- Kirkconnel
Kirkconnel (Gaelic: "Cille Chonaill") is a small parish and town in
Dumfries and Galloway , southwesternScotland . It is located on the A76 near the head of Nithsdale. Kirkconnel led a more quiet existence than neighboring towns likeSanquhar . Principally it has been a farming community. There are few buildings of any significance. The name comes from The Church ofSaint Conal . In 1850 the village had only a single street 400 yards long.The town is served by
Kirkconnel railway station .The early church and settlement were situated at the foot of Kirkland Hill on the drove road from
Ayrshire toLanarkshire , which followed the steep incline beside the Glenaylmer Burn. Whether Saint Conal was an Irish monk or the son of a local shepherd befriended and educated by Glasgow’sSaint Mungo , Christianity came early to this part of Nithsdale. ACeltic cross , erected in 1880 by theDuke of Buccleuch at the instigation of the minister, the Rev. John Donaldson, marks the reputed burial place of Saint Conal. From the neighborhood of the cross, on a clear day, can be seen the churches at Kirkconnel,Sanquhar andKirkbride , all associated with Saint Conal.Life changed dramatically for this small town in the 1890’s when a coal pit was opened at Fauldheld.
Coal had always been mined in the district before, but never in large quantities. From then on coal dominated the life of the little town. The coal industry moved away in recent decades, and with it much of the population.References
"Kirkconnel, A Pictorial History", Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society.
http://kirkconnel.org
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