Dumfries

Dumfries, the capital of Dumfriesshire, a royal, parliamentary, and municipal borough and river port, stands on the left bank of the Nith, eight miles from the Solway Firth, and 33 miles N.W. of Carlisle. The date of its origin is uncertain. It was made a royal burgh by William the Lion, took a strong part on Ballioi's side in the wars of the early 14th century, was for two and a half centuries mixed up in the frequent border forays, having a close union first with the Douglases and then with the Maxwells of Caerlaverock. It was opposed to the Union, but loyal to the Hanoverians, for which reason the Young Pretender exacted a requisition in 1745. No Scottish town has made more rapid progress during the last fifty years. Always possessed of a good market as the centre of a rich agricultural and pastoral district, it has of late taken a prominent part in the tweed and hosiery trades, in the growth and sale of nursery produce and timber, in leather-making, and in the working of iron. The chief interest in the place outside the commercial sphere is due to its connection with Burns, who lies buried in the churchyard of St, Michael's. The stone bridge built by Devorgilla, mother of John Balliol (1280), is a remarkable structure. The town has also schools, hospitals, lunatic asylums, and other public institutions. With Annan, Kircudbright, Sanquhar, and Lochmaben, it returns one member to Parliament.