Old travel Blog photograph of the Town Hall in Duns in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. The foundation stone of the town hall was laid on 3rd December 1816 by Alexander Christie of Grueldykes and was officially opened on 17th of March 1820. Duns is a past county town of the historic county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. The town was created a Burgh of Barony in 1490 by King James IV heritably for John and George Hume of Ayton, and the townsfolk were given the right to hold a market every Wednesday, and to hold a week long annual fair between Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. Duns suffered badly in cross border raiding and feuding, and was burned to the ground three times within 14 years, in 1544, 1545 and 1558 during the war of the Rough Wooing. Oliver Cromwell put a garrison into the town after the Battle of Dunbar on 3 September 1650. In the peace following the end of the Jacobite rebellion in 1746, Duns began to expand and many of the administrative functions of Berwickshire were carried out in the town. The Hay family were responsible for the present Gothic Revival Duns Castle. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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