Meanwhile the Angles of Northumbria had extended their political power to Galloway. About 739 Pecthelm, who came from the south of England, became the first in a series of Anglian bishops to be elected to Whithorn. The name Whithorn is itself Anglian, meaning 'the white house.' The influence of the Irish church declined, but did not disappear. Little trace of the Angles is to be found in the Southern Rhins.