welcome

pol- 'burn, stream'

GWS Barrow provides an insight into the distribution of the element pol- throughout Scotland and in particular its
predominance in upper Nithsdale . He concludes that pol was the standard term for burn in this vicinity and that this early
British name failed to be influenced by Old English , Gaelic or Scots (i.e. pow -).The parish of New Cumnock makes a
substantial contribution to the upper Nithsdale population of pol- names . It should be noted that although all the names
appear in modern maps beginning with pol-, a number of them hat appear in Blaeu's Atlus Novus, 1654 (based on Timothy
Pont's in the 16th century maps) begin with pow- or polw-, suggesting some Scots infleunce. Furthermore the local
pronunciation of pol in all these names is puh, pih or pah all with the 'l' silent .

All examples of pol- water-course names in New Cumnock are followed with the word 'burn'. A similar observation was
made by Sir Herbert Maxwell in his study of the pol-names in the place-names of Galloway, where he explains 'all these
streams have had 'Burn' pleonastically* added to their names since Gaelic ceased to be spoken and understood'

*more words than are required to express an idea

G.W.S Barrow paper in 'The Uses of Place-Names'

(Scottish Cultural Press, 1998 Editor Simon Taylor)

Alexander Murdoch 'Ochiltree Its History and Reminiscences'

Sir Herbert Maxwell 'The Place-Names of Galloway' (Reprint 2001)

Malcolm MacLennan 'Gaelic Dictionary (1995)

Polquhirter 'carter's burn'

Alexander Murdoch considers Polquhirter to be
Gaelic poll cairtear 'carter's pool' or Gaelic
poll cuairtear 'visitor's pool'. Setting to one
side his mis-reading of the Cumbric pol 'burn',
there may be some merit in considering
Polqhuirter as the 'carter's burn', for pol as
GWS Barrow explains 'often refers to a burn
whichmoves slowly through peaty ground,
Polquhirter 'burn of the peat-carter'?

Taking into acount the nature of the water-course,
other possibilities include Gaelic cartair
'pirouetting,dance' or Welsh carthu 'cleanse'.

Pol-Burns of the parish of New Cumnock

Polga Burn

Polhigh Burn - English 'high burn'

Pollach Burn (Pouloifh, Pollosche) - Welsh llech Gaelic leac 'stone burn'

Pollachie Burn - dimunitive form of Pollach, i.e. 'little stone burn'

Poljorg Burn, Little Poljorg -Gaelic dearg 'red burn'

Polmath Burn (Polmatth, Polmoth) - Welsh mad Gaelic math 'good burn'

Polquhap Burn (Powhaip) frothy - Gaelic cop 'frothy burn'

Polquheys (Powhois, PolwhouB) -Scandinavian quoy, Scots whey 'pool of enclosure,house'

Polquhirter Burn (Polwhyrtyr, Powwhyrtir) - Gaelic cairtear 'carter's burn'

Polshill Burn (Poufhil, Poulfhell) shielling - Scots shielling 'sheilling, hut burn'

Polstacher Burn -Scandinavian stakker ? - 'stack burn'

Powkelly Burn Cumbric] caled 'hard water burn' Gaelic coille 'wooded burn'

Pumarleuch Burn marlach 'boundary-stone, march burn' cf. Polmarlach (Kirkconnel

Pochriegavin Burn cf, Polgavin Burn another tributarty of the Deugh as Gaelic gamhan 'calves burn'

(Sir Herbert Maxwell)

Garepool Gaelic garbh 'rough burn'

The name Polquhirter, like many of the other Pol- burns names was later adopted by the farms that were established
nearby, so we find, for example Polquheys, Polquhirter and Polshill (see map above). The opposite is true for the
majority of burns in the parish which are not pol-names e.g. Auchincross Burn (Gaelic achadh croisg 'field of the
crossing over the ridge'), where these burns names are much younger than the pol-names and have adopted the
names of the farm . In the 16th century, the lands of Polquhirter, like many other properties in what is now the parish
of New Cumnock where in the hands of the Dunbar family, offshoots of the Dunbars of Cumnock, the barons of
Cumnock, with their baronial seat at Cumnock Castle overlooking the confluence of the Afton Water and River Nith.
Nether and Over Polquhirter of yesteryear have now been replaced by East and West Polquhirter and High Poquhirter.

17 aug 1584: Katherine Dunbar, heir portioner of James Dunbar of Auchincors her father-- in half of the 2
merk lands of Polquirtour "in proprietate et tenedria" in the barony of Cumnock.

Pollach Burn 'stony burn'

A tributary of the Afton Water in the upper reaches of
Glen Afton. Further upstream is Pollachie Burn , a
tributary of the Craig Burn, which in turn is a tributary of
the Afton. The, The second elment of the name appears to
be a corruption of Welsh llech Gaelic leac 'stone' .
Pollach is the 'stony burn' and Pollachie 'the little stony
burn'.

This too was a Dunbar property through the years.

1535 : Dame Jonet Stewart, Lady Mochrum , the second
wife of Sir John Dunbar held 'twa merk land of Polloch'

1604 : George Dunbar, rector and parson of Cumnock,
his spouse Jean Crawfurd and sons George and Samuel
held Pollesche , Pollosche.