Brow is a hamlet on the B725 lying around 3 km from Ruthwell in the Parish of that name on the Solway Firth between Dumfries and Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The Raffles Burn runs through the site, marked on maps as the Brow Burn it flows into the Solway Firth at Lochar Bay.
History
The name may refer to the situation of the site that 'faces or confronts' the Lochar Water and the Solway Firth. The hamlet in 1747 consisted of four or more buildings on a minor road between Ruthwell and Caerlaverock. A ford in the 1800s ran across the sands and the Lochar Water from near Brow to Blackshaw Point. The Raffles or Brow Burn runs through the site after passing near to Clarencefield where it once powered a saw mill and then through the Brow Plantation to run through the sand banks at Lochar Bay where at low tide it joins the Lochar Water.
Used as a staging post by drovers taking their cattle to England for sale, the hamlet had at Burns' time around a dozen houses. One of which was small inn that although run by the Davidsons, husband and wife, was owned by James Morpeth and survived until 1863 when it was demolished. Brow had a minor reputation as a poor mans spa with its Chalybeate well and sea bathing in the Solway Firth a hundred metres or so away down a narrow lane. The farm of Stanhope is located on the other side of the burn with a ford existing in the 19th century.
Herman Molls map circa 1745 does not mark 'Brow' in this position, but locates a 'Brow' on the other side of the Lochar Water on Blackshaw Point as does Blaeu's map, based on Timothy Ponts map of circa 1600.
John Thomson's map of 1832 indicates a group of three buildings and a mineral well. In 1856 a group of buildings existed with a small building close to the well and a path leading down to a ford across the Brow Burn that led to Stanhope Farm.
The hamlet had a small cottage that acted as an inn of sorts, mainly used by drovers and those visiting the well seeking a cure. The inn, situated between two other cottages, lay on the eastern side of the Raffles or Brow Burn and was demolished in 1863 when the road was widened. Robert Burns stayed at this hostelry whilst taking the waters from Brow Well and immersing himself up to the armpits in the waters of the Solway Firth.
A local legend records that the Roman Legions of the Emperor Agricola landed at Brow. It is also said that the first Scottish pigs were introduced and raised at Brow, their appearance causing great concern amongst those who saw them.
On a knoll close to the cottage in which Robert Burns lodged David Lord Stormont of Comlongon Castle bade farewell to his younger son William Murray, informing him that he should not return until he achieved the position of Chief Justice of the King's Bench. In due course William did indeed reach this position in the justiciary.
The Brow Merse is a part of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve.
The Brow Well
Constructed in its present form in the 20th century the Grade C Listed well (NGR NY 308505, 567509) is a roughly 'L' shaped tank with ashlar red sandstone walls entered via stone steps. The iron rich water was originally taken from a pipe using an iron cup attached to a chain. A drain takes the water to the nearby Raffles or Brow Burn.
This is a Chalybeate or ferruginous well that has become firmly established with a built environment surrounding it. The waters are rich in iron and other salts and were believed to have many properties beneficial to health. The map produced circa 1747 by William Roy appears to show three wells on the western side of the burn above the road and records 'Mineral Wells' plural at the site. John Ainslie's map of 1821 also shows the well located above the road and on the western side of the burn as does William Crawford's map of 1804.
An engraving of 1846 shows the thatched cottages of the hamlet and a rectangular well on the eastern side of the Raffles or Brow Burn. The 1856 OS map shows the well in its present and a small building nearby with a path leading to it. In 1898 the well is shown as rectangular and the small building nearby is not marked. The well is shown as draining into the burn.
The site of two other mineral springs are visible on the other side of the Raffles or Brow Burn at the Brow Well site however they have no built structures associated with them.