Old Photograph Town Hall Greenlaw Scotland

Old photograph of the town hall in Greenlaw, located in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills on Blackadder Water at the junction of the A697 and the A6105 in the Scottish Borders of Scotland. Greenlaw's impressive town hall, completed in 1831, is a listed building from its county town era and was one of the buildings shortlisted in the 2006 BBC television series Restoration Village. Though it did not win in its particular category, the interest created led to the gift of private money and the building was restored in 2010. Thomas Gibson was born in Greenlaw on on 8 January 1825, the son of Thomas Gibson, born 1751, died 1820, and his wife Helen Lunham. He was educated at the free church school in Greenlaw. He went to Canada West in 1854. He served as reeve for Howick Township for 7 years. He ran unsuccessfully in Huron North in 1867. The township of Gibson, now part of the Township of Georgian Bay in the Muskoka District, was named after him. He died in January 1901 and is buried in Wroxeter, Ontario with his wife Elizabeth, born 1830, died 1878. His nephew was the noted mathematician Professor George Alexander Gibson, born 1858, died 1930.



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Old Photograph Ladykirk Scotland

Old photograph of cottages and church in Ladykirk, Berwickshire, Scotland. The village was formerly known as Upsettlington, but King James IV of Scotland renamed the town Ladykirk; the church is also known as St Mary's Church or Kirk of Steill. Ladykirk stands directly opposite Norham Castle, Northumberland, England. The land opposite Norham Castle known as Upsettlington Green and Holywell Haugh was used for meetings during the wars of Scottish Independence. Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale, the father of Robert the Bruce, and the Competitors for the Crown of Scotland convened at Holywell Haugh on 2 June, 1291, and met Robert Burnell the English Bishop of Bath and Wells. On the following day John Balliol acknowledged Edward I of England as his feudal superior. The Earl of Angus and his allies Lord Home, Lord Livingstone and John, Red Bag, Somerville of Cambusnethan met at the Kirk of Steill in 1521. They were leaving Scotland to avoid Regent Albany their political rival who had returned from France. Angus sent his uncle, the poet Gavin Douglas to Cardinal Wolsey from Ladykirk on 13 December 1521. The gentlemen of Selkirk, Jedburgh and Duns were summoned to meet Mary of Guise at Ladykirk on 24 November 1551, as she returned from France. The 15th century church and village are known as the place where a treaty supplemental to the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed by the English and Scottish commissioners. The Treaty of Upsettlington, May 1559, as it is known, was concluded within the Lady Kirk and exchanged at the church of Norham in England. The commissioners of Mary, Queen of Scots and King Francis II of France were the Earl of Morton, Alexander, Lord Hume, Henry Sinclair, Dean of Glasgow and James MacGill of Nether Rankeillour. The English commission included the Earl of Northumberland and the Bishop of Durham.



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Old Photograph Boston Memorial Church Duns Scotland

Old photograph of Boston Memorial church and cemetery in Duns in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. The church was built in 1838 as a memorial church. It was a United Presbyterian church, before becoming a Church of Scotland church. The church was demolished in 1985. 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.



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Old Photograph United Free Church Longformacus Scotland

Old photograph of the United Free Church in Longformacus in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. This church is located in the village and was built in 1847. It was a United Free church, but is no longer in ecclesiastical use. Longformacus is a village and parish in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It is located six miles north west of Duns, in the Lammermuir Hills. The Dye Water runs through the village, flowing east towards its confluence with the Whiteadder Water nearby. The opera Lucia di Lammermoor, written by Gaetano Donizetti and based on Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor, was set in Longformacus. The Southern Upland Way, a Long Distance Route which crosses southern Scotland, passes through the village, and the Sir Walter Scott Way from Moffat to Cockburnspath passes through Longformacus. 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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Old Photograph Parish Church Longformacus Scotland

Old photograph of the parish church in Longformacus in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. There has been a church on this site on the south side of Dye Water since 1243, Extensively rebuilt from a ruinous state in 1730, repaired 1830 and renovated 1892 by George Fortune. Stained glass by Marjorie Kemp and G J Baguley including windows in memory of the Brown family of Longformacus and the Smiths of Whitchester. Longformacus is a village and parish in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It is located six miles north west of Duns, in the Lammermuir Hills. The Dye Water runs through the village, flowing east towards its confluence with the Whiteadder Water nearby. The opera Lucia di Lammermoor, written by Gaetano Donizetti and based on Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor, was set in Longformacus. The Southern Upland Way, a Long Distance Route which crosses southern Scotland, passes through the village, and the Sir Walter Scott Way from Moffat to Cockburnspath passes through Longformacus. 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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