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Greenlaw. — The Town and Parish, By Rev, Johk 

 Walkes, of Greenlaw. 



The small town of Greenlaw, althougli perhaps at no period 

 of its history, larger than an agricultural village, is a place 

 of considerable antiquity ; and there is a certain degree of 

 interest besides, which seems to me to attach to it, as an 

 exponent of the equable amount, from age to age, of the 

 claims of husbandry on an auxiliary population, for it seems 

 to have remained in a great degree stationary, — scarcely 

 even to have altered its form during eight centuries, while so 

 many similar places have disappeared wholly, and others 

 have been rising into populous towns, the busy seats of in- 

 dustry and wealth. 



Indeed, if Greenlaw, as there is reason to believe, was the 

 seat of some district authority under the Saxon kingdom of 

 Northumbria, it has probably rather declined in importance, 

 subsequently to, and in consequence of, the incorporation of 

 the district with Scotland. 



Shortly after that arrangement, we find it in the posses- 

 sion of a nobleman who had no residence upon it, and who 

 seems to- have immediately allocated a large part of it among 

 his military retainers. In the early part of the twelfth cen- 

 tury it came, along with Lauderdale, the country about 

 Earlstown and a large part of the Merse, into the hands of 

 Cospatrick, the first Earl of Dunbar. This nobleman, the 

 son of Waltheoff, or Waldeve, a baron of Cumberland, 

 appears to have accompanied Edgar Atheling into Scotland, 

 and to have been received into the service, and eventually 

 into the confidence of King Malcolm, and raised by that 

 moiiarch to offices of high trust and power. His only resi- 

 dence however, south of the Lammermoors, appears to have 

 been at Lauder ; and the lands of the parish of Greenlaw, 

 with the exception of the baronies of Greenlaw and White- 

 side, were occupied by his military followers. 



The ancient barony of Llalyburton was given, or the pre- 

 vious possession ot it was confirmed, to Truite, whose name 

 seems to indicate Saxon descent ; and the barony of Lamb- 

 den was given to John de Striveling, a knight of Northum- 

 berland. 



The third Cospatrick, Earl of Dunbar and Earl of March, 

 gave the baronies of Greenlaw and Whiteside to Patrick de 

 Dunbar, his second son. This nobleman settled at Green- 

 law, and obtained permission of Kelso Abbey, to which the 



