Dumfries and Galloway - Historic Churches

Barhobble Church is an early Christian site dating to the 8th century. The remains of at least three separate churches built on the same site stand in an idyllic rural location behind Erlig House. Look for the stone altar at the east end of the church.
Elrig House, Airylick, Elrig, Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG8 9RF

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Heritage Highlight: Remains of at least three churches covering 1400 years overlie each other

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The foundation walls are all that remains of a small medieval chapel associated with St Finian. The chapel is set within a walled enclosure, in typical Irish style. The chapel may have been built as a haven for pilgrims making their way to St Ninian's shrine at Whithorn from the nearby landing place on the shore of Luce Bay.
A747, Port William, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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This quiet little 12th-century church stands in a wooded copse set in the middle of a farm field like an oasis in a desert. The church dates to the period between 1125-1150 and is considered the most complete Romanesque church in Galloway. Cruggleton was built by Fergus, the 1st Lord of Galloway, of nearby Cruggleton Castle, to serve as his private chapel.
B7063, Garlieston, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: Norman chancel arch

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The modern chapel at Kirkmadrine is home to three of the earliest surviving Christian carved stones in Britain. The three stones date from the late 5th or early 6th centuries and reportedly stood for many years in the churchyard. The carved stones are displayed in a plexiglass case rather oddly set into the exterior of the west wall of the chapel, which serves as a burial aisle for the MacTaggarts of Ardwell.
Clachanmore, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

Attraction Type: Church - Carved Stone
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In 1389 the 3rd Earl of Douglas, known to history as Archibald the Grim, founded a collegiate church here, beside Cluden Water and the River Nith, on the site of a 12th-century Benedictine nunnery and just outside the town of Dumfries. The purpose of the Lincluden foundation was to say prayers for Archibald's soul and those of his immediate family members.
Abbey Lane, Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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Heritage Highlight: Princess Margaret's tomb

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Little Dalton Kirk is a roofless 15th-century church incorporating an earlier 13th-century building. Nothing now remains of the rural community it once served. Twenty gravestones remain, most dating to the 18th century.
Kirkhill, Dalton, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG11 1DY

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Heritage Highlight: 13th-century stonework

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Merkland Cross is a medieval wayside cross crafted in a floriated design. The cross stands next to the main medieval road to Annandale. Today the presence of the A74(M) overshadows the cross, which stands on the course of the Roman road north from Gretna into southern Scotland. The cross is over 3 metres high, on a slender shaft.
Woodhouse Farm, Kirtlebridge, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

Attraction Type: Church - Early Christian Cross
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It is hard to find words adequate to describe the Ruthwell Cross; it is unquestionably one of the finest early Christian monuments in Europe, and one of the historical highlights of a visit to south-west Scotland. The Cross is a freestanding monument, dating from the late 7th or early 8th century, and is carved on all four sides with a wonderful variety of runes, animal figures, humans, and religious symbols.
Ruthwell, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG1 4NP

Attraction Type: Church - Early Christian Cross
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Heritage Highlight: The finest example of an early Christian cross in Britain

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St Ninian's Chapel is a roofless 12th-century chapel erected on the hillside overlooking Isle of Whithorn harbour. The chapel was probably used by medieval pilgrims making their way to Whithorn Priory and the shrine of St Ninian. The chapel is a simple rectangular building measuring about 31' x 16'6" internally. It was built around the year 1300 on the site of an earlier 12th-century building.

Isle of Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

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