Scotland > 1868, 1878 - Slater's (late Pigot & Co.'s) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland > 1878 > Part 1

DUMFRIES-SHIRE.
DORNOOK.
SLATER'S
GnoCERS— continued.
Milbam William, Springfield
Neil David, Lowtbertown
Kicholsou Jane, Springfield
Syme Catherine, Dornock
Weal IVilliam. Brow House, Gretna
Wilson IsnbrEi.. Gretna
HarkneBS James, Gretna
Masterton Edward & Thomas, Kirkpatrick
Milburn William, Springfield
Nicholson James, Rigg
TAILORS.
Dixon Wilham, Springfield
Scott Simon, Springfield
Steele WlRiam, Rigg
INNKEEPERS & VINTNERS.
Beattie James (Queen's Head), Springfield
Davidson John, Lowthertown
Gedclis E. Kirkpatrick
Wannop Janet (Maxwell Arms), Springfield
MISCELLANEOUS.
Beattie Alexander Ogilvle, miller and corn
dealer, Dornock
Carlyle John, nurseryman, Dornock
Cron William, bacon curer, Kirkpatrick
Davidson William, inspector of poor.Dornock
Leslie John, saw mill proprietor, Graham's
hUl, Kirkpatrick
Rae Matthew, bacon curer, Kirkpatrick
Steel William, cattle dealer, Dornock
JOINERS & CAKTWRIGHTS.
Bell John, Springfield
Johnstone John, Gretna
Johnstone Nicholas, Kirkpatrick
Lattimer William, Dornoeli
Swallow George, Willow grove
LINEN DRAPERS.
Bell Irving & Sons, Kirkpatrick
Masterton Edward, Kii-kpatrick
Wilson Isabella, Gretna
Syme Catherine, flour dealer, Dornock
Wallace Jane, di-essmaker, Kirkpatrick
PLACES OF WORSHIP
SHOPKEEPERS & DEALERS IN
SUNDRIES.
Armstrong Thomas, Lowtherfleld
Blj'the Jane, Springfield
Hannah Isabella, Springfield
Maxwell Jane, Dornock
Scott James, Dornock
and their ministers.
Established Churches: —
Dornock — Rev. John Anderson
Gretna Green — Rev. William Bell
Kirkpatrick-Fleming~Rev. David Graham
Free Church, Burn Head— Rev. Geo. BliUs
United Presbyterian Church, Rigg— Rev.
George Lambert
STONEMASONS.
Glendinning Archibald, Gretna
Glendinning Joseph, Springfield
LIBEARY & READING ROOM,
Springfield, Gretna.
Secrefnri/— Francis Ker
POOR-LAW UNION,
Workhouse, Kirkpatrick.
Gfo IV rn or— Abraham Lamonby
Matron — Eliza Lamonby
Surgeon — James Carruthers
Inspector of Poor and Collector of Taxes-"
Francis Ker, Gretna
REGISTRARS
I OF BIRTHS, DEATHS AND BIARBIAGEB FOR
I DomocJe — Andrew CuiTie Easton
[ 6rre(7to— William Duff
Kirkpatrick (and collector of taxes)— Richard
I Brown
CONVEYANCE BY RAILWAY,
ON THE GLASGOW AND SOUTH-WESTERN
LINE.
Station, Doenock — James Lawson, station
master
Station, adjoining the village of Gretna —
Thomas H. M'Taggart, station master
ON the CALEDONIAN LINE.
Station, Kirkpatrick- Fleming — George
Taylor, station master
CARRIERS.
To ANNAN, Francis Foster, from Spring-
field, Thursday
To CARLISLE, Saturday
DUMFRIES,
MAXWELLTOWN, TERREGLES, TROQUEER, AND NEIGHBOURHOODS.
Bi
fUMFRIES, the capital of its county and parish, a royal burgh,
the seat of the synod and presbytery of Dumfries, is 338 miles from
London, (by the route of Manchester), 71 s. of Edinburgh, 72 s.e. of
Glasgow, 18D s. by w. of Aberdeen, 60 s.e. of Ayr, 32 n.w. of Carlisle
{by railway), 15 n.n.w. of Annan, and 8 s.w. of Lochmaben; it is
situated on the Glasgow and South-Western Railway, and there is a
station for the line about a quarter of a mile from the town. Dum-
fries, which may be considered as the metropoUs of the south-west
quarter of Scotland, is seated on the left bank of the river Nith,
about nine miles above its confluence with the Solway Firth, and
navigable for vessels of light tonnage, the tide flowing as high a;
the old bridge. There exists no record whereby to ascertain the date
when the town was founded, or the etymology of its name — Drinm-
a-fiish — Dun-fries — Dntmfrics and " Dumfries " have successfully
been its appellation — Dun a castle, and /nVs shrubs, is a plausible
compound for the original name. The site of this queen of Niths-
dale is singularly picturesque, stretching along the bank of the
Nith at an elevation sufficient to command a rich prospect terminat-
ing at .the distance of a few miles in a chain of lofty hills, either
cultivated or umbrageous to their summits. There are so many
attractions in and around Dumfries that the gentry of the neigh-
bouring counties resort to it, imparting vivacity and all the delights
of good society.
The ancient monastery of Greyfriars, in this town, was the scene
of a remarkable tragedy about the middle of the fourteenth, cen-
tury; this event was connected with the assassination of the Red
Comyn (a povsTJerful chieftain who formerly held the Regency of
Scotland) by Robert the Bruce — attended by Kirkpatrick and
Lindsay, two of Bruce's adherents.
Amongst the improvements of modern times may be named the
erection of a suite of assembly rooms, market places, the widening
of Bank street, and lighting the town with gas : a spacious quay
has been constructed along the side of the town; and a lino Doric
column, raised by the county of Dumfries, to the memory of Charles,
Duke of Queensberry, who died in 1778, adorns the centre of the
burgh; a Corn Exchange was opened on the 14th of March, 1877.
at Whitesands, by the firm of Messrs. Kerr and Fotheringham, seed
merchants. The Court House and County Buildings arc large
elegant buildings, in Buccleuch street, adjoining which is the
gaol, comprising a very capacious court-room and other offices.
There is on an elevated site, a new infirmary, a noble and
spacious I'liiliiing, which is an ornament to the town. Circuit
courts of justiciary are held in April and September for Dumfries-
shii'e. and tlie stewartry of Kirkcudbright and Wigtonshire; there
are also ordinary and small debt, sheriff's and justiciary burgh
courts. The station of the Glasgow and South-Western Railway is
an important erection, giving animation to the south-eastern
suburb of the town. The Theatre is a handsome buUdiug of stone,
with a projecting portico ; the interior is tastefully decorated. It
was here that Kean first emerged from obscurity to fame, and he
never forgot the early patronage of the denizens of Dumfries.
A new and important line of railway from Dumfries goes through
Castle Douglas, Gatehouse, Newton-Stewart, to Stranraer and
582 1-1
Portpatrick, thence by steamer to the coast of Ireland, which is but
twenty-one miles distant from the last-named town. The pi'incipal
imports are timber, hemp, tallow, coal, slate, iron, and wine; the
exports cpusist of whtat, barley, oats, potatoes, wool, and freestone.
The n^anufacture of tweeds is the chief industry of the town, but
considerable business is done in the hosiery trade, brewing, tan-
ning, and the glue m.mufacture. Dumfries was for many years the
leading market for hare-skins in Scotland, and even regulated the
price of home fur in England; and it is still looked to as the
arbiter of prices. Several branch banking companies afford facili-
ties to the monetary transactions of the town. The principal hotels
are the King's Arms, the New George, Commercial, and the Queens-
berry. Four newspapers are issued weekly, their names are the
"Dumfries Courier," the Dumfries and Galloway Standard," the
"Dumfries-shire and Galloway Herald," and the "Dumfries and
Galloway Review."
The mupicipal government of the burgh is vested in a provost,
three bailies, a dean guUd, a treasurer, a town-clerk, and nineteen
councillors. The craftsmen were formerly divided into seven cor-
porations, with each a d eacon chosen from their respective trades, who
elected one of their own number to be convenor, and another to be
general bos-master, all of whom formed what was termed a grand
committee of the seven trades ; these distinctions, however (for
distinctions of considerable importance they were in former times),
were virtually abolished by the Reform Bill ; some of the trades
possessed considerable property, which has since been publicly
sold, and the proceeds equitably divided among the respective
parties. Dumfries unites with Annan, Lochmaben, Sanquhar,
and Kirkcudbright, in retm-ning one member to parliament. The
present member is Ernest Noel, Esq. The numerous nursery
grounds around the town are both useful and ornamental to the
suburbs. The great desideratum of a copious supply of^ure water
has been attained, and the. inhabitants have an abundance brought
from ample sources, about five miles from the town.
The places of worship, including Maxwelltown, comprises three
churches of the establishment, four of the Free Church, several
Uuittd Presbj-terian, an Episcopal, a Congregational, a Wesleyan,
a Baptist, a Catholic Apostolic, and a Roman Catholic chapel, &c.
Saint jMicbael's, or the mother church, claims peculiar notice on
account of its cemetery, which contains numerous elegant and
curious monuments, many of them very ancient; but the most
attractive is the fine mausoleum raised to the memory of the Scot-
tish bard. Burns: the design for the mausoleum was by F. Hunt,
Esq. of London, and Turnerelli modelled the sculpture. By the erec-
tion of this monument, it may be said that Scotland has repaid the
debt so long due to the memory of him of whose natural genius his
countrymen may well be proud. Burns died at Dumfries bn the 2l3t
of July, 1796, aged 37 years, and his remains were deposited in the
churchyard of Saint Michael's. The mausoleum and the profusion
of funeral sculpture which adorn the cemetery are so attractive that
it is a pity free ingress is not at all times permitted ; the fee doubt-
less prevents many a stranger from inspecting these beautiful
memorials to the dead. On January 25th, 1859, the centenary of the