Saints in Scottish Place-Names
Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant
St John the Baptist's Church, Ayr
Grid reference
NS 333 220 (accurate position)
Six-figure easting & northing
233300 622000
Latitude
55.46337599814692
Longitude
-4.637026726413723
Altitude (metres)
7
County
Ayrshire
Nearby places
Ayr, parish (0.12 miles)
Friars Well, Ayr (0.32 miles)
Auld Kirk of Ayr, Ayr (0.32 miles)
St Nicholas Rock, Ayr (0.53 miles)
St Leonard's Hospital & chapel, Doonslee, Ayr (1.49 miles)
Object Classification
Antiquity
Ecclesiastical
Is linear feature?
No
Notes
This is the medieval church of Ayr, first mentioned in 1230s, probably dating however from 1203. A single tower remains. See NMRS for probable thirteenth-century origin (Ayr became a burgh in 1203), a fifteenth-century tower, and excavations in 1985 which uncovered the foundations of the nave walls and piers. Two early medieval stone coffins have beeen found and numerous carved grave slabs. There is note of a St John's Well (Canmore ID 41804) but rather unreliable evidence.
Relationships with other parishes
Within Ayr, parish
Names
2 head-names linked to this place ?Sancti Johannis
Head name
Sancti Johannis
Place
St John the Baptist's Church, 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The status of this name is
Obsolete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?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
Sancti Johannis 1370, Melrose Liber
Historic formSancti Johannis Head nameSancti Johannis PlaceSt John the Baptist's Church, Ayr Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceMelrose Liber, no. 481 Date of citation1370 x 1390 Feature named in sourcechurch |
Source code
Melrose Liber
Source title
Liber Sancte Marie de Melros
Series
Bannatyne Club
Year
1837
Saints in this place-name
John (ns) (certain)
John the Baptist (certain)
St John the Baptist's Church
Head name
St John the Baptist's Church
Place
St John the Baptist's Church, Ayr
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Current
Is this a current OS form? ?
Yes
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
St John the Baptist Church 1843, OS 6 inch first edn.
Historic formSt John the Baptist Church Head nameSt John the Baptist's Church PlaceSt John the Baptist's Church, 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.
Saints in this place-name
John (ns) (certain)
John the Baptist (certain)
Place-name data
The place-name data featured in this resource is copyright of the University of Glasgow.
Map Layers
The map interface was produced using the Leaflet.js library. Attribution for the base layers is as follows:
Default map:
Tiles © Esri — Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, TomTom, Intermap, iPC, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), and the GIS User Community
Satellite map:
Tiles © Esri — Source: Esri, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, GeoEye, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, UPR-EGP, and the GIS User Community
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
