Kirkcudbright (/kɜːrˈkuːbri/ kur-KOO-bree; Scottish Gaelic: Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie.

[4] John Spottiswoode, in his account of religious houses in Scotland, mentions that the Franciscans, or Grey Friars, had been established at Kirkcudbright from the 12th century.

[5] John Balliol was in possession of the ancient castle at Castledykes in the late 13th century and Edward I of England is said to have stayed here in 1300 during his war against Scotland.

[7] About a century later, the magistrates of the town obtained permission from Queen Mary to use part of the convent and nunnery as a parish church.

From around 1570, Sir Thomas MacLellan of Bombie, the chief magistrate, received a charter for the site, its grounds and gardens.

[8] After defeat at the Battle of Towton, Henry VI of England crossed the Solway Firth in August 1461 to land at Kirkcudbright before joining his wife Queen Margaret in exile at Linlithgow.

The town for some time withstood a siege in 1547 from the English commander Sir Thomas Carleton but, after the surrounding countryside had been overrun, was compelled to surrender.

One of the most famous prisoners was John Paul Jones, founder of the United States Navy, who was born in Kirkbean.

In 1971 the interior was re-ordered and stripped of its Victorian fixtures and fittings and now features an abstract concrete and iron cross by the Liverpool sculptor Sean Rice[18] (1931–1997), modern stained glass by the Polish artist Jerzy Faczynski (1917–1994) and a set of four paintings by Vivien K. Chapman depicting The Passion of Christ.

[38] Wasps (Workshop & Artists Studio Provision Scotland) occupy two linked townhouses, Canonwalls and Claverhouse, in the High Street.

[43] The title character Archibald Esson is a fictionalised version of William Stewart MacGeorge, Crockett's boyhood friend.

[44] In 1975, the book was made into a BBC TV drama series shot in the town, with Ian Carmichael playing the lead role of Lord Peter Wimsey.

[47] Matt McGinn wrote and recorded "The Wee Kirkcudbright Centipede" which has also been covered by other singers including Alistair McDonald on disc and on his BBC Scotland show Songs of Scotland, which included a segment filmed on location at the town's Johnston Primary School where McDonald led the children in a dance sequence.

Later another small group of Glasgow-trained artists built their studios across the river at The Stell, including John Charles Lamont and Robert Sivell.