Mesolithic man may well have walked over the grounds of Dryfesdale lodge, with flint deposits found at various nearby sites dating back some 9000 years. Bronze age cairns, Iron age forts and Roman encampments continue the pre-history of Lockerbie.

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Dryfesdale church first enters the historical record in 1116 with the first record of Lockerbie (or Locardebi as it was then) coming in 1194 with the Locards identified as supporters of Robert the Bruce. During the wars of independence Edward I favoured Lochmaben for the site of his castle and it is not until the union of the crowns and King James VI that peace in the border lands allowed for the parish of Dryfesdale and Lockerbie itself to develop, first as a stop on the drove road to Carlisle and then as a market town in its own right.  

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Trace the growth of Lockerbie from a single row of thatched cottages to the town it is today before venturing into the town itself to view the grandeur of the buildings of Lockerbie's heyday as the 8th wealthiest town in Scotland.