Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Fogo

Fogo, a hamlet and a parish of central Berwickshire. The hamlet lies on the right bank of Blackadder Water, 1½ mile E of Marchmont station, and 4½ miles S by W of its post-town, Duns.

The parish is bounded N and NE by Edrom, E by Swinton, S by Eccles, SW by Greenlaw, and NW by Polwarth. Its utmost length, from ENE to WSW, is 51/8 miles; its utmost breadth is 2 miles; and its area is 4669 acres, of which 17¼ are water. Blackadder Water winds 3¾ miles north-eastward through the north-western interior, and then for 1 mile traces the northern border; its channel is a sort of huge furrow here, between parallel ranges of low heights, that nowhere sink much below 300, or much exceed 500, feet above sea-level. Sandstone, the principal rock, was formerly quarried; and boulder clay lies so deep that the steep banks of the Blackadder can be ploughed within a few yards of the stream. The soil on the higher grounds is a deep black loam, extremely fertile; that of the lower grounds is thinner, and lies on till, yet is very far from being unproductive. Some 300 acres are under wood, 40 or so are natural pasture, and all the rest of the land is under cultivation. A Roman camp, crowning a commanding elevation (500 feet) at Chesters, near the south-western extremity of the parish, and approached by a causeway through a marsh, has been nearly obliterated by the operations of agriculture. Caldra and Charterhall, both separately noticed, are mansions; and the property is divided among four. Fogo is in the presbytery of Duns and synod of Merse and Teviotdale; the living is worth £300. The parish church, on the Blackadder's bank, at the village, is an old and picturesque, ivy-mantled building, enlarged in 1853, and containing 278 sittings. A public school, with accommodation for 123 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 57, and a grant of £52, 18s. 6d. Valuation (1882) £7959. Pop. (1801) 507, (1831) 433, (1851) 604, (1861) 559, (1871) 502, (1881) 468.—Ord. Sur., shs. 26, 25, 1864-63.


(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a hamlet and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Fogo ScoP       Berwickshire ScoCnty
Place: Fogo

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