Boasting an area of more than 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of predominantly agricultural land, the Applegirth estate is one of the largest of our estates in Scotland, second only in size to Glenlivet.

The estate lies in the eastern area of Dumfriesshire, in the vicinity of Lockerbie. The principal portions were purchased from the Church Commissioners (in 1963), Annandale Estate (1968) and Wamphray Estate (1970). It consists primarily of dairy units but also features hill and stock farms plus a number of commercial and sporting tenancies. The farms are mostly in the range of 40 – 400 hectares (100 – 1,000 acres).

Agricultural Restructuring and Diversification

As with many parts of rural Britain, Applegirth was adversely affected by foot and mouth in 2001. At the time, the outbreak was a devastating blow to the local farming community, but a programme of re-stocking continues to be successful and the opportunity has been taken to restructure a number of farm businesses.

There have been some successful small scale diversification projects on the estate. The Crown Estate understands the importance of diversification in improving rural business and encourages tenants with strong ideas. Where possible, we look to provide practical and financial assistance in partnership with the tenant on diversifying their businesses.

The majority of tenancies are traditional 1991 Act tenancies, although a programme to introduce limited duration tenancies (LDT)and short limited duration tenancies (SLDT) as appropriate is underway as on the other Scottish estates. A 15 year LDT was recently completed for Bridgemuir Farm following an open market letting exercise.

Residential

There are about 40 residential properties on the estate. These are actively managed to provide rental accommodation largely promoted towards people who are employed locally. The residential properties benefit from a phased programme of upgrading and improvement.

Minerals

The estate has, in the past, provided a source of sand and gravel for road construction and in 2005 the farm of Nether Murthat was purchased primarily as a source of sand and gravel for the construction of concrete blocks.

In addition there is a sandstone quarry at Corncockle producing dressed sandstone.

Environment

There is one Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Applegirth estate, and two farms are within an Environmentally Sensitive Area.

There are a number of active conservation and public access projects on the estate, including the Applegarthtown Wildlife Sanctuary and two popular local walks.

Pollution Control

A pollution control programme has been undertaken over a period of years following on from an audit of effluent management, and between 1992 and 2004 The Crown Estate spent £800,000 on pollution control works on this estate.

Contact Us

For further information on the Applegirth estate, please contact our managing agents:

Robert Gladstone
Smiths Gore
28 Castle Street
Dumfries
DG1 1DG
telephone 01387 263 066
fax 01387 257 103

For minerals

John Pears
Wardell Armstrong LLP
Sir Henry Doulton House
Forge Lane
Etruria
Stoke on Trent
ST1 5BD
telephone 0845 111 7777
fax 0845 111 8888

Further information on other local agents can be found on the Agents page.

For further information on our Scottish holdings, please visit our Scotland page.