Heronsford is a village located in
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June 2 ...
, South-West
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
About
Heronsford is a hamlet located near Ballantrae that sits along the bank of the Water of Tig, a tributary of the River Stinchar.
A single road, the C45, passes through Heronsford, connecting it with the villages of Ballantrae and Colmonell, with a small bridge crossing the Water of Tig known as Heronsford Bridge.
History
The Ayrshire Ordnance Survey Namebook 1855 - 1857 describes Heronsford as ''"on the Colmonell and Stranraer road and three Miles from the former place''
''A Small hamlet Consisting of five houses & a Smithy Occupied principally by agricultural labourers. Built of lime & Stone, one Storey high & in good repair"''.
It also mentions the bridge that crosses the Water, describing it as "a ''Small Stone bridge of one arch Spanning the Water of Tig, in the hamlet of Herringsford & under the Colmonell & Stranraer Road This Bridge is on a Turnpike Road and is consequently a County Bridge''
''.''"
Connection with the Laggan estate
Heronsford is on land that was formerly part of the Laggan estate. As such, its history is entwined with that of the estate.
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
There is
War Memorialin Heronsford for the men of the Laggan estate, erected b
Marion Hughes-Onslow who owned Laggan after the death of her husband, Major Denzil Hughes-Onslow, who died on 10 July 1916 at the Somme. The memorial lists the names of six men, including Major Hughes-Onslow, who died during World War I.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
During World War II, Laggan House was used as a military base working on sonic deception.
Families from the base were billeted in Heronsford.
People from Heronsford
The painter and ceramicis
Robert Sinclair Thomsonlived at Tig Cottage in Heronsford from the mid 1960s until his death in 1983.
His painting of his home, titled
Tig Cottage and the Smiddy, was donated by his wife, Barbara Thomson, to the Royal Scottish Academy of Art in 2010.
References
Villages in South Ayrshire
{{SouthAyrshire-geo-stub