Dolphinton is a village and parish in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is located northeast of Biggar, northeast of

Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs r ...

, southwest of Leadburn and southwest of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, on the

A702 road The A702 is a major road in Scotland, that runs from Edinburgh to St. John's Town of Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway. It is the last section of the route from London via the West Midlands and North West England to Edinburgh, which follows the ...

. The local manor belonged in the 12th century to Dolfin, elder brother of the first

Earl of Dunbar The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, applied to the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this ...

. The estate was owned in various forms by the Brown family from the sixteenth till the nineteenth centuries, when it passed to the McKenzie family by marriage. The parish has an area of . It is bordered by the parishes of Linton and Kirkurd (

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire (), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a Counties of Scotland, historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire ...

), Walston and Dunsyre.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis Groome, 2nd edition 1896; article on Dolphinton

The Railway

The village once had two railway termini, now long since closed. The Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Railway was the first to reach Dolphinton; the line, from the

Peebles Railway The Peebles Railway was a railway company that built a line connecting the town of Peebles in Peeblesshire, Scotland, with Edinburgh. It opened on 4 July 1855, and it worked its own trains. The friendly North British Railway later promoted a lin ...

at Leadburn, opened on 4 July 1864. In 1867, the Dolphinton Branch was opened, connecting Carstairs Junction to the Leadburn line at Dolphinton. The termini were apparently across the county boundary in Peebles-shire.

Major Joseph Learmont

An example may partially survive of an escape or

Ley Tunnel Mysterious tunnels or " secret passages" are a common element of the local folklore tradition in Europe. Such tunnels are said to physically link prominent places such as country houses, castles, churches, ancient monuments and other, often me ...

built in Covenanting times at the old house and estate of Newholm. This tunnel was built by Newholm's owner at the time, Major Joseph Learmont, a leading member of the

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

cause who fought at Rullion Green and Bothwell Bridge. He hid within the long stone lined tunnel when necessary and evaded capture for 16 years until traditionally said to have been betrayed by a maid servant in 1682. The stone lining was eventually used to build a walled garden; it had run from a cellar to a turf dyke in mossy ground. Remains of it may have been discovered in the 1960s, however details are sparse. The major was sentenced to death, however partly due to his advanced age he was sent to the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic plug, at its highest point, and is home ...

before eventual release.Covenanter's Secret Tunnel Discovered in Lanarkshire
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References

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Villages in South Lanarkshire Parishes in Lanarkshire {{SouthLanarkshire-geo-stub