Borgue (pronounced ; gd, Borgh) is a village and parish in the

Stewartry of Kirkcudbright 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 ...

in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies 5 miles south-west of Kirkcudbright and 6 miles south 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 ...

. The name Borgue (recorded as ''Borg'' in 1469) is from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

''borg'' 'stronghold'. Borgue Parish Church was built in 1814 and designed by architect

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 ...

with alterations dating from 1897 to 1898. Due to a dwindling congregation it closed in August 2018. The churchyard contains the late C19 Gothic mausoleum of the Gordons of Earlston. According to folk tradition, Borgue was once the home of a boy who could consort with the fairies.

Castle Haven dun

Within the parish, near Kirkandrews, and due west of the village of Borgue, is Castle Haven, an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

hill fort of uncertain date which is designated a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. Only about 10.5m x 18m in size, Castle Haven is of an unusual D-shape with an almost straight west wall running along the edge of a cliff. The fort is now overgrown and difficult to discern in the landscape, but a nearly concentric outer wall remains; the main entrance is in the arch segment to the north, while a smaller access at the south end leads down to the beach. Another peculiar characteristic of this fort is the almost totally hollow construction of the wall, which contains three galleries of different lengths within its thickness; six adits lead to the galleries. Steps lead to the top of the wall. Artefacts found during restoration - two spiral bronze finger rings and a blue and white glass bead - indicate that its users were relatively prosperous. There were also fragments of an enamelled medieval brooch.

Notable people from Borgue

* The poet William Nicholson, the 'Bard of Galloway' *

Hugh Blair of Borgue Hugh Blair (1708 – 1765)Rab Houston; Uta Frith (2000''Autism in History: The Case of Hugh Blair of Borgue'' Blackwell, Malden, MA was a Scottish laird from Borgue, Kirkcudbrightshire, who was nicknamed "the daft lad of Borgue" due to his ...

, eccentric 18th century laird. * Very Rev George Cook, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1876, who was minister of Borgue 1867 to 1888 * Samuel Smith (1836-1906), Liberal politician *

John James Pringle John James Pringle (1855 – 18 December 1922) was a Scottish dermatologist. Biography Pringle was born in Borgue, Kirkcudbrightshire and educated at Merchiston Castle School. He graduated in medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1876 ...

(1855–1922), dermatologist * Henry, Lord Dalziel (1868–1935), newspaper proprietor and MP * Sir Robin Gray (1931-), Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993, who was born in Borgue * Adam Gray. Local historian and author * Randolph, Earl of Galloway (1928-2020), Scottish nobleman and the 13th Earl of

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...

List of listed buildings in Borgue

List of listed buildings in Borgue, Dumfries and Galloway This is a list of listed buildings in the parish of Borgue in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland ...

References

* This article is partly based on a translation of :de:Castle Haven (Borgue) on German Wikipedia

External links

Photos of Borgue village

Borgue Primary School website

Borgue Parish Home Page

Transcriptions and photographs of Gravestones in Borgue Parish
{{authority control Villages in Dumfries and Galloway Kirkcudbrightshire Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway