Dolphinton is a village and parish in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It is located northeast of Biggar, 11 miles (18 km) northeast of

Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs r ...

, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Leadburn and 27 miles (43 km) southwest of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, on the

A702 road The A702 is a major road in Scotland, that runs from Edinburgh to St. John's Town of Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway. It is the last section of the route from London via the West Midlands and North West England to Edinburgh, which follows the ...

. The local manor belonged in the 12th century to Dolfine, elder brother of the first

Earl of Dunbar The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, was the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this earldom ...

. The estate was owned in various forms by the Brown family from the sixteenth till the nineteenth centuries, when it passed to the McKenzie family by marriage. The parish has an area of . It is bordered by the parishes of Linton and

Kirkurd Kirkurd is a parish in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders situated 3 miles south-east of Dolphinton and 6 miles north-east of Broughton. Tarth Water, a tributary of Lyne Water (itself a tributary of the River Tweed) forms the northern boundar ...

( Peeblesshire), Walston and Dunsyre.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis Groome, 2nd edition 1896; article on Dolphinton

The Railway

Dolphinton, Morningside & Peebles RJD 49

The village once had two railway termini, now long since closed. The

Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Railway The Dolphinton Branch refers to two railway branch lines in Lanarkshire and Peeblesshire, Scotland, built in the nineteenth century. The first was built by the nominally independent ''Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Railway''. It opened in 1864 ...

was the first to reach Dolphinton; the line, from the Peebles Railway at Leadburn, opened on 4 July 1864. In 1867 the

Dolphinton Branch The Dolphinton Branch refers to two railway branch lines in Lanarkshire and Peeblesshire, Scotland, built in the nineteenth century. The first was built by the nominally independent ''Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Railway''. It opened in 1864 ...

was opened, connecting Carstairs Junction to the Leadburn line at Dolphinton.

Major Joseph Learmont

An example may partially survive of an escape or

Ley Tunnel Mysterious tunnels or " secret passages" are a common element of the local folklore tradition in Europe. Such tunnels are said to physically link prominent places such as country houses, castles, churches, ancient monuments and other, often me ...

built in Covenanting times at the old house and estate of Newholm. This tunnel was built by Newholm's owner at the time, Major

Joseph Learmont Major Joseph Learmont was major in the Scottish Covenanter army. He was a tailor before he began his military career. He was proprietor of the lands of Newholm, near Dolphinton, which lay partly in the shire of Peebles and partly in that of Lanar ...

, a leading member of the Covenanter cause who fought at

Rullion Green The Battle of Rullion Green took place on 28 November 1666, near the Pentland Hills, in Midlothian, Scotland. It was the only significant battle of the Pentland Rising, a brief revolt by Covenanter dissidents against the Scottish government. S ...

and

Bothwell Bridge Bothwell is a conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, east-south-east of Glasgow city centre. Description and history An anc ...

. He hid within the long stone lined tunnel when necessary and evaded capture for 16 years until traditionally said to have been betrayed by a maid servant in 1682. The stone lining was eventually used to build a walled garden; it had run from a cellar to a turf dyke in mossy ground. Remains of it may have been discovered in the 1960s however details are sparse. The major was sentenced to death however partly due to his advanced age he was sent to the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volca ...

before eventual release.Covenanter's Secret Tunnel Discovered in Lanarkshire
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References

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Villages in South Lanarkshire {{SouthLanarkshire-geo-stub