96 A’ LORBURNE. 
Ii.—A’ Lorburne. By Mr JAMES BaARBouR, 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 Knockhill, 
situated in the Parish of Hoddam, about a mile anda 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 sculptured 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 24 inches in height, the second 3, and the third 34. 
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 a 
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 aN 
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 bearing the arms, a 
chevron and three fleur-de-lis, and under it the word “ A’lorburn” 
was then to be seen on the front of the prison of Dumfries, and 
the opinion is expressed that it had been part of an older prison 
