Dumfries, The Old And New Bridges c.1880
Photo ref: D78002
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Photo ref: D78002
Photo of Dumfries, The Old And New Bridges c.1880

More about this scene

The River Nith divides Dumfries from Maxwelltown. Dumfries itself became a royal burgh in the 12th century, but the two towns were not officially amalgamated until 1929. Robert Burns came to the town in 1791 and lived with his wife and family in a house in Millhole Brae. Burns died in 1796 at the age of 36 and is buried in St Michael's Church.

A Selection of Memories from Dumfries

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Dumfries

Sparked a Memory for you?

If this has sparked a memory, why not share it here?

I am 83 at present yet the memories of my birth place are with me forever. I was born in Dumfries at the address 2 Mitchels Lane. Also known to the locals as Skitter Lane best not to go into that. I grew up just a stone throw from the river Nith and as a boy spent a lot of time boating on the river or swimming in the Salmon Hole . At that time we could hire a bicycle and go for lovely rides with my cousin Ian McLaren.. Oh ...see more
my dad alex who was killed in an accident in 1953 was major johnsons batman during the war,after his death my mother and sisters and i went there for our christmas dinners i played with the sons andrew and graham and when it was time to leave the servants used to line up to give us a present and say goodbye.
my aunt chrissie and uncle syd stayed just under the arch and i remember their black n white cat lying at the doorstep. When my uncle used to take me a walk around the grounds and greenhouses it always seemed like a magical kingdom to me. Sadly my uncle is no longer with us but my aunt and her son John havent changed one bit and she still has the old wind up monkey and panda that plays the drums and symbols, miss those days so much.
Syd and Chrissie Harvey used to live in the flat above the archway when he worked for the town council as the foreman gardener. I lived on the other side of the building. To the right of the archway, on the ground floor, were offices. Previous to this photo there were lovely grounds and mature planting which had been removed to make a carpark?!!! what a lovely resource this was. We played and learned to ride our bikes on the undulating lawns in front of this building.