Hillend, Hillend Knowe

Place-name:Hillend
Suggested Meaning:place at the end of the hill
element:SSE hill ‘hill’
element:SSE end ‘an end’
Place-name:Hillend Knowe
Place-Name: Hillend +
Scots knowe ‘a small rounded hill, hillock, mound’
Blaeu Coila (1654):N/A
OS Name Books (1855-57):Hillend , Hillend Knowe
Location:Ordnance Survey (1857)
Other Early Names
Hillend of Corsencon (1730)

Hillend

SSE hill ‘hill’ + SSE end ‘end’

The entry in the Ayrshire Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) for Hillend reads-

A small farm house now included in Merkland farm, the property of the Marquis of Bute

Map 1: Hillend & Hillend Knowe (OS 1857) | Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

At first glance it would be reasonable to assume that Hillend was named to reflect its location at the end of the neighbouring ‘small hill’ named Hillend Knowe. However, the early form ‘Hillend of Corsencon’ (1730), found in the baptisms records below, clearly suggests that Hillend takes its name from being at the end of grander Corsencon Hill.

Baptism Records (Scotland’s People)

  • 1730 26th April, George son to Thomas McMichael and Euphans Gemmel in Hillend of Corsencon. 
  • 1739 7th March, William son to David Smith and Mary Gemmell in Hillend. 
  • 1744 13th May, William son to Thomas McMichael and Euphan Gemmell, in Hillend.
  • 1746 9th May, Andrew son to Andrew Hair and Jean Speir, in Hillend.

The name was later shortened to Hillend.

Map 2: Hillend (Armstrong 1775) | Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Returning to the OS Name Book Survey (1855-57) entry for Hillend, the ‘Authorities for spelling ‘ of the name were Robert Steel, Merkland and his son James Steel, Hillend.

Robert Steel had previously farmed at Know(e)head, just to the east of Corsincon (see Map 2) above) in the parish of Kirkconnel. He married Flora Vass, daughter of Andrew Vass, farmer at Merkland and Grizel Stoddhart. Robert & Flora and their family later settled at Hillend and were living there at the time of the 1841 Census, while ten years later they were resident at Merkland.

Eldest son James (according to the OS Name Book) was at Hillend (1855-57). He married Margaret McMichael of Westland (on the opposite bank of the River Nith) and together with their family settled at nearby farm of Glen (see Map 1). By the 1871 Census, James and his family had moved to Merkland where his elderly and widowed father Robert still lived.

Map 3: Hillend, Hillend Knowe & Merkland (OS 1857)| Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

At the time of the 1851 Census, James Chapman, blacksmith and his wife Jane Dalziel were resident at Hillend while ten years later widow Jane, seamstress, is living there with one of her daughters and two grandaughters.

In the 1871 Census Hillend is recorded as uninhabitable, indeed the Ordnance Survey Six-inch 1st Edition (1857) map shows part of Hillend in ruin.

Map 4: Hillend & Hillend Knowe (OS 1857) | Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Hillend Knowe

Place-Name: Hillhead + Scots knowe ‘small hill’

The entry in the Ayrshire Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) for Hillend Knowe reads-

A high knowe, about 8 chains E [East] of Hillend farm house . This knowe is called “White Knowe” on the estate map, but is known by that name only to a very few old persons, and even these have discontinued it use. “Hillend Knowe” is the name by which it is commonly known

Map 5: Hillend Knowe (OS 1957) | Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Scots knowe ‘a small rounded hill, hillock, mound’ [1] is a common place-name element in the parish of New Cumnock. It appears that Hillend Knowe was previously known as White Knowe ‘only to a very few old persons‘. Say these old persons were in their 80s at the time of the recording in the Ordnance Survey Name Books (1855-57) then the knowe would have been known as White Knowe in the 1770s and beforehand. Through time the name White was dropped in favour of Hillend, i.e. the knowe was no longer named with respect to its appearance but rather instead with respect to its proximity to Hillend farm.

A case can be made that suggests the name White Knowe alsoreplaced an even earlier name. The small Balscarroch Burn rises midway down Corsencon Hill and flows down the east side of the knowe as it makes its way to the River Nith. The name Barscalloch appears to comprise the Gaelic elements barr ‘hill‘ and sgarrach ‘bald’, from which the burn took its name [2].

The name White Knowe could possibly have suggested a white, bare (or bald) knowe. However, today Hillend Knowe is far from being a bald hill and is now covered with a thick toupee of forestry on top and decidous woodland on its lower slopes [2].

A wooded Hillend Knowe and the River Nith (Robert Guthrie 2023)

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

References
[1] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. |knowe
[2] New Cumnock Place-Names | Barscalloch Burn
Maps
Reproduced with the Permission of National Library of Scotland
https://maps.nls.uk/
Images used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence.
Map 1: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1857)|Hillend, Hillend Knowe
Map 2: Andrew Armstrong, A new map of Ayrshire (1775)| Hillend
Map 3: Ordnance Survey Maps – 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882 (1856) | Hillend, Hillend Knowe, Merkland
Map 4: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1857| Hillend (ruin)
Map 5: Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain – 1945-1971 (1957)| Hillend Knowe
Ordnance Survey Name Books
By Permission of Scotland’s Places
scotlandsplaces.gov.uk
Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Hillend
Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49 |Hillend Knowe