Minnock

The veelage wis kent as 'Minnock Brig' in 1886 an the river wis recordit as 'Minnick Watter' wi its soorce 7 mile awa on the nor'wastren slope o Lowther Hill. The watter haes its infaw here wi the River Nith. The aurie is famous for its association wi the Covenanters.^[1] A road owerbrig lies a bit wey til the sooth cairyin the B797 road (the Minnock Pass road) tae Leidhills an Wanlockheid. A towl hoose stuid juist til the sooth o the infaw on the wastren side. A tron wis locatit near this towl hoose, set intil the road surface.^[2] By 1898 the towl hoose haed closed an the tron wis no longer praisent.^[3]

Mennock Bridge School, later Mennock Scuil, wis situatit near the auld entry til the Mennock Lye Goods Depot wi the schuilhoose staundin nearby. The Mennock War Memorial haes the names o thaim that served and that dee'd fae the veelage as weel as thaim that gaed til the schuil an wis kilt in Warld War I.^[4]

Glendyne lies aboot 2 mile fae Minnock an is famous as a ae-time hidin place for herrit Covenanters thanks til its isolation an its deepth.^[5]

In 1832 an absent by the 1930s, a mill is shawn on the Minnock Watter near the ptynt whaur the Sow Burn jynes it, houiver by the 1850s a corn mill wis praisent juist abuin the Minnock Viaduct wi a kell or weir an a fuird. A loan ran up Kiln Hill fae the site o Menock Mill an jynt then Minnock Pass road near the site o the auld mill.^[6] Menock Mill is no langer in uiss houiver the miller's hoose is praisent yet. A smaw craft bi the name o Ringbrae ance stuid near the Minnock Wuid, a paith an a fitbrig connectin it til the veelage.^[7]

Eliock Hoose staunds on the wastren bank o the River Nith an wis in the haunds o the Dalzell family fae aboot 1388 tae 1720, an the Veitch faimily wis bidin there until 1905, bit by 1914 James Irving McConnel is leetit as the awner follaed bi George W. Greenshields in the late 1930s. The auldest pairt o the hoose is a substantious tour, likely datin til the 16t century.^[8] Eliock Hoose is said tae be the birthplace o James Crichton, common kent as 'the Admirable Crichton', a polymath, heich skeelt in leids, the airts, an sciences, murthert in 1582 at the age o 21.

Castle Gilmour (NS822093) ance leukit ower Menock, name't fae the Clan Gilmour, an it stuid near Auchengruith Ferm houiver naething remeens noo at the site.^[9]

The Cross Kirk o Minnock is a lairge cross, said tae merk the site o an auld chaipel, composed o stanes an yird an locatit on a flet aurie o grund at the fit o Glenclauch Brae, juist aff the Minnock Road. A bucht or fank, ance uised for sheep in winter, stuid nearby.^[10]

Minnock lies in Nithsdale, a naitural communication througang that haes upshottit in baith roads an railweys cuttin throu it. The Dumfries-til-Ayr road rins throu on its wey tae Sanchar. The Duke o Queensberry biggit aboot 22 mile o new road an in addeetion a road (the B797 road) throu the Minnock Pass til the coonty boond an onwart til Edinburgh.^[11] The veelage niver haed a railwey station itsel, the nearest station nouadays bein Sanquhar railwey station and umwhile a station wis praisent at Carronbrig.

This auncient paith rins fae the veelage, unner the railwey duct, past the 19t century corn mill ruins an syne conteenas up aside the Minnock Watter an crosses the B797 efter passin the sit o the pre-1850's mill. Evenutal the Dempster Paith jynes the B797 ablo Middlemoor Hill. The Dempster Road featurs on the OS 6" 1892-1905 edeetion merkit as a fitpaith. It appears, as it avydes the towl hoose, tae be an alternative til the than-towlt B797 that rins closer til the Minnock Watter.^[12] The name 'Dempster' suggests a muckle aulder oreegin as a dempster (Scots: duimster), until 1746, wis the offeecial at Scots baronial coorts, responsible for executin the juideecial deceesions an annunce't the duim as the decreet wis cried.

The Mennock Lye Goods Depot,^[13] or Mennock Sidin,^[14] on the railwey appent in 1850 an stuid close til the Mennick Watter anthe five-airched viaduct that cairies the line across, juist dounstream fae the auld Minnock corn mill ruins.^[15]

The faceelity wad hae haed transportit sic items as lime for the fields, cattle, horses, sheep, milk, coal, etc. The Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway oreeginal appent the sidins for the Scots Mining Company that operatit the mines in Leidhills an Wanlockheid.^[16] The leid mines lay aboot 5 mile til the nor'east via the steep Minnock Pass. On 7 December 1882 a stramash teuk place at "Mennock Siding" upshottin in the deith o a passenger.^[17][18]

The sidins hae lang been remuived as haes the signal box, track cross-ower, etc., leavin plain double track. The ruins o the auld guids depot office biggin remeens o the wastren side o the site. An ingineers track aiccess pynt an materials storage aurie exists a bit til the sooth o the auld depot's location.

The earliest recordit verson o the Minnock Watter name in 1660 is as "Minnock" an the derivation micht be fae the Scots Gaelic mèineach meanin "abundin wi uirs or mines".^[19] Eliock micht oreeginate in the Scots Gaelic ailcheach meanin "a staney place".^[20]

• Narration an video footage o the veelage's history
• Narration an video footage o auld Mennock Mill
• Video footage o the Minnock Pass bi car
• Video footage o the Minnock Pass on fit