Loch Shield (NS 45521 19444), originally Loch of Scheel was a freshwater loch in the
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...
Council Area, now drained, near
Drongan
Drongan is a former mining village in East Ayrshire, some east of Ayr and west of Cumnock. It had a population of 4686 in 2011.https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-analyser/jsf/tableView/tableView.xhtml
History
The earliest references to Dr ...
, lying in a glacial
Kettle Hole
A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...
, Parish of
Ochiltree
Ochiltree is a conservation village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire, with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers. A cinerary urn was found in ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
The loch
Loch Shield was one of several small lochs within the Parish of
Ochiltree
Ochiltree is a conservation village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire, with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers. A cinerary urn was found in ...
. The name Scheel relates to the nearby placename. Many of the Scots gentry once had their summer retreats, pleasantly informal places, referred to as their “shiels”, often within a mile or so of their principal residence, in this case Sundrum Castle. The name otherwise refers to a small shed or bothy, often used by fishermen.
Cartographic evidence
Robert Gordon's map of circa 1636-52 does not record the loch. Blaeu's map of circa 1654 taken from
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 map of circa 1600 shows the Loch of Scheel with dwellings such as Trinmaks, Wereglin, and Glengabyr nearby. The dwelling named Scheel is marked near a wooded enclosure which may have been a part of the policies of the Sundrum estate at the time.
[Blaeu's Map](_blank)
Retrieved : 2011-11-22
Roy's map of 1747 does not record the loch, however a Loch Mark is marked. Armstrong's map of 1775 records a placename 'Shield', but no loch or mill.
The map evidence suggests that the loch was drained in the early 18th century, although marshy ground is shown on later Ordnance Survey maps and a burn ran down to the Taiglum Burn prior to the construction of the railway.
Uses
![Mill of Shield Farm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Mill_of_Shield_Farm.jpg)
First recorded in the 14th century,
RCAHMS
Retrieved : 2011-11-22 the Mil of Scheel (sic) is marked on Blaeu's map of circa 1654 taken from 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 map of circa 1600, lying close to the Water of Coyle. The Mill of Shield, or Mill o'Shiel, was a corn mill, fed by a lade running from the Taiglum Burn, water being stored in a mill pond that is no longer extant. The loch's outflow water once flowed into the Taiglum Burn. The mill (NS 43800 17883) still exists in the form of a disused farm (2011).
Micro-history
The area has seen extensive coal mining activity with an open cast mine and collieries, such as the one at North Barbeth.
Drongan House lies close to the site of the old loch and indeed a part of the building is known as Lochmark House, previously a farm in its own right.
A Mill of Shield Road runs through the nearby housing estate.
See also
* Kerse Loch
Kerse Loch (NS 34894 16186), also recorded as Carse Loch (1841) is a small freshwater loch in the East Ayrshire Council Area, lying in a glacial Kettle Hole, Parish of Dalrymple, Scotland.
The loch
Etymology
Carse, Cars, and Kerse in Scots re ...
* Belston Loch
Belston Loch (NS 34894 16186), also recorded as Dromsmodda Loch is a small freshwater loch in the East Ayrshire Council Area, near Sinclairston, 2 miles south-east of Drongan, lying in a glacial Kettle (landform), Kettle Hole.Love, Page 197 Paris ...
* Plaid Loch
Plaid Loch (NS 485186) was a freshwater loch in East Ayrshire, now a remnant due to drainage, near Sinclairston and 2 miles (3 km) south-east of Drongan, lying in a glacial kettle hole,.Love, Page 197
The loch
Plaid Loch is one of four small ...
* South Palmerston Loch
South Palmerston Loch or Flush, previously known as Loch of the Hill, lying to the east of the 500 ft (152 m) Back hill Mount. It was one of several small lochs within the Parish of Ochiltree. The loch, lying in a glacial kettle hole, draine ...
References
;Notes
;Sources
*
{{Commons category, Loch Shield
Shield
History of East Ayrshire
Shield
Shield