Glenkens Place Names - Plan of the Enclosures of Earlstoun and Barskeoch

The south part of Gregg’s 1769 plan of Earlstoun & Barskeoch showing Knockengig and Tarhastan. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland https://maps.nls.uk/index.html

In commemoration of the near completion of John Paterson’s splendid new house at Barskeoch, I intend to look at some placenames recorded on the Plan of the Enclosures of Earlstoun and Barskeoch belonging to John Newal Esq.

This map was drawn by James Gregg in 1779 and is available on the National Library of Scotland website.

This plan has been discussed several times previously in seminars organised by the Dumfries Archival Mapping Project (DAMP). It is a remarkable map in its detail, showing a well laid out estate, already largely enclosed and improved. Previous discussions have tended to focus on the details of the estate layout of parks and woodlands (a fair bit of which is now of course under Earlstoun Loch). Therefore I want to focus on some of the unremarked Gaelic origin place-names on the plan to consider what the names meant and where they are located in the modern landscape.

To understand the layout of the plan one has to remember that the main road from Dalry to Ayr passed well to the west of the existing A713. It is still clearly visible on the First Edition Ordnance Survey 6’’ to the mile map published in 1853 and although it is less clear on aerial survey photography it can still be followed.

Starting at the south, the old road to Ayr can be picked up where it leaves the modern A762 just south of Craiggubble Wood. This wood is so named from a conspicuous rock face there and stands for Gaelic Creag na gCapall ‘crag of the horses’.

Moving north two hills are marked on Gregg’s plan just south of the lands of Earlstoun and Barskeoch. One is named as Terhastan and this seems to be what is now known locally as The Fairy Knowe. Terhastan would appear to be Gaelic Tòrr Ùisdein, for ‘Wee Hughie’s hill’.

The other hill marked in the same area would seem to be a spur off what is now Waterside Hill. This is shown as Knockengig which is possibly for Gaelic Cnoc na Dìge ‘Hill of the ditch’. However it may be that Knockengig was actually the earlier name for the Fairy Knowe. There is a Gaelic word digh, one meaning of which is ‘fairy knowe’ so Cnoc na Dighe ‘hill of the fairy mound’ is a possibility.

The Gregg map shows that there was a pool in the River Ken at the foot of the Fairy Knowe called the Dalreoch Pool. This is now subsumed under the hydro loch but it was in the river just north of where the Earlstoun Burn used to enter the River Ken. In pre-hydro days the area to the north of the Earlstoun Burn and to the east of the Ken was shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1853 as being formed of three large flat enclosures, evidently some of the best land on the estate. Going by the name of the contiguous pool (Dalreoch), this flat riverside area was called in Gaelic An Dail Riabhach ‘The Brindled Holm’. It is now completely under the waters of Earlstoun Loch.

An Dail Riabhach is one of several Gaelic dail ‘holm’ names in the Glenkens, from south to north Dalarran, Dalry, Dalreoch, Dalbonniton, Daltallochan, Dalshangan and Dalquhairn.

Breoch Park was a large wooded enclosure on the east side of the River Ken opposite Barskeoch farmhouse. Again it is now under-water. The name most likely derives from Gaelic Am Bruach ‘bank of a river’

West of Barskeoch was what used to be a separate farm of Cavan. This is situated between Barskeoch and Hannaston. This will be derived from Gaelic cabhan ‘a hollow, cavity, shallow valley’. This is the same word as in County Cavan, Ireland.

Barskeoch itself is one of two bàrr place-names on the property of Mr Newal. Bàrr means ‘the top of anything’ often applied to a minor hill-top of no great elevation, especially in Galloway and Argyll. In the case of Barskeoch the derivation will be Gaelic Am Bàrr Sgìtheach ‘the hawthorn hill’.

The other bàrr name is shown on the map as Barchuck. This is shown on the OS 1st edition 6’’ map of 1853 as Barchock. This is an interesting placename and probably represents Gaelic Bàrr Seabhaige ‘hawk hill-top’, perhaps (according to Dwelly’s Dictionary) specifically referring to the Peregrine Falcon. The Gaelic word seabhag is in fact a borrowing into Gaelic of the English word ‘hawk’.

Between Barchuck and the River Ken is marked as the Pulharrow Park on Gregg’s plan. This is from the Polharrow Burn which joins the Ken close to the north end of the park. Polharrow is probably to be derived from Gaelic Poll na h-Airbhe ‘burn of the boundary or wall’ perhaps referring to the Deil’s Dyke which I suggest formed the eastern boundary of the royal hunting Forest of Buchan.

There is a pool in the Ken where it runs along the Pulharrrow Park. This is marked on Gregg’s plan as The Lin. Linne is the Gaelic word for a pool so this could have been a Gaelic coining however the word was borrowed into Scots so it may have been named in that language. In Scots the meaning could sometimes be a pool or the waterfall above a pool. The hillock on the east side of the river at The Lin was called Lin Know by Gregg and Craig Linn on the OS map of 1853. Lin Know is Scots whereas Craig Lin could be Gaelic Creag na Linne ‘rock of the pool’ which describes it exactly.

To finish it is interesting to note a new place-name has been created near the north part of Gregg’s estate plan when a new house was recently built on part of the lands of Barskeoch Farm. This is Inverharrow, a pleasing name in character with the placenames surrounding it and conveying the correct meaning (all be it in anglicised spelling) for its location: Inbhir na h-Airbhe ‘the mouth of the (poll) Harrow’.

Perhaps John’s new house should be called Am Bàrr Sgìtheach? Just a thought...

Michael Ansell