Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

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 headq ...

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 th ...

and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. 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 pari ...

(which encompasses the remainder of The Valley) at the River Irvine. 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 ( sco, Dairvel, gd, Darbhail) is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" ( en, the Long Town). The town's Latin motto, , means "Not for o ...

and Newmilns, 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 f ...

, Loudoun Castle, Loudoun Kirk and Loudoun Academy. 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 Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnai ...

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 Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...

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 (; ga, label= Modern Irish, Lú ) 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 savior.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The ...

''.James Mair, ''Pictorial History of Darvel'': p6, 1989 It has also been speculated that the name simply derives from the Celtic 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 ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; 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 ...

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, 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 early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

. This claim is largely disputed by historians, with the real Battle of Loudoun Hill being fought between the Scottish forces of Robert Bruce and the English forces of Aymer de Valence on May 10, 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 Civil parishes of Scotland

Etymology

History

Further reading

See also

References

External links