Gavinton is a small settlement in the Scottish Borders area of

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 ...

, south-west of

Duns Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66–1308 ...

, the former county town 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 ...

. The hamlet sits on a minor road off the A6105 Duns to Greenlaw road at .

History

Gavinton is a relatively new settlement, having been established as a planned estate village in 1759 when David Gavin, the local landowner, decided to demolish the village and the church of Langton, which were situated on his estate, and rebuild them outwith the walls on Crimson Hill. The first records of the area came in the reign of

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...

when Roger d'Eu, the king's retainer, was in possession of lands and church of Langton. Richard was succeeded at Langton by William de Veteriponte (Vipont) and that family were the lairds until 1314 when Sir William, Lord of Langton, died at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The lordship at Langton Tower passed to

Sir Alexander Cockburn Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn, 12th Baronet (24 September 1802 – 20 November 1880) was a British jurist and politician who served as the Lord Chief Justice for 21 years. He heard some of the leading '' causes célèbres'' of the nin ...

when he married Mary, the Vipont heiress. In 1496, King James IV of Scotland sent his artillery to Langton to prepare for an English incursion then Mary, Queen of Scots was believed to have spent a night at Langton Tower during a survey of the border lands. The old village of Langton, so called because of its straggling layout (Longtown) was attacked and razed to the ground in 1558 by Sir Henry Percy,

Earl of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...

Sir Alexander Cockburn, 7th. Baronet of Langton, died at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 and another chapter of the Langton story came to an end. In 1758 David Gavin bought Langton and wasted no time in demolishing the historic old tower and building a new house. David married the daughter of the

Earl of Lauderdale Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The current holder of the title is Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale. The title was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The second Ea ...

and their daughter married the Earl of Breadalbane. In 1886 another Earl of Breadalbane bought Langton House and immediately set about building a magnificent new home. The Breadalbanes lived there until 1920 when they decided to abandon it. The roof was removed and the house was partially demolished in 1930. The house was finally demolished in 1950 though the farm buildings remain and are still used Like the ancient tower, church and village, Langton House has disappeared below the fields. The name, Langton, though lives on in the parish and the church.

References

External links

RCAHMS record of GavintonBBC: Coat of arms of Gavinton, Fogo and Polwarth explained

{{authority control Villages in the Scottish Borders

History

See also

References

External links