RURAL REFLECTIONS
Morag Bootland discovers a unique window onto country life in days gone by at The Longformacus and Lammermuir Heritage Centre in Berwickshire
Aside from the kamikaze grouse, driving over the Lammermuir Hills on a crisp winter morning is a real joy. As you ascend the narrow roads into these gently rolling hills you are treated to glorious views across the Merse valley. I’m travelling through the Lammermuirs to the small village of Longformacus, just a few miles north of Duns in Berwickshire.
The village is home to the Longformacus and Lammermuir Heritage Centre, and also to Gay Rodger, who, along with a committee of local volunteers, has set up a treasure trove of rural life dating back around 250 years.
The heritage centre is housed in the old village Kirk. The Church of Scotland closed the Kirk in 2013 and when it failed to find a buyer they earmarked it for demolition in 2014. Gay bought the building not only to save what had been a well-loved part of the local community since it was established in 1730, but also with the intention of turning it into a heritage centre, a monument to rural life in the village and the surrounding Lammermuir Hills. Her inspiration had been an exhibition in Longformacus village hall to celebrate its centenary.
‘It seemed such a pity that there was nowhere to house the exhibition permanently,’ says Gay. ‘When I bought the church the pews had already been removed and so had the pulpit. I believe it’s now in a coffee shop in North Berwick.’
Today the old Kirk is in good repair, but it wasn’t always so. ‘When I bought it the plaster was crumbling and it was very damp,’ says Gay. Thanks to fundraising in the area, grants from community funds, private donations and the help of local tradesmen, the Kirk has been rewired, plastered, floored and has had a new heating system installed.
The stained glass windows are next on Gay’s list for refurbishment. The stunning panels were originally donated by the Smith family, who lived at nearby Whitchester and were benefactors for the area, funding the creation of a public park and hospital in the nearby town of Duns.
The centre was officially opened in September 2015 by Andrew Pate, whose family has owned farms in the Lammermuir Hills since the 19th century, and has since gone from strength to strength.
Donations of memorabilia, records and photographs make this a unique window on rural life in the Borders. Browsing the displays there are documents dating back as far as the 18th century. These include livestock records, winners of local agricultural shows, accounts from surrounding farms, images of the Lammermuir Curling Club on the village pond, pictures of school life from the now closed village school, plus reports and photographs of estate life and shooting
parties through the years. In honour of the centenary of the First World War there is a display devoted to the local men who fought (many of them at Gallipoli) and to those who didn’t make it home.
These records sit alongside antique farming implements and tools of rural life that have been donated to the centre.
A photo album filled with images of shooting parties and days out fishing taken in the late 19th century by the late Colonel Brown is one of the highlights and provides a particularly pleasing view of life in the Lammermuirs. The Brown family made their money from a spice company in the Far East and owned Longformacus House and Estate. The Colonel’s family, who donated the album to the centre, now live in Australia but take regular trips back to Longformacus to tend the family graves that lie in the churchyard and browse the ever-expanding range of exhibits. As well as Australia, the centre has welcomed visitors from as far afield as South Africa and the USA, all with family connections to the area.
As well as providing a record of the history of rural life in the Lammermuirs and a vital link to families who no longer live in the area, the centre is remaining true to its roots as a village Kirk. ‘We still hold a carol service at Christmas, we held a remembrance service in November and we’ve had a wedding and a christening too,’ Gay tells me.
The centre has an able team of volunteers who are on hand to provide teas for events and concerts that are held to raise money for its running costs and to ensure that the building remains the community hub that it has always been.
The Longformacus and Lammermuir Heritage Centre is open by appointment or on its open days (16 June and 11 August).
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The centre provides a record of the history of rural life in the Lammermuirs and a vital link to families who no longer live in the area