Dunscore
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = Scotland
| official_name = Dunscore
| scots_name =
| static_image_name = Dunscore village and War Memorial.jpg
| static_image_caption = Dunscore village and War Memorial
| population =
| os_grid_reference =
| map_type = Scotland
| coordinates = {{coord|55.142|-3.7801|display=inline,title}}
| unitary_scotland = Dumfries and Galloway
| lieutenancy_scotland =
| constituency_westminster = Dumfries and Galloway
| constituency_scottish_parliament =
| post_town =
| postcode_district =
| postcode_area =
| dial_code =
}}
Dunscore ({{IPAc-en|'|d|ʌ|n|s|k|ər}} {{Respell|DUN|skər}}, less commonly {{IPAc-en|'|d|ʌ|n|s|k|ɔr}} {{Respell|DUN|skor}}) is a small village which lies {{convert|9|mi|km}} northwest of Dumfries on the B729, in Dumfriesshire, in the District Council Region of Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland.
The village consists of about 150 people and has a church, a community run pub, and a hosted post office three times a week.{{cite web|url=http://www.dunscore.org.uk/|title= Village of Dunscore |access-date=2012-02-20}} The village hosts a gala event every August.{{cite web|url=http://www.dunscoregala.ndo.co.uk/|title= Dunscore Village Gala |access-date=2012-02-20}}
It is the birthplace of the Church of Scotland missionary Jane Haining, one of only ten Holocaust victims from Scotland.
Dunscore has been an active [https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get-involved/get-involved-in-your-community/communities/ Fairtrade Community] since 2009.
The Dunscore railway station opened in 1905, and closed to passengers in 1943 and to goods in 1949. The station was on the Cairn Valley Railway which ran to Moniaive from Dumfries.
Craigenputtock Estate is within the Civil Parish of Dunscore.
Etymology
The name Dunscore is of Cumbric origin, formed of the elements dīn 'fort' and *ïsgor 'fortification, rampart'.{{Cite book|title = The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-name Evidence|last = James|first = Alan G.|year = 2014|pages = 144, 215|url = http://www.spns.org.uk/bliton/BLITON2014ii_elements.pdf|volume = 2: Guide to the Elements|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140911083046/http://www.spns.org.uk/bliton/BLITON2014ii_elements.pdf|archive-date = 2014-09-11}}{{Cite journal|url = http://www.clanntuirc.co.uk/JSNS/V7/JSNS7%20James.pdf#page=28|title = P-Celtic in Southern Scotland and Cumbria: A review of the place-name evidence for possible Pictish phonology|last = James|first = Alan G.|date = 2013|journal = The Journal of Scottish Name Studies|page = 56}} William J. Watson proposes the meaning "fort of the bulwark or rampart".{{Cite journal|url = http://www.dgnhas.org.uk/transonline/SerIII-Vol11.pdf#page=153|title = The Celts (British and Gael) in Dumfriesshire and Galloway|last = Watson|first = William J.|date = 1925|journal = Transactions and Journal of Proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society|page = 147|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140831051704/http://www.dgnhas.org.uk/transonline/SerIII-Vol11.pdf|archive-date = 2014-08-31|series = Third Series|volume = XI}}
The Church
File:Dunscore Old Kirk - general view.JPG
There is a parish church of Dunscore.{{cite web|url=http://www.dunscorechurch.co.uk/|title= Dunscore Parish Church |access-date=2012-02-20}}
The long abandoned Dunscore Old Kirk was located near Fardingwell Farm, between Robert Burns' Ellisland Farm and Robert Ferguson's "Isle Tower".
In Thompson's 1832 map, Ellisland was spelt "Elliesland" and was next to Isle Tower.{{Cite web|url=http://maps.nls.uk/atlas/thomson/view/?rsid=74400172&sid=74400174&mid=555|title = View map: Dumfriesshire. - John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, 1832}}
The 'Laird of Lag's Tomb' is located at the surviving "Dunscore Old Kirk" burial ground, as is the grave of Captain Robert Riddell of Glenriddell, a close associate of Robert Burns.
The church was rebuilt into a heritage centre in 2017, and features information on the Dunscore-born Jane Haining.{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/dunscore-heritage-centre-p1652371|title = Dunscore Heritage Centre, Dunscore – Historic Buildings & Homes}}
Lag Tower
Lag (or Lagg) Tower is a ruinous fortification lying on high ground north-east of Dunscore, north of the Laggan Burn. The structure dates from the 15th or 16th century and was originally four storeys high with a walled courtyard at its base. From the 14th Century, the site was the home of the Grierson family, which was responsible for building the tower. Roger Grierson of Lagg was killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488 and several family members were killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. In 1685 Robert Grierson of Lagg was a persecutor of the Covenanters.The Castles of Scotland by Andrew Coventry ISBN 1-899874-00-3
References
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category|Dunscore}}
{{commons category|Old Dunscore Kirk}}
{{Civil parishes in Dumfries and Galloway}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Villages in Dumfries and Galloway
Category:Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway
{{DumfriesGalloway-geo-stub}}