22 The Place Names of Irongray. 



Devil. The name Cluden is very interesting. It seems to be 

 two Celtic words, Clywd, warm, and an (avon) water — the warm 

 water, a name very appropriate to the river when it boils and foams 

 at Routen Bridge. " Routen " of course is Saxon, and arises from 

 the bellowing noise the stream makes. 



Another example of a wolf in sheep's clothing, or a Hieland 

 man in breeks, is found in the name Cornlee. It suggests a fine 

 arable farm with broad meadows, but it is in reality a rough sheep 

 farm up among the hills. Its true name is not Cornlee, but 

 Coranliath, Coran (a little round hill), and liath (grey), a very 

 suitable name. But it was changed by the English-speaking 

 invaders into Cornlee, a very unsuitable name. (Compare Larg- 

 lanlee, in Urr, the grey hillside.) 



From this example you will observe the importance of exam- 

 ining place names " in situ." The namers of places were never 

 arbitrary in giving names; they had some good reason why they 

 gave the name. It was not given with a view to looking well on 

 a visiting card or a sheet of notepaper. It is often the physical 

 features of the place which have given it its name. Our Drums 

 — Drumpark and Drumclyer — bear the Celtic name for a ridge. 

 Their Saxon or Norse equivalent is Rigg, Rigghead, Midrigg. 

 Crochmore is the great stack. Lag the hollow, Larbreck (Larg- 

 brec) the .spotted hillside, Braco perhaps is the spotted field, 

 brec achad (Brec is the Celtic word for trout, the spotted 

 fish; compare Lochanbreck) ; Barbuie the yellow hill. Both 

 these names seem to indicate that broom or whins grew thick 

 upon the farms in former times. Dakiuhairn is Dalchairn, the 

 field of the cairn; Baltersan, to cross over to Holy wood, is Baile 

 ■ House and tarsuinn crossing — the House of the Ford — there 

 formerly was a ford there, before Gribton Bridge was built. 

 Saxon names are quite as descriptive as Celtic. Hallhill (pro- 

 nounced Haugh Hill) is the hill in the marshy meadow. Scaur 

 (a Norse word) is the cliff where the Auld Water has cut a passage 

 for itself. Gateside, the house by the way; Riddings, red inch, 

 the red pasture or promontory ( ?) Barncleugh is a hybrid word. 

 Baran is Celtic for the hill of, and Cleugh is Saxon for a deep 

 hollow, but I suspect it is a corruption for something else. 



Trees and animals contribute something to our place names. 

 Knockshinnoch is the Celtic for the hill of the fox. In Holy- 

 wood, just opposite to us, is Cormaddie, the dog's hill. In our 



