| Place-name: | Ewe Hill |
| Suggested Meaning: | hill where sheep grazed |
| SSE ewe ‘ewe, female sheep’ + SSE hill ‘hill’ | |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | N/A |
| OS Name Books (1855-57): | 1. Ewe Hill 2. Ewe Hill |
| Location: | 1. Ordnance Survey (1895) 2. Ordnance Survey (1894) |
| Early Forms |
| N/A |
Ewe Hill
SSE ewe ‘female sheep’ + SSE hill ‘hill’
The are two Ewe Hills in the parish of New Cumnock some 5 miles apart. One in the north west near Marchburn (later named Craigman) and the other in the south of the parish near Carcow (later named Monqhuill). Both hills presumably suitable for grazing ewes.
Surprisingly these are two of only the three entries for ‘ewe‘ place-names in the Ordnance Survey Name Books for Ayrshire, the other being in the parish of Coylton. In stark contrast there are 14 parishes in both Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire that have at least one ‘ewe‘ name – albeit some parishes may share the same name.
Ewe Hill (Marchburn*)
This entry in the Ordnance Survey Name Books (1855-1857) for this Ewe hill leaves little to the imagination.
A small knowe lying north of Marchburn
*Marchburn was later renamed Craigman, and appears as such in the OS 1896 2nd Edition
Ewe Hill lies to the west of Shiel Hill and takes its name from Scots shiel ‘a rough shelter for sheep or cattle and their herds‘ [1], suggesting in this location it was a shelter for sheep rather than cattle. Furthermore, to the south-west of Ewe Hill there is also a sheepfold at the foot of Stony Hill.
Ewe Hill (Carcow)
The entry in the Ayrshire Ordnance Survey Names Book (1855-57) for this Ewe Hill reads –
An eminence on an elevated ridge of pasture land
The elevated ridge lies between Carcow Burn to the east and Connel Burn to the west. Several sheepfolds are to be found on the ridge while to the north east of Ewe Hill stands Lamb Hill clearly indicating that this is sheep country.
As discussed above there are numerous occurrences of Ewe Hill in the Ordnance Survey Namebooks for Kirkcudbrightshire. One Ewe Hill in particular in the parish of Dalry, also has a lamb name as a neighbour, in this case Lamb Rig on the lower slopes of Wether Hill, which in turn is named from Scot wedder, wether ‘male sheep, castrated’ [2].
The Place-Names of the Galloway Glens considers this ‘triad of names‘- Ewe, Wether, Lamb and offers the following alternative suggestion other than a grazing organisation [3] –
One might think that this meant ‘hill where ewes are put to graze’. But this is the name of the southern summit of a hill whose northern summit is called Wether Hill, and whose north-western ridge is called Lamb Rig. This triad of names on one hill is surely not meant to signify grazing organisation – how would the ewes, wethers and lambs be kept apart? It may be that the three eminences of the hill were themselves seen as a ewe, a wether and a lamb.
Place-Names of the Galloway Glens | Ewe Hill , Dalry
Perhaps one alternative is that hill-names reflect the farming calendar and when to expect what and where on the grazing lands? [4].
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| References |
| [1] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. |shiel |
| [2] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. |wedder |
| [3] Place-names of Kirkcudbrightshire. 2024. Glasgow: University of Glasgow.| Ewe Hill, Dalry |
| [4] Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust| Scottish Demonstration Farm |
| Maps |
| Reproduced with the Permission of National Library of Scotland |
| https://maps.nls.uk/ |
| Map 1: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1857)| 1. Ewe Hill |
| Map 2: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1857) | 2. Ewe Hill |
| Map 3: Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, 1937-1961 (1958) |2. Ewe Hill |
| Map 4: Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, 1937-1961 (1958) |Ewe Hill, Dalry |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books |
| By Permission of Scotland’s Places |
| scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| 1. Ewe Hill |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| 2. Ewe Hill |