Old Photograph Moscow Scotland

Old photograph of Moscow on the A719 road some 4 miles east of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland. 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 stream called the Volga Burn flows through the village. Locally the land and forest around Cowans Law to the north west is referred to as Little Russia. The hamlet also shares the same latitude, 55° North, as the Russian city. In the Spring of 1884 a Mr. Rankin was found murdered in a gruesome fashion at his lonely cottage near Moscow. He was said to be well-to-do, however although no clues were found, theft was considered to be the motive; the guilty party was never brought to book. Mr. McNabb, a retired police officer, related that in his opinion the murder was carried out by a somnambulist who was therefore unaware of the deed. He had never ventured this opinion officially for fear of being laughed out of the force.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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