Whithorn
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Whithorn (; ), is a
royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...
in the historic 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 ...
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 ...
,
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 ...
, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
in Scotland, "White/Shining House", built by Saint Ninian about 397 CE.


Toponymy

There is a tradition that St Ninian built a church of stone and lime nearby in the late 4th century; it was called , 'White/Shining House'. "Whithorn" is a modern form of the Anglo-Saxon version of this name, or , 'White House'. In Gallovidian Gaelic, it was called , or , the latter a version of the Anglo-Saxon name (Gaelic has no sound corresponding to English ''wh''). Ninian dedicated the church to his master
Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...
, and when he died (probably in 432) Ninian was buried in the church.


Early history

A monastery and diocese of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
was founded on the site in the 8th century, possibly originating with a 6th-century , or monastery of Rosnat. It was the centre of the revived See of Galloway (or Candida Casa) under the patronage of
Fergus, Lord of Galloway Fergus of Galloway (died 12 May 1161) was a twelfth-century Lord of Galloway. Although his familial origins are unknown, it is possible that he was of Norse-Gaelic ancestry. Fergus first appears on record in 1136, when he witnessed a charter of ...
and Bishop Gille Aldan from the 12th century. The late-medieval cathedral Whithorn Priory is ruinous, much of it having disappeared completely apart from the much-altered aisleless
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and vaults at the former eastern end which once held the shrine of St. Ninian, one of medieval Scotland's major
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
destinations. A
museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
in the town contains finds from the site, which has been extensively excavated in recent years. A late-medieval gateway with the arms of the
King of Scots The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...
leads into the site of the priory, which contains the 19th-century parish church and a museum of carved stones (
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 ...
). The collection of early medieval stones is one of the largest in Scotland, and includes the country's earliest surviving Christian memorial, the 5th-century inscribed Latinus Stone. The museum layout and display was revised and greatly improved in 2005.


The crozier

One of the finest artefacts found at the site is the Whithorn Crozier. The gilded and enamelled crozier is an outstanding example of enamels which were being made in England in the second half of the 12th century, and this one dates to around 1175. It is now housed in the National Museums of Scotland, although it is loaned to the Whithorn Trust Visitor Centre every summer. It is thought that the crozier was buried with the body of Simon de Wedale, who was one of the Bishops of Whithorn.


Churches

* St Martin and St Ninian Catholic Church, George St, 1959–60. Designed by Harry Stuart Goodhart Rendel and is his only known building in Scotland. The interior was reordered with the altar brought forward from the east wall following the reforms of the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
. At that time the baldacchino was also demolished, and the decorative ironwork at the baptistry and communion rail scrapped. The original Creetown granite altar was placed outside against the east elevation. A possible source of inspiration is the church of
San Julián de los Prados San Julián de los Prados, also known as Santullano, is a Pre-Ramirense church from the beginning of the 9th century in Oviedo, the capital city of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is one of the greatest works of Asturian art and was decl ...
Ovieda, Asturias in Spain. The East elevation has a carved Hew Lorimer crucifix mounted to the wall. The crucifix has not fared well after poor cleaning in 1997 led to significant loss of detail. The church including the quadrant walls is listed Category C(S). *St Ninian's Priory Church, Church of Scotland. Built 1822 using stones from the medieval Whithorn Priory. The tower was added in the mid-19th century. Porch added by Peter MacGregor Chalmers in 1914.


Geography

Whithorn's link to the sea was the port known as the Isle of Whithorn (a separate community from Whithorn itself and actually a peninsula). It was much used in the Middle Ages by pilgrims arriving by boat. The thirteenth-century Saint Ninian's Chapel marked the point where pilgrims came ashore (the roofless remains are looked after by
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 ...
). The 1st-century settlement of Rispain Camp, about west of Whithorn, is also in the care of
Historic Scotland Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...
.


Railway

Whithorn was once served by a
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
until 1950 when the passenger service was withdrawn and the freight services falling victim to the Beeching axe in 1964. The track was lifted in April 1965.


Listed buildings

List of listed buildings in Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway


Gallery

File:Burgh.of.Whithorn.Seal.png, Seal of the Burgh of Whithorn File:Whithorn Priory.jpg, Whithorn Priory File:St Ninians Chapel.jpg, Remains of the Priory Nave at Whithorn File:Monreith Cross.JPG, The Monreith Cross in the Whithorn Museum File:Whithorn War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 1456775.jpg, Whithorn War Memorial File:St Martin and St Ninian Catholic Church Whithorn Wigtownshire consecrated 1960.jpg, St Martin and St Ninian Church, George Street


Residents

* Charles Lockhart (1818–1905), petroleum producer and refiner, was born in Cairnhead, Isle of Whithorn. Co-founder in 1874 with John D Rockefeller of the Standard Oil Company (
Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (from the phon ...
). * The poet and scholar of South American literature Alastair Reid was born in Whithorn on 22 March 1926. He was known for his lighthearted style of poems and for his translations of South American poets
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...
and
Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...
. Although he was known for translations, his own poems had gained notice during his lifetime. In his later years he was a frequent summer visitor, with his wife Leslie staying in a cottage on the Galloway House estate. * George Dickie (1912–1951) was born and grew up in Whithorn. Using the ''nom de guerre'' of Jack Brent, he fought in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–38, against the fascist forces of General Franco. A memorial plaque was unveiled to him in 2006 on the former butcher's shop next to The Pend where he once worked as an assistant. His story is told by his nephew, John Dickie, in the 2012 biography ''Geordie's Story: A Life of Jack Brent''. *Jeannie Donnan (1864–1942), "The Galloway Poetess", was born in
Gatehouse of Fleet Gatehouse of Fleet ( ) is a town, half in the civil parish of Girthon, and half in the parish of Anwoth, divided by the river Water of Fleet, Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, within the council administrative area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. ...
in Kirkcudbrightshire and later moved to Whithorn on George Street commemorated by a plaque. She wrote local poetry published as ''Hameland: The Poems of Jeannie Donnan'', 1907; ''War Poems'', 1915; ''The Hills of Hame'', 1930, as well as in the ''Galloway Gazette''.


See also

* Whithorn (Parliament of Scotland constituency) * Isle of Whithorn


Notes and references

*


External links


Castlewigg Tower plan Isle of Whithorn CastleThe Whithorn Trust
*http://www.whithorn.info/ *http://www.whithornevergreens.co.uk/ *http://aye-whithorn.blogspot.com/2011/01/goodhart-rendels-inspiration.html?m=1 {{authority control Towns in Dumfries and Galloway Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway Ports and harbours of Scotland Royal burghs