Tarbolton

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Tarbolton is a village in South Ayrshire.

[edit] Meaning of place-name

Tarbolton has been suggested as having one of two meanings:

  • Village by the tor or hill, from Old English torr 'tor, hill, cliff' and boðl-tun /bothl-tun "village with buildings, equivalent to Bolton in Greater Manchester. The name was recorded as Torbolten in 1138, suggesting this origin.
  • Village by the field and hill, from Old English torr 'tor, hill, cliff' and bāll 'field (not meaning the same as ball 'ball', i.e. football), as in Dunball, Somerset, with tun 'farm, village'. The name's record in writing as Torballtone in 1209 suggests this origin may be possible.
  • Village by the hill, from Celtic torr (where the Old English word is derived from, and baile "village, usually Bally- in Irish place-names, with the tautologous Old English tun "farm, village" added by Anglo-Saxon settlers who did not understand the language. Records of the name as Torbalyrtune in 1148 suggest this origin.

It is widely understood to mean the town (ton) at the hill (tor) at which Baal is worshipped (bol), histories exist recording ceremonies on a hill in the village associated with Beltane and involving a bonfire. The primary school crest includes a bonfire motif.

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