Early history Duns Law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an
Iron Age hillfort at its summit. Similar structures nearby, such as the structure at
Edin's Hall Broch, suggest the area's domestic and defensive use at a very early stage.
Middle ages Despite the town most likely dating its origins back to the 1000s, the first written mention of Duns is prior to 1179, when a 'Hugo de Duns' witnessed a charter of Roger d'Eu, of a grant of the benefice of the church of
Langton to
Kelso Abbey. The town is further mentioned when a 'Robert of Douns' signed the
Ragman Roll in 1296. The early settlement was sited on the slopes of Duns Law, close to the original Duns Castle built in 1320 by the
Earl of Moray, nephew of Robert the Bruce. The town was frequently attacked by the English in border raids and as they headed north to the Lothians. In 1318 at Duns Park, the
Earl of Dunbar,
Sir James Douglas, and
Sir Thomas Randolph met with their respective forces, prior to the
retaking of Berwick by the Scots. In 1333 the Guardian of Scotland,
Sir Archibald Douglas, mustered an army in Duns to march on
Berwick, which at that time was under siege by the English. The Scots troops were heavily defeated at the Battle of
Halidon Hill. 1377 saw the
Earl of Northumberland invade Scotland. Camped at Duns, his army's horses were alarmed at night by the rattles used by the inhabitants to scare birds from their crops. The disarrayed English force was routed by the townsmen. The event is known as the
Battle of Duns, and is the source of the town's motto,
Duns Dings A! In 1513, some to the north of the town at
Ellemford,
James IV of Scotland mustered his army, prior to his campaign that would lead to the disastrous
Battle of Flodden.
Early modern The town was created a
Burgh of Barony in 1490 by James IV heritably for John and George Hume of
Ayton, and the townsfolk were given the right to hold a market every Wednesday, and to hold a week-long annual fair between
Pentecost and
Trinity Sunday. Duns suffered badly in cross-border raiding and feuding, and was burned to the ground three times within 14 years, in 1544, 1545 and 1558 during the war of the
Rough Wooing. By 1588, the town had relocated from the top of Duns Law to its present location at its foot. The burgh's ruined original location has since been known as the
Bruntons (a corruption of Burnt-town). In the autumn of 1517, Duns Market Cross was also the destination of the head of the
Sieur de la Bastie, the
French Ambassador and
Warden of the Eastern March, following his murder at
Preston, by Home of
Wedderburn. "Bautie, tha heidet, and in the toun of Dunce his heid affixt on a staik, that all men mycht se it, September xix." In 1630, Duns was home to a Margaret Lumsden, who was supposedly the victim of demonic possession. She was brought to
Edinburgh to be investigated by
John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale and the
Privy Council of Scotland, and arrangements were made to have her and her immediate family lodged in the
Canongate Tolbooth. Lauderdale's son
John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale recounted the story in a letter to
Richard Baxter which he published in his work,
The certainty of the World of Spirits. Margaret Lumsden was said to be a poor uneducated woman, yet when spoken to in Latin by the local minister,
John Weemes, she is said to have replied in better Latin than he had himself. In 1639, during the
First Bishops' War, Duns became the mustering point for the
Covenanting army led by
General Leslie, gathered there to face
King Charles I's English host encamped at Berwick. Leslie took up residence in the Castle and ordered a
redoubt to be constructed on Duns Law. The opposing armies did not engage but on 18 June, the
Pacification of Berwick was signed. The remains of Leslie's fortifications are still evident on top of Duns Law.
Oliver Cromwell put a garrison into the town after the
Battle of Dunbar on 3 September 1650. By 1670, the town and the estate were bought by
Sir John Cockburn of Cockburn from the Homes of Ayton, who had a regrant of the Burgh charter. The estate was then sold in 1696 to
John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale who granted to his son the Lord William Hay following his marriage to Elizabeth Seton, a daughter of
Alexander Seton, 1st Viscount of Kingston. In the peace following the end of the Jacobite rebellion in 1746, Duns began to expand and many of the administrative functions of Berwickshire were carried out in the town. In 1903, a bill first introduced by the Secretary for Scotland in 1900 was passed confirming Duns as the
county town of
Berwickshire when nearby
Greenlaw lost that status the following year. Within living memory, Duns had a
Tolbooth or town hall on its Market Square. This was used for the administration of the burgh and for dealing with malefactors: the first such structure was built in 1328, presumably in the old town at Duns Law; the second was built following Cockburn's rechartering of the burgh in 1680. The 1680 building was badly damaged by fire in 1795, and was replaced by a third building designed by the architect
James Gillespie Graham in 1816. The structure was demolished in 1966.
County town , 8 Newtown Street After Berwickshire's original county town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed was finally ceded to English control in 1482, Duns and
Lauder initially shared the role of county town between them (principally hosting the
sheriff court), until 1596 when
Greenlaw was declared the county town. Duns was made county town again by the '''''' (c. 136), but lost the role back to Greenlaw in 1696. By the mid-nineteenth century it was felt that Duns was the more important town than Greenlaw, which remained a small village. The
Berwickshire Courts Act 1853 (
16 & 17 Vict. c. 27) was passed allowing the courts and meetings of the county's
Commissioners of Supply to be held at Duns as well as at the
County Hall in Greenlaw.
County Buildings was subsequently built at 8 Newtown Street in Duns in 1856. Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking over most of the functions of the commissioners. Berwickshire County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at County Hall in Greenlaw, when it decided by 18 votes to 12 that all subsequent meetings should be held at Duns. The county council therefore based itself at the County Buildings in Duns, sharing the premises with its continuing use as a sheriff court. The county council subsequently established additional offices in various converted houses along Newtown Street. A modern extension was added to County Buildings in 1967. The County Buildings on Newtown Street served as the headquarters of Berwickshire County Council until 1975, then became the offices of
Berwickshire District Council from 1975 until 1996. It also served as the county's sheriff court until 2015. ==Modern day==