Hownam or Hounam[1] is a small village andparish situated 8 miles east ofJedburgh in theScottish Borders area of Scotland, near theAnglo-Scottish border, in the formerRoxburghshire.
Hownam lies south ofMorebattle on theKale Water.[2] The parish borders England and has, within its boundaries, the Roman road ofDere Street and thePennymuir Roman camps.[2] Hownam first appears in the written charters in the 12th century.[2] The origin of the name is uncertain, but may indicate a tribal name, "the Hunas".[2] The village itself is a small group of houses in a row on one side of the road.[2] The village church is at the north end of the village.[2] The church was reshaped in the 1750s and further modernised in the 1840s, and again following a fire in 1907.[3]
Local nurserymanGeorge Taylor was born at Hounam Grange in 1803.[4] He emigrated toKalamazoo, Michigan in 1855, and became known as George "Celery" Taylor because he introduced commercialcelery growing to the United States.[4]