From this time to nearly the close of the 16th century the burgh was exposed to frequent raids, both from freebooters on the English side and from partisans of the turbulent chiefsDouglases, Maxwells, Johnstones.
Above the entrance are the arms of the Maxwells, earls of Nithsdale, to whose descendant, the duchess of Norfolk, it belongs.
to the W., a bloody encounter took place in 1593 between the Johnstones and Maxwells.
The Maxwells were pursued into Lockerbie and almost exterminated; hence "Lockerbie Lick" became a proverbial expression, signifying an overwhelming defeat.
It may be noticed that if we take an arbitrary pole in the force-diagram, and draw a corresponding funicular in the skeleton diagram which represents the frame together with the lines of action of the extraneous forces, we obtain two complete reciprocal figures, in Maxwells sense.