New Luce ( gd, Baile Ùr Ghlinn Lus) is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

, south-west

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It lies in the traditional county of

Wigtownshire 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 f ...

, and is about in length and in breath, being the upper part of the original Glenluce Parish. New Luce is shown as a civil parish on

John Ainslie A plaque in Castlegate in Jedburgh John Ainslie (22 April 1745 – 29 February 1828) was a Scottish surveyor and cartographer. Life Ainslie was born in Jedburgh, the youngest son of John Ainslie, a druggist, Writer to the Signet and burgess of ...

's county map of 1782. New Luce is also the principal village within the parish. The coast to coast walk, the

Southern Upland Way The Southern Upland Way is a coast-to-coast long-distance footpath in southern Scotland. The route links Portpatrick in the west and Cockburnspath in the east via the hills of the Southern Uplands. The Way is designated as one of Scotland's Gr ...

, passes close to the village. The

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

Alexander Peden Alexander Peden (162626 January 1686), also known as "Prophet Peden", was one of the leading figures in the Covenanter movement in Scotland. Life Peden was born at Auchincloich Farm near Sorn, Ayrshire, about 1626, and was educated at the U ...

spent time preaching in the village.

Places of interest

A viaduct carried the Stranraer-Glasgow railway over the Main Water of Luce. Down the river from the viaduct is a pool called Bloody Wheel where the Hays of Castle of Park, near

Glenluce Glenluce ( gd, Clachan Ghlinn Lus) is a small village in the parish of Old Luce in Wigtownshire, Scotland. It contains a village shop,a caravan park and a town hall, as well as the parish church. Location Glenluce on the A75 road between Stranr ...

(Old Luce), and the Linns of Larg in the adjoining parish of

Inch Measuring tape with inches The inch (symbol: in or ″) is a unit of length in the British imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to yard or of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth") ...

, were said to have had a violent encounter centuries ago.

Archaeology

The Caves of Kilhern, between 2,000 and 3,000 years old, are in south New Luce. Cairn na Gath ("cairn of the wild cat"), near Balmurrie, is a chambered long cairn dating to the neolithic (later stone-age). At the south end there are remains of huts or enclosures. In addition, there are ancient

hut circles In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber and ...

at Lagafater, around 8 miles to the north of New Luce. Cairn Macneilie, north-west of Cruise, New Luce, is a Bronze Age round cairn, in diameter and high. There is another Cairn Macneilie at Inch Parks, by Lochinch Castle in Inch Parish. They may have been named after a person who conducted archaeological excavations.

Forts

Rev. George Wilson, in his ''Archaeological and Historical Collections relating to Ayrshire and Galloway'', lists forts in New Luce: #Cruise Back Fell, fort marked on the map as two cairns, 80 ft long, on the Fell of Cruise or High Galdenoch. #Gleniron Several fort with a cluster of green rings, and a large ditch and mote. # Mid Gleniron # Mid Gleniron tomb, where the long cairn had enclosed an earlier smaller one. #Garvilland Iron-age hill fort on the Bennan, double at the one end and with

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s. #Klashherne, two rings, and three more, not on O.S. map. #Balmurrie, ring with two hut circles.

Gallery

File:'Caves' of Kilhern - geograph.org.uk - 154852.jpg, 'Caves' of Kilhern: six neolithic chambered cairns, estimated at between 2000 and 3000 years old File:Cairn na Gath - geograph.org.uk - 543918.jpg, Cairn na Gath, near Balmurrie File:Cairn na Gath - geograph.org.uk - 543906.jpg, Cairn na Gath. This is a chambered long cairn dating to the neolithic File:Bennan of Garvilland iron age hill fort. - geograph.org.uk - 435198.jpg, Bennan of Garvilland Iron Age hill fort File:Bennan of Garvilland hill fort - entrance - geograph.org.uk - 435205.jpg, Bennan of Garvilland hill fort - entrance File:Kilhern Moss and Bught Fell - geograph.org.uk - 1060426.jpg, Bught Fell and Kilhern Moss File:Cairn Park - geograph.org.uk - 543836.jpg, Looking across open moorland to the cairn on Cairn Park, behind Glenchamber File:Near Cairn MacNeilie, Cruise, New Luce, Wigtownshire.jpg, Southern Upland Way near Cairn Macneilie, Cruise File:A windfarm at Artfield Fell, East of New Luce - geograph.org.uk - 94601.jpg, A windfarm at Artfield Fell, east of New Luce File:Laggangairn Standing Stones - geograph.org.uk - 456.jpg, Laggangairn Standing Stones File:Viaduct over Main Water of Luce at New Luce - geograph.org.uk - 586732.jpg, Viaduct over Main Water of Luce

References

{{Authority control Wigtownshire Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway

Places of interest

Archaeology

Forts

Gallery

See also

References