Greigston
Greigston CMN SSL S NO445110 2 160m
Grygstoun 1437 St A. Cop. 127–8
Gregston’ 1448 NLS MS Adv. 15.1.18 no. 102 [instrument of submission to arbitration by prior of St Andrews and John Kinninmonth of that ilk, anent marches of Greigston, Baldinnie (Baldunny) CER and Arnydie # (Arnydy) CER]
Gregston’ 1449 SAUL SL110.C1 [or Gregstou<n>; see discussion]
G<r>eigstone 1452 x 1480 RMS ii no. 1444 [St Andrews Church land]
Girgistoune 1471 RMS ii no. 1039
terras de Gregstoun 1546 RMS iv no. 41
Greegstoune 1654 Blaeu (Pont) East Fife
Grigstoun 1654 Blaeu (Gordon) Fife
(John Bonar of) Greigstoun 1682 Retours (Fife) no. 1333 [in the toun and lands of Greigstoun]
Gregstoun 1684 Adair/East Fife
Grigstown 1753 Roy sheet 18, 1
Cotts of Grigstown 1753 Roy sheet 18, 1
Abby 1753 Roy sheet 18, 1
John Armit in the Abbey of Greigston 1767 NAS SC 20/36/11 [Sheriff Court deeds of Fife]
Graigston 1775 Ainslie/Fife [= OS Pathf. Greigston House; ‘Capt. Graham’]
W Craigston 1775 Ainslie/Fife [= OS Pathf. Greigston Mains]
Greigston 1827 Ainslie/East Fife [= OS Pathf. Greigston Mains]
Ab<be>y Greigston 1827 Ainslie/East Fife [= OS Pathf. Greigston House]
Greigston 1828 SGF [= OS Pathf. Greigston House]
Greigston F<ar>m 1828 SGF [= OS Pathf. Greigston Mains]
Greigston 1855 OS 6 inch 1st edn
Abbey 1855 OS 6 inch 1st edn
Greigston Mains 1855 OS 6 inch 1st edn
pn Girg + Sc toun
‘Girg’s farm’. For this personal name, earlier Giric or Girig, which derives from, or was early equated with, Cyricus, the name of the well-known child-martyr of Antioch, see ES i, 363 footnote 6, Watson 1926, 324 and Cowan 1981, 10. The saint’s name itself is certainly found in St Cyrus (formerly Eglesgreig) KCD and probably in Lungyrg #, Kinneff & Catterline KCD (Lungyrg c.1225 Arb. Lib. i no. 127; see Taylor 1998, 9, 19–20), while the name Gillegirg is found in Kilgraston, Dunbarney PER, Gillegirg’s toun.[37] Two important figures in Scotland’s history are called Giric: the king who ruled the kingdom of the Picts from 878 to 889, and Bishop Giric (Giricius) of St Andrews, who, around the year 1100, was claiming archiepiscopal status for himself and his see (see SSL Introduction, Foundation Accounts, and Broun 2000a). The eponymous Girig of Greigston is probably Gillegirg or simply Girig, both forms of whose name occur 1212 × 1215 in St A. Lib. 317. According to this charter, the full text of which can be found in SSL Introduction, St Andrews and Learning, he held of St Andrews Priory Balbeildie # SSL and Denork Aviel CMN. His son Christin (Mackgirg) held these same lands c.1220 (Terrier).
On 13 May 1449, several nobles gathered to perform a perambulation of the lands of Greigston, Arnydie CER, SSL and Baldinnie CER, SSL:
... With one purpose they arose from the place of their meeting and made ditches (fossiones) beside the well which is called in the vulgar tongue St Andrew’s Well on the west, and they placed a heap of stones there, and so consequently they made ditches and placed heaps of stones until they reached as far as the well next to Drinkyne hil, which (well) is called in the vulgar tongue the *Blind Well[38] situated on the east.[39]
The St Andrew’s Well mentioned in this charter refers to St Andrews Wells marked on Ainslie/Fife (1775) on the lands of Baldinnie CER, not to be confused with the OS Pathf. St Andrews Wells KMB some 3 km to the north, beside the KMB/CER boundary at NO435145, which is also shown on Ainslie/Fife.
OS Pathf. Greigston Mains appears on OS 1 inch 7th edition simply as Mains, while on OS Explorer (2001) it appears as West Mains. The NGR given here is for OS Pathf. Greigston House.
/ˈgrɛgstən/
This place-name appeared in printed volume 3