Lochinvar
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Written by Maggi Kaye   
Monday, 15 December 2008 12:25
Lochinvar loch is situated north-east of Dalry, at a height of about 235m, and is now a reservoir supplying water to the villages. The name comes from the Gaelic, Loch an bharra, meaning ‘loch of the height’.

The land originally belonged to the Lords of Galloway and passed to John Balliol, though the marriage of his father to Devorguilla, daughter of the last Lord of Galloway. When he fell Robert the Bruce granted the land to one John Boyd, it being part of the Glenkens which he held, as Balliol . The Gordons appear to have purchased it around the end of the 14th century and later is was granted by James IV to the third Lord Maxwell.

Before the level of Lochinvar loch was raised for it to be used as a reservoir, there was the ruin of a building on an island in the loch, thought by some to have been the home to the Lairds of Lochinvar, the exploits of one of whom is supposed to be the basis of Scott’s ballad, ‘Young Lochinvar’, though there is no evidence that any of it ever happened. The ruins on the island, which may have been a crannog from much earlier times, may just be from a rough shelter, according to McKerlie. The descendants of this family went on to become Viscount of Kenmore or Kenmuir- see New Galloway.

In about 1790 the estate of Lochinvar was purchased by the trustees of George Oswald of Auchincruive and Cavens (Kirkbean). This included at least 12 farms and a further six farms were added in 1799. On one of the farms, Gordonston, there are the remains of a mill and at one time there was a village of sorts there. On another farm, Bogue, there was said to have been a chapel, in the 11th century, and a mound called Court Knoll from which justice was dispensed until about 1715. In 1877 the estate covered about 10,000 acres.

Gordon of Lochinvar There is a story about how the knight of Lochinvar got the name Gordon. The laird of Lochinvar was hunting a boar for which the king was giving a reward as they were considered “noxious animals”. He finally slew the boar and cut out its tongue, but being exhausted he fell asleep beside his prey. Another man called Seaton (or Maxwell in some sources) had also been after the beast and finding it dead and Lochinvar asleep he cut off its head and went to the King for his reward, which he received. Lochinvar, on waking, realised what had happened and sped off to Edinburgh to see the King. He produced the tongue and asked the King to inspect the head that had been given to him by Seaton. This was done and he got his reward. The King asked his surname and he replied “I am Adam of Lochinvar, no surname”. The King then asked him how he had killed the boar and he said “I just gored him down”. “Well”, said the King, “as a reward of your merit you shall be henceforth Goredown knight of Lochinvar”. Unfortunately for this story, the family name actually comes from elsewhere.
Last Updated on Monday, 15 December 2008 12:44