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Beith
Beith (locally ) is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court Hill''. History Name Beith's name is thought to emanate from Ogham, which is sometimes referred to as the "''Celtic Tree Alphabet''", ascribing names of trees to individual letters. ''Beithe'' in Old Irish means ''Birch-tree'' (cognate to Latin ''betula''). There is reason to believe that the whole of the district was covered with woods. The town of Beith itself was once known as 'Hill of Beith' as this was the name of the feudal barony and was itself derived from the Court Hill near Hill of Beith Castle. Alternatively, Beith may be derived from Cumbric ''*baɣeδ'', 'boar' ( Welsh ''baedd''). The local pronunciation of the name would favour this theory. The Wood of Beit, now the 'Moor of Beith', has been identified as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hill Of Beith Castle
The old Barony and castle, fortalice, or tower house of Hill of BeithCoventry, Page 135 lay in the feudal Regality of Kilwinning, within the Baillerie of Cunninghame, and the Sherrifdom of Ayr, now the Parish of Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. History The abbots of Kilwinning Abbey The Tironensian monks of Kilwinning Abbey held a Monastic grange, Grange or farmland at Beith, given to the abbey by Sir William de Cunninghame in the early 14th century. This ownership involved the monks in extensive agricultural activities and details of the rents from their farms show a considerable annual production of cheese in particular, 268 recorded for one year alone.Paterson, Page 480 The Barony of Beith had been given to the Kilwinning monks by Richard de Morville's wife towards the end of the 12th century and the monks as ecclesiastical barons, with the feudal right of 'pit and gallows', had a Moot hill, court hill where they delivered local justice. This artificial earth mound is st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
