Crossmichael has ancient roots. The first recorded mention is in the 12th century, when the lands were granted to Lincluden Abbey near Dumfries; but there were people living in the area from at least the Bronze Age and probably before. Between these two dates, successive waves of invaders and immigrants – Romans, Anglo-Saxons from Northumbria, Gaelic-speaking Norsemen from Ireland – left their mark, before the Norman barons embarked on a lengthy and troublesome attempt to assert control of the area. After the Reformation in 1560, Crossmichael passed to the Scottish Crown and, in 1611, the parish was granted to Sir Robert Gordon of Greenlaw by the King, James VI. Gordon celebrated, it seems, by adding a new tower to the church and installing a specially commissioned bell (both tower and bell are still here).
Gradually, the land was subdivided and sold off and a pattern of estates established, with their constituent farms, that is still recognisable today, albeit much changed in detail. The religious struggles of the 17th century affected Crossmichael deeply, as did the ‘Lowland Clearances’ of the 18th; these, by ushering in an age of ‘scientific farming’, set the scene for the agricultural and then industrial revolutions which, through the 18th and 19th centuries, irrevocably changed the economy, the landscape and the lives of the people.
In the first half of the 20th century, Crossmichael was still the centre of a largely agricultural economy. Today, while farming is still important and its activities are obvious wherever you go in the area, it is economically much less important. Many inhabitants commute to work further afield. Many others have retired here while tourism is increasingly important. And of course, ubiquitous modern media, linking us to the wider world, mean that older senses of place struggle to survive. Nevertheless, history is not easily escaped and you are not long in Crossmichael before you feel something of its unique character.
This history can be explored in much more detail at Crossmichael’s Heritage Centre - Read more.