Dolphinton

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | official_name = Dolphinton | country = Scotland | coordinates = {{coord|55|42|19|N|3|25|34|W|display=inline,title}} | map_type = UK | pushpin_map = Scotland South Lanarkshire#Scotland Scottish Borders | unitary_scotland = South Lanarkshire | lieutenancy_scotland = Lanarkshire | os_grid_reference = NT098470 | constituency_westminster = Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale |constituency_scottish_parliament = Clydesdale | postcode_district = EH46 | postcode_area = EH | historic_county = | post_town = WEST LINTON }}

'''Dolphinton''' is a village and parish in Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located {{convert|7|mi}} northeast of Biggar, {{convert|11|mi|km}} northeast of Carstairs, {{convert|10|mi|km}} southwest of Leadburn and {{convert|27|mi|km}} southwest of Edinburgh, on the A702 road.

The local estate belonged in the 12th century to Dolfin, elder brother of the first Earl of Dunbar. 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 {{cvt|3581|acre}}. It is bordered by the parishes of Linton and Kirkurd (Peeblesshire), Walston and Dunsyre.<ref name=groome>Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis Groome, 2nd edition 1896; article on Dolphinton</ref>

==The Railway== thumb|right|400px|Dolphinton RJD 49 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 at Leadburn, opened on 4 July 1864.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Scotland: the Lowlands and the Borders|first=Henry Patrick|last=White|page=98|editor-first=David St John|editor-last=Thomas|publisher=Phoenix House|year=1971}}</ref> In 1867, the Dolphinton Branch was opened, connecting Carstairs Junction to the Leadburn line at Dolphinton.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The County of Lanark|first=George|last=Thomson|page=73|publisher=Collins|year=1960}}</ref> The termini were apparently across the county boundary in Peebles-shire.<ref>The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904, David & Charles Reprint, 1970, p. 165.</ref>

==Major Joseph Learmont== An example may partially survive of an escape or Ley Tunnel 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 cause who fought at Rullion Green and Bothwell Bridge. He hid within the {{convert|40|yd|m|adj=on}} 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 before eventual release.<ref>[https://drmarkjardine.wordpress.com/2014/09/11/covenanters-secret-tunnel-discovered-in-lanarkshire/ Covenanter's Secret Tunnel Discovered in Lanarkshire]</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{commons category-inline}} * [http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst1025.html Gazetteer for Scotland] * [https://www.google.com/images?q=dolphinton&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=KxUqTb2vKuGqhAestYXKDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CC0QsAQwAQ&biw=836&bih=490 Google images] * [http://www.maplandia.com/united-kingdom/scotland/scotland/south-lanarkshire/dolphinton/ map]

Category:Villages in South Lanarkshire Category:Parishes in Lanarkshire