Welcome to Kirkgunzeon

 Dumfries & Galloway, South West Scotland

Kirkgunzeon is a pretty village and parish in the Stewartry area of Dumfries and Galloway, about four miles North East of Dalbeattie. It is located on a loop of minor road off the A711 between Beeswing and Dalbeattie. On this website you will find information on Kirkgunzeon and Maxwell Memorial Hall along with the history of Kirkgunzeon Parish including the Church and Churchyard, the War Memorial, the natural environment and links to local services. The earliest written records of Kirkgunzeon date back to the 12th century when it was referred to as ‘Kircwinnyn’ although there is archaeological evidence of hunter gatherers in the area dating back as far as 6000BC. The Parish has existed from the thirteenth century. It is primarily an agricultural area with evidence of farming dating back to the Bronze Age settlements. In the 19th century the village was described as self sufficient with a mill, school, shop, smithy and railway station. Many of these village facilities have now closed although both Maxwell Memorial Hall and the Primary School remain open.


A booklet with lots of information on the parish, Kirkgunzeon Past and Present , was written by local resident Catherine Little in 1965. This has been reproduced for our website with the kind permission of her son Mr. Ian W. Little. This web version includes a number of photographs from a collection collated for the ‘Centenary of Maxwell Memorial Hall’ and ‘History of Kirkgunzeon Parish’ exhibitions (2006 & 2019).


In conjunction with the 2019 Parish history exhibition funds were secured to produce a Parish Information Board.

This includes a map of the parish and a copy was mounted inside the disused telephone box on the hill between the bridge and the Hall.

Those interested in family history can find information on family memorials in the Churchyard section.

Origins of the name 'Kirkgunzeon'

One of the things many people ask about is the name Kirkgunzeon, which is pronounced ‘Kirkgunnion’. Whilst ‘Kirk’ is common in place names, signifying the village was named after an early church, there is more debate about ‘gunzeon’. Some believe the early names of Kirkwinong or Kircwinnyn indicate it was named for St Winning, others suggest it comes from Guinneain a Gaelic variant of the name ‘Finnian’ or ‘Finian’ thought to be St Finian of Moville in Ireland. The explanation of the letter ‘z’ in the name is almost certainly that given for the occurrence of the letter in other Scottish names like Menzies. At one time the alphabet used in Scotland included a letter ‘yoch’ which was written like a flat headed ‘g’. When this letter fell out of use it was mistaken for a ‘z’ and written as such. 

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We welcome all enquiries

Kirkgunzeon.org, an initiative of the Maxwell Memorial Hall Kirkgunzeon, welcomes all enquiries. You can contact us using the form below and we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible. If you are enquiring about booking the Maxwell Memorial Hall, add the dates and times you require the hall. Please note, this does not constitute a firm booking. We will contact you to confirm if the hall is available.

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LATEST NEWS:


Join us at the Hall on Saturday 14th June 2025 for our Summer Gala & BBQ followed by

Sunday 15th June for the Solway Coast

Big Onion Gravel Cycling Event

 

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