James M. Irvine

The claim that there was a pre-reformation parish of Irving, which took its name from the local family and was later incorporated into the present parish of Kirkpatrick Fleming in Dumfriesshire, was first raised in the Statistical Account of 1794, and is still a popular understanding today. On the other hand the claim was questioned by Chalmers as early as 1807, and was declared to be ‘a myth’ by Adamson in 2010. This article lists extensive relevant evidence pertaining to the parishes of Irving and Kirkpatrick Fleming, including some taken from hitherto unpublished family papers, and goes on to discuss why the alleged parish, if it did exist, was so named, where it was located and when it was conjoined, and also why Kirkpatrick Fleming was so named. It becomes clear that all the contemporary evidence points towards there never having been a parish of Irving, and that the parish of Kirkpatrick Fleming was so named before the Irving family became significant landowners in the area. The article then considers the sources that seem to explain why and by whom the alleged parish was ‘invented’, and shows that both its likely proponents, a laird and a minister, soon abandoned their fabrication. Finally the likely origin of the Dumfriesshire surname of Irving is attributed to the medieval Ayrshire port of Irvine. While the authors of the Old Statistical Account give valuable insights into contemporary life, this cameo is an example of why we should be less trustful of their recording of local history.