Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 2

CUMNOCK, OLD
through the interior, its left bank being closely followed,
from the village downwards, by the Glasgow and South-
western railway ; of its numerous feeders here, the
principal is Afton Water, flowing 9 miles northward
from the southern extremity of the parish. The drain-
age goes thus mainly to the Solway, but partly also to
the Firth of Clyde, as Black and Guelt Waters, sub-
affluents of the river Ayr, trace most of the Ochiltree
and Auchinleck boundaries. North-westward of the
village are three little lakes in a row, Meikle Creoch
Loch (3 x 2f furl. ), Little Creoch Loch (3 x 1 \ furl. ), and
Black Loch (2x1 furl. ). The surface sinking along the
shallow and sluggish Nith to less than 600 feet above
sea-level, is everywhere hilly, mountainous in the S.
Chief elevations to the left of the Nith from its source
are Prickeny Hill (1676 feet), Black Hill (1076), Cars-
gailoch HD1 (1176), Carnivan Hill (1061), High Polquheys
(1027), *Craigdully Hill (1352), Corsancone Hill
(1547), Clocklowie Hill (1441), and *Niviston Hill
(1507), where asterisks mark those summits that cul-
minate on the confines of the parish ; to the right rise
Enoch Hill (1865), Benty Cowan (1560), Milray Hill
(1724), Ashmark Hill (1218), Auchincally Hill (1662),
Struthers Brae (1778), Wedder Hill (1961) Dalhanna Hill
(1177), Blackwood Hill (898), Hare Hill or the Knipe
(1950), Blaokcraig Hill (2229), *Blacklarg Hill (2231),
*Alwhat (2063), and *Albang (2100). The rocks in the S
are chiefly Silurian, in the N carboniferous. Limestone
and sandstone, the latter coarse-grained and yellowish
white in hue, have both been worked in several quarries ;
and coal, partly canuel, partly splint, is mined at Afton,
Bank, Knoekshinnock, Lanemark, Pathhead, and South
Boig. Galena has been got in considerable quantities on
the Afton estate ; and ironstone occurs plentifully in
bands and balls. The soil of the Silurian tracts is
chiefly of a gravelly nature, and that of the Carboni-
ferous tracts is generally argillaceous. Fully 6000
acres have been reclaimed from a waste or almost un-
profitable condition since 1818 ; and now about 9300
acres are either regularly or occasionally in tillage, whilst
some 270 are under wood. An ancient tumulus on
Polquhaise farm was found, on removal, to contain a
sarcophagus and fragments of human bones. One
baronial fortalice stood near the village, another at
Blackcraig, and a third near the source of the Nith ; but
all have disappeared and left no vestige. In March 1882,
at Craigs, near the foot of Blackcraig, in lonely Glen
Afton, a shepherd found 40 gold and over 140 silver
eoius of James V. Mansfield House, Lochside House,
Craigdarroch, and Bank House are the principal man-
sions ; and 10 proprietors hold each an annual value of
£500 and upwards, 5 of between £100 and £500, 3 of
from £50 to £100, and 20 of from £20 to £50. New
Cumnock is in the presbytery of Ayr and sj'nod of
Glasgow and Ayr ; the living is worth £250. The
parish church, between Afton-Bridgend and New Cum-
nock villages, was built in 1832, and is a handsome
edifice, containing 1000 sittings. There are also three
Free churches — New Cumnock, Afton, and Bank ; and
three public schools — Bank, Dalleagies, and New Cum-
nock — with respective accommodation for 160, 85, and
450 children, had (18S0) an average attendance of 182,
75, and 295, and grants of £127, lis., £30, 18s. 4d.,
and £249, 18s. Valuation (1S60) £17,496, (1S82)
£34,592, 13s. 6d., including £2934 for railway. Pop.
(1801) 1381, (1831) 2184, (1861) 2891, (1871) 3434,
(1881) 3781.— Ord. Sur., shs. 15, 14, 1864-63.
Cumnock, Old, a parish in the E of Kyle district, Ayr-
shire. It contains the station and most of the town of
Cumnock, besidesasmall part of Lugar Iron-works, and
formed one parish with New Cumnock till 1650, when,
being curtailed by the separation of New Cumnock, it
changed its name from Cumnock to Old Cumnock. It
is bounded N and NE by Auchinleck, E and S by New
Cumnock, and W by Ochiltree. Its utmost length, from
E to W, is 9J miles ; its breadth, from N to S, varies
between 9 furlongs and 4$ miles ; and its area is 14,209^
acres, of which 69-i are water. All the Auchinleck
border is traced, first, by Guelt Water, running 2| miles
328
CUNNINGHAME
north-westward to Glenmore Water ; next, by Glen-
more Water, running 4§ miles west-north-westward to
form Lugar Water ; lastly, by the Lugar itself, wind-
ing 7J miles west-by-southward : and a number of burns
flow northward through the interior to these three
streams. In the NW, near Pennyfadzeoch, where the
Lugar quits the parish, the surface sinks to close on 300
feet above sea-level, thence rising to 693 near Whitehill,
1198 at Hogh Mount, 764 near Shield, 1081 at Avisyard
Hill, 1034 at Airds Hill, and 1352 at Craigdollyeart
Hill in the SE. The scenery, tame in places, in most
presents a pleasing, finely cultivated aspect, and along
the Lugar is often highly picturesque. The rocks are
chiefly carboniferous. Limestone and sandstone, both of
excellent quality, are worked ; and bituminous and
anthracitic coal is mined. The soil by the Lugar is
frequently a fine alluvium, and elsewhere is mostly of a
clayey nature, incumbent on strong till ; but on the
higher lands is mossy. About 2000 acres are moorland,
500 or so are planted, and the rest are all under the
plough. The chief antiquities are ruins of Ferringzean
Castle within the policies of Dumfries House, traces of
Boreland Castle on the S side of the parish, vestiges of
a small pre-Reformation chapel on the farm of Chapel-
house, and graves or memorials of several martyrs of the
Solemn League and Covenant. Hugh Logan, ' the
Laird of Logan ' and celebrated wit of Ayrshire, resided
on Logan estate ; and James Taylor, the associate of
Miller of Dalswinton in the invention of steam -navigation,
superintended the mines on that of Dumfries House
about the close of the 18th century. Mansions, all
separately noticed, are Dumfries House, Garrallan, Glais-
nock, and Logan ; and 6 proprietors hold each an annual
value of £500 and upwards, 7 of between £100 and £500,
21 of from £50 to £100, and 28 of from £20 to £50.
Old Cumnock is in the presbytery of Ayr and synod of
Glasgow and Ayr ; the living is worth £315, or £365
with voluntary supplement from heritors. Garrallan
public, Old Cumnock public, and Old Cumnock Roman
Catholic school, with respective accommodation for 1 00,
600, and 216 children, had (1880) an average attendance
of 93, 574, and 140 children, and grants of £75, 3s.,
£471, 9s., and £128, 3s. 6d. Valuation (1860) £14,424,
(1882) £27,225, 12s. 9d., including £4S99 for railways.
Pop. (1801) 1991, (1831) 2763, (1861) 3721, (1S71) 4041,
(1881) 4860.— Ord. Sur., shs. 14, 15, 1863-64.
Cumrue, Loch. See Kirkmichael, Dumfriesshire.
Cumston. See Compstone.
Cunnigar, an artificial mound in Midcalder parish,
Edinburghshire, between Midcalder village and the
river Almond. On it witches are said to have been
burned in bygone days.
Cunninghame, a poor-law combination and a terri-
torial district in Ayrshire. The combination includes
only part of the district, yet extends southward into
Kyle, comprising the parishes of Ardrossan, Beith, Dairy,
Dreghorn, Dundonald, Dunlop, Galston, Irvine, Kil-
birnie, West Kilbride, Kilmarnock, Kilwinning, Loudon,
Stevenston, Stewarton, and Symington. The poorhouse
contains accommodation for 279 inmates. Pop. (1871)
102,015, (18S1) 106,014.— The territorial district is the
northern one of the three districts into which Ayrshire is
divided. It comprises the parishes of Ardrossan, Beith,
Dairy, Dreghorn, p>art of Dunlop, Fenwick, Irvine, Kil-
birnie, West Kilbride, Kilmarnock, Kilmaurs, Kilwin-
ning, Largs, Loudon, Stevenston, and Stewarton ; and
contains the towns and villages of Ardrossan, Saltcoats,
Beith, Dairy, Dunlop, Fenwick, Irvine, Kilbirnie, Glen-
garnock, West Kilbride, Kilmarnock, Kilmaurs, Cross-
house, Kilwinning, Largs, Fairlie, Newmilns, Darvel,
Stevenston, and Stewarton. It is bounded N and NE
by Renfrewshire, E by Lanarkshire, S by the river
Irvine, which separates it from Kyle, SW and W by
the Firth of Clyde. Its greatest length from NW to SE
is 29| miles, and its greatest breadth in the opposite
direction 12| miles. The surface is pleasantly diversi-
fied with hill and dale, and rises, in the NW, into con-
siderable heights, but cannot be said to have any
inountains. The chief streams, besides the Irvine, are