Humbie

Humbie is a hamlet and rural parish in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies in the south-west of the county, approximately 10 miles south-west of Haddington and 15 miles south-east of Edinburgh. Humbie as we know it today was formed as the result of the union between Keith Marischal and Keith Hundeby in 1618. There is not much of a village, more a scattered hamlet.

Origins

Originally, Humbie formed part of the Barony of Keith, and was anciently known as Keith Hundeby. The lands were held by Simon Fraser of Keith in the reign of David I. A charter signed by Fraser in 1191 is said to be the first mention of the Anglo-Norman Frasers and the Barony in extant records. Keith Marischal House stands a mile to the NNW of Humbie, and was the caput of the ancient barony. It is a long house with a vaulted ground floor, built in 1589 by the Keiths, who were then Grand Marischals of Scotland. The north front was baronialized in 1889 by Kinnear & Peddie. Interior decorations and fireplaces were done circa 1740, 1800, 1820, and 1869.

Later proprietors

Possibly the most prominent proprietors of Humbie proper were a cadet branch of the Hepburn of Waughton & Luffness family, the Hepburns of Kirklandhill. Alexander Nisbet states that Adam Hepburn of Kirklandhill purchased Humbie and Hartside from James Lawson of Humbie in 1586. He married Agnes, daughter to Henry Foulis of Colinton and his spouse Margaret, a daughter of James Haldane of Gleneagles. His son and successor was Sir Adam Hepburn of Humbie, one of the Senators of the College of Justice, who married in 1629 Agnes, daughter to George Foulis of Ravelston, Master of the Mint. Of his children, Sir Adam's daughter Jean married John Cockburn of Ormiston, and they were parents of Adam Cockburn of Ormiston, Lord Justice Clerk.

Humbie House lies about half a mile north-east of the church. It was built during the late 18th century, replacing an earlier house, with substantial alterations in the 19th century.

Church

The "T-Plan" Parish Church was rebuilt in 1800 and Gothicized in 1866 by David Bryce. The 'chancel' was added in 1932. Memorials in the churchyard include a heraldic tablet of the Borthwicks of Whitburgh of the early 1600s, and another monument to James Scriven of Ploughlandhill who died in 1668.

References

* "The Buildings of Scotland - Lothian (except Edinburgh)", by Colin McWilliam, London, 1978, pps: 258-9, and 269. ISBN 0-14-0710-66-3

*gbmapping|NT458627