MORDINGTON, a parish, in the county of Berwick,
4 miles (N. W.) from Berwick-on-Tweed; containing
392 inhabitants. This place, situated on the
border, and consequently exposed in former times to
frequent hostile incursions, was celebrated for its ancient
castle, seated on the summit of a rock rising almost
perpendicularly from the bank of the river Whitadder,
which winds round its base. It appears to have been
regarded as a fortress of importance at an early period,
and to have been alternately in the possession of the
Scots and the English: in treaties of peace concluded
between the two kingdoms, it invariably formed an article
of separate stipulation. The castle was in the hands of
the English for a considerable time prior to the reign of
Henry VIII., by whom it was voluntarily restored to
James V. in 1534, from which period till the Union it
was held, with the lands appertaining to it, in royal demesne.
Previously to the middle of the seventeenth
century the parish comprised only the barony of Mordington
and the lands of Edrington; but the manor of
Lamberton was then severed from the parish of Ayton,
and annexed to Mordington. The church or chapel of
Lamberton, which seems to have been an appendage of
the priory of Coldingham, but has long fallen into decay,
is distinguished for the marriage contract concluded
within its walls between James IV. of Scotland, and
Margaret, daughter of Henry VII. of Eugland, in the year 1503.
The PARISH is about four miles in extreme length,
and of very irregular form. It is bounded on the east
by the German Ocean, and on the south by the river
Whitadder; and comprises 3600 acres, of which 2600
are arable, thirty woodland and plantations, and the remainder
moorland pasture and waste. The surface is
greatly varied. In the northern portion it rises into
numerous eminences commanding extensive and richlydiversified
prospects over the surrounding country, with
part of the county of Northumberland, terminating to the
south in the range of the Cheviot hills, towards the east
embracing a view of the sea, and to the west the Rubberslaw,
the Eildon, and the Lammermoor hills. The
southern portion has a gentle declivity to the banks of
the Whitadder, and on the east towards the sea. The
scenery is enriched with wood of ancient growth and
with thriving plantations, and is in many parts very
picturesque, the river winding beautifully between precipitous
banks finely wooded: the coast is one continued
series of steep and rugged rocks, of which some
detached masses project boldly into the sea. In this
parish the soil is various, in some parts marshy, and in
others fertile and productive: the chief crops are, grain
of every kind, with potatoes and turnips. The system
of agriculture is advanced. Manure of all kinds is obtained
in abundance from Berwick, and bone-dust has
been employed with success in the cultivation of turnips.
The lands have been drained and inclosed; the farm
houses and oflices are substantial and well arranged, and
all the more recent improvements in implements are in
general use. Considerable numbers of cattle and sheep
are pastured in the upland parts, but few are reared on
the farms. The plantations are in a flourishing condition.
The chief substrata are sandstone, indurated marl, and
trap-rock, with porphyry. Coal is supposed to exist in
abundance, though at a considerable depth; two seams
of it have already been discovered, varying from twenty-
six to thirty-two feet in thickness, and it is thought that
beneath these there is another seam. Limestone has
been also found, near the coal, but of very inferior quality.
Mordington House, pleasantly seated on an eminence,
and Edrington House, situated in a richly-wooded
demense, are both handsome mansions.
A lucrative coast-fishery is carried on at the small
village of Ross: the fish generally taken are cod, ling,
and haddock, lobsters, crabs, and salmon in small quantities;
the cod, ling, and haddock are sent chiefly to
Edinburgh, and the lobsters by smacks to the London
market. Salmon and trout, also, are found in the
Whitadder, but not in any large quantity. A flour-mill
is set in motion by the Whitadder, near the castle of
Edrington; and a threshing-mill, above 500 feet distant,
is worked by the same wheel by means of a shaft
carried through a tunnel in the rock. The agricultural
produce of the parish is sent to Berwick, and the newlyestablished
market at Eyemouth; and wool-staplers
from Yorkshire attend to purchase wool, for the manufacture
of which several of them have mills on the banks
of the Whitadder, one of which is within the parish.
Great facility of intercourse is afforded by the North-
British radway, and the Berwick and Dunbar road
The annual value of real property in Mordington is
£3398. It is in the presbytery of Chirnside, synod of
Merse and Teviotdale, and in the patronage of J. Campbell
Renton, Esq., of Mordington: the minister's stipend
is £157. 11. 8., with a manse, and the glebe is valued at
£37. 10. per annum. The church, erected in 1757, is a
neat plain edifice adapted for a congregation of 170 persons.
The members of the Free Church have a place of
worship. Mordington parochial school affords a useful
education to about fifty children; the master has a
salary of £34, with £'23 fees, and a house and garden.
A small library is supported by subscription; it contains
a well-assorted collection of books, which circulate gratuitously.
A portion of the outer walls of the chapel of
Lamberton is still remaining, and is appropriated as a
place of sepulture by the family of Renton. There is
also a small portion of the castle of Edrington, or Mordington,
existing, but in a very dilapidated condition.
On the heights towards the north-west are the remains
of a circular camp supposed to be of Danish origin; it
appears to have been defended with a triple intrenchment,
the ramparts of which are about twenty feet high:
one-half, within this parish, is tolerably entire; but the
other, in the parish of Ayton, is almost obliterated.