Place:Garvald, East Lothian, Scotland

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The village sits upon a red sandstone formation, and lies in a narrow, well-sheltered hollow, or valley. The name of the stream upon which the village is situated, the Papana Water, appears to have been imported, given by nuns who came from Italy and settled down at nearby Nunraw. It abounds with small trout. The land rises very abruptly towards the Lammermuir Hills after the bridge across the Papana is crossed.

At one time there were two breweries, three public houses, besides bakers, tailors, weavers, shoemakers, blacksmiths, wrights, coopers, grocers, etc., in the village.

Oliver Cromwell's army camped overnight in this parish, near Danskine loch, during his march from Edinburgh to Dunbar. The local tradition is that they drank up all the beer found in the two breweries.

The kirk, and manse (1820), are situated at the eastern end of the village. The north-west corner of the church is 12th century; the south wall has a , and the north aisle is of 1677. In 1829 the contractor (and possibly the designer) John Swinton, from Haddington, completely remodelled the church in 1829, which included four Gothic windows and the Western belfry.

The Rector of Garvald in 1504 was Master Patrick Coventrie, who held a BA in Theology.

The gabled former school, and school house, of circa 1845 have survived, although now private residences. The school closed in 1971, with local children attending Yester Primary School in Gifford since then. Behind the former school is a plain kirk of about the same date (now the communally owned Village Hall) with a later tower and slated spire. There is a small village green. The rows of cottages date from at least the 18th century, with later additions.

In the Cold War, Garvald was the site of an underground Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post, still extant and situated in a field only a few metres from a public footpath.

A further description of the hamlet of Garvald is from Scottish Places.

Research Tips

Refer to the parish of Garvald and Bara