Kirkgunzeon

**Kirkgunzeon** (Scottish Gaelic: "Cill Fhionnain") is a veelage an ceevil pairish in the historical coonty o Kirkcoubrieshire in Dumfries an Gallowa, soothwast Scotland. The veelage is aboot 10 mile soothwast o Dumfries an aboot 4 mile nor'east o Dawbeattie. The ceevil pairish is boondit bi Lochrutton pairish til the north, Urr pairish til the wast, Colvend an Southwick pairish til the sooth, an New Aibey pairish til the east.

Kirkgunzeon is recordit in c. 1200 as *Kirkwynnin*. *Wynnin* represents a Cumbric form o the Scots Gaelic *Finnén*, a diminutive o Findbarr. William J. Watson taks this tae be Findbarr o Moyville. Thomas Owen Clancy argies the name commemorates *Uinniau*, a local Breetish saunt that's no recorditi in leeterar records.

## Government

Kirkgunzeon Community Cooncil is ane o 23 community cooncils in the Stewartry. The community cooncil serves an estimatit population o 319. The maximum nummer o votin members o the community cooncil is 11.

Kirkgunzeon is in electoral waird 06 Abbey. It is pairt o the Dumfries an Gallowa coonty constituency in the Pairlament o the Unitit Kinrick, an pair o the Gallowa an Wast Dumfries constituency o the Scots Pairliament (Holyrood).

## Eddication

Kirkgunzeon Primary Schuil serves the veelage an the surroondin aurie as weel as childer fae the destrict o Beeswing. The schuil is marraet wi Colvend Primary Schuil an Palnackie Primairy Schuil; thir schuils skare a dominie. Childer fae Kirkgunzeon attend Dawbeattie Primary Schuil Nursery.

The praisent schuil biggin wis biggit in 1964. It is a single storey biggin, wi twa clessrooms. It haes a capacity for 47 scholarts. The umwhile schuil biggin, noo a dwellin, wis on the ither side o the river in the oreeginal veelage o Kirkgunzeon. It served scholarts uptil the statutory leavin age fae the stairt o compulsory eddication in 1872 until 1945, whan it becam a primary schuil.

The first Statistical Account of Scotland of 1791-99 records ae schuil an ae dominie in the pairish. The seicont Statistical Account, written in 1844, notes that the war a schuil an aw "at the lawer end o the pairish, biggit bi fermers at thair ain expense.

## Releegious sites

Kirkgunzeon Pairish Kirk haudit its final service on Sunday 13 October 2013. The Kirk o Scotland congregations o Kirkgunzeon an Dawbeattie pairishes wis offeecial jyned on Wadensday 16 October 2013. Kirkgunzeon hid umwhile been linkit wi Lochend an New Aibey kirk on 24 Juin 2009. The link wis braken on 25 September 2013.

On 4 August 2015 the Dumfries an Gallowa Cooncil received an application tae alter the kirk biggin tae be a dwellin.

## Cultural references

Kirkgunzeon railwey station is short an lang mentiont in Dorothy L. Sayers novelle *[[The Five Red Herrings]]* that is set in Gallowa.

## Listit biggins in Kirkgunzeon

* Drumcoltran Touer, And Adjacent Farmhouse
* Camphill Village Community, Lotus House
* Kirkgunzeon, Mansepark House, (Formerly Rowanglen)
* Kirkgunzeon Parish Kirk, Churchyard Walls And Tombstones (Kirk Of Scotland)
* Kirkgunzeon, Brig Ower Kirkgunzeon Lane
* Camphill Village Community, Lotus House, Walled Garden, Garden Cottage And Stables Cottage, Barn And Kennels
* Kirkgunzeon Parish Kirk Graveyard, Mcwhire Monument
* Corra Castle

## References