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Thornhill railway station (Scotland)

Thornhill is a closed station. It served the country town of Thornhill in Dumfries and Galloway. The station site is a mile or so from the town. Four miles north of Thornhill is Drumlanrig Castle, home to the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The Glasgow and South Western main line rail route between Kilmarnock and Dumfries is forced to make a long detour to the east of Thornhill and through a long tunnel, rather than the more logical route nearer Thornhill town centre and up the Nith Valley, so as not to be seen from the Buccleuch estate. The distance of the station from Thornhill may be one reason that passenger use was light and stopping services ended in 1965. There was formerly a busy livestock market near to the station, which eventually closed around 2001. In 2014, Dumfries and Galloway Council proposed creating a funding application to reopen the station.

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1.1 km

Wallace Hall (Thornhill)

Wallace Hall is a non-denominational, co-educational state comprehensive school located in Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The school operates across a single modern campus and provides continuous education from early years through to secondary level (ages 2–19), encompassing a nursery (Early Learning Centre), primary school (Wallace Hall Primary School), and secondary school (Wallace Hall Academy) under unified leadership. Originally founded in 1723 through the bequest of Glasgow merchant John Wallace, the school began as a free grammar academy serving the parish of Closeburn. Over the centuries, Wallace Hall has evolved from a locally focused classical academy into a longstanding institution serving a broad rural catchment. It has occupied multiple sites throughout its history, including purpose-built facilities at Closeburn and, since 1978, a consolidated campus in Thornhill. The current building, opened in 2010, houses all three educational stages and serves a broad catchment area including Thornhill and the surrounding rural communities.
1.5 km

Gatelawbridge

Gatelawbridge is a hamlet in the region of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is situated two and a half miles east of Thornhill and near the gorge Crichope Linn. The origin of the name is unknown though in the past the locals called it Gateley Bridge, so perhaps it takes its name from a type of bridge over the Cample River in the centre of the settlement. The river divides the parishes, with all those east of the river being in Closeburn Parish, and those west of the river being in Morton Parish. The African explorer Joseph Thomson lived in Gatelawbridge from the age of 10 until leaving for Edinburgh. He attended the secondary school Morton Academy in Thornhill (now Wallace Hall), making the journey each day on his pony called Donald. His father was the quarry master and presumably that is where his interest in rocks began. He studied geology at the University of Edinburgh. After graduating he was engaged on several explorations in East and North Africa. He discovered the Thomson's Falls in Kenya and the Thomson's gazelle is named after him. He was known to be a kind and very fair man, who refused to beat his bearers in Africa when they did wrong, preferring to dock their wages instead. This however was quite unpopular at the time with the bearers who at one point went on strike and left him. He became ill due to infections picked up on his travels and died a young man. His friends erected a fine monument to him which stands next to the school in Thornhill. Gatelawbridge is the site of several Red Sandstone quarries opened in the 19th century that were once linked by rail to the G&SWR main line near Cample village. They are now largely disused. The sandstone derived from a huge sand dune which extended from Gatelawbridge through Locharbriggs to Annan. This sandstone is the building material of much of Dumfriesshire, and was exported to America where it was used to build the famous 'brownstones' of New York. The hamlet has seen a lot of growth recently with several new houses being constructed.
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1.7 km

Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway

Thornhill (Scottish Gaelic: Bàrr na Driseig) is a village in the Mid Nithsdale area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, south of Sanquhar and north of Dumfries on the main A76 road. Thornhill sits in the Nithsdale valley with the Carsphairn and Scaur range to the west and the Lowther hills to the east. It was initially a small village, planned and built in 1717 on the Queensberry Estate on the road linking Dumfries to Glasgow. The Earl of Queensberry initially named the village 'New Dalgarnock' however the name did not achieve popular approval. The village is primarily comprised a grid pattern with the main street of Drumlanrig Street (the A76), East and West Morton Streets, New Street, Townhead Street Station Road, Corstorphine road, and Gill Road (the A702). The village is near Drumlanrig Castle, a 17th-century turreted mansion once the ancient Douglas stronghold, now home to the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The grounds contain Tibbers Castle which was founded in the 12th or 13th century. The most recently published Census data from 2001 recorded the population at 1,512 inhabitants.
2.0 km

Thornhill Hospital

Thornhill Hospital is a health facility in Townhead Street, Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Dumfries and Galloway.