cronberry Tile Works.
Drove Road
New Cumnock (NCU), Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS606178
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 303m
Elements: SSE drove road
Description:
A drove road is a road or track originally used for driving cattle or sheep to markets. They can be a hundred or more miles long, from the Scottish Higlands to markets in central or southern Scotland and northern England.
‘This road extends from Loganhill by Borland Mains thence South side of Coila Hill by Cairnscadden Loch thence to parish boundary extending South Side of Same Eastward to a gate’ (OS1/3/52/103).
NGR marks mid-point of name on OS 6 inch 1st edn map.
RN
Drumbowie
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS465153
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 203m
Elements: G druim + G buidhe
Description:
‘Yellow ridge’, perhaps referring to gorse or broom growing there.
The earliest mention, as Dumby seems likely to be a transcription error. This property (with the same value), appears alongside other nearby farms such as Polquhairn, Bonnyton, and Auchengie.
Drumbowie Burn
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS449161
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 133m
Elements: en Drumbowie + SSE burn
Drumbrochan
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS579199
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 136m
Elements: G druim + G brochan
Description:
‘Porridge ridge’? If this is correct, then it probably refers to soft, sludgy ground. The place-name scholar W. J. Watson writes: ‘Drumbrochan, Cumnock, is “porridge ridge,” “gruel ridge”; compare Coire Bhrocháin on Cairngorm, “porridge corrie,” and Coille Bhrocháin on Bonskeid, Pitlochry, “porridge wood”; here brochán is applied to a mixed-up, “through-other,” sort of place, or to soft sludgy ground’ (1926, 199–200).
Drumbrush Rig
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS541066
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 465m
Elements: G druim + G bruthaist + Sc rig
Description:
The first element is G druim meaning ‘a ridge’, literally ‘a back’. It is therefore the equivalent of Sc rig with the same meaning. The second element brush may be G bruthaist ‘brose; thin porridge’, with reference to the nature of the ground underfoot. Compare Drumbrochan in the neighbouring parish of Ochiltree, which contains G brochan ‘porridge’.
It is described in the OS Name Book as: ‘A ridge of elevated ground North West of Prickeny Hill, bearing Heathy & Rough Pasture’ (OS1/3/49/149).
Drumgrange
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS428095
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 175m
Drumgrange Bridge
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS426094
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 158m
Elements: en Drumgrange + SSE bridge
Description:
A road (A713) bridge crossing over Drumgrange Burn at Drumgrange.
It is described in the OS Name Book as: 'A small one arch, stone, County bridge, in good repair, built over Dunasken Burn on the road between Dalmellington & Ayr' (OS1/3/21/23). 'Dunasken' (Dunaskin) is clearly an error for Drumgrange.
Drumgrange Burn
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS425093
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 158m
Elements: en Drumgrange + SSE burn
Drumgrange Colliery (No. 10 Pit)
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS435091
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 207m
Elements: en Drumgrange + SSE colliery
Description:
Drumgrange No. 10 was a coal pit, which started work in 1894 and operated until 1904 at a depth of 65 fathoms (Smith 1967, 238). A series of ironstone mines taking the Drumgrange name operated from the 1850s until 1898, listed by Smith as Nos 1-9 (ibid.).
Drumgrange Pit (No. 9, Ironstone)
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS451103
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 328m
Elements: en Drumgrange + SSE pit
Description:
The last in a series of ironstone pits taking the Drumgrange name, No. 9 was in operation from 1878 until 1898 and was 66 fathoms in depth. The ironstone pits Nos 1-8 were worked between the 1850s and 1883 while the coal pit No. 10 was started in 1894 and stopped in 1904 (Smith 1967, 238).
Drumjoan
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS462172
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 144m
Elements: G druim + G deamhan
Description:
? ‘devil’s ridge’? While the first element is clearly G druim ‘ridge’, the second element is more difficult to interpret. A likely possibility is G deamhan, ‘a demon, or devil’. The devil may also be found in a nearby name coined in Scots, if the interpretation of the name Plotcock is correct. In the south-west of Scotland, Gaelic names rendered in Scots spelling as j- often come from a Gaelic word beginning with de- , which was pronounced similar to the sound /dj/; an example might be Drumjarg, from Gaelic druim dearg. At any rate, we should probably see this as the same name as the two places called Drumdewan in Perthshire, one in Kinloch, the other in Dull.
Drumjoan Terrace
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS465173
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 137m
Elements: en Drumjoan + SSE terrace
Description:
These houses opposite the farm of Drumjoan to the east appear first on maps around 1960. Dane Love (2016: 130) notes that they ‘were built around 1950 as agricultural workers’ houses’.
Drummond's Knowe
Auchinleck (AUK), Crawfordjohn (CRJ)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS735207
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 446m
Elements: pn Drummond + SSE knowe
Description:
Described in the OSNB (OS1/3/3/175) as “A prominent Hill on the Parish Boundary”, it also lies on the county boundary (where it marches with Crawfordjohn Parish, LAN). It notes one alternative spelling of the name, “Drumdod’s Hill”, which might perhaps indicate an earlier form of its name as ‘Drum Dod’ or the like.
Drumsmodden
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS474174
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 146m
Elements: G druim + G smodan
Description:
‘Ridge characterised by mud’? The first element is G druim ‘ridge’, an element which is found in place-names throughout most of Scotland, with three in Ochiltree parish alone. The second element appears to be G smodan, a noun meaning ‘blemish, smut’ (Dwelly), a diminutive of smod ‘dirt, filth’. Another meaning is ‘drizzling rain, moistness, haze’ (Dwelly). In a place-name context it would most likely refer to mud (compare Sc foul in foul fuird ‘muddy ford’). The Gaelic word is a loan-word from Scots smad, also smud and smod ‘a small stain, a spot, blemish, smut, a dirty mark’ (DOST).
The farm has its fame as having been tenanted by the father of George Douglas Brown, author of The House of the Green Shutters, set in a town loosely based on Ochiltree, where he was born as the illegitimate son of a servant at Drumsmoddan, named Sarah Gemmel (see https://farminginthecumnockarea.blogspot.com/search/label/Drumsmudden ).
Drumsmudden Colliery
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS469175
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 153m
Elements: en Drumsmoddan + SSE colliery
Description:
According to Dane Love (2016: 122), ‘The Drumsmudden Colliery was established in 1882 by the Damellington Iron Company. It stood on what had been a green field lying between two low hills on the farms of Drumsmodden ... and Crawsland, itself now a lost dwelling.’ His book has a full account of the colliery and its related miners’ village at Drumsmudden Row.
Drumsmudden Row
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS465174
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 133m
Elements: en Drumsmoddan + SSE row
Description:
According to Dane Love (2016: 123): ‘Drumsmudden [Colliery] Pit was a good three miles from the parish village of Ochiltree, and slightly farther from the nearby community of Coylton. To provide a ready workforce, the firm established its own small village two rows of houses built alongside. These were the Skerrington and Drumsmudden Rows. Built of brick, the houses were small.’
Dry Burn
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS661211
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 296m
Elements: SSE dry + SSE burn
Dry Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS703168
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 346m
Elements: SSE dry + SSE burn
Dryfeston Hill
Kirkconnel (KCL), New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS690154
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 450m
Elements: en Dryfeston + SSE hill
Description:
This takes its name from the nearby farm of Dryfesto(w)n, Kirkconnel parish (KCL) DMF. Marked as a ruin on OS 6 inch 2nd edn (1899), it had completely disappeared off the OS 2.5 inch map (1957). The site has since been completely lost to an opencast coal mine.
Dumfries House
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Antiquity
Grid reference: NS540203
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 110m
Elements: pn Dumfries + SSE house
Description:
'In 1743 William Crichton-Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Dumfries, resigned his army commission and retired to his Ayrshire Estate. He was made a member of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle in 1752, a very prestigious award granted directly by the Sovereign. Desirous of a grander house, the Earl asked the Adam brothers, Robert, John and James, to submit a design. Their completed drawings were presented in 1754 and a contract was agreed to build a new house to be called Leifnorris House. It was only when the foundation stone was laid on the 18th of July 1754 that his lordship decided the name should be changed to Dumfries House in line with his title. The house was completed on time and on budget in 1759.' Taken from the official Dumfries House website Dumfries House (dumfries-house.org.uk).
Dumfries House Mains
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS541200
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 120m
Elements: en Dumfries House + SSE mains
Description:
'There is no record of the construction or design of the model farm buildings at Dumfries House Mains (later known as Causeyhead), but an archaeological assessment carried out for this report have dated the majority of the buildings to the mid 18th century' (Simpson & Brown 2008, 87).
Causeyhead is described in the OS Name Book as: 'This name applies to offices Estate offices and other buildings connected to Dumfries House' (OS1/3/52/24).
Causeyhead is a Scots name meaning ‘head or end of a causeway’.
Dumfries House Station
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS538191
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 177m
Elements: en Dumfries House + SSE station
Description:
This was a station on the now disused G & SWR branch railway line from Cumnock to Ayr. It has given its name to Station Avenue and Station Cottages.
Dumfries Road
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS580181
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 167m
Elements: en Dumfries + SSE road
Description:
The road leading from Old Cumnock to the town of Dumfries DMF, part of the A76.
NGR is mid-point of name on OS Explorer.
Dun Rig
Kirkconnel (KCL), New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS674085
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 493m
Elements: Sc dun + Sc rig
Description:
'Brown or dun-coloured ridge'.
Dunaskin
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS445087
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 230m
Dunaskin Br. (Upper)
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS448084
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 195m
Elements: en Dunaskin + SSE bridge
Description:
Shown on the OS 6 inch 1st edn map, this bridge was on a Tram Road crossing Dunaskin Burn. It was the more northerly of two bridges of this name to cross the burn, hence the designation 'Upper' in brackets.
A fairly detailed description of the bridge can be found in the OS Name Book for Dalmellington parish, dated c.1857: 'A Wooden Bridge about 67 yards long spanning Dunaskin Glen and Burn supported by three solid stone pillars erected by the Dalmellington Iron Comany [sic] for the purpose of conveying mineral (Ironstone) of Corbie Craig's and it [neighbour?] to the furnace at Waterside. It connects [to] Tram Road on both sides partly an[d] is worked by an engine and partly drawn [by] horses' (OS1/3/21/32).
Dunaskin Brick Works
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS446084
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 178m
Elements: en Dunaskin + SSE brickworks
Dunaskin Bridge
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS444081
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 162m
Elements: en Dunaskin + SSE bridge
Description:
This road bridge crosses over Dunaskin Burn beside Chapel Row Cottage.
On the OS 6 inch 1st edn map it is the more southerly of two bridges of this name, which cross the burn, and is described in the OS Name Book as: 'A small County bridge one arch - in good repair - built over Dunaskin Burn on the road from Dalmellington to Ayr' (OS1/3/21/30).
Dunaskin Burn
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS444079
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 159m
Elements: en Dunaskin + SSE burn
Dunaskin Clay Pit
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS449087
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 205m
Elements: en Dunaskin + SSE clay + SSE pit
Dunaskin Glen
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS453089
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 241m
Elements: en Dunaskin + SSE glen
Dunaskin Quarry (Disused)
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS446083
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 187m
Elements: en Dunaskin + SSE quarry
Duncan's Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS667134
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 178m
Elements: pn Duncan + SSE burn
Description:
‘A burn associated with a man called Duncan’. The identity of Duncan has not been established, despite thorough research into it by local historian Robert Guthrie. There is, however, a local legend about him, and about how the burn got its name. It is recorded at length in the OS Name Book (OS1/3/49/89) of 1857 as follows:
‘A burn rising on the eastern side of Corsoncone, and flowing southwards into the river Nith. A man named Duncan is said to have had an encounter with the devil in the hollows of this burn. Returning home late at night with a "wee dram [end of word indistinct] in his ee," as he was crossing the burn his majesty seized him by the leg - Duncan struggled manfully for liberty but the devil held fast enjoying the fun and exclaiming "Weel done Duncan; pu’ awa Duncan; weel done Duncan." Duncan was at last released by the crowing of a cock; the devil fled into the interior of Corson Cone; and Duncan's admiring friends in commemoration of his adventure gave the burn his name – A similar narration is recorded in Genesis Chap. 32 ver. 23-30.
This last sentence is scored through. The Biblical passage referred to tells the story of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel at Peniel. In fact Duncan’s experience is more reminiscent of that of Tam o’ Shanter.
Given the very short, descriptive entries in this OS Name Book, the recording of this story is remarkable. It takes up the whole page, with a large part of it written cross-wise.
See Duncan’s Burn – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY for a photograph of Corsencon and Corsencon Hill showing the whole of Duncan’s Burn, as well as for another story of the Devil up to his tricks in the area.
Duncansburn Bridge
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS668137
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 207m
Elements: en Duncan's Burn + SSE bridge
Description:
The bridge takes its name from Duncan's Burn, which it crosses south-east of Corsencon.
Duncanzemere Burn
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS605213
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 171m
Elements: en Duncanziemere + SSE burn
Duncanziemere
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS613217
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 201m
Elements: G dùn +
Description:
This is a perplexing name, and at present defies analysis. The stress in the name is strongly on the third syllable, effectively breaking the name into two units, something like “duncanYIEmur”. This makes it difficult to argue, for instance, that the final syllable might originally have been Gaelic mòr ‘big’; but also makes analysis of that syllable as Sc muir or even mere (as suggested by some of the historic forms) problematic. The stress also suggests that an attempt to analyse the name as containing Gaelic dùn ‘fort, hill’ would be incorrect (the topography is also not very promising on this front). Obviously, a name based on the individual or family name Duncan is possible (e.g., Duncan’s X), but what that X might be is quite obscure.
RN
Dunside
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS674079
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 396m
Elements: Sc dun + Sc side
Description:
'Brown or dun-coloured hillside'. It lies at the foot of the ridge of Dun Rig.
RN
Dyke Row
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS574222
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 175m
Elements: SSE dyke + SSE row
Description:
Probably named from the farm of Dykes to the south; this row is an unnamed part of the mining village of Birnieknowe by the time of the OS 6 inch 2nd edn.
RN
Dykes
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS536183
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 203m
Elements: Sc dyke
Description:
In Older Scots dyke meant ditch rather than wall. Perhaps it refers to a farm (either steading or lands) surrounded by ditches or one characterised by many drainage ditches. The steading and some of the lands lie on relatively flat land beside the Polcalk Burn. Local knowledge would help.
There is another place called Dykes in AUK.
Dykes Bridge
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS539183
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 199m
Elements: en Dykes + SSE bridge
Description:
A road bridge crossing over the Polcalk Burn, it takes its name from its proximity to the settlement of Dykes to its west.
Dykes Farm
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS572216
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 183m
Elements: Sc dyke + SSE farm
Description:
Sc dyke, 'a ditch ', later in Scots 'a wall'. As it is first recorded in 1734 (see below), it probably refers to a wall rather than a ditch.
According to The Correspondence, App. 1 (p. 221), Dykes was in the Regality of Templand ‘acquired as part of Templand in 1734, was let with Bannatyne Yards to David Kay in 1783 and 1797’.
Dykes Junction
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS534190
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 167m
Elements: en Dykes + SSE junction
Dykes Pit (Disused)
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS578219
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 189m
Elements: en Dykes + SSE pit
Dykes Pit (No. 1)
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS534175
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 216m
Elements: en Dykes + SSE pit
Dykes Wood
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS537178
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 210m
Elements: en Dykes + SSE wood