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Langholm Common Riding

This event always takes place on the last Friday in July. It starts at 5am as the flute band parades the town and ends at 9.30 pm as the cornet hands back the flag in front of the town hall.

The Langholm Common Riding will be taking place on Friday 31st July 2020.

Langholm Common Riding

History

Two Hundred and forty-four years ago the three owners of the Ten Merk Lands of Langholm were parties in an action in the Court of Session in Edinburgh for the delimitation of certain areas of ground in and around the town. The boundaries were duly defined, but in the award it was laid down by the court that the Burgesses of Langholm had certain legal rights and privileges, and that part of the Ten Merk Lands, particularly the Common Moss and Kilngreen, had belonged inalienably to the community. As a result of this award, it became an obligation of the Burgesses that the boundaries of the communal possessions should be clearly defined, and accordingly beacons and cairns were erected and pits were dug to indicate where the communal lands began and ended, and a man was appointed to go out each year to repair the boundary marks and to report any encroachments.