Ochiltree 1846
OCHILTREE, a parish, in the district of Kyle, county of Ayr, 3½ miles (W. by
N.) from Old Cumnock; containing 1601 inhabitants. This place, of which the
name, in various ancient records written Uchletree, is of uncertain
derivation, has some pretensions to antiquity; and it is recorded that in
1296, Symon de Spalding, then rector of the parish, swore fealty to Edward
I. at Berwick. In the reign of Robert I. the church, with all its
appurtenances, was granted by Eustace de Colville to the monks of Melrose
Abbey, to whom it belonged at the time of the Reformation. The lands, which
constituted a barony, were in 1530 exchanged by the proprietor, Sir James
Colville, for the barony of East Wemyss, and became the property of Sir
James Hamilton, of Finnart, who conveyed them to Andrew Stewart, Lord
Evandale, who in 1543 was created Lord Stewart, of Ochiltree. After passing
to various proprietors, the lands were at length vested in William, the
first earl of Dundonald, who gave them to his second son, Sir John Cochrane,
by whom they were forfeited to the crown in 1685; but they were afterwards
re-granted to his son, William, and remained in the family till they were
purchased, about 1730, by Governor Mc Rae, from whose representative they
passed by marriage to the Earl of Glencairn. They now belong to different
families.
The parish is about eight
miles in length and five miles in breadth, and is bounded on the north by
the parish of Stair, on the east by the parishes of Old Cumnock and
Auchinleck, on the south by New Cumnock and Dalmellington, and on the west
by the parishes of Stair and Coylton. The surface, which has an elevation
varying from 400 to 1000 feet above the level of the sea, is intersected
with ridges, running in nearly parallel directions from east to west, with
tracts of level ground intervening; and the scenery is in some parts
enlivened with small patches of wood and young plantations. The lands abound
with numerous springs of excellent quality, affording an ample supply of
water; and there are two lochs, of which the larger covers about
twenty-seven acres of ground. The rivers are, the Lugar, which separates the
parish from that of Auchinleck, and in its course receives the Burnock water
and some other streamlets; and the Coila, which divides the parish from
Coylton. Both fall into the Ayr.
The soil is in general a clayey loam, resting on a subsoil of retentive
clay, but in the upland parts of the parish, mossy, resting also upon clay.
The whole number of acres is estimated at 15,387, of which 10,242 are under
tillage and in good cultivation, and the remainder hill-pasture,
plantations, and waste; the crops are, grain of all kinds, potatoes, and
turnips. The system of husbandry is improved, and the lands have been
partially drained; but much still remains to be done in order to render the
soil fully productive; the farm-buildings, also, are inferior to those of
many other parishes; and a few of the houses only are slated, by far the
greater number being thatched. The lands are inclosed partly by stone dykes,
and partly by hedges of thorn. Considerable attention is paid to the rearing
of live-stock. From 3000 to 4000 sheep are annually fed, for which the hills
afford good pasture; they are of the black-faced breed, with a few of the
Leicester, SouthDown, and Cheviot breeds; and on one farm are some of the
black Egyptian breed, of which the wool is remarkably fine. About 1050 cows
are kept for the dairy, and 150 head of cattle fattened annually; they are
all of the Ayrshire breed, and thrive well on the soil; and a moderate
number of horses are reared, chiefly for agricultural uses. The rateable
annual value of the parish is £9521. Ochiltree House is the residence of the
Dowager Lady Boswell. The village is situated on the site of what is said to
have been an ancient camp, from which circumstance probably may have been
derived the name of the parish; it is neatly built, and well inhabited.
There is a manufactory for reapinghooks, which are in great repute, and of
which great numbers are sent to distant places; and many of the female
inhabitants are employed in working muslin for the manufacturers of Glasgow
and Paisley.
The nearest market-town is
Ayr, with which, and with other towns in the vicinity, facility of
intercourse is maintained by good roads kept in repair by statute labour,
and by the turnpike-road from Dumfries and Cumnock to Ayr, which passes for
nearly seven miles through the parish. Fairs for horses and cattle are held
in the village on the second Wednesday in May, and the first Tuesday in
November; and a savings' bank has been formed, which is well encouraged. A
post-office is established under Cumnock.
The ecclesiastical affairs
are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Ayr and synod of Glasgow
and Ayr. The stipend of the incumbent is £247: the manse, erected in 1800,
and enlarged in 1833, is a comfortable residence; and the glebe comprises
about nine acres of land, valued at £20 per annum. The church, which is in
the centre of the village, is a neat substantial edifice erected in 1789, in
good repair, and is adapted for a congregation of 900 persons.
The parochial school, also
situated in the village, affords a liberal education to about 100 children:
the master has a salary of £34. 4., with a house and garden; he also
receives £6. 3. 4. per annum, a bequest by Mr. Patrick Davidson, charged on
the lands of Shield, in the parish of Stair; and the school fees average
£30. There is a library connected with the school; likewise a school of
which the master derives his income solely from the fees.
At a place called the
Moat, on the turnpike-road to Ayr, was found a few years since an urn
containing calcined bones, and subsequently a crown-piece of the reign of
James I. of Scotland, in excellent preservation. There are no other remains
of the ancient castle of Ochiltree than the foundations, which may still be
traced on the bank of the river Lugar; the walls have been levelled to
furnish materials for buildings and other purposes. On the same river a
detached portion of rock, which rises from its bed, sixty feet in height,
forty feet long, and twenty feet broad, covered on the summit with shrubs
and heath, presents a singularly romantic appearance, and from its
resemblance to a fort has attained the appellation of Kemps Castle.
From: A
Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1846)
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