Tarbolton

Tarbolton
Tarbolton church.
Tarbolton
Location within South Ayrshire
Population1,860 (2020)[1]
Civil parish
  • Tarbolton Community Council
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMauchline
Postcode districtKA5
Dialling code01292
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Tarbolton (Scots: Tarbowton)[2] is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is near Failford, Mauchline, Ayr, and Kilmarnock. The old Fail Monastery was nearby and Robert Burns connections are strong, including the Bachelors' Club museum.

Meaning of place-name

Tarbolton has been suggested as having one of three meanings:

  • Village by the tor or hill, from Old English torr 'tor, hill, cliff' and boðl-tun /bothl-tun "village with buildings, equivalent to Bolton in Greater Manchester. The name was recorded as Torbolten in 1138, suggesting this origin.
  • Village by the field and hill, from Old English torr 'tor, hill, cliff' and bāll 'field (not meaning the same as ball 'ball', i.e. football), as in Dunball, Somerset, with tun 'farm, village'. The name's record in writing as Torballtone in 1209 suggests this origin may be possible.
  • Village by the hill, from Old Gaelic tor, modern Gaelic tòrr, (where the Old English word is derived from, and baile "village, usually Bally- in Irish place-names, with the tautologous Old English tun "farm, village" added by Anglo-Saxon settlers who did not understand the language. Records of the name as Torbalyrtune in 1148 suggest this origin.

Location

Tarbolton is 7 miles (11 kilometres) east-northeast of Ayr, 7 mi (11 km) southwest of Kilmarnock, 5 mi (8 km) West of Mauchline, and 1+1⁄4 mi (2 km) from its own now disused railway station. It has a school, church, a gospel hall, two pubs, a bowling club, and is home to the Bachelors' Club, a frequent haunt of Robert Burns. The village is in the Cumnock and Doon Valley.

The monastery and later castle of Fail existed at the hamlet of that name near Fail Toll. Fail Loch once covered a significant area however it survives now only as an area liable to flooding.

Nearby going towards Failford was the Old Montgomery Castle or Coilsfield House where one of Robert Burns's loves worked.

Tarbolton Primary takes pupils from surrounding farms and from Failford, a small hamlet north of the village. The school's houses are Fail, Afton, Coyle and Montgomery, named after local areas and rivers.

Famous residents

References

  1. ^ "Population estimates for settlements and localities in Scotland: mid-2020". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. ^ Eagle, Andy. "The Online Scots Dictionary".
  3. ^ "Gold rush". The Herald.
  4. ^ "Ian McLauchlan, non-executive director". Scottish Rugby website. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
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