Port William

Port William is a small fishing village in the area of Mochrum, Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, in south-west Scotland. It is surrounded by the hamlets of Elrig, Mochrum and Monreith.
The village at present has a population of approximately 460 and lies 23 miles east of the town of Stranraer, on the coast of Luce Bay. It looks directly over to the Mull of Galloway, the most southerly point of the Scottish mainland and, on a clear day, both the Isle of Man, and Ireland are visible from the rugged coastline. In the 17th and 18th centuries Port William was known as much for the illicit activities of its smugglers as for the legitimate trade of its port.

The original settlement was known as Killantrae, meaning 'The Church on the Beach' in Gaelic, and was probably founded not long after St Ninian arrival in nearby Whithorn towards the end of the 4th century.

Killantrae was swept away following the intervention of developer and landlord Sir William Maxwell, 5th Baronet, of Monreith House. In the five years until 1776 he built an entirely new village, complete with a good harbour and was renamed Port William. One of the earliest buildings still standing was the corn mill, located on the side of the Killantrae burn to take advantage of the power provided by its water. Port William is an example of a planned village, lying on the eastern shore of Luce Bay in Galloway. The harbour, built for the convenience of his tenant farmers, was one of the first in western Galloway.
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