List of Ayrshire place-names beginning with 'W'
Waistland
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS659130
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 224m
Elements: Sc west + Sc land
Description:
‘Land lying to the west’. The land was fairly extensive as it consisted not only of Waistland (formerly Nether Westland) but also of Meikle Westland. The settlement to the east, between it and the parish and county boundary (New Cumnock AYR/Kirkconnel DMF) is Cairn (divided into Nether and Over Cairn). It is therefore likely that Westland was named in relation to this. The change from west to waist is 20th century, and is difficult to explain, especially as neighbouring Meikle Westland has retained the earlier spelling. Perhaps the two Westlands were frequently being confused, and it was an attempt to distinguish them more clearly.
The 1775 form Wastland (Armstrong AYR) contains a Scots variant of west.
Walker Row
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS576235
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 210m
Elements: pn Walker + SSE row
Description:
A small row of workers’ houses at Darnconner, near to Common or Commonloch Row (q.v.). The first element seems most likely to be the surname Walker, and to refer to the William Walker Coal Company, one of the companies involved in the works at Darnconner.
Wallaceton
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS602215
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 165m
Elements: pn Wallace + Sc toun
Description:
‘Farm associated with an individual or family called Wallace’. ‘The earliest known owner was William Wallace, who died in January 1616 (Love 2015, 45). It is therefore probable, though not provable, that he was the first Wallace to hold the lands there and who gave the farm its name. For details of the family, who held the lands up until the mid-19th century, see Love 2015, 325. There is a fine gravestone (table stone) in Auchinleck kirkyard commemorating James Wallace, who died in 1678, and M. Boyd his spouse. It is assumed that this was one of the Wallaces of Wallaceton (Love 2015, 47, with photo of gravestone on p. 46).
Wallaceton Cottage
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS602217
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 185m
Elements: en Wallaceton + SSE cottage +
Ward
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS535168
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 237m
Elements: Sc ward
Description:
‘‘An enclosed piece of land (chiefly for pasture)’. The family name Slowan(e) is found locally, for example in Dalmellington (1648 x 1655 RMS x no. 460), where it gave its name to Sloanston. The *Slowanston associated with Ward has not survived.
Ward Burn
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS533188
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 167m
Elements: en Ward + SSE burn
Ward Plantation
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS539164
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 265m
Elements: en Ward + SSE plantation +
Wardlaw Hill
Auchinleck (AUK), Muirkirk (MUK)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS687225
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 491m
Elements: Sc wardlaw + Sc hill
Water of Coyle
Coylton (COY), Dalrymple (DRL), Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS395215
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 25m
Elements: Br *cǖl or Br *cil
Description:
The Water of Coyle snakes its way along the whole of Ochiltree’s western border with Coylton, subsequently forming the border between Stair and Coylton before joining the river Ayr. The meaning of this river name is tricky, as there were two words in Northern Brittonic which are hard to distinguish from one another as the appear in place-names. These are *cǖl, related to Welsh cul (and to the Gaelic word caol), ‘narrow, slender’; and cīl, related to the Welsh word cil (and Gaelic cùil) ‘nook, angle’. The first of these, *cǖl, has been suggested as the word behind the river Kyle in North Yorkshire, a tributary of the Ouse which flows through York (see James, BLITON, s.v. *cǖl ; Ekwall 1928, 232 --ADD Eilert Ekwall 1928. English River Names (Oxford) ) On the other hand, this word does not seem to be found in river names in Wales. Instead, there, in a number of cases we find cil ‘nook, angle’, in association with rivers, for instance in Cilieni (Brycheiniog) ‘(stream with) sheltered places’, or Ciliau Aeron (Ceredigion), ‘sheltered places on the (river) Aeron’ (see D. Geraint Lewis (2007), T Llyfr Enwau: Enwau’r Wlad. A Checklist of Welsh Place-Names (Lllandysul), s.nn.) A name referring to its many angles and bends might suit the Water of Coyle.
The Water of Coyle gave its name to the parish and town of Coylton. The river name may or may not be related to the name for this division of Ayrshire, Kyle. If it is, it may be that we should be looking for the meaning of this word as applied first to a region, and only latterly to the river. The region is first named in c.750 when the Northumbrian king Ecgberht is described as conquering campum Ciul ‘the plain of Kyle’ in a continuation of Bede. It is thus one of the earliest place names in the region. Did the river take its name from the region or vice versa?
Water of Deugh
Carsphairn (CPH), New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS567037
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 315m
Description:
This river flows through several parishes. For the purpose of this resource, the Grid Refernce given is where it leaves the Dalmellington parish, just after it is joined by the Pochriegavin Burn.
The root of this river-name is probably NBr *dub or OG dub (G dubh) ‘black’, referring to its dark water. The name is fully analysed in the Place-Names of the Galloway Glens online database.
The earliest forms of this name are found in the derived place-name Dundeugh in Carsphairn, which lies at the meeting of the Deugh and the Ken. These are Drumdewcht 1592 RMS v no. 2223; Dundeuche 1645 RPS (Records of the Parliament of Scotland) 1645/1/203; and Dungeuch and Dungeuch hill 1654 Blaeu (East Galloway). For more details see under Dundeugh in Place-Names of the Galloway Glens.
The Water of Deugh is a substantial watercourse. In its upper reaches it forms the parish and county boundaries between New Cumnock AYR and Carsphairn KCB. It then flows through Carsphairn to join the Water of Ken at the above NGR (NX604875), forming the boundary between the parishes of Carsphairn and Kells for the last few hundred metres of its course.
Waterhead
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS542114
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 231m
Elements: Sc water + Sc heid
Description:
‘(Place or settlement at the) head of a water-course (the River Nith)’. As can be seen from forms such as Waterhead of Nith, the River Nith proper was regarded as starting here, at its junction with the substantial Beoch Lane. The actual ‘Source of the Nith’ in the hills to the south-west is marked as such on OS 6 inch 1st edn at NS553060. However, that the stretch between that source to the meeting with Beoch Lane was not regarded as ‘fully Nith’ is suggested by the name Heads of Nith River being applied to it on Ainslie’s 1821 map of Ayrshire.
For more details, see Waterhead Castle & Waterhead Farm – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY.
RN
Waterloo Bridge
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS537206
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 96m
Elements: en Waterloo + SSE bridge
Description:
This bridge spans the Polcalk Burn on Dumfries House Estate. It is shown but not named on the OS 6 inch 1st edn map, which was published in 1860 having been surveyed in 1857. The bridge's name commemorates the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The authors of the Dumfries House Estate conservation plan write that it 'is a single span stone bridge across the Polcalk Burn just as it meets the Lugar. The bridge does not appear on any map until the 1st edition of 1857, but was presumably constructed in the years immediately following 1815' (Simpson & Brown 2008, 106).
Waterside
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS439085
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 171m
Elements: en Waterside
Waterside
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS614141
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 185m
Elements: Sc water + Sc side
Description:
‘(Settlement) at the side of water’, the water being the River Nith. There has been confusion on some maps between this place and Fordmouth NCU, 2km upstream to the west.
Waterside
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS534208
Certainty: 2
Altitude: 95m
Elements: Sc water + Sc side
Description:
'(Settlement at) the side of the water', the water in this case being the Lugar Water. (The) Waterside was a division of Pennyland, being formerly also known as Nether Pennyland (see for example 1610 RMS vii no. 793), while (Over) Pennyland is now simply Pennyland (q.v.). Waterside House was demolished in 1763 when the lands were acquired by the earl of Dumfries to add to his estate of Dumfries House across the river (Love 2015, 44). On the site a huge walled garden was constructed (Love 2015, 295-6).
Note the settlement name Watersid Hoom on Blaeu (Kyle) (1654), referring to the holm or flat land by the river here.
RN
Waterside
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS435086
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 159m
Elements: Sc water + Sc side
Description:
Situated on the north bank of the River Doon, this was the original settlement from which the village of Waterside was to take its name. It was described in the OS Name Book of c.1857 as 'a small thatched farmsteading' (OS1/3/21/9), but had disappeared due to the development of the village by the time of the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map at the end of the century.
Waterside Clump
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS531206
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 97m
Elements: en Waterside + SSE clump
Description:
‘A clump of trees associated with Waterside’. Waterside here is probably the old settlement on the north side of the Lugar Water in Auchinleck parish. See Waterside Mound OCU for more details.
Waterside Mount
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS535206
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 101m
Elements: en Waterside + SSE mount
Description:
Presumably so-called because it lies near the Lugar directly opposite Waterside AUK to the north. But there does also seem to have been a settlement here. Roy’s Yonner Waterside (c.1750) for *Yonder Waterside implies that it was seen as an integral part of the more substantial lands of Waterside AUK. A settlement M. Watersyd is shown as also lying on the OCU (south) side. It is unclear what M. stands for in this case, though it may be for Mid or Middle.
Waterside Wood
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS538208
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 95m
Elements: en Waterside + SSE wood
Description:
According to the OSNB (OS1/3/3/81): ‘a plantation of forest and fir trees on the North Side of the Lugar Water extending eastward from the orchard belonging to Dumfries House.’
Waterton
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS454150
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 164m
Elements: Sc water + Sc toun
Description:
'A farm associated with or characterised by water or a river', the water in question being the Water of Coyle, very near the banks of which the farm-steading of Waterton lies.
Watson Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS629164
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 272m
Elements: pn Watson + SSE burn
Description:
‘A burn associated with a person or family called Watson’? It has given its name to the settlement of Watsonburn, which lies on its north bank. The OS Name Book (1857) gives no clue as to the identity of Watson, only writing: ‘A small Burn having its source east of Watsonburn & flowing in a westerly direction joins Muirfoot Burn north of Mossback’ (OS1/3/49/55).
Watson Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS629164
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 272m
Elements: pn Watson + SSE burn
Description:
‘A burn associated with a person or family called Watson’? It has given its name to the settlement of Watsonburn, which lies on its north bank. The OS Name Book (1857) gives no clue as to the identity of Watson, only writing: ‘A small Burn having its source east of Watsonburn & flowing in a westerly direction joins Muirfoot Burn north of Mossback’ (OS1/3/49/55).
Watsonburn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS638162
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 307m
Elements: en Watson Burn
Description:
A small settlement lying on the north bank of the Watson Burn, from which it takes its name. The OS Name Book (1857) describes it as: ‘A house occupied by servants on Polquheys farm’ (OS1/3/49/56).
Watston
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS496209
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 152m
Elements: pn Watt + SSE town or Sc toun
Description:
'A farm associated with a family or individual man called Watt', Watt being an abbreviated (hypochoristic) form of Walter. Apart from this Watston, there are two other places of this name in Old Cumnock (OCU).
There is a Iockston is this area on the Blaeu (Kyle) map. This may be the same settlement but with a different personal name (Jock).
Watston
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS525191
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 154m
Elements: pn Watt + Sc toun
Description:
‘A farm associated with an individual or family called Wat(t)’, this personal name being ultimately a pet-form (hypocorism) of Walter. There are two places called Watston in the parish c.7 km (4.5 miles) apart. This is the westerly one, near the parish boundary between OCU and OCH.
RN
Watston
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS596174
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 232m
Elements: pn Watt + SSE town or Sc toun
Description:
‘A farm associated with an individual or family called Wat(t)’, this personal name being ultimately a pet-form (hypocorism) of Walter. There are two places called Watston in the parish c.7 km (4.5 miles) apart. This is the easterly one, and may be a division of the lands of Borland.
Watston Belt
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS521191
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 145m
Elements: en Watston + SSE belt
Description:
The is the more westerly Watston.
Watston Belt
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS528190
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 171m
Elements: en Watston + SSE belt
Description:
This is the more easterly Watston.
Watston Burn
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS522194
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 127m
Elements: en Watston + SSE burn
Description:
This is the more westerly Watston.
Watston Burn
New Cumnock (NCU), Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS590171
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 203m
Elements: en Watston + SSE burn
Description:
This is the more easterly Watston.
Watston Plantation
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS601177
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 284m
Elements: en Watston + SSE plantation
Description:
This is the more easterly Watston.
Watston Wood
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS498208
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 139m
Elements: en Watston + SSE wood
Description:
A stand of trees between Watston and the village of Ochiltree, it is no longer extant; traces of it seem to have still been present in the 1980s.
Waud Mine Blacklead
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS541125
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 232m
Elements: Sc wad + SSE mine
Description:
Sc waud or wad means 'black lead'. The addition of the descriptor SSE black lead suggests that the OS surveyors did not understand waud. The OS Name Book (1857) describes it as: 'A mine where Blacklead is found - but has not be [been] worked for a few years' (OS1/3/49/80).
Wedder Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS630027
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 598m
Elements: Sc wedder + SSE hill
Description:
‘Hill associated with wethers (castrated rams)’. This was clearly an important sheep-rearing area, as Lamb Hill lies immediately to the north-west.
Wee Benbrack
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS533053
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 513m
Elements: SSE wee + en Benbrack
Wee Craig Knowe
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS536129
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 315m
Elements: Sc wee + Sc craig + Sc knowe
Description:
‘A small rocky knowe or small hill’. It fits exactly its description in the OS Name Book: ‘A small rocky Knowe lying north of Stony Hill’ (OS1/3/49/27). Note that it is not shown on the OS 6 inch 1st edn, only on the 25 inch.
It has been destroyed by opencast coal mining.
Wee Glen Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS510107
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 309m
Elements: Sc wee + Sc glen + Sc burn
Description:
‘A burn that runs through a small valley’. Unfortunately the key word in the OS Name Book description is illegible because it is lost in the guttering. It reads: ' A very small burn which runs thro a slight ho[…] into Black Water’ (OS1/3/49/44). The transcriber has read this as mo and conjectured moss. It is, however, definitely ho. Might it be ‘hollow’? The hollow would then be the ‘glen’, perhaps applied facetiously.
Wee Moss
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS529119
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 245m
Elements: Sc wee + Sc moss
Description:
‘A small moss or bog’. It is not in the OS Name Book. The only Wee Moss that the search engine finds is in Kirkmichael parish DMF
Wee Pathhead
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS616128
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 192m
Elements: Sc wee + Sc peth + Sc heid
Description:
‘Head or top of a rising road or path’. Sc peth can refer to a very steep incline. However, in this case it is a very gentle one. It is called wee in order to distinguish it from the village of Pathhead on the other side of the Nith from New Cumnock. For more details see Wee Pathead, Wee Pathhead – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY.
RN
Wee Rigg
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS567210
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 168m
Elements: Sc wee + en Rigg
Description:
This small holding ceased to exist in the early 20th century.
Wee Shiel
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS580153
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 245m
Elements: Sc wee + Sc shiel
Description:
This name has survived only in the relief feature Weeshiel Craig, which see for full details.
Wee Taiglim
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS581168
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 192m
Elements: Sc wee + en Taiglim
Description:
'Little Taiglim', a division of Taiglim OCU.
Weel Pool
Dalmellington (DAL), Straiton (STT)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS436083
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 157m
Elements: Sc weel + Sc pool
Weeshiel Craig
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS581153
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 236m
Elements: en Wee Shiel + Sc craig
Description:
‘A craggy outcrop of rock associated with a place called Wee or Benston Shiel’. This name has a complicated evolution, which is expertly described by Robert Guthrie on the New Cumnock History Website (Weeshiel Craig – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY). There was a place called Benston Shield, which first appears in the record in 1722 as the dwelling place of Thomas Mitchell & Ellison Shaw (OPR New Cumnock). A division of the lands of Benston, it was named after a shiel or shieling, probably in this case a place of dairy production rather than simply a rough shelter for sheep or cattle and their herds. These are usually found at some considerable distance from the farm-steading, in more remote places (SND), whereas Weeshiel Craig lies less than a kilometre from Benston. Robert Guthrie speculates that Benston Shiel(d) became known as *Wee Shiel(d) as another way of distinguishing it from the substantial farm of Shield which lay in Old Cumnock parish immediately adjacent to the lands of Benston to the north.
The craig of the name is a conspicuous rocky outcrop, good photographs of which can be found at the above-mentioned url.
Weilside
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS513212
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 95m
Elements: Sc weil + Sc side
Description:
DoST defines weil as ‘A deep pool in a river … ; a whirlpool.’ (https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/weill ). This probably refers to a feature in the Lugar Water. According to Love (2015, 325) the lands of Weilside were later amalgamated with Mill Affleck and the farmhouse is no longer extant.
Well Hill
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS483035
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 265m
Elements: SSE well + SSE hill
Well Plantation
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS507223
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 118m
Elements: SSE well + SSE plantation
Description:
OSNB (OS1/3/3/36): ‘A long strip of plantation f[ir] and forest trees East side of Swan Loch’. A well is marked in the midst of it on the OS 6 inch 1st edn, at NS507225.
Well Syke
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS649192
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 245m
Elements: Sc wall + Sc syke
Description:
This short stream rises in a spring not far from Kyle.
Wellhill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS581144
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 244m
Elements: Sc well + Sc hill
Description:
‘A hill characterised by a well or wells.’ There are no wells shown on the OS maps in the immediate vicinity of this farm or of the rising ground on which it stands. There is, however, a small pond just north of the farm-steading shown on early OS maps.
The OS Name Book is no help here, describing Wellhill simply as: ‘A farm house, the property of the Earl of Dumfries’ (OS1/3/49/105).
Wellhill Brick & Tile Works
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS583149
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 238m
Elements: en Wellhill + SSE brickworks + SSE tile works
Description:
It is described in the OS Name Book (1857) as: ‘Works for the Manufacture of Tiles and drain pipes etc - occupied by Hugh Meikle the property of the Marquess of Bute’ (OS1/3/49/17).
Wellhill Cottage
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS584149
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 233m
Elements: en Wellhill + SSE cottage
Description:
As described in the OS Name Book (1857), this was originally ‘a toll gate on a turn-pike road at Wellhill tileworks’ (OS1/3/49/17). All three informants give the name as Wellhill Check Bar, including Mr Campbell, Roadmaker, New Cumnock. It lay on the toll road between Connel Park and Cumnock.
Wellhill Wood
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS577147
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 271m
Elements: en Wellhill + SSE wood
Welltrees
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS630242
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 216m
Elements: Sc wall + Sc tree
Description:
'Trees associated with a well'.
The Correspondence, App. 1 (p. 221) lists this among the lands of the Barony of Glenmure: ‘Walltrees or Welltrees was acquired with Gass in 1767 and let to Andrew Howatson of Craigdarroch in 1787 and Robert Neill in 1797.’
Welltrees Bridge
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS628242
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 202m
Elements: en Welltrees + SSE bridge
Description:
Welltrees Bridge carries the main road (A70) from Cumnock to Muirkirk and spans the Gass Water at its junction with Bellow Water. The bridge has this name on the OS Explorer and OS 6 inch 2nd edn maps and this is reflective of its location near to the inhabited settlement of Welltrees. On the earlier OS 6 inch 1st edn map, however, a bridge at this location has the name Gasswater Bridge. At that time in the mid-19th century, Welltrees was shown on the map to be a ruined settlement and therefore the bridge adopted the name of the watercourse it spanned.
The OS Name Book for Auchinleck parish, compiled in around 1856, contains the following entry for the bridge: 'A county bridge of one arch across Gass Water on turnpike road from Old Cumnock to Muirkirk' (OS1/3/3/23).
RN
Welltrees Pit (Coal)
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS629235
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 237m
Elements: en Welltrees + SSE pit
West Burn
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS524116
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 257m
Elements: SSE west + SSE burn
Description:
The burn is named from the fact that it skirts West Knowe, a small hill which lies immediately west of the farm-steading of Nether Beoch (now gone). The OS Name Book describes it simply as: ‘A small stream running into House Burn south of Nether Beoch’ (OS1/3/49/37).
The NGR is of where the West Burn meets the House Burn.
West Chalmerston
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS478072
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 211m
Elements: SSE west + en Chalmerston
West Foredibban Hill
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS697189
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 449m
Elements: SSE west + en Foredibban + SSE hill
Description:
For analysis of the name, see under East Foredibban Hill (q.v.).
RN
West Guelt Plantation
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS627189
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 235m
Elements: SSE west + en Guelt + SSE plantation
West Knowe
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS521116
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 307m
Elements: SSE west + SSE knowe
Description:
This knowe or small hill is named due to it being west-lying in relation to the farm-steading of Nether Beoch (now gone), which sits immediately to the east on the other side of House Burn. West Knowe is skirted by the West Burn.
West Langlands
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS508227
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 132m
Elements: SSE west + en Langlands
Description:
For analysis of the name, see under Langlands (q.v.).
West Lowes Plantation
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS600170
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 258m
Elements: en West Lowes + SSE plantation
West Park Farm
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS617122
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 215m
Elements: SSE west + en Park + SSE farm
Description:
In its earliest appearance in the record the affix is Sc nether or nethir ‘lower’, to contrast with *Over Park, now High Park. It was later called simply Park, then Laigh Park (Sc laigh ‘low’) before appearing as West Park Farm on the OS Explorer map.
West Polquhirter
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS630130
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 192m
Elements: SSE west + en Polquhirter
Description:
This first appears as *Over Polquhirter in 1654, in contrast to *Nether Polquhirter, now East Polquhirter.
West Strand
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS592049
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 402m
Elements: Sc west + Sc strand
Description:
‘A small burn that lies to the west’. It is not clear what this small tributary of the Water of Deugh is named in relation to. Note that there is a small burn called Back Strand, which joins the Water of Deugh on the Carsphairn side near to the mouth of the West Strand.
RN
West Tarbeg
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS482207
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 166m
Elements: Sc west + en Tarbeg
Description:
‘West Tarbeg.’ For full details of Tarbeg and its various divisions, see under Tarbeg OCH.
West Tarelgin
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS460199
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 147m
Elements: SSE west + en Tarelgin
Description:
‘West Tarelgin.’ For full details of Tarelgin and its various divisions, see under Tarelgin OCH.
RN
Westgates
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS536200
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 123m
Elements: SSE west + SSE gate
Description:
These are the west gates to Dumfries House. They are flanked by two lodges built in the second half of the 18th century. They now form the main entrance (Green 2019, 136, with photo).
Westport
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS478207
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 163m
Elements: SSE west + SSE port
Description:
A small cottage, this seems to have disappeared not long after the OS 6 inch 1st edn.
Whig Hole
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief, Vegetation
Grid reference: NS521126
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 298m
Elements: Sc whig + Sc hole
Description:
‘A hole in a moss where it is said The Whigs or Covenanters used to hide from pursuit of the Kings troops’ (OS1/3/49/26). The moss itself is called Martyrs’ Moss, also referring to the Covenanters.
Whirr
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS515230
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 130m
Elements: G corr or G corr
Description:
This is a difficult name to analyse. The early form from Blaeu, Kaillywhurn makes it clear that the name originally contained a first element, G coille ‘wood’. Despite his spelling of the second element as whurn, however, we should probably seek an element represented by the other forms (Whurr, Whirr). Scots spellings in wh- are often used to render Gaelic ch-, hence the proposal that the second element of the original name, preserved on its own in the modern name was Early Gaelic corr. This was an adjective meaning ‘tapering, cuspidated, peaked, pointed, jutting out or up, swelling’, but could also be a substantive (noun), meaning ‘projecting part, end, corner, peak, etc.’, meanings still reflected in some of the definitions of ScG còrr, e.g., ‘rounded and/or tapered point’.
One might expect then that this name would originally represent Gaelic ‘wood of the corner’ or the like; however, the genitive of corr was usually corra, so ‘wood of the corner’ would have been *coille chorra, and it would be hard to explain Whirr from that. Since coille was feminine however, the original name may have been *coille chorr, or more likely, in the dative case (used for location) *coille chuirr, for instance in the Old Gaelic phrase *‘isin choille chuirr’ ‘in the projecting wood’. This would mean that what we have in Whirr is the fossil of an earlier phrase, the adjective *Chuirr.
This is all rather tentative, however. It is not clear what aspect of the location could be considered ‘projecting, etc.’. It could perhaps refer to the bend in the Dippol Burn around where Whirr is located, but nothing else suggests itself topographically.
Whirr Bridge
Auchinleck (AUK), Mauchline (MAU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS516231
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 128m
Elements: en Whirr + SSE bridge
Description:
A road bridge crossing Dippol Burn to the east of Auchinleck House, it takes its name from the former settlement of Whirr. It crosses the parish boundary between Auchinleck and Mauchline parishes.
Whirr Loch
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS515228
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 139m
Elements: en Whirr + SSE loch
White Burn
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS499067
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 242m
Elements: SSE white + SSE burn
White Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS548140
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 333m
Elements: SSE white + SSE hill
Description:
This is named in contrast to the neighbouring Black Hill (NS545135) to the south-west, which presumably has darker coloured vegetation or soil.
It is described in the OS Name Book as: ‘A small hill situated north of a small cottage called the Linn’ (OS1/3/49/19).
White Hill
Auchinleck (AUK), Crawfordjohn (CRJ), Kirkconnel (KCL)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS744203
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 461m
Elements: SSE white + SSE hill
Description:
This hill straddles the border of Ayrshire and Dumfriesshire.
White Knowe
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS574150
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 280m
Elements: SSE white + SSE knowe
Description:
‘Light(er)-coloured knowe or small hill’. It may well be contrastively named in relation to two other names with colour elements nearby, Gray Hill (NS572149) and Green Hill (NS568148).
White Knowes
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS616044
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 533m
Elements: SSE white + SSE knowe
Description:
‘Light(er)-coloured knowes or small hills’. It is named constrastively to the immediately adjacent Black Hill (NS620041), which presumably has darker-coloured vegetation or soil.
Whitehill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS570114
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 260m
Elements: Sc white + Sc hill
Whitehill
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS461178
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 138m
Elements: Sc white + Sc hill
Description:
This is to be distinguished from several other farms of the same name, e.g. in Old Cumnock and New Cumnock, as well as topographical features named ‘White Hill’, e.g. in Auchinleck. The place-name ‘White Hill’ is so common that it may have indicated something quite particular about the agricultural quality of the land of places with this name. Gilbert Márkus has noted in unpublished work relating to the Galloway Glens that ‘The term “white hill” should therefore probably be understood as an indication that this hill had a certain function in the farming economy. It had a particular kind of use, and this way of using it made it ‘white’ in some way – perhaps encouraging a particular kind of grass growth which went white in the winter, for example.’
RN
Whitehill
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS526178
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 199m
Elements: SSE white + SSE hill
Description:
The name Whitehill occurs so frequently that it might actually be a compound noun meaning a hill of good grazing or common land.
RN
Whitehill Cottage
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS462176
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 132m
Elements: en Whitehill + SSE cottage
Description:
This is adjacent to the farm of Whitehill OCH from which it got its name. The building now on this site is called Lanochsyde (q.v.), Whitehill Cottage having previously fallen into ruin (see OS 1:2500 map, 1960).
Whitehill Mount
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS528178
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 206m
Elements: en Whitehill + SSE mount
Whitehill Pit (No. 1)
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS531181
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 197m
Elements: en Whitehill + SSE pit
Description:
Shown on the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map, the pit took its name from the nearby settlement of Whitehill. The site of the pit lies at the edge of what is now Whitehill Colliery Woodland. The colliery closed in 1965. See https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/whitehill-colliery-woodland/
Whitehill Plantation
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS526174
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 209m
Elements: en Whitehill + SSE plantation
Whiteholm
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS655186
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 245m
Elements: Sc white + Sc holm
Description:
'White or light-coloured low, flat riverside land'. The farm of Whiteholm sits above just such a feature beside the Guelt Water. There is another Whiteholm about 5km downstream on the Glenmuir Water, of which the Guelt is a tributary. It is assumed that the name is Scots rather than Scottish Standard English, despite its relatively late appearance in the record, partly because of this other Whiteholm, which is on record from the 17th century.
Whiteholm
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS624199
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 207m
Elements: Sc white + Sc holm
Description:
'White or light-coloured low, flat riverside land'. The farm of Whiteholm sits above just such a feature beside the Glenmuir Water. There is another Whiteholm about 5km upstream on the Guelt Water, a tributary of the Glenmuir Water.
Whitelay Syke
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS613141
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 183m
Elements: Sc white + Sc lea + Sc syke
Description:
‘A syke or small, sluggish burn flowing through or past light-coloured lea? Sc lea (also lay) is defined by SND as: ‘untilled ground, ground which has been left fallow for some time and is covered mainly by natural grass, ground which has been tilled and is now in pasture’.
Although this syke is not named on any OS map, its name can be inferred from the Whitelaysyke Bridge, which carries the main road from New Cumnock to Cumnock over it, a short distance west of Pathhead. For more details see whitelaysyke – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY.
The NGR is where the syke joins the drainage channel from Lochside Loch to the River Nith.
RN
Whitelaysyke Bridge
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Other
Grid reference: NS614145
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 194m
Elements: en Whitelaysyke + SSE bridge
Description:
A road bridge to the west of Pathhead on the main road from New Cumnock to Cumnock. It crosses a small burn flowing into the Nith. This must be the syke in the name but it is not named as such on any OS map.
RN
Whitesmuir
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS530172
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 219m
Elements: pn White + Sc muir
Description:
‘Muir or rough grazing associated with a family called White’. The s at the end of White indicates that this is probably the family name White or Whyte rather than the adjective white.
Whitesmuir Plantation
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS533174
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 218m
Elements: en Whitesmuir + SSE plantation
Whitestones Hill
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS662114
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 462m
Elements: SSE white + SSE stone + SSE hill
Description:
Presumably a hill with a cluster or scattering of conspicuous white or light-coloured stones. It is on the northern shoulder of Black Hill. The OS Name Book is no help here, stating simply: ‘A hill on the Knipe range amd situate near Dog Hill’ (OS1/3/49/130).
Whiteyards
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS658225
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 376m
Elements: Sc white + Sc yird
Description:
The location, far from settlements, does not immediately suggest the usual meanings of ‘yard’ (‘enclosed ground near a house, etc.’. Instead this may be Scots yird which had various meanings, such as ‘the ground; earth, soil; A heap of large boulders forming a kind of den or small cave’. This last meaning, is supported in the SND by some pertinent quotes from Galloway, e.g. from Samuel Crockett ‘These big boulders, heaped up on one another, often make most evil traps for sheep to fall into. These prison-houses are named “yirds” by the shepherds.’ See https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/yird.
Wight's Knowe
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS472058
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 163m
Windmillhall
Ochiltree (OCH), Stair (STA)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS446201
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 100m
Elements: SSE windmill + SSE hall
Description:
There was presumably at some stage a windmill on this site, perhaps one related to the old mine shaft indicated on the OS 6 inch 1st edn.
Windy Edge
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS667144
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 393m
Elements: SSE windy + SSE edge
Description:
As the name indicates, this is a very exposed place, forming as it does part of the western shoulder of Corsencon Hill. The OS Name Book describes it as: ‘A steep edge, connecting what are called the "shoulders of Corson Cone" It lies about 12 chains East South East of the top of the hill’ (OS1/3/49/84).
Windy Standard
Dalmellington (DAL)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS524040
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 535m
Elements: SSE windy + SSE standard
Witch Knowe
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS638270
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 183m
Elements: SSE witch + SSE knowe
Description:
A small oval projecting hill in the haughlands along the Ayr. See under Tarrioch for the suggestion that feature is the tòrr which gave rise to the name Tarrioch. OSNB (OS1/3/3/10) notes: ‘A Small Knowe or rising ground named as Supplied according to tradition witches in olden times used to meet here’.
Witch Knowe
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS592223
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 181m
Elements: SSE witch + SSE knowe
Description:
OSNB notes (OS1/3/3/67): ‘A Small eminence on the west side of Craigston Burn near the MuirKirk Railway north end of Craigston Glen Tradition points out this place as a Rendevouz in older times for Fairies Brownies etc.’
Witch Knowe
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Relief
Grid reference: NS632078
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 259m
Elements: Sc witch + Sc knowe
Description:
‘A knowe or hillock associated with a witch or witches’. Given its close proximity to Witch Pool, it is likely that the association was with the torture and execution of those suspected of being witches in the witch-persecuting ‘long’ seventeenth century. They both lie in a field between the Afton Water and the Afton Road just beyond Blackcraig farm. There are some excellent photographs of it by Robert Guthrie on WITCH KNOWE, WITCH POOL – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY. Guthrie makes the point that there is a Witch Knowe in the parishes of Auchinleck, Coylton and Craigie AYR. The first two are described in the OS Name Book as meeting places for witches.
The OS Name Book (1855-57) for the New Cumnock Witch Knowe describes it simply as: ‘A small green Knowe about 4 chains north East of the foot of Black Craig’ (OS1/3/49/173).
RN
Witch Knowe
Ochiltree (OCH)
Classification: Antiquity, Relief
Grid reference: NS502217
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 108m
Elements: SSE witch + SSE knowe
Description:
'A knowe or hillock associated with a witch or witches'. The name first appears on the OS 1:1,250 map where it is described as a ‘Motte’ and marked as an Antiquity (Gothic script); and a small mound is shown. RCAHMS seems to have surveyed it, as ‘Hillbank Wood Motte’ (see the record, now at trove.scot), but there are few details. Love (2021: 17-19) discusses this in the context of it being the site of a Norman motte. There is another Witch Knowe in Auchinleck.
Witch Pool
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS631078
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 272m
Elements: Sc witch + Sc pool
Description:
‘A pool associated with a witch or witches’. It lies beside Witch Knowe, so it is possible that it was used in witch-trials in the ‘long’ seventeenth century. For both Witch Pool and Witch Knowe, see WITCH KNOWE, WITCH POOL – NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY.
It is described in the OS Name Book as: ‘A large spring, now nearly filled up with stones, at the base of Witch Knowe’ (OS1/3/49/173).
Woodend
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS564202
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 112m
Elements: SSE wood + SSE end
Description:
This was part of the lands of Stepends (q.v.) in the 18th century (see The Correspondence, p. 222); now overtaken by the growth of Cumnock, and indeed, by the time of the OS 6 inch 2nd edn, in Cumnock.
Woodend
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS572187
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 133m
Elements: SSE wood + SSE end
Description:
‘(Settlement at the) end of a wood’. On OS 6 inch 1st edn it is shown at the north end of a small wood.
Woodend Cottage
New Cumnock (NCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS599132
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 202m
Elements: SSE wood + SSE end + SSE cottage
Description:
This is the name of a small settlement at the south-east end of a strip of trees running along the side of Boig Road and apparently called Connel Wood. This wood has now gone, but has left its name in Connelwood (House).
Woodend was built and named in the second half of the 19th century, as there are no buildings here on OS 6 inch 1st edn (1860) but three appear on OS 2nd edn (1897). By the time of OS 1:1,250/1 (1944 x 1973) a house called Fernbank had been built immediately south-east of Woodend. On 2.5 inch map (1957) only the name Fernbank appears but on OS Explorer (2000) both names are shown, Woodend now being called Woodend Cottage.
Woodhead
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS550193
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 167m
Elements: Sc wuid + Sc heid
Description:
‘(Settlement at the) head or end of a wood’. The wood in question would seem to be what is now called Broad Wood. The OS Name Book (1857) writes: ‘This name applies to the cottages extending southward from Broad Wood to East Woodhead near Rose Burn Chiefly occupied by workmen employed on the Dumfries Estate’ (OS1/3/52/43).
NGR applies to the mid-point of the linear settlement of Woodhead on OS 6 inch 1st edn map, with East Woodhead at the very south end. By the time of the OS 6 inch 2nd edn map (1896) the settlement is partly gone with only the end parts remaining, called North Woodhead and South Woodhead as two distinct settlements. Confusingly OS 2nd edn South Woodhead is further north than East Woodhead, which lay near Roseburn, and is no longer named.
Note that there is a place called Woodside to the east of Woodhead, shown on Armstrong AYR (1775)and Ainslie (1821) maps. From the Home Plan of Dumfries Estate (1772) Woodside, it is clear that the wood in question is the what became known as Shankston Wood. It is listed as one of lands in the barony of Taringzean OCU in 1698 (terras de Woodside 1698 Retours (AYR) no. 696).
Woodhead Cottages
Old Cumnock (OCU)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS549191
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 170m
Elements: en Woodhead + SSE cottage
Description:
'Cottages connected with Woodhead OCU'. South Woodhead on OS 6 inch 2nd edn is originally the southernmost of three cottages named on OS 6 inch 1st edn map as Woodhead.
Woodside (Ruin)
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS531216
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 119m
Elements: SSE wood + SSE side
Woodside Plantation
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Vegetation
Grid reference: NS532222
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 148m
Elements: en Woodside + SSE plantation
Woolmill
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Settlement
Grid reference: NS561214
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 141m
Elements: SSE wool + SSE mill
Description:
OSNB (OS1/3/3/89) notes: ‘Formerly Wool was carded by Machinery here, together with Flax the house Still retains the name and at present is in Connection with Rigg Farm’.
Wyndy Burn
Auchinleck (AUK)
Classification: Water
Grid reference: NS684195
Certainty: 1
Altitude: 279m
Elements: SSE windy + SSE burn
Description:
The spelling perhaps suggests windy ‘twisty, full of bends’, but the burn does not seem markedly twisty at all, so perhaps this is instead windy in the sense of exposed to the wind.