History of the Burgh of Dumfries

Book excerpt: First published in 1867, the History of the Burgh of Dumfries by the newspaper editor William McDowall still remains the most detailed and comprehensive account available. After some theories about its foundation in Celtic and Roman times and some conjecture that the name Dumfries originally meant the fort in the brushwood, McDowall moves on to the well documented Middle Ages and traces the history of the burgh from the granting of the first royal charter by William the Lion in the 12th century to its position as a busy market town in Victorian times. As is self evident this is primarily a local history book. But many characters of wider historical interest have visited or had connections with Dumfries - Robert the Bruce, John Knox, Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Robert Burns, who spent the last few years of his life in the town, even William Hare the accomplice of the notorious body-snatcher Burke. This book has long been out of print but now the Rooskie Press has brought out this facsimile of the first edition of 1867.