Marchmont Estate - Changing Fortunes

Changing Fortunes

The late 17th Century and most of the 18th Century saw the rapid expansion of the estate while the Humes of Marchmont were at their strongest financially and the most powerful magnates in Berwickshire. It was not however until 1755 that the Hume family moved from Redbraes Castle adjacent to their new home, Marchmont House, a family seat befitting such an estate. Ideas and plans had been drawn up earlier in the century by Alexander the 2nd Earl, but it was not until Hugh, the 3rd Earl’s time that the house was actually built. The construction of this great house, together with many of the land purchases in the 18th Century, were funded to a large extent by the sale of Cessnock estates, which came into the ownership of the family following the marriage between the Alexander the 2nd Earl, and Margaret Campbell. She was “a great heiress, and on her father’s death, in 1704, her husband succeeded him, not only in his Ayrshire estates, but also in his place on the Scottish Bench, where he sat under the same title of Lord Cessnock”. The political power and wealth of the Hume family therefore continued. “Lord Marchmont took a great interest in his estates,....he laid out a great deal of money on his property and very much increased its extent by the purchase of Home Castle and its surrounding lands, and also of other farms lying nearer the Tweed”.

In the 1779 “Accounts of the Rt Hon the Earl of Marchmont” by John Wauchope WS we can see exactly how fast the estate expanded. The detailed inventory lists all the purchases from the last part of the 17th Century and through most of the 18th Century. Many of the names of farms and lands listed in the inventory are still used today. Others are now unrecognisable owing to the changing patterns of agricultural land use. The list of names and dates of acquisitions include: Slegden 1668; Greenlaw 1697; Foulshallow (probably the now called Flourishwalls) 1700; Hallyburton 1702; East end of Fogo 1725; Bellshill 1710; Hurdlaw 1712; Gordonbank, Bellshill, Spencerigg 1775;Barony of Hume 1766; Rollandston 1762 Braelands of Hapington (Hassington), east end of Fogo 1771; Eccleshill 1779; The Slap 1779. The estate acquired farms many miles away and apparently unconnected to the existing land. Such farms were Headshaw and Kelphope at Carfrae, roughly half way to Edinburgh.Channanbank at Abbey St. Bathans had been added to the estate much earlier in the 1660s.. It is not easy to see why these were bought as they don’t seem to be part of a geographical pattern.

In addition to the “Accounts of the Rt Hon the Earl of Marchmont” there are 2 further reliable references that document the composition of the estate and thereby act as milestones in its history. First is the detailed 1825 atlas and survey of the estate when in the ownership of Sir William P. Hume Campbell. The second is the sale particulars of the auction of the house and estate in June 1913, held by John D Wood and instructed on behalf of Sir John Hume Campbell, Bt., the last of the Hume owners.

The 1825 survey states that the lands extend to about 21,000 acres (85 km2). Such was the importance of the estate that a railway station was built for it, presumably as much for agricultural use as personal. The station was situated between Duns and Greenlaw stations on the Berwickshire Railway line which was opened on 1 August 1849 to join Reston to the main Edinburgh to Hawick line at Ravenswood Junction near St Boswells. The track at Marchmont was lifted in 1953. However by the time the estate was put up for sale in 1913, approximately 90 years later, the estate had reduced in size to about 13,500 acres (55 km2). in fact the size of the estate when eventually sold at auction was 5,000 acres (20 km2). The reduction in the size of the estate was due to the dwindling wealth of the Hume family of Marchmont. Many of the outlying farms were sold off, in particular the belt of estate situated south of Greenlaw such as Hume, Stanmore, Belmont and Hassendean. These are recorded as being part of Marchmont in a plan of the estate dated 1902. Therefore the disposal of these must have taken place in the first few years of the 20th Century. The central core north and north west of Greenlaw was largely retained. It is no surprise that the parkland around the house has changed little over the 250 years or so since the house was built. Although some trees have been cut down, the handsome avenue, arguably the longest in Scotland, stills leads to the house from a north easterly direction. During the remainder of most of the 20th Century and during the time of the former proprieter the estate comprised the following farms: Woodheads, Whiteside Slegden, Clerkenville, Castlemill, Elwartlaw and Cothill, the last two being sold off in about 1978 and 1981 respectively. However latterly the estate has seen some of areas of land bought back or added. It now has about 5,500 acres (22 km2) of freehold land and a further 3,500 acres (14 km2) of leased land, a total which is significant by modern day standards.

Research into the subject shows there are a number of documents of incidental interest that one comes across that tell a more human story about the estate and its workings. The Marchmont estate “Work Bork” of 1743-45 lists, day by day, the tasks of the estate labourers, where they worked and how much they were paid. We can take Jo Nisbet, one of those workers, as an example. He is detailed as “digging Marle” on Monday 20th. Marl, like lime was used as a soil additive, improving it chemically and biologically, and was used in areas such as this in Berwickshire and Roxburghshire which had clay soil. At places like Marchmont in the lowlands, adding marl and lime was central to agricultural success by improving the soil. He then went on to carry out other duties such as “moeing” or “forking hay”, “holding up plow”, “threshing oats”, and “draining nursery”. For 4 days work they would be typically be paid ¼, going up to 2- for 6 days work. Most of the 25 or so men worked 6 days a week, even on Christmas Day and other days we would consider holidays.