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Ecclefechan
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The writer Thomas Carlyle was born there on December 4 , 1795 . He was also buried there on the 4th February 1881 and still lies there today. Carlyle's birthplace "The Arched House" remains a tourist attraction and has been maintained by the National Trust for Scotland since 1936.

Buried next to Thomas Carlyle is Dr Archibald Arnott (1772-1855) who was Napoleon's doctor on St Helena.

Ecclefechan has a population of 746 (c. Central Register Office 22 Apr 2006) and lies at the foot of a large Roman Fort (Burnswark) which dominates the horizon with its flat top. The High Street of the village has a burn which runs through a culvert below it. This culvert was constructed in 1875 by Dr George Arnott at his own expense.

Ecclefechan has two shops, a hairdresser, a church, a doctors surgery, a primary school and a post office. It also has three hotels: "The Ecclefechan Hotel" which dominates the High Street; the "Cressfield Hotel" which has an adjoining caravan park with full amenities; "Kirkconnel Hall Hotel" which sits to the north.

Local produce includes Ecclefechan Tart and a good blended whisky called "The Fechan" whose label denotes the Arched House.

Robert Burns (1759–1796) composed a song entitled The Lass O' Ecclefechan. Ecclefechan also has links to the Guinness family, the story of the Whistling Ploughboy of Ecclefechan under the title "A Guinness With a Difference" was produced by ministries and charts the ploughboys influence under God on the Guinness family.

Other points to note. "Oor Wullie" of The Sunday Post fame once got a day off school for spelling "ECCLEFECHAN" correctly and the Jocks and the Geordies of the Dandy once reminisced the Great Batlle of Ecclefechan.