new_cumnock

Place Names of the parish of New Cumnock

New Cumnock

New, the new parish

In 1650 the extensive parish of Cumnock was divided into the two new parishes of Old Cumnock and New Cumnock [1].
The existing parish church of Cumnock became the parish church of Old Cumnock and a new parish church was built
(1657) for the parish of New Cumnock adjacent to the site of Cumnock Castle, the ancestral seat of the Barons of
Cumnock. The new in New Cumnock is simply a reference to the new parish of New Cumnock.

The Earl of Dumfries had the decision to divide the parish of Cumnock into Old and New annulled in1667, but his protests
were eventually overthrown in 1691. Consequently, references to the parish of New (or indeed Old) Cumnock are
relatively rare between the period of 1650-1691. By way of example, Mr. Hugh Craufurd (that true Covenanter) is
referred to as the 'minister of the New Kirk of Cumnock' [2], whilst another common appellation is the 'new parish of
Cumnock'.

Cumnock , Gaelic comunn achadh 'place of the confluence'

The fact that the parishes of Old Cumnock and New Cumnock were created at the same time is often overlooked by local
historians, particualrly those of an Old Cumnock persuasion, perhaps in order to claim some antiquity over New
Cumnock. Consequently, many of the attempts to unlock the meaning of the place-name Cumnock have focussed on
aligning it to the environs of Old Cumnock thereby totally ignoring the more impressive and distinctive characteristics of the
lands of New Cumnock. Typical of this approach is the Reverend Warwick [3] in his assessment of the three common
offerings for the meaning of Cumnock -

Cumbric. com,cwm 'hollow' + Gaelic. cnoc 'hill' - 'hollow in the hill'

Gaelic. cumar 'meeting' + oich 'water' - 'the meeting of the waters'

Gaelic. cam 'bent,sloping' + cnoc 'hill' - 'the sloping hill'

The Reverend Warwick faithfully attempts to relate each of these meanings to the parish of Old Cumnock. He discards the
first two on etymological grounds and plumps for Camcnoc 'bent, sloping hill' as suggested by James B Johnston in his
1st Edition of 'Place-names of Scotland' [4] . Warwick does not attempt to nominate any particular hill but generalises
about the inclining landscape in the parish of Old Cumnock. It would appear that the Rev. Warwick had never been
inclined to visit the neighbouring parish of New Cumnock or if he did, it was with his eyes closed. The town of New
Cumnock nestles in a hollow of the Southern Uplands; the Afton Water meets with the River Nith a few hundred yards
from the site of the Castle of Cumnock; Craigbraneoch (Stayamrie) stands out as the notable contender for the claim of
bent or crooked hills throughout the parishes of Cumnock Old or New.

Johnston issued the 3rd Edition of 'Place-names of Scotland' in 1934 [5], with in his own words some 'drastic revision'.
By this time he had revised his views on the place-name Cumnock and suggested that it was a diminutive of Old Gaelic
cuman 'shrine'. He supported this with the observation that 'St. Brides Bank was near here'. Indeed it was,
St.Brydsbanck was home to New Cumnock Covenanting martyrs, John Gemmill and his son Patrick, in the 17th century.
The name has long since been simplified to the Bank [3].

Hugh Lorimer in his study of New Cumnock place-names, attempts to link many of them with the Dark Age dynasty of the
House of Rheged.[6] . He finds the trinity of St. Mungo, his mother St. Enoch and his father Owen Ap Urien honoured in
the New Cumnock hills of Monquhill, Enoch and Bentycowan (i.e. Gaelic ben tigh Owen 'hill of the house of Owen)
respectively. Lorimer almost effortlessly transforms Comenogh, an early form of Cumnock (1297), into Cwm Enoch 'the
glen of Enoch', where he claims British origin for the element cwm 'glen, valley'. He concludes that his 'Enoch glen'
supports Johnston's findings that the place-name Cumnock signifies a 'shrine' - although Lorimer believes it to signify a
shrine to St. Enoch rather than to St. Bride. Although there is no association with St.Enoch and the Kirk of Cumnock
(St.Conval), the feast of St.Enoch is celebrated at the church of Dalgarnock on the banks of the River Nith , twenty miles
downstream from New Cumnock [7]. However, Monquill is pronounced Mun-whill and is Gaelic monadh calltun
'hazel hill', whilst Enoch is probably Gaelic eanach 'moor' and Benty Cowan is probably Gaelic ben ty gowan 'hill of
the house of the smith'. Lorimer's Cwm Enoch is a nice thought but surely not the origin of the name Cumnock.

George McMichael [8] offers some imaginative derivations. 'Oral tradition, or perhaps only the sound of the name,
connects it with Comyn, Lord of Galloway. If it signifies Comyn Nock, that is Comyn Castle, it might be built by
John Comyn, Justiciar of Galloway, about 1250'. As will be discussed later the Castle was in the hands of the Earls of
Dunbar in the 13th century, although it is worth noting Patrick the 8th Earl was married to a daughter of the house of
Comyn. McMichael doubting this Comyn place-name, goes on to suggest a more remote Celtic origin for the name with
Celtic cum 'glen' and knock 'castle'. Finally, he considers that Cumloch was the name given to the great loch that once
covered much of the valley ('of shape and size similar to Loch Doon') and that 'Cum Knock was built on the island in
the middle of it'.

In order to unravel the most likely meaning of the name Cumnock it is important to return to first principles and collect early
forms of the name and attempt to identify when these were in use. The Reverend Warwick provides a detailed list of forms
without dates and these include Cumnok, Comenocke, Comnocke, Canknok, Cumnoke, Cumock, Cumok, Cumnoc,
Cumno, Comenogh, Cunnok and Cumnoch. To this list can be added Comenagh and Comenoc probably the earliest
recorded forms of the name. Patrick of Comenagh (Earl of Dunbar ) appears in the Ragman Roll of 1296. The Dunbars
were also the barons of Cumock and held the castle and the lands from as early as the 13th century through to the early
17th century. The castle was situated at the head of Nithsdale on the strategic corridor between Carlisle and Ayr, and
would see much action during the 13th / 14th century Wars of Independence. Edward I visited here on his return from his
victory over William Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298, and his son Edward II held court here for one week in
August 1307. In the late 15th century Blind Harry paid tribute to William Wallace's 'Acts and Deeds' in these wars and
made reference to Wallace's 'royal residence at the Blak Rok' ,Blackcraig hill, New Cumnock [9].

'And past in Cumno with blyth will,

at the Blak Rokquhar he was wont to be

upon that sted a ryall house held he'

Two hundred years later we find the name in more recognisable forms. Warwick records, in 1501 the entry 'Cumnoch
non facit residentiam' is recorded in the 'Visitation of the Chapter of Glasgow'. Whilst a few years later in 1509 James IV
created Cumnock as a Burgh in Barony 'which we bear towards our beloved James Dunbar of Cumnock'.

I have exercised a degree of selectivity in allocating recorded forms of the place-name Cumnock to a period in time and
undoubtedly different forms may well have been in use at the same time. One development is

Comenoc, Comenagh >Comenogh >Cumno > Cumnoch >Cumnock

Roibeard O'Maolalaigh [10] explains the phenomenon of the final unstressed -ach in Scottish place-names. He quotes
WFH Nicolaisen observation that the four main developments of Gaelic -ach in Scots and English are as follows,

1. -o 2. -o(c)k 3. -och 4. -ach.

Development -ach > -o(c)k is said to occur mostly in Southern Scotland, where coincidentally the aforementioned
Dalgarnock, Dumfriesshire is given as an example. J. King Hewison [7] records that place-name in a number of forms
comparable with the variants of Cumnock, i.e. Dalgarno (Cumno), Dalgarnok (Cumnok), Dalgarnoch (Cumnoch) and
Dalgarnoc (Comenoc). If the place-name Dalgarnock represents a typical Southern Scotland example of the development
of Gaelic -ach > Scots -ock then so too surely does the place-name Cumnock. The name has been transformed through
time from Comen-oc, Comen-ogh, Cumn-o, Cumn-och to modern day Cumn-ock and consists of the element Comen or
Cumn or some equivalent in conjunction with the various forms of the Gaelic suffix -ach.

The Gaelic prefix ach- or auchin- is often translated as 'field of-' as in Auchingee, Gaelic achadh geadh 'field of the
goose'. However, as the suffix -ach it is generally translated simply as 'place', for example Beoch beithe achadh ' place
of the birch'. The ongoing notion that Cumnock contains the element cnoc,knock 'hill' can now be dismissed and
Cumnock is neither the 'hollow in the hills' or the 'bent, sloping hill. Sadly Lorimer's offering of Cwm Enoch can also be
abandoned. Cumar oich 'meeting of the waters' also fails to meet the criteria. Cumanag 'little shrine' is said to contain the
suffix -ag representing the diminutive form of cuman. Although it does not appear to be an -ach name the first element
cuman still shows promise, however I have yet to uncover the source which identifies the Gaelic word cuman 'shrine',
although Andrew Breeze draws parallels with Old Irish cumtach 'covering, shrine?' [11].

The place-name Cumnock may well be cuman ach 'place of the shrine' and the shrine may well be to St. Bride at
Brydsbanck at New Cumnock, but there is no local or historical evidence to support this honour.

We are on firmer ground when we return to the physical landscape of New Cumnock and in particular to the site of
Cumnock Castle, the ancient seat of the Barons of Cumnock. The castle-hill is only a few hundred yards from where the
Afton Water meets with the mighty River Nith at the place known locally as Pierpoint. Indeed the castle-hill would have
risen above boggy, marshy ground that no doubt would often have been flooded at this confluence. W. J. Watson records
that the Gaelic terms for a confluence are inbhear, coma , comhrag and comunn [12] . Admittedly he suggests that
comunn is rare in the sense of 'confluence' since it comes from the Latin communio 'society' but nevertheless he provides
the place-name Comunn nan Caochan 'confluence of the streamlets' as an example. The place-name Cumnock is indeed
'the place of the confluence', not from comar oich but from Gaelic comunn ach [13]. The confluence is not the meeting of
Glaisnock Water with Lugar Water in the parish of Old Cumnock but is the more impressive confluence of the Afton
Water and the River Nith in the parish of New Cumnock close to the site of the ancient Comenoc Castle. The place where
the Afton Water and the River Nith meet in communion (fellowship) is the origin of the place-name Cumnock and is found
at the heart of the parish of New Cumnock.

More recently Andrew Breeze [11] has cast a much needed scholarly eye on the place-name Cumnock. In his
introduction to his paper, he pays a kind compliment to my own work 'though guidebooks say little of these places
(viz. Cumnock and New Cumnock), those who live there feel warmly towards them, one aspect of which is a web-
site www.new-cumnock.co.uk on local place-names.' Disappointingly my offering commun ach 'place of the
confluence' , along with a number of the aforementioned Gaelic based offerings inspire no confidence in the author, and he
seeks a Brittonic solution.

Drawing parallels with the Middle Welsh cymynog ' hewing, cutting' and the forms Comnocke, Comenok he proposes
that 'Cumnock as a settlement has been named after a river, as was certainly the case at Irvine, Ayr and Girvan'.
To support this argument he lists several Welsh rivers named after 'tools or weapons', e.g Cleddau 'sword', Nodwydd
'needle', to reflect ' the straightness of their course, the flashing of their water, or because they cut or slice
through land'. [14]. Having concluded that " Cumnock is named after a river known as 'hewing one, cutting one' ",
Breeze searches for a river that fits the bill. Ironically, having brought a fresh new look to the meaning of the name
Cumnock, he falls into the age-old trap of scouring the parish of Old Cumnock for his 'hewing one' . A desk-top study of
local maps leads him to offer the innoccuous Carsgailoch Runner which he describes as 'the stream flowing through and
under the Old Cumnock to join Lugar Water. Though a small stream, this gains erosive power just before it
reaches Cumnock. So it might once have been called 'hewing one, cutting one' as it flowed through its valley by
Cumnock to meet Lugar Water.'

Carsgailoch Runner begins its life on the northern slope of Carsgailoch hill in the parish of New Cumnock. It flows
northwards into the parish of Old Cumnock and joins what is now known as Horsecleugh Burn. This burn does indeed fall
steeply through the cleugh ' (Scots ' ravine, hollow'). However, in the context of the original parish of Cumnock (i.e Old
and New) the 'cutting attributes' are far from spectacular, and it is in the upland parish of New Cumnock that the search
should continue. Before doing so however, it is worth noting that Cummock Water is found in the neighbouring parish of
Dalmellington, rising close to the boundary with New Cumnock near the Dalmellington road.

The most obvious contenders for cutting or hewing water-courses in New Cumnock are the two main water-courses
the Afton Water and River Nith. The Afton cuts its way through the most spectacular scenery in the parish, as Robert
Burns testifies 'How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills,' creating what is now known as Glen Afton. At the heart
of the community it meets with the River Nith, a river unique in Ayrshire. For of all the main water-courses, including the
aforementioned Ayr, Irvine and Girvan, the Nith is the only one which flows not to the Firth of Clyde but to the Solway
Firth instead. To do so the River Nith has to cut its way through the Southern Uplands, forming the Nith gap and then
through glorious Nithsdale and onward to the Solway.

The River Nith appears as Novius fl. in Ptolemy's map of 2nd century Britian, leading many place-name commentators
including W.J.Watson [12] to consider a possible early form of the name as Welsh newydd 'new , fresh', - a reference
to the freshness and verdure of the riverside . However, Watson emphasises the difficulty of fully understanding a name
'transmitted from Old British through Welsh into Gaelic and then into English'. Nevertheless the Nith is unlikely to
have benn the 'cutting, hewing one'.

The orgins of the name Afton appear to be Welsh afon 'water' as opposed to the later Gaelic abhainn 'water'
(pronounced avin cf. Avon ). The name is cognate with the Latin amnis 'stream, torrent'. The Afton, unlike most
water-courses in the parish has no descriptive element associated with it, e.g. Connel Burn, Gaelic conghair 'uproar,
fury'. I have been unable to find a modern day Welsh River name called by the single element afon, all appear to have a
second element e.g the aforementioned afon cleddau 'the sword water-course'. Did the Afton Water once carry such a
descriptive element ? Could it be Andrew Breeze's afon cymynog ' the hewing , cutting water-course' ? Through time
the name was given to the community that grew up around the mouth of the river (i.e. at the confluence with the River
Nith), in the same way that the towns of Ayr, Irvine and Girvan were established at the mouths of their respective waters,
and not for exampe at communities along the course of these waters .

In correspondence with Andrew Breeze, he acknowledges that he may have to reassess the maps and include the parish
of New Cumnock in his search for cymynog. He also accepts the parallels I have drawn with Cumnock and Dalgarnock
and 'the reformation of the terminations', i.e. - o to -ach, to arrive at Gaelic cumann_ach, but suggests that finding another
place in Scotland would strengthen my argument. Apart from Watson's Comunn nan Caochan 'confluence of the
streamlets' I have thus far been unable to find another. There is a Cumno in Alyth in Perthshire, but this does not appear to
be associated with a water-course. However, I have also been unable to find the place-name element cymynog being
applied to any water-course or community in the hewn-out landscape of Wales.

Interestingly in his quest to assign Brittonic provenance to the place-name Cumnock , Andrew Breeze cites cymun
'communion' . The Gaelic equivalent is comunn, comanachadh 'community, communion, fellowship' and so we
return full circle and consider Cumnock as the place where the River Nith and the Afton Water meet in fellowship, i.e.
their confluence below the castle hill where once stood Comenoc Castle, home to Patrick of Comenagh.

SOURCES and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

[1] John Strawhorn 'A New History of Cumnock'

[2] Reverend John Warwick 'The History of Old Cumnock'

[3] Index to Particular Register of Sasines for the Sheriffdom of Ayr , 1635-1660, Vol. II

[4] James B. Johnston 'Place-Names of Scotland' 1st Edition 1892

[5] James B.Johnsotn 'Place-Names of Scotland' 3rd Edition 1934

[6] Hugh Lorimer 'A Corner of Old Strathclyde' Dane Love ' A Pictorial History of Cumnock'

[7] J. King Hewison 'Dalgarnoc -It's Saints and Heroes'

[8] George McMichael 'Notes on the Way through Ayrshire'

[9] R.Guthrie 'History of the Parish of New Cumnock'. www.new-cumnock.co.uk

[10] Roibeard O Maolalaigh paper in 'The Uses of Place-Names' (Scottish Cultural Press, 1998 Editor Simon Taylor)

[11] Andrew Breeze 'Brittonic Place-Names from South-West Scotland, Part 2' Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and
Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society.

[12] W.J.Watson 'The Celtic Placenames of Scotland'

[13] Robert Guthrie 'Place-names of the Parish of New Cumnock' Scottish Place-Name News 9 (2000)

� Robert Guthrie 2003