Gavinton is a small settlement in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

area of Scotland, 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. 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 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 The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...

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 nine ...

when he married Mary, the Vipont heiress. In 1496, King

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

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. Gavinton Kirk

Sir Alexander Cockburn, 7th. Baronet of Langton, died at the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by th ...

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 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