Lochmaben
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Lochmaben (Gd: Loch Mhabain) is a small town in Scotland. It lies four miles west of Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway.
The name Loch Mhabain is possibly a corruption of Loch Mhaol Bheinn ("Lake on the bare mountain"), or may mean "Loch of Mapon", an ancient Brythonic god. It has been inhabited since earliest times due to its strategic position on the routes from England to Scotland and Ireland, to the small lochs surrounding it and to the relatively fertile soil in the area. The first inhabitants may have lived in crannogs in the lochs but by 1160, the Bruce (or de Bruis) family, the Lords of Annandale, had built a castle the remains of which now lie under Lochmaben golf course. Some say that Robert Bruce (later king as Robert I of Scotland) was born here and he certainly battled Edward I of England over this area during the wars of independence. Edward replaced the castle with a much sturdier structure at the south end of Castle Loch around 1300 and its remains still show the massive strength of its defences.
Robert went on to kill the Red Comyn in nearby Dumfries in 1306 setting him on the path that would see him defeat Edward II of England at Bannockburn. The 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, Scotland’s declaration of independence, is perhaps the Bruce’s legacy – “It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom alone, which no good man gives up but with his life”.
Lochmaben remained important and had a turbulent history until around 1600 by which time the castle had seen its last siege and had been abandoned. The town had prospered enough to become a Royal Burgh in 1447 and to gain a Royal Charter in 1579.
Its importance had waned with the peace that was now the norm but it had sufficient resources to build a substantial Tolbooth (later the Town Hall) in 1723. The railway came in 1863, with Lochmaben a stop on the Dumfries to Lockerbie line, and brought easy communication both north and south. Like many branch lines it succumbed to the “axe” in the 1960s.
Lochmaben Hospital was opened in 1905 as an infectious diseases hospital but, with the virtual demise of these diseases, it is now a modern 16 bed community facility caring for both physical and psychiatric problems.
The town has suffered genteel poverty in past times but it now prospers on a mix of agriculture, light industry and tourism with significant numbers commuting the short distance to Dumfries. The town is well found with a broad main street and the town is set in rolling countryside. The town’s lochs thrive with both sailing and fishing taking place throughout the year.
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External links
- The Lochmaben and District Community Initiative website can be found at [lochmaben.org.uk], providing information about the community of Lochmaben and the surrounding district for residents and visitors.
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