#greatplaces

[billyhjackson]

Painting of my good friends family farm in South Dakota. #greatplaces #billyjacksonart #landscapepainting #acrylic #greatplacesgreatfaces #love (at Markham, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkbJtDEOuVK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gotzgoppert]

Close to paradise #travel #montenegro #greatplaces #europe #mediterranean #ocean #harbour #view #summer #earlymorning #outdoor #goodtimes #photography #blackandwhitephotography #phonephotography #shotoniphone #timeoff #placetovisit (at Rose) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSeZxaLI9_F/?utm_medium=tumblr

[biosphereplace]

KIRKYARD FAIRS at Borgue, Old Luce & Barr

It may seem strange to us now but 300 years ago there were no villages instead the landscape was scattered with small fermtouns, usually collections of only three of four humble dwellings, where the inhabitants farmed the surrounding open countryside. The parish church was usually erected in an easily accessible location usually in the centre of the parish and was a meeting place for many in the community. However, it still comes as a surprise to many that the parish church yard is where markets and fairs were held long before towns and villages appeared.

In Glenluce an act granted in 1669 identifies the Kirk of Glenluce as a good place for a market because of its location in the centre of Wigtownshire where people need to pass on their travels to and from Ireland and England. The king granted Sir James Dalrymple, his heirs and successors, a weekly mercat upon Saturdays, with two free fairs yearly, the one upon the last Tuesday in May, the other upon the first Tuesday in August, to be kept at the kirk of Glenluce upon the lands of Balcail.

Andrew Symson's work "A Large Description of Galloway" written in the late 1690s described a fair on the Borgue coast at Kirkandrews (pictured above).

In the kirkyard of Kirkanders, upon the ninth day of August, there is a fair kept, called St Lawernce Fair, where all sorts of merchant-wares are to be sold; but the fair lasts only three or four hours, and then the people, who flock hither in great companies, drink and debauch, and commonly great lewdness is committed here at this fair.

It would appear that fairs and markets provided opportunities for inhabitants to purchase and trade good as well as take part in a wide range of social activities.

The ruin of Kirkdominae in the Stinchar Valley near Barr is the remains of a pre-reformation chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity (the place-name Kirkdominae will be a topic of another blog). Although the surviving remains of the chapel cannot be easily dated it is recorded that it was partly deconstructed in the mid-1600s to help build a new parish church at Barr. An anonymous ballad celebratesthe annual fair that held at the site on the last Sunday of May that only ceased in 1837. The ballad reveals the fair as it is experienced by a young man and sets the scene of stalls, drinking, eating, music, brawls and pretty girls and suggests that it was an important social event for people from miles around.

As the character of the countryside changed with new farming practices, improved transport links and the development of villages and towns so the markets and fairs were relocated and the special of a Fair at the Kirk became lost in the mists of time.

[biosphereplace]

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY (4)

Old photographs of the people and village of Kirkcowan are a remarkable resource that have featured in windows to create a Street Exhibition. A closer look at each photograph combined with local knowledge and a little research help reveal the story of a village.

This is a photograph of Kirkcowan School House and appears to show headmaster John McCallum, his wife Agnes and two grandchildren and was probably taken in the mid 1890s.

The school house was built in 1863 the year after the parish school was constructed in the top of the village close to the new Parish Church. The earlier parish school was located at the bottom of the village at Ballgreen between the Old Kirk and the Manse.

John had been appointed as the headmaster of the old school for a short while before moving into the new school house with Agnes where they raised six daughters and three sons. He remained in the house until 1898 when at the age of 72 he retired after 38 years of service as the headmaster.

John Cuthbert moved into the School House as the replacement headmaster and John McCallum moved to Storgan Villa in Church Street.

With thanks to Alix Parker for the photograph.

[biosphereplace]

FINDING FIELD-NAMES (4) HAC NOOSE

This name was recorded as Hac Noose in a list of field-names collected over 20 years ago by Adam Gray. Although now known as the Kennel Field the alternative name appears to refer to the rocks on the shore below the field and is probably derived from Old English haca-nōs meaning hook-nose or hook-shaped headland. The shape of the shore has changed through the centuries but the tide-covered rocks below this field do form a hook shape.

A FISH TRAP? There is another, more intriguing, possibility: ‘Hac’ might be a rare survival of a Scandinavian-influenced form ‘hack’ of Old English hæcc ‘hatch’, with the specific meaning a fish-trap. Noose could still mean nose or might be Scots noose referring to the tightening space of a fish trap. The small bay enclosed by the natural rock outcrop could have been turned into a fish trap similar to the remains of other ancient fish traps found in nearby Kirkcudbright Bay.

[nashrodricks]

Byg Brewsky Hennur... . . . #byg #bygbrewski #oldpost #greatplaces #greatambiance #ambiance #crazyweekends #toogood #reminiscing #2019 #instagood #instafood #instalike #instalife #instalove #instapic #instagram #instafoodie #yum #yummy #yummyinmytummy #foodporn #foodgasm #foodgasmic #foodblogger #foodblog #feastinbeastfbt (at Byg Brewski Hennur) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLbrLEwhEr2/?igshid=iyrjswaj3170

[biosphereplace]

IMPRESSIVE EARTHWORK

Dinvin Motte, near Pinmore and the Stinchar Valley, is a distinctive hill with a flat-topped conical mound at the centre surrounded by a series of defensive ditches and banks that identifies it as a medieval moated homestead.

Very little is known about Dinvin Motte and it may have served many different purposes but was probably built by powerful Anglo-Norman noble who had been granted the land by a Scottish King. On the mound would have been a timber castle surrounded by a tall palisade with a gated entrance. It was a place that could be defended from attack in the 12th century. The structure is in a commanding location and would have been a powerhouse from which local communities were controlled as well as being a display of wealth and status.  The earthwork is impressively well preserved and from the top there are extensive views of the Ayrshire coast, Arran, Girvan, and Byne Hill.

For many years the scale of the defences led scholars to believe that the site was of much earlier date. This analysis was reinforced by the place name Dinvin, with the Gaelic element Dùn identifying it as an ancient fort. The second element of the place name may refer to the mythological Irish hunter and warrior Fionn mac Cuthmail or Finn MacCool and his clan. His exploits were legendary amongst the Gaelic-speaking peoples of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man and many landmarks are named after him and places where legends about him are located. Dinvin may have been the focus of a local tale where Finn MacCool played a central character.

In a less exciting interpretation Dinvin may simply be White Fort, derived from the Gaelic Dùn Fionn.

PLACE in the Biosphere is taking a closer look at place names in the Stinchar Valley to discover the possible meanings and what they tell us about people in the past - see further analysis here; 

https://www.gsabiosphere.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Stinchar-Valley-Place-Names-V2.pdf

Image provided by Solway Heritage.

[andreaferratometabox]

Le Serre. #greatplaces #nature #greenhouse #culture #park #plant #innovation #humans #design #art #green #shotoniphone #igersitalia #igersemiliaromagna #igersbologna @leserredeigiardini (presso Le Serre Dei Giardini Margherita) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFCCBdCqama/?igshid=rvx8qglkpk3j