| Place-name: | Grains Burn |
| Suggested Meaning: | ‘stream with forks, branches” |
| 1st element: | Scots grain ‘branch, fork of a stream’ |
| 2nd element: | Scots burn ‘stream’ |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | No Entry |
| OS Name Books (1855-57): | Grains Burn |
| Location: | Ordnance Survey (1894) |
Grains Burn
The Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) entry for Grains Burn reads –
A Small Stream having its source about 18 Chains SW [South West] of Horse Craigs and flowing into Afton Water about ¼ of a mile north of Castle William
Grains Burn
Scots grain ‘branch of a stream’ Scots burn ‘stream’
The 1st element of the name is Scots grain ‘branch or fork of a stream or river’ [1]. The second element is the common place-name element Scots burn ‘stream ‘ [2].
The Grains Burn is joined by a smaller unnamed burn near its source before it joins the Sandy Syke further downstream – both meetings could be described as forks in the burn which perhaps leads to the plural form grains.
Today the meeting of the Grains Burn with the Sandy Syke is hidden in the forest to the south of the Glen Afton Filter Station.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| References |
| [1] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. |grain |
| [2] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. |burn |
| 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) | Grains Burn |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books |
| By Permission of Scotland’s Places |
| scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Grains Burn |
NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY 