Editing Ecclefechan

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                          = Scotland
| official_name                    = Ecclefechan
| gaelic_name                      = Eaglais Fheichein
| local_name                       = Fechan
| os_grid_reference                = NY193748
| coordinates                      = {{coord|55.0615|-3.2642|display=inline,title}}
| population                       = {{Scottish locality population|name|POP=Ecclefechan}}
| population_ref                   = ({{Scottish settlement population citation|year}})<ref>{{Scottish settlement population citation}}</ref>
| unitary_scotland                 = [[Dumfries and Galloway]]
| lieutenancy_scotland             = [[Dumfriesshire|Dumfries]]
| post_town                        = LOCKERBIE
| postcode_district                = DG11
| postcode_area                    = DG
| dial_code                        = 01576
| constituency_westminster         = [[Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (UK Parliament constituency)|Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale]]
| constituency_scottish_parliament = [[Dumfriesshire (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Dumfriesshire]]
}}

'''Ecclefechan''' ([[Scottish Gaelic]]: ''Eaglais Fheichein'') is a village located in [[Dumfries and Galloway]] in the south of [[Scotland]].

The village is famous for being the birthplace of [[Thomas Carlyle]].

Ecclefechan lies in the valley of the Mein Water, a tributary of the [[River Annan]], {{convert|6+1/4|mi|km|round=0.5|abbr=off}} south of [[Lockerbie]], {{convert|5|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} north of [[Annan, Dumfries and Galloway|Annan]] and {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=off|spell=on}} northwest of the [[England|English]] border. The [[M74 motorway|A74(M)]] motorway runs immediately north of the village and Junction 19 is just northwest of the village.

The High Street of the village has a burn which runs through a [[culvert]] below it. This culvert was constructed in 1875 by Dr George Arnott at his own expense.

==Etymology==
The name ''Ecclefechan'' was recorded as ''Egilfeichane'' in 1507,<ref name="cpns" /> and is of [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] origin. The first element is ''eglẹ:s'', meaning "a church" (cf. [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''eglwys'').<ref name="cpns">{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=W.J. |title=The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland |date=1926 |publisher=Birlinn |isbn=9781841583235 |edition=2011 |page=168}}</ref> The second element is the equivalent of Welsh fe''chan'', meaning "little".<ref name="cpns" /> Comparable Welsh toponyms include [[Eglwys Fach|Eglwysfach]] and [[Llanfechan]].<ref name="cpns" />

A lesser likelihood is that the name commemorates [[Féchín of Fore]],<ref name="cpns" /> a 7th-century Irish saint.

==Governance==
Ecclefechan is in the [[United Kingdom Parliament constituencies|parliamentary constituency]] of [[Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (UK Parliament constituency)|Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale]], [[David Mundell]] is the current [[Scottish Conservatives|Conservative Party]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP).

Ecclefechan is part of the [[South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|South Scotland]] [[Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions|region]] in the [[Scottish Parliament]], being in the constituency of [[Dumfriesshire (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Dumfriesshire]]. [[Oliver Mundell]] of the [[Scottish Conservatives|Conservatives]] is the [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP).

Before [[Brexit]] for the [[European Parliament]] its residents voted to elect [[Member of the European Parliament|Members of the European Parliament]] (MEPs) for the [[Scotland (European Parliament constituency)|Scotland]] constituency.

For [[local government]] purposes, it belongs to the Annandale East + Eskdale Ward of the [[Dumfries and Galloway|Dumfries and Galloway Council Area]]. The village does not have its own [[Civil parishes in Scotland|parish council]].

==Places of interest==
[[File:Thomas Carlyle's birthplace.jpg|thumb|[[Thomas Carlyle]]'s birthplace]]

[[Thomas Carlyle]]'s birthplace "The [[Arched House]]" is a tourist attraction and has been maintained by the [[National Trust for Scotland]] since 1936. According to letters from Carlyle written to Charles Gavin Duffy in the summer of 1846, his mother's farm in Ecclefechan was at that time located in Scotsbrig. <ref>Charles Gavin Duffy, ''Conversations with Carlyle'', NY: Scribner's Son, 1892, pp.&nbsp;18–20</ref> From Scotsbrig, Carlyle watched the construction of the [[Caledonian Railway]] and complained to Duffy of Ecclefechan's potato blight, and the abundance of railway navvies from [[Lancashire]], [[Ireland]], and [[Yorkshire]], finding his visit home disturbed by the "black potato-fields, and all roads and lanes overrun with drunken navvies".<ref>Duffy, pp.&nbsp;19–20</ref> Carlyle commented "I find that the Irish are best on point of behaviour" because they sent their money home to their families and did not spend it on whiskey.<ref>Duffy, p.&nbsp;20</ref>

Ecclefechan lies at the foot of a large [[Hillforts in Scotland|Caledonian hillfort]], Burnswark, [[Siege of Burnswark|besieged by the Roman army]] in 140&nbsp;AD.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pringle |first=Heather |date=24 May 2017 |title=Ancient Slingshot Was as Deadly as a .44 Magnum |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/ancient-slingshot-lethal-44-magnum-scotland/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524120451/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/ancient-slingshot-lethal-44-magnum-scotland/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2017 |access-date=2 June 2017 |website=Nationalgeographic.com |publisher=National Geographic}}</ref> Its flat top dominates the horizon.

[[Hoddom Castle]] is located {{convert|2|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} from the village centre.

Not far from the village is the [[Robgill Tower]], built by the [[Clan Irvine]]. In the 1880s, an adjoining home was built. The tower was one of a number of structures built along the border as protection against incursions by the English.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://clanirving.com/border-regions/|title=Scottish Borders Region - the Irvings & Irvines were Clan were reivers|website=Clanirving.com|access-date=4 March 2025}}</ref>

==Notable residents==
[[File:Craigenputtock by George Moir.png|thumb|[[Craigenputtock|Craigenputtock House]] 1829, home of Thomas Carlyle]]

* [[Archibald Arnott]] (1772–1855),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=J. B. |date=2 August 1975 |title=Dr. Archibald Arnott: Surgeon to the 20th Foot and Physician to Napoleon |journal=British Medical Journal |volume=3 |issue=5978 |pages=293–295 |doi=10.1136/bmj.3.5978.293 |pmc=1674241 |pmid=1097047}}</ref> [[Napoleon]]'s doctor on [[St Helena]], was born in Ecclefechan on 18 April 1772 at Kirconnel Hall. He returned to Ecclefechan in his retirement and he was also buried in the Ecclefechan churchyard.
* [[Thomas Carlyle]] (1795–1881), the [[essayist]], [[satirist]],  [[political philosopher]] and [[historian]], was born at The Arched House, in Ecclefechan. <ref>{{Cite DNB |wstitle= Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881) | volume= 09 |last= Stephen|first= Leslie |author-link= Leslie Stephen |pages = 111-127 |short=1}}</ref> He left Ecclefechan at the age of thirteen and walked the {{convert|84|mi|km|0|adj=on|abbr=off}} journey to [[Edinburgh]] in order to attend university. In 1828 Carlyle moved to [[Craigenputtock]] with his wife Jane. He never forgot his roots and insisted that Ecclefechan should become his final resting place. He was buried in Ecclefechan churchyard on 5 February 1881.
* [[William Harkness]] (1837–1903), an [[astronomer]], was born at Ecclefechan.
* [[Janet Little]] (1759-1813), a poet who published ''[[The Poetical Works of Janet Little, The Scotch Milkmaid]]'' in 1791, was born at Nether Bogside in Ecclefechan parish. She was a contemporary of [[Robert Burns]].
* [[J. B. McLachlan|James Bryson (J.B.) McLachlan]] (1869-1937), [[Scottish-Canadian]] [[trade unionist]] and [[communist]] politician, was born in  Ecclefechan in 1869.

==Culture==
[[Robert Burns]] (1759–1796) composed a song entitled "The Lass O' Ecclefechan".

Ecclefechan also has links to the [[Guinness]] family: the story of the Whistling Ploughboy of Ecclefechan under the title "A Guinness With a Difference" was written by Derick Bingham and published by TBF Thompson Ministries; it charts the ploughboy's influence under [[God]] on the Guinness family.

"[[Oor Wullie]]" of ''The Sunday Post'' fame once got an afternoon off school for spelling "Ecclefechan" correctly [date January 11, 1948], and the Jocks and the Geordies of [[The Dandy]] once reminisced the ''Great Battle of Ecclefechan''.{{clarify|date=October 2024|Reason=Is this a song title?}}

In [[A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle]], [[Hugh MacDiarmid]] writes:

"And as at sicna times am I,

I wad ha'e Scotland to my eye

Until I saw a timeless flame

Tak' Auchtermuchty for a name,

And kent that Ecclefechan stood

As pairt o' an eternal mood." (ll.1968-1973).

==Local produce==
Local produce includes:
 
* The [[Ecclefechan tart]], which gained national prominence in late 2007 when the supermarket [[Sainsbury's]] promoted it as an alternative to mince pies at Christmas, and the tarts sold over 50,000 packs in November 2007.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 November 2007 |title=Scottish tart proves festive hit |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7109302.stm |access-date=27 March 2010}}</ref> The tart is a mixture of butter and dried fruits in a pastry shell.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-01-25 |title=Ecclefechan tart, for Burns Night |url=https://www.them-apples.co.uk/2012/01/ecclefechan-tart-for-burns-night/ |access-date=2019-02-28 |website=Them-apples.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref> A version made by the [[Moray]] confectioner [[Walkers Shortbread|Walkers]] is now nationally available throughout the [[United Kingdom]].
* The Fechan, a blended [[Scotch whisky]], whose label denotes the Arched House.

==See also==
*[[Hoddom Castle]]
*[[Siege of Burnswark]]

== References ==
*[[Charles Gavan Duffy (Australian politician)|Charles Gavan Duffy]], ''Conversations with Carlyle'', 1892, p.&nbsp;16.
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[[Category:Villages in Dumfries and Galloway]]
[[Category:Thomas Carlyle]]