A small burgh created in 1664 under the name of New Dalgarno by the Earl of Queensberry, Thornhill is located on the River Nith 14 miles (22.5 km) north of Dumfries. Notable structures include a monument to the explorer Joseph Thomson, a market cross (1714), the Buccleuch and Queensberry Hotel (1855, by Charles Howitt, on the site of a cobbler's shop patronised by the poet Robert Burns (1759-96)), Thornhill Hospital (1900), and four churches built in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Nearby are Drumlanrig Castle, Morton Castle, and, at Nith Bridge, a 10th-century cross-shaft with carved panels.
