Lane Burn

Place-name:Lane Burn
Suggested Meaning:slow moving stream
1st elementS. lane ‘slow moving stream’
G lòn ‘stream’
2nd elementS. burn ‘stream’
Blaeu Coila (1654):Lein b.
OS Name Books (1855-57):Lane Burn
Location:Ordnance Survey (1894)
Earlier Forms
Lein b. (1654, Blaeu)

Lane Burn

Scots lane ‘slow moving stream’ + burn ‘stream’

There are 5 occurrences of the place-name element lane being applied to a water-course in the parish of New Cumnock. As well as Lane Burn there is also Auchtitench Lane, Beoch Lane, Fingland Lane and Back Lane. The Ordnance Survey Namebook (1855-57) entries for the latter two include the following quotation from John Jamieson ‘A brook, of which the motion is so slow as to be scarcely perceptible‘ .

The entry for lane in the Dictionary of the Scots Language reads [1]-

LANE, n. A slow-moving, meandering stream or its bed (Lnk., Gall., Dmf. 1825 Jam.; Ayr., sm.Sc. 1960).

Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd.

It should also be noted that Gaelic lòn can also mean a stream and indeed may well be the source of Scots ‘lane’. [2].

Map 1 : Leinhead, Lein B. (Blaeu 1654) | Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotlamd

Lanehead and Lane Burn appear as Leinhead and Lein B. in Blaeu Coila Provincia, clearly illustrating the relationship between the two names, i.e. Lanehead sits close to the source, or the head of the Lane Burn. [N.B. It may be the case the lein was pronounced lane cf. vein and vane].

The entry for Lane Burn in the Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) reads –

A small stream rising near Craighouse and running eastw [eastwards] is joined by Dalleagles Burn, north of Str [Straid] This stream bears the name Lane Burn to its junction with the River Nith.

The ‘ various modes of spelling’ of Lane Burn recorded are Lane Water and The Lane, the latter not suffering the tautology of the other two forms.

Lane Burn rises near Craighouse and flows west to pass Lanehead farm before tracking the base of the south-facing hillside and then flowing under Laneburn Bridge on the Dalleagles to Dalricket Road. It continues to flow due west, including a considerable linear (man-made) stretch before it heads north past Lanemark farm to meet the River Nith.

Map 2: Lane Burn from source to River Nith | Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Lane Burn Photographs (Robert Guthrie)

Throughout its course the Lane Burn forms part or whole of the boundary between the lands of Whitehill & Marshallmark, Whitehill & Dalleagles, Dalleagles & Farden, Lanemark & Farden and Lanemark & Rigfoot.

References
[1] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd|lane
[2] Michael Ansell| correspondence

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Maps
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
https://maps.nls.uk/
Images used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence.
Map 1: Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, (1654) Coila Provincia, [or], The province of Kyle / auct. Timoth. Pont|Lein b.
Map 2: Ordnance Survey One-inch to the mile maps of Scotland, 2nd Edition (Hills), 1885-1903 | Lane Burn
Ordnance Survey Name Books
By Permission of Scotland’s Places
scotlandsplaces.gov.uk
Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49|Lane Burn
Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49|Fingland Lane
Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49|Back Lane