DUMFRIES, royal burgh, parish and county town, Dumfries shire, Scotland (Gaelic, "the fort in the copse"). It lies on the left bank of the Nith, about 8 m. from the Solway Firth and 82 m. S.E. of Glasgow by the L.M.S.R., and is a junction for several lines. Pop. (1931) 22,795. Dumfries is a fine town, beautifully situated. St. Michael's (1746) was the church which Robert Burns attended, and in its churchyard he was buried, his remains being transferred in 1815 to the magnificent mausoleum erected in the south-east corner. The schools include an important academy. In the middle of the market-place stands the old town hall, with red tower and cupola, known from its situation as the Mid Steeple. It was built by Tobias Bachup of Alloa (1708), and is now occupied by shops. The Theatre Royal, reconstructed in 1876, dates from 1787. Burns composed several prologues and epi logues for some of its actors and actresses. The Nith is crossed by three bridges and the railway viaduct. The bridge used for vehicular traffic dates from 794• Devorguilla's bridge below it, built of stone in 1280, originally consisted of nine arches (now reduced to three), and is reserved in spite of its massive appearance for foot passengers only, as is also the suspension bridge opened in 1875.
Maxwelltown, on the opposite side of the river, is practically part of Dumfries, but is a separate burgh in Kirkcudbrightshire.
The leading industries comprise manufactures of tweeds, ho siery, clogs, aerated water, gloves and various foodstuffs, besides the timber trade, nursery gardening, electrical and motor en gineering, and the making of implements. Dumfries markets for horses, cattle and sheep have always ranked with the best, and there is also a market for pork during the five months beginning with November. The Nith is navigable at Dumfries for vessels drawing 8 ft., but the sea-borne trade is small.
Although Dumfries was the site of a camp of the Selgovian Britons, nothing is known of its early history. William the Lion (d. 1214) made it a royal burgh, but the oldest existing charter was granted by Robert II. in 1395. The town became embroiled in the struggles that ended in the independence of Scotland. It favoured the claims to the throne, first of John Baliol—whose mother Devorguilla, daughter of Alan, lord of Galloway, had done much to promote its prosperity by building the stone bridge over the Nith—and then of the Red Comyn, as against those of Robert Bruce, who drew his support from Annandale. Until nearly the close of the i6th century the burgh was exposed to frequent raids, both from freebooters on the English side and from partisans of the Douglases, Maxwells and Johnstones. James VI. was royally entertained on Aug. 3, 1617, and afterwards presented the seven incorporated trades with a silver gun to en courage craftsmen in the practice of musketry. A competition for this gun, which is now kept in the old town hall, took place annually—with a great festival every seven years—until 1831. John Mayne a native of Dumfries, commemorated the gathering in a humorous poem, "The Siller Gun." The Union with England was so unpopular that not only did the provost vote against the measure in the Scottish parliament, but the articles were burned (Nov. 20, 1706) at the Market Cross by a body of Cameronians. In both 17 1 5 and 1 745 Dumfries remained apathetic. Burns, the poet, resided here from December 1 791 till his death on the 21st of July 1796. The house in which he died is still standing.
The picturesque ruins of Carlaverock Castle, which is claimed to be the "Ellangowan" of Guy Mannering, are 8 m. to the south. Part of the present structure is believed to date from 1220 and once sheltered William Wallace. It withstood Edward I.'s siege in 130o for two days, although garrisoned by only sixty men. Subsequently it often changed hands. In 15 7o it fell into dis repair, but was restored, and in 1641 was besieged for the last time by the Covenanters. A mile and a half to the north-west of Dumfries lies Lincluden Abbey, "an old ruin," says Burns, "in a sweet situation at the confluence of the Cluden and the Nith." Originally the abbey was a convent, founded in the 12th century, but converted two centuries later into a collegiate church by Archibald, earl of Douglas. The remains of the choir and south transept disclose rich Decorated work.