Rig Hill, Rig, Rigend

Place-name:	Rig Hill
	S. rig ‘ridge’ + SSE hill ‘hill
Place-name:	Rig, Rigg
	S. rig,rigg ‘ridge’
Place-name:	Righill
	Place-Name: Rig +’ SSE hill ‘hill’
Place-name:	Forerig
	Scots fore ‘front’ + Place-name: Rig
Place-name:	Back-Rigg
	SSE back ‘back’ + Place-name: Rigg
Place-name:	Burnside of Rigg
	Scots burn ‘stream’ + SSE side ‘side’ + Place-name: Rigg
Place-name:	Rigend, Riggend
	S. rig ‘rig’ + SSE end ‘end’
Place-name:	High Rigend
	SSE high ‘high’ + Place-name: Rigend
Place-name:	Little Rigend
	SSE little ‘little’ + Place-Name: Rigend
Place-name:	Little Rigend Hill
	Place-Name: Little Rigend + SSE hill ‘hill’
Blaeu Coila (1654):	The ridge of Dru(m)kalladyr, Drumkalladyr, Rigend
OS Name Books (1855-57):	Rig Hill, Righill, Forerig, High Rigend, Little Rigend, Little Rigend Hill
Location:	Ordnance Survey (1894)

Earlier to Current Forms

Rig Hill (hill): The ridge of Drumkalladyr (Blaeu 1654), Rig Hill, Rigg Hill (OSNB 1855-57)

Rig: Drumcalder (1384/1427), Drumkalladyr (Blaeu 1654), Rig (OPR 1734-1742), Drumcallander-rig or Rigg (1766), Rigg (OPR 1765-1790), Rigg (Census 1841,1851)

Divisions of Rig/Rigg

Righill (OPR 1832, 1851 onwards), Righill, Rigghill (OSNB 1855-57); Forerig: Fore-Rigg (1851), Forerig, Forerigg, (OSNB 1855-57); Back-Rigg: Back-Rigg (1851), Back-Rigg (VR 1855); Burnside of Rigg: Burnside of Rigg (1854)

Rigend: Blaeu (1654), (OPR 1708-1834), Rigend (Census 1851)

Divisions of Rigend

Nether Riggend (1843), High Riggend (1853), Little Rigend (OPR 1831), Little Riggend (1853), High Rigend (VR 1855), Little Rigend (VR 1855), High Rigend, High Riggend (OSNB 1855057), Little Rigend, Little Riggend (OSNB 1855-57), Low Rigend (Census 1871,1901), Little Rigend Hill, Little Riggend Hill (OSBN 1855-57), Rigg-end Colliery (1844), Riggend Colliery (1859)

Abbreviations: Blaeu = Map of Coila Provincia (1654); OPR=Old Parish Records; OSNB=Ordnance Survey Name Books (1855-57); VR = Valuation Rolls.

Rig Hill, Rig, Rigend

Rig Hill and the associated derivative place-names given in the Ordnance Survey Name Books Ayrshire (1855-57) are shown in the OS Map below.

Rig Hill

Scots rig, rigg ‘ridge’ and SSE hill ‘hill’

The Ayrshire Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) for Rig Hill reads –

A rocky hill on the estate of Sir J Cathcart – which gives name to the Farm of Rigghill.

Rig, Rigg – A ridge – Jamieson. [written under Fore Rigg]

The entry included a quotation from Jamieson’s ‘Dictionary of the Scottish Language’ namely Scots rig, rigg ‘ridge’ [1]. The appropriate entry in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language reads [2] –

RIG, n.¹, v.¹ Also rigg, ryg, rige 3. A ridge of high ground, a long narrow hill, a hill-crest.

The ‘Authorities for Spelling’ of the name included Kennedy Brown, factor of Sir John Cathcart, baronet, owner of the Waterhead estate in the parish of New Cumnock, which included Rig Hill and the associated lands. The other two authorities were James Laurie of nearby Knockburnie and James Campbell, road surveyor (one the Campbell family of Dalhanna). Although all three authorities agreed on the form Rigg Hill, the OS Name Book entry was recorded as Rig Hill.

The map below better reflects the long narrow, shape of the hill as well as the footpath along the length of its crest.

The reference to ‘a rocky hill‘ in the OS Name Book, must refer to those rocky outcrops on the crest of the hill, however, clearly, they have not been significant enough to influence the naming the hill.

The ridge of Dru(m)kalladyr

Yet, rocks or stones, do have some relationship with a much earlier form of the name, i.e. ‘The ridge of Drumkalladyr’, which appears on Blaeu, Coila Provincia (1654). Those that pre-fixed place-name element ‘The ridge of-‘ to the older name Drumkalladyr were clearly unaware that the first element of this name included ridge in the form Welsh drum ‘ridge’. The second element is Brittonic caleto-dubron ‘hard water’ – a reference to the rocky or stoney bed of what is now known as the River Nith [3]. The place-name The ridge of Drumkalladyr ‘ridge of the ridge of hard water’ is then transformed to Rig Hill ‘a long narrow hill, hill’!

Also shown in the map is the property Rigend, located at the end of The Ridge of Drumkalladyr.

Rig Hill Bronze Age Cairn

In the summer of 1937, Alexander G. McLeod and a number of his associates excavated two bronze age burial sites in the parish of New Cumnock. The first was discovered close to the side of the New Cumnock-Dalmellington road, across from the Beoch road-end, and has since been referred to as the Beoch Cairn. The second was found on Rig Hill, near to Nith Lodge farm, and has since been referred to as the Nith Lodge Cairn [4] as well as Rig Hill Cairn [5].

N.B. All the relics discovered during the excavation were presented to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and are now in the care of the Trustees of the of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS).

McLeod described the location of the Bronze Age Cairn and explained it was the on land of the Nith Lodge sheep farm, which previously served as a hunting lodge on Cathcart’s Waterhead Estate.

These stones were situated near the summit of the long ridge of Rig Hill on the other side of the road 1 mile to the north-east, on Waterhead estate, on ground belonging to Nith Lodge sheep-farm. Mr John Smith, the tenant of the farm, had observed these upright stones and willingly acceded to our request for permission to excavate the site. Permission was also obtained from the proprietor of the estate the late Mr Cathcart Christie, through the factor, Mr John Graham, solicitor, Cumnock, who took a keen interest in our work throughout.

Accordingly, the party proceeded along an old footpath which had once been a cart track, up Rig Hill – a wedge of high ground separating the valley of the Beoch Lane from the upper valley of the Nith – and inspected the site at an altitude of 1097 feet, half a mile north-west of the Nith Lodge. From this point of vantage a noble prospect is commanded on a clear day.

A.G. McLeod, (1938) ‘Excavation of two Bronze Age burial sites in Ayrshire’, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol. 72, 1937-8. Page(s): 241-7

McLeod also noted the outcrops of granite supporting the reference to ‘the rocky hill’ in the OS Name Book. Of course the prize was the burial cairn and the findings that were unearthed.

Rig Hill is composed of an intrusive mass of granite which crops out frequently above ground in lines of weathered jointed blocks, resembling heavy dry masonry. An outcrop of granite rises to the surface at the north-western kerb of the irregular ellipse formed by the standing stones, and another, larger outcrop rises above the surface only 6 feet distant from south-eastern kerb. Between the kerb and this outcrop there is a distinct cart track. Another cart track passes west of the enclosure along the crest of the ridge, and can be followed down to the road and in the opposite direction over the summit to the roofless ruin of the farmhouse. The deep ruts of the track alongside the standing stones were probably made by a cart heavily laden with boulders

A schematic of the cairn and the relics discovered ( a. Incense Cup-Urn b. Incense Cup-Urn c. Cinerary Urn d. Battle-axe) are shown below [4]. See also the CANMORE entry for Rig Hill [5]

Lands of Rig/Rigg

Scots rig, rigg ‘ridge’

Just as the place-name Rig Hill evolved from ‘The ridge of Drumkalladyr‘ then so too did the place-name Rigg, Rig from Drumcalder / Drumkalladyr.

Drumcalder /Drumkalladyr

In 1384 Lord Alan Cathcart entered into a written agreement with Roger Craufurd of Dalelglis in which he renounced his own 10 merk lands in his barony of Dalmellington in return for £46 13s 4d, with the intention of paying back the money within an agreed period of time and recovering his lands. Included in these lands were Drumcalder (1384/1427) [6] –

 Register of the Great Seal, vol. II, #90
At Edinburgh, 31 May (1427). THE KING confirmed a certain indenture,- [in which Lord Alan of Kethkert knight, lord of the same, pledged and offered the title of pledge (?) and renounced to ROGER of CRAUFURDE lord of Daleglis,-his own 10 merk lands in his barony of Dalmelyntoun, in the sheriffdom of Air, viz. the farthing land of Benbane, the obulatam (?) land of Drumcalder, the farthing land of Lathanis, the farthing land of Molynnach, the farthing land of Dalwar, the farthing land of Rewach, the obulatam land of Knocbyrny, the farthing land of Marchaleholme,- for £46 13s. 4d. sterling; which the said Roger paid to the said Alan as necessary:

As discussed above the name appears in the form Drumkalladyr in Blaeu (1654) and is considered to comprise the elements Welsh drum ‘ridge’ and Brittonic caleto-dubron ‘hard water’.

In 1842, a dispute between the Rev. Matthew Kirkland, minister of the parish of New Cumnock and Sir J. A. Cathcart, a heritor (landowner) in the parish made references to a land title of 1763 regarding the ‘two merk lands of Drumcallander-rig or Rigg, and Loanhead‘ [7]. This may be one of the latest references to the place-name Drumcallander as the shortened version of Rigg, Rig became established. Before that however, there is a much earlier reference to Rig, found in the Will & Testament of ‘Robert Slowane, in Rig‘, dated 1st May 1551 with his demand ‘to be buried at St. Conval’s Cumnock’ while much later the will of Sarah Hutcheson in Rig, parish of New Cumnock is recorded on 8th June 1731 [Scotland’s People].

The form Rig first appears in the Old Parish Records of New Cumnock (1706-1855) as the place of birth of the children of John Mitchell & Elizabeth McIlwraith – Barbara (1734), James (1736), William (1740) and Sarah (1743) .

Later, however the form Rigg, as witnessed in the aforementioned land title of 1763, appeared around the same time in the Old Parish Records. In 1765, Robert, son of Hugh Howatson and Agnes Gemmill was born at Rigg and later on the children of Charles Mitchell and Euphame Lorimer – Jean (1788) and Ann (1790) were born there too. Less fortunate, were William and Thomas Hutchison, drovers at Rigg, near New Cumnock their names appearing in 1793 on the list of Sequestrations [8].

Rigg was also the address in the 1841 Census Record of widower James Murdoch and his family and then of his son Matthew and his family in the 1851 Census. In between times, in 1844, the Murdoch family were one of the three tenants of the three divisions of Rigg [9].

RIGG, containing 804 Acres, or thereby Imperial measure, of which about 170 are arable and Meadow, and the remainder Good Green Pasture. This Farm will be let either entire or in three divisions, as now occupied by Messrs. Williamson, Lennox, and Murdoch.

Ayr Observer, Tuesday, October 8, 1844

In 1851 several farms on the Waterhead Estate were ‘To be Let by Public Roup, at the CROWN INN, New Cumnock on THURSDAY the 17th day of April, next at One o’clock afternoon, for the period of Three Years from Whitsunday 1851‘ including the three divisions of lands of Rigg [10], namely –

• Rigghill & Flush* (534 acres)
• Fore-Rigg (116 acres)
• Back-Rigg (118 acres)

*Flush [11] sits a mile to the south-west along a footpath from Rig Hill .

Three years later several of the same farms were to be let for a period of fifteen years including the lands of Rigg which now comprised of a fourth division, namely Burnside (30 acres) [12]. These four divisions were recorded in the 1855-56 Valuation Rolls along with their tenants as follows-

1. Rigghill, Messrs. Maider
2. Fore Rigg, Messrs. Murdoch
3. Back Rigg, John Maider
4. Burnside of Rigg, James Davidson

1. Righill / Rigghill

Place-Name: Rig, Rigg and SSE hill ‘hill’

As discussed above, the OS Name Book entry for Rig Hill noted that ‘the hill gives name to the Farm of Rigghill‘. However, it is clear that the lands and associated farm were previously known as Rig / Rigg and the element hill has now been appended to identify it as one of the divisions of the lands of Rig/Rigg. In this case the division Righill is situated on the top of hill, likely to be the location of the farm once known as Rig/Rigg.

The earliest record of the name Rigghill, uncovered thus far, is found in the Register of Births/Baptisms for the parish of New Cumnock (1706-1855)

• 1832 Mary daughter to Thomas Kerr and Jane Osburn in Righill
• 1834 William son to Thomas Kerr and Jean Osburn in Righill

The Ayrshire Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) entry for Righill reads –

A farm house occupied by William Richards, the property of Sir John Cathcart.

Here the ‘Authorities for Spelling’ all agreed on the form Rigghill, but again the OS Name Book opted for the single ‘g‘ and recorded it as Righill.

In the above letting notice of 1851, Rigghill was described as follows [10] –

RIGGHILL and FLUSH , comprising about 534 Acres chiefly fine Moor Pasture for Sheep or Cattle – the other parts being good Arable and Meadow land.

As previously noted, the Murdoch family was in Rigg at the time of the 1841 and 1851 Census, followed by Messrs. Maider (Valuation Roll) and then William Richards (OSNB).

In 1860, Robert Haddow married his housekeeper Mary Laidlaw at Righill, where their daughter Mary was born soon after. In the Valuation Rolls of 1865, Robert Haddow, farmer is recorded as tenant of Rigghill, Backside and Burnside and by 1871 the family was living at Fore-Rigg.

In between times, in the 1861 Census Robert McWhirter and his wife Janet Milligan are recorded as residents at Rigg*, where their sixth child, Robert was born that year. Meanwhille visitors, Jane Lees and Agnes McMillan are recorded as living at Righill (and at Rigg in the Ancestry UK?).

In the 1875 Valuation Rolls John, Andrew and William Lees were all tenants of ‘Rigg and High Riggend’ while in the 1881 Census Andrew Lees, joint farmer, is recorded as living at Rigg Farm.

*N.B. from the Census Records of 1861, 1881 it appears the name Rigg was still in use as an alternative to Righill

Unfortunately, the following year the Lees family were in trouble and their names appeared on the list of Scotch Bankrupts [13] –

SCOTCH BANKRUPTS (from the Edinburgh Gazette of Yesterday)

‘February 11 John Lees and Andrew Lees, currently residing in Dalmellington, and now or lately joint tenants and occupants of the farm of Rigg, in the parish of New Cumnock. Creditors to meet in the Star Hotel, Ayr, 22nd February, at one o’clock – Rob. M. Beveridge, solicitor, Ayr, agent‘.

Glasgow Evening Citizen, Wed 15th February, 1822

The names of Rigg and Rigghill, Back Rigg disappear from the Valuations Rolls of 1885 and going forward.

Today the ruins of Rigghill nestle at the edge of the forestry planatation that covers much of the crest of Rig Hill.

2. Forerig / Fore Rigg

Scots fore ‘front, front’ and Place-Name: Rigg

The Ordnance Survey Name Book Ayrshire (1855-57) entry for Forerig reads –

A Sublet farm house, Mr Richard is head tenant and Sir J. Cathcart proprietor

The three ‘Authorities for Spelling‘ were Kennedy Brown, factor; William Richard, tenant (also tenant of Righill) and Mr. James Laurie, Knockburnie and all agreed on the form Forerigg. The Valuation Roll entry of Fore Rigg was also considered, however once again the OS Name Book recorded the single ‘g‘ form, i.e., Forerig.

In the letting notice of 1851, Fore-Rigg was described as follows [10] –

FORE-RIGG a good Dairy Farm – extending to 116 Acres or thereby comprising Arable, Meadow and Pasture Land, partly drained.

*It is interesting to the note the presence of a ruin at Forerig in the OS Map 1854.

The place-name Forerig (and its variants Fore Rig, Fore Rigg and Fore-Rigg) along with its counterpart Back-Rigg (see below) were probably coined at the time Rigghill farm was simply known as Rig / Rigg and the pre-fixes reflects their position with respect to Rig / Rigg. Forerig is situated mid-way down the east facing slope of Rig Hill overlooking the River Nith and considered to be the fore or front-lying slope.

The place-name elements Scots fore ‘front, front-lying’ [14] and SSE back ‘back, back-lying’ are often paired together including the following examples from Ayrshire [Scotland’s Places].

• Ballantrae – Fore Step & Back Step
• Dailly – Fore Craigs & Back Craigs
• Kirkmichael – Fore Fell, Mid Fell & Back Fell.
• New Cumnock – Fore Rig & Back Rig

As noted above Messrs. Murdoch were recorded as tenants of ‘Fore Rigg’ in the Valuation Rolls (1855-56), i.e., prior to Mr. Richard (or Richards – see Righill). It would be 40 years before the name Forerig (or a derivative) reappeared on the Valuation Rolls. However, the 1871 Census records the Fore Rigg as the residence of the aforementioned Robert Haddow and his family. Although this was the only one of the ‘four’ divisions of Rigg lands to be recorded, Haddow is noted as ‘a farmer of 500 acres’, which is a fair chunk of the 800 acres of the lands of Rigg.

In later years the Valuations Rolls would show that Forerig was home to gamekeepers of the extensive Waterhead Estate including Andrew McLaren (1905) and James Robertson (1915) and then later to the McLarty family who worked on the lands as drainers, David McLarty (1930) and George McLarty (1935).

Although only a very small part of a wall of the building now remains the outline of the enclosure around the building along with the path from the river bank can still be seen.

The CANMORE entry for Forerig reads [15] –

A farmstead comprising one unroofed building, two roofed buildings, one of which is a long building, and two enclosures is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Ayrshire 1860, sheet xlvii). One unroofed building of two compartments and two enclosures, one of which is incomplete, are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1978

CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment |Forerig

3. Back-Rigg

SSE back ‘back, back-lying’ and Place-Name: Rigg

There is no entry for Back-Rigg in the Ordnance Survey Name Book Ayrshire (1855-57) and as such it is not named on the Ordnance Survey map. With Fore Rig to the fore of Righill farm it may be expected that Back Rigg was to the rear of the farm, on the west slope of Rig Hill perhaps.

In the letting notice of 1851, Back-Rigg was described as follows [10] –

BACK-RIGG – consisting of 118 Acres thereby, comprising Arable, Meadow and Pasture Land – partly drained -keeping Cows and Young Stock.

The lands of Back-Rigg (118 acres) were comparable of those of Forerig (116 acres) the landscape on the west-facing slope of Righill is similar to that on the east-facing slope. There is an unnamed farm building on lower west slope, on the east side of Beoch Lane, which forms the boundary between the lands of Rigg and those of the Two Beochs. This may be the site of the now lost Back-Rigg but Burnside of Rigg (below) is perhaps a stronger contender.

As noted above the 1855 Valuation Rolls records John Maider as the tenant of Back Rigg while the 1865 Valuation Rolls records Robert Haddow as tenant in Rigghill, Backside and Burnside, where Backside may be a typographical error mixing up with Burnside with Back Rigg. The name Back Rigg then disappears from the rolls.

4. Burnside of Rigg

Scots burn ‘stream’ and SSE side ‘side’ and Place-Name: Rigg

Two entries in the Register of Births/Baptisms for the parish of New Cumnock (1706-1855) read

• 1834 Deborah, daughter of William Dick and Deborah Wells in Burnside of Rigg
• 1835 Elizabeth, daughter to George Patrick and Elizabeth Walker in Burnside of Rigg

There is no entry for Burnside of Rigg in the Ordnance Survey Name Book Ayrshire (1855-57) and as such it does not appear on the OS map. As noted above the unnamed building may be the site of Back-Rigg, however since it is located on the side of a burn [16], i.e., on the banks of the Beoch Lane, then perhaps Burnside of Rigg is a stronger candidate (albeit Laneside of Rigg may have been expected).

As noted above James Davidson is recorded as the tenant in Burnside of Rigg in the 1855 Valuation Rolls while the 1865 Valuation Rolls records Robert Haddow as tenant in Rigghill, Backside and Burnside. The name Burnside of Rigg then disappears from the rolls.

Lands of Rigend/Riggend

Scots rig, rigg ‘ridge’ + SSE end ‘end’

The property of Rigend is shown on Blaeu Coila Provincia (see Map 4 above) and takes its name from its situation at the ‘end of the rig‘.

An early reference to a resident of Rigend is found in the will of John McCrae, Rigend in the parish of Cumnock who passed away on 17th May 1673. N.B. The parish of Cumnock was divided in the two new parishes of Old Cumnock and New Cumnock only for the Earl of Dumfries to have that decision annulled in 1667 before it reinstated in 1691.

The name Rigend appears in the following entries in the Register of Births/Baptisms for the parish of New Cumnock (1706-1855), including two probably from the above McCrae (McCrea) family.

• 1708 Agnes daughter of George McKnight & Janet McMillan Rigend
• 1719 Ann  daughter to Thomas McMillan and Christian McCrea in Rigend
• 1723 Alexander son to Thomas McMillan and Christian McCrea in Rigend
• 1724 Elizabeth daughter to William Baird and Margaret Howatson in Rigend
• 1727 James son to William Baird and Margaret Howatson in Rigend
• 1733 James son to George McErvil and Janet Brown in Rigend
• 1736 Nicholas daughter to George McErvail and Janet Brown in Rigend
• 1737 Margaret daughter to George McErvail and Janet Brown in Rigend
• 1747 Nicholas daughter to James Austin and Jean McErvail in Rigend
• 1797 Helen daughter to Hugh Mitchell and Jean Dunn in Rigend
• 1820 John, son to Matthew Maxwell and Mary Maxwell in Rigend
• 1834 Jean, daughter to Daniel Roxburgh and Famia Lennox in Rigend

The 1841 Census Records have Daniel Roxburgh & Euphemia Lennox and their six children along withMatthew Morrison & Mary Maxwell and their eight children living at Riggend.

Nether Riggend

Scots nether ‘nether’ + Place-Name: Riggend

Three years later, in 1844, several farms on the Waterhead Estate were let ‘for such a period as may be agreed on‘, including Nether Riggend [17] –

NETHER RIGGEND consisting of about 477 Acres Imperial of good Arable and Pasture Land which is to be let in two divisions , as now possessed by Messrs Morrison and Lennox*.

Entry to the Houses, Meadows and Pastures at Whitsunday 1845,

Ayr Advertiser or West Country Journal, Thursday, October 3, 1844

*Lennox is presumably a relative of Euphemia Lennox, wife of Daniel Roxburgh

The place-name element Scots nether ‘lower-lying of two places of the same name’ [18] is fairly common in the parish and is typically paired with Scots over ‘upper-lying of two places of the same name’ [19]. Although in this case there is no reference to an Over Riggend there is a reference to the lands being ‘let in two divisions‘.

The 1851 Census Records have Alexander Vallance, farm labourer along with his wife Elizabeth and six children living at Riggend while Elizabeth Miller, 61, farmer of 150 acres and servants James Lamond, 61 and Ann Degnan, 18 were living at Nether Riggend.

This suggests that the two divisions of Nether Riggend were known as Nether Riggend (150 acres) and Riggend (presumably 477-150 = 327 acres).

Another example of Riggend being considered as one of the sub-divisions of Nether Riggend is found in the following court case of 1848 concerning Gavin and Antony McLymont whom had taken up the tenancy of Riggend at Whitsunday 1845 [20], in accordance with the the terms of the letting notice above.

COURT OF SESSION First Division – January 29, 1848. G. & A. McClymont vs. Cathcart

The Pursuers, M’Clymonts, were tenants of Sir John Cathcart, in the farm of Riggend, parish of New Cumnock, in Ayrshire, the rental of which was about £105 a-year. They had entered into possession of the houses, &c. at Whitsunday, 1845 and of the arable land at Martinmas succeeding ; the first half-yearly payment of rent was to take place at Martinmas 1845. The first two half-yearly payments were made, but they failed to pay the rent due at Martinmas 1846. The landlord, on 16th Nov., 1846, applied by petition to the Sheriff for a sequestration of the crop and stocking which had been awarded and the present was an application to the Court to the reverse the application. The ground relied by the suspender, was, that this being an arable farm, the rent was, in fact, a fore-hand rent, and that the rent for crop 1846, having been paid in 1845, the landlord had no right to sequestrate that crop for the rent due at Martinmas 1846, which was in fact rent due for the crop to be reaped in 1847. The landlord answered that this was not an arable but a grass farm, and that his sequestration was at all events available, in so far as it affected the stock, which was by far the most valuable portion of the property under the sequestration.

The parties being thus at issue as to the fact, whether this was an arable or a grass farm, the Court, at the suggestion of the Lord President, remitted the case to the Marquis of Bute’s factor, to inspect the farm and to report upon this point.

For pursuer, Mr. Moncrieff – For defender, Mr. Cowan and Mr. J. P. Wilson

British Daily Mail, Tuesday, February 1, 1848

Unfortunately, the findings of the inspection carried out by the ‘neutral’ factor of the Marquis of Bute cannot been traced. Although, Cathcart’s view that Riggend ‘was not an arable but a grass farm‘ seem to be at odds with the letting notice above, which describes Nether Riggend (presumably both divisions. i.e. including Riggend) as ‘good Arable and Pasture Land‘.

Antony McClymont is known to have fallen on hard times. In the 1851 Census he is recorded as a visitor at George Campbell’s neighbouring farm of Lanehead on Cathcart’s Waterhead Estate. By November of that year his name appears in the list of Scottish Sequestrations [21]-

Gazette – Nov, 11, 1851

McCLYMONT Antony, late of Riggend, co. Ayr, farmer, cattle and sheep dealer, now of New Cumnock, writer, a prisoner for debt in the Prison of Wigtown; 17th Nov. 12th. Dec. two Crown inn, New Cumnock. Claims by May 7.

Perry’s Bankrupt and Insolvent Gazette, Saturday, 15th November 1851

Meanwhile his 85 year-old father, Gavin and 75 year-old mother, Marion along with other members of the family had moved to Street Cottage, near Corsencon, on the east side of the parish. Both father and son later settled in Old Cumnock, where Antony worked as a solicitor (writer) until his death in 1867.

High Riggend and Little Riggend

However, in 1853 several farms on the Waterhead Estate were once again let and the aforementioned two divisons of Nether Riggend were known as High Riggend (283 acres) and Little Riggend (192 acres) [22]-

HIGH RIGGEND comprising Moor Pasture, Meadows, and Arable Land, partly drained, extending to about 283 acres , whereon are kept sheep and Dairy Stock.

LITTLE RIGGEND containing about 192 acres, consisting of good Arable, Pasture and Meadow Land. A considerable extent of Arable land has been tile drained, and produces excellent white and green crops.

The properties will be let together or separately as may be arranged.

The Scottish Press , Friday ,November 4, 1853

High Rigend

SSE high ‘higher upstream’ + Place-Name: Rigend

The Ordnance Survey Name Book Ayrshire (1855-57) entry for High Rigend reads –

A house occupied by William Richard the property of Sir J. Cathcart

Willliam Richard, also tenant of Righill and Forerig (above), along with the two other ‘Authorities for Spelling’ gave the form High Riggend, but again the single ‘g’ form was preferred, i.e. High Rigend, by the Ordnance Survey.

The place-name element high appears to be in stark contrast to the element nether ‘low-lying’. However, this new division of High Rigend may be named in respect to its location in regard to the River Nith, in that it is further or higher upstream. The argument may have been stronger if the other division was called Low Rigend (i.e. lower downstream) rather than Little Rigend (albeit the form Low Rigend is discussed below – See Little Rigend).

The ruins of High Rigend can still be found close to where the Polmath Burn meets the River Nith sheltered by and an embankment to the south that runs the length of the ruin. Nearby stands a rowan tree no doubt planted by a family that once lived here, to chase the witches away.

Little Rigend

Scots little ‘smaller than place sharing same name’ + Place-Name: Rigend

The Ordnance Survey Name Book Ayrshire (1855-57) entry for Little Rigend reads –

A Sublet farm house occup [occupied] by Alexander Lennox. The property [of] Sir John Cathcart

Here again the ‘Authorities for Spelling’ supported the form Little Riggend but again the single ‘g’ form was preferred, i.e. Little Rigend, by the Ordnance Survey.

The place name element little ‘smaller than the place sharing the same name’ and the Dictionary of the Scots Language entry reads [23] –

Common in farm-names, freq. of the lesser of two farms made up of unequal portions of an older settlement in the general agricultural reconstruction of the 18th and 19th

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

It is found elsewhere in the parish in Little Creoch, Little Garclaugh and the now lost Little Dalhanna – many of these are better known locally as ‘Wee’ rather than ‘Little’.

It should be noted that in both the 1871 and 1901 Census the name is recorded as Low Riggend, which, as discussed above, appears to be a more appropriate term to differentiate it from the neighbouring property of High Riggend/Rigend.

There is an earlier reference to Little Rigend found in the Old Parish Records of Births –

• 1831 13th Nov , David born the 16th Sept, Lawful Son to Daniel Roxburgh and Famia Lennox in Little Rigend

This is the same family that had a child born at Rigend in 1834 and lived there at the time of the 1841 Census.

In later years the Murdoch family would enjoy a long relationship with Little Rigend beginning with John Murdoch in 1870. Born in 1815 at Lanehead Lime Works on the Waterhead estate and as noted above his father James Murdoch and elder brother Matthew were residents at Rigg, at the time of the 1841 and 1851 Census respectively. He later worked as a dairyman at Maneight, also on the Waterhead estate.

John Murdoch’s entry into Little Rigend along with his wife Elizabeth Kerr and their six children gives an insight in the local tradition of a ‘Day’s Ploughing’ [24]

DAY’S PLOUGHING

Mr. John Murdoch, having entered on a lease of the farm of Little Riggend, his numerous friends and acquaintances turned out on Saturday last to give him the customary’s day ploughing. At an early hour of the day 24 well mounted ‘teams’ appeared on the ground. Though the severe frost of the preceding days rendered the work somewhat difficult, yet each man succeeded in completing his lot, in a highly creditably manner. Both ploughmen and onlookers were abundantly supplied with creature comforts. We heartily wish Mr. Murdoch great success in his new undertakings

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, April 2, 1870

In the 1871 Census John Murdoch’s occupation is described as ‘a farmer of 317 acres arable land employing one man‘, ploughman, John Ferguson. The name Murdoch continued to be associated with the lands of Little Rigend, through to the Valuation Rolls of 1915 at which time James Murdoch was tenant.

The CANMORE entry for ‘Little Rigend, farmstead’ records the findings of a field survey carried out by CFA Archaeology Ltd. [25]

Desk-bound survey was commissioned by the landowners of a proposed opencast site. Field survey was undertaken in the part of this area deemed archaeologically sensitive by Strathclyde Regional Council. Among the monuments recorded was Little Rigend Farm; recently abandoned.

Sponsor: British Coal

CFA 1994n. CFA. (1994n) ‘House of Water (New Cumnock parish): post-medieval industrial and agricultural landscape, castle’, Discovery Excav Scot, 1994. Page(s): 62

CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment

N.B. It should also be noted that there is also a CANMORE entry for ‘Little Rigend, Waterhead Castle’ in which CFA Archaeology Ltd. refer to ‘Little Rigend Castle in a field beside the River Nith‘. The castle has, of course, always been known as Waterhead Castle (appears as such in Blaeu Coila Provincia,1654) and the field beside the River Nith is on the lands of Waterhead farm and not those of Little Rigend farm [26,27]

Below is a photo (ca. 1978) of the then abandoned Little Rigend farmhouse. It was taken from the site of Waterhead Castle, being investigated at that time by the New Cumnock Local and Natural History Society. In the foreground is the footbridge over the River Nith Today little remains of ‘Wee Rigend’.

The following cheque, dated 1948, was found in the abandoned farmhouse at that time, signed by John Young. His name appears in the 1940 Valuation Rolls as the tenant at Little Rigend.

Little Rigend Hill

Place-Name: Little Rigend + SSE hill ‘hill’

The Ordnance Survey Name Book Ayrshire (1855-57) entry for Little Rigend Hill reads –

A Small hill s [south] west of Little Riggend Hill

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: The Spelling “Little Rigend Hill” has been used, but all Authorities give “Little Riggend Hill”. The Description implies there is another hill and makes no sense as written.

Not unexpectedly all the ‘Authorities for Spelling’ supported the form Riggend while the OS Name Book stick with Rigend, also noted on this occasion by the Transcriber who also questions the description which clearly should haveread ‘a small hill south west of Little Riggend‘. The hill of course takes its name from Little Rigend farm.

CFA Archaeology Ltd. also carried out Field Surveys on Little Rigend Hill and their findingS recorded in CANMORE. These included two isolated areas of well-preserved rig and furrow [28,29] and a kiln [30], all adjacent to the track that runs south-west from Litte Rigend farm. While on the other side of the hill was found the remains of a stone dyke [31].

The hollow associated with the kiln can still be seen on the east facing side of Little Rigend Hill. The CANMORE entry reads [30] –

Among the monuments recorded was a possible kiln site: a steep-sided scoop excavated into the hillside adjacent to the track leading from Little Rigend Farm. The rear face is 8m high, and the base is 11m wide and recessed into the hillside by 6m. A firebrick was recovered from the base of this feature.

Sponsor: British Coal Opencast.

CFA. (1994n) ‘House of Water (New Cumnock parish): post-medieval industrial and agricultural landscape, castle’, Discovery Excav Scot, 1994. Page(s): 62

CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment

The Field survey also identified ‘mine workings‘ on Little Rigend lands on the southern bank of the Beoch Lane which marked the boundary with the lands of Craigman to the north, on which there numerous coal pits [32] –

Field survey was undertaken in the part of this area deemed archaeologically sensitive by Strathclyde Regional Council. This site is listed among several ‘areas of coal working, including disturbed ground and bell pits‘ recorded.

Sponsor: British Coal

CFA. (1994n) ‘House of Water (New Cumnock parish): post-medieval industrial and agricultural landscape, castle’, Discovery Excav Scot, 1994. Page(s): 62

CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment

RIGGEND COLLIERY

Place-Name: Riggend + SSE colliery ‘colliery’

At the time of the 1841 Census Robert Wallace, 25, was living at Laneside, less than a mile to the north east of Little Rigend, with the tenants George Weir, agricultural labourer and his wife Elizabeth, along with their son David. Also living there were farm servants Rankin Park, 25 and Margaret Shield,12. Wallace’s occupation was recorded as Coal M., i.e., Coal Master, identifying that he held a lease to work coal. It is only through his decision to leave this job that confirmed he had been the Tacksman of Rigg-End Colliery as described in the following newspaper article of May 1844, in what is the earliest reference to Riggend Colliery uncovered thus far [33]-

Reduction in Price of Smith Coal

ROBERT WALLACE, RIGG-END COLLIERY, parish of New Cumnock, begs to return his sincere thanks to his Friends and the Public, for the liberal support he has received from them since he became Tacksman of this Work, and also to intimate that as he is leaving that Colliery on the 15th May curt., he will now Sell of COALS he has on hand, at 4d. per Creel, or 2s. per Cart, in order that he may have them disposed off before Removal.

Ayr Advertiser, or West Country Journal , 2nd May 1844.

There is a clue in the 1851 Census to suggest why Wallace left Riggend Colliery, for by that time he was now married to Rankin Park, farm servant at Laneside and the couple were resident in Coylton with their two young children, where Wallace now found work as a miner.

It appears that Riggend Colliery closed for a time and the name does not appear in the Ayrshire Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) while 1st Ordnance Survey map (1857) below shows ‘Old Coal Mines’, south of the Beoch Lane on the lands of Little Rigend – i.e., the workings described in the CANMORE field survey above.

There were signs of recovery in late 1858 when the Waterhead estate announced their intention to ‘let for such period as may be agreed to’ the coal being worked at Riggend and limestone at Lanehead [34] –

THE SMITHY COAL, now being Worked in the Lands of RIGGEND, and LIMESTONE QUARRY on LANEHEAD, in the parish of New Cumnock.

The Small Farm, containing about 21 Acres of good Arable and Pasture Land with Houses, contiguous to the Limestone Quarry. Entry to the Quarry immediately, to the Coal at the 1st March, and the farm at Whitsunday, 1859. Mr. GEMMELL, who resides on the Estate, will show the Premises and for further particulars apply to KENNEDY BROWN, Writer in Girvan.

Kilmarnock Weekly Post and County of Ayr, Saturday 20th November 1858

Geroge Sloan, along with his business partner John Nisbet had previously operated small collieries north of the Beoch Lane at Craigman and on the neighbouring lands of Marchburn, further north. However, the partnership dissolved in 1857 and Nisbet moved on to Coalburn (New Cumnock) and Guelt (Old Cumnock) [35]. Sloan took up the lease at Riggend, presumably on 1st March 1859 as stipulated. By early August he was informing the Public of the improvements at Riggend Colliery in respect to improved supply as well as the superior quality of coal from the Auldnaw Seam* and doing so under the auspices of Geoge Sloan & Co. [36].

TO SMITHS AND FOUNDERS

We beg to inform the Public that our facility for the output of the RIGGEND SMITHY COAL (Auldnaw Seam) are considerably extended, which will enable us to supply the increasing demand more promptly. We can recommend the PRESENT SEAM as being much superior to any that we have hitherto supplied. To those who are using such we solicit a TRIAL, when we confidently hope they will be found superior to any in the market. Orders sent to –GEORGE SLOAN & CO. , RIGGEND COLLIERY , New Cumnock, August 3rd, 1859

Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald, Saturday 13 August, 1859

*The Auldnaw Seam was named after Auldnaw Glen on the neighbouring lands of the Two Beochs to the west , part of the Craigengillan where coal was worked by the short-lived New Cumnock Ironworks [37].

George Sloan knew the area well having been brought up as a farmer’s son at Marchfoot farm on the banks of the Nith. He married Agnes Nisbet, sister of his then business partner John Nisbet and although that partnership would later fail, that with Agnes flourished. Their first child was born at Marchfoot in 1851 and ten years later they were living at Stony Knowes on the lands of Knockburnie, part of the Waterhead Estate the family. The 1861 Census now recording the family had expanded to 5 children and George’s occupation was recorded as coal master.

Riggend Colliery does not appear on the 1854 Scottish Mining Website, List of Collieries [38] which fits with the downtime from Wallace’s resignation (1844) until Sloan acquired the lease (1859). However, it does appear int the website’s 1860 List of Collieries [39] and it also appears on the 1863 list of 91 Ayrshire Collieries, under the section Cumnock District [40]

1. Bank – Hyslop & MacKenzie
2. Coalburn – Nisbet, Wilson & Co.
3. Craigman – Nisbet, Wilson & Co.
4. Mansfield – Sir James Stuart Menteth
5. Pathhead – Archibald Gray & Co.
6. Riggend – George Sloan
7. Southboig – Eaglesham & Dunlop

Riggend also appears on the 1866 Scottish Mining Website, List of Collieries [41] with George Sloan still holding the lease. However, by January 1867, he and his family were living at Coalburn where George was working as coal miner, no longer a Coal Master. Indeed, tragedy struck on January 25th when his wife Agnes, died at home of cholera [Scotland’s Places]. Widower George would re-marry and later settled in the miners’ rows at Connel Park, where he died in 1891, aged 63 years.

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

References

[1] John Jamieson, Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1805,1832) Dr. Jeffrey Triggs, Online Edition; Vol. IV, p. 299

[2] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | rig

[3] New Cumnock Place-Names | Drumkalladyr

[4] A.G. McLeod, (1938) ‘Excavation of two Bronze Age burial sites in Ayrshire’, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol. 72, 1937-8. Page(s): 241-7

[5] CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment | Rig Hill, Nith Lodge

[6] Register of the Great Seal, Vol. II, No. 90

[7] The Scottish Jurist: Containing Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme Court of Scotland, Vol. XV (1843) |Rev. Matthew Kirkland v Sir John Andrew Cathcart

[8] British Newspaper Archive | Caledonian Mercury , Monday 25 July 1796

[9] British Newspaper Archive |Ayr Observer, Tuesday, October 8, 1844

[10] British Newspaper Archive |Falkirk Herald, Thursday, 3 April, 1851

[11] New Cumnock Place-Name | Flush

[12] British Newspaper Archive |Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald ,September 9, 1854

[13] British Newspaper Archive |Glasgow Evening Citizen, Wed 15th February, 1822

[14] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | fore

[15] CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment |Forerig

[16] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | burn

[17] British Newspaper Archive | Ayr Advertiser or West Country Journal, Thursday, October 3, 1844

[18] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. |nether

[19] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. |over

[20] British Newspaper Archive |British Daily Mail, Tuesday, February 1, 1848

[21] British Newspaper Archive |Perry’s Bankrupt and Insolvent Gazette, Saturday, 15th November 1851

[22] British Newspaper Archive |The Scottish Press , Friday ,November 4, 1853

[23] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd.|little

[24] British Newspaer Archive |Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, April 2, 1870

[25] |CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment | Little Rigend

[26] CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment |Little Rigend, Waterhead Castle

[27] New Cumnock Place-Names | Waterhead Castle and Waterhead Farm

[28] CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment | Rig & Furrow CFA. (1994n) ‘House of Water (New Cumnock parish): post-medieval industrial and agricultural landscape, castle’, Discovery Excav Scot, 1994. Page(s): 62

[29] CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment |Rig & Furrow CFA. (1994n) ‘House of Water (New Cumnock parish): post-medieval industrial and agricultural landscape, castle’, Discovery Excav Scot, 1994. Page(s): 62

[30] CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment |Kiln CFA. (1994n) ‘House of Water (New Cumnock parish): post-medieval industrial and agricultural landscape, castle’, Discovery Excav Scot, 1994. Page(s): 62

[31] CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment |Dyke CFA. (1994n) ‘House of Water (New Cumnock parish): post-medieval industrial and agricultural landscape, castle’, Discovery Excav Scot, 1994. Page(s): 62

[32] CANMORE, National Record of the Historic Environment |Mine Workings CFA. (1994n) ‘House of Water (New Cumnock parish): post-medieval industrial and agricultural landscape, castle’, Discovery Excav Scot, 1994. Page(s): 62

[33] British Newspaper Archive |Ayr Advertiser, or West Country Journal , 2nd May 1844

[34] British Newspaper Archive | Kilmarnock Weekly Post and County of Ayr, Saturday 20th November 1858

[35] John L. Carvel ‘The New Cumnock Coal-Field’ (1956)

[36] British Newspaper Archive | Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald, Saturday August, 1859

[37] New Cumnock Place-Names | Auldnaw Burn and Auldnaw Glen

[38] Scottish Mining Website | List of Collieries 1856

[39] Scottish Mining Website | List of Collieries 1860

[40] British Newspaper Archive |Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, Saturday 14 November 1863

[41] Scottish Mining Website | List of Collieries 1866

Maps

Reproduced with the Permission of National Library of Scotland

https://maps.nls.uk/

Images are used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence.

Map 1: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1894) |Rig Hill

Map 2: Ordnance Survey One-inch “Popular” edition, Scotland, 1921-1930|Rig Hill

Map 3: Ordnance Survey Maps – 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882 (1856) | Rig Hill

Map 4: Joan Blaeu, Coila Provincia, [or], The province of Kyle / auct. Timoth. Pont (1654) |The ridge of Drumkalladyr

Map 5: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1894) |Rig Hill

Map 6: Ordnance Survey Maps – 25 inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1949 (1894) | Righill

Map 7: Ordnance Survey Maps – 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882 (1856)|Forerig

Map 8: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1850-57) | Back Rigg?

Map 9: Andrew Armstrong,  A new map of Ayrshire (1775) | Rig and Rigend

Map 10: Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain – 1945-1971 (1953) | High Rigend and Little Rigend

Map 11: Ordnance Survey Maps – 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882 (1856) | High Rigend

Map 12: Ordnance Survey Maps – 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882 (1856) | Little Rigend

Map 13: Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain – 1945-1971 (1953) |Little Rigend Hill

Map 14: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1843-1882 (1857) |Riggend Old Coal Mine

Ordnance Survey Name Books

By Permission of Scotland’s Places

scotlandsplaces.gov.uk

Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49|Rig Hill

Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49 |Righill

Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49 |Fore Rig

Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49 |High Rigend

Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49 |Little Rigend

Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49 |Little Rigend Hill

Scotland’s People

https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

Old Parish Records, Births, Marriages, Deaths, Census Records, Valuations Rolls, Wills & Testaments