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Wigtonshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Wigtownshire continues to be used as a territory for land registration, being a registration county. The historic county is all within the slightly larger Wigtown Area, which is one of the lieutenancy areas of Scotland and was used in local government as the Wigtown District from 1975 to 1996. Wigtownshire forms the western part of the medieval lordship of Galloway, which retained a degree of autonomy until it was fully absorbed by Scotland in the 13th century. In 1369, the part of Galloway east of the River Cree was placed under the control of a steward and so became known as the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. The rest of Galloway remained under the authority of a sheriff, an ...
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Wigtown
Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. It is known as "Scotland's National Book Town" with a high concentration of second-hand book shops and an annual book festival. Wigtown is part of the Machars peninsula. History Name origins W.F.H. Nicolaisen offered two explanations for the place-name Wigtown. One theory was that it meant 'dwelling place', from the Old English 'wic-ton'; however, if it is the same as Wigton in Cumbria, which was 'Wiggeton' in 1162 and 'Wigeton' in 1262, it may be 'Wigca's farm'. Other sources have suggested a Norse root with 'Vik' meaning 'bay', giving the origin as a translation of 'The town on the bay'. Neolithic Age The surrounding area (the Machars peninsula) is rich in prehistoric remains, most notably the Torhousekie Standing Stones, a Neol ...
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Wigtown Town Hall - Geograph
Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. It is known as "Scotland's National Book Town" with a high concentration of second-hand book shops and an annual book festival. Wigtown is part of the Machars peninsula. History Name origins W.F.H. Nicolaisen offered two explanations for the place-name Wigtown. One theory was that it meant 'dwelling place', from the Old English 'wic-ton'; however, if it is the same as Wigton in Cumbria, which was 'Wiggeton' in 1162 and 'Wigeton' in 1262, it may be 'Wigca's farm'. Other sources have suggested a Norse root with 'Vik' meaning 'bay', giving the origin as a translation of 'The town on the bay'. Neolithic Age The surrounding area (the Machars peninsula) is rich in prehistoric remains, most notably the Torhousekie Standing Stones, a ...
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Shires Of Scotland
The shires of Scotland ( gd, Siorrachdan na h-Alba), or counties of Scotland, are historic subdivisions of Scotland established in the Middle Ages and used as administrative divisions until 1975. Originally established for judicial purposes (being the territory over which a sheriff had jurisdiction), from the 17th century they started to be used for local administration purposes as well. The areas used for judicial functions (sheriffdoms) came to diverge from the shires, which ceased to be used for local government purposes after 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. Today, local government in Scotland is based upon council areas, which sometimes incorporate county names, but frequently have vastly different boundaries. Counties continue to be used for land registration, and form the basis of the lieutenancy areas (although the latter are not entirely identical). History Sheriffdoms or shires Malcolm III (reigned 1058 to 1093) appears to have introduced sheri ...
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County Town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elected. Following the establishment of the English county councils in 1889, the headquarters of the new councils were usually located in the county town of each county. However, the concept of a county town pre-dates the establishment of these councils. The concept of a county town is ill-defined and unofficial. Some counties have their administrative bodies located elsewhere. For example, Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, but the county council is located in Preston. Some county towns are no longer situated within the administrative county because of changes in the county's boundaries. For example, Nottingham is administered by a unitary authority separate from the rest of Nottinghamshire. UK county towns, pre-19th-century refor ...
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Wigtown County Buildings
Wigtown County Buildings, also known as Wigtown County Buildings and Town Hall, is a municipal building in The Square, Wigtown, Scotland. The structure primarily served as the meeting place and town hall for Wigtown Burgh Council, but was also used for some meetings of Wigtownshire County Council. It is a Category B listed building. History The first municipal building in Wigtown was a tolbooth which was completed in the 16th century. Two covenanters, Margaret Maclauchlan and Margaret Wilson, were held in a cell in the tolbooth before being executed by Scottish Episcopalians in 1685 by tying them to stakes on the town's mudflats and allowing them to drown with the rising tide: they are remembered as the Wigtown Martyrs. The tolbooth was replaced by a new town hall which was completed in 1756. In the early 1860s, burgh officials decided to demolish the 18th century town hall and to erect a structure more in keeping with the importance of Wigtown as the administrative centre of t ...
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Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland. In this it followed the pattern introduced in England and Wales by the Local Government Act 1888. County councils The act provided that a county council should be established in each county, consisting of elected councillors. The term "county" was defined as excluding any burgh, but with provisions that the county council would have powers over burghs which met certain criteria: *All burghs which had a population of less than 7,000 at the 1881 census. *Burghs which had more than 7,000 people in 1881 but did not maintain their own police force. *Royal burghs which had more than 7,000 people in 1881 but did not return or contribute towards a member of parliament. As such, there were a number of burghs which were outside the control of county councils, be ...
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Kirkcudbrightshire
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. Kirkcudbrightshire forms the eastern part of the medieval lordship of Galloway, which retained a degree of autonomy until it was fully absorbed by Scotland in the 13th century. In 1369, the part of Galloway east of the River Cree was placed under the control of a steward based in Kirkcudbright and so t ...
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Earl Of Douglas
This page is concerned with the holders of the forfeit title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland. The Earldom was forfeited by James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, in 1455. Origins Mythic beginnings The Earls of Douglas, chiefs of Clan Douglas, and their successors claimed descent from Sholto Douglas, a mythical figure dated by Godscroft to 767 AD. However, it is more likely that they were descendants of Flemish immigrants to Scotland, during the reign of David I. Through the marriage of William the Hardy, grandfather of the 1st Earl, to Eleanor de Lovaine, the Earls of Douglas could trace their ancestry to the Landgraves of Brabant. In the story of Sholto Douglas, his son William Douglas is a commander of forces sent by the mythical Scottish king Achaius (Eochaid?), to the court of ...
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Archibald The Grim
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell (c. 1330 – c. 24 December 1400), called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a late medieval Scottish nobleman. Archibald was the bastard son of Sir James "the Black" Douglas, Robert I's trusted lieutenant, and an unknown mother. A first cousin of William 1st Earl of Douglas, he inherited the earldom of Douglas and its entailed estates as the third earl following the death without legitimate issue of James 2nd Earl of Douglas at the Battle of Otterburn. Early life He was probably not yet born when his father went on crusade and was killed at the Battle of Teba whilst fighting the Moors. According to Walter Bower, possibly an insult regarding his illegitimacy, ''"He was dark and ugly more like a coco ook-boythan a Noble."'' Jean le Bel in his chronicle describes Douglas, as an adult, as a large man capable of wielding a huge sword. It has been suggested that the young Archibal ...
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Alan Of Galloway
Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234), also known as Alan fitz Roland, was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of Scotland and Irish Sea zone. Alan first appears in courtly circles in about 1200, about the time he inherited his father's possessions and offices. After he secured his mother's inheritance almost two decades later, Alan became one of the most powerful magnates in the Scottish realm. Alan also held lands in the Kingdom of England, and was an advisor of John, King of England concerning '' Magna Carta''. Alan later played a considerable part in Alexander II, King of Scotland's northern English ambitions during the violent aftermath of John's repudiation of ''Magna Carta''. Alan participated in the English colonisation of Ulster, receiving a massive grant in the region from the English king, and simultaneously aided the Scottish crown agains ...
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Lordship Of Galloway
The lords of Galloway consisted of a dynasty of heirs who were lords (or kings) and ladies who ruled over Galloway in southwest Scotland, mainly during the High Middle Ages. Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Moray, periodically had kings or subkings, similar to those in Ireland during the Middle Ages. The Scottish monarch was seen as being similar to a high king (''Ard-Righ'' in Gaelic). The lords of Galloway would have either paid tribute to the Scottish monarch, or at other times ignored him. The Lords of Galloway are fairly well recorded in the 12th and 13th centuries, but the records are incomplete or conflicting at other times. Later on, the kings were known as "lords" at the Scottish court, and "kings" at home, finally becoming "lords" in both arenas. The boundaries of the Kingdom of Galloway were ill-defined, and varied over time. During many periods Galloway was much larger than it is today, and took in parts of southern Ayrshire, such as Carrick, Upp ...
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Isle Of Man
) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe (dark grey) , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = United Kingdom , established_title = Norse control , established_date = 9th century , established_title2 = Scottish control , established_date2 = 2 July 1266 , established_title3 = English control , established_date3 = 1399 , established_title4 = Revested into British Crown , established_date4 = 10 May 1765 , official_languages = , capital = Douglas , coordinates = , demonym = Manx; Manxman (plural, Manxmen); Manxwoman (plural, Manxwomen) , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_year = 2021 , ethnic_groups_ref = Official census statistics provided by Statistics Isle of Man, Isle of Man Government: * * , religion = , religion_year = 2021 , relig ...
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