Langton, Old Parish Church Of St Cuthbert

NT75SE 6.00 76248 52535

NT75SE 6.01 76233 52528 Churchyard

See also NT75SE 16.

(NT 7624 5253) St Cuthbert's Church (NR) (Remains of)

OS 6" map, (1957).

REFERENCES:

See James Drummond Album SAS 386 page 56 in Print Room for perspective showing burial vault, and also BWD/27/16 for study of stone fragment.

The fragmentary remains of the old parish church of Langton, which was dedicated to St Cuthbert in 1242, are used as a burial vault within a graveyard a short distance SE of Langton House. The E wall is 8ft high and 22ft long. In 1684, the church was in good repair, but it fell to the ground in 1727, and after repair was in use till 1798, when the new church was built (at NT 7668 5220).

The church was given to Kelso Abbey in the 12th century.

Its graveyard contains some 17th century gravestones.

RCAHMS 1915, visited 1908; J Ferguson 1892; Fasti Eccles Scot, H Scott et al ed. 1950; J Robson 1896.

The burial vault is of squared stones, some of which bear traces of ornamental carving. At the SW corner of the vault the S wall continues for a short distance westwards.

It is 0.8m thick and is possibly part of the church wall. The ground to the W of the vault contains stones, but they do not form any recognisable plan.

The name could not be confirmed.

Visited by OS (RD) 21 July 1970.

This church is recorded in about 1150; the remains of the chancel may be incorporated in a burial-vault which itself has been extensively altered.

RCAHMS 1980, visited 1979; I B Cowan 1967.

Vault within St Cuthbert's Churchyard. Part of wall of now ruined church used as vault. Tall rubble boundary wall. The church was already ruinous and part of it had been made into a vault by 1857. According to Binnie, the church's roof fell in, in 1727 and in 1736 extensive repairs were carried out ( virtually rebuilding the structure). In 1758, the Langton estate was bought by David Gavin and he proceeded to build Gavinton, where the inhabitants of Langton village were moved. The old village was demolished except for the church. "It is likely that the 3m high wall around the graveyard dates from about this time and was built to exclude churchgoers' prying eyes from Langton House." Once the new church was built in Gavinton, the old church was probably demolished although the churchyard was used until at least 1868. The family of the burial vault is unknown. The internal roof is smooth vaulted. Binnie thinks that the vault was probably built for the Cockburn family in the 18th century. (Historic Scotland)