ORMISTON

Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)

"ORMISTON, a parish in the county of Haddington, Scotland. Shortly after the Reformation this parish was considerably enlarged by the annexation of the estate of Paystoun, which was then disjoined from Pencaitland. It comprises the villages of Ormiston and House of Muir. It extends in length about 44 miles, with an extreme breadth of 3½ miles. It is bounded on the W. by the county of Edinburgh, and on the other sides by the parishes of Tranent, Pencaitland, and Humbie. The surface is chiefly level, and in an excellent state of cultivation. Freestone, ironstone, and limestone abound, and coal is worked on the property of the Earl of Hopetoun. At Dodridge Law are traces of a Danish or British camp. The village of Ormiston is about 2 miles S. of Tranent railway station, and 8 W. of Haddington. It is situated on the left bank of the river Tyne, near its head. It comprises one spacious street, with an ancient cross in the centre, near the site where once stood a Roman Catholic chapel. The houses consist of two stories, and are well built, many of them having good gardens and orchards, with which the district abounds. This parish is in the presbytery of Dalkeith, and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale. The minister has a stipend of £250. The parish church was erected in 1856. There are also a Free church, a parochial school, besides other schools. Ormiston Hall, the seat of the Earl of Hopetoun, is near the old seat where Wishart the martyr was taken by Bothwell and given up to Cardinal Beaton. In the garden is Wishart's yew-tree, said to be upwards of 300 years old; its trunk is 11 feet in circumference and 25 feet high. Lord Justice Cockburn was a native of Ormiston, and in 1747 sold the manor, which had belonged for centuries to his family, to John Earl of Hopetoun, who then became proprietor of the whole parish."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

These pages are intended for personal use only, so please respect the conditions of use.