Forgot to mention the way the cute little waitress spoke to us the other day at the Visitor’s Centre at Whithorn. When we ordered, she asked, “Izat evruh thin fuh yuz?” I loved it. And how the doorways here in Pend Cottage have draperies hung to help keep out the cold drafts.
St. Ninian founded his monastic settlement here in Whithorn well over a century before St. Columba arrived on the scene in Scotland. Bruce Street is the one running under the Pend arch (under our bedroom). Archaeology has shown that it is the same road that has been here for over 1500 years. At least 5 monarchs came on a pilgrimage by this route. They would have landed at the Isle of Whithorn and come cross country by way of King’s Road to Bruce Street under the Pend and climbed the hill to St. Ninian’s shrine.
On his death, St. Ninian was buried in his church and his relics were reputed to have cured pilgrims of many illnesses. In the 700s, Whithorn was a Northumbrian possession while by the 900s, it had beem settled by the Norse. By 1100, the Normans had been ousted and the Whithorn Bishopric was re-established. A new much grander cathedral was built to replace St. Ninian’s original church. After the Reformation in 1560, the cathedral fell into disrepair. The nave of the cathedral became the Parish Church and the rest slowly crumbled. In 1822, much of the ruined cathedral and priory was removed to make room for a burial ground.
Churches were built on top of the ruins of the last ones so churches from the Early Christian, the medieval, the post-Reformation and the modern periods all jostle for space on a small hill. At the end of the 1800s, the 3rd Marquess of Bute marked the location of the original stone walls found during excavation and these walls carried traces of an external coat of light-colored plaster, suggesting strongly that this is indeed the site of St. Ninian’s famed Candida Casa.
Archaeological evidence of trade with Mediterranean countries and Gaul and advances in metal-working and agriculture. Also showed a highly organized, literate, and sophisticated people in Whithorn in the earliest periods of settlement. The earliest church building where pilgrims came for cures was burned either by accident or maliciously in the 9th century. This may have been a Viking attack. We explored the crypt where displayed were the excavated graves of four bishops.
We entered the museum and were welcomed by Gary Martin who kindly offered to give us a personal tour of the stones on display. It was fascinating. He knew EVERYTHING about these stones and told us their stories. There was the St. Peter’s Stone that was found beside the King’s Road (the road used by pilgrims) and showed that this place was a Christian place. The Latinus Stone is dated from before 450 Ad and mentions a Latinus and his 4 year old daughter—Gary said this was probably a stone honoring them for helping with the church in some way. There was also a stone that Gary said he grew up believing, as he was told, was the devil’s footprint, but he was disiilusioned to find that it was just to hold up a cross. Another stone was called the Monreith Stone because it ws found there. Gary didn’t have anything good to say about the Maxwells on whose land it was found. They had used it as a garden ornament, had broken it in two, and had put it back together and used it to hold fence posts. There were many crosses using the Celtic circle of life patterns and then there was my favorite one—done by just plain people who had wanted to tell a story of the person whose grave it marked. On the back was a happy little man holding the hand of a young son and seemingly dancing about. There was what looked like a dog and a horse underneath that. He made me happy just to look at him.
Remember how I talked about churches being used for other purposes? Here in Whithorn there is an old church now being used as a gas station! I also learned the story of the Danish attack on Lindisfarne and how the monks had taken the body of St. Cuthbert and the Gospels with them and set to sea. A storm came up and the Gospels were washed overboard. The monks went ashore at Whithorn and later found the illuminated gospels looking as though they had never touched water. Another thing I learned was the meaning behind the Chi-Rho symbol. It was used in the 5th-6th centuries and stood for the first two letters (XP) of Christ’s name.
Read about how the Tolbooth would have been in the center of George Street where the parking spaces are now. The tollbooth is the central administrative building of a burgh, usually combining council and court rooms, weigh house, and prison. Also here would have been the market and any fairs that were held.
This afternoon we visited St. Ninian’s Chapel. Gary had told us that there was a tower here, also, that is near the site of an Iron Age fort. There may have been a chapel here for many centuries before the existing structure was erected around 1300 AD. It was used by the local community and by pilgrims arriving by ship from England, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. It stands on a rocky inlet on the seaward side of the Isle of Whithorn. Not much is left of any earlier than the 12th century, and there is a report of a retired sea captain taking out the dressed stone to help up his house in the village. The population of the Isle of Whithorn is 300.
There is a white tower here—the Cairn—which has been a mariner’s landmark for over 2 centuries. You can climb it and see Cumbria’s Lake District and due south is the Ellen Vannin—the Isle of Man, only 18 miles away. This was the site of a tracking station fotr anti-aircraft gunnery practice during World War II. On the way you pass a granite memorial seat to 7 men killed when their fishing vessel from Kirkcudbright, the Solway Harvester, sank off the coast of the Isle of Man in 2000.
The Isle of Whithorn was a haunt for smugglers and a principal harbour for legitimate trade and transport. Here you could catch the Countess of Galloway, the steam packet which would take you to Liverpool and maybe a passage on an emigrant ship to America or Australia. Behind the Queens Arms Hotel are the ruins of the Isle’s old Mill. You can buy ice cream and postcards from the tiny Post Office and shop. On Main Street, there is a traditional row of houses, many of which have the sea at both the front and the rear of the buildings. On down Main Street is the Castle, a small tower house and one of the earliest surviving buildings in the Isle from the 1600s. Cottages with cute and interesting names—Captain’s Garden, the Wheel House, Neptune Cottage. Many years ago, this street was actually a causeway with the harbour located on what was then the true Isle. They built stores and houses all along the causeway. There is a white wall that surrounds the “Captain’s Garden” that extends out into the harbour well beyond the high tide mark.
We went to dinner at The Steam Packet Inn, recommended by everyone. This was a reminder of the days when this was a key destination for Galloway’s steamship trade in the 19th century. Really good food. And the coolest thing happened—another couple came in to the restaurant and brought their doggie with them! The little white terrier sat under the table and never mad a sound, just watched his owner intently. He was adorable. Ray’s dessert was the Berry Fool—thick cream with berries. Mine was the Lemon Meringue Pie—a small tart with a very thick lemon center piled high with meringue and a tiny little pitcher of cream to pour on top. Yum.
Found a quote that I like by W. H. Davies:
“What is life if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare?”
Pictures from top: tiny window in our cottage—I just love these!; site of the Candida Casa; window in the crypt; I called this the Happy Stone—one of the common grave stones carved with the smiling man and child; tiny little sugar tongs that I want SO bad.
