September 2008
Situated at the extreme South West of Scotland Kirkmaiden linked with Stoneykirk Parishes are lucky to be bathed in the balmy climate of the Gulf Stream, so as well as award winning gardens growing exotic plants we rarely get more than a smattering of snow or frost. The people are friendly and very community orientated, and being mostly an agricultural area there are green fields and woodlands, but nearby there are hills for walking and climbing, plenty of bird-watching facilities, fishing, golf, horse-riding and beautiful beaches. If this sounds like a place you could be called to then please read on.
Kirkmaiden Parish is some 17 miles south of Stranraer with St Medans the Parish church situated in Drummore; built in 1902 it seats 400. About a mile away is the second of the Parish churches, Kirkmaiden Old Parish church also known as Kirk Covenant because the building began in 1638, the year of the signing of the National Covenant.
The new timber framed Parish church of Stoneykirk seating 120 was built in the 1960’s and is centrally situated in the seaside village of Sandhead some ten miles south of Stranraer. The second Parish church is Ardwell three miles further south. A traditional stone building built some 106 years ago seating 220. It was extensively renovated for its centenary and with its picturesque setting is a very popular wedding venue.
Both Kirkmaiden and Stoneykirk Parishes are self-supporting with the two main Parish churches having their own Church Halls for the use of organisations and the local community.
The linked Parishes Manse is beside Sandhead Church.
The Parish of Kirkmaiden is the southernmost parish in Scotland and is home to a population of some 600 adults. It is a narrow peninsular 12 miles long with the Irish Sea (North Channel) on its western coastline and Luce Bay (Solway Firth) on its east. The Parish, which begins near the village of Ardwell, ends abruptly at the cliffs of the Mull of Galloway and benefits from the warming currents of the Gulf Stream.
There are two villages Drummore and Port Logan and three hamlets of Kirkmaiden, Damnaglaur and Mull. Children from incoming families have helped to boost the Drummore Primary school roll to around 50. There are three teachers at the prize-winning school, whose head teacher welcomes visits from our Ministers and helps foster good relations between school and church. The children move on from Primary school to Stranraer Academy.
The main industry is agriculture with fishing on a more modest scale. Unfortunately many of the young people leave the Parish in their quest for employment.
St Medan’s church is in the village of Drummore. It was built in 1903, seats 400 and is in a good state of repair. The second church is Kirkmaiden Old Parish Church, known as Kirk Covenant because building began in 1638, the year of the signing of the National Covenant.
St Medan’s has always been a self-supporting church with an Entertainments Committee so that the Parish’s people can meet socially as well as spiritually at the likes of Burn’s Suppers, auctions, Halloween parties, treasure hunts and summer fêtes, sometimes held in the magnificent surroundings of local estate gardens. Port Logan is the home of the magnificent Logan Botanic Gardens; a subsidiary of the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh where strange exotic plants live happily outside in the relatively frost free walled garden.
In the Parish there is a Doctor’s practice, two WRI’s, a Bowling Club, a Fishing Club, a Community Council, an Information Centre, an RSPB Centre, a lighthouse, a visitor’s centre, volunteer Coastguards, volunteer fire-fighters and an Old People’s Welfare Committee. Drummore has several hotels, community halls, a shop and a Post Office.
Up the hill, Kirk Covenant has benefitted from legacies. It is also in a good state of repair and is financed separately from St Medan’s. Services are moved there from St Medan’s once a month during the summer and are appreciated by locals and holiday-makers alike.
St Medan’s every Sunday at 1130 hours. Kirk Covenant last Sunday of month (summer months only).
Communion is held 3 times per year, one of these at Kirk Covenant.
20 Elders plus a Congregational Board.
Congregational roll 236.
Sunday School 20 children aged from 3 to 11.
Church Magazine – Kirkmaiden Chronicle (monthly).
Organisations that use the Church Hall include:
Stoneykirk village is some 5 miles south of Stranraer and is home to the former parish church surrounded by the old cemetery. The stone built church was built in 1827 and closed in 1988 being sold off to a private individual. The new cemetery is adjacent to the village. The village population is around 200 souls but is undergoing expansion with a lot of new houses. There are two hotels, a garage, a hall and newly opened village shop and Post Office.
Sandhead village is situated on the sandy seashore of Luce Bay about 7 miles from Stranraer and two miles from Stoneykirk and has a growing population of some 300. It is a very picturesque village and as well as the centrally located church and manse has a thriving Bowling Club and Community Hall (indoor and outdoor bowls), a popular seafront hotel, tearoom and well stocked village shop and Post Office. The beautiful beach has a slipway for launching boats at full tide. There is also a large village green where various community events take place and a playpark.
The four teacher Primary School is situated at the end of the village and has a nursery section. A pre-school playgroup meets in the Bowling & Community Hall. There is a new medical centre with a team of two doctors, two district nurses, a phlebotomist and specialist nurse. The Social Committee arranges events for the parish and there are also two Old People Welfare Committees, WRI, Guild, Community Council and Toskerton Club (joint parish senior citizens club).
Close to Sandhead village is Kirkmadrine Church where the oldest Christian carved stones dating as far back as the 5th Century are displayed. The shell of the old Free Kirk is also nearby (used as a farm store) and the old parish of Toskerton is in this area. There are also two large caravan sites which swell the population quite noticeably during the summer months.
Ardwell village is three miles south of Sandhead on the coast and is home to the local estate and the second church in the parish. It is a popular wedding venue and we are sometimes allowed to hold the Parish Fête in the well documented ornamental gardens of Ardwell House.
Sandhead 1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays of each month at 1000 hours.
Ardwell 2nd & 4th Sundays of each month at 1000 hours.
Average attendances – Sandhead 36, Ardwell 34.
Communion is held 4 times per year alternating between the two churches.
20 Elders plus a Congregational Board.
Congregational roll 380.
Sunday Schools in both churches at 1000 hours Sandhead 12 and Ardwell 9 children aged 3 to 11 years.
Church Magazine – four issues per year.
Organisations that use the Church Hall include:
Stranraer is a Georgian town and ferry port, which along with Cairnryan, provides regular ferry services to Belfast. There is a good local bus service with routes to Dumfries, Ayr and Glasgow and a railway link to Glasgow. There is a marine park with miniature railway and there is a new marina under construction with a seafront development.
There are various food stores – Lidl, Morrisons, Tesco and other locally owned ones such as Lochs. The main Post Office is in Tescos with the sorting office nearby. There are also various garages, hardware stores and garden centres close to the town along with a host of other, smaller shops.
The Ryan Centre is a relatively newly built leisure complex with a well equipped gym, sports hall, swimming pool with flume, childrens play area and an integral 250 seat theatre with cinema facilities every fortnight. Close to the Ryan Centre is the Stranraer Campus of Dumfries and Galloway College for further education. Primary school pupils move to Stranraer Academy which stands in its own ground on the outskirts of town and is currently undergoing a major refurbishment and houses 1200 pupils.
The Football Club was founded in 1870 and is one of the oldest clubs in Scotland. There is also a Rugby Club which has a good clubhouse and two squash courts. Nearby, in Stair Park are tennis courts.
Stranraer boasts its own Castle – the Castle of St John – which is run by the museum service and is open to the public during the summer months. There is also a museum and comprehensive library with computers near the town centre.
A new hospital, the Galloway Community Hospital, was fully opened for patients in 2007. It has a maternity unit, a dialysis unit, casualty department and caters for some day surgery and out patients plus a Cancer Drop in Centre and there is a thriving Order of St John. Next door is a newly built Health Centre run by the combined Stranraer doctor’s practices.
There are numerous hotels and golf clubs within the surrounding area and Portpatrick village is a very well-liked holiday resort and the start of the Southern Upland Way which is popular for hill-walkers.
This is just a taster of the area and we hope you enjoyed the information here.