Fogo, Scottish Borders
Fogo is a village in the county of Berwickshire, in the Borders of Scotland, 3 miles south of Duns, on the Blackadder Water.
The settlement of Fogo lies within the northern boundary of the historical region the Merse, an undulating agrarian landscape that provides rich ploughland and pastures of excellent quality. It has always been the centre of the parish of Fogo, harbouring both the parish kirk and the parish school.
Fogo is first mentioned in a c. 1152 deed as, whereby Gospatric III de Hirsel Earl of Dunbar makes a grant to the Tironensian monks of Kelso Abbey. Due to the importance of its kirk, possibly even having hosted a priory for some time, Fogo, for a hamlet of its size, is disproportionately often mentioned in medieval texts. A selection of the earliest manuscripts is listed in [|early history].
In the following century, c. 1250, the whole estate of Fogo was valued at [|40 merks].
The settlement of Fogo and its upstream mill are depicted on the first printed map of southeastern Scotland, Joan Blaeu's [|map of the Merse], which was published in 1654.
Etymology
The name Fogo has until now been derived from the terms "foggage pit, den or hollow" as well as a portmanteau of fog and hollow.Recent scientific research, published in 2022 in the treatise English Historical Linguistics also points to the Scots word fog, meaning grass left in the field during winter, suggesting a borrowing from early Scandinavian - compare Norwegian fogg long-stalked, weak, scattered grass or heather, typically growing on wet ground. In combination with the suffix hoh / hou, with the meaning heel in the sense of a projecting ridge of land or a promontory, the place name Fogo or foghou, as in the oldest deeds, could now be alternatively interpreted as a site where a ridge is covered with rough grass.
The website has recorded numerous variations of names attributed to the hamlet of Fogo, ranging from CE 1139 to CE 1862; amongst these
- foghou
- fogghou
- ffoghoh
- fogho
- Aldefoghou
- Foggho
- Fogeho
- territorio de fogo
- Fogow
- Fogo
- Fogoe
- Foggo
- and even Fongu
Early history
The early history of the hamlet Fogo is recorded on a number of deeds, all related to the most important institution in those days: Fogo Kirk and its belongings in the surrounding Fogo parish. These deeds, documenting donations or dedications by the ruling lord, were handwritten in Latin on parchments that were kept at the site of the ecclesiastical owner, in this case, Kelso Abbey.A book published in 1846 reproduces the text of the whole collection of manuscripts from Kelso Abbey, ranging from 1113 to 1567, and may be accessed online here. Within those documents that refer to Fogo, apart from the omnipresent "Kirk" the text mentions "ploughlands", "meadows", "a manse" or "villa", "croft... with adjoining land", "tenements", "tofts and crofts, and the dwellings that are on them", and a "mill".
The historically most enlightening of the manuscripts that mention facts related to Fogo - apart from the Kirk - are enlisted here:
Donation, 1152 (Kel. Lib., no. 71)
The Fogo church and some surrounding lands were donated to the monks of Kelso Abbey in c. 1152 by Cospatrick, Earl of Dunbar. This deed comprises various churches including "the church of Greenlaw, the chapel of Lambden, and the church of Fogo along with one carucate of land", in.Fogo mentioned by Pope Adrian IV, 1155 (Scotia Pontificia, no. 35)
The place name Fogo is explicitly mentioned in a letter dated 17 September 1155 that Pope Adrian IV wrote to Abbot Arnold of Kelso confirming the Abbey's possessions. The enclosed list includes amongst other estates "Kelso, Selkirk, Home, Fogo, Simprim, and the church of Berwick".Donation of lands adjacent to Fogo, 1211 (Kel. Lib., no. 303)
This deed describes the boundaries of the donated lands in great detail. The boundaries then set are roughly the same as the current boundaries of Fogo parish more than 800 years later.In c. 1211 William, son of Earl Patrick of Dunbar, granted to Kelso Abbey "the church of Fogo, with all its pertinents, namely with the toft that John, the dean, possessed in his time and with the adjacent croft, and also a certain piece of land adjacent to the same croft, extending southward as far as Grenrigg. From across Grenrigg by an ancient path as far as my meadow, which lies between Grenrigg and Aldefoghou. From that place towards the west, to the stones set as boundaries between the land of the same monks and the land of the village men. From the stones down to a certain stream descending from Blindwell. Another piece of land in the eastern part of the village of Fogo, with its tofts, crofts and the houses thereupon. I have also given to these monks proceeding through all that land in my territory of Fogo which John the Dean held in his time in the name of the church of Fogo within these boundaries. A certain thorn bush that stands between the land of those same monks, descending along a certain ditch toward the north as far as the Black Eder. Likewise descending to the blakeder toward the east with adjacent meadows, pastures, haughs, and heuchs, as far as Ricardesfflatt. Likewise ascending directly south by a certain spring towards Estbucerterstrothir, then rising to the west along the path towards Westbucerterstrothir. From Westbuceterstrothir westward by a certain stream to the thorn bush. I have given to the same monks four acres of land adjacent to the land of the same monks, lying on the eastern side, on both sides of the road that leads to Berewic, which is called Ricardflat, next to Blackeder." Finally "he therefore wishes the monks of Kelso to have and possess the church and all its pertinents in perpetuity, that is, with the lands and meadows that belong to it, and with all the liberties of the church, and all the revenues of the village of Foghou that John, the dean, used to have throughout his time."
Fogo valued at 40 merks, c. 1250
According to a document from c. 1250 the church and hamlet of Fogo,, were valued at 40 merks, equal to 26 2/3 Pound Scots equal to 40x 8 ounces of silver.
Donation of chapel and mill, 1297 (Kel. Lib., no. 305)
In 1297 yet another grant was issued by Patrick Corbet, Lord of Fogo, to Kelso Abbey, dated 20 August 1297; the subject of which is "the chapel of Fogo with the mill of the same, with the lands conveyed to the chapel in the tenement of Fogo. The monks will manage to acquire three monks or three secular chaplains to celebrate divine service in the said chapel for the souls of his ancestors and successors."Recent history
The first schoolhouse in Fogo was erected in the late 18th, maybe early 19th century, followed in 1864 by a larger schoolhouse immediately to the west.A row of cottages at the western end of Fogo, nicknamed "Rashie", is displayed on the original 1858 Ordnance Survey map of Fogo.
Until the Fogo Bridge was constructed in 1641, crossing the Blackadder Water was restricted to the ford that was accessible by [|circumventing] the Fogo churchyard to the left, the yonder track leading north towards Polwarth.
Listed buildings in Fogo and the Parish of Fogo
The village claims two Category A listed buildings;- , a single span, round-arched bridge spanning the Blackadder Water, erected in 1641, rebuilt 1843. A record from 1798 describes the bridge as 'the only one in the parish'. A sandstone plaque on the northern parapet displays the year 1641 and the initials of James Cockburn of Chouslie and his wife Marion Douglas. These are the parents of Sir James Cockburn of Ryslaw, who paid for the bridge's erection, also the bearer of one of the two sculpted coats of arms along with those of his wife, Marie Edmonstone. The Latin inscription below states.
- Fogo Church / Fogo Kirk, Church of Scotland, including inner and outer graveyards, boundary walls and a Lych Gate. The first church at this site was founded c.1100, repaired and extended in 1683, then extensively rebuilt in 1755. More exterior and interior repairs and alterations followed in 1817 and in 1854 a loft was added. The current shape of the edifice is that of a T-plan galleried church.
- Fogo Manse, now Fogo House including stable block, garden walls, boundary walls and gatepiers. The current house was built in 1842 to replace an earlier manse, originally situated nearer to the roadside, which had been built in 1787. Repairs ensued in 1814 and in 1822. As many original details remain intact, this later manse is seen to be one of the most significant buildings in the parish. The manse used to be the residence of the parson of the Fogo Kirk, and is now a private residence.
- Fogo, Studio Cottage including cobbled forecourt. A late 18th, early 19th century structure with later alterations, the first schoolhouse in Fogo, "a very small building, thatched,... containing a schoolroom capable of accommodating about 40 scholars". If intended as a school from beginning on this would make this place one of only a few Scottish pre-1832 Education Act schools. In 1900 the building is referred to as an infants' school, the pupils having moved to the newly erected Fogo Former School.
- Fogo Former School including railings. Since 1864 this had been the parish Primary School for all pupils within the parish of Fogo. The school had accommodation for 123 pupils in two classrooms; in 1881 the average attendance was 57; in 1961, its final year as a school, only 19 pupils attended. It closed in March 1961 and the building is now a nursery. On some evenings the school is used by the Fogo section of the Scottish Women's (Rural) Institutes.
Other places of interest
- A footpath to the left of the churchyard leads down to an old, now disused ford over the river Blackadder. A footbridge that had previously been destroyed in a massive flood was restored in 2004 and named after the late Rev John Hunter.
- Just upriver from Fogo Bridge the remnants of a mill race indicate the previous existence of a water mill. This mill is prominently mentioned in the 1297 grant by Patrick Corbet to Kelso Abbey stating, "the chapel of Fogo with the mill of the same", on Joan Blaeu's 1654 map of the Merse, and on Andrew Armstrong's 1771 Map of the County of Berwick. The mill does not appear on the Ordnance Survey map published in 1862, only the mill race is indicated. Today the exact site of the long demolished mill is unknown and the mill race is completely overgrown.
- A roughly oval area a short distance from the northern bank of the Blackadder is depicted on a 1858 large-scale coloured map of Fogo as plot 76, aligned at almost exactly half the distance between Fogo Kirk and Fogo Bridge, and at that time partially encircled by trees or hedges. It is known that the Tironesian Order was responsible for the establishment of Fogo Priory in 1253. It was thus widely assumed that the new church had been built atop the preexisting chapel, But this may not hold true, they may have coexisted for some time. A remark on the website People of Medieval Scotland that refers to the chapel explicitly states this is not the parish kirk. Discussions are ongoing as to whether this enclosure on the opposite bank of the river could thus be the surmised site of "Aldefoghou", possibly including the long demolished Fogo chapel, both mentioned in early 12th century grants.
Population
The following figures show how the population of Fogo parish changed over time:| 1755 - 1871 The noticeable drop in population of the parish of Fogo between 1755 and 1797, as stated by Sir John Sinclair, is due to the fact that several villages were almost completely razed, and thus supplanted by larger farms. He adds that the remains of old houses are to be seen in every part of the parish. Since the last maximum with 425 inhabitants in 1951 there has been a steady decline in the population, down to only 167 in 2022. MapsThe following maps refer to the images displayed on the right.
Nearby placesOther places nearby include the Crosshall Cross, Duns, Eccles, Edrom, Gavinton, the Greenknowe Tower, Greenlaw, Hume Castle, Leitholm, Longformacus, Polwarth, Swinton, and Westruther.Notable people
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