| Newton Wamphray | |
|---|---|
 Houses in Newton Wamphray | |
  Newton Wamphray Location withinDumfries and Galloway | |
| OS grid reference | NY120961 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MOFFAT |
| Postcode district | DG10 |
| Dialling code | 01683 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 55°14′24″N3°23′46″W / 55.240°N 3.396°W /55.240; -3.396 | |
Newton Wamphray is a village inDumfries and Galloway. Wamphray is the name of the surroundingparish and of the WamphrayWater, which flows south-west through the WamphrayGlen to join theRiver Annan near the small village, orhamlet, of Newton.
The village is near theA74(M) motorway, nearAnnandale Water, roughly halfway betweenMoffat andLockerbie, and has for centuries been close to the directGlasgow toCarlisle route, which around 1776 was made into aturnpike road suitable for mail coaches travelling between England and Glasgow. Newton is on the main railway line south from Glasgow, and from about 1847 had its own station calledWamphray, but this closed in the 1960s.
Newton Wamphray primary school has been closed for several years, local children generally go to primary school in Lockerbie. The old school building now lies largely abandoned while the nature of its ownership is investigated. The oldmanse near the 1834 church has become a hotel; the historic church has been used for regular services over the past few years.
There are various historic and pre-historic sites near Newton Wamphray, includingstanding stones and the remains of amotte-and-bailey. A feud between localreiving families in the 16th century is remembered in the ballad,The Lads of Wamphray.
One of the more prominent local residents was John Brown of Wamphray, or "John Broun of Wamfrey", a Church of Scotland theologian who served as the minister of the local parish during the mid-17th century. He removed to Wamphray to begin serving the parish at an unknown date (estimates vary from 1637 until 1655) and remained in residence until 1662, when he was imprisoned and later exiled to the Netherlands for his public opposition to the royal imposition of bishops on the Church.[1]
Before the 20th century the village was sometimes called Newton, or Newtoun, of Wamphray, and described as being inAnnandale. Newton suggests "new village or farmstead", a placename derived fromOld Englishniwe (new) +tun (farm). Scotstoun meant a farm settlement before it came to mean a 'town'. The etymology of Wamphray is uncertain; some suggestions link 'Wam' to GaelicUamh (cave). Older spellings include Wamfry or Wamfray.
Newton Wamphray is in theparliamentary constituency ofDumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale,David Mundell is the currentConservative Partymember of parliament.
It is part of theSouth Scotlandregion in theScottish Parliament, being in the constituency ofDumfriesshire.Oliver Mundell of theConservatives is theMSP.
BeforeBrexit, for theEuropean Parliament its residents voted to electMEP's for theScotland constituency.
