Weeshiel Craig

Place-name:	Weeshiel Craig
	Place-Name Weeshiel + Scots craig ‘crag, rock;
Place-name:	Weeshiel
Place-name:	Scots wee ‘small, smaller’ Scots shiel ‘a rough shelter for cattle and their herds‘
Blaeu Coila (1654):	N/A
OS Name Books (1855-57):	Weeshiel Craig
Location:	Ordnance Survey (1894)

Early Forms

Benston Shield (1722-28)

Weeshiel Craig

The Ordnance Survey Name Books (1855-57) for Weeshiel Craig reads –

A small ledge of rocks, situate in an arable field south of Benston Toll.

Weeshiel

Scots wee ‘small’ Scots shiel, shield ‘a rough shelter for cattle and their herds’

Weeshiel Craig sits on the lands of Benston and presumbaly takes its name from Scots shiel [1] that once stood nearby, rather than a ‘remote place‘ as if often the case.

SHIEL, n., v.¹ Also shiell, sheul(l), sheel, sheil(e), schiel, shel(c); shield, sheild, she(e)ld. A sheepcot, a rough shelter for sheep or cattle and their herds in a remote place, specif. one used in the summer when sheep and cattle were removed to higher and more distant pastures

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

There is a suggestion of some linear structures across the road from Weeshiel Craig that may be associated with the shiel.

The Old Parish Records of the births of the Mitchell family at Benston make interesting reading. William Mitchell is probably and older brother of Thomas. All of the six children of William and Janet Pearson were born at Benston and while two of the five children of Thomas Mitchell and Ellsion Shaw were born there too, three other were born at Benston Shield.

Date of Birth	Parents	Child	Place
21 AUG 1715	William Mitchell & Janet Pearson	Sarah	Benstoun
29 OCT 1717	William Mitchell & Janet Pearson	John	Benston
03 MAY 1719	William Mitchell & Janet Pearson	John	Benstown
21 AUG 1720	Thomas Mitchell & Ellison Shaw	Agnes	Benstown
03 SEP 1721	William Mitchell &	Ann	Benstown
25 FEB 1722	Thomas Mitchell & Ellison Shaw	William	Benston-Shield
03 MAR 1723	Thomas Mitchell & Ellison Shaw	Sarah	Benston Shield
26 APR 1724	William Mitchell & Janet Pearson	Janet	Benston
23 MAY 1725	Thomas Mitchell & Ellison Shaw	John	Benston
09 NOV 1726	William Mitchell & Janet Pearson	Marion	Benstown
14 JAN 1728	Thomas Mitchell & Ellison Shaw	William	Benston Shield

Benston Shield is surely an earlier name of the Weeshiel. The Scots wee ‘small, smaller’ [2] may have been introduced to differentiate it from the larger Shield, a half-mile along the road, just over the parish boundary into Old Cumnock.

Weeshiel Craig

Place-name: Weeshiel + Scots craig ‘crag, rock’ [3]

‘A small ledge of rocks‘ is a good description of the Weeshiel Craig which can be viewed from the roadside.

References

[1] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | shiel

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

[3] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | craig

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)|Weeshiel Craig

Map 2:Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1895) |Weeshiel Craig Background LiDAR DTM 50cm-1m Eng Scot Wales Crown Copyright Scottish Government,SEPA, Fugroand Scottish Water (2012-21)

Map 3:Ordnance Survey, One-inch to the mile maps of Scotland, 2nd Edition – 1885-1900 (1895)|Shield and Weeshiel Craig

Ordnance Survey Name Books

By Permission of Scotland’s Places

scotlandsplaces.gov.uk

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

Scotland’s People

https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

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