Travelling by road Eastriggs is 3 miles (5 kilometres) to the east of Annan, 19 miles (31 kilometres) to the east of Dumfries, 5 miles (8 kilometres) to the west of Gretna, 17.7 miles (28 kilometres) to the west of Carlisle and 83.1 miles (134 kilometres) to the south of Edinburgh.
The B721 road, runs through Eastriggs and other neighbouring towns and villages connecting to the nearby A75.
Situated in the parish of Dornock, in the traditional county of Dumfriesshire, Eastriggs appears to have taken its name from the farm, or farm house, known as Eastriggs that was located in the middle of what was to become the new township.[2] The only other buildings in the area prior to World War I were a group of houses at Lowtherton (now North Road, Lowthertown); a parallel group on what is now the B721 road; an inn and a smithy where East Road joins the B721.[2]
Wooden house in Eastriggs (demolished in March 2010)
Officially designated H.M. Factory Gretna, the factory was spread over a 9-mile (14 km) site stretching from Dornock through Gretna to Longtown, Cumbria.[4] This required a huge influx of labour, and 30,000 men and women came from all over the British Commonwealth to serve as construction and factory workers.[5] The Devil's Porridge Museum, opened in 2014 in the village, commemorates the factory and its workers.[6][7]
Sir Raymond Unwin, Chief Housing Architect of the housing branch of the Explosives Department of Ministry of Munitions, and Courtenay Crickmer[8] designed wooden housing for the workers in both Eastriggs and Gretna.[9] As a mark of respect for the immigrant workforce, the streets were named after various cities within the Commonwealth.[5]
Designed in the Gothic style by C M Crickmer under the direction of Sir Raymond Unwin,[11] the Church of St John the Evangelist was dedicated in 1917, and was presented with a signed altar book the following year by King George V and Queen Mary, who were paying an official visit to HM Factory, Gretna.
The Glasgow South Western Line connecting Carlisle, Gretna Green and Annan passes through the currently closed Eastriggs railway station. The station was originally called Dornock, but renamed Eastriggs in 1923. The station closed in 1963. In 2019, Andrew Wood, then chair of the South West Scotland Transport Partnership, said that in response to a public consultation, that he believed that there would be great benefit to the local community in opening up Beattock, Thornhill and Eastriggs stations.[12]
Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (number 323) - 1:25,000 scale (2.5 inches to 1 mile)
Ministry of Munitions of War, (1918). H.M. Factory, Gretna: Description of Plant and Process. Dumfries: J. Maxwell & Son for His Majesty's Stationery Office.
Stratton, Michael and Trinder, Barrie (2000). Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology. London: E & FN Spon. ISBN0-419-24680-0.
Video/DVD, (1994). The Longtown Military Railway. Carnforth: Tele Rail.
