Whithorn

Coordinates: 54°44′06″N 4°24′58″W / 54.735°N 4.416°W / 54.735; -4.416

Whithorn (Taigh Mhàrtainn in Gaelic) is a former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about ten miles south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, Candida Casa : the 'White [or 'Shining'] House', built by Saint Ninian about 397.

Toponymy

Whithorn was first known (in Latin) as Candida Casa. 'Whithorn' is a modern form of the Anglo-Saxon version of this name, Hwit Ærn, 'white house'. In Gallovidian Gaelic, it was called Rosnat, or Futarna, the latter a version of the Anglo-Saxon name (Gaelic has no sound corresponding to English 'wh').

Eighth and twelfth centuries

A monastery and diocese of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria was founded on the site in the 8th century. It was the centre of the revived See of Galloway (or Candida Casa) under the patronage of Fergus, Lord of Galloway and Bishop Gille Aldan from the 12th century. The late-medieval cathedral Whithorn Priory is ruinous, much of it having disappeared completely apart from the much-altered aisleless nave and vaults at the former eastern end which once held the shrine of St. Ninian, one of medieval Scotland's major pilgrimage destinations. A museum in the town contains finds from the site, which has been extensively excavated in recent years. A late-medieval gateway with the arms of the King of Scots leads into the site of the priory, which contains the 19th-century parish church and a museum of carved stones (Historic Scotland). The collection of early medieval stones is one of the largest in Scotland, and includes the country's earliest surviving Christian memorial, the 5th-century inscribed 'Latinus Stone'. The museum layout and display was revised and greatly improved in 2005.

Whithorn (Parliament of Scotland constituency)

Whithorn in Wigtownshire was a royal burgh that returned one commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland and to the Convention of Estates.

After the Acts of Union 1707, Whithorn, New Galloway, Stranraer and Wigtown formed the Wigtown district of burghs, returning one member between them to the House of Commons of Great Britain.

List of burgh commissioners

References

See also