Ayton, Scottish Borders

Ayton is a small village located in the historic county of Berwickshire, today part of the Scottish Borders region. It is on the Eye Water, from which it is said to take its name: Ayton means 'Eye-town'. It contains the former ancient tollbooth or town hall with a clock tower, the Hemelvaart Bier Cafe (an entertainment venue as well as a bar) and a village store. It is located near the East Coast Main Line railway line, which runs between London, King's Cross and Edinburgh, Waverley station, the closest station being Reston station. The A1 (Great North Road) originally ran through the heart of the village, but during the 1980s a bypass was built to the East of the village. Ayton was the location of a coaching inn on the road between London and Edinburgh.

1. Ayton Castle and church

The splendid edifice of Ayton Castle, the caput of the Scottish feudal barony of Ayton, dominates the town and district. It is built around a peel tower, a stronghold of the Home family, which burnt down in 1834. The estate was subsequently purchased by William Mitchell (later Mitchell-Innes) of Parsonsgreen, Edinburgh, Chief Cashier of the Royal Bank of Scotland. From 1846 to 1851 James Gillespie Graham was commissioned to build a new castle at Ayton in the Scottish Baronial style in red sandstone. Further additions were made in the later 19th century. The interiors of the 1875 are still largely extant. William's son, Alexander Mitchell-Innes (1811–1886), commissioned James Maitland Wardrop to build Ayton Parish Church, with a 36-metre (118 ft) spire, and stained glass windows by Ballantine & Sons. In 1895 the barony of Ayton was sold to Henry Liddell-Grainger of Middleton Hall, Northumberland. His descendant, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP, is the current feudal baron of Ayton, but his younger stepbrother became proprietor of Ayton Castle and sold it in 2015.

1. James Boswell

The Scottish diarist and author James Boswell, biographer of Samuel Johnson passed through Ayton on his journey to London on 15 November 1762. In his London Journal he recounts "...We did very well till we passed Old Camus, when one of the wheels of our chaise was so much broke that it was of no use. The driver proposed that we should mount the horses and ride to Berwick. But this I would by no means agree to; and as my partner let me be the principal man and take the direction of our journey, I made the chaise be dragged on to Ayton, where we waited till the driver rode to Berwick and brought us a chaise. Never did I pass three hours more unhappily. We were set down in a cold ale-house in a dirty little village. We had a beefsteak ill-dressed and had nothing to drink but thick muddy beer. We were both out of humour so that we could not speak. We tried to sleep but in vain. We only got a drowsy headache. We were scorched by the fire on the one hand and shivering with the frost on the other. At last our chaise came, and we got to Berwick about twelve at night. We had a slice of hard dry toast, a bowl of warm negus (drink), and went comfortable to bed".

1. See also

Ayton Castle List of places in the Scottish Borders List of places in Scotland

1. References


1. Bibliography

The History of the Royal Bank of Scotland 1727–1827, by Neil Munro, Edinburgh, 1928. Borders and Berwick, by Charles A Strang, Rutland Press, 1994, pps: 21–2, ISBN 1-873190-10-7

1. External links

Ayton village SCRAN: Roy Map of Ayton Topographical Dictionary of Scotland

Nearby Places View Menu

Ayton Parish Church

Ayton and Burnmouth Parish Church is a member church (Scots: kirk) of the Church of Scotland, serving the communities of Ayton and Burnmouth in the Scottish Borders. The church is situated on the side of the B6355 road, just off the main A1 road, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of the village centre and 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north-west of Berwick upon Tweed, at grid reference NT927609.

Church

Ayton railway station

Ayton railway station was a station which served the village of Ayton in the Scottish area of Scottish Borders. It was located on what is now known as the East Coast Main Line. The station was also served by trains on the Berwickshire Railway which diverged from the main line at Reston.

Landmark Train

Burnmouth railway station

Burnmouth railway station served the village of Burnmouth, Ayton, Scotland from 1848 to 1962 on the East Coast Main Line.

Train

Burnmouth

Burnmouth is a small fishing village located adjacent to the A1 road on the east coast of Scotland. It is the first village in Scotland on the A1, after crossing the border with England. Burnmouth lies in the parish of Ayton in Berwickshire, part of the Scottish Borders. Burnmouth lies at the point where a burn slices through the high cliffs lining this coast en route to the sea. There may have been a mill here in the Middle Ages, but little else until a fishing harbour was built in the 1830s, later extended in 1879 and 1959. The East Coast Main Line railway passes along the top of the cliff here, and was once served by Burnmouth railway station from 1846 to 1962. The Berwickshire Coastal Path is nearby. Burnmouth itself is split into two areas: Upper Burnmouth and Lower Burnmouth. Upper Burnmouth is sited at the top of the cliff. Lower Burnmouth is hidden away at the foot of cliff and stretches out along the foreshore. Lower Burnmouth is further split into four smaller communities: Lower Burnmouth, Partanhall, Cowdrait and Ross. Lower Burnmouth sits beside the harbour and Partanhall is located to the north. Cowdrait is located to the south of the harbour. The tiny community of Ross is located just south of Cowdrait. Ross, which now consists of only six houses, was once considered a separate community, as it lies just across the parish boundary, in the parish of Mordington. Burnmouth has a small church sited halfway down the Brae (the road which ascends the cliff between Lower and Upper Burnmouth). Until 2005, the village had a small primary school. Burnmouth had two pubs – the Flemington Inn and the Gulls Nest (now called the First and Last) – which were sited next to each other adjacent to the A1 road. The Flemington Inn had signs on the north and south gables proclaiming to passing motorists that that pub was "the last inn Scotland" and "the first inn Scotland". In February 2006 the Flemington was gutted by fire and the building was later demolished. Burnmouth lost 24 fishermen, drowned, in the 1881 Eyemouth Disaster. This is commemorated on a bronze plaque mounted on the harbour wall. Burnmouth hosts an annual bike race, known as the "Brae Race" which takes place every May. The course consists of the steep road which ascends the cliff from lower to upper Burnmouth.

Fishing Maritime