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Whithorn

Map showing the location of the parish
WHITHORN, a royal burgh and a parish, in the county of Wigton, 11 miles (S.) from Wigtown, containing, with the village of Isle of Whithorn, 2795 inhabitants, of whom 495 are in Isle of Whithorn, and 1502 in the burgh. .. The parish is about eight miles in extreme length, and varies from two to five miles in breadth, comprising an area of 10,000 acres, of which the whole, with the exception of about 200 acres of meadow and a little waste, is arable. .. The chief crops are, wheat, oats, bear, barley, potatoes, and turnips. The system of husbandry is making steady progress; a due rotation of crops is uniformly observed; the farm-buildings are substantial, and roofed with slate, and the lands mostly inclosed with stone dykes. .. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Wigtown and synod of Galloway. The minister's stipend is £246. 15. 9., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum; patron, the Crown. The church, erected on part of the site of the priory in 1822, is a substantial and neat structure containing 800 sittings: in the churchyard are the only remains of the priory and cathedral, conveying but a faint idea of the ancient grandeur of the buildings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the Secession Synod, and Reformed Presbyterians, and a Roman Catholic chapel. Of the two parochial schools, one is in the burgh and the other at Isle of Whithorn: the master of the burgh school has a salary of £39, with £6. 6. in lieu of a dwelling-house, and the other master a salary of £19. 10.; the school fees averaging £50 per annum in the aggregate. – edited from A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Samuel Lewis, 1846.

Villages

Isle of Whithorn
Whithorn

Places in Whithorn parish, with links to online historical and modern maps.

Please read the main GENUKI Wigtownshire pages if you have not already done so.

Archives, Libraries and Museums

A separate Records Page page gives details of the records for this parish held by Scottish archives.

The ScotlandsPlaces website lets users search across national databases by geographical location. It includes, amongst other material,

Bibliography

Wigtown and Whithorn : historical and descritptive sketches, stories and anecdotes, illustrative of the racy wit & pawky humor of the district, by Gordon Fraser, 1877, is avaiable at the Internet Archive.

Cemeteries

There are 2 cemeteries in Whithorn parish:

1. Whithorn St Ninian's Old Churchyard (grid reference NW 443404, GPS: 54.733566,-4.417588, Google map
2. Whithorn St Ninian's New Cemetery (grid ref. NW 444404, GPS: 54.734195,-4.416574, Google map):

Census

Parish / district reference number for 1841 - 1901 censuses: 900

The 1841 and 1851 returns can be searched on the FreeCEN website.

There is an online index to the 1851 census created by the Friends of the Archives of Dumfries and Galloway.

Some census records on microfilm may be consulted in LDS Family Search Centres around the world.

LDS Library Film Numbers:

  1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891
Whithorn 1042848 1042557 103922 104113 224064 220464
Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Further information on the main GENUKI Wigtownshire page.

Church History

In addition to the parish church, other churches include an Associate Congregation (later United Pesbyterian), a Free Church, and a Reformed Presbyterian church.

A list of all persons over 12 years of age, collected under instructions to the Episcolalian Curates of Galloway and Dumfriesshire, was published as Parish lists of Wigtownshire and Minnigaff, 1684. It is available at the Open Library.

The Old Statistical Account (written in the 1790s) gives this information about Dissenters:

The New Statistical Account (written in 1839) gives this information:

The1865 Ecclesiastical Directory lists the parish church, the Free Church (Whithorn & Isle), the United Presbyterian Church, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Details of church history here.

Church Records

The Parish Church (Established Church, Church of Scotland):

The original Old Parish Registers (of baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages, and deaths / burials) of the Church of Scotland, which cover the years up to 1854, are held in the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh, and they can all be consulted there at the ScotlandsPeople Centre.

Parish reference number: 900

The Old Parish Registers (OPRs) span the following dates (although there are gaps within these ranges):

Whithorn OPR Births / baptisms Proclamations / marriages Deaths / burials / mortcloths
900/1 1712-1819 1712-1819 -
900/2 1819-1854 1820-1854 -
Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland

The Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland, published 1872, provides this information about the content of the OPRs, including the gaps within them:

B.  The regular Record does not commence till May 1796. Prefixed to this are four pages containing 96 irregular entries dated between 1763 and 1844. On p. 112 are 33 irregular entries1789 - 1819.
M. One entry for 1788 recorded after Aug. 1811.
[Subsequent to publication of the Detailed List, additional early entries of B. and M. were found, now included in 900/1.]

The baptisms / births, proclamations / marriages and deaths / burials indexes can be searched at the ScotlandsPeople website. Copies of the register entries may be purchased.

Copies of the registers on microfilm may be consulted in some local libraries and at LDS Family Search Centres around the world. The indexes to baptisms / births and proclamations / marriages can also be searched on the LDS Family Search website or on the IGI on microfiche in local libraries.

LDS Library Film Numbers:

1068042 Items 4 - 5 Baptisms, 1712-1855; Marriages, 1716-1742, 1796-1855.
Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Further information on the main GENUKI Wigtownshire page.

Kirk Session records are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of church records here.

Heritors' Records (HR332) are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.

Other Churches:

Records of other churches are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of records here.

The Whithorn page of the LDS Family Search Research Wiki has more information about church history and records.

Civil Registration

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. Full information on the main GENUKI Wigtownshire page.

Registration districts covering this parish:

Registration district number start date end date
Whithorn Burgh 900/1 1855 1855
Whithorn Landward 900/2 1855 1855
Whithorn 900 1856 1971
Whithorn 875 1972 2004
Dumfries & Galloway, Whithorn 875 2005  

Registration districts did not necessarily coincide exactly with parishes.

Description & Travel

Whithorn village Ordnance Survey Grid Reference GPS Post code Lat. 54°44'1"N
NX 445401 54.733555
-4.416594		 DG8 8PY Lon. 4°25'00"W

Surrounding parishes: Glasserton, Sorbie.

Directories

The parish entry in Pigot's National Commercial Directory for the whole of Scotland, 1837, is online at Google Books.

Gazetteers

There is a list of places in Whithorn parish, with links to online historical and modern maps.

The GENUKI gazetteer will give a calculation of the distance from Whithorn to another place.

Several old gazetteers are available. They all contain descriptions of the parish and many are also worth searching for entries of places within the parish.

Genealogy

The Whithorn parish page on the Wigtownshire Pages contains a lot of excellent genealogical material and some beautiful photographs.

Historical Geography

A Vision of Britain provides historical descriptions, population & housing statistics, historic boundaries and maps.

Land & Property

Details of historic buildings and archaeological sites in this parish held by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Edinburgh, are catalogued at ScotlandsPlaces. In the results, click RCAHMS. Unfortunately, not all entries have digital images.

Listed buildings in Whithorn.

Valuation Rolls, from 1855, and Valuation Office field books and plans are held in Edinburgh. A few valuation rolls are held locally. Details here.

Manor and Estate Records

Some estate papers can be found at the National Archives of Scotland. Details of Whithorn records here.

Maps

Historic maps:

This British Library webpage uses small examples of historical maps of London to show the differences between maps at various scales.

This Charles Close Society Sheetfinder will provide the sheet numbers for historic Ordnance Survey 1-inch and 6-inch maps for any location.

Present-day maps:

Merchant Marine

Sailors on board ships registered at Stranraer, Wigtown and Whithorn in 1851 are listed on CD: Scotland South-West, Highlands and Islands Seamen Crew Lists, 1851 available from Family History Indexes. The data is taken from TNA documents BT98/2735 (Stranraer), BT98/2794 (Wigtown) and BT98/2395 (Whitehorn [sic], wrongly included in Banff returns).

Military History

The Roll of Honour website records the names on the Whithorn and the Isle of Whithorn war memorials. There is another listing on the Wigtownshire pages, which also has the Isle of Whithorn memorial. More information can be found at the Scottish War Memorials Project.

Names, Geographical

The Ordnance Survey Object Name Books are held by the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of Whithorn records here.

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

The relief of paupers after 1845 was carried out by the Parochial Board and later by the Parish Council. Their records are at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Details of Whithorn records here.

Population

Year Population
1755 1412
1801 1904
1851 3001
1901 2235
1951 1910

There is a page with census statistics from 1755 to 1951 here.

See also A Vision of Britain and Histpop for population statistics.

Probate Records

Prior to 1824, wills, testaments & inventories of residents of Whithorn may be found in either the Wigtown Commissariot (CC22) or the Edinburgh Commissariot (CC8) records. From 1824, commissary business has been conducted by the Sheriff Court of Wigtown (SC19).

Sources worth searching for deeds include Wigtown Sheriff Court.

Schools

School Board records and / or school logbooks are held at the Ewart Library, Dumfries. Details of Whithorn records here.

The Ordnance Gazetteer for Scotland lists the following public schools in the parish (1893):

School Accommodation for scholars Average attendance
Glasserton Road 191 171
Isle 131 81
Principal 177 149

Statistics

"Statistical accounts" giving fascinating insights into the local topography and history, social and economic conditions, and even the daily lives of people, were written by the parish ministers in the 1790s and the 1830s. For more information see the main GENUKI Wigtownshire page.

Taxation

The parish listing of the farm horse tax, 1797-98, can be seen at ScotlandsPlaces. The listing for the burgh is here.

For details of other early taxation records see the Early Taxation Records page.

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Last updated 30 January, 2012 : William McM. Owen