Edrom is a parish and small village in the pre-1975 ancient county of

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

, now an administrative area of the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. The rural parish of Edrom is in east central Berwickshire being bounded on the north by the parishes of Bunkle and

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

and

Chirnside Chirnside is a hillside village in Berwickshire, Scotland, west of Berwick-upon-Tweed and east of Duns. Church The parish church at Chirnside dates from the 12th century. It was substantially rebuilt in 1878 and extensively restored and ...

, on the east by the Parishes of Chirnside, Hutton and

Whitsome Whitsome is a small rural village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the B6437, near Duns, Fogo, Ladykirk, Leitholm and Swinton. Place-name meaning Whitsome derives from Old English ''hwit-husum'' "at the white houses". This may ...

and Hilton, on the south by the parishes of

and Hilton, Swinton and Fogo and on the west by the parishes of Langton and Duns. It includes the nearby village of Allanton.

Locality

Edrom lies three miles north-east of Duns, and close to the Whiteadder Water. Nearby are Allanbank, Allanton, the Blackadder Water,

Blanerne Castle Blanerne Castle is the remains of a 16th-century fortified house, located in the grounds of Blanerne House, an 18th-century country house between Chirnside and Preston in the Scottish Borders. The house and castle sit on the north bank of the Whi ...

, Chirnsidebridge, Foulden, Gavinton, Hutton,

Kimmerghame House Kimmerghame House is a 19th-century mansion in the Scottish Borders, located south-east of Duns by the Blackadder Water. It is the seat of the Swintons of Kimmerghame, a branch of the Lowland Clan Swinton. The house was designed in the Scotti ...

, Manderston House,

Wedderburn Castle Wedderburn Castle, near Duns, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders, is an 18th-century country house that is now used as a wedding and events venue. The house is a Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of G ...

, and the former Kelloe House.

Village

The village contains several notable buildings, including the Manse, 1881, and the former school, early 19th century. The schoolroom, now the Village Hall, is very likely the Sewing School erected in 1866. Edrom Newton Farm, with a neo-Jacobean steading, is a late 18th or early 19th century farm house built by Richard Miller of

Manderston Manderston House, Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, is the home of The Rt Hon. The 4th Baron Palmer. It was completely rebuilt between 1901 and 1903 and has sumptuous interiors with a silver-plated staircase. The proprietor, Sir James Miller ...

; it is notable for its pavilions with Venetian windows. Edrom Farm Cottages are a stylish group of neo-Jacobean cottages, 1876, just to the east of the steading. Two bridges, Kelloe Bridge and Todheugh Bridge, cross the Blackadder Water and the Whiteadder Water respectively.

Parish Church

A parish church was granted to Durham Cathedral in the early 12th century. The Logan Aisle, to the west of the church, contains what is described as the finest piece of Romanesque architectural sculpture in Scotland - the reset doorway from the main church. This dates from the 12th century, and is now somewhat worn.

Edrom House

Thought to date from circa 1740, and a somewhat dated design for that time, Edrom House is a simple classical rectangular piend-roofed house. A design introduced by Sir William Bruce in the 17th century. Edrom House was the home of the International Cello Centre, a residential school for musicians of varying ages and backgrounds run by John Gwilt, Jane and Christopher Cowan, where

Steven Isserlis Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse repert ...

and Steven Doane trained in the 1970s. The school is no longer based at Edrom and is now called The Edrom Casals Centre.

Berwickshire Railway

Edrom had a railway station on the North British Railway's

Berwickshire Railway The Duns Branch and the Berwickshire Railway together formed a through railway route from Reston, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, to St Boswells in the Scottish Borders. The line was promoted in two stages. The first was from Reston on the Edinburgh ...

(opened 1863). The railway line ran from Reston to

Earlston Earlston ( sco, Yerlston; gd, Dùn Airchill) is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland. Early history Earlston was originally called ''Arc ...

, joining the East Coast Main Line to the

Waverley Line The Waverley Route was a railway line that ran south from Edinburgh, through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders, to Carlisle. The line was built by the North British Railway; the stretch from Edinburgh to Hawick opened in 1849 and the remain ...

. A five span rounded arch railway bridge was built over the Whiteadder Water, in the hamlet of Chirnsidebridge, in 1863 to carry the railway. Edrom Railway Station was closed to passenger traffic 10 September 1951. Freight continued until 19 July 1965. The station had a single platform. The station building, platform and goods shed remain intact.

Body Snatching

Edrom was notable as the site of

Body snatching Body snatching is the illicit removal of corpses from graves, morgues, and other burial sites. Body snatching is distinct from the act of grave robbery as grave robbing does not explicitly involve the removal of the corpse, but rather theft from ...

which resulted in a riot in Duns.

Notable people

* George Buchan of Kelloe (1775–1856) Church of Scotland elder. Secretary to the Governor of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. * Alexander Christison (1751–1820) began his career as schoolmaster of Edrom. *The botanist and plant hunter

Robert Fortune Robert Fortune (16 September 1812 – 13 April 1880) was a Scottish botanist, plant hunter and traveller, best known for introducing around 250 new ornamental plants, mainly from China, but also Japan, into the gardens of Britain, Australia, and ...

(1812–1880) was born in Edrom.

References

Bibliography

* ''Borders and Berwick'' by Charles Alexander Strang, The Rutland Press, 1994, * ''The Buildings of Scotland - Borders'', by Kitty Cruft, John Dunbar and Richard Fawcett, Yale University Press, 2006, * Knight Frank (2002) Edrom House, Duns, Berwickshire: Sale particulars, Lauder. Held at RCAHMS * National Library of Scotland, ''Memorials of a Border Family'', history of the Logan Home family

External links

RCAHMS record for Edrom ParishRCAHMS record for Edrom Parish Church, ManseRCAHMS record for Edrom HouseFORESTRY COMMISSION: Response to Consultation on Forestry Provision in the Scottish Climate Change Bill, from Edrom, Allanton and Whitsome Community CouncilGEOGRAPH image of Edrom Norman Arch
{{authority control Berwickshire Villages in the Scottish Borders Parishes in Berwickshire