Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE (also known as the...

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 833 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE (also known as the STEWARTRY OF See also:KIRKCUDBRIGHT and See also:EAST See also:GALLOWAY) , a See also:south-western See also:county of See also:Scotland, bounded N. and N.W. by See also:Ayrshire, W. and S.W. by See also:Wigtownshire, S. and S.E. by the Irish See also:Sea and Solway See also:Firth, and E. and N.E. by See also:Dumfriesshire. It includes the small islands of Hestan and Little See also:Ross, which are utilized as See also:light-See also:house stations. It has an See also:area of 575,565 acres or 899 sq. m. The See also:north-western See also:part of the See also:shire is rugged, See also:wild and desolate. In this See also:quarter the See also:principal mountains are Merrick (2764 ft.), the highest in the south of Scotland, and the See also:group of the Rinns of See also:Kells, the See also:chief peaks of which are Corscrine (2668), Carlins See also:Cairn (2650), Meikle Millyea (2446) and lblillfire (2350). To-wards the south-See also:west the chief eminences are Lamachan (2349), Larg (2216), and the bold See also:mass of Cairnsmore of See also:Fleet (2331). In the south-east the only imposing height is Criffel (1866). In the north rises the majestic See also:hill of Cairnsmuir of Carsphairn (2612), and See also:close to the Ayrshire border is the Windy See also:Standard (2287). The See also:southern See also:section of the shire is mostly level or undulating, but characterized by much picturesque scenery. The See also:shore is generally bold and rocky, indented by numerous estuaries forming natural harbours, which however are of little use for See also:commerce owing to the shallowness of the sea. Large stretches of See also:sand are exposed in the Solway at See also:low See also:water and the rapid flow of the See also:tide has often occasioned loss of See also:life. The number of " See also:burns " and " See also:waters " is remarkable, but their length seldom exceeds 7 or 8 m.

Among the longer See also:

rivers are the See also:Cree, which rises in See also:Loch Moan and reaches the sea near See also:Creetown after a course of about 30 m., during which it forms the boundary, at first of Ayrshire and then of Wigtownshire; the See also:Dee or See also:Black Water of Dee (so named from the See also:peat by which it is coloured), which rises in Loch Dee and after a course mainly S.E. and finally S., enters the sea at St See also:Mary's Isle below Kirkcudbright, its length being nearly 36 m.; the Urr, rising in Loch Urr on the Dumfriesshire border, falls into the sea a few See also:miles south of See also:Dalbeattie 27 M. from its source; the See also:Ken, rising on the confines of Ayrshire, flows mainly in a southerly direction and joins the Dee at the southern end of Loch Ken after a course of 24 M. through lovely scenery; and the Deugh which, rising on the See also:northern flank of the Windy Standard, pursues an extra-ordinarily winding course of 20 M. before reaching the Ken. The Nith, during the last few miles of its flow, forms the boundary with Dumfriesshire, to which county it almost wholly belongs. The lochs and See also:mountain tarns are many and well distributed; but except Loch Ken, which is about 6 m. See also:long by z m. wide, few of them attain noteworthy dimensions. There are several passes in the hill regions, but the only well-known glen is Glen Trool, not far from the See also:district of Carrick in Ayrshire, the fame of which rests partly on the romantic See also:character of its scenery, which is very wild around Loch Trool, and more especially on its associations with See also:Robert See also:Bruce. It was here that when most closely beset by his enemies, who had tracked him to his fastness by sleuth hounds, Bruce with the aid of a few faithful followers won a surprise victory over the See also:English in 1307 which proved the turning-point of his fortunes. See also:Geology.—See also:Silurian and Ordovician rocks are the most important in this county; they are thrown into oft-repeated folds with their axes lying in a N.E.-S.W. direction. The Ordovician rocks are graptolitic black shales and grits of Llandeilo and Caradoc See also:age. They occupy all the northern part of the county north-west of a See also:line which runs some 3 m. N. of New Galloway and just S. of the Rinns of Kells. South-east of this line graptolitic Silurian shales of See also:Llandovery age prevail; they are found around See also:Dalry, Creetown, New Galloway, See also:Castle See also:Douglas and Kirkcudbright. Overlying the Llandovery beds on the south See also:coast are strips of See also:Wenlock rocks; they extend from Bridgehouse See also:Bay to Auchinleck and are well exposed in Kirkcudbright Bay, and they can be traced farther See also:round the coast between the See also:granite and the younger rocks. Carboniferous rocks appear in small faulted tracts, unconformable on the Silurian, on the shores of the Solway Firth.

They are best See also:

developed about Kirkbean, where they include a basal red See also:breccia followed by conglomerates, grits and See also:cement stones of Calciferous See also:Sandstone age. See also:Brick-red sandstones of See also:Permian age just come within the county on the W. See also:side of the Nith at See also:Dumfries. Volcanic necks occur in the Permian and See also:basalt dikes penetrate the Silurian at Borgue, Kirkandrews, &c. Most of the highest ground is formed by the masses of granite which have been intruded into the Ordovician and Silurian rocks; the Criffel mass lies about Dalbeattie and Bengairn, another mass extends east and west between the Cairnsmore of Fleet and Loch Ken, another lies N.W. and S.E. between Loch Doon and Loch Dee and a small mass forms the Cairnsmore of Carsphairn. Glacial deposits occupy much of the low ground; the See also:ice, having travelled in a southerly or south-easterly direction, has See also:left abundant striae on the higher ground to indicate its course. See also:Radiation of the ice streams took See also:place from the heights of Merrick, Kells, &c. ; See also:local moraines are found near Carsphairn and in the Deagh and Minnoch valleys. Glacial drumlins of See also:boulder See also:clay See also:lie in the vales of the Dee, Cree and Urr. See also:Climate and See also:Agriculture.—The climate and See also:soil are better fitted for grass and See also:green crops than for See also:grain. The See also:annual rainfall averages 45.7 in. The mean temperature for the See also:year is 48° F.; for See also:January 38.5°; for See also:July 59°. The See also:major part of the See also:land is either See also:waste or poor pasture.

More than See also:

half the holdings consist of 5o acres and over. Oats is the predominant grain See also:crop, the acreage under See also:barley being small and that under See also:wheat insignificant. Turnips are successfully cultivated, and potatoes are the only other green crop raised on a moderately large See also:scale. See also:Sheep-rearing has been pursued with See also:great enterprise. The See also:average is considerably in excess of that for Scotland. Black-faced and Cheviots are the most See also:common on the high ground, and a See also:cross of See also:Leicester with either is also in favour. See also:Cattle-breeding is followed with steady success; the black polled Galloway is the See also:general breed, but Aryshires have been introduced for dairying, See also:cheese-making occupying much of the farmers' See also:attention. Horses are extensively raised, a breed of small-sized See also:hardy and spirited animals being specifically known as Gallo-ways. Most of the horses are used in agricultural See also:work, but a large number are also kept for stock; Clydesdales are bred to some extent. See also:Pig-rearing is an important pursuit, pork being supplied to the English markets in considerable quantities. During the last quarter of the 19th See also:century the number of pigs increased 5o%. See also:Bee-keeping has been followed with See also:special care and the See also:honey of the shire is consequently in See also:good repute.

The proportion of woodland in the county is small. See also:

Industries.—The shire ranks next to See also:Aberdeen as a granite-yielding county and the quarries occupy a large number of hands. In some towns and villages there are manufactures of See also:linen, woollen and See also:cotton goods; at various places distilling, See also:brewing, tanning and See also:paper-making are carried on, and at Dalbeattie there are brick and See also:tile See also:works. There is a little See also:ship-See also:building at Kirkcudbright. The Solway See also:fishery is of small See also:account, but See also:salmon fishing is prosecuted at the mouth of certain rivers, the Dee See also:fish being notable for their excellence. The only railway communication is by the See also:Glasgow & South-Western railway See also:running from Dumfries to Castle Douglas, from which there is a See also:branch to Kirkcudbright, and the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire railway, beginning at Castle Douglas and leaving the county at See also:Newton See also:Stewart. These are supplemented by coaches between various points, as from New Galloway to Carsphairn, from Dumfries to New See also:Abbey and Dalbeattie, and from Auchencairn to Dalbeattie. See also:Population and See also:Government.—The population was 39,985 in 189r and 39,383 in 1901, when 98 persons spoke Gaelic and English. The chief towns are Castle Douglas (pop. in 19or, 3018), Dalbeattie (3469), Kirkcudbright (2386), See also:Maxwelltown (5796) with Creetown (991), and See also:Gatehouse of Fleet (1013). The shire returns one member to See also:parliament, and the county See also:town (Kirkcudbright) belongs to the Dumfries district group of See also:parliamentary burghs, and Maxwelltown is combined with' Dumfries. The county forms part of the sheriffdom of Dumfries and Galloway, and there is a See also:resident See also:sheriff-substitute at Kirkcudbright. The county is under school-See also:beard See also:jurisdiction.

There is an See also:

academy at Kirkcudbright, high See also:schools at Dumfries and Newton Stewart, and technical classes at Kirkcudbright, Dalbeattie, Castle Douglas and Dumfries. See also:History.—The See also:country west of the Nith was originally peopled by a tribe of See also:Celtic Gaels called Novantae, or Atecott Picts, who, owing to their See also:geographical position, which prevented any ready intermingling with the other Pictish tribes farther north, long retained their See also:independence. After See also:Agricola's invasion in A.D. 79 the country nominally formed part of the See also:Roman See also:province, but the See also:evidence is against there ever having been a prolonged effective Roman occupation. After the See also:retreat of the See also:Romans the Novantae remained for a See also:time under their own chiefs, but in the 7th century accepted the overlordship of See also:Northumbria. The See also:Saxons, soon engaged in struggles with the Norsemen, had no leisure to look after their tributaries, and See also:early in the 9th century the Atecotts made common cause with the Vikings. Henceforward they were styled, probably in contempt, Gallgaidhel, or stranger Gaels (i.e. Gaels who fraternized with the foreigners), the Welsh See also:equivalent for which, Gallwyddel, gave rise to the name of Galloway (of which See also:Galway is a variant), which was applied to their territory and still denotes the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and the shire of See also:Wigtown. When Scotland was consolidated under See also:Kenneth See also:MacAlpine (crowned at See also:Scone in 844), Galloway was the only district in the south that did not See also:form part of the See also:kingdom; but in return for the services rendered to him at this crisis Kenneth gave his daughter in See also:marriage to the Galloway chief, See also:Olaf the See also:White, and also conferred upon the men of Galloway the See also:privilege of marching in the See also:van of the Scottish armies, a right exercised and recognized for several centuries. During the next two See also:hundred years the country had no See also:rest from Danish and Saxon incursions and the continual lawlessness of the Scandinavian rovers. When See also:Malcolm Canmore defeated and slew See also:Macbeth in 1o57 he married the dead See also:king's widow Ingibiorg, a Pictish princess, an event which marked the beginning of the decay of Norse See also:influence. The Galloway chiefs hesitated for a time whether to throw in' their See also:lot with the Northumbrians or with Malcolm; but See also:language, See also:race and the situation of their country at length induced them to become lieges of the Scottish king.

By the close of the rrth century the boundary between See also:

England and Scotland was roughly delimited on existing lines. The feudal See also:system ultimately destroyed the See also:power of the Galloway chiefs, who resisted the innovation to the last. Several of the lords or " See also:kings " of Galloway, a line said to have been founded by Fergus, the greatest of them all, asserted in vain their independence of the Scottish See also:crown; and in 1234 the line became See also:extinct in the male branch on the See also:death of Fergus's great-See also:grandson Alan. One of Alan's daughters, Dervorguila, had married See also:John de See also:Baliol (See also:father of the John de Baliol who was king of Scotland from 1292 until his See also:abdication in 1296), and the See also:people, out of See also:affection for Alan's daughter, were lukewarm in support of Robert Bruce. In 1308 the district was cleared of the English and brought under See also:allegiance to the king, when the lordship of Galloway was given. to See also:Edward Bruce. Later in the 14th century Galloway espoused the cause of Edward Baliol, who surrendered several counties, including Kirkcudbright, to Edward III. In 1372 See also:Archibald the Grim, a natural son of See also:Sir See also:James Douglas " the Good," became See also:Lord of Galloway and received in perpetual See also:fee the Crown lands between the Nith and Cree. He appointed a steward to collect his revenues and administer See also:justice, and there thus arose the designation of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. The high-handed See also:rule of the Douglases created general discontent, and when their See also:treason became apparent their territory was overrun by the king's men in 1455; Douglas was attainted, and his honours and estates were forfeited. In that year the great stronghold of the Thrieve, the most important fortress in Gallo-way, which Archibald the Grim had built on the Dee immediately to the west of the See also:modern town of Castle Douglas, was reduced and converted into a royal keep. (It was dismantled in 164o by See also:order of the Estates in consequence of the hostility of its keeper, Lord See also:Nithsdale, to the See also:Covenant.) The famous See also:cannon See also:Mons Meg, now in See also:Edinburgh Castle, is said, apparently on insufficient evidence, to have been constructed in order to aid James III. in this See also:siege. As the Douglases went down the Maxwells See also:rose, and the debateable land on the south-east of Dumfriesshire was for generations the See also:scene of strife and See also:raid, not only between the two nations but also among the leading families, of whom the Maxwells, Johnstones and Armstrongs were always conspicuous.

After the See also:

battle of Solway See also:Moss (1542) the shires of Kirkcudbright and Dumfries See also:fell under English rule for a See also:short See also:period. The treaty of Norham (See also:March 24, 155o) established a truce between the nations for ten years; and in 1552, the Wardens of the See also:Marches consenting, the debateable land ceased to be See also:matter for debate, the See also:parish of Canonbie being annexed to Dumfriesshire, that of Kirkandrews to See also:Cumberland. Though at the See also:Reformation the Stewartry became fervent in its Protestantism, it was to Galloway, through the influence of the great landowners and the See also:attachment of the people to them, that Mary owed her warmest adherents, and it was from the coast of Kirkcudbright that she made her luckless voyage to England. Even when' the crowns were See also:united in 16o3 turbulence continued; for trouble arose over the See also:attempt to establish See also:episcopacy, and nowhere were the See also:Covenanters more cruelly persecuted than in Galloway. After the See also:union things mended slowly but surely, curious evidence of growing commercial prosperity being the enormous extent to which See also:smuggling was carried on. No coast could serve the " See also:free traders " better than the shores of Kirkcudbright, and the See also:contraband See also:trade flourished till the 19th century. The Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745 elicited small sympathy from the inhabitants of the shire. See Sir See also:Herbert See also:Maxwell, History of Dumfries and Galloway (Edinburgh, 1896) ; Rev. See also:Andrew Symson, A Large Description of Galloway (1684; new ed.,1823) ; See also:Thomas See also:Murray, The See also:Literary History of Galloway (1822); Rev. See also:William See also:Mackenzie, History of Galloway (1841); P. H. McKerlie, History of the Lands and their Owners in Galloway (Edinburgh, 1870-1879) ; Galloway See also:Ancient and Modern (Edinburgh, 1891) ; J.

A. H. Murray, See also:

Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland (See also:London, 1873).

End of Article: KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE (also known as the STEWARTRY OF KIRKCUDBRIGHT and EAST GALLOWAY)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
KIRKCUDBRIGHT (pron. Ker-k4-bri) 		[next]
KIRKE, PERCY (c. 1646-1691)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries