SWRI Stewartry of Kirkcudbright Federation

The Stewartry Federation of SWRI was formed in 1922 and takes in a large area, stretching from New Abbey along the coast to Kirkcudbright; then to Gatehouse of Fleet; away up to Bargrennan; across to New Galloway; and over to Shawhead.

We have 23 Institutes. Every year we hold either a Bulb Show, or a Federation Show so the green fingered get showing one year and the craftswomen and bakers the next.

Our members take part in most of the National Sports Competitions , namely, Curling; Stadium Bowling; Carpet Bowling; Green Bowling and Golf. As a result some ladies have been lucky to see different parts of Scotland, and make lots of 'Rural' friends. Apart from sport, our members also take part in the Variations on a Theme Competition and, until recently, the Choirs Competition. Unfortunately, our last choir to take part in this competition has had to be disbanded due to lack of a pianist and conductor.

Most Institutes meet monthly and have a varied programme of demonstrators and speakers. Outings are enjoyed in the summer and, quite often, evening drives in autumn. Parties are also enjoyed and some Institutes have been celebrating their 80th Anniversaries recently, as did the Federation.

Every year we take advantage of the Craft classes organised by Headquarters. In alternate years we have a 2-day school and a class in Handcrafts of our members choosing. These classes are always well attended.

Quite a few of our members sit the various Handcraft and Housewife Proficiency Tests , when they are available in our Federation, and generally do exceedingly well.

Hope in 2022 our Federation will be celebrating its Centenary and will no doubt have attended several more Highland Shows in the meantime.

Should you be new to our area and are interested in joining SWRI (or are already a member elsewhere), you will be most welcome to join any of our Institutes, or to pay one of them a visit.

STEWARTRY of KIRKCUDBRIGHT INSTITUTES