Eastriggs is a small village located in

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

in the south of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the village is located around north of the mud and sandbanks of the channel of the River Eden, which extends west into the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

. Travelling by road Eastriggs is to the east of Annan, to the east of

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

, to the west of Gretna, to the west of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

and to the south of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. The B721 road, runs through Eastriggs and other neighbouring towns and villages connecting to the nearby A75.

History

Situated in the parish of Dornock, in the traditional county of

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

, Eastriggs appears to have taken its name from the farm, or farm house, known as ''Eastriggs'' that was located in the middle of what was to become the new township.Victorian OS Sheet 6 The only other buildings in the area prior to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

were a group of houses at Lowtherton (now North Road, Lowthertown); a parallel group on what is now the B721 road; an inn and a smithy where East Road joins the B721. Wooden house eastriggs 27o06

The township of Eastriggs was created as a result of the shell and ammunition crisis of June 1915 which prompted the newly founded

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...

to create a new

cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in Britain since 1889 to replace black powder as a military firearm propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...

factory.Ministry of Munitions of War, Preface Officially designated '' H.M. Factory Gretna'', the factory was spread over a site stretching from Dornock through Gretna to

Longtown, Cumbria Longtown is a market town in Cumbria, but in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cumberland, England, just south of the Scottish Border. It has a farmers market, sheep market which was at the centre of the 2001 United Kingdom f ...

.Ministry of Munitions of War, Chapter 2: Water Supply This required a huge influx of labour, and 30,000 men and women came from all over the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

to serve as construction and factory workers.Longtown Military Railway The Devil's Porridge Museum, opened in 2014 in the village, commemorates the factory and its workers. Sir

Raymond Unwin Sir Raymond Unwin (2 November 1863 – 29 June 1940) was a prominent and influential English engineer, architect and town planner, with an emphasis on improvements in working class housing. Early years Raymond Unwin was born in Rotherham, Yor ...

, Chief Housing Architect of the housing branch of the Explosives Department of Ministry of Munitions, and Courtenay Crickmer designed wooden housing for the workers in both Eastriggs and Gretna.Stratton & Trinder (2000) As a mark of respect for the immigrant workforce, the streets were named after various cities within the Commonwealth.

Governance

Eastriggs is in the

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale,

David Mundell David Gordon Mundell, (born 27 May 1962) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale since 2005. He previously served as Secretary of Stat ...

, the Conservative Party member of parliament has held the seat since 2005. It is part of the South Scotland

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

, being in the constituency of

. Oliver Mundell of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

is the MSP. Prior to

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, for the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

its residents voted to elect MEP's for the

constituency.

Church of St John the Evangelist

Designed in the Gothic style by C M Crickmer under the direction of Sir Raymond Unwin, the Church of St John the Evangelist was dedicated in 1917, and was presented with a signed altar book the following year by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

and Queen Mary, who were paying an official visit to

HM Factory, Gretna H.M. Factory, Gretna was Britain's largest cordite factory during the First World War. The government-owned facility was adjacent to the Solway Firth, near Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway. It was built by the Minister of Munitions, Ministry o ...

Rail transport

The Glasgow South Western Line connecting

Gretna Green Gretna Green is a parish in the southern Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, close to the town of Gretna, Scotland, Gretna, on the Scottish side of the English-Scottish border. It is accessed from the A74( ...

and Annan passes through the currently closed Eastriggs railway station. The station was originally called Dornock, but renamed Eastriggs in 1923. The station closed in 1963. In 2019, Andrew Wood, then chair of the South West Scotland Transport Partnership, said that in response to a public consultation, that he believed that there would be great benefit to the local community in opening up Beattock, Thornhill and Eastriggs stations.

Sport

Eastriggs F.C. are the town's amateur football team. They play in the DSAFL.

References

Notes

* Reprinted one-inch Victorian Ordnance Survey Maps of Scotland (Sheet 6), ''Annan & Whithorn''. 1st edition revised to 1896. Kyle of Lochalsh: Caledonian Maps. . * Ordnance Survey Landranger Map (number 85) - 1:50,000 scale (1.25 inches to 1 mile). . * Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (number 323) - 1:25,000 scale (2.5 inches to 1 mile) * Ministry of Munitions of War, (1918). ''H.M. Factory, Gretna: Description of Plant and Process''. Dumfries: J. Maxwell & Son for His Majesty's Stationery Office. * Stratton, Michael and Trinder, Barrie (2000). ''Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology''. London: E & FN Spon. . * Video/DVD, (1994). ''The Longtown Military Railway''. Carnforth: Tele Rail.

Gallery

File:Eastriggs_approached_from_the_east.JPG, Eastriggs, ''The Commonwealth Village'', from the east. File:Eastriggs approached from the west.JPG, Eastriggs from the west File:Dornock and Eastriggs war memorial -24m2008.JPG, Dornock and Eastriggs war memorial

External links

Eastriggs Primary School on annan.org.uk
{{authority control Annandale and Eskdale Villages in Dumfries and Galloway