LANGTON
The church of Langton is ancient. During the reign of David I. (1124–1153), the manor of Langton, along with the advowson of the church, belonged to Roger de Ow, a Northumbrian follower of Prince Henry. Roger de Ow granted the church of Langton to the monks of Kelso. From him, the estate passed to William de Vetereponte (or Vipont), who continued the grant of the church with its tithes and lands to these monks. In 1296, John, vicar of Langton, swore fealty to Edward I. at Berwick and subsequently had his rights restored.*
In the year 1684, the church appeared to be in good condition, requiring no repairs. The report of the commissioners during the parochial visitation of that year, called by order of the Bishop of Edinburgh while Patrick Walker was minister, was satisfactory. However, at the next visitation in 1700, the Presbytery noted that "several things [were] necessary to compleat ye same," and the moderator, by their appointment, recommended "ye persons concerned to see to ye repair yr of." By the third visitation in 1721, the roof was reported to be in poor condition, and in 1727 it collapsed. The church underwent thorough repair at that time and stood until the construction of a more modern edifice in 1798 at the village of Gavinton, half a mile from the original site.*
In the old, now disused, burial ground at Langton, there remains what seems to have been the chancel of the church, long since converted into a burial vault. Measuring 22 feet wide by 20 feet long externally, it is located slightly to the southeast of Langton House. At the west end of this vault, projecting about a foot laterally, is a small fragment of what was likely the north wall of the nave. The structure shows signs of repeated alterations, and it is doubtful that any original details remain. The east elevation features two small round-headed windows, apparently from the seventeenth century, situated six feet apart and measuring 27 inches high by 14 inches wide.*
There are numerous old stones in the burial ground at Langton, but the site is in a deplorable state. It is overgrown with nettles and long, unkempt grass, which obscure even some of the taller stones from view.
On a very small stone, only the date 1656 is legible.
The following appears on the upper surface of a small, clumsy stone:
"James Lamb 1671."
On a similar stone:
"Hear lyeth James Watherston who died 12 of January 1712."
A small, neatly carved stone bears:
"Hear lyes Jean Currie who dyed March 21, 1707, and James Currie who dyed Febr. 6, 1708, son and daughter to Robert Currie."
A tall, very slender stone is inscribed:
"Hir lys Alexander Wer 1620."
The date 1605 appears on a stone of elaborate and artistic design. The remainder of the inscription is defaced beyond recognition.
On a small, thick stone:
"Adam Gall, way of years was 81, yet to this world of them was dead 11 Feb 1683."
Within a square panel of a richly carved stone:
"John Cockburne 1686."
On a small, plain stone:
"Here lies William Bour (?) and James Lovri his son 1710."
In Langton Wood, opposite Hainingrig, lies the site of a Nonjurors’ Chapel, erected in 1676. No vestige of it now remains.
The church presently in use was erected in 1872, replacing a predecessor built in 1798 on the same site. It is a neat Gothic-style building with a handsome tower. The interior is light and exceedingly comfortable, featuring a beautiful stained-glass window above the pulpit at the west end.
The stones in the churchyard are comparatively modern.
These lines appear on a medium-sized stone:
"The rosebud droop’d
But free’d from sin and toil
May bloom afresh in more
Congenial soil."
On a similar stone:
"One by one we cross the river,
One by one we’re passing o’er.
One by one the crowns are given
On the bright and happy shore."
The communion plate consists of two silver cups engraved:
"DAVID GAVIN US DE LANGTON NUPER APUD MIDDELBURGUM IN ZEALANDIA MERCATOR ECCLESIAE DE LANGTON DONO DEDIT. ANNO DOM : MILLESIMO SEPTINGENTESIMO SEXAGESIMO PRIMO."
A curious old relic in the form of a hand-bell is still preserved, bearing the inscription:
"FOR JOHN GALLAVA IN LANTUN 1685."
Ministers of Langton Since 1585
John Home — 1585 to 1586
William Methwen — 1586 to 1595
James Gaittis — 1596 to 1607
Samuel Sinclair, M.A. — 1607 to 1653
John Burne, M.A. — 1659 to 1672
Robert Happer — 1677 to 1681
Luke Ogle, M.A. — 1679 to 1682
Patrick Walker, M.A. — 1682 to 1689
John Dysart, M.A. — 1691 to 1694
John Dawson, M.A. — 1698 to 1726
James Dawson, M.A. — 1727 to 1733
James Laurie, M.A. — 1734 to 1757
David Johnston — 1758 to 1765
Andrew Smith — 1766 to 1789
Alexander Girvan — 1789 to 1809
John Brown — 1810 to 1843*
David Dunlop — 1844 to 1864
Robert Stormonth Darling — 1864 to 1867
James L. Blake — 1867 to 1892
John Peattie, M.A. — 1892 to (present incumbent)
* Brown, upon joining the Free Secession, was declared no longer a minister of this church on June 20, 1843 (source: Scott's Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae).
Within a short distance of the parish church is Gavinton Free Church, a neat building erected in 1843 and altered and improved in 1884. The present minister is Johnstone Walker, M.A., settled in 1880.
SOURCE: The Churches And Churchyards Of Berwickshire By James Robson 1893, updated 2025 Nathan Zipfel