Annandale, Dumfries and Galloway
Encyclopedia
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- For other places called Annandale, see Annandale (disambiguation)Annandale (disambiguation)Annandale is a broad glen in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.Annandale has also been applied as a name for several places around the world by Scottish emigrants:Australia*Annandale, New South Wales*Annandale, QueenslandUnited States...
.
Annandale (Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
: Strath Annan) is a strath
Strath
A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow .An anglicisation of the Gaelic word srath, it is one of many that have been absorbed into common use in the English language...
in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, named after the River Annan
River Annan
The River Annan is a river in southwest Scotland. It rises at the foot of Hart Fell, five miles north of Moffat. A second fork rises on Annanhead Hill and flows through the Devil's Beef Tub before joining at the Hart Fell fork north of Moffat.From there it flows past the town of Lockerbie, and...
. It runs north-south through the Southern Uplands
Southern Uplands
The Southern Uplands are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas . The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to collectively denote the various ranges of hills within this region...
from Annanhead (north of Moffat
Moffat
Moffat is a former burgh and spa town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, lying on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. The most notable building in the town is the Moffat House Hotel, designed by John Adam...
) to Annan
Annan, Dumfries and Galloway
The royal burgh of Annan is a well-built town, red sandstone being the material mainly used. Each year in July, Annan celebrates the Royal Charter and the boundaries of the Royal Burgh are confirmed when a mounted cavalcade undertakes the Riding of the Marches. Entertainment includes a...
on the Solway Firth
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
and in its higher reaches it separates the Moffat hills
Moffat Hills
The Moffat hills are a range of hills in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. They form a distinctly triangular shape with a west facing side, a north facing side, and a south-east facing side. It is 17 kilometres from east to west across this triangle and some 16 kilometres north to south...
on the east from the Lowther hills
Lowther Hills
The Lowther Hills, also sometimes known as the Lowthers, are an extensive area of hill country in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, though some sub ranges of hills in this area also go under their own local names - see "Hill Walking" below. They form a roughly rhomboidal or lozenge shape on the map...
to the west. A long distance walking route through Annandale (from the source of the River Annan to the sea) was opened in September 2009.
Annandale was also an historic district of Scotland, bordering Liddesdale
Liddesdale
Liddesdale, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, a distance of...
to the east, Nithsdale
Nithsdale
Nithsdale , also known by its anglicised gaelic name Strathnith or Stranit, is the valley of the River Nith in Scotland, and the name of the region...
to the west, Clydesdale
Clydesdale
Clydesdale was formerly one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland.The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1973 from part of the former county of Lanarkshire: namely the burghs of Biggar and Lanark and the First, Second and Third Districts...
and Tweeddale
Tweeddale
Tweeddale is a committee area and lieutenancy area in the Scottish Borders with a population of 17,394 at the latest census in 2001 it is the second smallest of the 5 committee areas in the Borders. It is the traditional name for the area drained by the upper reaches of the River Tweed...
to the north and the Solway Firth
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
to the south. The district which was in the Sheriffdom
Sheriffdom
A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland.Since 1 January 1975 there have been six sheriffdoms. Previously sheriffdoms were composed of groupings of counties...
of Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
and later became part of the County of Dumfries
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
, one of the counties of Scotland
Counties of Scotland
The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....
. The main reorganisation took place during the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
The Local Government Act 1889 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the Act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland...
, which established a uniform system of county council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
s and town councils in Scotland and restructured many of Scotland’s counties. (See: History of local government in the United Kingdom
History of local government in the United Kingdom
The history of local government in the United Kingdom covers the development of local government in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707. Each of the four countries of the United Kingdom has a separate system of local government with origins that predate the UK itself...
). It is one of three subdivisions of Dumfriesshire, along with Eskdale
Eskdale, Dumfries and Galloway
Eskdale is a glen in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The River Esk flows through Eskdale to its estuary at the Solway Firth....
(previously part of Liddesdale) and Nithsdale.
It is famous for its connection with Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson or Benjamin Johnson may refer to:* Ben Johnson , American actor* Ben Johnson , former American football offensive tackle of the National Football League...
and Robert the Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
, as the de Brus family was given this land by David I
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
in 1124, as one of the border lordships when David became Prince of the Cumbrians
David, Prince of the Cumbrians
Before David I of Scotland became King of Scotland in 1124, he was David, Prince of the Cumbrians and earl of a great territory in the middle of England acquired by marriage. This period marks the beginning of his life as a great territorial lord...
. Along with Carrick
Carrick, Scotland
Carrick is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.-History:The word Carrick comes from the Gaelic word Carraig, meaning rock or rocky place. Maybole was the historic capital of Carrick. The county was eventually combined into Ayrshire which was divided...
, these lands acted as a buffer between the quasi-independent Lordship or Kingdom of Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
and David's lands of Strathclyde and Cumbria.