Durisdeer

Durisdeer Church
Monument to James and Mary Douglas.

Durisdeer is a small village in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It lies 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Thornhill, above the Carron Water, a tributary of the Nith.

History

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 fortlet are located about a mile up the Well or Wald Path to the north-east; the defensive ditch and rampart are clearly visible.

Two temporary Roman camps, lying to the right of the lane running up to the village, were identified on RAF aerial photographs, although nothing now remains visible to the naked eye.[1]

Having travelled along the 'Well or Wald Path' James IV stayed at Durisdeer in 1497 whilst on a pilgrimage to St Ninian's Church at Whithorn.[2]

The first recorded minister at Durisdeer is John de Cader in 1394,[3] and the original parish church was probably dedicated to St. Mary.[4] It was demolished to make way for the present-day Georgian church, a category A listed building in the village, that also serves Drumlanrig Castle, the 17th-century home of the Duke of Queensberry. Durisdeer 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.

A marked feature of the church complex are the ducal apartments, which were later used as the parish school at the behest of the Duke.[4] These apartments were renovated and in 1968 were opened again for church use.[5] Hewison records that the stone used to build the new church came from the demolished Durisdeer Castle, "..famous in the Wars of Independence." The masons were the same men who built Drumlanrig Castle.[6]

The clock in the church tower was a gift from the Buccleuch Estates to mark the millennium and the tercentenary of Durisdeer Church.[7]

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 and a film of John Galt's Annals of the Parish made use of the interior of the church.[7]

Andrew de Durisdeer was a 15th-century bishop of Glasgow whose name suggests that he came from Durisdeer, possibly with the surname Muirhead.

Toponymy

Durriseer is recorded in the form Durrysder in 1328. This likely represents Gaelic dubhros 'a dark wood' and doire 'an oak copse'. The name would therefore mean "dark wood of the oak copse."[8]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ RCAHMS Record
  2. ↑ Scott, Page 4
  3. ↑ Scott, Page 12
  4. 1 2 Scott, Page 3
  5. ↑ Scott, Page 9
  6. ↑ Hewison, Page 109
  7. 1 2 Scott, Page 10
  8. ↑ Watson, William J. (1925). "The Celts (British and Gael) in Dumfriesshire and Galloway" (PDF). Transactions and Journal of Proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Third Series. XI: 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-31.
Sources
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Coordinates: 55°18′55.28″N 3°44′31.72″W / 55.3153556°N 3.7421444°W / 55.3153556; -3.7421444

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