Makerstoun is a parish 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 ...

, as well as the historic county of

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

, south-west of Kelso.Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles, publ. J.G. Bartholomew, 1904, p. 535 The parish lies north of the

river Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the R ...

New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol III Roxburgh, Peebles, Selkirk, publ.William Blackwood, 1845, pp.235-240. (Makerstoun article by Rev.David Hogarth, Minister of Makerstoun, 1834)), which forms the southern boundary of the parish. It is bounded on the west by the parish of

Mertoun Mertoun is a parish in the south-west of the historic county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Together with the parish of Maxton, Roxburghshire it forms the Maxton and Mertoun Community Council area. It was included in t ...

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 ...

, on the north by the parish of

Smailholm Smailholm ( sco, Smailhowm) is a small village in the historic county of Roxburghshire in south-east Scotland. It is at and straddles the B6397 Gordon to Kelso road. The village is almost equidistant from both, standing northwest of the abbey ...

, on the east by the parish of Kelso and on the south by the parish of Roxburgh, from which it is separated by the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the R ...

. The name of the parish reputedly means the town of Machar. For many centuries most of the land in the parish has been owned by the proprietor of Makerstoun estate, thus in the 19th century most of the land belonged to Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane of Makerstoun House (former Governor of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

). Formerly, the greater part of the population was extremely fluctuating. All the families, except a few (nine in 1845), being the families either of farm servants or of tradesmen employed by the farmers, were liable to be removed every year. However, as the small farmers were dispensed with by the landlords, the population reduced from over 1,000 at the end of 18th century to 132 in 1981.The MacDowalls, by Fegus Macdowall and William MacDougall, publ.by Clan MacDougall Society of North America, 2009, p.35 The area of the parish is . The original medieval church was sited in the grounds of Makerstoun House (thus in the south of the parish near the Tweed), where some remains still exist.Official web site of the government agency Historic Scotland http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designation/LB19734 retrieved Feb 2016 The first recorded minister of the church dates from 1567. In 1807 it was decided by the Makerstoun estate that the church, and the

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

with its offices and garden should be moved to a more central site in the parish.Church of Scotland web site: http://www.kelsolinkedchurchescofs.org/makerstoun retrieved Feb 2014 A new church was thus built in 1808, which stands to the present day. The Community Council for Makerston is the Floors, Makerstoun, Nenthorn and Smailholm Community Council,Smailholm village web site has news on their common Community Council: retrieved Feb 2016 which covers the parishes of Makerstoun and

, the parish of

Nenthorn Nenthorn is a parish and hamlet in the south of the historic county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is included in the Floors, Makerstoun, Nenthorn and Smailholm Community Council area, which also includes the parishe ...

and Floors Castle. It has 12 members, two of whom (as of 2015) were the Laird of Makerstoun and his wife.

Barony of Makerstoun

The

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

in later medieval Scotland was a very common franchise, increasingly defined as an estate to which specific ‘baronial’ powers attached. In general the barons had essentially the same criminal and civil jurisdiction within their barony as the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

s had within the

sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a ...

. Commonly the baronies coincided with the parishes and were anyway roughly parish sized. Makerstoun, like 18 other baronies in Roxburghshire (Bedrule, Cavers, Ednam, Hownam, Linton, Longnewton, Maxton, Maxwell, Minto, Smailholm, Wilton, and Yetholm) corresponded exactly or closely with the eponymous parish.Liberties and Identities in the Medieval British Isles, ed. M. Prestwich, Boydell Press, 2008. Chapter 9 Franchises North of the Border: Baronies and Regalties of Medieval Scotland, by Alexander Grant, p 155 et seq The earliest proprietor of the Barony of Makerstoun named in the records is Walter Corbet, who acquired the barony about the middle of the 12th century.The History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire and Adjacent Districts , by

Alexander Jeffrey Alexander Jeffrey (c. 1806–1874) F.S.A. (Scot) was a solicitor and local historian who spent most of his adult life in Jedburgh, Roxburghshire. He was known as the Historian of Roxburghshire. Early life Jeffrey's parents were Alexander Jeffr ...

,publ. Edinburgh, 1859 About 1125, Walter Corbet, Laird of Makerstoun, built the village of Makerstoun and the church, St. Peter's. His father was Robert Corbet, who came from Shropshire in the beginning of the 12th century, and settled in Teviotdale under Earl David (later King

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 Malcolm ...

). A small fortified keep known as a

pele tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

was built at Makerstoun in 1128. The tower was extended in 1300.Makerstoun House web site: http://www.makerstoun.com/history.htm retrieved Feb 2016 In 1374 Robert II confirmed Fergus MacDowall as baron of Makerstoun, which he had inherited from the Corbet family via his mother Margaret.Genealogical and Heraldic History of The Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank;but Uninvested With Heritable Honours. By John Burke, pub. London 1836, Vol III, pp.430-436 This was the first baron of the MacDowall, also known as MacDougall, family (various spellings used for both). About 1390, Archibald McDowell got a grant from Robert III of the lands of “M'Carstoune”, Yetholm, and Elistone (Clifton). The tower was rebuilt by Thomas Makdowell in 1590. By a settlement made by Henry Makdougall, 14th baron of Makerstoun, in 1715, the barony was

infeft In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

to his daughter Barbara Makdougall in 1723. She married Sir George Hay (later Hay-Makdougall), and the Makerstoun estate passed to the Hay-Makdougall family

Makerstoun House

Makerstoun House, a square three storey building, is situated on the north bank of the Tweed, in the south of the parish, and stands in grounds (about ) that are extensive and well wooded.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by, Francis Groome, publ. 1882-4. Article on Makerstoun The medieval house, originally a keep, was destroyed in Hertford's invasion of Scotland of 1545. A mansion was rebuilt in 1590 on the foundations of this house. The East end with a first floor vaulted chamber may be the oldest part, a pele tower, to which in the 15th century a wing was added on the West. From 1714 to 1725 the house was extended on plans by William Adam, (father to Robert Adam the architect who created Edinburgh New Town). In 1828 further additions were made, including castellations. Makerstoun House was rebuilt after a fire in 1973 using William Adam's plans of 1714–21, without castellation. The burial ground of the Macdougall family is situated close to Makerstoun House. House and grounds contain a number of 18th and 19th century monuments, including that to Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, Governor of New South Wales (d.1860). The current owner is Lord Biddulph.

References

{{authority control Villages in the Scottish Borders Parishes in Roxburghshire