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Penpont

Coordinates: 55°13′55″N 3°48′54″W / 55.232°N 3.815°W / 55.232; -3.815
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Penpont
Crossroads at the centre of Penpont
Penpont is located in Dumfries and Galloway
Penpont
Penpont
Location within Dumfries and Galloway
OS grid referenceNX8494
Civil parish
  • Penpont
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townThornhill
Postcode districtDG3
Dialling code01848
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°13′55″N 3°48′54″W / 55.232°N 3.815°W / 55.232; -3.815

Penpont is a village about 2 miles (3 km) west of Thornhill in Dumfriesshire, in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland. It is near the confluence of the Shinnel Water and Scaur Water rivers in the foothills of the Southern Uplands. It has a population of about 400 people.[citation needed]

Archaeology

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There are several archaeological sites nearby, including Late Bronze Age hill forts on Tynron Doon[1] and Grennan Hill and a long cairn at Capenoch Loch[2] dating from the 2nd or 3rd century.

History

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Penpont war memorial

The toponym Penpont means "bridge-head" in the Cumbric language once spoken in the region.[3]

The A702 road passes through Penpont. West of Thornhill it crosses the River Nith on a two-arched stone bridge in Penpont parish. It was built in the 1760s after the presbytery of Penpont raised £680 toward the cost. Work started about 1774, but in 1776 the bridge collapsed. The bridge was completed in 1778 and strengthened in 1930–31. It is a Category A listed building.[4]

Penpont's Church of Scotland parish church is a Gothic Revival building completed in 1867. It is a Category B listed building.[5] It has an Art Nouveau Communion table made in 1923.[citation needed]

Penpont's war memorial was made by Glasgow sculptor William Kellock Brown and installed in 1920. It is a bronze statue of an infantryman, with his rifle pointing downwards, his hands resting on the butt and his head slightly bowed.

Notable people

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See also

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References

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Bridge over the River Nith, completed in 1778
  1. ^ "Views around the top of Tynron Doon". Cairnsmore of Carsphairn and the Scaur Hills. South West Scotland Hill Walking Routes.
  2. ^ "Capenoch Loch (Cairn(s))". The Modern Antiquarian. Julian Cope.
  3. ^ Watson, William J (1925). "The Celts (British and Gael) in Dumfriesshire and Galloway" (PDF). Transactions and Journal of Proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Third Series. XI: 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2014.
  4. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Nith Bridge (A702 over River Nith) (Category A Listed Building) (LB17286)". Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Penpont Village Penpont Church and churchyard (Category B Listed Building) (LB17267)". Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  6. ^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X.
  7. ^ "Andy Goldsworthy Archive". Andy Goldsworthy Digital Catalogue.
  8. ^ "Penpont Gala Week 2008". Archived from the original on 20 August 2008.
  9. ^ "Famous People of Penpont". Penpont Heritage. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
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