Durisdeer

From Wikishire
Jump to: navigation, search
Durisdeer
Dumfriesshire
Durisdeer Church, Dumfries & Galloway.JPG
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.

Monument to James and Mary Douglas

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

Commons-logo.svg
("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Durisdeer)

References