Port William

Wikimedia disambiguation page

Port William is a fishin veelage in the pairish o Mochrum, in the historical coonty o Wigtounshire, in Dumfries an Gallowa, Scotland. wi a population o aboot 460.

Port William

View ower Port William Herbour
Port William is located in Dumfries and Galloway
Port William
Port William
Location within Dumfries an Gallowa
Population460 
OS grid referenceNX338435
Cooncil area
Lieutenancy area
KintraScotland
Sovereign stateUnitit Kinrick
Post tounNEWTON STEWART
Postcode destrictDG8
PoliceScots
FireScots
AmbulanceScots
EU PairlamentScotland
UK Pairlament
Scots Pairlament
Leet o places
UK
Scotland
54°45′36″N 4°35′02″W / 54.760°N 4.584°W / 54.760; -4.584Coordinates: 54°45′36″N 4°35′02″W / 54.760°N 4.584°W / 54.760; -4.584
Maxwell's Otter bi Penny Wheatley. Memorial tae Gavin Maxwell leukin ower Luice Bay.
Bronze statue o a fisher on the sea-front (Mochrum) bi Andrew Brown (1999)

Port William his a post office an a smaw general store, an cairy-oot, a restaurant, a community chairity shap, and a couple o ither stores. Ayont Port William, the nearest shappin is in Whithorn, while the nearest supermercats is in Newtoun Stewart.

Menreith Hoose, a Category A leetit big hoose is locatit ae mile east o the veelage.[1]

Location eedit

The veelage is on the coast o Luice Bay in Gallowa an is situatit atween the smaw veelages o Elrig an Mochrum til the north an Menreith til the sooth.[2] It leuks taewart the Mull o Gallowa (the maist soothren pynt o the mainland o Scotland), an on a clear day baith Ireland and The Isle o Man (lyin anely 20 mile til the sooth across the Erse Sea is clear veesible.

Port William lies 63.4 mile wast o Dumfries, 25 mile east o Stranrawer, and 98.6 mile sooth o Glesga.

History eedit

The oreeginal sattlement wis kent as Killantrae, meanin "The Kirk on the Saunds" in Scots Gaelic, an wis likely foondit no lang efter Saunt Ringan's arrival in nearby Whithorn taewart the end o the 4t century.[3]

Killantrae wis soopit awa follaein the intervention o developer an laird Sir William Maxwell, 5t Baronet, o Menreith Hoose.[4] In the five year until 1776 he built an enteerly new veelage, complete wi a guid herbour an rename't it Port William. Ane o the earliest biggins staundin yet wis the corn mill, locatit on the side o the Killantrae Burn tae tak advantage o the pouer providit bi its watter. Port William is an exemple o a planned veelage, lyin on the eastren shore o Luice Bay. The herbour, built for the convenience o his tenant fermers, wis ane o the first in wastren Gallowa.

In the 17t an 18t centurys Port William wis kent forsaemuckle the wrangous acteevitys o its smugglers as for the lea'some tred o its port.

Namely fowk eedit

  • Gavin Maxwell (1914-1969) FRSL, FIAL, FZS (Sc.), FRGS- Scots naituralist, author, best kent for his non-fiction writin and his wark wi otters.[5]

Port William Inshore Rescue Service Action Committee eedit

The veelage formt ane o the firest Community First Response Teams in Scotland an his helpit tae set up ither teams in the aurie.[6] Follaein several incidents involvin boats in difficulties in Luice Bay the RNLI wis speirt tae site a lifeboat at Port William, whan this wis denee'd the veelagers formt a committee kent as the Port William Inshore Rescue Service Action Committee (PIRSAC).

Fonds wis raised tae buy and tae staff an inshore rescue boat, this wis lencht in 1979 an it operates the day, kiverin Luice Bay, Wigtoun Bay, an the inshore watters atween Soothwast Scotland and the Isle o Man.

The herbour eedit

The herbour wis stendit in 1790 an again in 1848; its commercial importance conteenuin until the end o Warld War I.

Forder wark wis duin tae pertect the herbour in the 1980s bi biggin a fleet-dyke til the wastren side o the herbour.

A statue o a fisher leuks ower the herbour: aince made o concrete, it his been casten in bronze. The statue wis pairt fondit bi the millenium lottery fond. In front o the statue is a plaque wi the first verse o the poem Leisure bi W. H. Davies.

References eedit

  1. Historic Environment Scotland. "Monreith House, with office court, gatepiers and terrace wall  (Category A) (LB19561)". Retrieved 15 Mairch 2019.
  2. "Port William Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland". Undiscoveredscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 18 Juin 2014.
  3. "History". PortWilliam. Archived frae the original on 12 Mairch 2014. Retrieved 18 Juin 2014.
  4. Sir William Maxwell, 4th Baronet
  5. "The Scottish author and explorer who felt most at home with his animals". The National.
  6. "pirsac". pirsac-lifeboat.