Carsphairn ( gd, An Còrsa Feàrna) is a village 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 ...

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 historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkc ...

, Scotland. It is located about halfway between

Dalmellington Dalmellington ( sco, Dawmellinton, gd, Dail M'Fhaolain) is a market town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In 2001 the village had a population of 1,407. The town owes its origins to the fault line separating the Southern Uplands of ...

and

St John's Town of Dalry St John's Town of Dalry ( gd, Clachan Eòin), usually referred to simply as Dalry ( / 'dal-RYE'), is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire. Location St Johns Town is located close to the ...

, on the A713 road. Carsphairn annual sheep show is held in the village.

Cairnsmore of Carsphairn Cairnsmore of Carsphairn is a hill in the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills range, part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. An alternative name, rarely used nowadays, is ''Cairnsmore of Deugh''. It is the highest hill in the range, and its summit is j ...

is to the north east of the village in the

Carsphairn and Scaur Hills The Carsphairn and Scaur Hills are the western and eastern hills respectively of a hill range in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. Ordnance Survey maps don't have a general name for the hill area as a whole. Also, Ordnance Survey use "Scar" rather ...

. To the west is the ridge of the

Rhinns of Kells The Rhinns of Kells are a range of hills in the Galloway Hills range, part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. The most easterly of three parallel ridges, they are neighboured to the west by the Range of the Awful Hand and the Dungeon Hills. T ...

in the

Galloway Hills The Galloway Hills are part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland, and form the northern boundary of western Galloway. They lie within the bounds of the Galloway Forest Park, an area of some of largely uninhabited wild land, managed by Forestry an ...

. The village has many features ranging from an ancient stone circle to a nuclear listening post (now disused), and includes local amenities such as a shop, tearoom, a primary school and a village hall. Carsphairn Church, Church of Scotland was built in 1815 on site of an earlier church. Additions and alterations in the 1930s include the apse and porch. The

Knockengorroch Knockengorroch is a world music festival held annually among the Carsphairn hills in Kirkcudbrightshire Scotland. Originally there were two festivals held each year - the World Ceilidh, usually held around the end of May, and The Hairth, held i ...

World Ceilidh takes place here annuall

History

Carsphairn was made an independent parish around 1627, prior to which it had been a part of the Parish of St John's Town of Dalry, Dalry, and was created a Free Burgh in 1672 under a charter requested by Robert Grierson of Lag.

Notable residents

John Semple (minister) John Semple was a seventeenth century minister in Ulster and Scotland. He began to preach after exhorting the people while leading the psalm-singing. His Presbyterian principles brought him into opposition to the policies of the civil authorities ...

(c1602-c1677) First Presbyterian minister and Scots Worthy * Prof Thomas Jackson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1773–1837) physicist was born and raised here. *

John Loudon Macadam John Loudon McAdam (23 September 1756 – 26 November 1836) was a Scottish civil engineer and road-builder. He invented a new process, "macadamisation", for building roads with a smooth hard surface, using controlled materials of m ...

(1756–1836). Lagwyne just outside the village was his childhood home. *Colonel Alexander Clark-Kennedy of Knockgray (1780–1864) captured the eagle and colours of a French regiment at the Battle of Waterlo

*Rev

James Campbell (1789-1861) Rev James Campbell (1789-1861), born in Carsphairn, Kirkcudbrightshire to William Campbell and Agnes, née Riggs, was a Scottish clergyman and established Church of Scotland parish minister of Traquair in Peeblesshire. Career After studying ...

, Carsphairn-born Church of Scotland parish minister of Traquair, who, whilst serving as a tutor to the Hart family of Castlemilk, wrote numerous early 19th century letters describing his travels from France to Spain to Italy to Paris and on to Holland, with details of their flight from France to Spain during the return to power of Napoleon in France; now archived and currently being transcribed by the Carsphairn Heritage Initiative. Disused lead mines - geograph

Industry

Industry is mainly rural, but, historically, a significant mining industry existed, particularly of lead, following the discovery of significant quantities in 1837. By the mid 1850s the mine was producing 1,000 tons annually. Mining continued in the area, with peak production between 1906 and 1914. Following the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the industry collapsed and by 1928 all lead mining operations had ceased.Payne, P.L. (1967) "Studies in Scottish business history"
P107
Routledge, Retrieved May 2013

List of listed buildings

List of listed buildings in Carsphairn, Dumfries and Galloway This is a list of listed buildings in the parish of Carsphairn in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. List Key Notes References * All entries, addresses and coordinates are based on data froHistoric Scotland This data falls unde ...

References

External links

Carsphairn Community websiteParish of Carsphairn Home PageHistorical sites in Carsphairn
{{authority control Villages in Dumfries and Galloway Kirkcudbrightshire Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway