Editing Sanquhar (section)

===Religious upheaval===
[[File:Sanquhar Declarations Obelisk - geograph.org.uk - 1472916.jpg|thumb|The Sanquhar Declarations Monument]]
Sanquhar was a hotbed of unrest during the [[Covenanter|Covenanting]] period. With its position as the only major town in a large area, and situated by the [[River Nith]], it seemed that whenever any remarkable political movement was going on people would go to Sanquhar to proclaim their testimonies on the subject. It was here, in 1680, that [[Richard Cameron (Covenanter)|Richard Cameron]], with a band of armed supporters, posted on the town cross the first declaration of Sanquhar renouncing allegiance to Charles II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.covenanter.org/CivilGovt/sanquhardeclaration.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070406113256/http://www.covenanter.org/CivilGovt/sanquhardeclaration.htm |archive-date=2007-04-06  |title=Sanquhar Declaration|publisher=Covenantor.org|access-date=23 July 2022}}</ref>

The year 1685 saw the second declaration, by James Renwick, who also took a large armed party into Sanquhar, frightening all the townspeople who thought a battle was coming. The ''[[Sanquhar Declaration]]s'', as they are known, set forth the basis of religious freedom in Scotland.<ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle = Renwick, James}}</ref>

In the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] period the town's [[mercat cross]] was transformed into a monument bearing the inscription: In commemoration of the two famous Sanquhar Declarations, which were published on this spot, where stood the ancient Cross of the Burgh; the one by the Rev. Richard Cameron, on 22 June 1680; the other by the Rev. James Renwick, on 25 May 1685, during [[the Killing Time]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/13166625.one-farm-place-history-books/  |title=One farm and its place in the history books|date=23 June 2014|newspaper=Herald Scotland| access-date=23 July 2022}}</ref>

The end of the Covenanting period in the early 18th century was not the last religious upheaval for the area. The [[Church of Scotland]] was torn by several disputes over the years. One of the major issues was whether the local populations or church headquarters could hire local ministers. In the 1830s many churches seceded and in 1843 a large number of churches broke away to form the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|Free Church of Scotland]]. The time was known as the “Great Disruption”. In Sanquhar the minister joined the splinter group in 1843.<ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Ewing|title= Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843-1900|volume=2|page=48|
location=Edinburgh|publisher= T. & T. Clark|year=1914}}</ref>