Blair Collection > Place names in Strathbogie, with notes historical, antiquarian and descriptive

Huntly. 235
I suspect the 'tradition' originates in an attempt
to connect the name Briggs with the old Gaelic
breach, ' a wolf.' There are so many places of
the same name all over the country, especi-
ally in the Lowlands, that I see no reason for
supposing it is anything else than the Scotch
form of our English word bridges. There are
several burns bounding the farm, and it is the
most natural supposition that there may have
been some sort of bridges over these, in old
times, giving rise to the name.
Near to Briggs is Annetswell, of which name
I can only give a conjectural, though very prob-
able explanation. Annet is a word of doubtful
origin, but of frequent occurrence in place names,
and it is always associated with a church or
chapel. An 'Annoid Church' is understood to
mean a church of first rank, that is a mother-
church, or church dedicated to its founder, or in
which a saint's relics were preserved. Now
Annetswell is at a considerable distance from
the church or church-lands of Kinnoir, with
which the name cannot therefore have any con-
nection. The construction of the word suggests
a personal name, as it may be the possessive form,
Annet's Well. The explanation I suggest is,
that this well was named after Wintoune of
Andate in Methlic, and although this may ap-
pear a wild conjecture it is not so in reality. On
the property of the Annet, or Andate, as it is