Applegarthtown, also known as Applegarth or Applegirth, is a village near

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, gd, Locarbaidh) is a small town in Dumfries and Galloway, south-western Scotland. It is about from Glasgow, and from the border with England. The United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town ...

in Annandale,

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

, Scotland. Applegarth's Town is situated on the east bank of the

River Annan The River Annan (''Abhainn Anann'' in Gaelic) is a river in south-west Scotland. It rises on Annanhead Hill and flows through the Devil's Beef Tub, Moffat and Lockerbie, reaching the sea at Annan, Dumfries and Galloway after about 40 miles. ...

close to its junction with the Nethercleugh Burn. it is west of Lockerbie. The name is derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

and means "apple-yard" or "orchard".

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

offered oblation at a chapel in the parish in 1300 on his way to

Caerlaverock Caerlaverock (; gd, Cille Bhlàthain) is a civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The parish was historically in Dumfriesshire. The area includes: * Caerlaverock Castle, a 13th-century castle, located south of Dumfries, Scotland * ...

. Applegarth Primary School lies across the

A74(M) The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English border at Gretna. In conjunction with their southward continuation, the M6 motorwa ...

motorway about north north east of the village. The primary school was founded by the Jardine family in the 19th century and was renovated and reopened in 1994. The Jardine chiefs were established at Applegarth by the fourteenth century, The 7th Baronet of Applegirth, Sir William Jardine (1800–1874), was a well known naturalist and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

. The original seat of the Jardines of Applegarth was at Spedlins Tower, constructed in the 15th century over the site of a previous tower which had been the family seat since the 12th century. In the early 19th Century the family seat was moved across the River Annan to Jardine Hall. The Applegarthtown Wildlife Sanctuary at nearby Dryfeholm was established in 1984 by converting a piece of low productivity agricultural land into a wetland to attract resident and migratory birds. An artificial sand bank was also created and this was colonised by

sand martin The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the w ...

s. This has allowed scientists to study the breeding behaviour of these birds and has provided an example which has been replicated elsewhere.

References

{{authority control Villages in Dumfries and Galloway Parishes in Dumfries and Galloway