Loch Shield (NS 45521 19444), originally Loch of Scheel was a freshwater loch in the

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

Council Area, now drained, near

Drongan Drongan is a former mining village in East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. ...

, lying in a glacial

Kettle Hole A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, or pothole) is a depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating ...

, Parish of

Ochiltree Ochiltree is a conservation village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire, with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers. A cinerary urn was found i ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

The loch

Loch Shield was one of several small lochs within the Parish of

. The name Scheel relates to the nearby placename. Many of the Scots gentry once had their summer retreats, pleasantly informal places, referred to as their “shiels”, often within a mile or so of their principal residence, in this case

Sundrum Castle Sundrum Castle is a Scottish medieval castle located north of Coylton, South Ayrshire, by the Water of Coyle river. It was built in the 14th century for Sir Duncan Wallace, Sheriff of Ayr. The castle was inherited by Sir Alan de Cathcart, who ...

. The name otherwise refers to a small shed or

bothy A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...

, often used by fishermen.

Cartographic evidence

Robert Gordon's map of circa 1636-52 does not record the loch. Blaeu's map of circa 1654 taken from

Timothy Pont Reverend Timothy Pont () was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an actual surve ...

's map of circa 1600 shows the Loch of Scheel with dwellings such as Trinmaks, Wereglin, and Glengabyr nearby. The dwelling named Scheel is marked near a wooded enclosure which may have been a part of the policies of the Sundrum estate at the time.Blaeu's Map
Retrieved : 2011-11-22 Roy's map of 1747 does not record the loch, however a Loch Mark is marked. Armstrong's map of 1775 records a placename 'Shield', but no loch or mill. The map evidence suggests that the loch was drained in the early 18th century, although marshy ground is shown on later

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

maps and a burn ran down to the Taiglum Burn prior to the construction of the railway.

Uses

First recorded in the 14th century,RCAHMS
Retrieved : 2011-11-22 the Mil of Scheel (sic) is marked on Blaeu's map of circa 1654 taken from

's map of circa 1600, lying close to the Water of Coyle. The Mill of Shield, or Mill o'Shiel, was a corn mill, fed by a lade running from the Taiglum Burn, water being stored in a mill pond that is no longer extant. The loch's outflow water once flowed into the Taiglum Burn. The mill (NS 43800 17883) still exists in the form of a disused farm (2011).

Micro-history

The area has seen extensive coal mining activity with an open cast mine and collieries, such as the one at North Barbeth. Drongan House lies close to the site of the old loch and indeed a part of the building is known as Lochmark House, previously a farm in its own right. A Mill of Shield Road runs through the nearby housing estate.

References

;Notes ;Sources * {{Commons category, Loch Shield

Shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

History of East Ayrshire

The loch

Cartographic evidence

Uses

Micro-history

See also

References