Kirkbride is a very pretty village north-west of the Solway Plain. The village is the centre of a farming district, once noted for Clydesdale Horses and short horn cattle.
The church of St Bride is known to date back to at least 1189...with much of the stone in the building coming from the Roman Wall...certainly many of the stones have traces of Roman handiwork, British, Roman and Anglo-Saxon remains have been found in the vicinity in the church, together with a Roman street and forge. There is much old work in the church's rough stone walls, a simple Norman doorway, two deep Norman lancets, and a sturdy Norman chancel arch of a very rare kind...for it has altar recess at each side. In the east window of the chancel are three figures of St Columba, St Patrick, and St Bridget - Bridget being the patron saint. One fanciful legend is that she was the renowned Abbess of Kildare, who in her youth wove St Patrick's shroud. History suggests, however, that she was actually the pagan Queen Bridget of the Celtic tribe of Brigantes who faked her "christianity" to keep supporters, a common event during the Dark Ages. An ancient sculpture of the Entombment hangs on the wall of the chancel arch, and in the sanctuary is a holy-water trough carved with the lamb. It was found not so many years ago in the rector's garden. The font is believed to be about 600 years old.
A lonning (lane) leading from the church is called Wine Lonning...believed used for smuggling wine into England and salt to Scotland. It is thought, too, that the same lonning was used by Roman soldiers and monks to take their horses to water at St Bried's Well, and Monks Dyke.
Just to the north is a field which is known locally as 'Bloody Field'...and where a battle is said to have taken place. Because of the blood shed here the grass remains green even in times of drought.
At one time Kirkbride had its own airfield, and in 1938 it was ferrying aircraft from Canada and USA. Today, the hangars are still apparent, though they are now used as warehouses.
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