LOCHMABEN

royal burgh (town), Dumfries and Galloway council area, historic county of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, situated near several small lochs in Annandale valley. Robert the Bruce, who ruled Scotland as Robert I from 1306 to 1329, had close associations with the town and, according to local tradition, was born in Lochmaben Castle in 1274. In 1290 a peel tower (small fortified tower) was erected by Edward I of England, and in 1298 Lochmaben was designated a royal burgh. In 1330 a stone castle was built, which remained in English hands until 1385. Pop. (1991) 2,024.