Jim Bell has been posting articles on Facebook which cover a lot of local history. He has kindly allowed us to copy these and post them on our website. They continue to be very varied and interesting. They can be accessed here. https://www.kirkcudbrighthistorysociety.org.uk/category/featured-article/jim-bell-blog/
Kirkcudbright RNLI’s ILB Sheila Stenhouse B- 814 – “She deserves a medal”
This article was posted on Kirkcudbright RNLI Lifeboat Station’s Facebook page on 25/08/2026
Kirkcudbright RNLI’s ILB Sheila Stenhouse B- 814 – “She deserves a medal”
The lifeboat has performed amazingly during the last 20 months she has been moored in the river while the boathouse was being extended and renovated. These are the words of Kirkcudbright RNLI’s mechanic John Collins who has maintained the Sheila Stenhouse for 20 years.
Now the oldest Atlantic 85 in the RNLI Fleet this boat has served the coast around the Solway for two decades. As Kirkcudbright crew take over the wonderful new boathouse facility the current boat has been retired and will be replaced with a new Atlantic 85.
When she first came on service she was one of the earliest Atlantic 85’s in Scotland. On 13 October 2007 she was named at Kirkcudbright Harbour by Mrs Carol Richmond, in memory of her late aunt, whose bequest had funded the lifeboat. Like many boats in the RNLI fleet she was funded by the generosity of donors. The Sheila Stenhouse replaced the Atlantic 21 Peter and Grace Ewing.
The service record of the Sheila Stenhouse was
197 launches
198 people assisted
93 craft assisted
25% of her activity was to assist sailing boats.
The Atlantic 85 was an improvement on the former Atlantic 21. The Sheila Stenhouse was capable of speeds
up to 35 knots the Atlantic 85 could launch in daylight in force 7 conditions and at night in a force 6.
As the numbers above testify the Sheila Stenhouse has been involved in many and varied call outs. Sometimes being turned back even before launching and at other times launching in rough dangerous conditions and being at sea for many hours.
She has covered cliff rescues, capsized boats, engine failures, missing person searches, recovery of vessels run aground. Numerous kayakers, swimmers, fishermen and people stranded. Most shouts have good outcomes but the crew’s thoughts often turn to the more tragic events. However the volunteer crew can be very proud of the more than 200 people that have been assisted when needing help.
Through all this the Sheila Stenhouse, given as a generous gift, has been an excellent lifeboat and will be missed.
Emergency Trades Meeting
Anyone interested in the History of “The Trades” can find it here on our website https://www.kirkcudbrighthistorysociety.org.uk/…/…
Kirkcudbright Creamery
A posting on Facebook has raised some interest in Kirkcudbright Creamery. For information about the Factory we have several texts on this site. Read about the opening day and also a description of its heyday by Billy McKeand. https://www.kirkcudbrighthistorysociety.org.uk/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-kirkcudbright-creamery/
Knitting Factory 1987
Jane (Houston) Young has given us these photos of the Knitting Factory employees in 1987. Johnny Proudlock has improved one image.Names are slowly coming in.
Information about the Factory can be found here:- https://www.kirkcudbrighthistorysociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MGeorges.pdf
Stonework on MacLellan’s Castle
Border Life
Over the last few years we have all watched work being done on MacLellan’s Castle. In this programme local chap Jonny Cunningham explains the skills involved in restoring the Castle’s stonework. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F8UpXoEfEM
Summer 2026 Newsletters
Both Of our Summer Newsletters can now be accessed here.
St. Cuthbert’s Cemetery, Kirkcudbright (the Kirkyard)
St. Cuthbert’s Cemetery, Kirkcudbright (the Kirkyard)
[Revised from the original Galloway News ‘Museum Piece’ (July 2010)]
St. Cuthbert’s Cemetery (the Kirkyard) is of particular historic interest. The older, lower part of the cemetery is known to be the location of the original ‘Kirk of St Cuthbert’, possibly established sometime in the period 680 – 750 when Galloway was part of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. The church may have been an important mission centre or minster to spread Christianity in this part of Galloway. The new church was dedicated to the patron saint of Northumbria – St Cuthbert. Although the church has long since gone, its name moved down the hill to the burgh and port which was established sometime after it on the banks of the Dee – Kirkcudbright.
The earliest burial within the bounds of the present cemetery may date as far back as sometime in the 10thcentury. In May 1888, when the cemetery was extended on to the higher ground above the original site,
workmen came across a type of Norse or Viking sword together with a cloak pin and a glass bead. No skeletal remains were found, but the group of finds is typical of a pagan burial of a sword-carrying Viking freeman. These finds can now be seen in The Stewartry Museum in Kirkcudbright. But why was a pagan Viking buried near an early Christian church? Such a burial fits the hypothesis that men of Viking descent were encouraged to settle on the Stewartry coast, receiving land in return for military service to counter the threat of attacks by other Vikings or Gaelic-speaking raiders from Ireland. The Norse derivation of place-names in these areas, such as ‘Borgue, ‘Rerrick’, ‘Rascarrel’ etc. is thought to be further evidence of this deliberate settlement policy.
The kirkyard contains several interesting monuments. The earliest gravestone, dated 1620, commemorates a John Shawe, and the large and impressive Renaissance monument to the left of the main