Launch of the book Kirkpatrick Fleming: On the Borders of History
In September 2011, the small Annandale parish of Kirkpatrick Fleming saw the launch of a book celebrating the history and archaeology of the parish from the Bronze Age to the present day. The 208-page hardback — Kirkpatrick Fleming: On the Borders of History — was based on extensive research carried out by retired history teacher Duncan Adamson. Its publication was made possible thanks to a bequest to the DGNHAS for the purpose of researching and recording parish history and archaeology from a former Kirkpatrick resident, Ann Hill of Ayr, who grew up in the parish. Duncan Adamson's death, shortly after beginning work on writing the book, meant that the project was taken on by his daughter Sheila, an author, with the help of her mother, Eva and several members of the Society, including John Gair, Morag Williams and John Williams.
John Gair, Morag Williams and Sheila Adamson
A crowded audience in Kirkpatrick Fleming's Victoria Hall gathered to hear talks by Sheila and Eva Adamson, John Gair, Morag Williams and Dr Alastair Duncan, son of a former parish minister the Reverend Eric Duncan, as well as enjoying a presentation by pupils from the Primary School.
Pupils of Kirkpatrick Fleming Primary School
In his tribute and appreciation to everyone who had worked on the book, Mr Gair described the finished work as “wonderfully written and very readable”. He recognised that those involved in its production were lucky to have had help from innumerable people from the parish and beyond.
Eva Adamson said how much her husband had enjoyed talking to elderly people in the area in the course of his research, while Sheila outlined the task she faced of creating a “coherent narrative” from her father's numerous files of research. She said her aim had been to put the history of this parish into the wider context of Scotland's history, giving as an example the impact of both agricultural and industrial revolutions on the area. The book allows fascinating insights into the lives of many of Kirkpatrick Fleming's colourful characters over the centuries and Sheila read a few extracts to illustrate these entertaining tales and to whet the appetite of the audience for more. This would certainly appear to have been successful as more than 200 books were sold during the afternoon.
Eva and Sheila Adamson
Copies of Kirkpatrick Fleming: On the Borders of History are now available from Moffat's shop and Cove shop, Kirkpatrick Fleming, Annan Museum, the Ewart Library in Dumfries, and Dumfries Museum. They can also be obtained by calling O1387 710274.
Photographs courtesy of Allan Devlin and as featured in Dumfries and Galloway Life.
Excursion to Borgue Church and Castle Haven Dun
Presented below are photographs taken during the Society’s excursion to Borgue Church and Castle Haven galleried dun on Saturday, 17 July 2010.
The Society would like to thank Mr Simon Brown for permitting access to Castle Haven Dun, Mrs Elizabeth Brown and Mr Adam Gray for their assistance and Jane Brann for providing the photographs.
Borgue Churchyard — the neo-gothic mausoleum of Sir William Gordon of Earlston (Borgue),
who was one of the survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade. He died in 1906.
The Borgue Hearse, inspected by members Ralph Coleman and John McKinnel
A carved detail of the Borgue Hearse, which was built around 1890
by James Brown, Coachbuilders, Castle Douglas
An 18th-century gravestone in Borgue Churchyard
Members gathered within the late Iron Age/Dark Age galleried dun at Castle Haven near
Kirkandrews, with guide David Devereux
The metal plaque within Castle Haven Dun recording its reconstruction by James Brown of Knockbrex in 1905
Some of the finds from the 1905 excavation at Castle Haven, including a penannular brooch (left),
possibly of late 4th or 5th century date, and a blue glass bead (right) with a wavy line decoration,
also believed to be ofearly medieval date.
Corseyard Dairy or the ‘Coo Palace’, built in 1911–14 as a model dairy by James Brown of
Knockbrex. Brown was the co-owner of Affleck and Brown, a major department store in
Manchester, and invested considerably in his Galloway estate.
Carved wooden detail in Kirkandrews Chapel built in 1906 by James Brown of Knockbrex
who is buried in its grounds.
Obituary: James Williams
Industrial Chemist and Antiquarian
Born 27 February 1944 at Stourport-on-Severn
Died 27 November 2009 in Dumfries, aged 65
James Williams was a central figure in the study of the natural environment and human history of the region of Dumfries and Galloway for almost 50 years. During this time he safeguarded and expanded knowledge of the region and made it available to both the local community and academic interests nationally and internationally.
James (known to some as Jimmy or Jim) will long be remembered for his voluntary and dedicated contribution to Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society (DGNHAS), which he joined in 1964. He served the Council of the Society in various capacities, such as Secretary and Librarian. However, it was as co-editor along with the late Bill Cormack and latterly as senior editor of the Society's Transactions that he excelled and left an indelible mark. He was involved in 30 editions, including the one currently being printed, and other publications of the Society, most important of which was Kirkpatrick Fleming, Dumfriesshire — An Anatomy of a Parish in South West Scotland by Roger Mercer and others.
The Transactions is a local studies journal which dates back to 1862. Thanks to his voluntary endeavours, diligence and wonderfully retentive memory the journal, which has a deservedly high reputation for the quality of content, has been able to maintain its editorial standard at the highest level of academic publishing.
Had his contribution been limited to that of editor it would have been a praiseworthy enough achievement for one person; but his meticulous research enabled him to contribute a stream of papers from 1962 to present times.
On his own initiative he set up the Society's website in 2000, which he maintained as long as he was able. In addition he responded to academic inquiries from all corners of the globe. He had begun single-handedly the Herculean task of digitising the Society's Transactions to enable DVDs to be issued in response to such queries.
He lived virtually his entire life in Dumfries and Galloway. He was educated at St Joseph's College, Dumfries, where he developed a lifelong interest in Chemistry, Mineralogy and local History. He acquired the residue of the school's mineral collection to which he added specimens from the three counties of South-West Scotland. He donated some of the unique minerals he found to the National Museum of Scotland. He was particularly proud of a piece of Jasper discovered as a beach boulder on the Kirkcudbrightshire coast. When the Grierson Museum at Thornhill was dispersed 1965-1967 he provided the mineralogical cataloguing for the process. His very first publication in the Transactions was The Mineralogical Collection of the Dumfries Burgh Museum. His work in the field of Mineralogy earned him a sizeable entry in Alec Livingstone's book, Minerals of Scotland.
Employed at ICI, Dumfries, James served as an experimental chemist specialising in polymers. At the time of his early retirement in 2000 he had worked at the Dumfries site for 36 years and was Quality Assurance Manager for Dupont Films (Dumfries and Europe). After retirement he continued part-time for a further seven years to establish new laboratory facilities for Plastic Technology Services.
Early in his career he was sent on a Microscopy course, as a result of which he developed a skill and fascination that remained throughout his life. Much of the work was polymer based but there was a strong emphasis on contamination and failure analysis, which involved forensic skill processes. He became a Fellow of the Microscopical Society in 1986.
Another life-long passion remained his antiquarian interests and the organisation of collections, coupled with the communication of knowledge. The unpublished memoirs of the former Curator of Dumfries Museum, Alfred E. Truckell, MBE, MA, and Fellow of the Museums Association, record the arrival of James, "a shy lad of sixteen" in 1960. At that time Truckell was the sole professional on the museum staff. In his day he was a legend in the field and he welcomed James as his protegé — and unpaid assistant.
He recalls how James was equipped with a good knowledge of Mediaeval History and how he rapidly became a competent archaeologist, developing a sound grasp of the archaeological features of Dumfries and Galloway and practical skills in investigation and excavation. He actively assisted Truckell in the field by organising squads of young volunteers to mount investigations of local sites, such as Carzield Roman Fort and the Iron Age forts of Mote of Mark and Tynron Doon. He assumed responsibility for cataloguing the finds and publication of the results.
He was responsible for identifying many previously unknown sites and collecting material from across the region from Luce Sands in the west to Dalton in the east. These included Mesolithic flint tools of the first settlers ranging to late Mediaeval ceramics from the castles and abbeys that characterise the region. In all he has collected over 500 archaeological assemblages. Without this dedicated work, understanding of the prehistorical past in S.W. Scotland would be much less detailed. He became the youngest Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland at the age of 20 in 1963.
Other responsibilities shouldered by him included serving as DGNHAS representative on the Whithorn Trust from 2003 and as a Church of Scotland elder of Lochrutton and later Maxwelltown Churches for 33 years.
After a fracture to the femur in June 2007 he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer. Thereafter he received exemplary care from the dedicated haematology staff at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow. He achieved remission and valiantly tried to lead a normal life but unfortunately the aggressive nature of his particular myeloma was overwhelming.
In 1970 he married his wife, Pauline, who shared a number of his interests. She and their three children, James, Allan and Sarah survive this devoted family man, whose diligence and dedication has left a remarkable legacy for academe.
"Good Saint Ninian carved his strong faith in stone."
From the school song of St. Joseph's College, Dumfries.
M.W.