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Hutton, Berwickshire

Historical Description

HUTTON, a parish, in the county of Berwick, 6 miles (W. by N.) from Berwick-upon-Tweed; containing, with the village of Paxton, 1133 inhabitants. The parish of Hutton was enlarged in the year 1614, by the annexation of the neighbouring parish of Fishwick; and these two districts form the parish as it at present exists. Hutton, which lies near the Whitadder river, is supposed to have derived its name from the situation of its village in a hollow, whence the term How-town, corrupted into Hutton. Fishwick, which is on the banks of the Tweed, is generally thought to have derived its name from the avocations of its inhabitants as fishermen in ancient times: the churchyard there still continues, but the owner of the property some years since built a family cemetery in the pointed style, in the form of a chapel, on the ruins of the church, which are not now visible. From a diary of the progress of Edward I. through Scotland, it seems probable that the king encamped in this locality on the 29th of March, 1296, the day preceding that on which he took the town of Berwick. It appears that Hatton, or Hauden, was the place where he rested with his army the day after he left Coldstream; and as this parish lies in the direct line of his march to Berwick from Coldstream, where he crossed the Tweed on the 28th of March, it is concluded that Hutton must be the spot there referred to.

The parish, which resembles in figure an irregular triangle, is about four miles long and three broad, and contains 5261 acres. It is bounded on the north by the parishes of Chirnside, Foulden, and Mordington, from which it is separated by the Whitadder river; the parish has the river Tweed on the south, the parish of Berwick on the east, Edrom on the west, and Whitsome and Ladykirk on the south-west. The surface presents almost one continued flat, with the exception of the ground on the banks of the Tweed and Whitadder, which, being diversified with gentle elevations, relieves the tame and uninteresting scenery in the other parts of the parish. The height of these elevations, however, above the sea, seldom exceeds 150 feet. Near the rivers the soil is a rich deep loam, resting upon sandstone, and exceedingly fertile, producing heavy crops. In the middle of the parish the ground is of an inferior quality, being thin, wet, and moorish, and rests upon a tenacious clayey subsoil. A tract of this description, about a mile broad, commences here, and runs from east to west, to the extremity of the county; while on each side of it the earth is rich and productive. The parish comprises 4950 acres either cultivated or occasionally in tillage. Above sixty acres on the banks of the rivers, being too steep for the operations of the plough, remain for the most part in natural pasture, part of which is of very superior quality. About 250 acres are occupied by wood, consisting of ash, elm, plane, oak, beech, and all the varieties of fir: this department of rural economy claims much of the attention of the proprietors, especially on the estates of Broad Meadows, Paxton, and Fishwick, where the plantations are in a very thriving condition. The lands are considered most suitable to wheat, but excellent crops of turnips are produced, as well as of grain of all kinds. Tile-draining has of late years been extensively practised in the parish with great effect. The farm-buildings and offices are in general neat and convenient; and nearly the whole of the grounds are inclosed with good thornhedges. Improvements in every department of husbandry have, indeed, been carried on for many years past. Sandstone of various kinds is the prevailing rock: on the estate of Hutton Hall is a stratum of very fine gypsum. The annual value of real property in the parish is £10,446.

There are several mansion-houses, of which Hutton Hall is the most ancient and remarkable. It is situated on an eminence near the Whitadder, and appears to have been originally a square tower constructed principally for observation and security, to which many subsequent additions have been made, to accommodate it to the usages of modern times. This mansion is now uninhabited, and fast verging to ruin. The mansion of Paxton was built about eighty or ninety years ago, of dark sandstone; the front is massive and commanding, and the house is enlivened by the passage of the river Tweed on the south-east: the apartments are elegant and commodious, and a very valuable collection of paintings enriches the mansion. Broad-Meadows is constructed of fine white freestone, and is a modern building in the Grecian style of architecture. The scenery in the vicinity of these residences is interesting, and in some parts beautiful, especially that near Paxton. Not far from the last-named place are Spittal House and Tweed Hill, the latter of which stands on the river Tweed, in the vicinity of the Union chain-bridge.

The population are almost entirely agricultural; their chief communication is with the town of Berwick. On the estate of Paxton is a manufactory for bricks and tiles, where large quantities of the latter are produced for drainage. Three corn-mills are also in operation in the parish, the produce of which, consisting of flour, meal, and pearl-barley, is exported from Berwick to London. Upon that part of the Tweed forming the boundary line of the parish are four or five fishing-stations; upwards of twenty men are employed, and considerable quantities of trout, salmon, and grilse are caught, which are packed in ice at Berwick, and despatched by steam-vessels to the London market. Two turnpike-roads pass through the parish, one leading from Berwick to Dunse, and the other from Berwick to Kelso by way of Swinton: the lines of turnpike-road are about ten miles, and the parish roads of equal extent. About two miles and a half from the village of Hutton, and six from Berwick, is the iron suspension-bridge over the Tweed, erected in 1820, and by which many serious accidents and the loss of lives have been prevented: it is 361 feet in length, and of one hundred tons' weight of malleable iron; the whole expense being between £7000 and £8000. Another bridge has been lately erected near Hutton Mill, across the Whitadder, connecting the parish with Foulden, and also opening a facility of communication with the sea-port of Eyemouth: it is a handsome structure, and most convenient for the locality. Ecclesiastically Hutton is within the limits of the presbytery of Chirnside, synod of Merse and Teviotdale, and the patronage is vested in the Crown; the stipend of the minister is £236, with a manse, built fifty or sixty years ago, and enlarged and repaired in 1822. There are two glebes, one of them in Hutton and the other in Fishwick, amounting together to about thirteen acres, valued at £30 per annum. The present church, erected in 1834, is remarkably neat in its external appearance; it is in the Norman style of architecture, and affords excellent accommodation for upwards of 600 hearers. There is a parochial school, in which Latin, mathematics, geography, &c., are taught, and for which a good school-house, and dwelling-house for the master, were lately built: the master's salary is £34. Another school is held in Paxton, and a girls' school in Hutton. The parish also has two small parochial libraries, a friendly society, and an agricultural association, the last designed chiefly to promote improvements in ploughing. Dr. Andrew Foreman, Bishop of Moray, Archbishop of Bourges in France, and afterwards Archbishop of St. Andrew's, who flourished at the beginning of the sixteenth centurv, was a native of the parish.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, 1851 by Samuel Lewis
CountyBerwickshire
CountryScotland

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