Editing Sanquhar (section)

===Crichton family===
During the reign of [[Robert I of Scotland|Robert the Bruce]] the [[Clan Crichton|Crichton family]] obtained the lands round about Sanquhar and ruled over the area from the mid-14th until the mid-17th centuries. [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], (cousin of [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth the 1st]]) came to Sanquhar in May 1568 after her defeat at the [[battle of Langside]]. Lord Crichton of Sanquhar was loyal to Mary, and harboured her until she escaped across the River Nith.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.cumnockchronicle.com/news/16247524.time-travel-sanquhar-mary-queen-scots-came-back/ |title=Time travel in Sanquhar as Mary Queen of Scots came back|date=27 May 2018|newspaper=Cumnock Chronicle|access-date=23 July 2022}}</ref>

The end of the Crichton family power in the area was the result of a lavish party. In July 1617, the King of Great Britain, [[James I of England|James VI and I]], travelled through Scotland to [[Glasgow]], and on his way home stopped at the castle in Sanquhar. The Crichtons welcomed him with a display so huge that it bankrupted them. It is said that Lord Crichton escorted the king to bed carrying a lighted torch made from £30,000 in bond notes that the king owed Lord Crichton.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/folkloreandgene00wilsgoog/page/n210/mode/2up?q=%22William+Crichton%22 | title=Folk Lore and Genealogies of Uppermost Nithsdale | author=William Wilson | date=1904 | publisher= R. G. Mann}}</ref> By 1639, the Crichtons had moved to [[Ayrshire]], and sold their holdings in Sanquhar to the [[Marquess of Queensberry|Earl of Queensberry]].<ref name=douglas/>

A joke in the region is that many a young woman who worked for the Crichtons would "Go in the servants' entrance and come out [[pregnancy|the family way]]". However, one well-regarded member of Crichton family was [[James Crichton]] (known as 'The Admirable Crichton').<ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle = Crichton, James (1560-1585?)}}</ref>