Whithorn

Title

Whithorn

Also Known As

Candida Casa, Galloway, Galweia, Hwithorn, Leucophia, Quhithorn, Quhittern, Qwhethorn, Qwithorn, Qwytorn, Whythhorn, Witerna, Withorn

Dates

Founded 12th c.; Premonstratensian from 1175; dissolved 1560

Dedication

Martin; Ninian

Affiliation

Soulseat

Medieval Diocese

Galloway

Circary

Scotland

History

Whithorn Priory was founded in the early 12th century on the site of an early Christian community associated with St Ninian. In ca. 1175, it became a priory of Premonstratensians, who also served as the cathedral chapter. Both cathedral and priory were extended in the 13th century.

Whithorn was a popular pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages as the reputed burial site of St. Ninian. It became a commendatory priory in 1516.

Following the Reformation, the cathedral rapidly fell into disrepair. In the 19th century, a new parish church was built on the site. The site was excavated in the 1880s.

Heads of Community

Priors

Adam, ca. 1150-ca. 1164
Michael I, fl. ca. 1164
Paul I, bef. 1200?
Michael II, ca. 1200-1206
Paul II?, bef. 1235
Duncan, fl. 1235
Dungal (or Duncan), 1273-1279
Thomas I, fl. 1287
John I, fl. 1294
Maurice, fl. 1296
Michael III of McKenlagh, ?-1355
Gilbert, ?-1413
Thomas II Macilhachnisi, 1413-1426
James, ?-1446
William Douglas, 1446-1466
Fergus McDowell, 1466-?
Roger, fl. 1473
Patrick I Vaus, 1477-1503
James Beaton?, 1503
Henry McDowell, 1503-1514
Alexander Stewart, 1515-1518
Gavin Dunbar, 1518-1524
John II Maxwell, 1524
Ninian Fleming, 1524-1536
Malcolm Fleming, 1538-1568
Robert Stewart, 1568-1581
Patrick II Stewart, 1581-1592

Status

Priory; cathedral

Archival Sources

Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway Archives

WH (16th c.)

Kew, The National Archives

SC 13/E48 (13th c.; seal)

San Marino, Huntington Library

EL 993 (1504)

Bibliography

Chadburn, Ray. “Building Stone Sources for Whithorn Priory, Dundrennan Abbey And Other Historic Buildings In Galloway.” Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society 81 (2007): 63–71.

Collingwood, William G., and R. C. Reid. Whithorn Priory, Wigtownshire. Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings. London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1928. https://books.google.com/books?id=RVAjAAAAMAAJ.

Dalrymple, Hew. “The Seal of the Priory of Whithorn.” Archæological and Historical Collections Relating to Ayrshire & Galloway 7 (1894): 53–55. https://books.google.com/books?id=nbNCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA53.

———. “Whithorn Priory.” Archæological and Historical Collections Relating to Ayrshire & Galloway 10 (1899): 167–96. https://books.google.com/books?id=L4IyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA167.

Dilworth, G. Mark. Whithorn Priory in the Late Middle Ages. Whithorn Lectures 2. Whithorn: Friends of the Whithorn Trust, 1999.

Donaldson, Gordon. “The Bishops and Priors of Whithorn.” Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society 27 (1949): 127–54. http://www.dgnhas.org.uk/tdgnhas/3027.pdf.

Faulkner, Neil. “Whithorn Priory. Burials at the Tomb of St. Ninian.” Current Archaeology, no. 245 (August 2010): 22–29.

Hill, Peter H. Whithorn and St. Ninian: The Excavation of a Monastic Town, 1984-91. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 1998.

———. “Whithorn: The Missing Years.” In Galloway. Land and Lordship, 27–44. Edinburgh: Scottish Society for Northern Studies, 1991.

Kerr, Henry F. “The Priory Church at Whithorn.” Transactions of the Scottish Ecclesiological Society 11, no. 1 (1934): 31–39.

Lowe, Christopher E. “53 George Street, Whithorn: The Late Medieval Priory Gatehouse, Together with a Note on a Series of Possible Ritual Marian Marks.” Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society 78 (2004): 93–110.

———. “Clothing for the Soul Divine”: Burials at the Tomb of St Ninian: Excavations at Whithorn Priory, 1957-67. Archaeology Report (Historic Scotland) 3. Edinburgh: Historic Environment Scotland, 2015.

McKerral, Andrew. “The Kintyre Properties of the Whithorn Priory and the Bishopric of Galloway.” Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, Third Series, 27 (1949): 183–92. https://dgnhas.org.uk/sites/default/files/transactions/3027.pdf#page=188.

Oram, Richard D. A Monastery and Its Landscape : Whithorn and Monastic Estate Management in Galloway (c. 1250-c. 1600). Whithorn: Friends of the Whithorn Trust, 2005.

Ralegh Radford, C.A. “Excavations at Whithorn, First Season, 1949.” Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, Third Series, 27 (1950): 85–126. http://www.dgnhas.org.uk/tdgnhas/3027.pdf.

Tabraham, Christopher J. “Excavations at Whithorn Priory, 1972 and 1975.” Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society 54 (1979): 29–38. https://dgnhas.org.uk/sites/default/files/transactions/3054.pdf#page=39.

Talbot, Theophilus. The Priory of Whithern (Candida Casa) and Its Lands and Churches in Mann. Douglas: W. Newby, 1900. https://isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/tt1900/index.htm.

The Glasgow Herald. “Excavating in Modern Way — Discoveries by Mine Detector.” August 12, 1960. https://books.google.com/books?id=b4RAAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA6.

Image Credit

Whithorn Priory, 2008. Wikimedia.

Files

Collection

Scotland

Citation

“Whithorn,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/121.

Geolocation

Item Relations

This Item DependentOn Item: Soulseat
Item: Cruggleton DependentOn This Item
Item: Gelston DependentOn This Item
Item: Lezayre DependentOn This Item
Item: Marown DependentOn This Item
Item: St Trinian's DependentOn This Item