| Place-name: | Glenhastel |
| Suggested Meaning: | Gleann a’ Chaisteil ‘valley of the castle’ |
| element | Gaelic gleann ‘glen’ |
| element | Gaelic chaisteil ‘castle’ |
| Place-name: | Glenhastel Burn |
| Place-Name: Glenhastel + Scots burn ‘stream’ | |
| Place-name: | Glenhastel Craigs |
| Place-Name: Glenhastel + Scots craigs ‘crags, rocks’ | |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | No Entry |
| OS Name Books (1855-57): | Glenhastel, Glenhastel Burn, Glenhastel Craigs |
| Location: | Ordnance Survey (1894) |
Glenhastel Burn rises in Glenhastel Craigs and flows through Glenhastel on its way to meeting the Carcow Burn just north of Carcow farm (now known as Monquhill).
Map 1: Glenhastel | Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Glenhastel
Gaelic gleann a’ chaisteil ‘valley of the castle’
The Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) entry for Glenhastel reads –
A hollow through which a stream of the same name flows.
In discussions with Michael Ansell he identified Glenhastel as Gaelic Gleann a’ Chaisteil ‘valley of the castle’ [1,2] and noted the proximity with Carcow which might contain Cumbric caer ‘fort’. He also explained that on occasion the term caisteal was used figuratively so if there’s a hill or rocky top that looks somehow castellated that might explain it [3].
There is no record of a castle or fortification in this vicinity other than a reference to Covecastlehill near Carco [4] which possibly is a misreading of Covecasehill shown on John Thomson’s Atlas of Scotland (1828). The second element –casehill could possibly be an anglicisation of Gaelic chaistell . However, the name Covecasehill does not appear in earlier or later maps other than a later imprint of Thomson’s map and is not known locally.
Glenhastel Burn
Place-Name: Glenhastel + Scots burn ‘stream’ [5]
A Stream rising at Glenhastel Craig and flowing in a NW. [North West] direction, unites with Carcow Burn, north of Blood Moss
The banks of both sides of Glenhastel Burn are currently covered in forest. From the map below Carcow Burn looks appears to be a tributary of Glenhastel Burn, however the opposite is true and the burn retains the nme Carcow Burn until it meets with Afton Water.
Glenhastel Craigs
Place-Name: Glenhastel + Scots craigs ‘rocks, crags’
Precipitous rocks, situated at the source of Glenhastel Burn
Glenhastel Craigs can still be seen in a clearing in the vast forest [See Map 4 below]. Perhaps as discussed above the appearance of the Scots craigs ‘rocks, crags’ [6] resemble a castellated fortication and are the source of the name chaisteil.
N.B. Two miles to the east of Glenhastel Craigs in the upper reaches of Glen Afton is a rock named Castle William, albeit it is not castellated in form.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| References |
| [1] Edward Dwelly, Ilustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary | gleann |
| [2] Edward Dwelly, Ilustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary | caisteal, -eil, chaisteal |
| [3] Michael Ansell, correspondence |
| [4] George Sanderson, ‘New Cumnock Far and Away’ p. 39 |
| [5] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd |burn |
| [6] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd |craig |
| 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) |Glenhastel |
| Map 2: John Thomson’s Atlas of Scotland. Northern Part of Ayrshire. Southern Part(1828)| Covecasehill |
| Map 3: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1894) | Glenhastel Craigs |
| Map 4 : Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1894) | Glenhastel Craigs, (background world image) |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books |
| By Permission of Scotland’s Places |
| scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Glenhastel |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Glenhastel Burn |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Glenhastel Craigs |
NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY 