Torranyard

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Torranyard
Torranyard Inn.jpg
The Torranyard Inn
North Ayrshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Torranyard
Location within North Ayrshire
OS grid reference NS 35740 44019
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Historic county
Police Scotland
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Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
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UK
Scotland
55°39′43″N4°36′47″W / 55.662°N 4.613°W / 55.662; -4.613 Coordinates: 55°39′43″N4°36′47″W / 55.662°N 4.613°W / 55.662; -4.613

Torranyard is a small village or hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. It lies between the settlements of Auchentiber and Irvine on the A736 Lochlibo Road.

Contents

History

Torranyard is a hamlet at what is now a crossroads on the Irvine to Glasgow A736 'Lochlibo Road', previous to the main road's construction, circa 1820, it sat on the toll road that ran from Kilwinning and Irvine via Benslie to Glasgow, passing Loch Libo at Uplawmoor en route.

Roy's map of 1747 records the settlement of 'Turringyard' near Auchenharvie Castle . [1] The 1897 25 inch to the mile OS map records a 'Tour Inn' opposite the old Torranyard Toll, now the Torranyard Tabdoori. . It was recorded as 'Turnyard' in 1775, 'Tirranyard' on Thomson's 1820 map and in 1832. The Montgreenan estate is nearby and the site of the old Girgenti house and surviving tower are nearby on the Cunninghamhead road.

The meaning of 'Tour' in Scots [2] is 'Tower', as in the prominent Auchenharvie castle tower nearby. A Yard in Scots [2] is a garden. 'Torranyard' could therefore be a corruption of 'Tour Inn yard.' Local people still pronounce the name 'Torranyard' as 'TOURanyard'.

Jamieson records that the inn at Burnhouse was nicknamed the 'Trap 'Em Inn', the one at Lugton was called the 'Lug 'Em Inn', that at Auchentiber the 'Cleek 'Em Inn', and finally the one at Torranyard was called the 'Turn 'Em Out.' [3]

The Resurrectionists

Auchenharvie Castle in 1820 Auchenharvie Castle.jpg
Auchenharvie Castle in 1820

A local legend is that in the days of the 'body snatchers' or 'resurrectionists'; before the Anatomy Act of 1832, bodies obtained locally were hidden in the ruins of the nearby Auchenharvie Castle before being taken up to Glasgow at night to sell to the surgeons and medical students at the old university. [4] Another version of the story states that the bodies were collected together from neighbouring parishes at Darnshaw, a remote house near Bloak Moss on the old Auchenharvie to Megswell toll road route. [5] [6] The old toll road did run past the site and a toll gate and house stood fairly close by which must cast some doubt on the castle being involved. [4] Jamieson records the story that tramps were lured to their deaths at the inns along this road by 'body snatchers' and as evidence it is recorded that when the Cleikum Inn at Auchentiber was demolished a large collection of walking sticks were found. [3]

Micro-history

A William Forgisal (Fergushill) of Torranyard was miner at the Doura Pit in the 18th-century. He lost his leg in a mining accident, as had his father. William's wife was a tough sort, her comment being on seeing him so encumbered, was that the Forgisal's would need a small plantation of their own to keep them in crutches. [7]

A Torranyard Farm is located to the north-west of the village.

Viewfield Manor Holiday Village is located behind the Torranyard Tandoori that faces the A736. the site was partly used as a refuse tip at one time as shown on OS maps.

Opencast workings and 'works' are shown on old OS maps nearby, close to the Greenacres Equestrian Centre (2012).

Related Research Articles

Cunninghamhead is a hamlet in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the centre of the lands of Cunninghamhead, Perceton and Annick Lodge in Cunninghame. This mainly rural area is noted for its milk and cheese production and the Ayrshire, Cunninghame or Dunlop breed of cattle.

Lugton Human settlement in Scotland

Lugton is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 80 people. The A736 road runs through on its way from Glasgow, 15 miles (24.1 km) to the north, to Irvine in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settlement on this 'Lochlibo Road' to the north and Burnhouse is to the south. The settlement lies on the Lugton Water which forms the boundary between East Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire as well as that of the parishes of Dunlop and Beith.

Hessilhead

Hessilhead is in Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Hessilhead used to be called Hazlehead or Hasslehead. The lands were part of the Lordship of Giffen, and the Barony of Hessilhead, within the Baillerie of Cunninghame and the Parish of Beith. The castle was situated at grid reference NS380532.

Auchenharvie Castle

Auchenharvie Castle is a ruined castle near Torranyard on the A 736 Glasgow to Irvine road. Burnhouse lies to the north and Irvine to the south. It lies in North Ayrshire, Scotland.

Auchentiber Human settlement in Scotland

The hamlet of Auchentiber is in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Auchentiber is four miles northeast of Kilwinning on the Lochlibo Road, 2+14 mi (3.5 km) from the hamlet of Burnhouse and 2+12 mi (4 km) from the village of Barrmill. Grid Ref. NS3647. Some new housing has been built, but the settlement is still very much a hamlet. The settlement is on the Lugton Water, which runs into the River Garnock after running through Montgreenan and Eglinton Country Park in Irvine.

Barony and Castle of Giffen Barony in the former District of Cunninghame, now North Ayrshire

The Barony of Giffen and its associated 15th-century castle were in the parish of Beith in the former District of Cunninghame, now North Ayrshire. The site may be spelled Giffen or Giffin and lay within the Lordship of Giffin, which included the Baronies of Giffen, Trearne, Hessilhead, Broadstone, Roughwood and Ramshead; valued at £3788 9s 10d. The Barony of Giffen comprised a number of properties, including Greenhills, Thirdpart, Drumbuie, Nettlehirst and Balgray, covering about half of the parish of Beith. Giffen was a hundred merk land, separated from the Barony of Beith, a forty-pound land, by the Powgree Burn which rises on Cuff hill. The Lugton Water or the Bungle Burn running through Burnhouse may have been the Giffen barony boundary with that of the adjacent barony and lands of Aiket castle.

Eglinton Country Park

Eglinton Country Park is located in the grounds of the old Eglinton Castle estate, Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Eglinton Park is situated in the parish of Kilwinning, part of the former district of Cunninghame, and covers an area of 400 ha. The central iconic feature of the country park is the ruined Eglinton Castle, once home to the Eglinton family and later the Montgomeries, Earls of Eglinton and chiefs of the Clan Montgomery. Eglinton Country Park is managed and maintained by North Ayrshire Council and its Ranger Service.

Benslie is a small village in North Ayrshire, in the parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Map reference NS 336 429.

Montgreenan

Montgreenan is an estate in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. The Lugton Water runs through the policies and farmland of Montgreenan. Nearby are the hamlets of Torranyard and Auchentiber.

Clonbeith Castle

The Castle of Clonbeith is in the old feudal Baillerie of Cunninghame, near Auchentiber, on a sideroad off the B778, in what is now North Ayrshire, Scotland.

Drukken Steps

The Drukken, Drucken Steps or Drunken Steps were stepping stones across the Red Burn in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland and are associated with Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. Drukken is used on the commemorative cairn plaque, but Druken or Drucken may also be used.

Monkredding House, North Ayrshire

Monkredding formed a small estate in the Parish of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire lying between Kilwinning and Auchentiber on the B778. The property was originally held by the Tironensian monks of Kilwinning Abbey and was the 'Monk's Garden', the rest home for the brothers. Monkcastle near Dalgarven was the abbot's country retreat. Monkredding remains in good condition and is in use as a private house in 2010.

Kilbirnie Loch Lake in the Scotland

Kilbirnie Loch, is a freshwater Loch situated in the floodplain between Kilbirnie, Glengarnock and Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It runs south-west to north-east for almost 2 km (1.2 mi), is about 0.5 km (0.31 mi) wide for the most part and has an area of roughly 3 km2. It has a general depth of around 5.2 metres (17 feet) to a maximum of around 11 metres (36 feet). The loch is fed mainly by the Maich Water, which rises in the Kilbirnie Hills near Misty Law, and is drained by the Dubbs Water that runs past the Barr Loch into Castle Semple Loch, followed by the Black Cart, the White Cart at Renfrew and finally the River Clyde. The boundary between East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, in the vicinity of the loch, runs down the course of the Maich Water along the northern loch shore to then run up beside the Dubbs Water.

Burnhouse Human settlement in Scotland

Burnhouse, sometimes known locally as The Trap from "Man Trap", is a small village or hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Beith, Scotland. It lies on a crossroads of old B706 and the more recent A736 Lochlibo Road, between Lugton and Torranyard.

Lylestone Human settlement in Scotland

Lylestone is a hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. The habitation is situated between Kilwinning and Auchentiber on the B778. It was originally built as a row of housing for quarry workers.

Shillford Human settlement in Scotland

Shillford or Shilford is a hamlet to the south-west of Barrhead on the Lochlibo Road in East Renfrewshire near Uplawmoor, Scotland in the parish of Neilston. It is located around 11 miles (18 km) south-west of Glasgow and north of Kilmarnock, and around 5 miles (8 km) south of Paisley.

Lands of Doura

The Lands of Doura, Dawra, Dawray, DowreyDowray, Dourey or Douray formed a small estate, at one time part of the Barony of Corsehill and Doura, situated near the Eglinton Estate in the Parish of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland.

Lands of Willowyard

The ancient lands of Willowyard, Willieyeards, Williyard or Willizeards were part of the holdings of the Regality of Kilwinning, Barony of Beith, and Bailiary of Cuninghame. They later became the property of the Montgomerie family before being sold to the Simson family in 1723. The manor house still survives as part of a business premises and the nearby industrial estate and whisky bond carry the name 'Willowyards'.

Lands of Threepwood

The lands of Threepwood were located in the Parish of Beith, at the eastern boundary between East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, Scotland. The settlements of Midtown, Townhead and Townend were part of the old Threepwood Estate. Cuffhill at 675 feet is the highest eminence in the parish and it overlooks the area with Little Hill and Cuff Hill and Little Hill plantations nearby, now situated next to the entirely artificial Cuffhill Reservoir.

Lawthorn Human settlement in Scotland

Lawthorn is a hamlet near Perceton in Strathannick, Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The settlement lies on the old Irvine to Stewarton toll road.

References

Notes

  1. Roy's Map Retrieved : 2012-05-06
  2. 1 2 A_Researcher's_Guide_to_Local_History_Terminology
  3. 1 2 Jamieson, Page 18
  4. 1 2 Holder, Page 54
  5. Strawhorn, Page 113.
  6. Love, Page 148
  7. Service, Page 140.

Sources and bibliography

  1. Dobie, James (1876). Pont's Cunninghame topographized 1604–1608 with continuations and illustrative notices. Pub. John Tweed.
  2. Holder, Geoff (2010). Scottish Bodysnatchers. Port Stroud : The History Press. ISBN   978-0-7524-5603-4.
  3. Jamieson, Sheila (1997). Our Village. 'Greenhills Women's Institute.
  4. Love, Dane (1989). Scottish Kirkyards. London : Robert Hale. ISBN   0-7090-3667-1.
  5. Love, Dane (2003). Ayrshire : Discovering a County. Ayr : Fort Publishing. ISBN   0-9544461-1-9.
  6. Reid, Donald L. and Monahan, Isobel F. (1999). Yesterdays Beith, a pictorial guide. Beith : DoE Award Scheme. ISBN   0-9522720-5-9
  7. Service, John (Editor) (1887). The Life & Recollections of Doctor Duguid of Kilwinning. Pub. Young J. Pentland.
  8. Strawhorn, John (1985). The History of Irvine. Pub. John Donald. ISBN   0-85976-140-1.