The farm of Breac an Ord lay to the south of the Ussie Burn where the houses of Mackenzie Place now stand. It appears on maps of 1832 and 1837 and is mentioned (but not shown) as part of Brahan Estate on maps of 1852 in connection with the construction of the Conon embankments.
It is spelt Breakenord which in Gaelic is Breac an Ord or Speckled Headland which describes the elevated area where the houses of Mackenzie Place overlook the Ussie Burn and, had it had a scattering of bushes, it would indeed have been a speckled headland. The spelling on the map is explained by the surveyors, who had no Gaelic, writing the English equivalent of the sound. There are many examples of this.
The current Breac an Ord housing development stands on land which formed part of the original farm. The access gate to the farm is shown as having been in the red sandstone wall on the east side of the old road which is now the entrance to the house at the roundabout. An even earlier map of 1763/1777 shows the farm as “BrakenOrd” with a nearby fishing pool in the River Conon named after it.
(Information kindly supplied by Ian MacNab of Kildun)