Most of the information on this page is taken from the panel displayed in the centre of the old village green in Fogo. We are grateful to whoever compiled that panel.
Fogo is located three miles south of Duns and around a mile south of Gavinton, accessible by a network of minor roads. The name Fogo means “foggage pit, den or hollow”. Records show that the parish was given to the monks of Kelso by the first Earl of Dunbar in 1157. The parish includes the Charterhall estate, and by 1851 was supporting a large and growing population of 604. The oldest building in Fogo is the Kirk, which dates to the 1600s. The remainder of the village was built around 150 years ago. Fogo was also the centre of operations during the second world war, when an airfield was built at Charterhall and, as a result, there are sixteen war graves in the Kirk’s graveyard.
Fogo
The first mention of the parish, under the name ‘Foghow’, is in a church charter dated 1159. It was given to the monks of Kelso by the first Earl of Dunbar, known as the Gospatrick.
The parish includes the Charterhall estate and, it is assumed, much of the population was once reliant on the estate. In 1801, the population of the entire parish is given as 507. By 1851, it is shown as 604 but by 1951 this had declined to 425. The panel on the village green gives a population of 21 for the village alone as at 2004.
Fogo bridge
Most of the buildings to be seen today date from about 150 years ago. The exception is the kirk which dates, mostly, to the 17th century. The history of the Fogo kirk is dealt with on its own page (click here or use the menu on the left). The parish of Fogo is now linked with Swinton, Ladykirk, Leitholm and Whitsome and services are held once a month.
During the Second World War, Charterhall provided an airfield and, as a result, there are sixteen war graves in Fogo graveyard. Full details of these graves and those named on the Fogo War Memorial are, also, on a separate page (click here or use the menu on the left).
See old maps of Fogo and the area here, and further information on Fogo here
Listed Buildings
Details of listed buildings are on the SBC planning portal, including the category definitions. The map below is derived from Historic Scotland. The source map shows all listed buildings, with links to further details of each building (zoom in to area of interest and click the ‘layers’ and ‘legend’ icons to select what you want to see)
Fogo Nursery School
For such a small place, Fogo is surprisingly busy as the result of the children’s nursery that operates in the old school building and provides its services to families throughout the area. More information about the nursery is available here and on FaceBook
aerial view of Fogo
View and zoom-in to a high definition aerial view here
