Torranyard is a small village or hamlet in

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

, Parish of

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, ; ) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the banks of the River Garnock in Ayrshire, west/central Scotland, about southwest of Glasgow. Kilwinning's neighbours are the coastal towns of Stevenston to the west an ...

, Scotland. It lies between the settlements of

Auchentiber The hamlet of Auchentiber (Scottish Gaelic, ''Achadh an Tiobair'') is in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Auchentiber is northeast of Kilwinning on the Lochlibo Road, from the hamlet of Barony and Castle of Giffen, Burnhouse and ...

and

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier * Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia * Irvine Island * Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada * Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut Scotland *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...

on the A736 Lochlibo Road.

History

Torranyard is a hamlet at what is now a crossroads on the Irvine to Glasgow A736 'Lochlibo Road', previous to the main road's construction, circa 1820, it sat on the toll road that ran from Kilwinning and Irvine via

Benslie Benslie is a small village in North Ayrshire, in the parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. Map reference NS 336 429. History This village, previously Benislay (1205),Eglinton Country Park archive. Beinslay (Timothy Pont 1604 - 08),Pont, Timothy (1604 ...

to Glasgow, passing Loch Libo at Uplawmoor en route. Roy's map of 1747 records the settlement of 'Turringyard' near Auchenharvie Castle . The 1897 25 inch to the mile OS map records a 'Tour Inn' opposite the old Torranyard Toll, now the Torranyard Tabdoori. It was recorded as 'Turnyard' in 1775, 'Tirranyard' on Thomson's 1820 map and in 1832. The Montgreenan estate is nearby and the site of the old Girgenti house and surviving tower are nearby on the

Cunninghamhead Cunninghamhead is a hamlet on the Annick Water in the Parish of Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The area was part of the old Cunninghamhead estate, and once contained several watermills. Cunninghamhead and the mills on the Annick Water The ...

road. The meaning of 'Tour' in ScotsA_Researcher's_Guide_to_Local_History_Terminology
/ref> is 'Tower', as in the prominent Auchenharvie castle tower nearby. A Yard in Scots is a garden. 'Torranyard' could therefore be a corruption of 'Tour Inn yard.' Local people still pronounce the name 'Torranyard' as 'TOURanyard'. Jamieson records that the inn at Burnhouse was nicknamed the 'Trap 'Em Inn', the one at

Lugton Lugton is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 80 people. The A736 road runs through on its way from Glasgow, to the north, to Irvine, North Ayrshire, Irvine in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settleme ...

was called the 'Lug 'Em Inn', that at

the 'Cleek 'Em Inn', and finally the one at Torranyard was called the 'Turn 'Em Out.'Jamieson, Page 18

The Resurrectionists

A local legend is that in the days of the 'body snatchers' or ' resurrectionists'; before the

Anatomy Act 1832 The Anatomy Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 75), also known as the Warburton Anatomy Act 1832 is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave free licence to doctors, teachers of anatomy and bona fide medical students to dissect donated ...

, bodies obtained locally were hidden in the ruins of the nearby Auchenharvie Castle before being taken up to Glasgow at night to sell to the surgeons and medical students at the old university. Another version of the story states that the bodies were collected together from neighbouring parishes at Darnshaw, a remote house near Bloak Moss on the old Auchenharvie to Megswell toll road route.Strawhorn, Page 113.Love, Page 148 The old toll road did run past the site and a toll gate and house stood fairly close by which must cast some doubt on the castle being involved.Holder, Page 54 Jamieson records the story that tramps were lured to their deaths at the inns along this road by 'body snatchers' and as evidence it is recorded that when the Cleikum Inn at

was demolished a large collection of walking sticks were found.

Micro-history

A William Forgisal (Fergushill) of Torranyard was miner at the Doura Pit in the 18th-century. He lost his leg in a mining accident, as had his father. William's wife was a tough sort, her comment being on seeing him so encumbered, was that the Forgisal's would need a small plantation of their own to keep them in crutches.Service, Page 140. A Torranyard Farm is located to the north-west of the village. Viewfield Manor Holiday Village is located behind the Torranyard Tandoori that faces the A736. the site was partly used as a refuse tip at one time as shown on OS maps. Opencast workings and 'works' are shown on old OS maps nearby, close to the Greenacres Equestrian Centre (2012).

External links

Viewfield Manor

References

Notes

Sources and bibliography

# Dobie, James (1876). ''Pont's Cunninghame topographized 1604–1608 with continuations and illustrative notices''. Pub. John Tweed. # Holder, Geoff (2010). ''Scottish Bodysnatchers''. Port Stroud : The History Press. . # Jamieson, Sheila (1997). ''Our Village''. 'Greenhills Women's Institute. # Love, Dane (1989). ''Scottish Kirkyards''. London : Robert Hale. . # Love, Dane (2003). ''Ayrshire : Discovering a County''. Ayr : Fort Publishing. . # Reid, Donald L. and Monahan, Isobel F. (1999). ''Yesterdays Beith, a pictorial guide''. Beith : DoE Award Scheme. # Service, John (Editor) (1887). ''The Life & Recollections of Doctor Duguid of Kilwinning.'' Pub. Young J. Pentland. # Strawhorn, John (1985). ''The History of Irvine.'' Pub. John Donald. . {{authority control History of North Ayrshire Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Villages in North Ayrshire Kilwinning