Old Photograph Entrance Whithorn Priory Scotland

Old photograph of a man standing at the entrance to the Priory in Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. This Scottish medieval abbey that also served as a cathedral was founded around the middle of the twelfth century by Fergus King of Galloway, Lord of Galloway Clan MacDowall, with Gille Aldan, Bishop of Galloway, in the reign of King David I of Scotland, for Premonstratensian Canons, referred colloquially in Britain as the White Canons. Some of the Priors were: Maurice, who swore fealty to King Edward I of England in 1296; Gavin Dunbar, who rose to be Archbishop of Glasgow; and James Beaton, successively Archbishop of Glasgow and of St. Andrews, Fife, and chancellor of the kingdom. Whithorn was long a noted place of pilgrimage, owing to its connection with the venerated memory of Saint Ninian.

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Old Photograph Mochrum Scotland

Old photograph of cottagea in Mochrum, located nine miles South West of Wigtown, Scotland. Sir John Dunbar of Mochrum was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. he was survived by his wife Janet Stewart, and his third son Gavin Dunbar, born 1490, died 1547, became Archbishop of Glasgow in 1524.

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Old Photographs George Street Whithorn Scotland

Old photograph of a shop, cottages, houses and people on George Street in Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. This Scottish town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, Candida Casa: the White, or Shining, House, built by Saint Ninian about 397.



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Old Photograph Brighouse Bay Scotland

Old photograph of a house by Brighouse Bay near Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Like much of the Solway coast, the bay was a notorious landing point for smugglers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its proximity to the Isle of Man made it ideal for landing highly taxed goods like tobacco, tea, and brandy away from customs officials.


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Old Photograph Agnew Crescent Stranraer Scotland

Old photograph of cottages, houses and children on Agnew Crescent in Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. A historic coastal street that follows the curve of Loch Ryan and named after the Agnew family, who were the hereditary sheriffs of Wigtownshire and resided at the nearby Lochnaw Castle. Around 1600, Stranraer had become the market town for western Wigtownshire. At about this time, Stranraer was reached by a military road built from Dumfries to allow easier access to Portpatrick for transportation of people to Ireland for the Plantation of Ulster. Stranraer became a royal burgh in 1617. The first harbour in Stranraer was built in the middle of the 18th century, with further port development in the 1820s. The arrival of the railway from Dumfries in 1861, which closed in 1965), which gave the shortest journey to/from London, England, established Stranraer as the area's main port. In 1862, the line was extended to serve the harbour directly, and a link to Portpatrick was also opened. In 1877, a rail connection north to Girvan and Glasgow was also established. Stranraer remained the main Scottish port for the Irish ferries for the next 150 years or so.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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