Kirkbean Scottish Gaelic:Cille Bheathain
Kirkbean Church
Kirkbean Location withinDumfries and Galloway
Population	643 (2001 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	NX978592
Council area	Dumfries and Galloway
Lieutenancy area	Dumfries
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
List of places UK Scotland 54°54′58″N3°35′49″W / 54.916°N 3.597°W /54.916; -3.597

Kirkbean (Scottish Gaelic:Cille Bheathain) is a Scottish village andcivil parish on theSolway Firth, in the historic county ofKirkcudbrightshire and council area ofDumfries and Galloway. In the 2001 census, the four small villages making up the parish of Kirkbean had a total population of 643. It includes the hamlet ofLoaningfoot.

The parish was the departure point for thousands of Scots seeking a better life in the American and Australian colonies during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Convicts were also transported to Australia from here. This has made Kirkbean a rich source of genealogical history.

Kirkbean was one of five parishes from Kirkcudbrightshire included in theNithsdale district ofDumfries and Galloway under the local government reforms of 1975 which abolished Kirkcudbrightshire as an administrative county. The parish has therefore been included in theDumfrieslieutenancy area since 1975.^[2][3][4]

In birth order:

• John Campbell (1720–1790), a notable seafarer, was born in the village. He became a British naval officer, a navigation expert, and colonial governor ofNewfoundland, now a province of Canada.
• James Craik (/kreɪk/; c. 1727–1814) was Physician General (precursor of theSurgeon General) of theUnited States Army, while beingGeorge Washington's personal physician and close friend.
• John Paul Jones (1747–1792), founder of the United States Navy and a rear admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy, was born on theArbigland estate. There is a memorial font to him in the church by sculptorGeorge Henry Paulin, which depictsUSSBonhomme Richard.
• Helen Craik (c. 1751–1825), a poet, novelist and correspondent ofRobert Burns, was born at Arbigland.
• Jean Thurot (1755–1833), son ofFrançois Thurot, a French naval commodore and privateer, was buried in Kirkbean cemetery.
• William Stewart Ross (1844–1906), a writer and publisher, was born in Kirkbean. He was a noted secularist thinker, who used the pseudonym Saladin.
• Sir James Gunn (1893–1964), artist, lived with his family in Carsethorn during World War II.^[5]

The local beaches and the bird-richmerse (salt marsh), where large numbers of seabirds live or over-winter, are part of the natural heritage of the parish. Visitors to the National Nature Reserve on the far side of theRiver Nith come to watch birds on the Carsethorn foreshore, before continuing to the nature reserves atSouthwick and Mersehead.

The upper tower of Kirkbean Church was added in 1835. It was refurbished in Victorian style at the end of the 19th century. It was the oldest church in the combined parish of Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean before it closed for public services in November 2010. It now serves as a private dwelling.^[6]

The village has an official community website.^[7]

ThisDumfries and Galloway location article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• Kirkcudbrightshire
• Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway
• Dumfries and Galloway geography stubs

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from October 2019
• Use dmy dates from October 2019
• Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text
• Articles with OS grid coordinates
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• All stub articles