ALTHOUGH our available space is now so limited, we shall do our
best to turn what we have to good account. Wemyss Bay is in the
west of the county of Renfrew, a name which signifies the rath or
fortified town of the chiefs. Vanduara, or town of the giant-
heroes, was in much earlier times a place of strength, and may
have been either at the county town or in the wood of Durchat,
near Paisley. It is a piece of mere hardihood to say that this
town of the mighty heroes was a Roman camp. We should rather
adhere to the view which makes it a stronghold of the Downans, a
Firbolg race, who may have had something to do with Downies-hill,
near Castlesemple. Agricola, or some of the generals who came
after him, may have visited these parts, and built bridges and
roads, but we must bear in mind that Dunrod, or the hill of the
fort, and many other strong places within the country, were held
by the Celtic lords of the district for generations prior to the
coming of the Roman cohorts. One of these strong places is the
Torr of Meagle, or the hill of the stranger chiefs, and this is
the very "place of strength" which has proved to be the
source of the name Skelmorlie, the meaning of which is given at p.
106. A stronghold of note it had been, and was probably held for
a time by some of those Fomorian pirates and sea-rovers, who
infested the coasts of Britain during the period of the Roman
occupancy, and who were, for the most part, men of Teutonic race.
To connect such a famous site with those fancies and fables which
represent it as the scene of serpent-worship and the theatre of
demonical orgies, is simply to discredit the plain testimony of
obvious facts, and to produce a downright caricature. Some years
ago the writer of these pages carefully examined the site of the
above ruined burg, and also two more of Mr. Phene's so-called
"serpent mounds." The result was a complete demolition
of the philosopher's craze, in the despatch of which effective
aid was given by a company of the best Scottish antiquities. It
is, therefore, much to be regretted that a theory so vain and
flimsy—not worth powder and shot—should be reproduced
in the pages of any local Guide-Book.
Wemyss Bay has its name from the "weems" or caves which
sea- waves, in the course of a long past geological epoch, have
worn in the face of the shore line of cliffs. Pretty caves they
are, and quite a home for the tufted fronds of the shiny-green
harts- tongue and other ferns. Had they been only a little larger
and deeper we should, perhaps, have had amongst them a Monks'
cave as in Cumbrae, or a Jerrygaha (giant's cave) as in Kintyre.
But indeed, the "halyman" or hermit could not be far
off, for a little way in the rear stood the "chapel of
penitence" (see p. 106). Here some local critic may say
that the writer has not got the proper form of Annat-yards, and
may mentally proceed to correct him. If any such does so
challenge anything in regard to this matter, let it be said that
Timothy Pont is the writer's guide, followed up by a searching
study of the old local names? And yet in such a matter as the
interpreting of old names of places we find sciolists rashly
venturing in where wise men fear to tread. It is an entire
reversal and discrediting of the inductive method—that
candid and patient questioning of the witnesses to which, in many
of the sciences, we owe so much. Does the name Skelmorlie really
have that meaning which the present writer, says it has?
Undoubtedly so. Well then, are we to believe the
author of any "brochure" Guide to this locality when he
says that "auchen" signifies a field, that
"clachan" means a stone circle, and next, a church,
that Irvine is the greywater, and that Cumbrae has its name from
a Gaelic word signifying "fragrant?" Certainly not. We
must bow out of court these and all such erroneous conclusions.
Irvine, as a name, simply means the water-side, clachan is a
stone-house, and hence a chapel. Kempock, as a name, has nothing
to do with "a maiden," but is simply a appellation for
the grave of some gallant sea-roving captain from the northern
strand,—the name being a pure Norse compound signifying the
champion's cairn. The greater part of this cairn has disappeared,
but the spot is marked by a great rude pillar-stone (see
Landmarks, p. 32). As a corrective of many errors in this
matter of the interpreting of local names, let it be briefly
stated here that the attempts which G. Chalmers, in his
Caledonia, made to explain many names of places, do not merely
bear the stamp of half- knowledge, but of so much less as to make
them more of a hindrance than a help to the young student of
philology. Portrye is explained at page 20, and must have had its
name long before King Hakon bade his men row him ashore in order
to have a mass said. Caves and dens are called "weems,"
even, when earth-houses are not meant. Dunoon is the heroes'
fort, Rothesay is the castle- islet, and is a Norse name, as the
present writer has been the first show. Daff-glen has its name
from the Celtic word daimh, a church, and the fact favours the
alleged antiquity of "Auld Kirk. " Spango means the
steep hill-side water, and the Kip is the hill- head brook, as
coming from an upland ridge.
Wemyss Bay is a bracing sea-side resort, and numerous handsome
villas testify to its popularity. From any station on the
Caledonian Railway it is easily reached, and a well- organised
service of steamboats enables passengers to find ready access to
many of the other watering-places on the shores of the Firth. It
has several churches, and a first-class Hydropathic
Establishment. Numerous fine villas and residences skirt the
shore in front of the picturesque cliffs of Skelmorlie, and a
still larger number occupy favourable sites on the higher
grounds. Turning to the left, on leaving the Railway Terminus,
one has Kelly Glen on the right, the lands of which were long
held by the Bannatynes. A walk of half-a-mile brings one to the
fine pebbly strand of the "White Wick" of Wemyss (wick,
a little bay), near to which is the Post Office. Passing along
the Bay, the visitor has several handsome villa residences on the
right, and presently comes upon a fine succession of highly
picturesque cliffs. Ferncliff sits snugly under the red crags,
which find fit adornment in fern and flower and tree. To the
north of this villa is the English Episcopal Church, a beautiful
Gothic erection, built, A.D. 1879 in memory of the late Mrs.
George Burns, and containing a memorial window in honour of the
late Earl of Shaftesbury.
In the near vicinity is WEMYSS HOUSE, the residence of Mr. George
Burns, proprietor of the estate of Wemyss Bay.
A little farther to the north a noble pile of buildings arrests
the eye and engages the high admiration of the beholder. This is
CASTLE WEMYSS, the residence of Mr. John Burns, Chairman of the
Cunard Company. It is a handsome castellated edifice of imposing
dimensions and commanding position, and has been justly described
as "a rare and striking specimen of the old Scottish
baronial style." The fien red sandstone used in its
construction receives the full effect of the harmony produced by
its lovely environment of green lawns and shrubs and terraces.
Within the Castle grounds there are numerous and extensive
conservatories, vineries, and peach-houses; a Lawn-tennis ground
available for four courts ; a private pier of solid stone
masonry, from which to board Mr. Burns's magnificent steam yacht
"Capercailzie," R.Y. S., of five hundred tons—at
anchor in the offing,—these and other accessories of a
large establishment combine to make Castle Wemyss a remarkable
illustrations of the happy results of well- directed taste and
enterprise.
LARGS.—The prescribed limits of this little book deman a
severe curtailing of this section ; but, as such an attractive
watering-place as Largs has long proved deserves better
treatment, we hope to see soon a Hand-book to this locality which
shall be worthy of its many interesting sites. Largs has its name
from the Gaelic learg, a green slope, a hill slope, a sloping
country-side. There is such a "Largs" or Larg-hill at
Straiton, and there is another in country near Oban. The meaning
is certain, and it must be noted that the idea or notion of
"a pass" is not associated with the term. A green slope
may, indeed, be mounted, but beyond that there is no definite
conception of a pass connected with the term learg. According to
the above Largs was originally the name of the sloping
countryside in its vicinity, and was subsequently transferred or
applied to the hamlet which sprung up around the ancient church
of St. Columba. Magga or Meaga Law was a cairn of vast size which
stood for ages in a field about one hundred yards north of
Haylie. This cairn has been removed, and only the gigantic
kistvaen or chest of stones remains. Its name has an evident
connection with the Meatae or Picts, and it shows that, in olden
times, this cairn was held to belong to people of that race. One
of its names, when interpreted, points it out as the tomb of a
Celtic lord. Margets- law is another (a corrupt) form of its
proper name. Hadil [haddil] is a name for it (O.S.A.), and this
signifies the site or place of the grave-mound. Haylie is a name
which denotes the mansion-house slope, and has nothing in the
world to do with "helle, a pit or burial-place." Gilburn
is near at hand, in the vicinity of which Pont places
Killinocraig, or the wood of the crag. The same old
choreographer, writing nearly three centuries ago, places
hereabouts the name of Paddoc Kirddin, or the camp of the Picts.
Kephanburn, meaning chapel-burn, is at the near end of Fairlie.
Trigonie, judging by the camp at another place of the same name,
should denote the heroes' fort or fenced town. Greeto or Gritow
has its name from the numerous stones of its channel,
—griot-a', river of stones, or small boulders. Greta, at
Keswick, is the same. Gogo also is of Norse origin, and signifies
the moss- land water. Fichen is a green plot or stripe of
pasture, Firret of Keith is the moor-land of sheep-folds. Ringanros
is tho robbers' cairn, and Camyir is the high kame or ridge
between the counties. The "Deid Man" is at Coukilreeva,
or the mossy-hilt fold. The old folks in Lochwinnoch used to say
(when the wind was in the north),—"It'll be fine
weather to-day, for t'wind's aff the Coukils," that is, the
quaghills of Misty-law and Hill o' Staik, —Norse stac, a
towering mass of rock, a peak. Kempis-riggs are the champions'
allotments of land, and Aghanvranchan (castle- hill) denotes the
stronghold of the Fomorians or sea-rovers. Noddisdale has
certainly got its name from the camp or fort called Castle-law in
Aitken's map. Netslie contains the same Kymric word for a fort,
viz., naid, and this is confirmed by the Laverock-castle near
Kilburn. Laverock is laurach, meaning the site of a ruined fort
or building. Raillies keeps in mind the ancient reilig or
cemetery near Chapelton and the Dokeers of Pont's time. These
places (a rich and lovely region) are on Kelsoland, or the land
of the house of prayer— an extremely early church. For
Aplenira (Aplas) see Landmarks p. 130 ; but if Applehirst be the
true name of the place, then hirst, bush, copsewood. Eddelyburn
is in this quarter, and the first part of the compound signifies
the site of the peel or stone tower,—aite ailigh. These
details (though dry enough) may be useful to some inquirers.
FAIRLIE.—The charms of this delightful sea-side resort are
well known. It is certain that great numbers of Northmen settled
on the islands and shores of the Clyde firth. They were men of a
noble race, and were often called firdar in their own tongue,
meaning strong men, "warriors". Hence the name of Fairlie,
or its older form Fairnelie, signifying the heroes' camp or
settlement. Such original settlements, were, of course, protected
by a bulwark of earth called "birren," or by a stockade
of heavy timber. Redding is in the neighbourhood of the village,
and signifies camp, a fort. This may have been the strong place
of the early fair-haired settlers. Fairlie Castle may have, in a
later age, taken the place of the primitive stronghold. Chapel-
house, an old local name, explains itself. But the name of
another chapel at Southannan is not so obvious. It is, however,
known by old records to be St. Anan's Chapel, that is, the chapel
of St Adamnan, the biographer of Columba. The whole of this
charming sea-board is a pleasant place to dwell in, and in taking
leave of it so early we can only do so, in the hope of returning
soon to its sunny shores.
