Torthorwald is a village andcivil parish inDumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east ofDumfries on the A709 road toLochmaben. The area was the property of the de Torthorwald family until the end of the 13th century, when the estate passed by marriage to theKirkpatricks. In 1418, William de Carleil married the Kirkpatrick heiress. He may have been the builder ofTorthorwald Castle, which was erected around this time, possibly on top of an earlier amotte.[1] Torthorwald was erected as aburgh of barony in 1473.[2] Torthorwald Castle was occupied until 1715; only two of its walls still stand, to a height of around 18 metres (59 ft).[1]
The pre-Reformation church at Torthorwald belonged to theTrinitarian Friars ofFail in Ayrshire.[3] The present parish church was erected in 1782 on the site of this earlier foundation.[4] Torthorwald is now within the united Parish of Kirkmichael,Tinwald and Torthorwald, which was created in 1981.[3] The 19th-century missionaryJohn Gibson Paton (1824–1907) grew up in Torthorwald. His evangelical work in theNew Hebrides is commemorated in the church gate piers.[5]
Another building of interest is a 19th-centurycruck-framed andthatched cottage. Restored in the 1990s, the cottage is protected as a category Alisted building,[6] and is maintained by a local heritage association.[7] The village has a hotel, a village hall, and formerly had a primary school which closed in 2010.[8] An annual Scarecrow Fun Day involves villagers erectingscarecrows in their front gardens.[9]
There is a frequent bus service toDumfries which takes about 15 minutes. The village was also previously served by the nearbyRacks railway station which closed in 1965.
CANMORE :http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=NAS&id=RHP3356
55°05′21″N3°30′52″W / 55.089191°N 3.51447°W /55.089191; -3.51447
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