McLure’s Mill

Place-name:	McLure’s Mill
Suggested Meaning:	McLure’s Mill
1st element:	Personal Name: McLure
2nd element:	mill
Blaeu Coila (1654):	No Entry
OS Name Books (1855-57):	McLure’s Mill
Location:	Ordnance Survey (1894)

The Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) entry for McLure’s Mill reads –

McLure’s Mill [natural]: A small cascade on the Afton near Castle William.

It is apparent from this entry in 1855 that the mill no longer exsisted at that time and the name McLure Mill was now being applied to a small waterfall on the Afton.

Map 1 McLure’s Mill : Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Some 80 years later during the construction of the Afton Water Works the waterfall disappeared from view as well, its location lying directly under the dam built to create the reservoir.

Map 1 : McLure’s Mill (aerial) | Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

1st element: Personal Name | McLure

George F. Black “The Surnames of Scotland” [1] entry for the surname McLure reads –

MACCLURE, MACLURE, MACLOOR, MACLEUR: A common name in Galloway of old as it is today.
G.F. Black

Black also identifies a number of men of the name McLur and McLure in Carrick in the 16th century.

The surname is found in the New Cumnock in the Old Parish records of the baptisms of five children of John McClure and Euphans Barrie over the period of 1740-1746, albeit the family lived at March, which could be one ofa number of farms that carry that element in their name.

2nd element: mill ‘carding mill’

McLure Mill was situated between Craigdarroch farm and Monthraw cottage. This was sheep country and it is likely the mill was for carding wool rather than milling meal or corn. Carding was a mechanical process for disentangling and cleaning the fibres to then align them in preparation for spinning. The waterfall on the Afton Water apparently would provide a strong enough current to drive the machinery.