Cargenbridge

Cargenbridge is a village located in Dumfries and Galloway, United Kingdom southwest of Dumfries.[2] It is in Troqueer parish, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire.

Cargenbridge
Cargenbridge is located in Dumfries and Galloway
Cargenbridge
Cargenbridge
Location within Dumfries and Galloway
Population570 (mid-2020 est.)[1]
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Postcode districtDG2
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish

Etymology

Cargenbridge takes its name from a bridge over the Cargen Water. The name dates back to at least 1753, when 'Cargen bridge croft' is recorded in the Kirkcudbrightshire land tax roll.[3] Cargen itself has a number of possible Cumbric etymologies. It may be a compound formed from cajr 'enclosed, defensible site'[4]: 49  and one of the following elements, which likely refer to an earlier name for Cargen Water:[4]: 52 

  • gein[d] (from earlier can[d]) 'white; bright, clear'[4]: 58 
  • geint (from earlier cant) 'a corner, an oblique angle; boundary'[4]: 58–59 
  • gę:n (from earlier cẹin) 'fresh'.[4]: 69 
  • gejn (from earlier ceμ-) 'ridge'[4]: 71 

Alternatively, it may be from the root carreg 'a rock, a rocky place' + the suffix -an.[4]: 64  It may also be Gaelic carraigín 'little rock'.[4]: 64 [5]: 58 

History

Cargenbridge is referred to as a 'village' in 1848 in the entry for 'Cargen Bridge Smithy' in the Ordnance Survey Name Book.[6] In 1962, it is recorded that the population quadrupled following the building of 36 new local authority houses.[7]: 307–308 

Despite being close to Dumfries, Cargenbridge remained in Kirkcudbrightshire when part of Troqueer parish was taken into Dumfriesshire as part of the amalgamation of the burghs of Dumfries and Maxwelltown. The extension of the boundaries of the county of Dumfriesshire over the River Nith did not extend as far as Cargenbridge.[7]: 305 

Curriestanes cursus, a large Neolithic monument now only visible as a crop mark, sits just above the village.[8] It is, along with Pict's Knowe, one of two scheduled monuments in Troqueer parish.[9]

Education

The earliest school in the vicinity of Cargenbridge was Doweel school, which opened at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The Rev. William Somervell (died 1698), minister of Troqueer parish, left money to found the school. This became Drumsleet, a two-teacher school. Both Drumsleet and the single-teacher Whinnyhill school were made redundant in 1959 when Cargenbridge secondary and primary school opened. The building, described in 1962 as a "very modern school", was opened in October by the Earl of Galloway.[10]: 307  It was designed by Eric W. Hall.[11]: 160  The former Drumsleet school became a community centre.[7]: 308  In 1962 the primary school had three teachers and 80 pupils and the secondary school had 14 teachers and 144 pupils.[10]: 307  The secondary school was closed between September 1982 and September 1984.[12] The current Cargenbridge Primary School building was opened in 2009.[13]: 6 

References
  1. "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. "Cargenbridge: Overview". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  3. "E106/20/2/33 | ScotlandsPlaces". scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  4. James, Alan G. (2020). The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence (PDF). Vol. 2: Guide to the Elements. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2020.
  5. Maxwell, Herbert (1991) [1930]. The Place Names of Galloway: Their Origin & Meaning Considered. Wigtown: G. C. Book Publishers Ltd. p. 258. ISBN 1872350305.
  6. "OS1/20/70/56 | ScotlandsPlaces". scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  7. Mangles, J. L. (1962). "The Parish of Troqueer (Landward)". In Laird, John; Ramsay, D. G.; Arnott, M. C. (eds.). The Third Statistical Account of Scotland: The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and The County of Wigtown. Glasgow: Collins (published 1965). pp. 305–308.
  8. "Curriestanes | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  9. "Curriestanes,cursus E of (SM5738)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  10. Mangles, J. L. (1965). "The Parish of Troqueer (Landward)". In Laird, John; Ramsay, D. G.; Arnott, M. C. (eds.). The Third Statistical Account of Scotland: The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and The County of Wigtown. Glasgow: Collins. pp. 305–308.
  11. Gifford, John (2002) [1996]. Dumfries and Galloway. Pevsner Architectural Guides: The Buildings of Scotland. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300096712.
  12. "Primary And Secondary Schools - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  13. Cargenbridge Primary School: School Handbook (PDF). 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2020.
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