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Berwickshire
Berwickshire occupies the South East corner of Scotland. The River Tweed
formed its southern boundary with England for several miles. Duns was its
county town, not Berwick-Upon-Tweed which is in England. The inland areas
are still heavily dependent on agriculture with the coastal towns and
villages, notably Eyemouth, being important fishing ports. Historic houses
located in Berwickshire include Paxton, Manderson, Mellerstain, Ayton and
Thirlestane.
Clan and Family Heartlands
You can get a feel for the lives your ancestors lived by visiting the area
they came from. These are areas where, for centuries, families lived
together in a tightly-knit community. In the Highlands they are linked to
clan heartlands, whereas, in the rest of Scotland the names are often those
of the local landed families. Although it is unlikely that family
historians can link their ancestry to clan chiefs or family dynasties, it
can still be a moving experience to tour the clan and family heartlands.
Here is a selection of the most common names in this area.
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Parishes
The Parish Church can unlock many secrets for ancestral researchers. Not
only was it the place where children were baptised, proclamations of
marriage announced and the dead buried, it was also the centre of most
social activity within the Parish. There is, however, no such thing as a
definitive list of parishes. Over the decades they have merged, divided,
been renamed and had changes made to their spelling. The following list is
based largely on the situation at the time of publication of the New
Statistical Account (1834-1845).
Abbey St Bathans,
Ayton,
Bunkle and Preston,
Chanelkirk,
Chirnside,
Cockburnspath,
Coldingham,
Coldstream,
Cranshaws,
Duns,
Earlston,
Eccles,
Edrom,
Eyemouth,
Fogo,
Foulden,
Gordon,
Greenlaw,
Hutton,
Ladykirk,
Langton,
Lauder,
Legerwood,
Longformacus and Ellim,
Merton,
Mordington,
Nenthorn,
Polwarth,
Swinton and Simprin,
Westruther
* subsequently divided into seperate parishes, ( ) denotes alternative
name or spelling
Detailed information on life and work within each of these parishes can be
found in the Old (1791-99) and the New (1834-45) Statistical Account of
Scotland. These are freely accessible on http://edina.ed.ac.uk/statacc. Part of their charm
is the individual views of the minister, which can include some
fascinating accounts of a parish's history, topography, employment,
landowners, communications, agriculture and even the morality of the
parishioners
Local Studies Libraries
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the Library offices in your chosen area:
Scottish Borders Archive & Local History
Centre
Heritage Hub
Kirkstile
Hawick
Roxburghshire
TD9 0AE
Tel: +44 1450 360 669
E-mail: archives@scotborders.gov.uk
www.scottishborders.gov.uk/heartofhawick
Open: Mon 10:00 - 16:45, Tues 10:00 - 19:45, Wed - pre-arranged tours &
talks only, Thurs 10:00 - 19:45, Fri 10:00 - 16:45, Sat 10:00 - 16:45
(closed 13:00 - 14:00).
Local Archives Centres
Almost every municipal authority in Scotland has a collection of local
history publications, maps and archives. Although most of these libraries
are prepared to undertake a limited amount of searching on your behalf, it
is far more fulfilling to visit them yourself. You could lose yourself for
hours, pouring over old newspapers and photographs.
The following is a list of the libraries in your chosen area:
Scottish Borders Archive & Local History
Centre
Heritage Hub
Kirkstile
Hawick
Roxburghshire
TD9 0AE
Tel: +44 1450 360 669
E-mail: archives@scotborders.gov.uk
www.scottishborders.gov.uk/heartofhawick
Open: Mon 10:00 - 16:45, Tues 10:00 - 19:45, Wed - pre-arranged tours &
talks only, Thurs 10:00 - 19:45, Fri 10:00 - 16:45, Sat 10:00 - 16:45
(closed 13:00 - 14:00).
Museums and Heritage Centres
Scotland is a country with a remarkable history. So it should come as no
surprise that Scotland is home to a remarkable collection of museums and
heritage centres. These range from the major, internationally renowned
collections in Edinburgh's Royal Museum of Scotland to hundreds of small
centres that specialise in the history of local communities. The
following museums are all in your chosen area. A visit to any one of
them may well shed new light on the lives led by your ancestors.
Eyemouth Museum
Old Kirk
Manse Road
Eyemouth
TD14 5JE
Tel: +44 1890 750678
Open: April-June and September, Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 17:00, Sun 12:00 - 15:00.
July-August, Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 17:00 & Sun 12:00 - 16:00. October,
Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 16:00.
Exhibits on fishing, farming, milling, blacksmith and wheelwright. Tapestry
sewn locally to commemorate the East Coast Fishing Disaster of 1881 when
189 fishermen were drowned.
Coldstream Museum
12 Market Square
Coldstream
TD12 4BD
Tel: +44 1890 882630
Borders Family History Society
Within Old Gala House and Scott Gallery
Scott Crescent
Galashiels
TD1 3JS
Tel: +44 1896 850 264
Email: cadmill@aol.com
Open: April-September, Mon-Sat, 10:00 - 16:00, Sun 14:00 - 16:00.
October, Mon-Sat, 13:00 - 16:00.
Local history museum with a section on the Coldstream Guards and also a
temporary exhibitions gallery.
Family History Society
Local societies are run by volunteers who meet together periodically. Most
maintain an index of members' interests - and this could well lead to the
discovery of a long lost cousin or two. If there are any such societies in
your chosen area, they will be listed below.
Borders Family History Society
Within Old Gala House and Scott Gallery
Scott Crescent
Galashiels
TD1 3JS
Tel: +44 1896 850 264
Email: cadmill@aol.com
www.bordersfhs.org.uk
Burial Information
It may seem a little odd, but a visit to the burial ground of an ancestor can make you feel more closely connected to them. However, tracking down the specific plot, or lair as they were referred to in Scotland, depends on the period of time when the deaths occurred.
Up to the mid-19th century it was the normal practice for people to be interred in the Parish Kirk burial ground - although this was only rarely marked with anything as grand as a headstone. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is currently co-ordinating a major project to develop a National Burial Index, relating to pre-1855 records. This will eventually be available on CD ROM. Although this will help to confirm that burials took place in parish burial grounds, it will not, unfortunately, indicate the location of the lair.
If your ancestor was wealthy enough, their grave may have been marked by an inscribed headstone. Over the years, family history societies and other volunteer groups have painstakingly transcribed and indexed such inscriptions - and these are nearly always held in the relevant local history libraries or family history research centres.
By the mid-19th Century, many parish burial grounds had become seriously overcrowded, especially those in urban areas, and this led to the creation of both private and municipal cemeteries. If you know the place and date of death, you should be able to discover the location of a lair, although not all cemeteries and records have survived.
The concept of cremation started to gain popularity in the late 1940s and has increased ever since. Ashes may be taken away by the family, scattered in the garden of remembrance or buried either in the crematorium or in a family plot.
Amenity Services
Scottish Borders Council
Council Offices
4 Newtown Street
Duns
TD11 3DT
Tel: +44 1361 886 135
Fax: +44 1361 886 117
Email: LMcLean@scotborder.gov.uk
Searching for burial records is undertaken for a fee of £29 per hour.
