From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 55°46′42″N 2°20′33″W / 55.77838°N 2.3426°W / 55.77838; -2.3426

Duns
Scottish Gaelic: An Dùn
Scots: Duns
Duns  Duns shown within Scotland
Population	2,594 [1] (2001 census) est. 2,710[2] (2006)
OS grid reference	NT786539
Council area	Scottish Borders
Lieutenancy area	Berwickshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Duns
Postcode district	TD11 3xx
Dialling code	01361
Police	Lothian and Borders
Fire	Lothian and Borders
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
Scottish Parliament	Roxburgh and Berwickshire
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Duns is a town in the Scottish Borders. It was created a Burgh of Barony in 1490 by James IV, and is a former county town of Berwickshire.

Today

Gone forever: part of the last mediaeval gardens in the heart of Duns, at 5 - 7 South Street, bought by the British Red Cross in June 1994 and completely developed for housing.

Duns has the largest shopping facilities in a radius of 15 miles and houses the Berwickshire Sheriff Court as well as principal offices of the Scottish Borders Council. Since the early 1990s Duns and its immediate vicinity have seen substantial housing development, some controversial. A development near the golf club on the road to Longformacus just outside Duns is almost a town in itself and was built upon green field sites. Opposite the Berwickshire High School a new modern High School has been constructed to replace the mid-1950s buildings in which the school was previously housed. The new High School opened in February 2009.

Duns from Duns Law.

Castle

The feudal Laird is Alexander Hay of Duns and Drumelzier. His family acquired Duns Castle by marriage in 1696, and were responsible for the present Gothic Revival structure; prior to that, it had been a substantial Peel tower built in 1320 by the Earl of Moray who had been granted the estate by Robert I.

Country Houses

The district surrounding Duns once had a considerable number of famous Country Houses. Those surviving include:

• The Edwardian mansion Manderston House (rebuilt in 1903), which lies just outside the burgh on the A6105 road to Berwick-upon-Tweed, the home of a Liberal Peer, Lord Palmer.

• The early 18th century Edrom House (after architect James Smith), 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Manderston and now the home of the supermodel Stella Tennant.

• About a mile east of Edrom stands Blanerne House, an ancient seat of the Lumsden family, rebuilt by architect William Burn in 1895 following a fire. Its ruined mediaeval Pele Tower stands nearby.

• Nisbet House (c. 1630) with its great tower (1774) is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the town, and is currently being restored as a private home.

• Wedderburn Castle (1771-1775, by architects Robert Adam and James Adam) is 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Duns and is built on site of the earlier Tower house. It is the seat of the Homes of Wedderburn.

• Further south lies Kimmerghame House, a Scottish Baronial mansion completely rebuilt in 1851 by architect David Bryce, almost destroyed by fire in 1938 but again much rebuilt. It is now the seat of a former Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire, Major-General Sir John Swinton of Kimmerghame (father of the actress Tilda Swinton).

Education

Berwickshire High School is a six year comprehensive school located to the west of the town.

The Ba game of Duns

This is a kind of mediaeval football. Three balls or "Ba"s were required for this game; the first was gold, the second silvered, and the third coloured or spotted. A fourth was provided in case of mishap, and if not needed was presented to the subscriber whose entertainment had been most hospitable, the Hay family at Duns Castle usually being the recipients.

At mid-day the honour of throwing up the ball would be auctioned in the Kirkyard. The throw would invariably be performed by a member of the Duns Castle family. At 1 o'clock the game began, the Ba being thrown up in the Market Square. The goal for the married men was the pulpit of the church; if a goal was scored then the church bell would rung by the victors. The goal of the bachelors was the hopper of any of the grinding mills in the district, the nearest being over a mile away. If a bachelor won the Ba he would be dusted with flour and receive a meal of pork and dumplings from the miller.

The game was revived in 1949 as part of the Duns Summer Festival. The goals are now at opposite corners of the Market Square, by the White Swan hotel and the Post Office.

The town is popular with walkers, many of whom scale the Duns Law (hill).

Notable people

• The Reverend Thomas Boston, Theologian and Presbyterian minister (1676–1732).
• Jim Clark, Formula 1 racing driver (1936–1968). A small museum, which is known as The Jim Clark Room, can be found in Duns.
• Dr Samuel Cockburn (1823-1915), Medical doctor and homeopath, outspoken defender of homeopathy and critic of the medical establishment.
• Professor Abraham Robertson, Mathematician (4 November 1751 - 4 December 1826).
• The Blessed John Duns Scotus, Theologian , Scholar and Logician (c.1266–1308).

Twin towns

• Żagań, Poland

Notes

References

• Strang, Charles Alexander, Borders and Berwick, Rutland Press, 1994, (P/B), ISBN 1-873190-10-7

From LoveToKnow 1911