Buittle is an ecclesiastical and civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland, in the traditional county of Kirkcudbrightshire. It lies to the west of the Urr Water, between Dalbeattie and Castle Douglas, and extends from Haugh of Urr in the north to Almorness Point on the Solway Firth in the south. The main settlement is the small village of Palnackie.
The name is derived from Old English bōtl, meaning "a dwelling, dwelling-place, house", [1] [2] giving Buittle the same etymology as Bootle in England.
Northumbrian expansion into what was the kingdoms of Rheged and Strathclyde in the 7th and 8th centuries left a number of Anglian names throughout southwest Scotland, and it would appear that the name Buittle is one of these relics.
Buittle was in the semi-independent Kingdom of Galloway which is recorded between the 11th and 13th century. It remained part of that lordship until Dervorguilla, daughter of the last King, Alan of Galloway, married the Anglo-Norman John de Baliol in 1223. John and Dervorguilla raised Buittle Castle to replace an earlier motte, and the remains of the castle can still be seen.
John de Baliol established Balliol College, one of the oldest colleges of the University of Oxford, in around 1263. Following his death in 1269 Dervorguilla provided the college with a permanent endowment, and her statutes of 1282 are preserved by the college. [3] The statutes conclude with the sentence "Dat' apud Botel in octauis Assumpcionis gloriose uirginis Marie anno gracie MCC octogesimo secundo." [4] That is, "Given at Buittle, in the octave of the Assumption of the Glorious Virgin Mary, in the year of Grace one thousand two hundred and eighty two." [5]
Buittle became the Scottish residence of their son John Balliol, who was King of Scotland from 1292 to 1296. Galloway remained faithful to King John and his son Edward Balliol throughout the Wars of Scottish Independence, which saw the Balliols defeated the Robert the Bruce and his son David II. The latter, in 1369, appointed Archibald the Grim as Lord of Galloway, "becaus he tuke git trawell to purge the cuntrey of Englis blude". [6] Archibald forbore to remain at Buittle and took up the residence of the older Kings of Galloway at Kirkcudbright.
Old Place of Buittle also known as Buittle Tower, late C16 fortified house.
The present Buittle Parish Church, now closed, was built in 1818 by architect Walter Newall to replace a medieval church, the remains of which stand in the churchyard. This church was dedicated to Saint Colman, the nave has been dated to the 13th century. Around 1381 the church was given to the monks of Sweetheart Abbey at New Abbey. [7] [8] The old church is a scheduled monument. [9]
John Balliol or John de Balliol, known derisively as Toom Tabard, was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an interregnum during which several competitors for the Crown of Scotland put forward claims. Balliol was chosen from among them as the new King of Scotland by a group of selected noblemen headed by King Edward I of England.
Kirkcudbrightshire, or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975, the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Kirkcudbrightshire continues to be used as a registration county for land registration. A lower-tier district called Stewartry covered the majority of the historic county from 1975 to 1996. The area of Stewartry district is still used as a lieutenancy area. Dumfries and Galloway Council also has a Stewartry area committee.
John de Balliol was an English nobleman, belonging to the House of Balliol. Balliol College, in Oxford, is named after him.
Dalbeattie is a town in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dalbeattie is in a wooded valley on the Urr Water 4 miles (6 km) east of Castle Douglas and 12 miles (19 km) south west of Dumfries. The town is famed for its granite industry and for being the home town of William McMaster Murdoch, the First Officer of the RMS Titanic.
Annan is a town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. Historically part of Dumfriesshire, its public buildings include Annan Academy, of which the writer Thomas Carlyle was a pupil, and a Georgian building now known as "Bridge House". Annan also features a Historic Resources Centre. In Port Street, some of the windows remain blocked up to avoid paying the window tax.
The Abbey of Dulce Cor, better known as Sweetheart Abbey, was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1275 in what is now the village of New Abbey, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, 8 miles (13 km) south of Dumfries.
Dervorguilla of Galloway was a 'lady of substance' in 13th century Scotland, the wife from 1223 of John, 5th Baron de Balliol, and mother of John I, a future king of Scotland.
Sorbie is a small village in Wigtownshire, Machars, within the Administration area of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scotland.
Haugh of Urr, is a village in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is approximately 4 miles NNW of Dalbeattie, 3 mi (5 km) NE of Castle Douglas, 12+1⁄2 mi (20 km) west of Dumfries and 12+1⁄2 mi (20 km) east of Kirkcudbright.
The Motte of Urr is the remains of a 12th-century motte-and-bailey castle located near the Haugh of Urr in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
Lincluden Collegiate Church, known earlier as Lincluden Priory or Lincluden Abbey, is a ruined religious house, situated in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire and to the north of the Royal Burgh of Dumfries, Scotland. Situated in a bend of the River Cairn, at its confluence with the River Nith, the ruins are on the site of the Bailey of the very early Lincluden Castle, as are those of the later Lincluden Tower. This religious house was founded circa 1160 and was used for various purposes, until its abandonment around 1700. The remaining ruins are protected as a scheduled monument.
Borgue is a village and parish in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies 5 miles south-west of Kirkcudbright and 6 miles south of Gatehouse of Fleet. The name Borgue is from Old Norse borg 'stronghold'.
Stoneykirk is an area and a village in the heart of the Rhins of Galloway, Wigtownshire, in the administrative council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland nearly 10 miles (16 km) in length and 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) in breadth, bounded on the east by the bay of Luce, and on the west by the Irish Channel, 5 miles (8 km) south of Stranraer.
Leswalt is a village and civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It lies between Portpatrick and Stranraer in the Rhins of Galloway, part of the traditional county of Wigtownshire. The parish covers around 8 square miles (21 km2).
Buittle Castle, also known historically as Botle or Botel Castle, is a Motte and Bailey site in Galloway, south-west Scotland with significant early and medieval history comprising a significant ruined Norman style Motte, and several extant buildings and gardens, including the later residential building in the form of the Tower House, on the historic Bailey. It is located in the valley of the River Urr, 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of Dalbeattie. The castle is within the parish of Buittle, in the traditional county of Kirkcudbrightshire and is a scheduled ancient monument.
Old Luce is a civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the Machars peninsula, in the traditional county of Wigtownshire. The parish is around 10 miles (16 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) broad, and contains 40,350 acres (16,330 ha).
Colvend and Southwick is a community council area and civil parish within the Stewartry area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is also part of the Church of Scotland parish of Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean. It is in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire.
John Douglas of Pinkerton was a Scottish architect who designed and reformed several country houses in the Scottish Lowlands. His work deserves to be noted for what the 2002 history of Scottish architecture remarks as an approach "of relentless surgery or concealment.". His most notable works are Killin and Ardeonaig Church, Stirlingshire (1744); Archerfield House, East Lothian (1745); Finlaystone House, Renfewshire (1746–47), Wardhouse (Gordonhall), Insch, Aberdeenshire (1757); and Campbeltown Town Hall, Argyll and Bute (1758–60). Several of these are listed buildings.
Buittle Bridge, also known as Craignair Bridge is a bridge over the Urr Water just outside Dalbeattie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Completed in 1797, it replaced and earlier two-span bridge of the same name which was destroyed in a flood a short time after its completion; the remains of this older bridge, comprising the base of its pier and some remnants of its south-west abutment, survive a short distance upstream.
