Anwoth is a settlement near the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven ...

in the historic county of

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 count ...

, southwest

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 ...

, within a parish of the same name in the Vale of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway. Anwoth lies a mile (1.5 km) to the west of

Gatehouse of Fleet Gatehouse of Fleet ( sco, Gatehoose o Fleet gd, Taigh an Rathaid) is a town half in the civil parish of Girthon and half in the parish of Anwoth divided by the river Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, within the district council region of Dumfries and ...

. Anwoth's most famous inhabitant was the Rev. Samuel Rutherford (c. 1600 – 1661), who was the minister at Anwoth Old Kirk from 1627 until 1636 when he was banished to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

On a nearby hill, there is Rutherford's Monument a 56-foot-high

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

erected in 1842. Rutherfords_Monument_(geograph_2605585)

A millennium cairn opposite the monument lists the names of all the ministers of Anwoth and Girthon until the year 2000 when it was erected. The Old Kirk was in use until 1825, but is now just a ruin. Anwoth Parish Church was built in 1826–1827. It is a

Walter Newall Walter Newall (3 April 1780 – 25 December 1863) was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, born at Doubledyke in the parish of New Abbey in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was the leading architect in the Dumfries a ...

Gothic box-style church with tower and hood-moulded windows. It closed in 2002. The Church of Scotland sold the Church to a neighbouring family who now keep it as a hall for ceremonies and parties. The church was re-roofed in 2007 and the building is being maintained. An ancient fort on Trusty's Hill was occupied by Iron Age people and may have been attacked and burned by a Pictish raiding party, who carved a series of symbol stones in a rock beside the entrance passage. Anwoth Kirk and Old School opposite were key locations for the 1973 cult film

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...

This area, with many references to Anwoth and specifically the Anwoth Hotel, is the location for most of Dorothy L Sayers detective novel "The Five Red Herrings".

Literary allusion

Anne Ross Cousin's hymn, ''The Sands of Time are Sinking'',The Sands of Time Are Sinking
mentions Anwoth, because of its historic spiritual connection with Samuel Rutherford. Verses 9 & 10 of her original nineteen stanza poem are: :The little birds of Anwoth, I used to count them blessed, :Now, beside happier altars I go to build my nest: :Over these there broods no silence, no graves around them stand, :For glory, deathless, dwelleth in Immanuel’s land. :Fair Anwoth by the Solway, to me thou still art dear, :Even from the verge of heaven, I drop for thee a tear. :Oh! If one soul from Anwoth meet me at God’s right hand, :My heaven will be two heavens, In Immanuel’s land.

List of listed buildings

List of listed buildings in Anwoth, Dumfries and Galloway This is a list of listed buildings in the parish of Anwoth in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. List Key See also * List of listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway This is a list of listed building#Scotland, list ...

References

External links

Parish of Anwoth Home PageAnwoth Monumental Inscriptions and Photographs
{{authority control Villages in Dumfries and Galloway Kirkcudbrightshire Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway