Skip to main content

Ordnance Survey - Ayr county, OS Name Books - Ayr county - Volume 39 - Parish of Kirkoswald, OS1/3/39

Continued entries/extra info

[Page] 41 -- Sheet 43.12 -- Parish of KirKoswald

"The remains of this famous castle - consisting of little more than the foundation -
"are assuredly the oldest remains in the parish of which any account can be given. They stand upon
"a small promontory, running into the sea, in the barony of Turnberry. Abercrummie says,
"the next (to Culzean) upon the coast, are to be seen the old ruines of the ancient Castle of
"Turnberry, upon the north-west poynt of that rockie angle that turns about towards
"Girvan, and is perhaps that place called by Ptoleme, Perigorium, of a Greek origination,
"importing round the corner, and suiting the English designation of Turnberry; and that it
"cannot be Bargany, as some imagine, the very situation of that castle, and recentness of
"it, will abundantly show; and to confirme this our conjecture, a tradition amongst the
"people there, will not a little conduce, namely, that near to this very castle, there was of
"old a toune of the same name, of which there is no vestige at present to be seen, but
"that they perceive some remainders of a causeway; and the reason for this maybe, the
"neighbourhood of the port of greatest resort in all that coast, at which the first possess-
"ors landed from Ireland, and so might have fixed their habitation near to it, though
"now the place be but a tract of narrow sands". "There is some probability in the con-
"jecture of Abercrummie. That many of the strongholds of the Romans existed long after
"their departure is well known, and not a few still exist in various quarters of Britain.
"This however must remain a matter of dubiety. At all events the origin of the Castle
"of Turnberry, cannot now be positively ascertained. It is evident, however, that
"it was the residence of the McDowalls, Earls of Carrick. This may be inferred
"from the grants of the Church of Turnberry, and from the erection of the Abbey
"of Crossraguel, by Duncan Earl of Carrick; and it is certain that in 1271, Martha
"Countess of Carrick lived at Turnberry & was in that year married to Robert Bruce
" Earl."

Ordnance Survey - Ayr county, OS Name Books - Ayr county - Volume 39 - Parish of Kirkoswald, OS1/3/39

This volume contains information on place names found in the parish of Kirkoswald.

Ordnance Survey - Ayr county

Ordnance Survey was established in the 18th century to create maps, surveys and associated records for the entirety of Great Britain. These records are arranged by county. This entry has been created to enable searching for Ordnance Survey records for the county of Ayr, which is in the south west of Scotland. The boundaries of the county were altered by the Boundary Commissioners in 1891.

View more volumes for Ordnance Survey - Ayr county