Langholm
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 Langholm and theRiver Esk | |
  Langholm Location withinDumfries and Galloway | |
| Population | 1,740 (2022)[1] |
| Language | English Southern Scots |
| OS grid reference | NY364847 |
| Community council |
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| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LANGHOLM |
| Postcode district | DG13 |
| Dialling code | 013873 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 55°09′07″N2°59′56″W / 55.152°N 2.999°W /55.152; -2.999 | |
Langholm/ˈlæŋəm/, also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is aburgh inDumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of theRiver Esk in theSouthern Uplands.
Langholm sits 8 miles (13 kilometres) north of theAnglo-Scottish border on theA7 road running betweenEdinburgh andCarlisle. Edinburgh is 73 miles (117 kilometres) to the north,Newcastleton is around 10 miles (16 kilometres) to the east and Carlisle 19 miles (31 kilometres) to the south.[2]
Langholm is surrounded by four hills in theRiver Esk valley within Scotland's widerSouthern Uplands. The highest of the four hills is 300 m high Whita hill on which stands anobelisk (locally known as 'The Monument'). The Monument commemorates the life and achievements ofSir John Malcolm (1769–1833), former soldier, statesman, and historian. The other three hills are Warblaw (in Langholm it is pronounced Warbla), Meikleholmhill (aknowe of which is known as 'Timpen') and the Castle Hill.
The two longest B roads in the UK both start (or finish) in Langholm. The B6318 which goes toHeddon-on-the-Wall and is 61 miles (98 kilometres) long, and the B709 which joins the A7 near Heriot after 58 miles (93 kilometres).
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Langholm was founded in 1455 during theBattle of Arkinholm.
A fort at nearby Langholm Castle was occupied by English soldiers during the war known as theRough Wooing.Thomas Wharton reported that at the end of April 1543, the soldiers burnt farms at Whitslade inTeviotdale.[3] There were plans to modify the tower by reducing its height to place artillery.[4]Regent Arran successfully besieged the fort in July 1547 and then travelled to thesiege of St Andrews Castle to meet a French force.[5]
Langholm is the traditional seat ofClan Armstrong, which is currently represented globally by the official Clan Armstrong Trust. Home of the Clan Armstrong line isGilnockie Tower 4.5 miles (7 kilometres) south of Langholm and 1.4 miles (2 kilometres) north ofCanonbie. TheEpiscopalian church on Castle Holm went into disuse before conversion into the Clan Armstrong museum, later moved to Gilnockie Tower.
The town was an important centre for theBorder Reivers. In 1759, it won its case in a legal dispute with theDuke of Buccleuch, winning the right of common over the Kilngreen and Common Moss, a success that led to the establishment of the Langholm Common Riding.[6] The town later grew around thetextile industry.Langholm Town Hall was completed in 1813.[7]
In 2020, the local community purchased 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of Langholm Moor for £3.8m from Buccleuch Estates.[8][9]
Langholm is in theparliamentary constituency ofDumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale,David Mundell is the currentConservative PartyMember of Parliament (MP).
The town is part of theSouth Scotlandregion in theScottish Parliament, being in the constituency ofDumfriesshire.Oliver Mundell of theConservatives is theMSP.
Prior toBrexit for theEuropean Parliament, Langholm was part of theScotland constituency.
Langholm is part of theAnnandale East and Eskdale ward for bothDumfries and Galloway Council and Dumfries and Galloway Youth Council. The ward is represented by 3 Councillors (2x Con & 1x Lab) and 2 Youth Councillors.
The town is also part of the Dumfriesshire constituency for theScottish Youth Parliament and is represented by 2 Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs).
Christopher Murray Grieve (known asHugh Macdiarmid) was born in Langholm and educated atLangholm Academy. The Scottish poet and culturalpolemicist was a leading light in theScottish Renaissance of the 20th century. Unusual for a communist, he was a committedScottish nationalist and wrote both in English and in literaryScots. The town is home to a monument in his honour made ofCOR-TEN(r) steel, which takes the form of a large open book depicting images from his writings.
In 1972, astronautNeil Armstrong was welcomed and made the firstfreeman and Burgess of theburgh.[10] The depute town clerk at the time later said, “The town council had made the approach because this is Armstrong country and we thought it would be appropriate. It turned out that he was coming to Edinburgh to deliver the Mountbatten lecture so he could accept and come to Langholm.”[11]
The ceremony took place at Langholm's largest building of the time, the parish church. With his manner of modest dignity he stated:[12][11]
"The most difficult place to be recognised is in one's home town. And I consider this now my home town."
He also commented:
He then walked for lunch at Buccleuch Hall. His visit is captured in online video.[14][15][16][17] In coverage by the international press, theChicago Tribune's front-page story included a map of the British Isles marking onlyLondon and Langholm. Armstrong, universally known for his humility[18] is remembered as having no interest on his visit of boasting of his achievements. Instead he was absorbed in finding out more of his Armstrong heritage and making a connection with the area.[11]
The civil engineer and road builderThomas Telford was born nearby, and worked in Langholm as an apprentice early in his career.
The first female corporate member of theInstitution of Civil Engineers,Dorothy Donaldson Buchanan, was born and raised in Langholm, daughter of Rev. James Donaldson Buchanan, the longtime minister in Langholm Parish.
David Thomas Richardson, alinguist and officer of theBengal Army was born in Langholm.
Between 1904 and 1913 the composerFrancis George Scott was a teacher at Langholm Academy, where he taught and influenced the young Christopher Murray Grieve.
Dave Stevenson, Olympic pole vaulter (1964 Tokyo Games) and businessman, was raised in the burgh and his company was based there.[19]
Edinburgh Woollen Mill was founded in Langholm in 1946 by Drew Stevenson, however they moved their headquarters from Langholm toCarlisle in 2019.[20]
Buccleuch Estates have an office in Langholm and own much of the surrounding land.[21][22]
The X95 cross-border bus service (which is operated byBorders Buses) runs through Langholm, the service largely follows the route of theA7 road between Edinburgh and Carlisle viaHawick +Galashiels in theScottish Borders.
Langholm railway station opened in April 1864, but closed 100 years later. The last regular passenger train was on 13 June 1964, although a special ran in March 1967; complete with restaurant car; the freight service continued until September 1967.
The nearest operationalrailway stations are atCarlisle in England andLockerbie in Scotland.
The local newspaper is theEskdale & Liddesdale Advertiser based on Langholm High Street. TheAdvertiser was owned by theCN Group Ltd.[23] The paper covers news from Langholm and its surrounding areas (notablyCanonbie &Newcastleton) and is commonly referred to locally as 'The Squeak'. Established in 1848, the newspaper was the first penny newspaper in Scotland.
Langholm Academy and Langholm Primary were established in the 1800s (the original building of which still stands).
The schools run sessions in the community with various groups such as Wild Eskdale and Outpost Arts to expand and improve pupils' skills and community interests.
In 1858 LangholmCricket Club was founded. The club play their matches on the Castleholm Ground. They currently play their matches in the Border League.
In 1871,Langholm RFC was founded, being the oldest Rugby club in theBorders. Langholm RFC play inEast Regional League Division One and in theBorder League.
Langholm also has a minorfootball team, Langholm Legion, who also play on the Castleholm
The town also has a karate club, Langholm Shotokan Karate Club, which is part of the JKS Scotland.
Langholm Scouts (2nd Dumfriesshire) has been running for many decades, with some members attending the biggest events inScouting, including theWorld Scout Jamboree andBlair Atholl Jamborette.
As well as the Scottish Episcopal Church now used as the Clan Armstrong museum, TheRoman Catholic church of St Francis of Assisi closed in 2010[24] and is now a fine art gallery.
The Buccleuch Centre, is a well equipped venue with providing a regular programme of music and theatre.
The town is home to a music and arts festival, a food festival and the Langholm walks. Each year the annualCommon Riding, takes place on the last Friday of July which features horse riding, sports, dancing and musical processions by the Pipe and Town Bands.
Langholm has both apipe band and abrass band (known as the Town Band - or colloquially as The Toon Ban'). The Town Band is the oldest continuous brass band in Scotland and has won many national awards.
The town is also home to the Eskdale and Liddesdale Archaeological Society.
The Langholm Archive Group has a collection of information, photographs etc. about the locality.[25]
The 'Langholm Project' or 'Langholm Study' is a reference to the Joint Raptor Study, a scientific study undertaken in the 1990s on Langholm Moor into the effects ofraptors onred grouse populations. This was a large-scale project involving a range of organisations includingGame Conservancy Trust,CEH (or ITE as they were then known) andBuccleuch estates. The project was followed by a two-year study on the effects of supplementary feeding ofharriers, which ended in 1999. The findings of the study and the effect on the moor have been the subject of much debate. In 2007 theScottish Government announced a further 10-year project with the following aims:
This more recent study is officially titled The Langholm Moor Demonstration Project, but like its predecessor it is generally known as 'the Langholm Project'.The current project is a joint venture between Buccleuch Estates,Scottish Natural Heritage,Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust,RSPB andNatural England.
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