Liddesdale History - Recently Updated Pages

Links to history sites

AndrewBethune — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:59:26 CDT

www.local-history.co.uk
Local History Online — for books, news, resources, information, courses and local history contacts. Also a calendar of events and local history books for sale online.

http://www.oldroadsofscotland.com/index.html
Provides an overview of the history of roads and tracks in Scotland, particularly southern Scotland. Its focus at present is on identifying the course taken by roads and tracks in different historical periods but it is hoped eventually to provide some analysis as to the reasons a route developed and the factors that influenced the course it took. Further sections are planned on roads in different time periods as well as a history of legislation relating to roads and traffic. Includes some material relevant to Liddesdale

http://www.nls.uk/maps/atlas/blaeu/page.cfm?id=106
Link to the National Library of Scotland's digital version of Timothy Pont's map Lidalia vel Lidisdalia, published 1654 in the Blaeu Atlas of Scotland.

Railways of Liddesdale: proposals in the 1830s and 1840s

AndrewBethune — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:19:59 CDT

Railways of Liddesdale - Part 1 – Two early proposals

The opening of the Border Counties and Border Union Railways through Liddesdale in 1862 was the culmination of some 30 years of planning. The most important factor governing which railways were built through the south of Scotland was undoubtedly the need to connect Scotland’s main cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with England.

In the 1830s, long distance railways were a completely novel idea, and at first no-one had any idea how much traffic would develop. Perhaps there would only be enough traffic for one cross border line.[1] But, if so, what route could possibly serve Glasgow, Edinburgh, Carlisle and Newcastle adequately? In trying to answer this question, fourteen separate cross-border railways (plus a few minor variations) were proposed between 1833 and 1845 and a list of them, together with an account of how the railway network developed, can be found in CJA Robertson’s book The origins of the Scottish railway system 1722-1833 ( Edinburgh: John Donald, 1983 pp 270-272).[2]

Up to the 1830s, what railways existed were purely local lines, many concerned with transporting coal or industrial or agricultural products products (e.g. the Kilmarnock & Troon opened 1808, Edinburgh & Dalkeith opened 1832).[3] Towards the end of the 1830s, however, links began to be established between some of the principal Scottish towns so that by 1842 Edinburgh was connected to Glasgow by rail, and from there a line ran south west to Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr.[4] In the north of England, Newcastle & Carlisle opened in 1838[5] and the Maryport & Carlisle in 1845[6]. But as yet no railways ran north/south linking Scotland with England.

Of all the schemes detailed by Robertson, only two affected Liddesdale. Both were examples of central routes that attempted to serve both east and west coast.

One, promoted by the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway and by Newcastle Town Council in 1838, and revived in 1843, with John Blackmore as its engineer, would have linked Hexham and Edinburgh by way of Kielder, the Note o’ the Gate, Rule Water, Melrose, Galashiels and Edinburgh with a branch from Gala to Glasgow.[7] This route was examined closely, along with 7 other routes, in 1841 by the Smith-Barlow Commission.[8] It was a serious contender because its mileage between Newcastle and Edinburgh ( 115.95 miles) was slightly less than the East Coast route via Berwick ( 116.53 miles). But this was more than cancelled out by the two ranges of hills it had to cross and the cost of a long tunnel (5390 yards) under the Note o’ the Gate . The southern end of this route would eventually be built, as part of the Border Counties Railway, linking Hexham with Riccarton.

A second proposal in 1843 ( the 'Central Union'), again supported by the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway, would have branched off their line at Gilsland, run through Liddesdale to Hawick, Galashiels and Edinburgh.[9] The line would be 90 miles long with the aim of connecting ‘the metropolis with the capital of Scotland, by a central direction’. This plan did have some logic to it. Edinburgh and Glasgow are both west of Carlisle. Gilsland, 40 miles west of Newcastle, the furthest north point of the Newcastle & Carlisle line, and by sending a line off towards Scotland from there, the directors were hoping, not just to convey any Newcastle- Edinburgh –Glasgow traffic, but also to tap traffic coming north via the proposed Lancaster & Carlisle railway which was due for completion ‘within the present year’.[10] The promoters ‘claimed for their scheme the certainty of an advantageous route’ and ‘an ample return’ for their investors. But it also suffered from the problem of getting through and over the Border hills.

In the end, the Caledonian Railway’s Carlisle-Lockerbie-Carstairs-Edinburgh/Glasgow line was the first cross-Border line to open (1848), providing effective links from Edinburgh and Glasgow to the west coast of England, with a link to Newcastle via Hexham.[11] Completion of the Royal Border Bridge over the Tweed on 29 August 1850 meant that trains could run through from Edinburgh to Newcastle via the east coast line.[12] Two months later the Glasgow-Dumfries-Carlisle route opened. [13]

But by then there was a fourth railway with potential as a cross Border route: the North British Railway had reached Hawick from Edinburgh in October 1849.[14]

Andrew Bethune

[1] C J A Robertson. The origins of the Scottish railway system 1722-1844. Edinburgh: John Donald, 1983. p267.

[2] Ibid, p266-304 ‘The battle for the Border’

[3] Thomas, J. A regional history of the railways of Great Britain. Vol. 6. Scotland the lowlands and the Borders. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971. p260, 272.

[4] Ibid. p 258, 260, 267

[5] A brief history of the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway. Available at: http://www.strps.org.uk/str/history/newcastleandcarlislerlyhistory.htm [accessed 3 August 2008]

[6] Opened in stages 1840-45. See Oxford companion to British railway history from 1603 to the 1990s; ed by J Simmons and G Biddle. Oxford: OUP, 1997. p316. According to a report in the Newcastle Courant, 31 January, 1845, p4 ‘by 1st February the whole of the line, it is expected, will be ready for passengers’.

[7] Robertson, op cit. p271

[8] Commission on railway communication between London, Dublin, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Parliamentary report. 1841 (132) XXV. Cited by Robertson, op cit. p279

[9] Robertson, op cit. p271

[10] The Derby Mercury, 20 March 1844, p4.

[11] Thomas, J. A regional history of the railways of Great Britain. Vol. 6. Scotland the Lowlands and the Borders. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971. p263

[12] Thomas.,J The North British Railway. Vol 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1969. p239

[13] Thomas, J. A regional history of the railways of Great Britain. Vol. 6. Scotland the lowlands and the Borders. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971. p260-261

[14] Opened October 28, 1849. Caledonian Mercury, November 1, 1849, page 4.

Waverley Route Train Timetable October 1947

AndrewBethune — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:15:31 CDT

Northbound timetable October 1947

Southbound Timetable October 1947

Waverley Route Timetable October 6th 1947
An edited version of the above scan showing all trains between Hawick and Riddings. Other trains operated north of Hawick, and some Langholm – Carlisle trains operated south of Riddings.
Source: LNER passenger services October 6th 1947 until further notice. Table 167. [London: London & North Eastern Railway, 1947]

Southbound services

		Mondays - Saturdays
Miles		A			RC	SO	C		D		MWS	E		Sun	Sun
0	Edinburgh Waverley			06.20	10.10		12.00	14.35		17.53	19.02	21.55	22.15	21.55	22.15
52.75	Hawick	06.15		08.41	11.42	12.30	13.29	16.13	16.30	19.28	21.20	23.21	23.55	23.21	23.55
56.75	Stobs	06.25		08.51		12.39		16.22	16.41		21.30
59.75	Shankend	B		08.59		12.47		16.31	18.49		21.38
65.75	RiccartonJunction	06.45	07.07	09.17		13.00		16.45	17.01		21.48
69.5	Steele Road			09.23		13.06		16.51
74.0	Newcastleton		07.19	09.32		13.13		17.00		20.09
77.0	Kershope Foot		07.25	09.38		13.19		17.07
81.5	Penton		07.34	09.47		13.26		17.16
84.75	Riddings		07.41	09.54		13.32		17.23
86.25	Scotch Dyke		07.47	09.59		13.37		17.29
88.5	Longtown		07.53	10.05		13.43		17.38		20.27
98.25	Carlisle		08.10	10.22	12.49	13.58	14.35	17.54		20.41		00.26	01.05	00.26	01.05
408.75	London St Pancras				21.10							08.30		08.30

A – To Newcastle arr 09.11 B - Calls at 06.33 when required to take up on informing the Station Master at Stobs before 17.00 the day previous to travel C – Buffet Car D- To Newcastle arr 20.02 E – Limited sleeping car accommodation. Does not convey Sleeping Car passengers from Edinburgh Waverley to London St Pancras. Arrives London 08.20 on Sunday Mornings SO- Saturdays only RC – Restaurant car MWS – Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays only

Northbound services

		Mondays to Saturdays												Sun
Miles		G		MF	SO	B. MF	B.SO		RC	C	SX	E	SO	F
	London St Pancras	21.00							08.55					21.00
0	Carlisle	04.53	09.05	13.20	13.20			15.30	16.38		18.07	19.00	19.33	04.53
9.75	Longtown		09.24	13.36	13.36			15,47			18.30	19.16	19.49
12	Scotch Dyke		09.30					15.52					19.55
14	Riddings		09.36	13.45	13.45			15.58			18.39		20.00
16.75	Penton		09.42					18.05					20.08
21.15	Kershope Foot		09.51		13.57			16.14			18.53		20.19
24.15	Newcastleton	05.25	09.59	14.00	14.03			16.20			19.00	19.36	20.27
28.75	Steele Road		10.11					16.31					20.40
32.5	Riccarton Junction		10.23			13.49	13.52	16.41		19.03		D	20.51
38.5	Shankend		10.36			14.00	14.06	16.54		19.14			21.04
41.5	Stobs		10.42			14.09	14.15	17.00		19.20			21.10
45.5	Hawick	06.03	10.49	14.38	14,41	14.16	14.21	17.46	17.46	19.27		20.14	21.17	06.03
98.25	Edinburgh Waverley	07.38	12.25	16.10	16.13			19.08	19.17			21.46		07.38

A – Limited Sleeping Car accommodation. Does not convey Sleeping Car passengers from London St Pancras to Edinburgh Waverley B – From Newcastle dep 11.20 C – From Newcastle dep 16.30 D – calls at 19.56 on Thursdays and Saturdays E – Buffet car F – Saturday evening from London G – Sunday to Friday evenings from London Buffet car SX – Mondays to Fridays only SO – Saturdays only RC- Restaurant Car

Liddesdale flood of 1846

AndrewBethune — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:13:51 CDT

Liddesdale Flood of 1846

On the pavement at the corner of Douglas Square and South Hermitage Street there is a stone commemorating a flood which affected Liddesdale many years ago. Recently I was asked for some details of this event which caused devastation, not just in Liddesdale, but over a huge area of Cumberland and the Borders. The cause of the floods was a gigantic thunderstorm which began on the evening of Wednesday 29th July 1846 and continued all night.

The newspaper reports of the time describe flooding in Carlisle, Canonbie, Hawick and Kelso, and Berwickshire, but unfortunately the papers that I have had access to don’t mention Newcastleton.

The Carlisle Journal’s description of the storm was borrowed by the Caledonian Mercury [1] and gives a vivid impression of what happened:

Wednesday evening closed with an unwonted gloom at an early hour. The sky was murky – the air still and heavy. The skies were occasionally lit up by gleams of electric light, and it was soon evident that a fearful storm was about to burst upon us. The expectation was fulfilled. Each successive flash of fire became more vivid, and the distant rumbling of thunder waxed deeper and deeper till brattle followed brattle like the discharge of heavy artillery above the town. The storm was of long duration; commencing soon after seven o’clock , it continued with but short intermissions till near four o’clock on Thursday morning.

The storm was evidently moving slowly north east, reaching Hawick a couple of hours later. There, the horizon started to become overcast between 7 and 8pm, the torrential rain started between 8 and 9pm and continued without a break for almost three hours. Shortly after midnight the Slitrig burst its banks, pouring through Silver Street and down into the Sandbed where it was about 5 feet deep. Several bridges were swept away and a 12 foot deep hole scooped out of the road at the Mill Port[2] .

How the flood affected Newcastleton does not feature in the Edinburgh newspapers, but John Byers tells the story in his book Liddesdale: historical and descriptive[3] His information is based on some letters which were then in the possession of Mr Wilson ( which Mr Wilson would that have been, and what has become of the letters?). John Byers also refers to stories which were still being talked about in the village a hundred years after the event. The Liddel rose to an unprecedented height and water poured down the main street. Houses on the Waterside were worst affected, as indeed they are today.

One of the letters, read: The last Wednesday night, 29th July, there was a tremendous thunder, fire and rain, and the water rose to a height unknown ever before this hundred years. I cannot describe the desolation in Liddesdale and downward the country. All the Watergate land is ravaged, while fields, whether corn, or potatoes or grass, whether cut or uncut, are nearly destroyed. The loss in this parish in house, roads and waterbanks is estimated at 5 or 6000 £. The Whitrope Bar house is all gone, and the burn running on the very spot where the house stood. The Leahaugh holm is completely destroyed; dykes and the banks are gone, and a part of the cottage is broken down and a part of the cottage is broken down. Redheugh holm is completely ravaged. Many bridges on the road to Hawick are clean run away, and many [travellers] come down the top of the Rig[4]. Most of our furniture was floating in the water. Mr Black[5] came wading up nearly the middle urging us to flee to his house for shelter, but owing to the crying of the Bairns and other causes it was not practicable. I will set up a stone of remembrance while I live that we had not lost our lives.

John Byers does not say who wrote this letter. And if anyone can shed any light on when the ‘stone of remembrance’ was set up, and who set it up, I would be most interested to hear.

The Caledonian Mercury[6] tells us that the Liddel came down in great force, spreading destruction on the fine holm on the English side near Newton [i.e. near Riddings] and a great number of cattle and sheep were washed away. The inhabitants of a cottage ‘betwixt the Esk and the Liddel’ near Canonbie had to escape through the roof of their house. Only one fatality was reported. A group of men were returning to Canonbie on horseback from the Langholm Commonriding. In the darkness they failed to notice that the Byre Burn bridge had been swept away and all five of them plunged into the river. Sadly one of the men failed to make it to the bank. This tragedy could perhaps have been avoided if the warning given by some earlier travellers had been heeded. They had reported the collapse of the bridge to a local inn, but no-one had done anything about it.[7]

Finally, the Edinburgh Evening Courant[8] includes a curious reference to a coal mine flooded by water ‘forced back from the Liddle in consequence of the turnpike bridge being choked up’. Which bridge and which coal mine? Coal was mined at the Byre Burn, but that could scarcely have been affected by water from the Liddel. The most likely location is at Penton Mill, just upstream from Penton Bridge, where a group of coal seams varying in thickness from 18 to 29 inches were mined[9]. Andrew Bethune

[1] Caledonian Mercury, August 3, 1846, page 3

[2] Hawick News-Letter for August 1846 as quoted in the Transactions of the Hawick Archaeological Society, 1946, pages 48-51

[3] Byers, John. Liddesdale:historical and descriptive. Galashiels: J McQueen & Son, 1952. Page 158.

[4] The Ninestane Rig.

[5] Rev John Black, minister of the Townfoot Kirk ( Newcastleton United Secession Church)

[6] Caledonian Mercury, August 6, 1846, page 3.

[7] Caledonian Mercury, August 6, 1846, page 3

[8] Edinburgh Evening Courant, August 3, 1846, page 3.

[9] J B W Day. Geology of the country around Bewcastle. London: HMSO, 1970, pages 223-225 and 265

Railway Tickets from Liddesdale

AndrewBethune — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:32:38 CDT

My grandfather was a great collector of railway tickets, and I have inherited his collection and continued adding to it. This page shows some examples from the Waverley Route, mostly from the 1950s and 1960s.

Copshaw Clatter

AndrewBethune — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:07:59 CDT

The Copshaw Clatter is Newcastleton's monthly community newsletter. Started in 1983 by Annie Charters, it has flourished under the guidance of several editors by providing news, current events, advertising, opinion and articles on a whole range of subjects of interest to the people of Liddesdale, their far flung friends and families. Over the years there have been many contributions on historical subjects and reminiscences.

This page will eventually include details of all the historical material that has been published in the Clatter.

Bibliography

AndrewBethune — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:54:55 CDT

In this page I shall be giving information about books and other source material that give information about Liddesdale and its history.

Links to other Liddesdale sites

AndrewBethune — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 11:27:15 CDT

VisitNewcastleton

The Reiver Trail

The Clan Armstrong

Waverley Route Heritage Association

Liddesdale Heritage Association

Newcastleton Traditional Music Festival

History of Liddesdale and Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders

AndrewBethune — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:55:11 CDT

This wiki is devoted to recording the history of Liddesdale, a valley in the south of Scotland. Liddesdale's main village, Newcastleton, known locally as Copshawholm, is 20 miles south of Hawick and 23 miles north of Carlisle.

The idea is to bring together people who are interested in the area's history, whether they are current residents, lived there in the past, or their families come from Liddesdale.

Newcastleton Congregational Church spire.
c 1972. Copyright: Andrew Bethune

It's a bit of an experiment, but my plan is to start by incorporating some of the articles which I wrote for the Copshaw Clatter during the 1980s and 1990s. So far, I have included articles on crime and animal stories in 19th century Liddesdale.

In the 1970s I wrote a history of Newcastleton Congregational Church which appeared in instalments in The Messenger. I have been updated and expanding this history, and will be adding it to the website gradually over the next few weeks.

There are pages on Liddesdale maps and transport.

In parallel with this site, I am running a blog where I shall post updates, and where anyone interested may ask questions or comment on the histroy of Liddesdale. It can be found at
http://liddesdalehistory.blogspot.com

Please get in touch if you'd like to contribute to this site.

Waverley Route Heritage Association

Visit Newcastleton

Local History Online — for books, news, resources, information, courses and local history contacts. Also a calendar of events and local history books for sale online.

NewcastletonTownfoot Kirk : Origins of the Congregation

AndrewBethune — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:22:46 CDT

The beginnings The congregation which later became known as Newcastleton United Presbyterian Church and ultimately Newcastleton Congregational Church was founded in 1751 by a group of Liddesdale people who were unhappy with the ordination of Mr Simon Haliburton as minister of Castleton Parish Church, following the death in 1749 of the Rev William Armstrong.[1] The settlement of Simon Haliburton as minister of Castleton was delayed in 1750 in consequence of its being opposed by Lord Minto. The Presbytery of Langholm on 3rd July 1750 found 'they could not take the opposition under consideration unless for some matter of life or doctrine, and that as to Haliburton's using notes when he preached, there was no law of the Church against that, and that it was practised by several ministers of the best character.' [2] A date for his ordination was fixed but the Presbytery arrived to find the church keyhole filled with stones.[3] For this disturbance, three men – John and William Cowan, and William Armstrong and a woman – Isabella Waugh – were arrested and for a short time jailed in Edinburgh.[4] Haliburton was eventually ordained on 23rd January 1751[5], and by September 1751 the Liddesdale protesters had organised themselves into a congregation of seceders. To understand the background to these events, it is necessary to travel back to 1560. In that year was published one of the Scottish reformed church’s founding documents, The First Book of Discipline which says that ‘it appertains to the people, and to every several congregation, to elect their minister’.[6] This right was removed entirely by an Act of Parliament in 1712 which reintroduced ‘patronage’ to the Church of Scotland. This meant that choice of a parish minister no longer lay with the members of the congregation, nor even with the kirk session, but became the prerogative of the local landowners or ‘patrons’. After some years of increasing discontent, with many disputed ministerial appointments, a petition was presented to the General Assembly in 1732 and signed by church members from all over the country. It complained that the Act would ‘wound and subvert Christ’s church’ and ‘shut the gospel door of entering the Lord’s house’. The following year four ministers were deposed from the Kirk for opposing the Act. They were soon joined by other ministers and congregations, organising themselves as the Associate Synod, in effect a Presbyterian church separate from the Church of Scotland. These early seceders were united in their assent to the Kirk’s main doctrinal statement - the Westminster Confession. But they divided into two camps over the relationship between church and state as expressed by the Burgess Oath. Those who opposed taking the oath withdrew from the Associate Synod, founded the General Associate Synod and acquire the nicknamed of Antiburghers. The Associate Synod was usually referred to as the Burgher Synod and its people the Burghers.[7] No-one in Castleton parish was required to take the Burgess oath, but the nearest secession churches were the Antiburgher congregations at Midlem (near Selkirk) and Gateshaw (Morebattle)[8]. Some of the Liddesdale folk began travelling to worship in those places. The distance was inconvenient, so in September 1751 a request was made to the Antiburgher Synod for ‘occasional supply of sermon’ for Liddesdale. This resulted in an Antiburgher preacher visiting Liddesdale on the third Sunday of October 1751, with a fast being held on the Wednesday following.[9] The Liddesdale seceders evidently had no objection to the Burgess Oath. Their next attempt to obtain a preacher was addressed to the Burgher Synod on June 6, 1753 who arranged to send a preacher.[10] The first meeting under the auspices of the Burghers took place on Snaberley Brae near Leahaugh, where it is reported that ‘there was a great assemblage of people and a good collection’. This event marks the start of the Liddesdale Associate or Burgher Congregation.[11]

[1] Small, Robert. History of the congregations of the United Presbyterian Church. Edinbrugh, 1904. Vol 2. p 452.

[2] Langholm Presbytery Minutes. July 3, 1750.

[3] Tait, James. Two centuries of Border church life. p316.

[4] Scots Magazine, 1750, p549; Scots Magazine 1751, p51; Caledonian Mercury, Dec 3, 1750; Edinburgh Evening Courant, Dec 3, 1750

[5] Small. op cit. Vol 2, p 452.

[6] First Book of Discipline. Fourth head. 1560. Available at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/bod_ch03.htm#SEC04 [accessed December 27, 2007]

[7] Dictionary of Scottish church history and theology; ed. Nigel M de S Cameron. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993. p 36-37.

[8] Small. op cit. Vol 2. p 453

[9] Associate Presbytery ( Antiburgher) minutes. CH3/111/1. p283.

[10] Tait. Op cit. p319.

[11] Snadden, James. The book of Liddesdale. Manuscript. National Library of Scotland MS 949-53. Vol 4, p 219.

Churches of Newcastleton and Liddesdale

AndrewBethune — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:20:42 CDT

The Townfoot Kirk was built in 1803-4 for a Secession congregation that had started off half a century earlier. It was the first church to be built in the new village of Newcastleton. Its quirky and checkered history starts with its first minister, the Rev James Fletcher, who resigned over an accusatiuon of heresy.

A history of the church and its Evangelical Union/Congregational offshoot will appear on this page in due course.

Photograph of the church taken about 1970 by Andrew Bethune.

Newcastleton in 1825

AndrewBethune — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:44:02 CDT

Newcastleton in 1825

An extract from :
Pigot & Co’s New Commercial Directory of Scotland 1825/26
(page 643)

Castletown is a newly built village, in the parish of the same name, in the county of Roxburgh, situate 20 miles south from Hawick, and 26 from Jedburgh. It is at present but a small village, and the inhabitants possess no manufacturing pursuits. The parish is extensive being upwards of 18 miles in length, and 14 in breadth, and occupies that district anciently called Liddisdale, from the river Liddel, which runs through it from north-east to south-west. The banks of the river are covered with natural wood and extensive plantations, which afford an infinite variety of the most picturesque scenery. The romantic cascade, and natural stone bridge, that once crossed the river Blackburn, are still to be seen in this district, and in this parish are the ruins of no less than five churches, and many others of castles and fortified places. In this village are two subscription libraries, also a friendly society; and here are three hiring days, well attended, to transact business, and principally to engage domestic servants. The first day is in April, the second early in May, and the third in November.

Letters are conveyed to Langholm three times a week.

Places of Worship Established Church – Rev. A. Barton, minister
United Secession – Rev John Law, minister

Gentry, &c. Blacklock, John, esq. of Leehaugh
Elliot John, esq. of Redheugh
Elliot Jno. esq. (of Binks) Burnsmouth
Elliot John, esq of Whithaugh
Oliver Wm. esq. of Dinlabyre

Tradesmen, &c.

Corn Mills Bickerton Mill, James Armstrong
Whithaugh Mill, Wm. Armstrong

Shopkeepers, Traders, &c. Armstrong Walter. Linen & woollen draper, and wholesale spirit dealer
Crozer William, mason
Dodd William, flesher
Douglas John, joiner and cabinet maker
Elliot Wm, boot & shoe maker
Fletcher Alexander, tailor
Fisher Alex, schoolmaster of the parochial school
Hall Thos. Linen & woollen draper and spirit dealer
Hardie John, boot & shoe maker
Haughton John, watch and clock maker
Jardine James, public house
Kerr Robert, tailor
Kyle Jane, public house
Lauder Adam, slater
Mitchelhill Thomas, public house
Murray Jn, linen & woollen draper
Murray Robert, baker
Nichol John, boot & shoe maker
Nichol John, mason
Nichol Thomas, cooper
Oliver John, tailor
Purdon Archibald, mason
Scott Alex, grover & meal dealer
Scott Andw. Boot & shoe maker
Scott Archibald, wright
Scott Thomas, Crown Inn
Scott Thomas, wright
Scott Walter, public house
Scott Walter, wright
Smith John, public house
Storry Thomas, blacksmith
Temple Robert, surgeon
Turnbull Adam, tailor
Turnbull John, grocer and spirit dealer

Carriers Hawick, Geo. Thorburn, on Wednesday, and returns on Thursday
Long Newton, William Beattie, on Tuesday, and returns same day

Notes -

The commentary given below is a re-working of an article which I originally wrote for issue number 8 of the Copshaw Clatter (February 1984).

Today we are all familiar with the Phone Book and the Yellow Pages, which we use for finding current information about people and businesses. Directories have existed since the 18th century, and old directories can provide an important source of historical information about residents, businesses and local organisations of the past. Newcastleton features in directories published in 1825, 1837, 1860, 1866, 1878, 1882 and 1893.[1] The earliest of these is Pigot & Co’s New Commercial Directory of Scotland 1825/26 quoted above.

At less than 30 years old Newcastleton could still be referred to as a ‘new’ village. However, Pigot was a bit behind the times by calling our village ‘Castletown’. That was the usual spelling of the parish name till 1804 judging by references in the Kelso Mail. The earliest use of ‘Castleton’ I have come across is a Kelso Mail article about the Napoleonic invasion dated February 6, 1804.[2] The village was also called Castletown at first but ‘New Castleton’ (two words) starts to creep in to the Kelso Mail from 1803.[3] The modern spelling ‘Newcastleton’ makes a first appearance in the newspaper on May 2, 1808.[4]

Pigot mentions that ’the inhabitants possess no manufacturing pursuits’. Although the village was conceived as a weaving settlement, weaving on an industrial scale never developed and the village effectively became a small market town serving a wide rural area and picking up some passing trade from the Canonbie - Jedburgh turnpike road. However, Liddesdale did possess an industry in the 1820s – lime burning. The lime works at Larriston opened in June 1811 as a commercial venture[5] and were enlarged in 1820 to meet increased demand from farmers keen to improve the fertility of their land [6]. Also the Stobs Limery at the Limekilnedge, which had been in commercial production since the 1790s was flourishing at this time [7].

The natural bridge over the Blackburn collapsed in April 1810. It was 55 feet long 10 feet wide and 28 inches thick and stood 31 feet above the water level.[8]
The bridge is illustrated in the Border Magazine, 1931.[9]

The hiring fairs are the basis for the well-known song Copshawholm Fair and continued until the 1890s.[10]

Of the traders listed in the directory, William Crozer and John Nichol built the Holm Brig.[11]
Thomas Mitchelhill’s public house was the long defunct Black Bull at 45 North Hermitage Street[12] but Jane Kyle’s inn (The Grapes)[13] is thriving today. John Haughton has given his name to a street (Houghton Park); his sons John and Thomas founded the London & Liddesdale Benevolent Society.[14]

References:

Image of Natural Bridge on the Black Burn is from The Border Magazine, vol 36, 1931, page 75.

[1] Pigot & Co’s New Commercial Directory of Scotland for 1825-26; Pigot & Co’s National Commercial Directory of Scotland 1837; Slater’s Directory, 1852; Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory 1860; Rutherford’s Southern Counties Register & Directory 1866; Slater’s Directory 1878; Slater’s Directory 1882; Slater’s Directory 1893
[2] Kelso Mail, 6 Feb 1804, p4
[3] Kelso Mail, 7 Jul 1803, p4
[4] Kelso Mail, 2 May 1808, p1
[5] Kelso Mail, 10 Jun 1811, p1
[6] Kelso Mail, 24 Aug 1820, p1
[7] Kelso Mail, 21 Sep 1826, p1 and 16 Jul, 1827, p1
[8] Groome, Francis. Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, 1882-84. Available at http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/gaztext_page.jsp;jsessionid=D3055364C0196C359 [accessed Sep 7, 2007]
[9] Border Magazine, 36, 1931, p75
[10] Border Magazine, 1915, p59
[11] [check reference ? Byers, John . Liddesdale:histrorical and descriptive, 1952, page?]
[12] Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory, 1860; Valuation Roll, 1869, Castleton parish
[13] Pigot & Co’s National Commercial Directory of Scotland 1837, p759
[14] [check reference: Border Magazine, 1934, p177-179?]

Transport, roads and railways of Liddesdale

AndrewBethune — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:54:56 CDT

Over the next few weeks I hope to add information to this page about the history and development of the road network in Liddesdale, specifically the Carlisle to Berwick post road, the turnpike and statute labour roads that were constructed in the 1790s and the early years of the 19th century, plus information about a few road schemes that came to naught.

Places of Worship	Established Church – Rev. A. Barton, minister United Secession – Rev John Law, minister
Gentry, &c.	Blacklock, John, esq. of Leehaugh Elliot John, esq. of Redheugh Elliot Jno. esq. (of Binks) Burnsmouth Elliot John, esq of Whithaugh Oliver Wm. esq. of Dinlabyre
Tradesmen, &c.
Corn Mills	Bickerton Mill, James Armstrong Whithaugh Mill, Wm. Armstrong
Shopkeepers, Traders, &c.	Armstrong Walter. Linen & woollen draper, and wholesale spirit dealer Crozer William, mason Dodd William, flesher Douglas John, joiner and cabinet maker Elliot Wm, boot & shoe maker Fletcher Alexander, tailor Fisher Alex, schoolmaster of the parochial school Hall Thos. Linen & woollen draper and spirit dealer Hardie John, boot & shoe maker Haughton John, watch and clock maker Jardine James, public house Kerr Robert, tailor Kyle Jane, public house Lauder Adam, slater Mitchelhill Thomas, public house Murray Jn, linen & woollen draper Murray Robert, baker Nichol John, boot & shoe maker Nichol John, mason Nichol Thomas, cooper Oliver John, tailor Purdon Archibald, mason Scott Alex, grover & meal dealer Scott Andw. Boot & shoe maker Scott Archibald, wright Scott Thomas, Crown Inn Scott Thomas, wright Scott Walter, public house Scott Walter, wright Smith John, public house Storry Thomas, blacksmith Temple Robert, surgeon Turnbull Adam, tailor Turnbull John, grocer and spirit dealer
Carriers	Hawick, Geo. Thorburn, on Wednesday, and returns on Thursday Long Newton, William Beattie, on Tuesday, and returns same day