Romanno Bridge

(Romannobridge)

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Romanno Bridge, a hamlet in Newlands parish, Peeblesshire, on Lyne Water, 3 ½ miles SSE of. West Linton, 4³/₈ SW of Lamancha station, and 19¾ SSW of Edinburgh. A favourite angler's haunt, it has a mill, Newlands public school (1870), and a steep narrow bridge, from which it takes its name. Romanno House, 5 furlongs to the NE, is a plain two-story mansion of the era seemingly of George I. The estate of Romanno belonged to the Murrays from 1513 till 1676, when Margaret Murray married Dr Alexander Pennicuik of Newhall(65201722), author of the Description of Tweeddale. On 1 Oct. 1677 Romanno was the scene of a 'memorable polymachy' betwixt two clans of Gypsies, the Faws and Shaws, who had come from Haddington fair; and in 1683 Dr Pennicuik inscribed on the lintel of dove-cot:-

'The field of Gipsie blood, which here you see,
a shelter for the harmless dove hall be.'

In 1720 the property was disposed of to George Kennedy, W.S., whose descendant, Major George Kennedy (b. 1819; suc. 1842), holds 595 acres in the shire, valued at £697 per annum. The 'Romanno Terraces,' on the face of a hill above Newlands church, are fourteen in number, and 6 to 12 feet broad. The late Dr Chambers believed that 'they were designed for horticultural or agricultural operations, and probably existed from an early British period'-Ord. Sur., sh. 24, 1864.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer