The name
"Threave" is derived from "Trieffe", meaning "Homestead" in
old Welsh, the native tongue of Galloway before Gaelic.
Threave Castle, built in the 14th century by Archibald
the Grim, third Earl of Douglas, stands on an island in the River Dee. It became the
stronghold of the Black Douglases, one of the more powerful families in Scotland.
