Oxton, Scottish Borders

Oxton
Oxton
	Village centre
	Oxton Location within the Scottish Borders
Population	270 (2001)
OS grid reference	NT496535
• Edinburgh	20 mi (32 km) NW
Civil parish	Channelkirk;
Community council	Oxton and Channelkirk;
Council area	Scottish Borders;
Lieutenancy area	Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale;
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LAUDER
Postcode district	TD2
Dialling code	01578
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk;
Scottish Parliament	Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale;
	List of places UK Scotland 55°46′19″N 2°48′11″W / 55.772°N 2.803°W

Oxton is a small rural village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, just off the A68. It is 4+1⁄2 miles (7 kilometres) north of Lauder, and 20 mi (32 km) southeast of the centre of Edinburgh, yet in a quiet rural position.

History

The village of Oxton lies in the parish of Channelkirk. This name for the parish appears to have come into general use in the district around the beginning of the eighteenth century but its ancient name was Childer-kirk and later Gingle-kirk. A Roman camp, visible from the air, and recorded on Ordnance survey maps^[2] has been identified nearby and may have been connected with the progress of the army of Septimius Severus in AD 209–210. Saint Cuthbert, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne, was born in the vicinity in AD 635, and probably baptised his early converts at the nearby Holy Water Cleuch (spring).

The village Oxton was called Ugston for several hundred years and appears under that name as late as the 1841 census. As with all Scottish parishes its inhabitants were ruled by a combination of the Kirk Session and the Heritors, the latter being local landowners who were jointly responsible for funding all projects in the parish such as repairs or extensions to the church, the manse, the school, the churchyard, the schoolmaster's house, and even the river bridges, all out of their own pockets.

The village now hosts Bird Gardens Scotland CIC, a bird conservation breeding centre and home to over 300 birds from around the world, including Chilean flamingos, Laughing Kookaburra, and Emu, as well as other animals such as Red-Necked Wallaby and Castlemilk Moorit Sheep.^[3]^[4] The gardens share the site with Oxton Pottery, a working pottery with regular classes and a gift shop.^[5]

Notable people

Jack Lowden, actor

Gallery

Red house at Oxton
Oxton house and post box
Oxton Mains farm

References

^ Local Development Plan Volume 2 (Report). Scottish Borders Council. 2016. pp. 444–446.
^ Kirktonhill Roman Camp, National Library of Scotland
^ "Borders bird reserve makes bid for zoo licence - The Southern Reporter". Archived from the original on 6 July 2019.
^ "Other".
^ "Oxton Pottery. Mark Haillay Ceramics". markhaillay.com.

External links

Official website

[1] Local Development Plan Volume 2 (Report). Scottish Borders Council. 2016. pp. 444–446.

[2] Kirktonhill Roman Camp, National Library of Scotland

[3] "Borders bird reserve makes bid for zoo licence - The Southern Reporter". Archived from the original on 6 July 2019.

[4] "Other".

[5] "Oxton Pottery. Mark Haillay Ceramics". markhaillay.com.

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