Dumfries

Dumfries
Town and administrative centre
Dumfries High Street, with the Midsteeple in the background, pictured in August 2012
Dumfries is located in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries
Dumfries
Location within Dumfries and Galloway
Population33,470 (mid-2020 est.)[2]
DemonymDoonhamer
OS grid referenceNX976762
• Edinburgh63 mi (101 km)
• London285 mi (459 km)
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDUMFRIES
Postcode districtDG1, DG2
Dialling code01387
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°04′12″N 3°36′11″W / 55.070°N 3.603°W / 55.070; -3.603

Dumfries (/dʌmˈfrs/ dum-FREESS; Scots: Dumfries; from Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phris [ˌt̪un ˈfɾʲiʃ]) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, 25 miles (40 km) from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire.[3]

Before becoming King of Scots, Robert the Bruce killed his rival the Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in the town in 1306. The Young Pretender had his headquarters here towards the end of 1745. In the Second World War, the Norwegian Army in exile in Britain largely consisted of a brigade in Dumfries.

Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South.[4] This is also the name of the town's football club. People from Dumfries are known colloquially in Scots language as Doonhamers.

  1. ^ "Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland database". Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  3. ^ John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, 1832 from National Library of Scotland Retrieved 3 June 2013
  4. ^ ""Eva Mendes – the latest Queen of the South" 7 November 2010". Qosfc.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2011.