Visit Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway Places

Welcome to Visit Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway

  

Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway

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Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway history

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The area around Kirkandrews Bay retains evidence of very early human activity. At Tongue Croft, in a field just to the east of the village, is a rock bearing a set of four prehistoric cup and ring marks with up to six rings. There are signs of Iron Age habitation at Castle Haven, 700 metres (0.4 mi) along the coastline to the north west, in the form of a 1st-century BCE dun. This structure shows signs of reuse in the late first millennium, and was largely rebuilt and heightened in 1905. It is known locally as the Borg or Borgue, probably from the Old Norwegian word for a fort, indicating probable Scandinavian use. Angles from Northumbria conquered much of south west Scotland in the 7th century, and there is evidence of an Anglian coastal settlement at Kirkandrews. Older histories record that a church was established at the site by monks from Iona very early in Scotland’s Christian history, and that it was transferred to the ownership of Holyrood Abbey in the 12th century by William the Lion. More recent work has called some of these details into question. Brooke argues that there were in fact two early Christian settlements in the vicinity called Kirkandrews: this one, Kirkandrews Purton (port village), and another some miles away known as Kirkandrews Balmaghie (village in the woods). She believes that it was Kirkandrews Balmaghie that was founded by Iona and later transferred to Holyrood, but agrees that there was certainly an Anglian religious settlement at Kirkandrews Porton, and that the old churchyard that survives today is at least pre-conquest in age. In the 13th century, the barony of Kirkandrews was granted to Robert de Champaign, brother to the constable of Roxburgh Castle Ralph de Champaign. Robert ruled the area from a substantial nearby stronghold, the earthworks of which survive and are known as Roberton Motte. It passed to his son, also named Robert, and then to his daughter Margaret and her husband, the Northumbrian nobleman Bernard de Rippelay. There are records of the lands being leased by William Lennox of Cally in the 15th century, and in 1472 James III granted the barony to William, Lord Moneypenny, who had served as a Scottish diplomat at the court of Louis XI of France. In the late 16th century the barony was purchased by John Gordon of Lochinvar, and in the 17th century the village hosted thriving annual markets. The minister Andrew Symson, in his Large Description of Galloway published in 1684, records that “in the kirk-yard of Kirkanders, upon the ninth day of August, there is a fair kept, called St. Lawrence Fair, where all sorts of merchant-wares are to be sold; but the fair only lasts for three or four hours, and then the people, who flock hither in great companies, drink and debauch, and commonly great lewdness is committed here at this fair.” In the late 1790s, the Statistical Accounts of Scotland record that the parish of Kirkandrews was merged with those of Borgue and Senwick; the new amalgamated parish was known simply as Borgue. The Accounts also record that a planned village was to be built at Kirkandrews by Lord Daer, but this plan was never realised. The settlement around that time appears to have been in a very run-down condition: Daniel and Ayton, recounting their visit in the summer of 1813, described it as “the ne plus ultra of lowness and obscurity”. They explain that it had previously been a centre of smuggling but that customs officers had seized all the village’s boats and broken up the racket, leaving the inhabitants with no means of making an income. The Ordnance Survey map of 1854 shows a corn mill at Kirkandrews, and four buildings labelled Guttieside, Meggerland, Craighouse and Knockkennock. By the late 19th century, Kirkandrews seems to have become a quiet and romantic backwater. A guidebook to the area, published in 1876, describes a pleasant walk into the village, where “the murmur of the little stream, as it glides over the stones and brushwood in its course, is wafted to the ear, and nought of din, or sign of life, is heard or seen, save one of the aged liferenters drawing water from a pool of the running stream, or the grating sound of the mill wheel revolving on its rusty axle.” The author comments on the “quaint and picturesque” nature of the houses, but also on the fact that some of them were derelict, and “only fit models for the painter.” The 1885 Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland notes Kirkandrews’ decline, from “a place of some note, long the scene of an annual fair, with horse and foot races, to the condition of a small, picturesque hamlet.” By 1894, Kirkandrews was a part of the nearby estate of Knockbrex, which was acquired by James Brown, a successful draper from Manchester who had been made rich by the department store he helped establish, Affleck & Brown. He set about a programme of building on the estate, renovating existing structures and constructing new ones, all in a distinctive and individual style influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, and described by Historic Environment Scotland as having “a stylistic individuality bordering on the idiosyncratic”. These buildings, mostly castellated and ornately decorated, include a folly known as the Toy Fort; Corseyard Farm, a dairy built to resemble a large castle tower; and within Kirkandrews itself a village hall known as Kirkandrews Kirk. Brown was also responsible for the reconstruction and heightening of the dun at Castle Haven, an act described by one local writer as “well-meant vandalism”; what remains of it today has been described as “an important example of Edwardian restoration of a specialised Iron Age stone fort”.

Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway geography / climate

Kirkandrews sits in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The observations are taken at an elevation of 113 metres (371 ft) above sea level. The closest weather observation site is at Dundrennan, 11 kilometres (7 mi) away.

You can visit Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway places with Walkfo Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway to hear history at Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway has 7 places to visit in our interactive Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 7 audio facts unique to Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway places in an interactive Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway Places Map
7 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway historic spots	Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway tourist destinations	Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway plaques	Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway geographic features
Walkfo Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway

  

Best Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway places to visit

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Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway’s information audio spots:

Corseyard Farm Corseyard Farm, known locally as the Coo Palace, was built between 1911 and 1914. Erected for Manchester businessman James Brown as part of a series of flamboyant improvements to the Knockbrex Estate. Designed in the Gothic Revival style to resemble a fortified castle with battlemented rooves, arrowslit windows and arched entrances.

Visit Kirkandrews, Dumfries and Galloway plaques