Newmilns
| Newmilns & Greenholm | |
|---|---|
 Burgh of Newmilns & Greenholm coat of arms |
|
 Newmilns & Greenholm
|
|
| Newmilns & Greenholm shown within East Ayrshire | |
| Population | 3,057 (Census 2001) |
| Language | English |
| OS grid reference | NS533372 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Newmilns |
| Postcode district | KA16 |
| Dialling code | 01560 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Newmilns and Greenholm is a small burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 3,057 people (2001 census) and lies on the A71, around seven miles east of Kilmarnock and twenty-five miles southwest of Glasgow. It is situated in a valley through which the River Irvine runs and, with the neighbouring towns of Darvel and Galston, forms an area known as the Upper Irvine Valley (locally referred to as The Valley). As the name suggests, the burgh exists in two parts - Newmilns to the north of the river and Greenholm to the south. The river also divides the parishes of Loudoun and Galston, which is why the burgh, although generally referred to as Newmilns, has retained both names.
The name itself appears to have its origins in Old English, niwe (new) / mylen (mill), so it could be dated to the Old English period (c. mid-5th to mid-12th centuries). The earliest known recording of the name appears as Nawemeln in 1126, with the use of the plural s dating from at least as early as the 15th century.
Of the mills themselves, little now remains. The last in operation was Pate's Mill, which sat on Brown Street opposite the railway station (present-day Vesuvius building). Famed in Allan Ramsay's poem, "The Lass o Pate's Mill", it was demolished in 1977 and all that now remains is part of the mill's exterior wall. The only mill building still intact can be found at the foot of Ladeside. Now used as housing, Loudoun Mill (formerly the Meal Mill / Corn Mill of Newmilns) was in use from 1593 until it stopped producing meal in the 1960s. In 1970, the mill wheel was removed and the lade filled in, with the only remaining suggestion of the site's former use being a motto, "No Mill, No Meal - JA 1914" inscribed on the outer wall.
Evidence of early habitation can be found across The Valley, with the earliest sites dating from around 2000 BC. To the east of Loudoun Gowf Course, evidence has been found of the existence of a Neolithic stone circle and a Neolithic burial mound lies underneath the approach to the seventh green. A site in Henryton uncovered a Neolith barrow containing stone axes (c. 1500 BC) and a Bronze Age cairn dating from about 1000 BC (the cairn itself contains cists which are thought to have been made by bronze weapons or tools).
...
Wikipedia