Saints in Scottish Place-Names
Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant
Friars Well, Ayr
Grid reference
NS 338 219 (accurate position)
Six-figure easting & northing
233800 621900
Latitude
55.462648331867584
Longitude
-4.629066796882162
Altitude (metres)
7
Nearby places
Auld Kirk of Ayr, Ayr (0 miles)
St John the Baptist's Church, Ayr (0.32 miles)
Ayr, parish (0.44 miles)
St Nicholas Rock, Ayr (0.83 miles)
St Mary's Convent, Dalmilling Ayr (1.36 miles)
Object Classification
Water
Is linear feature?
No
Notes
This well seems to have disappeared. Logically named from the site of the Franciscan friary, noted on OS 6" 1st edn "site of Franciscan Monastery, 1472"; but the presence nearby of a Dominican priory, dedicated to St Katherine (see Cowan and Easson), and commemorated in e.g. Blackfriars Court, makes the matter ambiguous. NMRS record notes disappearance of well: "Friars'Well is described in 1855 as "a well of excellent water behind the wall of the Auld Kirk burial ground, close to the river". It is noted in 1953 as 'still issuing into the river'. Name Book 1855; A I Dunlop 1953 No trace of this well was seen. Visited by OS (JLD) 27 December 1955 No further information. Visited by OS (MJF) 27 October 1980"
Names
1 head-name linked to this place ?Friars Well
This is not a hagiotoponym.Head name
Friars Well
Place
Friars Well, Ayr
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Obsolete
Is this a current OS form? ?
No
Is this the original referent of the place?
Maybe
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
Friars Well 1843, OS 6 inch first edn.
Historic formFriars Well This is not a hagiotoponym. Head nameFriars Well PlaceFriars Well, Ayr Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceOS 6 inch first edn. Date of citation1843 x 1882 Notes on the context of this place-nameMid to late 19th c. |
Source code
OS 6 inch first edn.
Source title
Ordnance Survey 6 Inch to the Mile, First Edition
Notes
Mid to late 19th c.
Friars' Well 1855
Historic formFriars' Well This is not a hagiotoponym. Head nameFriars Well PlaceFriars Well, Ayr Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain Date of citation1855 x 1855 |
Friars' Well 1855
Historic formFriars' Well This is not a hagiotoponym. Head nameFriars Well PlaceFriars Well, Ayr Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain Date of citation1855 x 1855 |
Author
Taylor, Simon
Source title
Iona Abbots in Scottish Place-Names
Editors
Dauvit Broun and Thomas Owen Clancy
Pages
35-70
Volume
Spes Scotorum, Hope of Scots:
Year
1999
Friars' Well 1855
Historic formFriars' Well This is not a hagiotoponym. Head nameFriars Well PlaceFriars Well, Ayr Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain Date of citation1855 x 1855 |
Place-name data
The place-name data featured in this resource is copyright of the University of Glasgow.
Map Layers
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Satellite map with labels:
Base map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA, Imagery © Mapbox
Modern OS map:
Ordnance Survey OpenData. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right (2010)
OS 1840-1880 map:
National Library of Scotland Historic Maps
OS 1920-1933 map:
National Library of Scotland Historic Maps
