In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Legerwood like this:
Legerwood, a hamlet and a parish of- SW Berwickshire. The hamlet lies in the middle of the parish, 4 miles N by E of its station and post-town, Earlston.
The parish is bounded NW by Lauder, NE by Westruther, E by Gordon, SE and S by Earlston, and W by Lauder (detached) and by Melrose in Roxburghshire. ...
Its utmost length, from N to S, is 5 miles; its utmost width, from E to W, is 4¼ miles; and its area is 8817 acres, of which 27¾ are water. The drainage is partly carried westward or south-westward to Leader Water, which flows 3¾ miles south-by-eastward along all the western boundary; partly eastward by Eden Water, whose principal head-stream, rising at a point 1½ mile NNW of the church, winds 4 miles through the interior and along the Gordon border. The surface is hilly, sinking to 450 feet along the Leader, 575 along the Eden, and rising to 923 at Legerwood Hill, 1070 at Boon Hill. Sandstone, conglomerate, and greywacke are the predominant rocks; and the soils are various- clayey, gravelly, or peaty. About 3600 acres are in tillage; 315 are under wood; and the rest is mostly pastoral or waste. Of three old peel towers-Corsbie, Whitslaid, and Moriston-only the two first, noticed separately, are still remaining in a ruinous condition, the third having been demolished less than a century since. William Calderwood (1628-1709) was minister from 1655 till his death, but was ejected from 1662 till 1689 for nonconformity to the Acts of Glasgow. Three proprietors hold each an annual value of more than £500, and 3 of more than £100. Legerwood is in the presbytery of Earlston and synod of Merse and Teviotdale; the living is worth £412. The parish church, which down to the Reformation was held by the Abbey of Paisley, is an old building, repaired in 1717 and 1804, and containing 300 sittings. A public school, with accommodation for 103 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 78, and a grant of £52, 7s. Valuation (1865) £6920, 19s. 3d., (1882) £8362, 11s. 8d. Pop. (1801) 495, (1841) 571, (1861) 599, (1871) 525, (1881) 549.—Ord. Sur., sh. 25, 1865.
Legerwood through time
Legerwood is now part of Scottish Borders district. Click here for graphs and data of how Scottish Borders has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Legerwood itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Legerwood, in Scottish Borders and Berwickshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/17127
Date accessed: 23rd April 2024
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