Darvel

History

Archaeological excavations and surveys, between 2003 and 2007, by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) in advance of the extension to the Loudoun Hill Quarry, found that people had been living in the area between the Mesolithic and the Late Iron Age periods. In the earliest periods the area was covered by woodlands and those were probably still undisturbed. An additional excavation, in 2007, found a rare late medieval farmstead. The pottery and radiocarbon dates indicate that the farm was occupied in the 14th–15th centuries. It is thought that this site belonged to the farm of Newton, which was first documented in the late 14th century within the parish of Galston. At that time the parish of Galston belonged to the Lockhart family. Roman settlements have been found at the base of Loudoun Hill on Allanton Plain and visible at one point from the Windy Wizzen. The modern town of Darvel is said to have been established in the late 18th century. The name Darvel was recorded in old charters as variations of 'Dernvale' or 'Darnevaill' and may derive from an old English word 'derne' which means 'hidden.' Sir William Wallace, the Scottish freedom fighter, has also been associated with the area. 15th century minstrel Blind Harry wrote in his poem The Wallace that Wallace and his men defeated an English force at the hill in 1296 during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Blind Harry also tells of how the English general, Fenwick, who supposedly killed Wallace's father, was killed during the battle. Maps of the area now name a mound to the east of Loudoun Hill as 'Wallace's Grave'. A battle between Robert the Bruce and the English was also fought there on 10 May 1307. The land on which Darvel was built was owned by Earls of Loudoun and it was John…