Balbairdie
Balbairdie KGH S NT227895 2
Balbardy 1319 RRS v no. 144 [royal holding; grant of a mill pond there]
Balbredy 1329 x 1371 RMS i app. 2 no. 964 A [16th c. index]
Balberdy 1329 x 1371 RMS i app. 2 no. 964 B [17th c. index]
Balbrady 1329 x 1371 RMS i app. 2 no. 1072 A [16th c. index]
Balbardy 1451 RMS ii no. 449
Balvardy 1463 RMS ii no. 766
Balvardy 1464 RMS ii no. 799
Balbardy 1538 RMS iii no. 1878
Balbairdy 1564 Retours (Fife) no. 54 [lands of Wm. Kirkcaldy of Grange]
Balbardie 1642 Gordon MS Fife
Balbardie 1654 Blaeu (Pont) West Fife
Balbairdie 1654 Blaeu (Gordon) Fife
Bebardy 1753 Roy sheet 17, 5
E. Bebardy 1753 Roy sheet 17, 5
E Balbairdie 1775 Ainslie/Fife
W Balbairdie 1775 Ainslie/Fife
Et. Balbeardie 1828 SGF
West Balbeardie 1828 SGF
G baile + G bàrd + ? –in
‘Estate of (the place of the) poet(s)’. For more on G b?rd ‘poet, bard’, a recognised official in royal and aristocratic households, see Jackson 1972, 51–2, and Bannerman 1996. It occurs in several Scottish place-names, such as Auchnavaird, Old Deer ABD, Balbardie, Bathgate WLO and Balvaird, Abernethy PER.
Balbairdie seems to have been divided at a relatively late date, with the earliest map evidence for a division being Roy (1753), which shows Bebardy and E. Bebardy, while in 1775 Ainslie/Fife has E. Balbairdie and W. Balbairdie. Roy’s evidence also suggests that modern West Balbairdie is the original centre of the estate. The NGR given is therefore that of West Balbairdie on OS Pathf.
In PNF 1 s.n. one of the early forms given was Balbard’ 1354 RRS vi no. 132. This has been deleted since it refers to Balbaird NBN(PNF 2). RRS vi Index (p. 533) also wrongly identifies it, but with Balbarton KGH. See also PNF 5 Add. & Corr. s.n.
/balˈberdɪ/ or /bəlˈberdɪ/
This place-name appeared in printed volume 1