Longformacus

Longformacus (Scottish Gaelic: Longphort Mhacais) is a small village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland.^[1] It is around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) 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.

Longformacus
entering the village
Longformacus Location within the Scottish Borders
OS grid reference	NT693572
Council area	Scottish Borders
Lieutenancy area	Berwickshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DUNS
Postcode district	TD11
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
Scottish Parliament	Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
List of places UK Scotland 55.808°N 2.492°W / 55.808; -2.492

Longformacus

In the vicinity are traces of an ancient fortification at Runklie or Wrinklaw^[2][3] and the Mutiny Stones cairn.^[2][3]

The opera Lucia di Lammermoor, written by Gaetano Donizetti and based on Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor, was set in the Lammermuirs and an old form of the village's name, Lockermachus, is mentioned in Scott's novel.^[4]

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.

Etymology

Longformacus derives its name from the Gaelic Longphort Mhacais, meaning 'Macas's camp'.^[5] Derivation from Lann Fothir Maccus, meaning 'church on the land of Maccus' has also been suggested.^[6]

History

The Mansion House of Longformacus^[7]

Longformacus Church^[8]

The church of Longformacus was dedicated by Bishop David de Bernham, 11 March 1243. In 1667 the choir was in ruins, the church itself being "very ruinous." It was rebuilt on the old foundations in 1730, and a thorough renovation was made, in 1895. Our Lady's Well is on the Dye Water, about a quarter of a mile east of the village. The parish was long united to Mordington, but was disjoined in 1666. Longformacus and Ellem were united in 1712; and Ellem church was disused.^[9][10] There was some copper ore in the area which a former minister smelted but large scale production was not successful.^[11][12]

People from Longformacus

• Prof Alexander Christison FRSE^[13]
• Thomas Ord, circus horseman, son of the Longformacus minister.^[14]

See also

Places nearby include Cranshaws, Abbey St Bathans, Bonkle, Preston, Scottish Borders, the Whiteadder Water, and Duns.^[15]

• List of listed buildings in Longformacus, Scottish Borders^[16]
• List of places in the Scottish Borders
• List of places in Scotland

References

1. "OS 25 inch Map 1841-1952". zoomable map with Bing transparency overlay. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
2. Groome, Francis H. "Longformacus". Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
3. First Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the County of Berwick (PDF). HMSO. 1909. p. 43.
4. Scott, Walter, Sir (1800). The heart of Midlothian; The bride of Lammermoor. Boston: Dana Estes & company. p. 380. Retrieved 31 December 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
5. "Scottish Parliament - Placenames K-O" (PDF).
6. "Place-names of Scotland". 1892.
7. Riddell, Henry (1834). The new statistical account of Scotland. Vol. 2. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons. pp. 93-98. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
8. Robson, James (1896). The churches and churchyards of Berwickshire. Kelso: Rutherford. pp. 171-174. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
9. Scott, Hew (1917). Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. p. 24. Retrieved 15 April 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
10. Rutherfurd, J. and J. H. (1866). The southern counties' register and directory; containing much useful and interesting information, and very complete lists connected with the counties of Roxburgh, Berwick, and Selkirk. Kelso: J. and J.H.Ruthderfurd, etc. pp. 662–666. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
11. Ord, Selby (1791). The statistical account of Scotland. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Printed and sold by William Creech. pp. 69-71. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
12. Francis Hindes, Groome (1895). Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland : a survey of Scottish topography, statistical, biographical and historical. Vol. 4. London: W. Mackenzie. p. 555. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
13. C D Waterston; A Macmillan Shearer (July 2006). "Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1783–2002: Part 1 (A–J)" (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 090219884X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
14. Baird, William (1898). Annals of Duddingston and Portobello. Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot. pp. 329-332. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
15. Slater, Isaac (1886). Slater's (later Pigot and Co's) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland. Manchester: Isaac Slater. pp. 331-332. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
16. "Longformacus". CANMORE. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 11 May 2010.

External links

• Gazetteer for Scotland: Longformacus
• Borders Family History Society: Longformacus