Enterkinfoot is a small village or hamlet which lies north of Thornhill on the A76 on the route to

Sanquhar Sanquhar (, ) is a town on the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, north of Thornhill and west of Moffat. It is a former Royal Burgh. It is notable for its tiny post office, established in 1712 and considered the oldest working p ...

, in

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

, Durisdeer Parish, in

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 ...

, south-west

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Its original nucleus was the old mill with associated buildings, the school and the famous Enterkin Pass and path that followed the course of the Enterkin Glen to

Wanlockhead Wanlockhead is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, nestling in the Lowther Hills and south of Leadhills at the head of the Mennock Pass, which forms part of the Southern Uplands. It is Scotland's highest village, the village centre b ...

and from there to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. The site features the A76 that runs through the centre of Enterkinfoot, the

River Nith The River Nith (; Common Brittonic: ''Nowios'') is a river in south-west Scotland. The Nith rises in the Carsphairn hills of East Ayrshire, between Prickeny Hill and Enoch Hill, east of Dalmellington. For the majority of its course it flows ...

and the Enterkin Burn that once powered the mill before joining the Nith. The area is famous for its association with the

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

History

The village is now consistently known as 'Enterkinfoot' and the stream recorded as the 'Enterkin Burn' with its source away on the western slope of Lowther Hill. The burn has its confluence here with the

. The area is famous for its association with the

s and the events of the so-called 'Killing Times' that occurred during the reigns of Charles II and James VII and II and eventually led to the establishment of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Church of Scotland. A number of small cottages, many owned by the Duke of Buccleuch, made up the original village, some of which are still occupied. A public house stood next to the Enterkin Burn on the southern side. Enterkinfoot School and schoolhouse was situated near the cottages at Auchenbraith. A holy well is shown at the 'Holywell Cleuch' above Hapland Farm (with no recorded history) with a branch of the Enterkin Path running up the glen on the eastern side. A ford crossed the Nith at Auchenbraith.

Enterkinfoot Mill and Burn

Timothy Pont Reverend Timothy Pont () was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an actual surve ...

's map of circa 1583-96 shows 'Interk (?) Mill' at the same position (NS 857042) as the later mill. The 1654

Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673), also called Johannes Blaeu, was a Dutch cartographer and the official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company. Blaeu is most notable for his map published in 1648, which was the fir ...

map also records a 'Mill of Inter'. The burn is recorded as 'Interkyn' in 1745. Roy's map records 'Entrikin Foot', 'Water of Entrican' and the 'Entriken Path'. In 1776 Entrakinfoot is the spelling used. Enterkine Foot is marked on Crawford's 1804 map. By 1898 the more recent two storey mill is marked as a meal mill rather than a corn mill. The mill no longer survives. The miller's house is of a red sandstone construction and the lean-to extensions at each gable end once housed a smithy and a shop respectively. An older mill stands alongside, with various outbuildings, a cobbled courtyard, small walled garden and an old pig sty. The lade ran down as a wooden trough carrying the water from a sluice near the railway viaduct, splitting into a spillway and the lade to the wheel on the other side of the road.

Coshogle Castle

Coshogle Castle once overlooked Enterkinfoot, held by the clan Douglas, it stood near Old Coshogle Farm however nothing now remains at the site although some features from it are incorporated into nearby cottages, namely a doorway with an arch and moulded jambs, and secondly a

marriage stone A marriage stone, nuptial stone or lintel stone is usually a stone, rarely wood, lintel (architecture), lintel carved with the initials, coat of arms, etc. of a newly married couple, usually displaying the date of the marriage. They were very popul ...

with two coat of arms, the date 1576, initials RD and NJ for Robert Douglas and his wife Nicola Johnston. Sections of the castle walls stood 6 foot high and 6 foot thick survived at least until 1825.

Morton Castle

Morton is first recorded as being held in the 12th century by Dunegal, Lord of Strathnith (Nithsdale) and then by Thomas Randolph,

Earl of Moray The title Earl of Moray, or Mormaer of Moray (pronounced "Murry"), was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until ...

. The location of the surviving ruins stand on an elevated and highly defendable promontory surrounded on three sides by an artificial loch, originally only a marshland. The 1357 Treaty of Berwick in 1357 required the Scots to destroy Morton and thirteen other castles in Nithsdale. The

Earl of March Earl of March is a title that has been created several times, respectively, in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. The title derives from the "marches" or borderlands between England and either Wales (Welsh Marches) or Scotland (S ...

probably built much of the existing castle in the early 15th century, however, James Douglas of Dalkeith,

Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...

. In 1608 the castle was sold to William Douglas of Coshogle, William Douglas of Drumlanrig then buying it ten years later. The castle may have served as a hunting lodge until around 1714. Morton is still the property of the Duke of Buccleuch in the care of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

Kirkbride Church

The ruins of this church and cemetery stand in a remote location above Enterkinfoot. In the 13th-century Holyrood Abbey held Kirkbride Church. In 1732 the parish was divided and annexed to the parishes of

Durisdeer Durisdeer is a small village in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland, and in the historic county of Dumfries-shire. It lies north of Thornhill, above the Carron Water, a tributary of the Nith. History A Roman road once passed through ...

and

. The remains on site today date from the early 16th century and a sacristy projects from the north wall. Kirkbride is said to be only the second reformed church built in Scotland. The church bell was stolen after its abandonment was and was traced to Glasgow where it had been recognised by the sound of it when rung it was brought back and re-hung in the small belfry on the gable end.

Enoch Castle

Enoch castle was the caput of the barony of that name, however, nothing remains at the site due to robbing the lay of the land shows it to have been a place of considerable strength. It was seized by the Douglas's of Morton Castle and attached to the clans land holdings.

Transport

Enterkinfoot lies in Nithsdale, a natural communication corridor that has resulted in the main A76 road passing through it and railway the cutting through it a higher level with the Drumlanrig Tunnel near by. The Dumfries to Ayr road runs through on its way to

from Carronbridge. The

Duke of Queensberry The title Duke of Queensberry was created in the Peerage of Scotland on 3 February 1684 along with the subsidiary title Marquess of Dumfriesshire for the William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry, 1st Marquess of Queensberry. The Dukedom was he ...

constructed around of new road and in addition a road (the B797) through the Mennock Pass to the county boundary and onward to Edinburgh. The village never had a passenger station the nearest today being

and previously a station was present at Carron Bridge.

The Enterkin Pass and Path

The Enterkin Pass was one of the old routes, a bridle-path, running north from Nithsdale into Clydesdale, together with the nearby Mennock, Well and Dalveen Passes, crossing the Lowthers and then onwards to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Its origins may be a medieval travellers route or 16th century, made to facilitate the transport of lead from the mines by pack horses with panniers to

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

In 1726

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

writing in "''A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain" (1726) described the pass: "Enterkin, the frightfullest pass, and most dangerous that I met with, between that and Penmenmuir in North Wales''". Another author wrote that "''A few steps and you are on its edge, looking down giddy and amazed into its sudden and immense depths. ... but we know nothing more noticeable, more unlike any other place, more impressive, than this short, deep, narrow, and sudden glen.''" The original path and lane ran from near the school and was cut off by the railway, but it used to directly run from Enterkinfoot with another route from the south branching off from the Dalveen Pass road. The present-day path, going east from

passes around the west side of Stake Hill and joins the road to the radar station, leaving again to run south to the Enterkin Pass between Lowther Hill and East Mount Lowther. The path down is on the west bank of the Enterkin Burn for around 3 km until it reaches Glenvalentine from where it ascends in a southerly direction from the burn to the ridge above. Descending south from the ridge, there are views of Enterkin Glen. A metalled road is present near Inglestone and a public road runs via Muiryhill, turning west to the A76 Nithsdale road and thence to Enterkinfoot.

The rescue of the Covenanters

On 29 July 1684, the Enterkin Pass was the scene of a dramatic rescue, the 'Enterkin Raid' by twelve

s of five of their colleagues and a minister who were under escort by soldiers taking them from

via Thornhill to Edinburgh. The leaders of the group were James and Thomas Harkness and the ambush was set at Glenvalentine confluence resulting in the officer commanding being shot through the head and the troops firing a single volley before surrendering their prisoners. It is reported that there were casualties on both sides. Five of the Covenanters, including Thomas Harkness, involved were caught soon after and executed at Edinburgh's Grassmarket, however James Harkness escaped to

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

in Northern Ireland and his grave and story is still to be seen at Dalgarnock near Thornhill where his memorial read :-

Drumlanrig Tunnel and retaining wall

The

Duke of Buccleuch Duke of Buccleuch ( ), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and second ''suo jure'' for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Countess of ...

insisted that the railway be hidden from his seat at

Drumlanrig Castle Drumlanrig Castle is situated on the Queensberry Estate in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The category A listed castle is the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. As of September 2023, the castle itself is open to t ...

and this necessitated a 1,397-yard-long tunnel built by a workforce of 600 and requiring seven million bricks. The original contractor found the project too onerous. The tunnel opens at the south in the vicinity of the old

Carronbridge railway station Carronbridge railway station was a railway station in Dumfries and Galloway north of Dumfries, serving the village of Carronbridge and district. The station lay a significant distance from the village of Carronbridge, however it also served a ...

at NS880012. Enterkinfoot_Viaduct

Enterkin Viaduct

The -high Enterkin Viaduct with its four arches runs above Enterkinfoot and a substantial retaining wall lies just to the north. The long viaduct, built of red

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

by John Miller, has had a Category B listing since 26 June 1986.

Enterkinfoot retaining wall

The impressively engineered Enterkinfoot retaining wall (NS 8527 0482) is said to be a benchmark of its type, built by German engineers in around 1848 for the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway that opened in 1850 and became the

Glasgow and South Western Railway The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was the third biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle, Cumbria, Ca ...

. The design of this massive wall guarantees the stability of the double track railway above and in addition it prevents erosion of the embankment.

Etymology

The Enterkin Burn's name, with variants such as 'Inter' may originate in the Scots Gaelic 'eanach t'uircein' meaning 'sow's' or 't'arcoin' meaning 'mastiff's or blood hounds marsh'. 'Coshochel' is said to be of Brythonic rather than Gaelic origin, translating as the 'red height'. Hapland Farm may derive from the Scots language for the Curlew (Numenius arquata).

Micro-history

In British usage Enterkinfoot is technically a hamlet rather than a village as it has always lacked a formal dedicated church of its own.

References

External links

Glenairlie Bridge video and historyPhotographs of the Enterkinfoot areaVideo footage and history of Morton CastleVideo footage of Kirkbide and its natural historyKirkbride and the Ghost of Abraham CrichtonKirkbride, Durisdeer - A Visual Record1983 photo of Enterkinfoot Viaduct
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enterkinfoot Villages in Dumfries and Galloway Dumfriesshire Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway History of Dumfries and Galloway Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Buildings and structures in Dumfries and Galloway Glasgow and South Western Railway