Moscow is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It is on the
A719 road some east of
Kilmarnock. In 2006 its population was reported as 118. It is represented in the "Galston West and Hurlford North" ward of East Ayrshire Council.
Name
The name is thought to be a corruption of "Moss-hall" or "Moss-haw" but its spelling was amended in 1812 to mark
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's retreat from
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. The name may also be of
Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
origin, and derived from the words ''maɣes'', "field" and ''coll'', "hazel" (
Welsh ''maes-coll'').
A stream called the Volga Burn flows through the village. Locally the land and forest around Cowans Law to the north-west is referred to as 'Little Russia'.
The hamlet also shares the same latitude (
55° North) as the Russian city. The village is well known in Russia for its name. Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
, some locals considered trying to rename the village.
History
Walter Emery of the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers had researched the names Moscow, Volga and Ruschaw in 1933. The
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...
(OS) notified him that the local residents had authorised the name 'Moscow' and that the name appears on Aitken's 1829 map, the valuation role, the Grougar Estate map, and Johnson's 1828 County map. The
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...
also referred to a local tradition that the name was derived from the burning of Moscow in Russia in 1812, the first house in Moscow in Ayrshire having been built at about that time.
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...
County Council suggested that "during the Crimean war there were various refugees and prisoners located in the neighbourhood, and it was then that Russian names were given to various places."
[Emery, Page 169.]
Shaw records that "a generation ago Russian prisoners of war were located between Galston and Fenwick, at a place called Moscow".
In the Spring of 1884 a Mr. Rankin was found murdered in a gruesome fashion at his lonely cottage near Moscow. He was said to be well-to-do, however although no clues were found, theft was considered to be the motive; the guilty party was never brought to justice. Mr. McNabb, a retired police officer, related that in his opinion the murder was carried out by a
somnambulist who was therefore unaware of the deed. He had never ventured this opinion officially for fear of being laughed out of the force.
Micro-history
Recently (2008) a personal airstrip was established in a field near the village for light aircraft.
The village is referenced in the song "Hayfever" by
The Trash Can Sinatras
Trashcan Sinatras are a Scottish band that were formed in Irvine, Scotland in 1986. The band's music makes frequent use of pop harmonies and wordplay.
History
Formation
The band members met through the club/pub music scene in Irvine. The ...
on their album ''
I've Seen Everything'': "Moscow's in Ayrshire, what's the problem?"
[Trashcan Sinatras website, lyrics page, http://trashcansinatras.com/lyrics/ive-seen-everything-lyrics/]
See also
*
River Irvine
The River Irvine ( gd, Irbhinn) is a river that flows through southwest Scotland. Its watershed is on the Lanarkshire border of Ayrshire at an altitude of above sea-level, near Loudoun Hill, Drumclog, and SW by W of Strathaven. It flows west ...
- tributaries listed.
References
;Notes
;Sources
* Aitken, John. ''The Humours of Ayrshire or Travels with a Bookstall.'' Kilmarnock : D. Brown & Co.
* Emery, Walter (1933), Armsheugh Glen and Templetonburn, 19 August 1933. Annals of the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers Society. Jubilee Number. 1934.
* Shaw, James Edward (1953). ''Ayrshire 1745-1950. A Social and Industrial History''. Edinburgh : Oliver & Boyd.
External links
Local government website*
{{authority control
Villages in East Ayrshire
Hamlets in Scotland