Whithorn Priory & Museum (Dumfriesshire)

Priory & Museum

Summary 13th century buildings (or older) Gift shop Public car parking for a charge (nearby)

Food and Drinks Restaurant

Introduction

Founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, Whithorn is the site of Scotland’s first Christian church. New display of outstanding carved stones is housed in the refurbished museum.
Open Apr-Oct, daily 10.30am - 5pm. 

History to the present day

The first church here (or anywhere in Scotland) was dedicated to St Martin of Tours and commonly known as the Candida Casa or "White House", traditionally thought to reflect its stone construction.

The Candida Casa was established by St Ninian, who was British in origin but had studied in Rome. Very little is really known about St Ninian. All we have is a short passage in Bede's Ecclesiastical History written some three centuries or 15 generations later. It is not even certain when St Ninian established his church: some time in the 390s seems a fair working assumption.

Under St Ninian, Whithorn developed into a cathedral church (a title probably reflecting its status rather than its size) accompanied by a monastery. It became renowned as a centre of learning, and was the origin of many of the missionaries who later converted Scotland to Christianity. On his death, St Ninian was buried in his church, and over the following centuries Whithorn became the focus for pilgrimage from across the British Isles and beyond.In the 700s Whithorn was a Northumbrian possession, while by the 900s it had been settled by the Norse, who continued to use the area around the church as a burial ground. The Norse had been ousted by 1100 and the Bishopric of Whithorn was re-established in 1128.

This marked the start of the second era of Christianity at Whithorn, for work began almost immediately on a much grander cathedral to replace St Ninian's original church. The cathedral of the Bishop of Whithorn was probably complete by the time Whithorn also became a Priory of the Premonstratensian Order of White Canons in 1177.

The cathedral and priory were extended in the 1200s and later modified on a number of occasions. The result when viewed from the south east by 1500 would have been much as seen in the header image: a large church of fairly traditional design with a cloister surrounded by ranges of domestic buildings beyond it.

After the Reformation in 1560 parts of the cathedral fell rapidly into disrepair. Remedial work on the cathedral itself was undertaken by the last Bishop of Galloway in the years after his consecration in 1610. But with the demise of the bishops later in the 1600s the nave of the cathedral became the Parish Church and the remainder slowly crumbled. The main tower collapsed early in the 1700s.

Arrival information and how to find us

Address: , Dumfriesshire, , United Kingdom

Regular trains to Dumfries. From outside railway station, take Stagecoach Western bus no 500 (Stranraer) to Newton Stewart Victoria Street Cinema (1.5 hs). Take the King bus no 415 (Isle of Whithorn) to the Grapes Hotel in Whithorn (54 mins). Walk 2 mins to Whithorn Priory.

By car From Dumfries follow the A75 to Newton Stewart, from Newton Stewart follow the A714/ A746 for Whithorn.