Kirkcolm is a village 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 ...
on the northern tip of the
Rhinns of Galloway peninsula, south-west Scotland. It is 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 ...
, and is part of the former county of
Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...
. The parish is bounded on the north and west by the sea, on the east by the bay of
Loch Ryan
Loch Ryan (, ) is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The town of Stranraer is the largest settlement on its shores, wi ...
and on the south by
Leswalt parish.
History
The name Kirkcolm is often said – even by local people – to mean the Church of St.
Columba
Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...
. However, the early spellings of the name as ''Kyrcum'' (1276), ''Kirkcum'' (1397) and ''Kirkcum'' (1525) cast doubt on that interpretation, as does the modern local pronunciation which is not ''Colm'' with a long 'o', but ''Cum'' with a short 'u'. The saint who is actually referred to by the name is mentioned by a papal letter of 1397 as 'St Cummin'. This is the name of more than one Gaelic saint of the early Middle Ages, but the most likely to be commemorated here is
Cumméne Find
Cumméne Find (Latinised, Cummeneus Albus, Cumméne "the White", died 669) was the seventh abbot of Iona (657–669), succeeding Suibne moccu Fir Thrí.
Life
Cumméne Find was a kinsman of Columba from the royal dynasty of the Cenél Conaill. H ...
, the seventh abbot of Iona who died in AD 669. The parish has a spring known as the Crosswell, or St. Columba's Well, but this designation first appears after the misunderstanding of the name Kilcolm, so is quite likely to be itself a mistake.
Historically Kirkcolm has seen human activity since ancient times. Sheltered from the rough seas of the
North Channel and the North Atlantic, Loch Ryan has long been an important safe harbour for vessels. An Iron Age fort is located at Dunskirkloch on the north coast.
In the spring of 1307, at the beginning of
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 ...
's campaign in the Wars of Independence, he sent two forces to attempt to gain control of south-west Scotland. One force, led by his two brothers and consisting of eighteen galleys, landed in
Loch Ryan
Loch Ryan (, ) is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The town of Stranraer is the largest settlement on its shores, wi ...
. They were immediately overwhelmed by local forces, led by Dougal MacDougal of
Clan MacDowall, a supporter of the Comyns.
The barony of Corsewall was held by
Alexander Stewart, Lord Garlies from 1622. It was formerly called Stewarton.
Features of interest
Kilmorie Stone

An Early Medieval cross-slab is located in Kirkcolm churchyard. The cross was removed from the site of Kilmorie Chapel, which was next to St Mary's Well, in the 18th century and built into Kirkcolm church. It was later moved to the grounds of Corsewall House, but re-erected in Kirkcolm churchyard in the 1980s. The designs on cross-slab combine Christian and Norse imagery, reflecting Galloway's Viking and Celtic past. One face of the stone has an elaborately carved cross above a design of intertwined snake-like animals. On the reverse-side is a representation of the Crucifixion. Below is a figure of a man with a pair of tongs and a bird on his shoulder; this may represent
Odin
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
or
Sigurd
Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...
. It is thought the carvings on the Kilmorie Stone show the triumph of Christianity over paganism.
Ervie-Kirkcolm Church
The old Parish Church of Kirkcolm, which was in the grounds of Corsewall House, was demolished in 1821 and a new church was built in Kirkcolm, up the hill from the old Kirk. In 1950 Kirkcolm Church of Scotland was united with Ervie Free Church, and in 1985 the church was linked with Leswalt Parish Church. The
Kirk session
A session (from the Latin word ''sessio'', which means "to sit", as in sitting to deliberate or talk about something; sometimes called ''consistory'' or ''church board'') is a body of elected elders governing a particular church within presbyte ...
, held in the court of the parish, was made up of the minister and the land owners and business men of the parish and dealt with moral issues, minor criminal cases, matters of the poor and education, matters of discipline, and the general concerns of the parish.
Marian Tower

Marian Tower is a 19th-century monument on Craigengerroch Hill, around west of Kirkcolm village. There are panoramic views across the
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...
from this location.
Corsewall Lighthouse
Corsewall Lighthouse stands on the north-west coast of the Rhins, and marks the approach to Loch Ryan. Opened in 1817, the light was automated in 1994 and the rest of the building now operates as a hotel. The lighthouse was built by
Robert Stevenson, engineer grandfather of
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
, and is a category A
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
Corsewall Castle

Corsewall Castle is a ruined 15th-century tower house to the south-east of the lighthouse. It was owned by Alexander Campbell, a son of Sir Duncan Campbell of Loudoun, whose elder brother Andrew was Sheriff of Ayr. The oblong keep once rose to three storeys and lay on a mound which was protected by a ditch. Now all that remains are the stumps of the four walls, which do not rise beyond a tunnel-vaulted basement. The wall still contains the lower section of a turnpike stair. A small cannon was discovered here in 1791, while a cache of gold coins, silver-plate and jewellery was uncovered in 1802. The castle was forsaken in favour of Corsewall House, near to Kirkcolm village, by the 18th century. A legend recorded in the 19th century states that the castle had a spring of such power that, by raising its lid, the owners could at pleasure flood the moat and approaches to the castle.
Notable people
Admiral
Sir John Ross
Sir John Ross (24 June 1777 – 30 August 1856) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and polar explorer. He was the uncle of Sir James Clark Ross, who explored the Arctic with him, and later led expeditions to Antarctica.
Biography
Ear ...
(1777–1856), Arctic explorer, was born in Kirkcolm, the son of the Rev. Andrew Ross of Balsarroch. He joined the Royal Navy aged nine, and served in the Swedish Navy. Between 1818 and 1850 he led three expeditions to explore the
North West Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
. He built the
North West Castle in Stranraer, where he spent his retirement years. His nephew Admiral Sir
James Clark Ross
Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John ...
joined him on Arctic expeditions and became the first explorer to reach the
North Magnetic Pole
The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field, planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic comp ...
in 1831.
David James Speirs (born 15 December 1984) is an Australian politician. He has been a
Liberal member of the
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.
Overview
The House of Assem ...
since the
2014 state election and leader of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
since 19 April 2022. Speirs was born in
Galloway
Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...
,
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 ...
and raised in Kirkcolm. He was schooled at Kirkcolm Primary School and
Stranraer Academy.
He emigrated to Australia with his parents and two younger brothers at the age of 17 in 2002.
Speirs on election shambles
The Advertiser, 4 February 2023.
See also
* List of listed buildings in Kirkcolm, Dumfries and Galloway
References
External links
{{authority control
Wigtownshire
Villages in Dumfries and Galloway
Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway
Places in the Rhins