Month: June 2025

Large Solar Farm approved near Bronze Age rockart

Planning permission has been granted for construction of a large solar farm located near “nationally significant” Bronze Age rock art.

The Bronze Age rockart has been described as of “national significance”

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s planning committee approved the 43-hectare (106 acre) project at Little Drum Solar Farm.

The proposed development will be constructed just over one mile (1.8km) south east of Kirkcudbright – but will not be visible from the town due to rolling hills.

The nearest solar panel will be located 250m (820 ft) from the rock art, according to a report by planning officers, external.

There are multiple “non-designated archaeological areas” and features present on or near the site.

The monument marking the Bronze Age art is currently in accessible with no paths nearby

This includes an inaccessible monument indicating the location of the rocks.

The solar array will provide approximtely 36MW of electricity and include a 12MW battery storage facility.

A planning report by council officers said the monument was not currently publicised or the subject of any formal access arrangements.

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Jim Bell’s Blog: Castle Haven: Kirkandrews

Castle Haven, near Kirkandrews is a remarkable Iron Age site—one of the best-preserved examples of a “galleried dun” in southern Scotland. Perched above a rocky coast it dates back around 2,000 years and is notable for its “D-shaped layout”, thick drystone walls, and internal galleries built into the structure.
Castle Haven was excavated and partially reconstructed in 1905 by James Brown of Knockbrex Estate. He used local drystone dykers to rebuild the fort based on the original footprint, which had walls still standing up to 5 feet high. The restoration was unusually faithful for its time and gives a rare glimpse into Iron Age architecture.
Artefacts found during the dig included bronze finger rings, a blue and white glass bead, and even fragments of chain mail and a medieval brooch, suggesting the site may have been reused or revered in later centuries. There’s even a local tradition—though unproven—that links the site to the Balliol family, adding a layer of medieval mystique
Jim Bell 27/06/2025
This article appeared on the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright Old Postcards and Local Snippets Facebook page.

Museum Blog: Billy Marshall

An image of Tinkler Gypsies

Billy Marshall, local legend, King of the Galloway Tinkler Gypsies. If the information is correct, he lived a very full life. He is credited with living to 120 years of age however Billy himself is said to have given his birth date as 1666, this would make him slightly older. The dates we do have for his life are 1671 to 1792. He was a skilled craftsman in using and working with Horn amongst other materials.  The Stewartry Museum has several items he and his family are reputed to have made on show. This includes a ladle made by Billy himself, a cup, and a spoon made by one of his sons. The spoon having been made for The Earl of Selkirk. He was known for more nefarious pastimes such as Smuggling and stealing, as well as a time as a soldier, mercenary, rebel and Leveller.

It is believed that his birthplace may have been in Minnigaff, at the time part of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbrightshire. He travelled the lands of both Galloway and Ayrshire. Ayrshire also claiming to be the place of his birth. For a while he owned land in Minnigaff and used it as a kind of headquarters for his fellow travellers and gang members, gathering and fencing stolen goods out the property.

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Rock Crystal Jar

A unique rock crystal jar found as part of the Galloway Hoard will go on public display for the first time later this year. The Galloway Hoard: Rock Crystal Jar will open on 8 November 2025, at Kirkcudbright Galleries. Painstaking conservation has now revealed that the jar was wrapped in linen, and placed in a leather pouch that was lined with silk. The pouch was then packed within a larger lidded vessel with two dozen other treasures. When first seen, the object was hidden within its wrappings, but 3D X-ray imaging produced in partnership with the British Museum allowed the object to be seen without damaging it. This produced the first glimpse of the inscription on the base, enabling it to be read and translated. Over a number of months, the object was carefully separated from the textile wrapping, a rare medieval survival itself, which includes Scotland’s earliest example of silk. These and other precious textile survivals had to be conserved with care, so the jar has never before been available for display.

Museum Blog: Newspaper Archives

When looking into the local history of a place or person the local museum can be a great source of information.

At the Stewartry Museum, here in Kirkcudbright, there is public access to an archive useful for both basic local history and family history research. You can just pop along and ask to see the items in the archive. It can be accessed easily and there is a list of items in it held at the desk.  One of the accessible set of records is a collection of local newspapers.  In the collection is a set of Galloway News editions from 1950-1990. These are great resources for finding out about local events, pageants, courts, and historical items such as Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, or the Little Ross Lighthouse Murder.  They can be used in family history research checking through births, engagements, marriages and deaths, or local clubs’ competition winners.  When an obituary is written it can give personal detail that a census can’t, giving a different more personal picture of a person.

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The Stewartry Museum: summer exhibition

This summer’s Stewartry Museum exhibition is “Archaeology and Treasure Trove”. It includes a spearhead found at Brighouse Bay and a model of Cairnholy for example.

Halcyon

Halcyon being named by Jackie King. Also in the picture James Clark, Skipper and John King.

 

Kirkcudbright saw the naming ceremony & celebration of the new fishing boat: Halcyon. An occasion where a large part of the town comes out to mark the occasion and honour the fact that the town is a fishing port with a past, present & future. Halcyon is a genus of the tree kingfisher. Photo Gerry Hassan