| Place-name: | Fardenreoch |
| Suggested Meaning: | brindled farthing-land |
| 1st element: | G. fairdean, fairdin ‘farthing’ |
| 2nd element: | G. riabhach ‘brindled, |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | Fairdingrioch |
| OS Name Books (1855-57): | Fardingreoch |
| Location: | Ordnance Survey (1893-1960) |
| Earlier forms |
| Fairdingrioch (Blaeu 1654), Fairdeinreoch (1694, wills), Fardinreoch (1734, wills), Fardenreoch (Farm Horse Tax Roll 1797), Fardingreoch (1855) |
The early form Fairdingrioch appears in Blaeu Coila Provincia (1654) while in the Farm Horse Tax Rolls (1797/98) the name appears as Fardenreoch.
The Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) entry for the property is under that of Fardingreoch, the form Fardenreoch is also recorded. The entry also quotes from John Jamieson’s ‘Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language’ – “Farding – a farthing“.
Fardenreoch is indeed a ‘farthing‘ name which is a reference to the farthing-land, a unit of land measure. It is one of three ‘farthing-lands’ names in the parish of New Cumnock, with the nearby Blackfarding and Farding, being the other two.
However the origin of the first element is likely to be Gaelic fairdin ‘farthing’, rather than Scots farding, since the second element of the name is Gaelic riabhach ‘brindled, speckled’ which is a reference perhaps to the nature of the land. There is also a Fardenreoch, in the parish of Colmonnel, Ayrshire.
Fardenreoch stood in ruins for a number of years before the buildings were knocked down as part of the Greenburn Opencast operations and only the south section of the Fardenreoch Plantation remain. A desk-based survey of the farmstead was carried out and recorded in ‘Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (2003)’ [3] and registered in CANMORE.
Fardenreoch farmhouse is presumed to date to the 18th century. The building developed from a single-storey dwelling to a more substantial two-storey building, and buildings were added to form a typical home farm of early 19th-century date, with buildings arranged around a central courtyard. No deposits of archaeological significance survived below the present farm.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| References |
| [1] Malcolm MacLennan, Gaelic Dictionary | fairdin; riabhach |
| [2] Cressey, Johnson and Kirby, M, M and M. (2003) ‘Greenburn Opencast Mine, New Cumnock (New Cumnock parish), desk-based assessment; standing building recording; evaluation’, Discovery Excav Scot, vol. 4, 2003. Page(s): 53-4 |
| [2] CANMORE National Record of the Historic Environment |Fardenreoch |
| Maps |
| Reproduced with the Permission of the National Library of Scotland |
| https://maps.nls.uk/ |
| Map 1 | Blaeu Coila Provincia (1645) | Fairdingrioch |
| Map 2 | Ordnance Survey (1885-1903) |Fardingrioch |
| Map 3 | Ordnance Survey (1893-1860) | Fardenreoch |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books & Farm Horse Tax Rolls |
| By Permission of Scotland’s Places |
| scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Fardingreoch |
| Farm Horse Tax Rolls (1797-98) | Fardenreoch |
| Scotland’s People |
| https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk |
| Old Parish Records, Births, Marriages, Deaths, Census Records, Valuations Rolls, Wills & Testaments |
NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY 