Overview of Polwarth

A hamlet of the Scottish Borders, Polwarth lies 4 miles (6.5 km) southwest of Duns. Polwarth Parish Church, a half-mile (0.8 km) to the south southeast of the settlement, is said to date from 900 AD. It was rededicated (to St. Kentigern) in 1242 and restored in 1378. It has become famous as the hiding-place of Sir Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont 1641 - 1724), having been implicated in the Rye House Plot (1683). He was responsible for its rebuilding in 1703 and its vaults represent the last resting place for his family. It now forms part of the designed landscape of Marchmont House, which is situated a mile (1.5 km) to the south of Polwarth, and is in private ownership having been declared redundant by the Church of Scotland.