Kirkmabreck is a civil parish 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 ...

in the Dumfries and Galloway council area,

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 ...

. Situated in the historic

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 ...

, and centred on the small town of

Creetown Creetown (, sometimes ) is a small seaside town in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, in Galloway in the Dumfries and Galloway council area in south-west Scotland. Its population is about 750 people. It is situated near the head of Wigtown Bay, ...

on the east bank of the

River Cree The River Cree is a river in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland which runs through Newton Stewart and into the Solway Firth. It forms part of the boundary between the counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. The tributaries of the Cree are ...

, it stretches north to the parishes of

Minnigaff Minnigaff is a village and Civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Lead was discovered there in 1763 and mined about two miles from the village until 1839. Etym ...

and Girthon, and west to

Anwoth Anwoth is a settlement near the Solway Firth in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, southwest Scotland, 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 Gatehous ...

. Kirkmabreck also includes the small settlement of Carsluith, dominated by the eponymous castle which is in the care of

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

. It covers approximately 25,000 acres. Kirkmabreck was one of two parishes from Kirkcudbrightshire which were included in the Wigtown District which existed from 1975 to 1996, and as such forms part of the Wigtown

lieutenancy area Lieutenancy areas are the separate areas of the United Kingdom appointed a lord-lieutenant – a representative of the British monarch. In many cases they have similar demarcation and naming to, but are not necessarily coterminate with, the coun ...

rather than the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright lieutenancy. Apart from Carsluith Castle, the other antiquities of note in the parish are at

Cairnholy Cairnholy (or Cairn Holy) is the site of two Neolithic chambered tombs of the Clyde type. It is located 4 kilometres east of the village of Carsluith in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland (). The tombs are scheduled monuments in the care of Hist ...

, also managed by Historic Scotland, the stone circle at Glenquicken and

cup and ring mark Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France (Brittany), Portugal, and Spain (Galicia) – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy (in Alp ...

ed stones and castle at Barholm. Thomas Brown, the metaphysician (1778–1820), was born in the parish and was buried here.

Military road

Heading west from Creetown and connecting with the Corse of Slakes road is an old military track built in the mid 18th century over an existing

drove road A drovers' road, drove ''roador droveway is a route for droving livestock on foot from one place to another, such as to market or between summer and winter pasture (see transhumance). Many drovers' roads were ancient routes of unknown age; ot ...

to serve as a troop access route to and from Ireland.

References

{{Authority control Galloway Kirkcudbrightshire Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway