Our United Parish

The united parish of Kirkmichael, Tinwald and Torthorwald lies at the south-eastern end of beautiful Nithsdale in South West Scotland. It is an area of forests, undulating, fertile farmland, and, on the southern end, the Lochar Moss, which is a mainly forested peat bog!

The parish is largely rural, with a scattering of small villages. The most urban area is Heathhall, a mainly owner-occupier suburb of Dumfries. As with most rural areas, the parish has a tangle of minor roads, but there are two arterial roads, the A701 and the A75 "Euroroute" to Northern Ireland.

The population of the parish is about 6,000.

Kirkmichael

Set in the midst of Ae Valley, an attractive forestry and farming area, the present Kirkmichael church was built in 1815 of the classic T Plan of the period. The church has a lovely atmosphere.

For more information about the parish and the church in Kirkmichael, click here.

Tinwald

Nestling in the side of Tinwald Hill and visible from the A701 road, Tinwald Church is a plain, but attractive church built in 1769 on the foundations of an earlier one. Its shape, size, site and siting are identical with the standard plan of a mediaeval Scottish parish church.

The graveyard around the church has 17th - 19th century monuments, including a funeral monument to Reverend Alexander Robeson built into the west gable, and the enclosed burial ground of the Charteris family of Amisfield midway along the north wall of the church. There is also a monument to the Tinwald martyr John Corbet.

For more information about the parish and church in Tinwald, click here

Torthorwald

The church stands on rising ground at the edge of the village, with an extensive view over Dumfries and the Nith Valley. The present building dates from 1752, and is built adjacent to the site of an earlier church.

The missionary, Dr John G Paton, who grew up in the parish, is commemorated in the gates to the church. His family grave is in the churchyard.

For more information about the parish and church in Torthorwald, click here

The joining of the three parishes

In 1981 the three congregations of Tinwald, Kirkmichael and Torthorwald were linked during the time of Rev. Fraser Ian McDonald MA.

During the illness of Rev. McDonald and after his death in 1983, Rev. S Raffan served as Interim Moderator. On 16 January 1985 the Rev. James Smith Leishman Lth. BD MA (Div) was inducted to this charge. After his retiral in 1999 the three parishes were united. During the vacancy Rev. Ian W Robertson MA BD and Rev. Elizabeth A Mack Dip P Ed served as Interim Moderators.

On the 18th of December 2000 Rev. Louis Christiaan Bezuidenhout MA DD was inducted as the first minister of the united congregation of Kirkmichael, Tinwald and Torthorwald Churches. Rev. Louis served until June 2009, when he was inducted to a new charge in Inveraray. During his time with us, Rev. Louis did a great deal to foster a spirit of fellowship across all three former parishes, and hence create the reality as well as the formality of a united parish.

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