96 A' LORBURNK. 



■ U.—A' Lorburne. By Mr JAMES BARBOUR, F.S.A. 



The purpose of the following brief paper is to call attention 

 to and put on record the existence of an ancient stone of some 

 interest. It is affixed to the wall of a summer-house at Kuockhill, 

 situated in the Parish of Hoddam, about a mile and a half from 

 Ecclefechan Railway Station, and long the residence of one of 

 the Sharpes of Hoddam. The summer-house is hexagonal, glazed 

 on three sides, and a stone and lime wall enclosing the other three 

 is veneered inside with a variety of inscribed and sculptured 

 stones. Some bear Roman inscriptions, a sculptui'ed representa- 

 tion of a human head, of colossal proportions, is believed to be 

 Roman workmanship ; and others consist of fragments of ancient 

 Christian crosses, beautifully sculptured and cut. The interest 

 attaching to the stone under notice arises from the circumstance 

 that it is inscribed with the motto or watchword of the Royal 

 Burgh of Dumfries. The letters, raised and slightly ornamented, 

 are fancifully arranged in three lines in the form of a pyramid at 

 the right side of the stone. They are curiously graduated, the 

 first line being 1\ inches in height, the second 3, and the third ?>\. 

 The stone itself, which is evidently incomplete, measures 23 inches 

 in width and 14 in height. It is red sandstone, of tint and grain 

 corresponding with the stone common in the neighbourhood of 

 Dumfries. All the letters, except the last one, a little of which is 

 wanting, are perfect ; one, the third of the last line, is of ;i 

 meaningless form, probably due to ignorance on the part of the 

 stone cutter, but there is no difficulty as to the reading. The first 

 line consists of the letter A 



The second reads LOR 



and the third BURNE 



The inscription does not stand alone, but is accompanied on 

 its left by a well-cut shield of tasteful form, bearing not St. 

 Michael, the town's arms, which might be expected to accompany 

 the town's motto, but a chevron between three fleur-de-lis. 



The history of the stone may, I think, be traced so far. We 

 learn from Dr Burnside's MS. History of Dumfries, written in the 

 year 1791, that a stone carved with a shield liearing the arms, a 

 chevron and three fleur-de-lis, and under it the word " A'lorburu" 

 was then to be seen on the front of the prison of Dumfries, and 

 the ojDinion is expressed that it had been part of an older prison 



