Loudoun () is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and lies between five and ten miles east of

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders

Galston Parish Galston Parish is situated in East Ayrshire, Scotland, some five to ten miles east of Kilmarnock and roughly encompasses the southern half of the Upper Irvine Valley (locally known as ''The Valley''). The parish shares strong links with the par ...

(which encompasses the remainder of The Valley) at the

River Irvine The River Irvine () is a river that flows through southwest Scotland. Its watershed is on the Lanarkshire border of Ayrshire at an altitude of above sea-level, near Loudoun Hill, Drumclog, and SW by W of Strathaven. It flows westward, divid ...

. Loudoun is a parish, which shares borders with six other parishes. To the south lies the parish of Galston, which of all the surrounding parishes, has the strongest local links to Loudoun, being as the two parishes share strong historical and social links, as well as sharing public services. Otherwise, Loudoun shares borders with the parishes of Avondale (east), Eaglesham (north), East Kilbride (north-east), Fenwick (north-west) and Kilmarnock (west). Within Loudoun can be found the towns of

Darvel Darvel (, ) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Loudoun, Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" (). The town's Latin motto, , means "Not for ourselves, but for others". History Prehis ...

and

Newmilns Newmilns is a village in the burgh of Newmilns and Greenholm, in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 3,057 people (2001 census) and lies on the A71 road, A71, around seven miles east of Kilmarnock and twenty-five miles southwest of G ...

, alongside

Loudoun Hill Loudoun Hill (; also commonly Loudounhill) is a volcanic plug in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located near the head of the River Irvine, east of Darvel. Location The A71 Edinburgh - Kilmarnock road passes by the base of the hill. This route ...

Loudoun Castle Loudoun Castle is a ruined country house nicknamed the " Windsor of Scotland" located near Galston, in the Loudoun area of Ayrshire, Scotland. The majority of the building was constructed from 1804 to 1811 around existing structures dating to ...

Loudoun Kirk Loudoun Kirk is a disused church located about one mile west of Loudoun Castle, East Ayrshire. It served as Loudoun, Loudoun's parish church until some point after 1600,

and

Loudoun Academy Loudoun Academy is a secondary school in the outskirts of Galston, East Ayrshire, in Scotland serving the Loudoun district which includes the Irvine Valley, Kilmarnock, and surrounding rural areas of East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one ...

. Notably, claims that Greenholm,

Priestland Priestland is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 121 ( Census 2001) and lies on the A71, around two miles west of Loudoun Hill, ten miles east of Kilmarnock and twenty miles south of Glasgow. It is situated in a valley ...

and the town of Galston itself lie within Loudoun are erroneous, as all three lie south of the River Irvine, in the parish of Galston. This may in some part be because Loudoun Academy and surrounding housing hold Galston postcodes. Loudoun also contained two villages abandoned during the last century, ''Alton'' and ''Loudoun Village''.Craufuird C. Loudoun, ''A History of the House of Loudoun and Other Associated Families'', 1995

Etymology

Various theories have been put forward as to the origins of the name ''Loudoun''. One such theory is that the name was originally used in reference to

, being a combination of two Scots words ''law'' and ''dun'', which roughly translates as ''Firehill''.Craufuird C. Loudoun, ''A History of the House of Loudoun and Other Associated Families'': pp13-4, 1995 Another Loudoun Hill theory is that the name was originally ''Lugudunon'', which roughly translates as ''The Fortress of

Lugh Lugh or Lug (; ) is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a saviour.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The Gods of the Celts and the I ...

''.James Mair, ''Pictorial History of Darvel'': p6, 1989 It has also been speculated that the name simply derives from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

word, ''Loddan'', which means ''marshy ground''.

History

Whilst the origins of Loudoun's name are up for debate, it is known that by 1186 the name was used to describe the surrounding area, as in this year a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

granted the ''Lands of Lowdun'' to James de Lambinus.Craufuird C. Loudoun, ''A History of the House of Loudoun and Other Associated Families'': p16, 1995 At this time the family name was changed to ''de Lowdun'',Craufuird C. Loudoun, ''A History of the House of Loudoun and Other Associated Families'': pp17-9 & p102, 1995 with the Loudoun family building Loudoun Castle, Loudoun Kirk and The Keep (in Newmilns) over the forthcoming centuries. Subsequently, the Loudoun family married in to the Crawford family and in doing so, inherited the hereditary title, Sheriff of Ayr. It has been put forward that

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

was a relative of the Loudouns, through his mother Margaret Crawford (sister of the 5th Baron, Reginald Crawford), although this claim has been disputed. According to

Blind Harry Blind Harry ( 1440 – 1492), also known as Harry, Hary or Henry the Minstrel, is renowned as the author of ''The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace'', more commonly known as '' The Wallace''. This is ...

, Wallace is also said to have fought a battle at Loudoun Hill, during the

Scottish Wars of Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

. This claim is largely disputed by historians, with the real

Battle of Loudoun Hill The Battle of Loudoun Hill was fought on 10 May 1307, between a Scots force led by King Robert the Bruce and the English commanded by Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke. It took place beneath Loudoun Hill, in Ayrshire, and ended in a vic ...

being fought between the Scottish forces of

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully dur ...

and the English forces of

Aymer de Valence Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke ( 1270 – 23 June 1324) was an Anglo-French nobleman. Though primarily active in England, he also had strong connections with the French royal house. One of the wealthiest and most powerful men of his a ...

on 10 May 1307. Bruce's forces prevailed and whilst the combined forces of both armies probably totalled no more than about 4,000 men, the result is seen as an important step towards Bruce's eventual victory in the Wars of Independence.

References

{{reflist

External links

Video, annotation and commentary on the first Loudoun Castle.Video and commentary on the Loudoun Barony Judge's HillVideo and commentary on the East Newton Limeworks.Video and commentary on the ruins at Muttonhole Strip.
Geography of East Ayrshire Parishes in Ayrshire

Etymology

History

Further reading

See also

References

External links