Keir Curling Club medal (1)

"Presented to the Keir Curling Society by its President W F H Arundell, 1854.  To be held by the rink most distinguished in the parish matches of the season".   During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries curling was Scotland's national game.  It was organised on a parish basis because road travel was difficult at the best of times and particularly so during good curling weather. Matches were generally played with neighbouring parishes, although even this could involve the participants walking long distances in hazardous conditions.   By the early 1800s many of the parishes of Dumfries and Galloway had curling clubs, often with their own medals and trophies.