Situated in what now seems a remote corner of south-west Scotland,
Wigtown was once an important county town. With its harbour and location
at the lowest fording point of the River Cree, Wigtown was at one time
part of a major network of land and sea routes, including a pilgrim
route to Whithorn. The layout of the town is notable for its large
market square, a reflection of its importance in the cattle trade in the
medieval period.
The town achieved burgh status in the thirteenth century, by which time
it was an important trading centre, and the present arrangement of
streets and burgage plots dates to this time. Today the principal access
route is from the north, rather than through the East and West Ports
which controlled access to the great market place. The burgh arms depict
a three-masted sailing ship, demonstrating the importance placed on its
maritime trade.
This book examines both the town's political history, as it passed
between the earldoms of Wigtown and Douglas, and its economic history,
as it competed with Whithorn, before its eventual decline in the later
nineteenth century. The authors use the surviving buildings to examine
the development of the town from the medieval to the modern period.
This book is part of the Scottish Burgh Survey - a series funded by
Historic Scotland designed to identify the archaeological potential of
Scotland's historic towns.