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Abercorn (
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
: ''Obar Chùirnidh'',
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in
West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
, the village is around west of
South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the nort ...
. The parish had a population of 458 at the 2011 Census.Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usual Resident Population, published by National Records of Scotland. Website http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved Apr 2018. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930, Area: Abercorn


Etymology

Etymologically, ''Abercorn'' is a
Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...
place-name. It is recorded as ''Aebbercurnig'' in c.731. The first element is ''aber'' 'mouth, confluence'.
William J. Watson William John Watson FRSE LLD (1865 – 9 March 1948) was a toponymist, one of the greatest Scottish scholars of the 20th century, and was the first scholar to place the study of Scottish place names on a firm linguistic basis. Life Watson ...
proposed that the second element meant 'horned', from a Brittonic word related to Welsh ''corniog''. The name would thus mean 'horned confluence'.Bethany Fox, 'The P-Celtic Place-Names of North-East England and South-East Scotland', The Heroic Age, 10 (2007), http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox.html (appendix at http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox-appendix.html). However, because Abercorn sits by the Cornie Burn, Alan James has suggested that the name means 'mouth of the Cornie Burn'. The name of the stream itself is also Cumbric and seems to derive from *''kernan'' 'mound, hill' and so to be named after the hill on which Abercorn stands.


History

The English monk and historian
Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
mentions Abercorn as the site of a monastery and seat of Bishop
Trumwine Trumwine () was the only ever Bishop of the Northumbrian see of the Picts, based at Abercorn. Trumwine was a contemporary and friend of St. Cuthbert. In 681, during the reign of King Ecgfrith of Northumbria, Trumwine was appointed "Bishop of the ...
, who was the only bishop of the Northumbrian see of the Picts. The 7th monastery is now known to have existed close to the present-day church. The church itself dates partially from the 12th century, although its most interesting features are the private aisles created for the three major families of the area, the Dalyells, the Hamiltons, and later the Hopes, who had their own enclosure behind the altar built by architect William Bruce. The Hope mausoleum, designed by William Burn, is located adjacent to the kirkyard. Older burial monuments include Norse " hogback" grave markers, and fragments of 7th-century Northumbrian crosses.Abercorn History
from ''The Seton Family'' retrieved 24 May 2013
Adjacent to the churchyard at Abercorn, is a small museum containing prominent examples of medieval gravestones. The lands of Abercorn were granted to Claud Hamilton in the 16th century. His son was later created the
Earl of Abercorn Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
. In the early 17th century, a branch of the Hamilton dynasty moved to
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The family would, henceforth, play a major part in Ulster affairs. Thus, the estate was later sold to the Hope family, who were created
Earls of Hopetoun Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
, and built
Hopetoun House Hopetoun House is a country house near South Queensferry owned by the Hopetoun House Preservation Trust, a charity established in 1974 to preserve the house and grounds as a national monument, to protect and improve their amenities, and to pre ...
to the east of the village. On the approach to the church, the Factor's house is a prominent L-shaped building in the Scottish baronial style, built circa 1855. The
House of the Binns The House of the Binns, or simply the Binns, is a historic house in West Lothian, Scotland, the seat of the Dalyell family (pronounced ''dee el''). It dates from the early 17th century, and was the home of Tam Dalyell until his death in January 2 ...
, seat of the Dalyell family, is within the parish. Abercorn's population was recorded as 1,044 at the time of the 1821 census, although it has since declined.


Abercorn Castle

A castle also existed here, near Hope Burn, from the 12th century, belonging to the Avenel family. It passed through marriage to the Graham family in the mid-13th century and to the Mure family in the early 14th century. The
Clan Douglas Clan Douglas is an ancient clan or noble house from the Scottish Lowlands. Taking their name from Douglas in Lanarkshire, their leaders gained vast territories throughout the Borders, Angus, Lothian, Moray, and also in France and Sweden. The f ...
acquired the castle around 1400. It was besieged and sacked in 1455 by
James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...
in his attack against the "Black Douglases" and their chief
James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, 3rd Earl of Avondale KG (1426–1491) was a Scottish nobleman, last of the 'Black' earls of Douglas. Early life The son of James the Gross, 7th Earl of Douglas, by his wife Lady Beatrice Sinclair, daug ...
. It passed to the Seton family but they did not restore the castle and it was thereafter left to decay, such that it is now only marked by an earth mound. The site was excavated by archaeologists in 1963.


Ecclesiastical history


Bishopric

For a very short time, Abercorn was a residential bishopric. In 681, during the reign of King Ecgfrith of Northumbria,
Theodore of Tarsus Theodore of Tarsus ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ταρσοῦ; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, appointed
Trumwine Trumwine () was the only ever Bishop of the Northumbrian see of the Picts, based at Abercorn. Trumwine was a contemporary and friend of St. Cuthbert. In 681, during the reign of King Ecgfrith of Northumbria, Trumwine was appointed "Bishop of the ...
"Bishop of the
Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...
", with his seat at Abercorn. This was part of a more general division of the
Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
n church by Theodore, who also created the
Bishopric of Hexham The Bishop of Hexham was an episcopal title which took its name after the market town of Hexham in Northumberland, England. The title was first used by the Anglo-Saxons in the 7th and 9th centuries, and then by the Roman Catholic Church since ...
by separation from the Bishopric of Lindisfarne. Four years later, Trumwine may have been present at the defeat and death of Ecgfrith at the Battle of Dun Nechtain, after which he was forced to flee from his Pictish bishopric, retiring to the monastery at
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
. The bishopric of Abercorn thus ceased to be a residential diocese.


Titular see

It is today listed by the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as a
titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 821 The diocese was nominally restored as a Latin Catholic titular bishopric in 1973. It must not be confounded with the former Diocese of Abercorn in southern Africa. It has had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank: * Richard Charles Patrick Hanifen (1974–1983) * John Aloysius Mone (1984–1988) * John Charles Dunne (1988–), Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of Rockville Centre (USA)


Notable burials in Abercorn

*Very Rev
Hugh Meiklejohn Hugh Meiklejohn (12 June 1765 – 11 June 1831) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1810. Life He was born on 12 June 1765, the only son of Mary Cree, daughter of Hugh Cree, of Sa ...
* Ian Hamilton Finlay, poet * Sir Robert Dalyell, 8th Baronet


Gallery

File:Confluence of the Cornie and Midhope burns, Abercorn.jpg, The Cornie Burn where it joins the Midhope Burn and thence passes into the Forth File:Abercorn - geograph.org.uk - 335751.jpg, The village File:Accountancy practice - geograph.org.uk - 547591.jpg, The former school File:Beach, Abercorn - geograph.org.uk - 340493.jpg, The beach at Abercorn File:Abercorn Church seen from the East.jpg, The Church and Hopetoun Aisle seen from the east File:Abercorn Church and Manse.jpg, The Church and Hopetoun Aisle seen from the north-east File:Abercorn Church Entrance.jpg, Detailing of the West Front entrance to the nave File:Abercorn Church from the SE.jpg, Abercorn church seen from the SE File:Abercorn Church, West Lothian.JPG, Abercorn church front seen from towards the main gate


See also

* Duke of Abercorn *
Trumwine of Abercorn Trumwine () was the only ever Bishop of the Northumbrian see of the Picts, based at Abercorn. Trumwine was a contemporary and friend of St. Cuthbert. In 681, during the reign of King Ecgfrith of Northumbria, Trumwine was appointed "Bishop of the ...
*
Newtownstewart Newtownstewart is a village and townland of in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is overlooked by hills called Bessy Bell and Mary Gray and lies on the River Strule below the confluence with its tributary the Owenkillew. It is situated in th ...
,
County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...


References


Sources and external links

*
Gazetteer of Scotland

Ancient Lothian


{{authority control Villages in West Lothian