Ayton, Scottish Borders
| Ayton | |
|---|---|
 Ayton
|
|
| Ayton shown within the Scottish Borders | |
| Population |
557 (2001 census) |
| OS grid reference | NT923610 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | EYEMOUTH |
| Postcode district | TD14 5xx |
| Dialling code | 01890 7 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
557 (2001 census)
Ayton is a small village located in the historic county of Berwickshire, today part of the Scottish Borders region. It is on the Eye Water, from which it is said to take its name: Ayton means 'Eye-town'. It contains the former ancient tollbooth or town hall with a clock tower, a large branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland and a shop.
It is located near the East Coast Main Line railway line, which runs between London, King's Cross and Edinburgh, Waverley station, the closest station being Berwick-upon-Tweed.
The A1 (Great North Road) originally ran through the heart of the village, but during the 1980s a bypass was built to the East of the village. Ayton was the location of a coaching inn on the road between London and Edinburgh.
Ayton Castle is the last major work of James Gillespie Graham, Scotland's leading Gothic-revival architect, and was designed by him in 1845. The castle has survived in family ownership as the centre of a substantial Borders estate since then. Norman settlers are the first recorded owners of Ayton when the De Vesci family are understood to have built a small castle. Its medieval history is limited apart from a siege by English royal forces in 1497. By this time it was owned by the Homes, already one of the great families of Berwickshire. James Home's support for the Stuarts in 1715 led to the sequestration of the estate which remained vested in the crown until 1765, when it was acquired by James Fordyce, Commissioner for Lands and Forests of Scotland. Fordyce planted a number of woodlands and moved Ayton village further from the castle.
Thereafter little is known until the 18th century, although one clue exists; namely three drawings by Robert Adam now in the Soane Museum. Dated 23 March 1791, they show proposals for the lodge and gate in the form of a simple rustic building with an elegant bowed porch 'at the entrance to Ayton House'.
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Wikipedia