Durisdeer
| Durisdeer | |
| Dumfriesshire | |
|---|---|
 Durisdeer Church | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 55.3153556 -3.7421444 |
| Data | |
| Population: | 317 (2011) |
| Post town: | Thornhill |
| Postcode: | DG3 |
| Dialling code: | 01848 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Dumfries and Galloway |
Durisdeer is a small village and parish in Dumfriesshire, six miles north of Thornhill, above the Carron Water, a tributary of the Nith. The parish is bounded by those of Sanquhar to the north; Penpont to the west; Morton to the south; and Crawford in Lanarkshire to the east. It had a population of 317 in 2011.
A Roman road once passed through the site of the village as a direct route from Nithsdale to Clydesdale, and the remains of a small, but well preserved Roman fort are located about a mile up the Well Path to the north-east; the defensive ditch and rampart are clearly visible.
Parish kirk
The parish church, a Category A listed building in the village, also serves Drumlanrig Castle, the 17th-century home of the Duke of Queensberry.
The church was rebuilt by the third Duke in the 1720s, to designs by James Smith. Adjoining the church is the slightly earlier Queensberry Aisle, burial place of the dukes, also by Smith, with a large marble monument to the second Duke (1662-1711) and Mary, his duchess, carved by Jan van Nost. The former manse nearby is now a private dwelling.
About the village
Durisdeer village mill stands on the Carron Water, some distance away. It is a category B listed building.
Durisdeer was included in the 1978 film version of The Thirty Nine Steps, starring Robert Powell.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Durisdeer) |
References
- "Durisdeer". Undiscovered Scotland. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/durisdeer/durisdeer/index.html. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- "Durisdeer". Gazetteer for Scotland. http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst2998.html. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- MacKechnie, Aonghus (1985). "Durisdeer Church". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 115: pp.429–442. http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_115/115_429_442.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-07.