Hutton

   Hutton, a parish, in the county of Berwick, 6 miles (W. by N.) from Berwick-upon-Tweed; containing, with the village of Paxton, 1133 inhabitants. The parish of Hutton was enlarged in the year 1614, by the annexation of the neighbouring parish of Fishwick; and these two districts form the parish as it at present exists. Hutton, which lies near the Whiteadder river, is supposed to have derived its name from the situation of its village in a hollow, whence the term How-town, corrupted into Hutton. Fishwick, which is on the banks of the Tweed, is generally thought to have derived its name from the avocations of its inhabitants as fishermen: the ruins of its church were not long ago still visible. From a diary of the progress of Edward I. through Scotland, it seems probable that he encamped in this locality on the 29th of March, 1296, the day preceding that on which he took the town of Berwick. It appears that Hutton, or Hauden, was the place where he rested with his army the day after he left Coldstream; and as this parish lies in the direct line of his march to Berwick from Coldstream, where he crossed the Tweed on the 28th of March, it is concluded that it must be the spot there referred to.

   The parish, which resembles in figure an irregular triangle, is about four miles long and three broad, and contains 5261 acres. It is bounded on the north by the parishes of Chirnside, Foulden, and Mordington, from which it is separated by the Whiteadder river; it has the Tweed on the south, the parish of Berwick on the east, Edrom on the west, and Whitsome and Ladykirk on the south-west. The surface presents one continued flat, with the exception of the ground on the banks of the Tweed and Whiteadder, which, being diversified with gentle elevations, relieves the tame and uninteresting scenery in the other parts of the parish. The height of these elevations, however, above the sea seldom exceeds 150 feet. The soil near the rivers is a rich deep loam, resting upon sandstone, and exceedingly fertile, producing heavy crops. The ground in the middle of the parish is of an inferior quality, being thin, wet, and moorish, and rests upon a tenacious clayey subsoil. A tract of this description, about a mile broad, commences here, and runs from east to west, to the extremity of the county; while on each side of it the earth is rich and productive. The parish comprises 4950 acres either cultivated or occasionally in tillage. Above sixty acres on the banks of the rivers, being too steep for the operations of the plough, remain for the most part in natural pasture, part of which is of very superior quality. About 250 acres are under wood, consisting of ash, elm, plane, oak, beech, and all the varieties of fir. This department of rural economy claims much of the attention of the proprietors, especially on the estates of Broad Meadows, Paxton, and Fishwick, where the plantations are in a state of rapid progression. The lands are considered most suitable to wheat, though excellent crops of turnips are produced, as well as of grain of all kinds. The farm-buildings and offices are in general neat and convenient; and nearly the whole of the grounds are inclosed with good thorn hedges. Improvements in every department of husbandry have, indeed, been carried on for many years past. Sandstone of various kinds is the prevailing rock: on the estate of Hutton Hall is a stratum of very fine gypsum. The rateable annual value of the parish is £10,446.

   There are several mansion-houses, of which Hutton Hall is the most ancient and remarkable. It is situated on an eminence near the Whiteadder, and appears to have been originally a square tower, constructed principally for observation and security, to which many subsequent additions have been made, to accommodate it to the usages of modern times. The mansion of Paxton was built about eighty years ago, of dark sandstone; the front is massive and commanding, and the house is enlivened by the passage of the river Tweed on the south-east. The apartments are elegant and commodious, and a very valuable collection of paintings enriches the mansion. Broad-Meadows is constructed of fine white freestone, and is a modern building in the Grecian style of architecture. The scenery in the vicinity of these residences is interesting, and in some parts beautiful, especially near Paxton. Not far from the last-named place are Spittal House and Tweed Hill, the latter of which stands on the Tweed, in the vicinity of the Union chainbridge. The population is almost entirely agricultural; their chief communication is with the town of Berwick. There is a manufactory for bricks and tiles on the estate of Paxton, where large quantities of the latter are produced for drainage. Three corn-mills are also in operation in the parish, the produce of which, consisting of flour, meal, and pearl-barley, is exported from Berwick to London. Upon that part of the Tweed forming the boundary line of the parish are four or five fishing-stations; upwards of twenty men are employed, and considerable quantities of trout, salmon, and grilse are caught, which are packed in ice at Berwick, and despatched to the London market.

   Two turnpike roads pass through the parish, one leading from Berwick to Dunse, and the other from Berwick to Kelso, by Swinton; on each there is a considerable traffic. The lines of turnpike road are about ten miles, and the parish roads of equal extent. About two miles and a half from the village of Hutton, and six from Berwick, is the iron suspension-bridge over the Tweed, erected in 1820, and by which many serious accidents, and the loss of lives have been prevented. It is 361 feet in length, and of one hundred tons weight of malleable iron; the whole expense was between £7000 and £8000. Another bridge has been lately erected, across the Whiteadder, near Hutton Mill, connecting the parish with Foulden, and also opening a facility of communication with the sea-port of Eyemouth, the only one in the county. The ecclesiastical affairs are directed by the presbytery of Chirnside and synod of Merse and Teviotdale, and the patronage is vested in the Crown: the stipend of the minister is £236, with a manse, built fifty years ago, and enlarged and repaired in 1822. There are two glebes, one of which is in Hutton, and the other in Fishwick, amounting together to about thirteen acres, valued at £30 per annum. The present church, erected in 1834, is remarkably neat in its external appearance, and accommodates, in a plain manner, but commodiously, above 600 persons. There is a parochial school, in which Latin, mathematics, and all the usual branches of education are taught: the master has a salary of £34, with the fees and a house. The parish also has two small parochial libraries, a friendly society, and an agricultural association, the last designed chiefly to promote improvements in the art of ploughing. Dr. Andrew Foreman, Bishop of Moray, Archbishop of Bourges in France, and afterwards Archbishop of St. Andrew's, and who flourished at the beginning of the 16th century, was a native of the parish.