Newton Wamphray is a village in
Dumfries and Galloway. Wamphray is the name of the surrounding
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
and of the Wamphray
Water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
, which flows south-west through the Wamphray
Glen to join the
River Annan
The River Annan (''Abhainn Anann'' in Gaelic) is a river in south-west Scotland. It rises on Annanhead Hill and flows through the Devil's Beef Tub, Moffat and Lockerbie, reaching the sea at Annan, Dumfries and Galloway after about 40 miles. ...
near the small village, or
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
, of Newton.
History
The village is near the
A74(M) motorway
The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English border at Gretna. In conjunction with their southward continuation, the M6 motorwa ...
, near
Annandale Water, roughly halfway between
Moffat
Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town.
...
and
Lockerbie, and has for centuries been close to the direct
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
to
Carlisle route, which around 1776 was made into a
turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
road suitable for mail coaches travelling between England and Glasgow. Newton is on the main railway line south from Glasgow, and from about 1847 had its own station called
Wamphray
Newton Wamphray is a village in Dumfries and Galloway. Wamphray is the name of the surrounding parish and of the Wamphray Water, which flows south-west through the Wamphray Glen to join the River Annan near the small village, or hamlet, of Newt ...
, but this closed in the 1960s.
Newton Wamphray primary school has been closed for several years, local children generally go to primary school in Lockerbie. The old school building now lies largely abandoned while the nature of its ownership is investigated. The old
manse near the 1834 church has become a hotel; the historic church has been used for regular services over the past few years.
There are various historic and pre-historic sites near Newton Wamphray, including
standing stones and the remains of a
motte-and-bailey. A feud between local
reiving families in the 16th century is remembered in the ballad, ''
The Lads of Wamphray''.
One of the more prominent local residents was John Brown of Wamphray, or "John Broun of Wamfrey", a Church of Scotland theologian who served as the minister of the local parish during the mid-17th century. He removed to Wamphray to begin serving the parish at an unknown date (estimates vary from 1637 until 1655) and remained in residence until 1662, when he was imprisoned and later exiled to the Netherlands for his public opposition to the royal imposition of bishops on the Church.
Before the 20th century the village was sometimes called Newton, or Newtoun, of Wamphray, and described as being in
Annandale. Newton suggests "new village or farmstead", a placename derived from
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
''niwe'' (new) + ''tun'' (farm). Scots ''toun'' meant a farm settlement before it came to mean a 'town'. The etymology of Wamphray is uncertain; some suggestions link 'Wam' to Gaelic ''Uamh'' (cave). Older spellings include Wamfry or Wamfray.
Governance
Newton Wamphray is in the
parliamentary constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
of
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale is a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, located in the South of Scotland, within the Dumfries and Galloway, South Lanarkshire and S ...
,
David Mundell
David Gordon Mundell, (born 27 May 1962) is a Scottish politician and solicitor who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Scottish Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Du ...
is the current
Conservative Party member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
.
It is part of the
South Scotland region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
in the
Scottish Parliament, being in the constituency of
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county.
I ...
.
Oliver Mundell
Oliver Gordon Watson Mundell (born 1 December 1989) is a Scottish politician of the Scottish Conservative Party. He has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Dumfriesshire constituency since 2016. He served as Shadow Cabine ...
of the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
is the
MSP.
Before
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
, for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
its residents voted to elect
MEP's for the
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
constituency.
Famous residents
*
Richard Bell (Arabist) (1876–1952)
*Prof
Archibald Charteris (1835-1908)
*Prof
Matthew Charteris (1840-1897)
*
Very Rev John Gillespie (1836-1912)
*
Rev Dr James Williamson, parish minister 1755 to 1757
See also
*
List of places in Dumfries and Galloway
''Map of places in Dumfries and Galloway compiled from this list''
This List of places in Dumfries and Galloway is a list of links for any town, village, hamlet, castle, golf course, historic house, hill fort, lighthouse, nature reserve, reservoir ...
Sources
* ''
Statistical Accounts of Scotland''
Great Britain Historical GIS Project: Wamphray''Dictionary of Scots Language'': toun
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Dumfries and Galloway
Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway