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WIGTOWNSHIRE (sometimes called WEST G...

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Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 629 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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WIGTOWNSHIRE (sometimes called See also:WEST See also:GALLOWAY) , a See also:south-western See also:county of See also:Scotland, bounded N. by See also:Ayrshire, E. by See also:Kirkcudbrightshire and See also:Wigtown See also:Bay, S. by the Irish See also:Sea and W. and N. by the See also:North Channel. Including the small See also:island of St See also:Helena, at the See also:head of Luce Bay, it covers an See also:area of 311,609 acres, or 487 sq. m. On the eastern boundary the See also:estuary of the See also:Cree expands into Wigtown Bay, between which and Luce Bay, farther west, extends the promontory of the Machers, terminating in Burrow Head. By the indentation of Luce Bay on the south and See also:Loch See also:Ryan on the north the See also:hammer-headed See also:peninsula of the Rinns is formed, of which the See also:Mull of Galloway, the most southerly point of Scotland, is the See also:southern, and Milleur Point the See also:northern extremity. The more or less rugged See also:coast has many small inlets, few of which, owing to hidden rocks, afford secure landing-places. Excepting Loch Ryan, a See also:fine natural See also:harbour of which See also:Stranraer is the See also:port, the harbours are not available for vessels of heavy See also:burden, on See also:account either of the See also:great distance to which the sea retires, or of their exposure to frequent fierce See also:gales. Much of the county has a See also:wild, See also:bleak See also:appearance, the higher See also:land being covered with See also:heath and whins, while in the See also:lower districts there are See also:long stretches of See also:bog and See also:moss, and in the north centre, a few See also:miles west of See also:Newton See also:Stewart, is a See also:tract known as the See also:Moors. Only towards the Ayrshire border do the hills reach a considerable See also:altitude, Benbrake and Craigairie See also:Fell being each s000 ft. in height. The See also:chief See also:rivers are the Cree, forming the boundary with Kirkcudbrightshire and flowing past Newton Stewart and Carty into Wigtown Bay; the Bladenoch, issuing from Loch Maberry and falling into Wigtown Bay at Wigtown after a course of 22 m., its See also:principal affluents, all on the right, being See also:Black See also:Burn, the Tarff and the Malzie; and the Luce, formed by the junction at New Luce of See also:Main See also:Water and See also:Cross Water of Luce, and emptying itself into Luce Bay. Most of the numerous lochs are small, several being situated in private parks, as at the See also:earl of See also:Stair's See also:estate of See also:Castle See also:Kennedy. Among the larger lakes are Loch Maberry and Loch Dornal, both partly in Ayrshire, and Loch See also:Ochiltree in the north of the See also:shire, Loch Connell in the west, Loch Ronald in the centre and the See also:group of Castle Loch and four others in the See also:parish of Mochrum, towards the south, and Loch Dowalton, at the junction of Kirkinner, Sorbie and Glasserton parishes. See also:Geology.—A See also:line See also:drawn in a north-easterly direction from the coast about 3 M. below Portpatrick, passing slightly north of the head of Luce Bay by Newton Stewart to the Cairnsmore of See also:Fleet, divides the county so that practically all the rocks on the northern See also:side are of Ordovician See also:age, while those on the south are See also:Silurian.

This line coincides with the See also:

general direction of the strike of the beds through-out the county. Most of the Ordovician rocks are black shales, in which See also:graptolites may be found, along with greywackes and grits; they include the Glenkill and Hartfell See also:groups of the See also:Moffat See also:district. These rocks may be seen exposed on the coast south of Portpatrick and in the valley of the Cree. The See also:slate quarries of See also:Cairn Ryan are of Llandeilo age. Nearly the whole of the Silurian region is occupied by dark grits, greywackes and shales of 'See also:Llandovery age, though here and there a small exposure of the underlying black Moffat shales appears on the denuded See also:crest of one of the innumerable folds into which all these rocks have been thrown. A See also:series of shales, flags and greywackes of See also:Wenlock age is found on the See also:shore between Burrow Head and See also:Whithorn. On the west side of Loch Ryan is a narrow See also:belt of See also:Permian See also:breccia and thin sandstones about 9 m. long and t m. wide: this rests unconformably upon a similar belt of Carboniferous See also:sand-stones, about 8 m. long and m. in width, which lies on the westside of the Permian. A small patch of See also:granite stands out on the coast at Laggantulloch Head, north of the Mull of Galloway. There are also a few patches and dikes of See also:diorite and See also:quartz-See also:felsite. Glacial moraines and drumlins are found over much of the older formations, and are well seen between Glenluce and Newton Stewart and south of Wigtown. The See also:boulder-See also:clay is used for See also:brick-making near Stranraer. On the coasts of Luce Bay and Loch Ryan raised beaches are found at levels of 25 ft. and 5o ft. above the sea, and tracts of blown sand See also:lie above the shore.

There are several See also:

peat-covered areas in the county. See also:Climate and See also:Agriculture.—The mean See also:annual rainfall amounts to 36.3 in., varying from 49.19 in. at Kirkcowan, a few miles west of Newton Stewart, to 26.81 in. at the Mull of Galloway. The See also:average temperature for the See also:year is 48.3° F., for See also:January 4o° F. and for See also:July 58.5° F. In spite of;its humidity the climate is not unfavourable for the ripening of crops, and frosts as a See also:rule are not of long duration. Much of the shire consists of stony moors, rendering the See also:work of reclamation difficult and in some parts impossible. The gravelly See also:soil along the coasts requires heavy manuring to make it fruitful, and in the higher arable quarters a rocky soil prevails, better adapted for grass and See also:green crops than for See also:grain. A large extent of the See also:surface is black See also:top reclaimed from the moors, and in some districts See also:loam and clay are found. By dint of See also:energy, however, and See also:constant resort to scientific agriculture, the farmers have placed See also:half of the shire under cultivation, and the See also:standard of farming is as high as that of any county in Scotland. Oats is the leading See also:crop, See also:barley and See also:wheat occupying only a small area. Turnips and swedes constitute the great bulk of the green crops, potatoes coming next. Large tracts are under See also:clover and rotation See also:grasses and in permanent pasture, in consequence of the increasing See also:attention paid to See also:dairy-farming, which is carried on in See also:combination and on scientific principles. Several creameries have been established in the dairy See also:country, See also:cheese being a leading product.

Though the See also:

size of the herds is surpassed in several other Scottish counties, the number of milch See also:cattle is only exceeded in three (See also:Ayr, See also:Aberdeen and See also:Lanark). Ayrshire is the favourite breed for dairy purposes, and black polled Galloways are found in the eastern districts. A cross of the two breeds is also maintained. The See also:sheep are principally black-faced on the See also:hill farms, and in other parts See also:Leicester and other long-woolled breeds. The flocks are usually heavy, and great See also:numbers of pigs are kept. The shire has acquired some reputation for its horses, chiefly Clydesdale. The holdings are fairly large, the average being considerably over See also:loo acres, one third of them See also:running from too acres to 300. Most of the See also:park See also:lard is finely wooded, and there are a few nurseries, See also:market gardens and orchards. Other See also:Industries.—There are small manufactures in several of the towns, as woollens at Kirkcowan; tweeds, See also:leather and agricultural implements at Newton Stewart; dairy appliances, See also:beer, See also:flour and bricks at Stranraer; and See also:whisky at Bladenoch. See also:Sandstone and slates are quarried, and peat is cut in various places. See also:Fisheries, on a See also:minor See also:scale, are conducted chiefly from Stranraer, certain villages on Loch Ryan and Luce Bay, and Wigtown, and the Cree, Bladenoch and Luce yield See also:salmon. See also:Shipping is mainly carried on from Stranraer, but also from Port See also:William, Portpatrick, Wigtown and Garliestown.

The See also:

Glasgow & South-Western railway runs to Stranraer via See also:Girvan, and the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire See also:joint railway from Newton Stewart to Portpatrick via Stranraer, with a See also:branch line at Newton Stewart to Wigtown and Whithorn. There are See also:coach services from Stranraer to Ballantrae on the Ayrshire coast and to Drumore, 4 M. N. of the Mull, and See also:regular communication by See also:mail steamer between Stranraer and Larne in Co. See also:Antrim, See also:Ireland. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—In 1891 the population amounted to 36,062; in 1901 to 32,685 or 67 persons to the sq. m., the decrease for the See also:decade being the third highest in Scotland. In 1901 there were 88 persons speaking Gaelic and See also:English. The principal towns are Stranraer (pop. 6036); Newton Stewart (2598), which, however, See also:standing on both See also:banks of the Cree, extends into Kirkcudbrightshire; Wigtown (1329); and Whithorn (1188). Formerly Wigtown, Stranraer and Whithorn formed with New Galloway, in Kirkcudbrightshire, a group of burghs returning one member, but in 1885 the first three were merged in the county, which returns one member to See also:parliament. Wigtown, the county See also:town, Stranraer and Whit-See also:horn are royal burghs. The shire forms See also:part of the sheriffdom of See also:Dumfries and Galloway, and a See also:sheriff-substitute sits at Wigtown and Stranraer. The administrative county is divided into the Lower district, comprising the shire See also:east of the parishes of New Luce and Old Luce, and the Upper district, comprising the shire west of and including these parishes.

The county is under school-See also:

board See also:jurisdiction, and there are high. See also:schools in Newton Stewart and Stranraer. The board-schools in Whithorn and Wigtown have secondary departments, and several of the schools in the shire See also:earn grants for higher See also:education. The county See also:council expends the " See also:residue " See also:grant in providing bursaries for See also:science pupils, and in subsidizing agricultural classes at See also:Kilmarnock and See also:Edinburgh University, and the See also:cookery classes and science See also:department of the high schools. See also:History and Antiquities.—Galloway, or the country west of the Nith, belonged to a See also:people whom See also:Ptolemy called Novantae and See also:Agricola subdued in A.D. 79. They were Atecott Picts, and are conjectured to have replaced a small, dark-haired aboriginal See also:race, akin probably to the See also:Basques of the Iberian peninsula. They held this south-western corner of Scotland for centuries, protecting themselves from the northern and southern Picts by a rampart, called the Dell's Dyke, which has been traced in a north-easterly direction from Beoch on the eastern side of Loch Ryan to a spot on the Nith near the See also:present See also:Thornhill, a distance of 50 M. Evidences of the Pictish occupation are prevalent in the See also:form of hill forts, See also:cairns, standing stones, hut circles and crannogs or See also:lake dwellings (several of which were exposed when Dowalton Loch near Sorbie and Barhapple Loch near Glenluce were drained), besides canoes and See also:flint, See also:stone and See also:bronze implements. The See also:Romans possessed a small See also:camp at Rispain near Whithorn and a station at Rerigonium, which has been identified with Innermessan on the eastern shore of Loch Ryan; but so few remains exist that it has been concluded they effected no permanent See also:settlement in West Galloway. See also:Ninian, the first See also:Christian missionary to Scotland, landed at Isle of Whithorn in 396 to convert the natives. His efforts were temporarily successful, but soon after his See also:death (432) the people relapsed into paganism, excepting a faithful remnant who continued to carry on Christian work. A monastery was built at Whithorn, and, though the bishopric founded in the 8th See also:century was shortly afterwards removed, it was established again in the 12th, when the priory erected by Fergus, " See also:king " of Galloway, became the See also:cathedral See also:church of the see of Galloway and so remained till the See also:Reformation.

In the 6th century the people accepted the See also:

suzerainty of the Northumbrian See also:kings who allowed them in return See also:autonomy under their own Pictish chiefs. On the decay of the Saxon See also:power more than two See also:hundred years later this overlordship was abandoned, and the Atecotts formed an See also:alliance with the North-men then ravaging the Scottish coasts. Because of this relation-See also:ship the other Picts styled the Atecotts, by way of reproach, Gallgaidhel, or stranger Gaels, whence is derived Galloway, the name of their territory. With the aid of the Norsemen and the men of Galloway See also:Kenneth See also:Macalpine defeated the northern Picts at See also:Forteviot and was crowned king of Scotland at See also:Scone in 844. Henceforward the general history of Wigtownshire is scarcely distinguishable from that of Kirkcudbrightshire. A few particular points, however, must be noted. See also:Malcolm MacHeth, who had married a See also:sister of Somerled, See also:lord of the Isles, headed about r r 5o a See also:Celtic revolt against the intrusion of Anglo-See also:Norman lords. but was routed at Causewayend near the estuary of the Cree. In 1190 See also:Roland, lord of Galloway, built for See also:Cistercians from See also:Melrose the fine See also:abbey of Glenluce, of which the only remains are the See also:foundations of the See also:nave, the gable of the south See also:transept, the cloisters, quadrangle and the vaulted See also:chapter-See also:house. In the disordered See also:state of the See also:realm during See also:David II.'s reign east Galloway had been surrendered to See also:Edward III. (1333), but Wigtownshire, which had been constituted a shire in the previous century and afterwards called the Shire to distinguish it from the Stewartry of See also:Kirkcudbright, remained Scottish territory. In 1342 See also:Sir Malcolm See also:Fleming, earl of Wigtown, was appointed sheriff with power to hold the county See also:separate from the other half of Galloway, but falling into straitened circumstances he sold his earldom and estates in 1372 to See also:Archibald the Grim, 3rd earl of See also:Douglas, thus once more placing all Galloway under one lord. Under Douglas's lordship the See also:laws of Galloway, which had obtained from Pictish times and included, among other features, trial by See also:battle (unless an accused See also:person See also:chose expressly to forgo the native See also:custom and ask for a See also:jury), were modified, and in 1426 abolished, the See also:province then coming under the general See also:law.

Soon after the fall of the Douglases (1455) the Kennedy See also:

family, long established in the Ayrshire district of Carrick, obtained a preponderating See also:influence in Wigtownshire, and in 1509 David See also:WIHTRED 629 Kennedy was created earl of Cassillis. See also:Gilbert, the 4th earl, so powerful that he was called the " king of Carrick," held the shire for See also:Mary, See also:queen of Scots, when she See also:broke with the Lords of the See also:Congregation, but could do little for her cause. He profited by the Reformation himself, however, to acquire by See also:fraud and See also:murder the estate of Glenluce Abbey (about 1570). In 1603 See also:James VI. instituted a See also:bishop in the see of Galloway—which had not been filled for twenty years—and otherwise strove to impose See also:episcopacy upon the people, but the inhabitants stood See also:firm for the See also:Covenant. The acts against See also:Nonconformity were stringently enforced and almost every See also:incumbent in Galloway was deprived of his living. See also:Field-See also:preaching was a See also:capital See also:crime and attendance at conventicles See also:treason. A reign of terror supervened, and numbers of persons emigrated to See also:Ulster in See also:order to See also:escape persecution. See also:John See also:Graham of Claverhouse, See also:Viscount See also:Dundee, having replaced Sir See also:Andrew See also:Agnew, who had refused the Test, as sheriff (1682), goaded the people into See also:rebellion, the drowning of See also:Margaret MacLachlan and Margaret See also:Wilson within See also:flood-See also:mark in Wigtown Bay (1685) being an instance of his ruthless methods. With the Revolution of 1688 See also:Presbyterianism was restored, and John See also:Gordon, recently consecrated bishop of Galloway, retired to See also:France. The Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745 excited only languid See also:interest, but in 1747 heritable jurisdictions were abolished and Sir Andrew Agnew ceased to be hereditary sheriff, though he was the only See also:official able to prove continuous See also:tenure of the See also:post since it was granted to his family in 1451. The first sheriff appointed under the new See also:system was See also:Alexander See also:Boswell, Lord Auchinleck, See also:father of James Boswell, the biographer of Dr See also:Johnson. In 176o an engagement took See also:place in Luce Bay, when the See also:young See also:French See also:seaman, See also:Francois Thurot, with three warships, attempting a diversion in Jacobite interests, was defeated and killed with the loss of three hundred men and his vessels.

Among See also:

ancient castles in Wigtownshire may be mentioned the cliff towers, possibly of Norse origin, of Carghidown and Castle See also:Feather near Burrow Head; the ruins of Baldoon, south of Wigtown, associated with events which suggested to Sir See also:Walter See also:Scott the See also:romance of The See also:Bride of Lammermoor; Corsewall near the northern extremity of the Rinns; the Norse stronghold of Cruggleton, south of Garliestown, which belonged in the 13th century to de See also:Quincy, earl of See also:Winchester, who had married a daughter of Alan, " king " of Galloway, and to Alexander See also:Comyn, 2nd earl of See also:Buchan (d. 1289), his son-in-law; Dunskey, south of Portpatrick, built in the 16th century, occupying the site of an older fortress; the fragments of Long Castle at Dowalton Loch, the ancient seat of the MacDonells; Myrton, the seat of the MacCullochs, in Mochrum parish; and the ruined See also:tower of Sorbie, the ancient keep of the Hannays. See Sir See also:Herbert See also:Maxwell, History of Dumfries and Galloway (Edinburgh, 1896) ; Sir Andrew Agnew, The Agnews of Lochnaw (Edinburgh, 1893) ; The Galloway See also:Herd-See also:Book (Dumfries, 188o); Proceedings of the See also:Soc. of See also:Ant. of Scotland, passim; Gordon See also:Fraser, Wigtown and Whithorn (Wigtown, 1877).

End of Article: WIGTOWNSHIRE (sometimes called WEST GALLOWAY)

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