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Wigtownshire | |
Leswalt |
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The old church of Leswalt, which was replaced in 1828 when a new church was erected, belonged anciently to the Abbey of Tongland. Ministry of the Kirk Session is recorded from 1567, in the person of Thomas Makalexander. In 1985 Leswalt established a link with Ervie Kirkcolm. The kirk session sat within the Presbytery of Stranraer until 1963 when, by Act of Assembly, the Presbytery of Wigtown and the Presbytery of Stranraer were united together under the name of the Presbytery of Wigtown and Stranraer.
The congregation of Kirkcolm Free Church, which sat within the Presbytery of Stranraer, was established at the time of the Disruption in 1843 and supply service was arranged from July of that year. Worship had to take place for a time in the farm houses of Knochtinan and Kirminnoch until a church was built in 1844-1845 on land granted by Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw. The charge was sanctioned in 1845. In 1900, upon the union of the Free Church and the United Presbyterians, Kirkcolm Free Church became Kirkcolm United Free and in 1921 the charge was reduced in status. A number of years thereafter in 1928 Kirkcolm U.F. was united with the congregation of Leswalt and the united charge was renamed Ervie. Following the union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church, Ervie U.F. became Ervie and Leswalt Church of Scotland and in 1950 a further union was established with the parish church congregation of Kirkcolm to form the session of Ervie and Kirkcolm. After this local union both churches continued in use. The kirk session of Ervie and Kirkcolm remains active today and presently falls under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Wigtown and Stranraer.
Leswalt Free Church was formed at the Disruption, when the minister and part of the congregation adhered to the Free Church. It passed to the United Free Church, but was reduced in status in 1925 and united with Kirkcolm as Ervie UF in 1929. The UFC charge was in the presbytery of Wigtown and Stranraer and the synod of Dumfries and Galloway.
The Kirk Session of Sheuchan was established in 1868 when it was disjoined from that of Inch and erected as a separate parish, quoad sacra. A church had been built here a number of years earlier in 1841. In 1956 Sheuchan formed a union with the former United Free Church congregation of Stranraer St Margaret's, under the name of Stranraer High. The kirk session sat within the Presbytery of Stranraer until 1963 when, by Act of Assembly, the Presbytery of Wigtown and the Presbytery of Stranraer united together under the name of Presbytery of Wigtown and Stranraer.
Sheuchan Free Church began at the Disruption, when the minister and almost the whole congregation of a church extension charge adhered to the Free Church. It passed successively to the United Free Church, as Stranraer Sheuchan, and to the Church of Scotland, as Stranraer St Margaret's, which was reduced in status in 1952 and united in 1956 with Sheuchan as Stranraer High. The Church of Scotland charge was in the presbytery of Stranraer and the synod of Ayr.
At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
Included in the Old Parochial Registers on microfilm and at the ScotlandsPeople Centre, Edinburgh but not online:
At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
At the Dumfries and Galloway Archives, Dumfries:
At the Ewart Library, Dumfries:
At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
Some estate papers can be found by searching the NationalArchives of Scotland catalogue for "Leswalt" and reference starts "GD". Collections particularly worth searching are:
At the Dumfries and Galloway Archives, Dumfries:
At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
At the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh:
At the Ewart Library, Dumfries:
At the Ewart Library, Dumfries:
Data provided by the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN)
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Last updated 27 September, 2010 : William McM. Owen