shore of Wigtown Bay—whence the name, from the Scandinavian vik, “bay”—7 m. S. by E. of Newton Stewart by railway. It is built on an eminence around a spacious central area laid out in walks. The town hall stands at a corner of this square, and at the opposite side are two crosses, one of 1738 and the other commemorating Waterloo. Some fishing is carried on. In the old churchyard were buried Margaret MacLachlan, a widow aged 63, and Margaret Wilson, a girl of 18, two covenanting martyrs who were tied to stakes in the sands of Wigtown Bay and drowned by the rising waters (1685), to whose memory, as well as that of three men who were hanged at the same time without trial, an obelisk surmounted by an urn was erected in 1858 on the top of Windy Hill, outside the town. Wigtown was made a royal burgh in 1469.
WIGTOWNSHIRE (sometimes called West Galloway), a south-western county of Scotland, bounded N. by Ayrshire, E. by Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtown Bay, S. by the Irish Sea and W. and N. by the North Channel. Including the small island of St Helena, at the head of Luce Bay, it covers an area of 311,609 acres, or 487 sq. m. On the eastern boundary the estuary of the Cree expands into Wigtown Bay, between which and Luce Bay, farther west, extends the promontory of the Machers, terminating in Burrow Head. By the indentation of Luce Bay on the south and Loch Ryan on the north the hammer headed peninsula of the Rinns is formed, of which the Mull of Galloway, the most southerly point of Scotland, is the southern, and Milleur Point the northern extremity. The more or less rugged coast has many small inlets, few of which, owing to hidden rocks, afford secure landing-places. Excepting Loch Ryan, a fine natural harbour of which Stranraer is the port, the harbours are not available for vessels of heavy burden, on account either of the great distance to which the sea retires, or of their exposure to frequent fierce gales. Much of the county has a wild, bleak appearance, the higher land being covered with heath and whins, while in the lower districts there are long stretches of bog and moss, and in the north centre, a few miles west of Newton Stewart, is a tract known as the Moors. Only towards the Ayrshire border do the hills reach a considerable altitude, Benbrake and Craigairie Fell being each 1000 ft. in height. The chief rivers are the Cree, forming the boundary with Kirkcudbrightshire and flowing past Newton Stewart and Carty into Wigtown Bay, the Bladenoch, issuing from Loch Maberry and falling into Wigtown Bay at Wigtown after a course of 22 m., its principal affluents, all on the right, being Black Burn, the Tarff and the Malzie, and the Luce, formed by the junction at New Luce of Main Water and Cross Water of Luce, and emptying itself into Luce Bay. Most of the numerous lochs are small, several being situated in private parks, as at the earl of Stair's estate of Castle Kennedy. Among the larger lakes are Loch Maberry and Loch Dornal, both partly in Ayrshire, and Loch Ochiltree in the north of the shire, Loch Connell in the west, Loch Ronald in the centre and the group of Castle Loch and four others in the parish of Mochrum, towards the south, and Loch Dowalton, at the junction of Kirkinner, Sorbie and Glasserton parishes.
Geology.—A line drawn in a north-easterly direction from the coast about 3 m. below Portpatrick, passing slightly north of the head of Luce Bay by Newton Stewart to the Cairnsmore of Fleet, divides the county so that practically all the rocks on the northern side are of Ordovician age, while those on the south are Silurian. This line coincides with the general direction of the strike of the beds throughout the county. Most of the Ordovician rocks are black shales, in which graptolites may be found, along with greywackes and grits; they include the Glenkill and Hartfell groups of the Moffat district. These rocks may be seen exposed on the coast south of Portpatrick and in the valley of the Cree. The slate quarries of Cairn Ryan are of Llandeilo age. Nearly the whole of the Silurian region is occupied by dark grits, grey wackes and shales of Llandovery age, though here and there a small exposure of the underlying black Moffat shales appears on the denuded crest of one of the innumerable folds into which all these rocks have been thrown. A series of shales, flags and grey wackes of Wenlock age is found on the shore between Burrow Head and Whithorn. On the west side of Loch Ryan is a narrow belt of Permian breccia and thin sandstones about 9 m. long and 1 m. wide, this rests uncomfortably upon a similar belt of Carboniferous sandstones, about 8 m. long and 14 m. in width, which lies on the west side of the Permian. A small patch of granite stands out on the coast at Laggantulloch Head, north of the Mull of Galloway. There are also a few patches and dikes of diorite and quartz felsite. Glacial moraines and drumlins are found over much of the older formations, and are well seen between Glenluce and Newton Stewart and south of Wigtown. The boulder-clay is used for brick-making near Stranraer. On the coasts of Luce Bay and Loch Ryan raised beaches are found at levels of 25 ft. and 50 ft. above the sea, and tracts of blown sand lie above the shore. There are several peat covered areas in the county.
Climate and Agriculture.—The mean annual rainfall amounts to 36.3 in., varying from 49.19 in. at Kirkcowan, a few miles west of Newton Stewart, to 26.81 in. at the Mull of Galloway. The average temperature for the year is 48.3° F., for January 40° F. and for July 58.5° F. In spite of its humidity the climate is not unfavourable for the ripening of crops, and frosts as a rule are not of long duration. Much of the shire consists of stony moors, rendering the work of reclamation difficult and in some parts impossible. The gravelly soil along the coasts requires heavy manuring to make it fruitful, and in the higher arable quarters a rocky soil prevails, better adapted for grass and green crops than for grain. A large extent of the surface is black top reclaimed from the moors, and in some districts loam and clay are found. By dint of energy, however, and constant resort to scientific agriculture, the farmers have placed half of the shire under cultivation, and the standard of farming is as high as that of any county in Scotland. Oats is the leading crop, barley and wheat occupying only a small area. Turnips and swedes constitute the great bulk of the green crops, potatoes coming next. Large tracts are under clover and rotation grasses and in permanent pasture, in consequence of the increasing attention paid to dairy-farming, which is carried on in combination and on scientific principles. Several creameries have been established in the dairy country, cheese being a leading product. Though the size of the herds is surpassed in several other Scottish counties, the number of milch cattle is only exceeded in three (Ayr, Aberdeen and Lanark). Ayrshire is the favourite breed for dairy purposes, and black polled Galloways are found in the eastern districts. A cross of the two breeds is also maintained. The sheep are principally black-faced on the hill farms, and in other parts Leicester and other long-woolled breeds. The flocks are usually heavy, and great numbers of pigs are kept. The shire has acquired some reputation for its horses, chiefly Clydesdale. The holdings are fairly large, the average being considerably over 100 acres, one third of them running from 100 acres to 300. Most of the park land is finely wooded, and there are a few nurseries, market gardens and orchards.
Other Industries.—There are small manufactures in several of the towns, as woollens at Kirkcowan; tweeds, leather and agricultural implements at Newton Stewart; dairy appliances, beer, flour and bricks at Stranraer, and whisky at Bladenoch. Sandstone and slates are quarried, and peat is cut in various places. Fisheries, on a minor scale, are conducted chiefly from Stranraer, certain villages on Loch Ryan and Luce Bay, and Wigtown, and the Cree, Bladenoch and Luce yield salmon. Shipping is mainly carried on from Stranraer, but also from Port William, Portpatrick, Wigtown and Garliestown.
The Glasgow & South-Western railway runs to Stranraer via Girvan, and the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire joint railway from Newton Stewart to Portpatrick via Stranraer, with a branch line at Newton Stewart to Wigtown and Whithorn. There are coach services from Stranraer to Ballantrae on the Ayrshire coast and to Drumore, 4 m. N. of the Mull, and regular communication by mail steamer between Stranraer and Larne in Co. Antrim, Ireland.
Population and Administration.—In 1891 the population amounted to 36,062; in 1901 to 32,685 or 67 persons to the sq. m ., the decrease for the decade being the third highest in Scotland. In 1901 there were 88 persons speaking Gaelic and English. The principal towns are Stranraer (pop. 6036); Newton Stewart (2598), which, however, standing on both banks of the Cree, extends into Kirkcudbrightshire; Wigtown (1329) and Whithorn (1188). Formerly Wigtown, Stranraer and Whithorn formed, with New Galloway, in Kirkcudbrightshire, a group of burghs returning one member, but in 1885 the first three were merged in the county, which returns one member to parliament. Wigtown, the county town, Stranraer and Whithorn are royal burghs. The shire forms part of the sheriffdom of Dumfries and Galloway, and a sheriff-substitute sits at Wigtown and Stranraer. The administrative county is divided into the Lower district, comprising the shire east of the parishes of New Luce and Old Luce, and the Upper district, comprising the shire west of and including these parishes. The county is under school-board jurisdiction, and there are high schools in Newton Stewart and Stranraer. The board-schools in Whithorn and Wigtown have secondary departments, and several of the schools in the shire earn grants for higher education. The county
