Halket Loch' also known as Halkhead or Halketh, was situated in the mid-Ayrshire clayland near

Lugton Lugton is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 80 people. The A736 road runs through on its way from Glasgow, to the north, to Irvine in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settlement on this 'Lochlibo R ...

. It is visible as a surface depression in pastureland, sometimes partially flooded, situated in a low-lying area close to farms and dwellings of East, North and Middle Halket and Craighead in the Parish of

Dunlop, East Ayrshire Dunlop (; sco, Dunlap, gd, Dùn Lob or gd, Dùn Lùib)

, Scotland. The loch was natural, sitting in a hollow created by glaciation. The loch waters drained via the Glazert Water that joins the

Annick Water The Annick Water (previously also spelled as Annack, Annoch (1791) or Annock) is the largest tributary of the River Irvine. The river runs from Long Loch, just inside East Renfrewshire, in a generally south-western direction through North Ayr ...

History

Gabriel Porterfield and his wife Jean Maxwell had a conjunct liferent of 'Halketh' and its loch on a charter of Robert Montgomerie of Hessilhead, dated 24 May 1634.Paterson, Page 236 In 1648 the loch was held by John Porterfield of Hapland, as heir to his father Gabriel.Paterson, Page 237 The loch was later inherited by his brother Alexander on 5 October 1653. The lands and Loch of Halket later lay within the Barony of Robertland as recorded by a charter under the Great Seal of 8 July 1676.Dobie, Page 205 Blaeu's map of 1654, based on

Timothy Pont Rev Timothy Pont (c. 1560–c.1627) was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an ...

's work of the late 16th century, shows a 'Halkhead Loch', with a single property, Halkhead, nearby. Halket was a post-glacial loch and lies beneath the prominent hill known as Craighead Law. Thomson's map of 1832 refers to the loch as 'Hawkhead'. Lochridgehills Farm, with its descriptive and indicative placename, lies near to shoreline at the site of the old Halket Loch.

Drainage

Crops in the area were greatly prone to

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...

and this was one of the reasons for the demise of the loch. The loch was substantially drained in 1815 or 1830 The Glazert Water and the loch are marked on Thomson's map of 1828, however the outflow had been canalised by the time of the first Ordnance Survey of the mid 19th century, presumably as part of the loch drainage works. Paterson records that the cost of the loch drainage was shared between the surrounding proprietors and the creation of an ''excellent meadow'' was the outcome.Paterson, Page 215 Further drainage work may have taken place as part of the improvements undertaken to provide employment for Irish estate workers during the Irish potato famines of the mid 19th centuries. Many drainage schemes also date to the end of World War I when many soldiers returned en masse to civilian life.

Craighead Law

Craighead Lea or Law hill, high, is said to be a

Moot hill A moot hill or ''mons placiti'' (statute hill) is a hill or mound historically used as an assembly or meeting place, as a moot hall is a meeting or assembly building, also traditionally to decide local issues. In early medieval Britain, such h ...

, a justice or court hill controlled in feudal times by the local baron. Stones on its summit appear to be deliberately positioned and a grass covered cairn is very noticeable. A farmer from East Halket removed one of these to facilitate his ploughing. One stone on the summit has a vertical hole drilled to the depth of four feet or so, presumably to be used for ‘slot’ for a flagpole for flying a standard, a similar arrangement to that which existed at the Borestone at Greenhills near Beith. Near Aiket Castle is another Court Hill.Bayne, Page 14 Smith sees the law as a moot hill and as also a fort.

Micro-history

Upon the murder of the 4th Earl of Eglinton at Stewarton in April 1586 the loch is mentioned in one version of the events - ''Their horsemen rode by the waters of Corsehill and Lugton and Glazert: they skirted the Halket Loch and the base of the rocky knolls of Dunlop.'' This indicates that the loch was of some significant size in the 1580s. On the lands of East Halket stood a highland grit standing stone, standing 4 ft 6in high,Smith, Page 84 removed circa 1905. This surname Halket was derived from the lands of Halkhead, Renfrewshire, although a family bearing the name de Ross have long been in record as possessors of the property. The place name may have originally been Hawkwood. Sir Henry Hakette witnessed a charter in 1230, and appears to be the first of the name on record. Halkit, Halkhet, Halkette, Haket, Hacet, Hacat, Hakkett, Holkat, Halkhead, Halkhaide, Halkheid, and Halkheide are all variations of the name Halkhead. In 1896 a new road, the Halket Road, 7 furlongs long, was built between the Duniflat and the Bradlie Roads.Old Roads of Scotland.
Retrieved : 2011-01-08

References

Notes; Sources; # Bayne, John F. (1935). ''Dunlop Parish - A History of Church, Parish, and Nobility''. Edinburgh : T. & A. Constable. # Dobie, James D. (ed Dobie, J.S.) (1876). ''Cunninghame, Topographized by Timothy Pont 1604–1608, with continuations and illustrative notices''. Glasgow : John Tweed. # Love, Dane (2003). ''Ayrshire : Discovering a County''. Ayr : Fort Publishing. . # MacIntosh, Donald (2006). ''Travels in Galloway''. Glasgow : Neil Wilson. . # Paterson, James (1863–66). ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton. V. - IV - Cunninghame. Part 1''. Edinburgh : J. Stillie. # Smith, John (1895). ''Prehistoric Man in Ayrshire''. London : Elliot Stock.

External links

Video and commentary on Halket Loch and Craighead Law

Video and commentary on the ambush of the Boyd's at Craignaught Hill
{{Commons category, Halket Loch Lochs of East Ayrshire Former lochs Freshwater lochs of Scotland