Moscow, East Ayrshire

Moscow is a hamlet in East Ayrshire in Scotland.

It is on the A719 road some four miles east of Kilmarnock. The name is thought to be a corruption of 'Moss-hall' or 'Moss-haw' but its spelling was formalised in 1812 to mark Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. A nearby watercourse is the Volga Burn.

Walter Emery of the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers had researched the names Moscow, Volga and Ruschaw in 1933. The Ordnance Survey (OS) notified him that the local residents had authorised the name 'Moscow' and that the name appears on Aitken's 1829 map, the valuation role, the Grougar Estate map and Johnson's 1828 County map. The OS also referred to a local tradition that the name was derived from the burning of Moscow in 1812, the first house in Moscow having been erected at about that time. Ayr County Council suggested that "during the Crimean war there were various refugees and prisoners located in the neighnourhood, and it was then that Russian names were given to various places."Emery, Walter (1933), Armsheugh Glen and Templetonburn, 19/08/1933. Annals of the Kilmarnock Glenfield Ramblers Society. Jubilee Number. 1934. P. 169.]

As of 2006 its population is reported as 118. It is represented in the "Galston West and Hurlford North" ward of East Ayrshire Council.

Recently (2008) a personal airstrip was established in a field near the village for light aircraft.

A Geocache is located near the village, just up the road from the Community Woodland. You will need a GPS device to locate it.

See also

*River Irvine - tributaries listed.

References

External links

* [http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/comser/my%20area/moscow.asp Local government website]
*oscoor gbx|NS487403
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article3972854.ece]