Ochiltree
Encyclopedia
Scotland in the High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages of Scotland encompass Scotland in the era between the death of Domnall II in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III in 1286...
, is a village in East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
near Auchinleck
Auchinleck
Auchinleck ; is a village five miles south-east of Mauchline, and a couple of miles north-west of Cumnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland.Near the village is Auchinleck House, past home of the lawyer, diarist and biographer James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck.Auchinleck has much been associated...
and Cumnock
Cumnock
Cumnock is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water...
. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
settlers.
The name Ochiltree has a Brythonic etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
Uchil tref - the high steading, either a reference to its landscape position (commanding views to south and east), or as a significant local centre.
Main Street is lined with stone cottages and one of these was The House with the Green Shutters
The House with the Green Shutters
The House with the Green Shutters is a novel by the Scottish writer George Douglas Brown, first published in 1901 by John MacQueen. Set in mid-19th century Ayrshire, in the fictitious town of Barbie which is based on his native Ochiltree, it consciously violates the conventions of the sentimental...
in the 1901 novel of that name by George Douglas Brown
George Douglas Brown
George Douglas Brown was a Scottish novelist, best known for his highly influential realist novel The House with the Green Shutters , which was published the year before his death at the age of 33.-Life and work:...
, who was born in Ochiltree. An annual event, The Green Shutters Festival of Working Class Writing, is held here in Brown's memory.
There is also a council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
estate.
The Tennant family, described by Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
originate from the village. Amongst their number are Charles Tennant
Charles Tennant
Charles Tennant was a Scottish chemist and industrialist. He discovered bleaching powder and founded an industrial dynasty.- Biography:...
, Alexander Tennant
Alexander Tennant
Alexander Tennant, born in Ochiltree, Ayrshire in 1772, was a leading British colonist in the Cape Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, an enterprising merchant, a brother to industrialist Charles Tennant and a friend of Robbie Burns.- Early life :...
and Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner
Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner
Edward Priaulx Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner , known as Sir Edward Tennant, 2nd Baronet, from 1906 to 1911, was a Scottish Liberal politician....
.
The ruins of ancient Auchencloigh Castle
Auchencloigh Castle
Auchencloigh Castle or Auchincloigh Castle is a ruined fortification near the Burnton Burn, lying within the feudal lands of the Craufurd Clan, situated in the Parish of Ochiltree, East Ayrshire, Scotland.-Auchencloigh Castle:...
are located near Belston Loch
Belston Loch
Belston Loch , also recorded as Dromsmodda Loch is a small freshwater loch in the East Ayrshire Council Area, near Sinclairston, 2 miles south-east of Drongan, lying in a glacial Kettle Hole...
.
Also from the village is a close associate of King James I of Scotland, Michael Ochiltree
Michael Ochiltree
Michael Ochiltree [Ouchtre] was a 15th century Scottish prelate and administrator. A close associate of King James I of Scotland, from the late 1410s he rose in rank from canon to Dean of Dunblane and then Bishop of Dunblane...
.
A small loch, used latterly as a curling pond, known as Loch of the Hill
South Palmerston Loch
South Palmerston Loch or Flush, previously known as Loch of the Hill, lying to the east of the 500ft Back o'hill Mount. It was one of several small lochs within the Parish of Ochiltree...
lay close to South Palmerston Farm until it was drained in the late 19th century.
See also
- Lord OchiltreeLord OchiltreeLord Ochiltree of Lord Stuart of Ochiltree was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. In 1542 Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Avondale exchanged the lordship of Avondale with Sir James Hamilton for the lordship of Ochiltrie and by Act of Parliament was ordained to be styled Lord Stuart of Ochiltrie...
- Ochiltree County, Texas,
Ochiltree has a population of approx 1200. The village is home to
Ochiltree Primary School and is served by two small shops at the top and bottom of Main Street.
Two sporting venues exist, the Community Centre (next to the school) and the Bowling Club down
by the river. Notable former residents include the McEvoy Family.
Johnny Cymbal, the famous American based singer, songwriter and record producer was born in Ochiltree on the 3rd of February 1945. He is best remembered for his signature song/hit ' Mr. Bass Man '.