ORMISTON, a village and parish, in the county of
Haddington; containing 826 inhabitants, of whom
335 are in the village, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Haddington.
This place, which is situated on the vi'estern borders
of the county, derives its name from the family of Orme,
the earliest proprietors concerning whom any authentic
notice occurs, and whose descendants continued in possession
till the end of the thirteenth century. From the
Ormes the lands passed to the Lindsay family, of whom
Sir Alexander Lindsay was also proprietor of Paistou
and Templehall, which, together with the estates of
Ormiston and Muirhouse, he gave with his only daughter
in marriage to John, second son of Sir Alexander
Cockburn, constable of Haddington. This grant was
confirmed by a charter of David Bruce, King of Scotland,
in 1363; by which, also, the ofTice of constable
was made hereditary in the family. Patrick Cockburn,
a descendant, defended the castle of Dalkeith in the
coimty of Edinburgh in 14,52, from the assaults of James,
ninth Earl of Douglas, who had rebelled against his sovereign,
and whom, having put himself at the head of
the king'.s forces, he compelled to retire. In 1545, the
celebrated reformer, (jeorge Wishart, having preached
at Haddington, returned to Ormiston with Sir Alexander
Cockburn and two of his friends; and in the night,
the house was surrounded by the Earl of Bothwell and
his followers, who demanded that Wishart should be
delivered into their custody. This was ultimately complied
with, on a solemn promise of his safety, which
Bothwell observed so far as to refuse to give him up to
Cardinal Beaton; but he afterwards surrendered him to
the Earl of Arran, governor of Scotland, by whom he
was delivered into the hands of the cardinal, who carried
him to St. Andrew's, where he was executed. In 1747,
John, second Earl of Hopetoun, having acquired possession
of part, purchased the remainder of the estate of
Ormiston from the last representative of the Cockburn
family, and became sole proprietor of the parish, which
is now the property of his descendant, the present earl.
The PARISH is about five miles in length, and of extremely
irregular form, varying from a mile and a half
to little more than half a mile in breadth, and comprising
an area of about five square miles. It is bounded on the
north by the parish of Tranent, on the east by that of
Pencaitland, on the south by the parish of Humbie, and
on the west by Cranston. In general the surface is flat,
admitting of scarcely any variety; but the scenery is
much enriched with woods and plantations, scattered
over several parts; and the inclosures of hedges of whitethorn,
interspersed with sweetbrier and honeysuckle,
and the trees on each side of the roads that intersect the
parish, forming pleasing avenues, give the district an interesting
and beautiful appearance. The river Tyne flows
through the lands in the north-east; but except after
continued rains or floods, it is a narrow and shallow
stream. There are numerous copious springs, some of
which are strongly impregnated with iron. The soil is
greatly diversified: to a small extent on each side of the
river, and about the village, is found a light loam, resting
upon a gravelly bottom; in other parts, clay, more or
less tenacious; and in some parts, land bordering almost
on sterility, but rendered profitable by diligent cultivation.
There is a considerable tract of good meadowland,
which yields early and abundant crops of grass;
and in the village are two gardens for raising vegetables
and fruits for sale, from which during the season 200 or
300 pints of strawberries are sold daily. The whole
number of acres is estimated at 3270; of these about
3000 are arable and in a profitable state of cultivation,
130 meadow and pasture, and about 140 in woods and
plantations. The chief crops are, grain of all kinds,
peas, beans, potatoes, and turnips. From the encouragement
given to the tenants by the grant of long leases of
their farms, the lands have been improved nearly to the
utmost. The farm-houses are substantial and commodious,
some of them even handsome; the lands are well
inclosed, the fences well kept, and on almost every farm
threshing-mills have been erected, some of which are
driven by steam. Rape and bone-dust manures have
been introduced with success. The annual value of real
property in the parish is £5524.
The substrata are chiefly limestone and coal, both of
which are wrouglit, and the latter from a remote period.
The principal vein of coal lies in the grounds of Ormiston
Hall, in various parts of which the surface, being undermined,
has fallen considerably; the Hall itself appears
to have been much endangered, and rendered secure only
by under-building to a great extent. Upon the south
side of the river are tliree seams of good coal, the uppermost
thirty inches in thickness; the second, of equal
quality, thirty-three inches; and the lowest from thirtythree
to forty-three inches thick. On the north side of
the river the seams are all, with some trifling cross
workings, entire. The limestone in the southern part of
the parish is wrought, and there are kilns for burning it
into lime. Freestone of various quality is also abundant:
a quarry which was opened to the north of the Hall, produced
stone only of a coarse and easily friable quality;
but on the western confines of the parish, another was
opened in 1808, of which the stone was more compact
and durable, well adapted for building, and used in making
additions to the house ofOrmiston. Ironstone is
likewise plentiful, as is manifest from the quality of many
of the springs; but no attempt has been hitherto made
to explore it.
Ormiston Hall is a handsome mansion, erected by Mr.
Cockburn in 174.5, near the site of the ancient baronial
castle, which now forms part of a court of offices and
servants' apartments. It is situated in an extensive and
richly-wooded demesne; the garden contains every variety
of fruits, flowers, and shrubs, and is laid out with
taste and judgment. Here are some fig-trees, planted
by the then proprietor in the beginning of the last century,
and which produce the finest specimens of that
fruit in this part of Britain; also a remarkable yew of
ancient growth, which is still in full vigour, and measures
seventeen feet in girth at a height of five feet from the
ground. The village is pleasantly situated on the north
bank of theTyue, and consists of one broad street, shaded
with rows of trees, and having good gardens attached to
the principal dwellings. In the centre of the village is
an ancient cross, that appears to have been connected
with some religious establishment near the spot, of which
the chapel was for a time used as a schoolroom, but of
which scarcely any thing authentic is known: the lower
part of this cross was becoming dilapidated, but the relic
has been secured, and forms an interesting feature in the
landscape of the village. A post-office has been established
here; and facility of intercourse with the markettowns
in the neighbourhood is afforded by good roads,
of which the turnpike-road to Tranent passes for five
miles through the parish.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes this place is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Dalkeith and synod of Lothian
and Tweeddale. The Earl of Hopetoun is patron,
and the stipend of the incumbent is £230: the manse,
situated near the village, is a comfortable residence, enlarged
in 1779; and the glebe comprises seven acres and
a half of profitable land, valued at £ 1 5 per annum. Ormiston
church, about a mile and a half from the village,
is a very plain edifice with a small belfry, erected in 1696,
and adapted for a congregation of 345 persons. The
members of the Free Church have a place of worship and
a school. The parochial school is well conducted; the
master has a salary of £29. 18. 9., with a house and garden,
£1. 1. 9- from a funded bequest, and the fees. There
is a school at Paiston, three miles distant, the master of
which has a house and garden rent-free, with the interest
of a bequest, amounting to £1. .5., and a small sum paid
annually by the proprietor, in addition to the school fees,
which average £20. A similar school is maintained in
the hamlet of House of Muir, chiefly inhabited by colliers;
the mistress has a house, and a small salary from the
Hopetoun family, besides the fees. Branches of the
East Lothian Itinerating Library have been established
in the village of Ormiston and at Paiston; and there is
a library of about 100 volumes, belonging to an association
for the protection of property, kept in the parochial
school-house, under the care of the master. At the
southern extremity of the parish are the remains of a circular
camp, surrounded by a double intrcnchment, but
rapidly disappearing under the extension of agricultural
improvements. Between East and West Paiston, half a
mile distant from each other, the interval appears to have
been occupied by houses, of which scarcely any of th9
foundations are to be traced. There was a cemetery,
supposed to have belonged to a religious establishment
called Templehall; but the site is now planted.
John Cockburn, of Ormiston, to whom the district is
eminently indebted for the present prosperous state of
its agriculture, was born at Ormiston Hall in 1685, and
during the lifetime of his father sat as a member of the
Scottish parliament, and distinguished himself by the
active part he took in the Union. Having, during his
subsequent residence in England, made himself acquainted
with the improvements in English agriculture,
he resolved to introduce them into this part of his native
country; and in order to induce his tenantry to the requisite
exertions for their full reception, he granted them
leases of their farms for thirty-eight years, renewable for
nineteen years at the end of that time, and at the expiration
of every nineteen years afterwards. He died in
1 747, after having devoted his whole life to the benefit of
the district.