Swinton, Scottish Borders

Swinton
A general view of Swinton Kirk
Swinton Location within the Scottish Borders
Population	circa 224
OS grid reference	NT835474
Council area	Scottish Borders
Lieutenancy area	Berwickshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Duns
Postcode district	TD11
Dialling code	01890
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
Scottish Parliament	Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
List of places UK Scotland 55°43′11″N2°15′51″W / 55.719737°N 2.264220°W / 55.719737; -2.264220

Swinton is a small village in the Scottish Borders. It is in the former county of Berwickshire, around 5 miles (8 kilometres) southeast of Duns, and 3 miles (5 kilometres) northwest of the Anglo-Scottish border.

An aerial view of Swinton

History

Swinton dates to the 11th century or earlier, and is associated with the Swinton family, who took their name from the settlement. In 1769, the village was re-designed and a market was created, now marked by the market cross. A parish church was built and still stands today. In the churchyard, the Swintons have their own burial enclosure. In 1843, the Free Church of Swinton was built, but in the 1900s the spire was removed and it became the local village hall.

The main parish church was remodelled in 1910 by Robert Lorimer. ^[1] The vestry was remodelled again in 2020-2021, the building work and utilities were monitored by Border Reivers Archaeology Unit.

Notable people

• Daniel Laidlaw, recipient of the Victoria Cross

Etymology

The name of the village is a contraction of Swine Town, a name borne from the large number of wild boar the land was once inhabited by. ^[2]

Swinton House

Swinton House, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village, dates in its current form to 1800, and was the residence of many of the Swinton family. ^[3] It was built to replace an earlier house, which was destroyed by fire in the late 18th century. Both the house and the nearby 18th century dovecote are protected as category A listed buildings. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer
2. Lewis, Samuel (1846). A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. London: Samuel Lewis. pp. 519–526.
3. Historic Environment Scotland. "SWINTON HOUSE (Category A Listed Building LB15339)" . Retrieved 30 December 2018.
4. Historic Environment Scotland. "SWINTON HOUSE, DOVECOT (Category A Listed Building LB13850)" . Retrieved 30 December 2018.