Gordon is a village 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, within the historic county of
Berwickshire. The village sits on the crossroads of the
A6105 Earlston to
Berwick on Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...
road and the A6089
Edinburgh to
Kelso road. It is east of Earlston and west of
Greenlaw.
Gordon was served by trains on the
Berwickshire Railway from 1863 to 1948.
Origins
The first
Gordon on record is Richard of Gordon, previously of
Swinton, said to have been the grandson of a famous knight who slew some monstrous animal in the Merse during the time of King Malcolm III of Scotland. This Richard was Lord of the Barony of Gordon in the Merse. The name is said to derive from
Brittonic, meaning great fort. The de Gordons held the lairdship of Gordon for over two centuries and were thought to have built a castle at the former hamlet of Huntly just to the north; they still held lands up to the 18th century. The Gordon family are the ancestors of the
Dukes of Richmond
Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families.
The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...
and Gordon and of the
Marquis of Huntly
Marquess of Huntly (traditionally spelled Marquis in Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: ''Coileach Strath Bhalgaidh'') is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly, George Gordon, 6th Ea ...
.
Church
St. Michael's Parish Church
In 1171, the chapel at Gordon, dedicated to
St. Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
, was transferred by the monks of
Coldingham to their counterparts at Kelso in return for the church at Earlston. The present church was built in 1763 and is a part of the
Church of Scotland.
A
Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to:
* Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical
* Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...
was opened in 1843 but that is now used as a private home.
Greenknowe Tower
In 1408, Alexander Seton married Elizabeth Gordon, heiress of the Gordon family, and they were granted lands at Greenknowe, just to the west of the village. A descendant of the family, James Seton of
Touch, married Janet Edmonstone and it was they who built the tower in 1581. Their initials IS/IE (the 'I' is Latin for 'J') are carved above the entrance. Later owners of the tower were Walter Pringle of Stichill, the
Covenanter
Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...
and the
Dalrymple family. The tower is now in the care of
Historic Environment Scotland.
Today
Modern Gordon has a
Church of Scotland kirk, a nursery, a primary school, a
lawn bowling club, a football pitch, a community woodland, children's play park, village hall, a public house/restaurant and village shop/takeaway. The main street has not changed for many years though there has been much housing development at the north end of the village off Station Road.
See also
*
List of places in the Scottish Borders
*
List of places in Scotland
References
External links
photos of Gordon at Geograph
{{authority control
Villages in the Scottish Borders