The Sheriff of Wigtown was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in
Wigtown
Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart ...
, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar.
It became known as the Sheriff of Wigton & Kirkcudbright in 1860 and was dissolved and incorporated into the
sheriffdom of Dumfries & Galloway in 1874.
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright was created in 1369, when the area between the
Rivers Nith and
Cree was granted to
Archibald the Grim
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell (c. 1330 – c. 24 December 1400), called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a late medieval Scottish nobleman. Archibald was the bastard son of S ...
. A steward was appointed by to administer the area which was known the "Stewartry".
Sheriffs of Wigtown
*Robert FitzTrute (c.1200)
*
Alexander Comyn
Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan (died 1289) was a Scoto-Norman magnate who was one of the most important figures in the 13th century Kingdom of Scotland. He was the son of William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, and Marjory, Count ...
(1263-1266)
*
John Comyn, Master of Buchan (1288)
*Walter of Twynham (1296)
*
Domhnall mac Cailein
Domhnall mac Cailein or Donald Campbell was a 13th-14th century Scottish nobleman and the Sheriff of Wigtown.
Life
According to Campbell tradition, Domhnall was the second son of Cailean Mór; however, contemporary evidence seems to suggest that ...
c.1298
*
John Comyn, Earl of Buchan
John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan (circa 1260 – 1308) was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, ...
(1300)
*
Thomas McCulloch (1305)
*William Douglas of Leawalt (1424)
*Andrew Agnew (1456)
*
Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran (1468)
*Andrew Agnew (1468)
*
John Graham (1648)
*
Andrew Agnew (?-1747)
;Sheriffs-Depute
*
Alexander Boswell, 1748–1750
*
Andrew Pringle, 1750–1751 (Sheriff of Selkirk, 1751)
*Thomas Dundas, 1751–
*Alexander Spalding Gordon, –1794
*John Busby Maitland, 1794–1818
*James Walker, 1818–c.1840
*Adam Urquhart 1843–1860
Stewards of Kirkcudbright
*Donald Maclellen of Gelston, 1456
*William Edmonstoune of Duntreath, 1462
*John Kennedy of Blairquhan, 1463
*
Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran, 1468
*Humphrey Colquhoun, 1468
*
Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell
Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell (died 18 October 1508) was Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He rose to political prominence after supporting James IV against his father, and was proxy at the King's marriage.
Career
Patrick was the son of Ad ...
, 1489
*
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell (1493 – 9 July 1546) was a member of the Council of Regency (1536) of the Kingdom of Scotland, Regent of the Isle of Arran and like his father before him patriarch of the House of Maxwell/Clan Maxwell. A distingui ...
, 1526
Sheriffs of Kirkcudbright
*
Thomas Miller, Lord Glenlee
Sir Thomas Miller, 1st Baronet FRSE (3 November 1717 – 27 September 1789), known as Lord Barskimming (1766–88) and Lord Glenlee (from 1788) during his judicial service, was a Scottish advocate, judge, politician and landowner. He was a found ...
, 1748–1755
*
David Ross, 1756–1763
*
Alexander Gordon, Lord Rockville, 1764–1784
*Sir Alexander Gordon, 1784–1830
*
Alexander Wood of Woodcote, 1830–1841
*
Erskine Douglas Sandford, 1841–1860
Sheriffs of Wigton & Kirkcudbright (1860)
*
Erskine Douglas Sandford, 1860–61
[
* David Hector, 1861-1874 ]Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway
The Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway, was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the J ...
''
See also
* Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms
A sheriffdom is a judicial district of Scotland. Originally identical to the Shires of Scotland, from the eighteenth century many counties were grouped to form "sheriffdoms".
By 1975 there were 12 sheriffdoms, with only Lanarkshire not grouped ...
References
Sheriff courts
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
{{Scotland-hist-stub