Queensberry Monument

If you should find yourself walking along Dumfries High Street, you may notice a memorial column near Midsteeple.

The memorial commemorates Charles Douglas, the 3rd Duke of Queensberry, a Scottish nobleman and judge who was known for his patronage of the arts, political influence and generous charity.

In 1698, Charles was born at Queensberry House, Edinburgh. He became Lord Douglas of Lockerbie, Dalveen and Thornhill, Viscount of Tiberris and Earl of Solway whilst still a wee nipper.

He succeeded his father as Duke of Queensberry and Duke of Dover in 1711, when his older brother James was deemed unsuitable to inherit the title due to his poor mental health.

When James died in 1715, Charles also inherited the Marquessate as well, becoming the 4th Marquess of Queensberry, and later became known simply as 'Queensberry'.

The offices that Queensberry held included Vice Admiral between 1722 and 1729, Keeper of the Great Seal between 1761 and 1763, Lord Justice General between 1763 and 1778, and Senior Privy Councillor between 1769 and 1778.

Queensberry was a founding governor of London's Foundling Hospital, created in 1739. In 1746, he invested in the British Linen Company in the hope that it would aid the development of the Scottish economy. He became the Governor of the company from 1762 until 1776. During this period the directors decided to stop manufacturing linen from factories they owned in the Highlands and finance independent manufacturers instead.

He was one of the many who suffered heavy financial losses from the failure of the Douglas, Heron and Company Bank in 1776.

The column was commissioned by Thomas Boyd and designed by Robert Adam in 1780. It was originally erected here in Queensberry Square, but was moved in 1934 to the front of the County Council Buildings in English Street. In 1990, it returned to its original position where you find it today.

The 6.4m tall monument is topped with a flaming urn. Its circular column sits on a square pedestal that is decorated with ram heads. One panel contains a lady with an urn and another is inscribed with the words:

'This column, sacred to the memory of Charles, Duke of Queensberry and Dover, was erected by the county of Dumfries, as a monument of their veneration for the character of that illustrious nobleman, whose exalted virtues rendered him the ornament of society, and whose numerous acts of public benefice and private charity endeared him to his country. Ob. 22nd Oct. 1778; Aetat 80'.