Buittle is an ecclesiastical and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

, southwest Scotland, in the traditional county of

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ) or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an ...

. It lies to the west of the

Urr Water Urr Water or River Urr (''Archaism, arc. River Orr'') is a river which flows through the counties of Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire in southwest Scotland. Course Entirely within Dumfries and Galloway, the Urr Water originates at Loch Urr an ...

, between

Dalbeattie Dalbeattie (, , meaning 'haugh of the birch', or 'drowned haugh' (i.e. liable to flood) is a town in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dalbeattie is in a wooded valley on the Urr Water east of Ca ...

and

Castle Douglas Castle Douglas () is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in the ecclesiastical paris ...

, and extends from

Haugh of Urr Haugh of Urr (), is a village in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is approximately NNW of Dalbeattie, NE of Castle Douglas, west of Dumfries and east of Kirkcudbright. Description The village ...

in the north to Almorness Point on the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

in the south. The main settlement is the small village of

Palnackie Palnackie is a village in the parish of Buittle in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It has a population of approximately 250 and is a working port on the Urr Water Urr Water or River Urr (''Archais ...

Etymology

The name is derived from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''bōtl'', meaning "a dwelling, dwelling-place, house", giving ''Buittle'' the same etymology as

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

in England.

History

Northumbrian expansion into what was the kingdoms of

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ('Old North'), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and bardic sources, ...

and

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

in the 7th and 8th centuries left a number of Anglian names throughout southwest Scotland, and it would appear that the name Buittle is one of these relics. Buittle was in the semi-independent

Kingdom of Galloway The lords of Galloway consisted of a dynasty of heirs who were lords (or kings) and ladies who ruled over Galloway in southwest Scotland, mainly during the High Middle Ages. Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Moray, periodically h ...

which is recorded between the 11th and 13th century. It remained part of that lordship until Dervorguilla, daughter of the last King,

Alan of Galloway Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234) was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of Scotland and Irish Sea zone. Ala ...

, married the Anglo-Norman

John de Baliol John Balliol or John de Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as Toom Tabard (meaning 'empty coat'), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...

in 1223. John and Dervorguilla raised Buittle Castle to replace an earlier motte, and the remains of the castle can still be seen. Buittle Castle - geograph

John de Baliol established

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

, one of the oldest colleges of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, in around 1263. Following his death in 1269 Dervorguilla provided the college with a permanent endowment, and her statutes of 1282 are preserved by the college. The statutes conclude with the sentence "''Dat' apud Botel in octauis Assumpcionis gloriose uirginis Marie anno gracie MCC octogesimo secundo.''" That is, "Given at Buittle, in the

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

of the Assumption of the Glorious Virgin Mary, in the year of Grace one thousand two hundred and eighty two." Buittle became the Scottish residence of their son

John Balliol John Balliol or John de Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as Toom Tabard (meaning 'empty coat'), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...

, who was King of Scotland from 1292 to 1296. Galloway remained faithful to King John and his son

Edward Balliol Edward Balliol or Edward de Balliol (; – January 1364) was a claimant to the Scottish throne during the Second War of Scottish Independence. With English help, he ruled parts of the kingdom from 1332 to 1356. Early life Edward was the el ...

throughout the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

, which saw the Balliols defeated the

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

and his son David II. The latter, in 1369, appointed

Archibald the Grim Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell (c. 1330 – c. 24 December 1400), called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a late medieval Scottish nobleman. Archibald was the illegitimate son o ...

as Lord of Galloway, ''"becaus he tuke git trawell to purge the cuntrey of Englis blude"''. Archibald forbore to remain at Buittle and took up the residence of the older Kings of Galloway at

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire. His ...

. Old Place of Buittle also known as Buittle Tower, late C16 fortified house.

Buittle Parish Church

The present Buittle Parish Church, now closed, was built in 1818 by architect

Walter Newall Walter Newall (3 April 1780 – 25 December 1863) was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, born at Doubledyke in the parish of New Abbey in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was the leading architect in the Dumfries ar ...

to replace a medieval church, the remains of which stand in the churchyard. This church was dedicated to

Saint Colman Colmán or Colman is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Medieval Irish people * Colmán Bec (died ''c''. 585), Irish dynast * Colmán mac Cobthaig (died ''c''. 622), Irish king * Colmán mac Lénéni (died ''c ...

, the nave has been dated to the 13th century. Around 1381 the church was given to the monks of

Sweetheart Abbey The Abbey of Dulce Cor, better known as Sweetheart Abbey ( Gaelic: ''An Abaid Ur''), was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1273 in what is now the village of New Abbey, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway ...

at New Abbey. The old church is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

References

External links

Buittle Parish Home PageHistory of Buittle CastleInscriptions and Photographs of Buittle Gravestones
{{Coord, 54.942, -3.866, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000 Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway Kirkcudbrightshire

Etymology

History

Buittle Parish Church

See also

References

External links