A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Langton, a central parish of Berwickshire, containing the post-office village of Gavinton, 2 miles SW of the post-town, Duns. It is bounded W and NW by Longformacus, NE by Duns, E and SE by Edrom, and S by Polwarth. Its utmost length, from NW to SE, is 6¼ miles; it breadth varies between 51/3. furlongs and 31/3. miles; and its area is 7151 acres, of which 12 are water. The drainage is most carried eastward to the Blackadder by Langton Burn and other rivulets. In the extreme E the surface declines to 290 feet above sea-level, thence rising to 805 feet near Campmuir, 905 at Blacksmill Hill, 1056 at Hardens Hill, and 1159 near Duntalee Plantation-heights of the Lammermuirs that command a view of all the Merse and over parts of Northumberland to Wooller. The prevailing rocks of the Lammermuir or north-western district are Silurian, of the Merse or south-eastern district Devonian; and the soil of the former is moorish, of the latter a reddish loam. About five-ninths of the entire area are sheepwalks; woods and plantations cover some 300 acres; and the rest of the parish is chiefly arable. Traces of two old military stations are on a hill near Raecleughhead, and traces of another are at Campmuir. Stone coffins have been exhumed on Crease and Middlefield farms; and a gold bracelet, 9 inches in circumference, was found in 1813 in a burn at Battlemuir. Langton estate, including not only the greater part of Langton parish, but also parts of Duns and Longformacus, belonged to the Veterepontes or Viponts from the latter half of the 12th century till the beginning of the 14th century. From them it passed by marriage to the Cockburns, ancestors of the late Chief-Justice; and by them it was sold in 1758 to David Gavin, Esq., the maternal grandfather of John, second Marquis of Breadalbane (1796-1862). From the Marquis Langton passed to his sister, Lady Elizabeth Pringle, who held 8121 acres in the shire, valued at £8501 per annum; and at her death, in 1878, to her daughter, Mary-Gavin, who in 1861 married the Hon. Robert Baillie-Hamilton (b. 1828), second son of the tenth Earl of Haddington, and Conservative member for Berwickshire from 1874 till 1880. The present mansion, near the left bank of Langton Burn, 2¼. miles SW of Duns, was commenced in 1862 by the Marquis of Breadalbane, after designs by David Bryce, RES. It is a stately Elizabethan structure, with a splendid picture gallery, beautiful grounds, and a noble entrance gateway of 1877. There are 3 lesser proprietors, 1 holding an annual value of more, and 2 of less, than £100. Langton is in the presbytery of Duns and synod of Merse and Teviotdale; the living is worth £300. The parish church, rebuilt in 1872, is a beautiful Gothic edifice, with 200 sittings, and a spire 100 feet high. There is also a Free church, with 300 sittings; and a public school, with accommodation for 120 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 62, and a grant of £61, 4s. Valuation (1865) £7344, 11s., (1882) £7822, 7s. Pop. (1801) 428, (1831) 443, (1861) 502, (1871) 548, (1881) 505.—Ord. Sur., shs. 26, 25, 33, 1863-65.
(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)
| Linked entities: | |
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| Feature Description: | "a central parish of Berwickshire" (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 4th order divisions") |
| Administrative units: | Langton ScoP Berwickshire ScoCnty |
| Place: | Langton |
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