Greenhills is a small village or hamlet in

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...

, Parish of

Beith Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...

, Scotland. It lies between the settlements of

Barrmill Barrmill is a small village in North Ayrshire, Scotland about east of Beith on the road to Burnhouse and Lugton. Locally it is known as the ''Barr''.Reid, Donald L. (2009). ''Discovering Matthew Anderson. Policeman-Poet of Ayrshire''. Beith : ...

and hamlet of

Burnhouse Burnhouse, sometimes known locally as The Trap from "Man Trap", is a small village or hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Beith, Scotland. It lies on a crossroads of old B706 and the more recent A736 Lochlibo Road, between Lugton and Auchenharvie ...

on a crossroads of the B706 and the lanes to Nettlehirst and Tandlehill via Thirdpart. It is named after the 'Green Hill' an artificial mound, a

Moot Moot may refer to: * Mootness, in American law: a point where further proceedings have lost practical significance; whereas in British law: the issue remains debatable * Moot court, an activity in many law schools where participants take part in s ...

, Law or Justice hill that once stood here. The settlement lay within the old Barony of Giffen; the castle no longer exists. The village lies within Barrmill and District Community Association's area and is also covered by Beith Community Council.

History

Greenhills Public School WW1 Memorial, Ayrshire

This small settlement is shown on General Roy's survey of 1747 - 55, under the name of 'Greenhill' in the singular and has two buildings indicated where the old school was situated.

The school

The school, built from Ballochmyle red sandstone, opened in the 1890s with Mr. Mudie as headteacher, at the time that Hessilhead school closed. A temporary building in the playground was used as a dining hall. It was built on the site of the cart wheel workshop and was midway between Burnhouse and Barrmill. Greenhills closed in 1959, it was sold in 1964Jamieson, Page 25 and demolished in the mid-1980s; having been used for some years as a glue factory by Strathbond Ltd who still trade from the Willowyard Estate, Beith. Mr McGregor was the last headteacher and the sports field had been the field lying across the Barrmill to Burnhouse Road. The Greenhills WRI originally met here, however after the school was demolished they moved to the Barrmill Community Centre.

Industry

A smithy stood at the crossroads on the Borestone farm side of the hamlet. John Marshall and Francis Douglas at this site made ploughs that sold all over the country, known as the Douglas Grubber. A joiner's shop stood next to the smithy, its machinery being driven by steam. The wheel wright's factory site was later used for the school and more recently a private dwelling.Jamieson, Page 17 A limekiln was situated behind the school, made in the shape of a horseshoe with the opening facing the prevailing south-west wind. It was encased within a bank with a gap at the opening. A limestone quarry existed close to the school site.

The Moot or Justice hill

This artificial mound or

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 ...

was the site where proclamations of the Giffen Castle Baronial Court's judgements were made. For serious crimes the men were hung here and women were drowned a pit which would have been nearby. This situation, known as the feudal Barony right of 'pit and gallows' existed at many other sites, such as at

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

, Aiket,

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

, and Dalry. Often the mounds were wooded and a Dule Tree may have been used as the gallows. Brehons or Judges administered justice from 'Court Hills', especially in the highlands. Auchenmade had a ''Law hill'' mound nearby, possibly destroyed by the railway. The 'Green Hill' stood near to Greenhill farm.Dobie, Page 163. No sign of the moot hill seems to survive, however a bridge near to Greenhill is marked as 'Tappethillock', meaning a flat-topped hillock.

Cartographic evidence

Roy's map of 1747 records the settlement of Greenhill on the Beith to Burnhouse road. Armstrong's map of 1775 shows the ruins of Giffin castle only. The 1828 John Thomson's map gives the name as 'Greenhills' and marks Haghead, Borestone, Bank, and Thirdpart in the vicinity.Thomson's Map
Retrieved : 2012-05-06

References

Notes

Sources and bibliography

# Dobie, James (1876). ''Pont's Cunninghame topographized 1604–1608 with continuations and illustrative notices''. Pub. John Tweed. # Jamieson, Sheila (1997). ''Our Village''. 'Greenhills Women's Institute. # Love, Dane (2003). ''Ayrshire : Discovering a County''. Ayr : Fort Publishing. . # Reid, Donald L. and Monahan, Isobel F. (1999). ''Yesterdays Beith, a pictorial guide''. Beith : DoE Award Scheme.

External links

Commentary and video on the history of Greenhills.

Video - the View From Greenhills.

Video footage of Giffen Mill] {{authority control History of North Ayrshire Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Villages in North Ayrshire Garnock Valley