The Sheriff of Wigtown was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Wigtown, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar.
It became known as the Sheriff of Wigton & Kirkcudbright in 1860[1] and was dissolved and incorporated into the sheriffdom of Dumfries & Galloway in 1874.
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright was created in 1369, when the area between the Rivers Nith and Cree was granted to Archibald the Grim. A steward was appointed by to administer the area which was known the "Stewartry".
Sheriffs of Wigtown
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- Robert FitzTrute (c.1200)
- Alexander Comyn (1263-1266)
- John Comyn, Master of Buchan (1288)
- Walter of Twynham (1296)
- Domhnall mac Cailein c.1298
- John Comyn, Earl of Buchan (1300)
- Thomas McCulloch (1305)
- William Douglas of Leawalt (1424)
- Andrew Agnew (1456)
- Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran (1468)
- Andrew Agnew (1468)
- John Graham (1648)
- Andrew Agnew (?-1747)
- Sheriffs-Depute
- Alexander Boswell, 1748–1750 [2]
- Andrew Pringle, 1750–1751 [3] (Sheriff of Selkirk, 1751)
- Thomas Dundas, 1751– [4]
- Alexander Spalding Gordon, –1794 [5]
- John Busby Maitland, 1794–1818 [6]
- James Walker, 1818–c.1840 [7]
- Adam Urquhart 1843–1860 [8]
Stewards of Kirkcudbright
- Donald Maclellen of Gelston, 1456
- William Edmonstoune of Duntreath, 1462
- John Kennedy of Blairquhan, 1463
- Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran, 1468
- Humphrey Colquhoun, 1468
- Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell, 1489
- Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell, 1526
Sheriffs of Kirkcudbright
- Thomas Miller, Lord Glenlee, 1748–1755
- David Ross, 1756–1763
- Alexander Gordon, Lord Rockville, 1764–1784 [9]
- Sir Alexander Gordon, 1784–1830
- Alexander Wood of Woodcote, 1830–1841
- Erskine Douglas Sandford, 1841–1860 [10]
Sheriffs of Wigton & Kirkcudbright (1860)
- Erskine Douglas Sandford, 1860–61 [11]
- David Hector, 1861-1874 [11]
- For sheriffs after 1874 see Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway
See also
References
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