WIGTOWN, or WIGTON, a parish and sea-port and burgh (royal), the county town, in the county of Wigtown or Wigton, 105 miles (S. W. by S.) from Edinburgh; containing, with the village of Bladnoch, 2562 inhabitants, of whom 1972 are in the town. This place is supposed to have been long occupied by the Saxons, who in the 7 th or 8th century made themselves masters of this part of the country, and from whom the town is said to have derived its name, in the Saxon language descriptive of its situation on a hill. The ancient castle founded by that people, and of which slight traces of the fosse are still discernible on the side of the hill, subsequently became a residence of the kings of Scotland; and during the disputed succession to the Scottish throne it was delivered into the custody of Edward I. of England, who ultimately restored it to John Baliol, whom he appointed successor to the crown. In 1206, a convent for Dominican monks was founded here by Devorgilla, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, and mother of Baliol, King of Scotland. It was endowed with land by Alexander III.; with a grant of the fishery of Bladnoch and Cree by James III.; and with other possessions by James IV., who generally lodged here while on his pilgrimages to the shrine of St. Ninian at Whithorn; and also by James V. The convent was situated on an abrupt ridge south-eastward of the town, overlooking the bay of Wigtown; but no traces of the buildings can be now discovered, though, within the last century, human bones and various sepulchral remains have been dug up on the ground supposed to have been its cemetery. Many of the lands of this district have long formed part of the possessions of the Earls of Galloway. The TOWN is beautifully situated upon an eminence rising to an elevation of 200 feet above the level of the sea, and consists of several regular and well-formed streets. Of these the principal street is very spacious, and has in the centre a quadrangular area inclosed by an iron palisade, at one extremity of which is the townhall, and at the other a market-cross, a Gothic column of hewn granite, erected in 181 6. The inclosure is laid nut in gravel walks shaded with shrubberies and evergreens, surrounding a bowling-green in the middle; and at one end is a verdant mound formed into terraces. The houses, some of which are ancient, are generally well-built; and of late years many handsome houses have been erected, giving to the town a pleasing and prepossessing appearance. Assemblies are held in a suite of rooms in the town-hall, in which, also, is a public library, supported by subscription. The environs abound with varied scenery; the sands on the shore of the bay are dry at low water, and afford an agreeable promenade. No manufactures are carried on; the trades are such only as are requisite for the sujjply of the town and neighbourhood. In the village of Bladnoch, however, about a mile distant, is an extensive distillery. The maritime business consists chiefly in the exportation of grain, potatoes, and other agricultural produce. Wigtown harbour, which is about a quarter of a mile from the town, is accessible to vessels of 300 tons; and the jurisdiction of the port extends over all the creeks on the coast of the county, from the Mull of Galloway to the mouth of the river Dee. In 1843 and 1844 the harbour dues were let by public auction for £55 each year; but owing to the increase of shipping and trade, they were let in 1845 at £107. There are a custom-house, a post-office, and branches of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank and the British Linen Company. Facility of communication is afforded by good roads; and two steam-packets for goods and passengers ply between this place and Liverpool every week in the year. The market is well supplied with provisions. Insignificant fairs are held on the first Friday in February, the first Monday in April, the 17th of June, and the last Fridays in August and October; O. S. This place was erected into a royal burgh by charter of David II. in 1341, granted to Malcolm Fleming; and that personage, who had been guardian and preceptor to the infant monarch, was created Earl of Wigtown; which title became dormant, or extinct, on the decease of Charles, Earl of W^igtown, in the year 1747. The original charter having been destroyed, was renewed by James II. in 1457, and confirmed and extended by Charles II. in 1661. The government is vested in a provost, two bailies, and fifteen councillors. There are no incorporated trades, nor are any exclusive privileges enjoyed by the burgesses. The magistrates exercise both civil and criminal jurisdiction within the royalty; but the former has become very inconsiderable since the establishment of the sheriff's small-debt courts; and the cases of the latter, chiefly petty misdemeanors, are very few. The revenue of the burgh is about £470 a year. Wigtown is associated with New Galloway, Stranraer, and Whithorn, in returning a member to the imperial parliament. The town-hall is a spacious building with a lofty tower, and contains, besides the courtroom, the assembly-room and library already noticed. The PARISH is bounded on the east by Wigtown bay, and on the south by the river Bladnoch. It is almost si.x miles in length, and about four miles in breadth, comprising by estimation an area of nearly 7000 acres. Of this area, about 3000 acres are arable, 2000 pasture, and the remainder plantation, moorland, and moss. The surface is greatly diversified; in the north-east, generally flat, and bearing every appearance of having been once covered by the sea; on the north-west, chiefly extensive and level tracts of moor and moss; and on the south, interspersed with hills that are arable and in good cultivation. The principal river is the Bladnoch, on which there is a salmon-fishery; and a stream called the Bishop's burn flows along the north-eastern boundary of the parish into the Firth of Cree, in Wigtown bay. The soil is various, in some parts a dry, light, and fertile mould, and in others less productive; the crops are wheat, barley, bear, oats, beans, potatoes, and turnips, with the different grasses. Agriculture has of late greatly improved; the lands have been mostly drained and inclosed, and several tracts of waste have been brought into ])r(>fitable cultivation. In this district the substrata arc chiefly greywacke and greywacke-slate. The annual value of real property is £61 88. For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the piirish is within the limits of the presbytery of Wigtown, of which this is the seat, and the synod of Galloway. The minister's stipend is £272, with an allowance of £30 in lieu of manse, and a glebe valued at £24 per annum; patron, the Earl of Galloway. The church, situated in a beautifully retired spot at the eastern extremity of the town, is a very ancient structure, but from frequent alterations and repairs retains little of its original character; it has 660 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church. Three schools are under the patronage of the corporation. One of them is the parochial and burgh grammar-school, conducted by a master who receives a salary of £24, a sum of £10 allowed for an assistant, and a parochial salary of £11. 2. 3., the two first amounts being paid by the corporation; the two other schools are for girls, and the mistresses respectively receive salaries of £12 and £10 a year from the burgh funds. The grammar-school, for which a spacious new building was erected in 1845, is attended by from 120 to 150 pupils. There are Sabbath schools, in which about 300 children are taught; and the poor have the interest of bequests producing £18 per annum. The principal relics of antiquity are, a circle of nineteen upright stones surrounding three of loftier elevation, called the tomb of Galdus, King of Scots; and several cairns, supposed to have been raised over the bodies of the slain in some battle fought near the spot.