A South-West Scotland country parish

THE council area of Dumfries and Galloway extends from the Scottish Borders in the east to the North Channel of the Irish Sea on the west. It is bounded on its southern edge by the

Solway Firth, with a series of river valleys extending into the Southern Uplands and large inlets, such as Auchencairn Bay, Kirkcudbright Bay, Wigtown Bay and Luce Bay. These split up the land-mass, making east-west land transport awkward, and sea and river navigation correspondingly significant. In prehistoric and early historic times there was a cultural and economic unity among the countries which border the Irish Sea which it is easy to forget if one just looks at a map of Scotland

Colvend Parish Church is in a ‘kirkton’, a focal point in the parish of Colvend and Southwick. To the east is a shallow bay (Mersehead Sands) with the village of Caulkerbush inland towards its east end, and to the west the estuary of the river Urr (Rough Firth). On the Colvend side of the Urr estuary are the villages of Kippford and Rockcliffe. Historically Kippford was a granitequarrying, shipbuilding and ship-owning centre, and the area is now popular with holidaymakers, especially with yachtsmen. To the east are the villages of Portling and Sandyhills, and further east is Caulkerbush.

In all of this it is easy to overlook Colvend (the parish church for Kippford and Rockcliffe) and Southwick (which serves Caulkerbush). It is because they are easy to miss, like so many rural churches, that I feel that they deserve attention. Both are exceptionally fine examples of the late-19th-early 20th-century second Romanesque revival. The history of the present united parish is intriguing. Before the Reformation the parish of Colvend (also known as ‘Old Culvin’) belonged to Lincluden Collegiate Church, on the northern outskirts of Dumfries, while the rector of the parish of Southwick, to the east, was Chancellor of the Chapel Royal of Stirling Castle. The remains of the parish church of Southwick, dedicated to St Mary, survive about 2km west of the present building. In 1612, these parishes were united as Colvend and Southwick parish, a situation which persisted until 1894, when Southwick was disjoined, for ecclesiastical purposes (quoad sacra), as a new church close to the Southwick estate had been opened in 1891 by the landowner, Sir Mark John MacTaggart-Stewart, baronet. It also served the estate village of Caulkerbush.

After the Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843, some members of the Colvend and Southwick church left to form a Free Church. They built a church at Mainsriddell (now Mainsriddle, east of Caulkerbush). This congregation joined the United Free Church in 1900 and the Church of Scotland in 1929. It was united in 1932 with Southwick, as Southwick Parish Church. In 1949 the Colvend and Southwick congregations were united, and the Mainsriddell church and manse sold. Both the Colvend and Southwick church buildings were retained. In 1978 the reunited parish was united with that of Kirkbean, to the east, and the Kirkbean church has since been sold.

The present Colvend church was constructed in 1910-11. It was designed by Peter MacGregor Chalmers in a style which is described in the Buildings of Scotland as ‘Chaste Early Christian’. It is cruciform in plan, with a short square tower with a pyramidal roof. It is notably simple and modest, with good proportions. Internally it is laid out for the ‘Scoto-catholic’ pattern of worship favoured in the Church of Scotland at that period. The Communion table is in the chancel, with pulpit and font flanking the chancel arch. The chancel has a wooden tunnel vault. There are good stained-glass windows.

In the September issue, the article on Elie Parish Church said the town lay ‘between St Monans and Pittenweem’. We are happy to clarify that Elie lies to the west of Pittenweem and St Monans.