Borgue, Dumfries and Galloway

Human settlement in Scotland

Dumfries and Galloway

Kirkcudbrightshire

CountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townKIRKCUDBRIGHTPostcode districtDG6Dialling code01557PoliceScotlandFire Scottish AmbulanceScottish UK Parliament

Dumfries and Galloway

Scottish Parliament

Galloway and West Dumfries

List of places: UK; Scotland

54°48′43″N 4°08′02″W / 54.812°N 4.134°W / 54.812; -4.134

Borgue (pronounced /ˈbɔrɡ/; Scottish Gaelic: Borgh) is a village and parish in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies 5 miles south-west of Kirkcudbright and 6 miles south of Gatehouse of Fleet. The name Borgue (recorded as Borg in 1469) is from Old Norse borg 'stronghold'.^[1]^[2]

Borgue Parish Church was built in 1814 and designed by architect Walter Newall with alterations dating from 1897 to 1898.^[3] Due to a dwindling congregation it closed in August 2018.^[4] The churchyard contains the late C19 Gothic mausoleum of the Gordons of Earlston.

According to folk tradition, Borgue was once the home of a boy who could consort with the fairies.^[5]

Castle Haven dun

Within the parish, near Kirkandrews, and due west of the village of Borgue, is Castle Haven, an Iron Age hill fort of uncertain date which is designated a scheduled ancient monument.^[6]^[7]

Only about 10.5m x 18m in size, Castle Haven is of an unusual D-shape with an almost straight west wall running along the edge of a cliff. The fort is now overgrown and difficult to discern in the landscape, but a nearly concentric outer wall remains; the main entrance is in the arch segment to the north, while a smaller access at the south end leads down to the beach. Another peculiar characteristic of this fort is the almost totally hollow construction of the wall, which contains three galleries of different lengths within its thickness; six adits lead to the galleries. Steps lead to the top of the wall.

Artefacts found during restoration - two spiral bronze finger rings and a blue and white glass bead - indicate that its users were relatively prosperous. There were also fragments of an enamelled medieval brooch.

Notable people from Borgue

The poet William Nicholson, the 'Bard of Galloway'
Hugh Blair of Borgue, eccentric 18th century laird.
Very Rev George Cook, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1876, who was minister of Borgue 1867 to 1888
Samuel Smith (1836–1906), Liberal politician
John James Pringle (1855–1922), dermatologist
Henry, Lord Dalziel (1868–1935), newspaper proprietor and MP
Sir Robin Gray (1931–), Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993, who was born in Borgue
Adam Gray. Local historian and author^[8]
Randolph, Earl of Galloway (1928–2020), Scottish nobleman and the 13th Earl of Galloway

List of listed buildings in Borgue

List of listed buildings in Borgue, Dumfries and Galloway

References

^ Nicolaisen, W. F. H. (2001). Scottish Place Names. Edinburgh: John Donald. p. 144.
^ Grant, Alison Elizabeth (2003). Scandinavian Place-Names in Northern Britain as Evidence for Language Contact and Interaction (PDF). University of Glasgow (Unpublished PhD Thesis). p. 260. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015.
^ Gifford, John. (2002). Dumfries and Galloway. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300096712. OCLC 49297770.
^ Norris, Stephen (29 August 2018). "Final service at Borgue Church". dailyrecord. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
^ "Fairy Boy of Borgue - Mysterious Britain & Ireland". Mysterious Britain & Ireland. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Castle Haven,dun,Castle Haven Bay (SM1116)". Retrieved 16 April 2019.
^ "Castle Haven | Canmore".
^ "Obituary: Adam Gray".