Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

WIGT
WIGT
Irish Sea. It lies between 54° 38' and 56° 5' (N. Lat.)
and 4° 16' and 5° 7' (W. Long.), and is about 32 miles
in length and 29 miles in extreme breadth ; comprising an
area of nearly 480 square miles, or 305,000 acres ; 7711
houses, of which "440 are inhabited ; and containing a
population of 39,195, of whom 18,290 are males, and
20,905 females. This county, which forms the western
portion of the ancient district of Galloway, appears to
have derived its name from the situation of its chief, or
perhaps at that time its only, town, on an eminence
whose base was washed by the sea. At the period of
the Roman invasion of Britain, it was inhabited by the
Celtic tribe of the Novanles, who seem to have in a great
measure maintained their independence against the
attempts of the Romans to reduce them to subjection.
On the departure of the Romans, the province became
part of the territories of the Northumbrian kings, under
whose government it remained till the commencement
of the 9th century, when it fell into the power of the
Picts, who continued, for a considerable time after the
union of the two kingdoms by Kenneth II., to exercise
a kind of sovereign authority in this part of Scot-
land.
But under all these changes, the original Celtic inha-
bitants retained their ancient customs, and preserved
that natural impetuosity of character and indomitable
spirit which caused them to be known as the " wild
Scots of Galloway." From their heroic valour, they
obtained from the Scottish monarchs the privilege of
forming the van in every engagement at which they
might be present ; and under their own independent
lord, who was killed in the conflict, they highly distin-
guished themselves at the battle of the Standard in the
reign of David I. The last of the lords of Galloway was
Allan, whose grandson, John Baliol, succeeded to the
Scottish throne on the death of Alexander III. After
the decease of Robert Bruce, the county of Wigton, with
the title of Earl, was conferred by David II. on Sir
Malcolm Fleming, from whose family the lands passed
to the Douglasses, by whom they were held till their
forfeiture in 1453, after which they were divided among
various families, the Agnews being created heritable
sheriffs. Previously to the Reformation, the county
was included in the diocese of Galloway ; it is now in
the synod of Galloway, and comprises the presbyteries
of Wigton and Stranraer, and seventeen parishes. For
civil purposes the county is under the jurisdiction of a
sheriff-depute, by whom a sheriff-substitute is appointed,
who resides at Wigton, the county-town, where quarter-
sessions are held in March, May, and October, and the
sheriff's court every Tuesday. A court of quarter-session
is also held at Glenluce on the first Tuesday in August ;
and sheriff's courts for small debts are holden at Stran-
raer every alternate month, and at Newton- Stewart and
Whithorn every three months. The county contains
the three royal burghs of Wigton, Stranraer, and Whit-
horn ; the burghs of barony of Newton-Stewart, Garlies-
town, Glenluce, and Portpatrick ; and several small
ports and thriving villages. Under the act of the 2nd
of William IV., the shire returns one member to the
imperial parliament.
The surface, though generally level, is diversified
with numerous hills, of which some few attain a con-
siderable degree of elevation. The coast is deeply
indented with bays. That of Wigton, on the south
613
east, partly separates the county from the stewartry of
Kirkcudbright ; and the bay of Luce on the south, and
Loch Ryan on the north-west, divide the western portion
of it into the two peninsulas called the Rhynns of Gal-
loway. Of the several rivers, the principal is the Cree,
which has its source on the confines of Ayrshire, and
taking a south-eastern course, partly separates the
county from the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, and falls
into Wigton bay ; it abounds with salmon, and is navi-
gable for several miles. The river Bladnoch has its
source in the district of Carrick, in the south of Ayr-
shire, and after a southern course of several miles
through the county of Wigton, falls into Wigton bay. The
small river Poltantou, or Piltantou, after a short course,
flows into Luce bay. There are various less import-
ant streams ; and of the numerous inland lakes, which
are, however, generally of but small extent, the most
interesting, from the beauty of the surrounding scenery,
are those of Castle-Kennedy and Soulseat, in the parish
of Inch. The woods with which the county appears to
have formerly abounded have almost entirely disap-
peared ; but within the last few years, the deficiency
has been supplied by plantations, which succeed well.
The Scotch fir and oak thrive with care, and also the
spruce and silver firs, under the protection of the pinas-
ter introduced by the Earl of Galloway ; but the most
luxuriant trees are the beech, ash, elm, sycamore, birch,
alder, plane, and larch, for which the land seems pecu-
liarly favourable.
The soil is generally a shallow hazel loam resting on
a gravelly bottom, with large tracts of moss and moor
occurring in several places, and considerable portions of
fine pasture ; the richest land is near the coasts. On
the shores of Wigton and Luce bays are extensive
breadths of sands, dry at low water. The system of
agriculture has been gradually improving, and the rota-
tion plan is now prevalent ; the chief crops are, oats,
barley, turnips, and potatoes. The farms mostly vary
from 300 to 700 acres, but some few are nearly 1500
acres in extent : the farm-buildings, formerly of very
inferior character, have been much improved. The prin-
cipal manures are, lime, marl, sea-shell, and sea-weed,
of which last abundance is found on the coast. The
lands in many parts have been drained and inclosed, on
the sheep-farms principally with stone dykes, and on
the arable lands with hedges of thorn ; and under the
auspices of the Earl of Galloway, the various agricul-
tural improvements that originated in the county of
Dumfries, have been adopted almost to their full extent
in this part of the country. Considerable attention is
paid to the rearing of live-stock. The cattle are of the
native black-breed, hardy, compact, and well-propor-
tioned ; and great numbers of them, both fat and lean,
are sent to the southern markets. The sheep are gene-
rally of the black-faced breed, but a small kind of the
white-faced, supposed to be of Spanish origin, has been
introduced, and also some of the Linton, Teeswater, and
Northumberland breeds : large numbers are pastured on
the moorlands, in flocks of from 10,000 to 15,000. The
horses, being of the true Galloway breed, are much
esteemed ; and large numbers of swine are now fed, and
form not only a profitable stock for home consumption,
but also for exportation, not less than from 15,000
to 20,000 being annually shipped from the several
ports.