LANGTON, a parish, in the county of Berwick, 2| miles (W. S. W.) from Dunse; containing, with the village of Gavinton, about 500 inhabitants. It derives its name from the ancient town, which was remarkable for its length of straggling houses, extending from the manor-house to the eastern extremity of the parish. From its situation on the confiues, the place was continually exposed to all the accidents of border warfare; it was frequently plundered by the English, and in 15.58 was burnt by the forces under the command of Sir Henry Percy and Sir George Bowes. In the reign of David I., the manor belonged to Roger de Ow, a Northumbrian, who granted the church with its appendages to the abbey of Kelso, to which establishment it was confirmed by William de Vipont, a subsequent proprietor of the lands. On the death of Sir William Vipont, who fell in the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the estates passed, by marriage with his daughter and heiress, to the family of Cockburn, of whom Alexander Cockburn of Langton was keeper of the great seal in the reigns of Robert II. and Robert III., which office was annexed to the barony of Langton by charter of James IV., in 1504. In 162", William Cockburn was created a baronet by Charles I.: his descendant Sir Alexander Cockburn was killed in the battle of Fontenoy. The lands continued in the family till the year 1758, when they were sold to David Gavin, Esq., who, finding the old town an obstacle to the improvement of his estate, granted the inhabitants a more eligible site, upon very advantageous terms: here they erected the present village, which they called after his name; and in a few years every vestige of the former town disappeared. With a trifling exception, the lands are now the property of the Dowager Marchioness of Breadalbane. The PARISH is about five miles in length and three miles in breadth. Its surface is extremely hilly, forming a portion of the Lammermoor range of heights, which in this part of them are called Langton Edge, and have an elevation of nearly 1000 feet above the level of the sea. The scenery, in numerous parts barren and rugged, is relieved by many features of natural beauty, and in some places is enriched with wood. Several small streams, also, run through the parish, of which the principal is Langton burn, a rivulet that rises in the hilly grounds, and flows into the Blackadder. A smaller stream passes near Langton Lees, between precipitous banks crowned with foliage, and in its course through Langton wood displays much beautiful and picturesque scenery. In the higher parts the soil is light, and unfit for cultivation; in the lower lands, richer, and of greater fertility. The whole number of acres is estimated at 7000, of \\ hich nearly 4000, lying chiefly in the Lammermoor hills, are appropriated to the pasture of sheep; 2800 are arable, and about 400 acres woods and plantations. The system of agriculture is advanced, and generally the five-shift course is practised; the crops are wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips. The lands are well drained and inclosed; the farm-houses and offices are substantial and commodious, and all the more recent improvements in implements of husbandry are in use. The sheep are of the Leicestershire and Cheviot breeds, with a few of the black-faced; the cattle are almost all of the short-horned or Teeswater breed. In this parish the wood consists chiefly of oak, ash, elm, beech, plane, and larch, .Scotch, and spruce firs; the trees are well managed, and in a very thriving state. Langton House, the property and occasional residence of the Dowager Marchioness of Breadalbane, is a handsome seat; the grounds are tastefully laid out, and have been greatly improved. The village of Gavinton is neatly built, and pleasantly situated: facility of communication with Dunse the nearest market-town, and with other places in the vicinity, is maintained by roads kept in excellent order. The annual value of real property in the parish is returned at £5980. For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within the limits of the presbytery of Dunse, synod of Merse and Teviotdale: patroness, the Dowager Marchioness of Breadalbane. The stipend of the incumbent is £215; the manse, erected in I767, and repaired and enlarged by the late marquess in IS 19, is a comfortable residence, and the glebe comprises ten acres of profitable land, valued at £24 per annum. The ancient church, the date of which is not distinctly known, was situated near Langton House, and was in use till the year 1798, when the present church was erected in the village of Gavinton; the edifice is adapted for a congregatitm of 250 persons. There is also a place of worship, built by the Dowager Marchioness, for members of the Free Church. The parochial school is well conducted; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £20 per annum. A parochial library is supported by subscription; it contains a good collection of works on divinity, history, and biography. A friendly society, also, has been established. On the hill near Raecleugh Head are traces of a Danish camp, the ditches of which are still tolerably entire; and at a place called Camp Muir, near Choice Lee, where a regiment was stationed after the rebellion in 1715, are traces of the military works thrown up on that occasion. Upon Crurastane hill was a large cairn, on the removal of which, in 1792, were found several urns of different dimensions, containing human bones. Various stone coffins have been also discovered on the lands of Middlefield and Crease. In 1813 there was found, in a small streamlet flowing through a spot called the Battle- Muir, a bracelet of gold, nine inches in circumference, and which weighed nearly ten ounces.