Whitsome

Row of houses by the farm at Whitsomehill

Whitsome is a small rural village and parish in Berwickshire, on the B6437 road, near Duns, Fogo, Ladykirk, Leitholm and Swinton.

Place-name meaning

Whitsome derives from Old English hwit-husum "at the white houses". This may refer to white stone buildings, or houses painted white. The name has been recorded as the following over the centuries:

• æt hwitum husum, 984 (literally "at the white houses, -um being dative plural).
• Huuithusum, 1038 (double u was written since "w" could not be pronounced by the author)
• Witsum, 1124 (contracted form)

Outside links

• RCAHMS site record for Whitsome
• Gazetteer for Scotland: Parish of Whitsome
• Excavation of cist burial, Leetside Farm, Whitsome
• [1] Forestry Commission: Consultation with Edrom, Allanton and Whitsome Community Council
• GENUKI: History of Whitsome
• Borders Family History Society: Whitsome
• GEOGRAPH image: Whitsome Church

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