Locharbriggs
| Locharbriggs | |
| Dumfriesshire | |
|---|---|
 Locharbriggs | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NX997807 |
| Location: | 55°6’41"N, 3°34’25"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dumfries and Galloway |
Locharbriggs is a village in Dumfriesshire which has expanded greatly in recent decades so that it almost reaches out to touch the suburbs of the county town, Dumfries. The name 'Locarbriggs' is Scots for 'Locahr Bridge', from its position at a bridge on the Lochar Water, a minor river to the north and east of the village and which, shunning the nearby River Nith, finds it own way to the Solway Firth east of the Nith’s estuary.
The population of Locharbriggs at the 2001 census was 5,530 but it has further expanded since then now lost to statistics in the Dumfries urban area.
Locharbriggs is to be found two miles northeast of Dumfries itself, near the Lochar Water. It was one of several villages that stood on the edge of the Lochar Moss which was largely reclaimed in the 19th century.
About the village
Locharbriggs is perhaps best known for the quarrying of distinctive red sandstone which has been used for buildings in towns and cities including Dumfries, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The stone has also been exported further afield, most notably to be used to create the steps of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour. Only one quarry remains active, but during the 19th and early 20th centuries the quarries of Locharbriggs produced enormous quantities of stone.
The village is well served by many local amenities, including regular bus services, three local shops, a public house (The Lochar Inn), a social club (Locharbriggs Social Club), a Chinese takeaway, fish & chip shop, hairdresser's, local community centre, a library, and a Locharbriggs Primary School.[1]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Locharbriggs) |