St John's Town of Dalry ( gd, Clachan Eòin), usually referred to simply as Dalry ( / 'dal-RYE'), is a village in

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 Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, 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 ...

Location

St Johns Town is located close to the

Southern Upland Way The Southern Upland Way is a coast-to-coast long-distance footpath in southern Scotland. The route links Portpatrick in the west and Cockburnspath in the east via the hills of the Southern Uplands. The Way is designated as one of Scotland's ...

, and the nearby

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 ...

, including the peaks of

Corserine Corserine is a hill in the Rhinns of Kells, a sub-range of the Galloway Hills range, part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. The highest point of the range and the second highest point in Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidi ...

and

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 ...

. It is also sited on a bend of the

Water of Ken The Water of Ken is a river in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Galloway, south-west Scotland. It rises on Blacklorg Hill, north-east of Cairnsmore of Carsphairn in the Carsphairn hills, and flows south-westward into The Glenkens, ...

, about from the northern edge of Loch Ken. The village is from

Castle Douglas Castle Douglas ( gd, Caisteal Dhùghlais) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in th ...

along the A713 road, at the southern terminus of the

A702 road The A702 is a major road in Scotland, that runs from Edinburgh to St. John's Town of Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway. It is the last section of the route from London via the West Midlands and North West England to Edinburgh, which follows the ...

(to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

). It's also located on an old pilgrimage route to

Whithorn Whithorn ( �ʍɪthorn 'HWIT-horn'; ''Taigh Mhàrtainn'' in Gaelic), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christ ...

and

St Ninian's Cave St Ninian's Cave is a cave in Physgill Glen, Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It shown in the 1973 film ''The Wicker Man''. Excavations in the 1880s and in 1950 also uncovered a collection of early medieval carved stones. There were 18 ...

and named after the

Knights of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

History

The village was the centre of the 1666

Pentland Rising The Battle of Rullion Green took place on 28 November 1666, near the Pentland Hills, in Midlothian, Scotland. It was the only significant battle of the Pentland Rising, a brief revolt by Covenanter dissidents against the Scottish government. S ...

The

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

, Parish Church built in 1831 by William McCandlish is approached via an avenue of lime trees said to have been planted in 1828. Detached, at side of the

Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...

is the Gordon Aisle of 1546, the burial place of the Gordons of Lochinvar. St Johns Town of Dalry was named ''Bird Town'', to celebrate the work of renowned bird artist and writer Donald Watson who lived in Dalry for many years.

Notable people

Cedric Thorpe Davie Cedric Thorpe Davie OBE FRSE FRAM RSA LLD (30 May 1913 – 18 January 1983) was a musician and composer, specialising in film scores, most notably '' The Green Man'' in 1956. A high proportion of his film and documentary work and compositional ...

, composer and teacher, being professor of music at St. Andrews University, bought Rose Cottage in 1959 initially for holidays (of which he spent as many as possible here with his family), and retired here in 1977. He died at Rose Cottage on 18 January 1983. *

Colin Douglas (novelist) Colin Thomas Currie (born 1945), who writes under the pseudonym Colin Douglas, is a Scottish novelist. Biography Born in Glasgow in 1945, Douglas was schooled at Hamilton Academy before graduating in medicine at the University of Edinburgh ...

MBE born 1949, author of a series of novels following the career of a young Edinburgh medical graduate from the late 1960s into the 70s beginning with The Houseman's Tale, which was adapted for BBC television in 1986. Lived in Dalry. * Henry John Dobson ARCA, RSW (1858-1928) Genre painter. Lived and worked in Dalry. His studio is now the public library. Father of artists

David Cowan Dobson David Cowan Dobson (1894–1980) was a leading Scottish portrait artist. Dobson was born in Bradford to Scottish parents and around 1920 moved to London. Family Dobson was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, the second son of the Scottish portrait ...

and Henry Raeburn Dobson. * Sir Alex Fergusson (1949-2018), Scottish Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament and Presiding Officer (2007-2011), lived and farmed near Dalry. *

Hugh Foss Hugh Rose Foss (13 May 1902 – 23 December 1971) was a British cryptanalyst. At Bletchley Park during World War II he made significant contributions both to the breaking of the German Enigma code and headed the section tasked with breaking Japan ...

1902–1971, cryptographer and Scottish country dance deviser, worked on the Enigma machines at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Lived at Gleddarroch in the town from his retirement in 1953 until his death in 1971. Buried in Dalry Kirkyard. *William Robert Gourlay (1874- 1938) MA, ICS, C.I.E 1917. Indian Civil Service, Private Secretary to Governor of Bengal. Lived in retirement and died at Kenbank, Dalry. The library in Dalry was presented to the town by Mrs Gourlay and named the W.R.Gourlay Memorial Library in honour of her late husband who had been library chairman between 1928 and 1938. * Neil Gunn 1891–1973, novelist, lived at Kenbank from the age of 12 before moving to London in 1907 to enter the Civil Service. * John Johnston 1791–1880, a farmer born in nearby Knocknalling, is credited with introducing agricultural

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. *Sir Halliday Macartney, 1833–1906. Military surgeon, diplomat in the Chinese Government. Lived and died at Kenbank in Dalry. Buried at Dundrennan Abbey. *Dr. Joseph Rhymer BA.; M.Th.; Th.D died 2009, author of 14 books on theology including, ''The Illustrated Life of Jesus Christ'' , lived at Grayrigg in the town and is buried in Dalry Kirkyard. *Prof

William Young Sellar William Young Sellar FRSE LLD (22 February 1825 – 12 October 1890) was a Scottish classical scholar. Life Sellar was born at Morvich in Sutherland the son of Patrick Sellar of Westfield, Morayshire and his wife Anne Craig of Barmakelty, Mor ...

FRSE, LLD (1825-1890) Classics Professor

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

. Son of Patrick Sellar. Lived and died at Kenbank, Dalry. Buried in Dalry Kirkyard. * Allan Stewart, artist, (1865-1951) lived and died at Rose Cottage, and is buried at Dalry Kirkyard. * George Thompson (1928-2016), teacher, MP for Galloway ( SNP 1974–1979), Catholic priest Maintained his family home and lived there in his retirement. Buried in Dalry Kirkyard. *

Donald Watson Donald Watson (2 September 1910 – 16 November 2005) was an English animal rights advocate who co-founded The Vegan Society. Early life Watson was born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, the son of a headmaster in a mining community. As a child, Watso ...

, (1918-2005) was a Scottish

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and a

wildlife art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what ...

ist and writer, lived here for over 50 years. He is buried in Dalry Kirkyard.

Climate

In common with the rest of the country, Dalry benefits from a climate classified as Oceanic ( Köppen Cfb), encompassing cool summers and mild winters with year-round rainfall. Temperature extremes at Glenlee, under southwest, have ranged from during July 2005 to in both January 1940 and December 1995.

References

External links

St. John's Town of Dalry in the Gazetteer for Scotland

Rock and Ice climbing in the Galloway HillsThe Glenkens
*Gibson, Jean C. ''Around Dalry.'' 1974, privately printed. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalry Saint John's Town of Dalry Kirkcudbrightshire