Ayton is a small village located in the historic county of

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

, today part of the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

region. It is on the

Eye Water Eye Water is a river in the Scottish Borders, it flows in a general southeasterly direction from its source in the Lammermuir Hills to its estuary at Eyemouth on the east coast of Scotland, having a length of approximately .''"Ordnance Survey Exp ...

, from which it is said to take its name: Ayton means 'Eye-town'. It contains the former ancient tollbooth or town hall with a clock tower, the Hemelvaart Bier Cafe (an entertainment venue as well as a bar) and a village store. It is located near the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

railway line, which runs between London, King's Cross and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Waverley station, the closest station being Reston station. The A1 (Great North Road) originally ran through the heart of the village, but during the 1980s a bypass was built to the East of the village. Ayton was the location of a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

on the road between London and Edinburgh.

Ayton Castle and church

The splendid edifice of Ayton Castle, the '' caput'' of the Scottish feudal barony of Ayton, dominates the town and district. It is built around a

peel tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the England, English and Scotland, Scottish Border country, borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and ab ...

, a stronghold of the

Home family A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

, which burnt down in 1834. The estate was subsequently purchased by William Mitchell (later Mitchell-Innes) of Parsonsgreen, Edinburgh, Chief Cashier of the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

. From 1846 to 1851 James Gillespie Graham was commissioned to build a new castle at Ayton in the

Scottish Baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

style in red sandstone. Further additions were made in the later 19th century. The interiors of the 1875 are still largely extant. William's son, Alexander Mitchell-Innes (1811–1886), commissioned James Maitland Wardrop to build Ayton Parish Church, with a spire, and stained glass windows by Ballantine & Sons. In 1895 the barony of Ayton was sold to Henry Liddell-Grainger of Middleton Hall,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. His descendant, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP, is the current feudal baron of Ayton, but his younger stepbrother became proprietor of Ayton Castle and sold it in 2015.

James Boswell

The Scottish

diarist A diary is a writing, written or audiovisual Memorabilia, memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by Calendar date, date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwriti ...

and author

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...

, biographer of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

passed through Ayton on his journey to London on 15 November 1762. In his '' London Journal'' he recounts ''"...We did very well till we passed Old Camus, when one of the wheels of our

chaise A chaise ( ), sometimes called shay, is a light two-wheeled carriage for one or two people. It may also have a folding hood. The coachmaker William Felton (1796) considered ''chaises'' a family of vehicles which included all two-wheel one-hor ...

was so much broke that it was of no use. The driver proposed that we should mount the horses and ride to Berwick. But this I would by no means agree to; and as my partner let me be the principal man and take the direction of our journey, I made the chaise be dragged on to Ayton, where we waited till the driver rode to Berwick and brought us a chaise. Never did I pass three hours more unhappily. We were set down in a cold ale-house in a dirty little village. We had a beefsteak ill-dressed and had nothing to drink but thick muddy beer. We were both out of humour so that we could not speak. We tried to sleep but in vain. We only got a drowsy headache. We were scorched by the fire on the one hand and shivering with the frost on the other. At last our chaise came, and we got to Berwick about twelve at night. We had a slice of hard dry toast, a bowl of warm

negus (drink) Negus is a drink made of wine, often port wine, port, mixed with hot water, Orange (fruit), oranges or lemons, spices and sugar. History According to Edmond Malone (''Life of Dryden'', Prose Work. i - p. 484) this drink was invented in the ...

, and went comfortable to bed"''.

References

Bibliography

* ''The History of the Royal Bank of Scotland 1727–1827'', by Neil Munro, Edinburgh, 1928. * ''Borders and Berwick'', by Charles A Strang, Rutland Press, 1994, pps: 21–2,

External links

Ayton villageSCRAN: Roy Map of AytonTopographical Dictionary of Scotland
{{authority control Berwickshire Villages in the Scottish Borders Parishes in Berwickshire

Ayton Castle and church

James Boswell

See also

References

Bibliography

External links