Drumlanrig Castle, the clan seat of the Douglases of Queensberry, is a very modern edifice, in terms of this old and influential border family, as they trace their roots far into the archaeological record of the Scottish nation. Rather than tackle the end of the family spectrum represented by the infamous Archibald the Grim, this book chooses to consider instead the intimate and, at times, almost symbiotic relationship between clan and landscape.
An examination of both the historical and archaeological heritage of the region, while also exploring those many thriving communities which existed at the time of writing (1876), this book gives an attention to local detail, coupled with the genealogy of the Douglases, which makes it an invaluable resource.
More than one hundred years after the original publication, many of these small townships, and the relationships they fostered, have ceased to exist and have been almost entirely forgotten.
Craufurd Tait Ramage, was, during his lifetime, a writer of some repute. Initially tutor to the family of the first Baron Monteagle, he was later appointed to the Rectorship of Wallace Hall Academy in Dumfries.