Summerhill in Dumfries is a post war residential suburb on the West side of the town. It is located on the Maxwelltown side of the River Nith that runs through Dumfries. Summerhill is bounded by Terregles Road to the North, the streets that branch off Ellisland Drive to the East, the Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club to the South and West and also to the West by the disused Maxwelltown train station.
Housing
The suburb comprises primarily but not exclusively of a mixture of terraced houses and blocks of 3 storey flats. Most of the streets in Summerhill were named containing connotations associated with Scotland's national poet Robert Burns. Burns lived in Dumfries for his last years and died there in 1796. Examples of the Burns influenced street names in Summerhill are Afton Drive, Armour Drive, Ballochmyle Terrace, Campbell Avenue, Doon Terrace, Ellisland Drive, Gilbert Circle, Glencairn Road, Mauchline Terrace and Mossgiel Avenue. The housing capacity of Summerhill was increased in the 90s with the creation of 3 additional streets.
Terregles Road
As the name suggests Terregles Road forms part of the spoke from Dumfries leading to the village of Terregles approximately 2 miles further West from Summerhill. When Summerhill housing estate was originally completed the visible marker connecting the urban area of Dumfries and the rural areas beyond was the hump back railway bridge on Terregles Road. In the 1990s the urban boundary moved further West with the development of a new housing estate beyond the bridge. Terregles Road was also home to the offices and yard of Haley's builders before Haley's demise. The terraced houses on the council built Southern side of Terregles Road contain 4-bedroom gable end houses. As such the 4-bedroom houses were used by the council for housing the biggest families in Summerhill. The numbers of the 4-bedroom gable end houses are 3, 9, 11, 25, 27, 33, 35, 41, 43, 57, 59 and 65. Terregles Road is a continuation of Terregles Street. Terregles Street is home to Palmerston Park of Queen of the South F.C.
Boundary with Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club
The Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club is the only golf club in Dumfries on the Maxwelltown side of the River Nith. It is the area around the 2nd and 5th holes and the 6th tee on the course that partially hem in Summerhill. The 2nd and the 5th are the only par 5 holes of the 18 on the course. Golf Avenue is the longer and older of the 2 streets in Summerhill adjacent to the golf course. Golfers playing the par 4 6th are required to negotiate a burn that runs most of the length of the hole. The burn eventually runs into the nearby Cargen Pow, a tributary of the Nith.
Transport
The line from Dumfries through Maxwelltown station on the periphery of Summerhill to Castle Douglas and beyond was closed to passengers in the 1960s as part of the Beeching axe. The line through the station was used for some years more to allow trains to carry chemical tankers to/from the ICI factory just outside Dumfries at Cargenbridge. Without passengers Maxwelltown station was redundant and so was closed. More recently the line has been closed completely and has been replaced with a cycle path. Bus services 9 and 9A run between Dumfries town centre and Afton Drive in Summerhill. Bus service 373 between Dumfries and Shawhead runs along Terregles Road.
Schools
Summerhill is one of the suburbs in the catchment area for Laurieknowe primary school. Pupils from Summerhill would use the James Avenue entrance accessed from Terregles Street. The school to serve those in Summerhill desiring a catholic school education for their children is St Teresa's in the Lochside area of Dumfries. The secondary schools within the catchment area of Summerhill are Dumfries Academy, located over the River Nith in the town centre of Dumfries, or Maxwelltown High School, located in the Lochside area of Dumfries. Those seeking a Catholic secondary education, would be St, Joseph's College in the DG1 side of Dumfries. Laurieknowe school is adjacent to Dumfries prison. The prison is on Nelson Street accessed from Terregles Street. Neither the school nor the prison are in Summerhill.
Recreation
The council maintained grassed recreational field at the West End of Armour Drive and Golf Avenue was replaced with additional housing in the 90s. The new street was named McGeoch Drive. This leaves 2 grassed recreational fields; one at Doon Terrace that has suffered historically with poor drainage and one at Ballochmyle Terrace. A recent construction has been a MUGA on the grass at Ballochmyle Terrace. The Community Centre located in Ballochmyle Terrace is also a major source of recreation for a number of residents in the area, mainly young people. This includes hosting "The Base"Youth group for young people ages 12-16 and the junior youth group for ages 5-11.
Public houses and licensed bars
Summerhill was once home to a licensed bar named The Palmerston Hotel. The Palmerston survived a fire and was renamed on more than one occasion before closing its doors for the last time in the 90s. Its grounds were then used to build additional housing on a newly created street called Simpson Gardens. Thus the hostelries typically used by people from Summerhill based on the pubs' proximity between the suburb and the town centre are The Spread Eagle, The Salutation, The Globe Inn and The Devorgilla Lounge. All four are in the Market Street area only separated from Dumfries town centre by the River Nith. However the nearest premises licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on site is the social club at Queen of the South's Palmerston Park.
