Tarbolton ( sco, Tarbowton) is a village in South Ayrshire,

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 ...

. It is near

Failford Failford ( sco, Failfuird) is a hamlet in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is west of Mauchline, where the Water of Fail flows into the River Ayr. History A minor ford would have been located where the Water of Fail has its confluence with the River ...

Mauchline Mauchline (; gd, Maghlinn) is a town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census Mauchline had a recorded population of 4,105. It is home to the National Burns Memorial. Location The town lies by the Glasgow and South West ...

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

, and Kilmarnock. The old Fail Monastery was nearby and

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

connections are strong, including the Bachelors' Club museum.

Meaning of place-name

Tarbolton has been suggested as having one of three meanings: * Village by the tor or hill, from Old English ''torr'' 'tor, hill, cliff' and ''boðl-tun'' /''bothl-tun'' "village with buildings, equivalent to Bolton in Greater Manchester. The name was recorded as ''Torbolten'' in 1138, suggesting this origin. * Village by the

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

and hill, from Old English ''torr'' 'tor, hill, cliff' and ''bāll'' 'field (not meaning the same as ball ' ball', i.e. football), as in

Dunball Dunball is a small hamlet west of the village of Puriton and close to the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England. Just north of Dunball is Down End which is the site of Down End Castle a motte-and-bailey castle, which has been designated as ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, with ''tun'' 'farm, village'. The name's record in writing as ''Torballtone'' in 1209 suggests this origin ''may'' be possible. * Village by the

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

, from Old Gaelic ''tor'', modern Gaelic ''tòrr'', (where the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

word is derived from, and ''baile'' "village, usually Bally- in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

place-names, with the tautologous Old English ''tun'' "farm, village" added by Anglo-Saxon settlers who did not understand the language. Records of the name as ''Torbalyrtune'' in 1148 suggest this origin.

Location

Tarbolton is east-northeast of

, southwest of Kilmarnock, West of

, and from its own now disused railway station. It has a school, church, a gospel hall, two pubs, and is home to the Bachelors' Club, a frequent haunt of

. The village is in the Cumnock and Doon Valley (it is strange that Tarbolton falls under South Ayrshire Council when its postcode is KA5 which links to

, East Ayrshire The monastery and later castle of Fail existed at the hamlet of that name near Fail Toll.

Fail Loch Fail Loch or Faile Loch was situated in a low-lying area near the old monastery of Fail in the Parish of Tarbolton, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The old Lochlea Loch lies nearby and its waters still feed into Fail Loch via the Mill Burn. History T ...

once covered a significant area however it survives now only as an area liable to flooding. Nearby going towards Failford was the Old Montgomery Castle or Coilsfield House where one of

's loves worked. Tarbolton Primary takes pupils from surrounding farms and from Failford, a small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

north of the village. Its houses are Fail, Afton, Coyle and Montgomery, named after local areas and rivers.

Famous residents

* Alexander Tait, the poet, was a tailor by trade, and lived in Tarbolton for many years. He was a contemporary and critic of

of Lochlie Farm and

David Sillar David Sillar (1760–1830) was a Scottish farmer, poet, grocer, schoolteacher and baillie who was a close friend of the poet Robert Burns. He died in 1830, aged 70, after a long illness, and was buried in Irvine's Old Parish Church cemetery. Hi ...

of Spittalside Farm. *

Jimmy Hay James Hay (9 February 1881 – 4 April 1940) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Ayr, Celtic, Newcastle United, Ayr United and the Scotland national team. Hay was born in Tarbolton, Ayrshire and signed for Celtic for £50 from Ayr FC ...

, who captained Celtic between 1906 and 1911, and Billy Price, who played for Celtic between 1961 and 1964, were from Tarbolton. *Retired footballer

Kris Boyd Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Boyd grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started his senior career with Kilmarnock. He transferred to Rangers in Januar ...

was also born and raised in the village. *Boxer Evan Armstrong, who was British Featherweight Champion from 17 September 1973 until 8 July 1974. * John "Ian" (Mighty Mouse) McLauchlan, a Scottish Rugby Union Footballer from 1969 until 1979, was born and raised in the village. *Winner of Britain's Got Talent (series 5) 2011, singer

Jai McDowall Jai McDowall (born 24 July 1986) is a Scottish singer–songwriter who won the fifth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in June 2011. As the winner, he received £100,000 and performed at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance. McDowall was signed ...

, is also from Tarbolton. * Kris Scott, a Scottish film director and actor.

References

External links

*
Video footage and history of Tarbolton Motte or Hood's HillVideo on the poem 'Death and Dr Hornbook'.
{{Authority control Villages in South Ayrshire