Gifford
| Gifford | |
| East Lothian | |
|---|---|
 Gifford | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NT5367 |
| Location: | 55°54’11"N, 2°44’42"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 700 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Lothian |
Gifford is a village in the parish of Yester in East Lothian. It stands approximately 4 miles south of the county town, Haddington, and 25 miles east of Edinburgh.
History
The village takes its name from Sir Hugo de Giffard of Yester, whose ancient Norman family possessed the baronies of Yester, Morham, and Duncanlaw in Haddingtonshire, and Tayling and Poldame in the counties of Perthshire and Angus.[1]
The first Hugo de Giffard's grandson, Hugh de Giffard built Yester Castle (half a mile south-east of the present-day Yester House), the ruins and an underground chamber (the 'Goblin Ha') of which can be seen in Yester Wood. The same Hobgoblin Hall featured in the poem "Marmion" by Walter Scott.[2]
The Mercat Cross was built in 1780 and is still standing in the centre of the village.[3]
Industries
The initial chief industry in the town was the paper mill, which was once the source of the Bank of Scotland's bank notes. However, this mill closed in the late 18th century and since then the village has largely been residential and supported local farming communities, although a pottery, known as Castle Wynd Pottery, operated at Gifford for a short time in the 1950s.
Parish church
The earliest recorded presence of a church in the area is in 1241, the ruins of which lie in the woods beside Yester House, to the south-west of the village centre. A church also once stood at Duncanlaw, a former settlement to the south-east of the main village. The present building (in the centre of the village) was built in 1710.[4]
Today's church, Yester Parish Church, stands in the midst of Gifford.
Infrastructure and amenities
Gifford was the terminus on a branch railway which was originally intended to extend to Garvald and was built by the Gifford and Garvald Light Railway Company. The company seal, which features the Mercat Cross, is in the Glasgow Museum of Transport. The line closed in 1947 following the loss of a bridge washed away by flooding. The line operated as far as East Saltoun until the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
The village has a school, church and several shops. There are two golf courses nearby, and a large park (the Bleachfield) lies near the centre of the village. The Gifford Cup is an annual golf event held in alternate years in Gifford Golf Club and Castle Park.
Outside links
- Gifford Village website
- Gifford at Undiscovered Scotland
- The Goblin Ha' Country Inn & Restaurant, Gifford
- http://www.giffordgolfclub.com/
References
- Burke, John, History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland - Volume 3, London, 1836: page 434/5
- Burns, David G. C., The Princeton Connection in The Scottish Genealogist, volume 52 number 4, Edinburgh, 2005