The sawmill on the Duke of Buccleuch’s Langholm estate was managed by his clerk of works, Robert Burnet (1867-1939), a joiner and architect who lived at Ewesbank, next to the mill.
Robert succeeded his father James (1826-1898) as the Duke’s clerk of works. James was an accomplished architect who designed a number of the buildings in the area.
| Year | Building |
|---|---|
| 1860 | Canonbie School |
| 1862 | Langholm School House |
| 1867 | Ewes Parish Church |
| 1870 | Langholm Evangelical Union Church |
| 1872 | Eskdalemuir School |
| 1875 | Langholm Library |
| 1880 | Westerkirk Parish Church |
| 1881 | Langholm Parish Church Mission Hall |
| 1885 | Erkinholme house, Langholm |
| 1887 | All Saints Episcopal Church |
James had six sons and a daughter. Robert, his sixth son, is at front right in the photo below.
James’s eldest son James was a road surveyor and had two sons in military service:
- Frank (1895-1918): 1st/6th then 9th Highland Light Infantry; killed by machine gun bullets on 29th September 1918 in France. He was an accountant in Glasgow.
- George (1896-1976): Lothian and Border Horse.
James’s second son Frank (1857-1921) (back left in the photo above) emigrated to Australia where his son Macfarlane (1899-1985) was born. ‘Mac’ became a virologist and was awarded a Nobel prize in 1960 for the discovery of acquired immune tolerance.
James’s fifth son John (1866-1913) (front centre in the group photo above) was the Common Riding cornet in 1885. He too was an architect.