Creetown

Creetown
Adamson Square, Creetown
Creetown is located in Dumfries and Galloway
Creetown
Creetown
Location within Dumfries and Galloway
Population660 (2022)[1]
Council area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNEWTON STEWART
Postcode districtDG8
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
54°54′00″N 4°23′00″W / 54.9°N 4.383333°W / 54.9; -4.383333

Creetown (/ˈkriːtən/, also /ˈkriːtaʊn/) is a small seaside town in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, in Galloway in the Dumfries and Galloway council area in south-west Scotland. Its population is about 750 people. It is situated near the head of Wigtown Bay, 18 miles (29 km) west of Castle Douglas. The town was originally named Ferrytown of Cree (Scottish Gaelic: Port Aiseig a' Chrìch) as it formed one end of a ferry route that took pilgrims across the River Cree estuary to the shrine of St Ninian at Whithorn. This is why the local football team, formed in 1895, are known as "The Ferrytoun".

Creetown was formerly served by the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Railway. The granite quarries in the vicinity constituted the leading industry from about 1830 to 1900, the stone for the Liverpool docks and other public works having been obtained from them.[2] The village dates from 1785, and became a burgh of barony in 1792. Sir Walter Scott laid part of the scene of the novel Guy Mannering in this neighbourhood.[3]

John Knox stayed at Barholm Castle as guest of the MacCullochs of Barholm in 1566 while on a preaching tour of Galloway. John Keats and his friend Charles Armitage Brown stayed at an inn here on their walking tour of Scotland in 1818.[4] The clock tower commemorates Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The Ellangowan Hotel was used to portray the interior of the Green Man public house in Robin Hardy's film, The Wicker Man 1973.

Dr Thomas Brown, the metaphysician (1778–1820), was a native of the parish in which Creetown lies.[3]

James Thompson (1788-1854) pastor was born in Creetown, the son of William Thomson and Janet Burnett, belonging to a family that professed the Presbyterian religion.

"The Flying Duchess " in 1929

Mary Duchess of Bedford, "The Flying Duchess", maintained a permanent landing ground (AA Approved) from about 1926, used when travelling to her home, nearby Cairnsmore House.[5]

Cairnsmore House, built 1740.

Hideo Furuta (1949-2007) was a Japanese sculptor, born in Hiroshima, who settled at Creetown. He worked the Creetown granite from the disused Kirkmabreck Quarry. His work can be seen in the redesign of Adamson Square.[6]

  1. ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Kirkmabreck Quarry – The History". Creetown Website. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Creetown". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 401.
  4. ^ Walker, Carol Kyros (1992). Walking North With Keats. New Haven and London: Yale University. pp. 236–237. ISBN 0 300 04824 6.
  5. ^ "Cairnsmore House - UK Airfield Guide".
  6. ^ "Hideo Furuta".