Douglas


South Lanarkshire

A village of South Lanarkshire, Douglas lies on the Douglas Water, 11 miles (17 km) southwest of Lanark. It developed in Mediaeval times in association with a castle that was the seat of the Black Douglas Earls including James Douglas, the loyal supporter of King Robert the Bruce. Chartered as a burgh of barony in 1458, Douglas later thrived as a centre of coal mining and the manufacture of cotton goods. Today the village benefits from a sizeable primary school, post office, shops and a caravan park, together with the St. Brides Centre - a vibrant community centre including a cafe, meeting rooms and gym. Tourist attractions include the Douglas Heritage Museum, St. Bride's Church, which dates from the 14th C and is the mausoleum of the Black Douglases, the Cameronians Regimental Memorial, a Polish Memorial Garden and the James Gavin Monument commemorates Douglas's most famous Covenanter. Scotland's first wind farm was established in 1994 on Hagshaw Hill 3 miles (5 km) to the west.

Douglas Castle was built in the 13th-century and Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720-88) spent Christmas Eve here in 1745, but the Jacobites stole much and caused a lot of damage to both the castle and the village. The castle was rebuilt many times, most recently by noted architect Robert Adam (1728-92) and his brothers as a remarkable castellated mansion after a fire in 1755 for Archibald, Duke of Douglas (1694 - 1761). This was never completed owing to the Duke's death but was used by Sir Walter Scott (1771 - 1832) for his novel Castle Dangerous. It was finally demolished in the 1930s, leaving only a corner tower a half-mile (1 km) to the north northeast of the village. The Douglas Estate remains the property of the Earls of Home.


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