Editing Sanquhar (section)

===Later history===
In the 1780s, the legendary Scottish poet [[Robert Burns]] was a frequent visitor to Sanquhar. When he was renovating a farm in 1788, he often passed through on the way back to his wife, Jean, in Ayrshire. Afterwards, he became a well-known face because of his excise duties. Burns called the town "Black Joan" in his ballad "Five Carlins" in which he represented the local burghs as characters. He would stay overnight at the Queensberry Arms in the High Street, making friends with the owner, bailie [[Edward Whigham]] and calling it "the only tolerable Inn in the place".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Purdie|first=David|year=2013|title=Maurice Lindsay's The Burns Encyclopaedia|publisher=Robert Hale|isbn=978-0-7090-9194-3|page=330}}</ref>

[[File:The oldest Post Office in the world (6680788521).jpg|thumb|right|The oldest Post Office in the world]]
Sanquhar is notable for its tiny [[post office]] and held to be the oldest working post office in the world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://linns.com/news/postal-news/392/Worldand#8217s-oldest-post-office-founded-in-1712-offered-for-sale|title=World's oldest post office, founded in 1712, offered for sale|last=McCarty|first=Denise|date=18 April 2014|work=Linn's Stamp News|access-date=19 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idCmAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1163 | title=Guinness World Records 2014 | date=12 September 2013 | publisher=[[Guinness World Records]] | isbn=9781908843562 | access-date=10 August 2015}}</ref> Established in 1712, its closest rival is a post office in [[Stockholm]], Sweden which opened in 1720. In 2019 it was put up for sale and was finally bought by new owners, the 17th in its operating history, in 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-66842343 | title=World's oldest post office in Sanquhar finds new owners | work=BBC News | date=18 September 2023 | access-date=25 February 2024}}</ref>

The [[wool]] trade had been an important one in the coastal trading towns of [[Dumfriesshire]] and [[Kirkcudbright]] since medieval times and by the 18th century Sanquhar had developed as an inland market centre. The Sanquhar Wool Fair, held in July, regulated the prices for the whole south of Scotland. A distinctive two-coloured pattern of knitting which is widely known as 'Sanquhar knitting' takes its name from this small parish. A traveller's account early in the 18th century tells us: 'Gloves they make better and cheaper than in England, for they send great quantities thither.' Many a poor farm family supported themselves with extra income from these sought-after knitted garments. While knitting died out as an industry, the presentation of traditional Sanquhar gloves is an important part of local celebrations even today.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pieceworkmagazine.com/by-the-dexterous-use-of-two-threads-gloves-and-the-handknitting-industry-of/|title=By the Dexterous Use of Two Threads: Gloves and the Handknitting Industry of Sanquhar, Scotland|publisher=Piecework|date=26 April 2020|access-date=23 July 2022}}</ref> Sanquhar resident, May MacCormick, has written down numerous glove designs many of which had not been previously recorded. Incorporating the owner's initials into the cuff to personalise the gloves is part of the tradition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Georgina |date=14 April 2024 |title=Knitter records glove patterns to save Sanquhar designs |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-68469193 |access-date=20 April 2024 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

[[File:Sanquhar Tolbooth (geograph 5785308).jpg|thumb|[[Sanquhar Tolbooth]]]]
[[File:Sanquhara.JPG|right|thumb|The re-opened [[Sanquhar railway station|Sanquhar station]] from the roadbridge looking towards Kirkconnel. 2007.]]
The decline of traditional industries hurt the town, but now new manufacturers are moving in and there is a strong sense of community in the burgh. [[William Adam (architect)|William Adam]], a famous Scottish architect, designed [[Sanquhar Tolbooth]] in the centre of town, which is the only surviving building of this type designed by him. Completed in 1739, much of the building materials for it were taken from the old castle in Sanquhar and it is currently used as the town museum, containing local artifacts and memorabilia.<ref>{{canmore|num=45425|desc=Sanquhar, High Street, Tolbooth|access-date=23 July 2022}}</ref>

The town has the world's oldest curling society, formed in 1774 with sixty members. James Brown, who wrote an important history of the town, is also credited with writing the rules universally used for the sport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://electricscotland.com/history/sanquhar/chapter09.htm|title=The History of Sanquhar Chapter IX.—Curling|publisher=Electric Scotland| access-date=23 July 2022}}</ref>

The [[Glasgow South Western Line|railway line]] has remained open for freight and passenger traffic, however [[Sanquhar railway station]] was closed and only re-opened in recent years.<ref>{{Butt-Stations}} p.206</ref>