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Gordon Moss is a
On 21 January 1882, a workman walking across Gordon Moss discovered a flint axehead, described as being fashioned of a dark grey mottled flint, measuring 150mm by 50mm.
Gordon Moss is a remaining fragment of a much larger area of moss-land which historically extended across much of the low-lying ground from Earlston, past Gordon and Eastwards towards Greenlaw. Agricultural drainage schemes were implemented and allowed much of this land to be farmed. It appears that historically the drainage of the current Gordon Moss area was largely unsuccessful and in wet weather conditions much of the larger low-lying area becomes boggy and flooded to this day.
Gordon Moss formed part of the lands of the Greenknowe Estate. Circa the 1700s, some nearby land from the estate was sold as plots which now form Gordon's Main Street. Many of the title deeds of these plots came with a variety of rights from the lands of Greenknowe such as catching rabbits, gathering firewood and cutting divots (turf to fireproof thatching). This caused various conflicts with farming practices on the Greenknowe estate so in the 1800s part of the land of the Gordon Moss was given in exchange for these rights. The new owners of this land were known as the feuars and it is understood locally that certain properties still retain rights to part of the Gordon Moss. It appears that the feuars continued to attempt draining the land for some time afterwards and used it for grazing, firewood and shooting.
Local folklore says that in the mists of time the nearby village of Gordon was attacked by enemy soldiers. Local lads acted foolishly to entice the invaders to follow them into the Gordon Moss. By leaping out from behind bushes they lured the enemy into rushing forwards at them into very dangerous boggy areas and saved their village. They were proudly known as the Gordon Gowks and are remembered yet.
RCAHMS record of Gordon MossScottish Natural Heritage: teaching resource for Gordon MossGeograph image: The old Berwickshire Railway as it enters Gordon Moss
{{Coord, 55.6746, -2.5823, dim:2000_region:GB, display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berwickshire and Roxburgh Nature reserves in Scotland Protected areas in the Scottish Borders
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
near Gordon
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
, 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
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, in the former 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 th ...
.
The moss is situated one mile west of Gordon village, south of the Gordon – 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 ...
road (A6105). Parking places.
The fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
includes 16 species of butterfly and over 200 species of moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
.
History and archaeology
On 21 January 1882, a workman walking across Gordon Moss discovered a flint axehead, described as being fashioned of a dark grey mottled flint, measuring 150mm by 50mm.
Gordon Moss is a remaining fragment of a much larger area of moss-land which historically extended across much of the low-lying ground from Earlston, past Gordon and Eastwards towards Greenlaw. Agricultural drainage schemes were implemented and allowed much of this land to be farmed. It appears that historically the drainage of the current Gordon Moss area was largely unsuccessful and in wet weather conditions much of the larger low-lying area becomes boggy and flooded to this day.
Gordon Moss formed part of the lands of the Greenknowe Estate. Circa the 1700s, some nearby land from the estate was sold as plots which now form Gordon's Main Street. Many of the title deeds of these plots came with a variety of rights from the lands of Greenknowe such as catching rabbits, gathering firewood and cutting divots (turf to fireproof thatching). This caused various conflicts with farming practices on the Greenknowe estate so in the 1800s part of the land of the Gordon Moss was given in exchange for these rights. The new owners of this land were known as the feuars and it is understood locally that certain properties still retain rights to part of the Gordon Moss. It appears that the feuars continued to attempt draining the land for some time afterwards and used it for grazing, firewood and shooting.
Local folklore says that in the mists of time the nearby village of Gordon was attacked by enemy soldiers. Local lads acted foolishly to entice the invaders to follow them into the Gordon Moss. By leaping out from behind bushes they lured the enemy into rushing forwards at them into very dangerous boggy areas and saved their village. They were proudly known as the Gordon Gowks and are remembered yet.
Twenty-first century
The Gordon Moss is aSite of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI) – these are controlled and monitored by Scottish Natural Heritage
NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...
. There are very few remaining areas of semi-natural moss land remaining in the Scottish Borders.
Whilst there is little maintenance or human interference in the Gordon Moss, the Scottish Wildlife Trust
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, registered charity dedicated to conserving the Natural history of Scotland, wildlife and natural environment of Scotland.
Description
The Scottish Wildlife Trust has well ...
have an involvement with part of the Moss.
The water levels in the moss are lower than they were historically and it is a pleasant and very quiet place to explore with strong footwear, but beware of adders. There are various safe tracks throughout, but some deep boggy areas and pools remain.
See also
*List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berwickshire and Roxburgh
The following is a list of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Berwickshire and Roxburgh Area of Search. For other areas, see List of SSSIs by Area of Search.
* Abbey St Bathans Woodlands
* Adderstonlee Moss
* Alemoor West Loch and M ...
*List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Tweeddale and Ettrick and Lauderdale
The following is a list of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Tweeddale and Ettrick and Lauderdale Area of Search. For other areas, see List of SSSIs by Area of Search.
* Airhouse Wood
* Akermoor Loch
* Ashkirk Loch
* Auchencorth M ...
*List of places in the Scottish Borders
''Map of places in the Scottish Borders compiled from this list'':See the list of places in Scotland for places in other counties.
This list of places in the Scottish Borders includes towns, villages, hamlets, castles, golf courses, historic hous ...
*List of places in Scotland
This list of places in Scotland is a complete collection of lists of places in Scotland.
*List of burghs in Scotland
*List of census localities in Scotland
*List of islands of Scotland
**List of Shetland islands
**List of Orkney islands
**List o ...
References
* The antiquary (1882), 'Antiquarian news, stone celt', ''The Antiquary, 2nd, vol.5'', page 179 * RCAHMS (1980), 'The archaeological sites and monuments of Berwickshire District, Borders Region, Edinburgh'External links
RCAHMS record of Gordon Moss
{{Coord, 55.6746, -2.5823, dim:2000_region:GB, display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berwickshire and Roxburgh Nature reserves in Scotland Protected areas in the Scottish Borders