Kirkpatrick-Durham, a village and a parish of NE Kirkcudbrightshire. The village stands 4½ miles ENE of Crossmichael station, and 5 NNE of Castle-Douglas. Founded about 1785, it was for some time the scene of vigorous but vain exertions to establish a cotton and woollen manufacture, and also was largely frequented for balls and horse-races; but underwent, in course of years, a great decline of local importance, and now is a quiet rural place, with a post office under Dalbeattie, and a fair on 17 March o. s. or on the Thursday after.
The parish contains also the village of Bridge of Urr, and part of the village of Crocketford, and includes the ancient chapelries of Areeming, Kirkbride, and Minnydow, the last with a once famous St Patrick's Well. It is bounded N by Dunscore in Dumfriesshire, E by Kirkpatrick-Irongray and Lochrutton, SE by Urr, SW by Crossmichael, and W by Parton and Balmaclellan. Its utmost length, from N to S, is 9¾ miles; its utmost breadth, from E to W, is 45/8 miles; and its area is 18, 389 ¼ acres, of which 111¾ are water. The Water of Urr winds 10¾ miles along all the western and south-western border; Grange Burn, its affluent, traces the south-eastern boundary; and numerous streamlets drain the southern district to the Urr and the northern district to Cairn Water. Auchenreoch Loch (9 x 1¾ furl.; 340 feet) lies on the Urr border; and seven smaller lakes are dotted over the interior. Sinking in the S to between 100 and 200 feet above sea-level, the surface rises northward to 694 feet near Barderroch, 973 near Crofts, 869 at Auchenhay Hill, 863 at Bar Hill, and 1222 at Collieston Hill, close to the Dunscore border. The southern district, to the extent of about one-half of the whole area, exhibits a southward declining surface, diversified with knolls and craggy hills; the northern includes Kirkpatrick Moor, a broad, high, bleak region, almost entirely heathy or pastoral, and chiefly distinguished for its abundance of game. The rocks are variously eruptive, Silurian, and Devonian. The soil, over the eruptive rocks, is mostly wet, on a bottom of hard till; over the Silurian rocks, is gravelly and well suited for turnips and barley; and over the Devonian rocks, is light and sandy. About two-fifths of the entire parish are in tillage; woods cover some 440 acres; and all the rest of the land is either pastoral or waste. A Roman camp at Doon Park and several artificial mounds make up the antiquities. Mansions are Barncalzie, Chipperkyle, Corsock, Crofts, Croys, Kilquhanity, Marwhirn, and Walton Park; and 5 proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 16 of between £100 and £500, 6 of from £50 to £100, and 5 of from £20 to £50. Giving off a portion to Corsock quoad sacra parish, Kirkpatrick-Durham is in the presbytery and synod of Dumfries; the living is worth £306. The parish church was built in 1849, and contains 500 sittings; in the churchyard is a monument to a Covenanting martyr, John Neilsone of Corsock. A Free church was built in 1843; and Crocketford public, Kirkpatrick-Durham public, and Kirkpatrick-Durham female industrial schools, with respective accommodation for 96, 141, and 70 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 70, 63, and 61, and grants of £55, 8s., £45, 1s. and £50, 11s. 6d. The farm of Brooklands was left to certain trustees for educational purposes; and, by the proposed scheme of the Educational Endowments (Scotland) Commission, the benefits of this bequest are to be extended to the neighbouring parishes of Crossmichael, Parton, Corsock, Kirkpatrick - Irongray, Urr, and Lochrutton. Valuation (1860) £8686, (1883) £12, 890. Pop. of civil parish (1801) 1007, (1841) 1487, -(1861) 1479, (1871) l374, (1881) 1317; of ecclesiastical parish (1871) 1218, (1881) 1113.—Ord. Sur., shs. 5, 9, 1857-63.
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