Port William Concrete Statue 04-11-10 20

Port William () is a

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

in the parish of

Mochrum Mochrum () is a coastal civil and Church of Scotland parish situated to the east of Luce Bay on the Machars peninsula and southwest of Wigtown and in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Galloway, Scotland. It covers and is approximate ...

in the historical county of

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

with a population of approximately 460. Port William has a post office and small general store, a takeaway, a restaurant, a community charity shop and a couple of other stores. Beyond Port William, the nearest shopping is in

Whithorn Whithorn (; ), 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 Christian church in Scotland, "White/Shining House", built by ...

, whilst the nearest supermarkets are in

Newton Stewart Newton Stewart (Scottish Gaelic language, Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to ...

. Monreith House, a

category A listed Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * Category ( ...

Georgian mansion is located east of the village.

Location

The village is on the coast of

Luce Bay Luce Bay is a large bay in Wigtownshire in southern Scotland. The bay is 20 miles wide at its mouth and is bounded by the Rhins of Galloway to the west and the Machars to the east. The Scares are rocky islets at the mouth of the bay. Bombi ...

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

and is situated between the small villages of Elrig and

to the north and

Monreith Monreith ( ; ) is a small seaside village in the Machars, in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Scotland. A ruined church near Monreith is called "Kirkmaiden-in-Fernis" and was dedicated to St Medan. The chancel was rebuilt as a mausoleum for ...

to the south. It looks towards the

Mull of Galloway The Mull of Galloway (, ; ) is the southernmost point of Scotland. It is situated in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, at the end of the Rhins of Galloway peninsula, also being the most southerly hill. The Mull has one of the last remain ...

(the most southerly point of the Scottish mainland), on a clear day both Ireland and The

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

(lying only to the south across the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

) are clearly visible. Port William lies west of

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

, east of

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

and south of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

History

The original settlement was known as Killantrae, meaning 'The Church on the Beach' in Gaelic, and was probably founded not long after

St Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason, he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedicatio ...

's arrival in nearby

towards the end of the 4th century. Killantrae was swept away following the intervention of developer and landlord Sir William Maxwell, 5th Baronet, of Monreith House. In the five years until 1776 he built an entirely new village, complete with a good harbour and renamed it Port William. One of the earliest buildings still standing was the corn mill, located on the side of the Killantrae burn to take advantage of the power provided by its water. Port William is an example of a planned village, lying on the eastern shore of Luce Bay. The harbour, built for the convenience of his tenant farmers, was one of the first in western Galloway. In the 17th and 18th centuries Port William was known as much for the illicit activities of its

smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

as for the legitimate trade of its port.

Notable people

Gavin Maxwell Gavin Maxwell FRSL FZS FRGS (15 July 19147 September 1969) was a Scottish naturalist and author, best known for his non-fiction writing and his work with otters. He became most famous for '' Ring of Bright Water'' (1960) and its sequels, which ...

FRSL, FIAL, FZS (Sc.),

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

was a Scottish

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and author, best known for his

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

writing and his work with

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Rank (zoology), subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic animal, aquatic, or Marine ecology, marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae Family (biology), family, whi ...

. Maxwell was born at The House of Elrig near the small village of Elrig, near Port William. Maxwell's relatives still live in the area and the family's ancient estate and grounds are in nearby

Port William Inshore Rescue Service Action Committee

The village formed one of the first Community First Response Teams in Scotland and has helped to set up other teams in the area. Following several incidents involving vessels in difficulties in Luce Bay the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

were asked to site a lifeboat at Port William, when this was denied the villagers formed a committee known as the Port William Inshore Rescue Service Action Committee (PIRSAC). Funds were raised to buy and staff an inshore rescue boat, this was launched in 1979 and it still operates today, covering Luce Bay, Wigtown Bay and the inshore waters between South West Scotland and the Isle of Man.

The Harbour

The harbour was extended in 1790 and again in 1848; its commercial importance continuing until the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Further work was done to protect the harbour in the 1980s by building a breakwater to the western side of the harbour. A statue of a fisherman overlooks the harbour: once made of concrete, it has been cast in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

. The statue was part-funded by the millennium lottery fund. In front of the statue is a plaque with the first verse of the poem "

Leisure Leisure (, ) has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as ...

" by

W. H. Davies William Henry Davies (3 July 1871 – 26 September 1940) was a Welsh poet and writer, who spent much of his life as a tramp or hobo in the United Kingdom and the United States, yet became one of the most popular poets of his time. His themes in ...

References

{{authority control Wigtownshire Villages in Dumfries and Galloway Ports and harbours of Scotland