A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Kirkmichael, an Annandale parish of N Dumfriesshire, whose church stands, 390 feet above sea-level, near the left bank of the Water of Ae, 3¾ miles NW of Shieldhill station, 4½ N of Amisfield station, and 9 N by E of the post-town, Dumfries. Comprising the ancient parish of Kirkmichael and the larger part of Garvald, it is bounded N by Kirkpatrick-Juxta, NE and E by Johnstone, SE by Lochmaben, S by Tinwald, SW by Kirkmahoe, and W by Closeburn. Its utmost length, from NNW to SSE, is 9 1/8 miles; its utmost breadth is 5 miles; and its area is 17,130¾ acres, of which 148 are water. The Water of Ae, from a point within 1 ¼ mile of its source upon Queensberry Hill to a point only 3 furlongs from its confluence with Kinnel Water, hurries 12 3/8 miles south-south-eastward on or near to all the western, south-western, southern, and south-eastern border; Kinnel Water itself, over a distance of 2¾ miles to a point 5 2/3 furlongs above the influx of the Ae, roughly traces part of the boundary with Johnstone; and gienkill and Garvald Burns, running 6¾ and 7 ¼ miles through the interior southward to the Ae, divide the parish into three pretty equal portions. In the SE is Cumrue Loch (1 x 2/3 furl.), as large again till it was reduced by drainage; and in the N, near the Martyr's Stone, a still smaller but very deep tarn lies at an altitude of 1160 feet. The SE corner of the parish is a level tract, declining to 170 feet above the sea; beyond, the surface rises north-north-westward to 324 feet at Nether Garvald, 546 at Carrick, 896 at Kirkmichael Fell, 1183 at Kirkland Hill, 1201 at Kirk Hill, and 1307 at Holehouse Hill. Red sandstone predominates in the plains, and has been worked; alum slate, interspersed with iron pyrites, occurs in the SW; and Silurian rocks prevail throughout the hills. The soil along the lower reaches of the Ae and the Kinnel is very fertile alluvium; in patches amounting to over 500 acres, is mossy; and in the middle districts, is mostly dry and gravelly, but partly moorish and heathy. Rather more than one-third of the entire area is either meadow or arable land; woods cover some 350 acres; and the rest of the parish is chiefly sheep pasture. Antiquities are vestiges of numerous Caledonian forts and camps; traces of part of the Roman road from Cumberland to Clydesdale; and remains of a Roman castellum in the manse garden, of Glenae Tower, of Garvald church, and of Wallace's House or Tower, ½ mile NW of the last. This the patriot is said to have garrisoned with sixteen men, whilst he was meditating the capture of Lochmaben Castle (1297); and a large stone, called the ` Sax Corses, ' 2 miles ENE of the church, marks the grave of the Englishman, Sir Hugh de Moreland, and his followers, who fell in an encounter with Sir William. Blue Cairn, too, at the northern boundary, on the SE slope of Queensberry, is the traditional site of Wallace's victory over Greystock, Sir Hugh's companion in arms, who was slain with most of his 300 followers. Kirkmichael House, 1½ mile ESE of the church and 5 miles WNW of Lochmaben, is a handsome Tudor edifice of 1833, with finely wooded grounds and two artificial sheets of water; its owner, John Stewart Lyon, Esq. (b. 1868; suc. 1881), holds 2994 acres in the shire, valued at £2522 per annum. The Duke of Buccleuch is a larger proprietor, and 5 lesser ones hold each an annual value of between £100 and £500. Kirkmichael is in the presbytery of Lochmaben and synod of Dumfries; the living is worth £358. The parish church, built in 1815, contains over 500 sittings. There is also a Free church; and two public schools, Garvald and Nethermill, with respective accommodation for 56 and 100 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 48 and 72, and grants of £45, 11s. and £57, 13s. Valuation (1860) £7506, (1883) £9660, 1s. 10d. Pop. (1801) 904, (1831) 1226, (1861) 1026, (1871) 903, (1881) 849.—Ord. Sur., sh. 10, 1864.
(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)
| Linked entities: | |
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| Feature Description: | "an Annandale parish" (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 4th order divisions") |
| Administrative units: | Kirkmichael ScoP Dumfries Shire ScoCnty |
| Place: | Kirkmichael |
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