| Place-name: | Garnel Craig |
| Suggested Meaning : | heap of meal in meal-bin shaped rock |
| Scots garnel ‘meal-bin’ Scots craig ‘rock’ | |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | N/A |
| OS Name Books (1855-57): | Garnel Craig |
| Location: | OS Six-inch Scotland (Surveyed 1894) |
Garnel Craig
The Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) entry for Garnel Craig reads –
A perpendicular rock on the north east side of Craigbraneoch hill
The authorities for spelling are John Welch, senior and John Welch, junior both tenants at Craigdarroch farm; James Henderson, tenant at Craig and Mr. Craig proprietor of the these lands and farmer at Polquheys.
Garnel Craig is one of three named rocks on the face of Craigbraneoch Hill, the other two being Corbie Craig and Stayamrie. There is little doubt that Corbie Craig is Scots corbie ‘raven, carrion crow’ and Scots craig ‘rock, crag’ [1,2]. The offering for Stayamrie is Scots stay, stey ‘steep’ and Scots amrie ,almery, aumbry ‘alms chest, big cupboard’, where the rock is considered to resemble the shape of a cupboard [3].
Scots garnel ‘meal-bin, large chest for holding meal’
The Dictionaries of Scots Languages entries Scots garnel reads 1. ‘a granary’ and 2. ‘a. meal-bin ‘fairly often heard in country districts, very rarely used by old people in town’ [4]. It is unlikely that a granary would be half-way up Craigbraneoch hill and therefore the preferred option is ‘meal-bin’ which ties in well with Stayamrie and ‘chest, big cupboard’.
The Dictionaries of Scots Language also offers the form Scots girnel ‘A large chest or barrel for holding meal’ and quotes from the works of Ayrshire novelist John Galt [5].
his girnels have been heaped and all his vessels filled to overflowing’
John Galt , Lawrie Todd, 3 Vols. (1830)
This conjures up an image of the meal in the girnel being heaped and conical in shape, similar perhaps that to that of Garnel Craig?
| References |
| [1] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | corbie |
| [2] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | crag,craig |
| [3] New Cumnock Place-Names | Stayamrie |
| [4] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | garnel |
| [5] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | girnel |
| Maps |
| Reproduced with the Permission of the National Library of Scotland |
| https://maps.nls.uk/ |
| Map 1 : Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1894) | Garnel Craig |
| Map 2: Ordnance Survey – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 | Garnel Craig |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books |
| By permission of Scotland’s Places |
| Scotland’s Places |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Garnel Craig |