Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

WIGT
WIGT
part of the possessions of the earls of Galloway, who are
still large proprietors here.
The town is beautifully situated upon an eminence
rising to an elevation of 200 feet above the level of the
sea, and consists of several regular and well-formed
streets. The principal of these is very spacious, and
has in the centre a quadrangular area inclosed by an
iron palisade, at one extremity of which is the town-
hall, and at the other a market-cross of modern erec-
tion, constructed of hewn granite. The inclosure is
laid out in gravel walks shaded with shrubberies and
evergreens, surrounding a bowliDg-green in the middle ;
and at one end is a verdant mound formed into terraces.
The houses, of which some are ancient, are generally
well built ; and many handsome houses have been re-
cently erected, giving to the town a pleasing and pre-
possessing appearance. Assemblies are held in a suite
of rooms in the town-hall, in which, also, is a public
library, supported by subscription. The environs abound
with varied scenery ; and the sands on the shore of the
bay, which are dry at low water, afford an agreeable
promenade.
There are no manufactures carried on here ; the prin-
cipal trades are such only as are requisite for the sup-
ply of the town and neighbourhood. In the village of
Bladnoch, however, about a mile distant, is an extensive
distillery. The business of the port consists chiefly in
the exportation of grain, potatoes, and other agricul-
tural produce. About fifteen vessels are registered as
belonging to the port, of the aggregate burthen of 1000
tons ; the number of vessels clearing outwards annually is
about seventy-five, of 5000 tons, and entering inwards,
about ninety, of 6200 tons, mostly in the coasting trade.
The harbour, which is about a quarter of a mile from
the town, is accessible to vessels of 300 tons ; and the
jurisdiction of the port extends over all the creeks on
the coast of the county, from the Mull of Galloway to
the mouth of the river Dee. There are in the town a
custom-house, a post-office, and branches of the Edin-
burgh and Glasgow Bank and the British Linen Com-
pany. Facility of communication is afforded by good
roads ; and steam-packets for goods and passengers
ply between this place and the port of Liverpool,
regularly every week during the year. The market is
well supplied with provisions ; and fairs are held annu-
ally on the first Friday in February, the first Monday in
April, the 17th June, and the last Fridays in August
and October, O. S. The town was erected into a royal
burgh by charter of David II. in 1341, granted to the
family of the Flemings, of whom Malcolm Fleming, who
had been guardian and preceptor to the infant monarch,
was created Earl of Wigton, which title, however, be-
came dormant, or extinct, on the decease of Charles,
Earl of Wigton, in 1747. The original charter having
been destroyed, was renewed by James II. in 1457, and
confirmed and extended by Charles II. in 166 J. The
government is vested in a provost, two bailies, and fif-
teen councillors ; but there are neither incorporated
trades, nor any exclusive privileges enjoyed by the bur-
gesses. The magistrates exercise both civil and crimi-
nal jurisdiction within the royalty ; but the former has
become very inconsiderable since the establishment of
the sheriff's small-debt courts ; and the number of
cases of the latter, chiefly petty misdemeanors, are very
few. The burgh is associated with the several towns
612
of New Galloway, Stranraer, and Whithorn, in re-
turning a member to the imperial parliament. The
town-hall is a handsome and spacious building with a
lofty tower, and contains, besides the court-room, the
assembly-room and library already noticed.
The parisei is bounded on the east by Wigton bay
and on the south by the river Bladnoch, and is almost
six miles in length and about four miles in breadth,
comprising by estimation an area of nearly 7000 acres ;
about 2000 are arable, 2000 pasture, and the remainder
plantations, moorland, and moss. The surface is greatly
diversified ; in the north-east, generally flat, and bearing
every appearance of having been once covered by the
sea ; on the north-west, chiefly extensive and level
tracts of moor and moss ; and on the south, interspersed
with hills that are arable and in good cultivation. The
principal river is the Bladnoch, on which there is a sal-
mon-fishery ; and a stream called the Bishop's burn
flows along the north-eastern boundary of the parish
into the Frith of Cree, in Wigton bay. The soil is very
various, in some parts a dry, light, and fertile mould,
and in others less productive ; the crops are, wheat,
barley, bear, oats, beans, potatoes, and turnips, with the
different grasses. The system of agriculture has of late
been greatly improved ; the lands have been mostly
drained and inclosed, and several tracts of waste have
been brought into profitable cultivation. The substrata
are chiefly greywacke and greywacke-slate, of which the
rocks are entirely composed. The rateable annual value
of the parish is £6lS8.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superin-
tendence of the presbytery of Wigton, of which this is
the seat, and the synod of Galloway. The minister's
stipend is £272. 0. 9., with an allowance of £30 in lieu
of manse, and a glebe valued at £24 per annum ; patron,
Lord Galloway. The church, situated in a beautifully
retired spot at the eastern extremity of the town, is a
very ancient structure, but, from frequent alterations
and repairs, retains little of its original character ; it
has 660 sittings. There are places of worship for mem-
bers of the Free Church and United Secession ; and a
congregation of the Relief used formerly to assemble
every Sabbath in the town-hall. Three schools are under
the patronage of the corporation. One is the parochial
and burgh grammar-school, conducted by a master who
has a salary of £24, a sum of £10 allowed for an
assistant, and a parochial salary of £1 1. 2. 3., the two first
amounts being paid by the corporation ; the other schools
are for girls, and the mistresses respectively receive
salaries of £12 and £10 a year from the burgh funds.
The grammar-school, for which a spacious and elegant
new building was erected at the close of the year 1845, is
attended by from 120 to 150 pupils ; and there are also
Sabbath schools, in which about 300 children are taught.
The poor have the interest of bequests producing £18 per
annum. The principal relics of antiquity are, a circle of
nineteen upright stones surrounding three of loftier ele-
vation, which are called the tomb of Galdus, King of
Scots ; and several cairns, supposed to have been raised
over the bodies of the slain in some battle fought near
the spot.
WIGTONSHIRE, a maritime county, in the south-
west of Scotland, bounded on the north by Ayrshire;
on the east by the stewartry or county of Kirkcudbright
and by Wigton bay ; and on the south and west by the