Auchinleck

Coordinates: 55°28′24″N 4°17′55″W / 55.473349°N 4.298517°W / 55.473349; -4.298517

Auchinleck (/ˌɒxᵻnˈlɛk/ OKH-in-LEK; Scots: Affleck /ˈæflɛk/;Scottish Gaelic: Achadh nan Leac) is a village five miles south-east of Mauchline, and two miles north-west of Cumnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland.

Surrounding the village is Auchinleck Estate, centred on Auchinleck House, past home of the lawyer, diarist and biographer James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck.

History

Auchinleck is situated at the heart of the ancient Kyle district of Scotland. The place-name means 'field of (flat) stones' in Scottish Gaelic, from achadh ('field') and leac ('slab'). The small locality of Auchincloich has a comparable meaning.

Although record of a community exists from as early as 1239, reliable records can really only be said to date from the arrival of the Boswell family in 1504. The barony of Auchinleck had been forfeited to the crown and was granted by James IV to his 'good and faithful servant' Thomas Boswell.

Auchinleck (disambiguation)

Etymology and spelling

The Scottish variant derives from Auchinleck (variously spelt) and represents one of the many pronunciations of that name. It may be pronounced with the stress on either syllable. There are known to be well over 100 variants of the Affleck / Auchinleck name.

People