Wednesday 24 June 2020

Cossars Building on Earlston High Street

We are grateful to Thom Young for contributing this post  on the history of his house  - Cossars Building on Earlston High Street.  It is an abridged  version of a seven page article detailing  his  in-depth research,   which has been added to the Auld Earlston Archive Collection.   

‘Cossars Buildings’ - What’s in a name? 


Three of the four terraced houses in Earlston High Street between the Church Hall and ‘South Crofts’ are called ‘Cossars Buildings’.  We bought the westmost one in 2018. I fixed a name plaque, but nobody I asked, knew the origin of the name.





Below is a sketch of all I could piece together from public records; inevitably it gives no more than sporadic glimpses of a story with a little context.  It turns out the explanation for the building name is simple and obvious. Cossar is the name of a family whose members owned the property through 5 generations from 1744/5 until the death of the last of them in 1926 and one of whose members was responsible for the construction of the present buildings.



The First Cossar in the  Story
Scotland in the 1700s was predominantly rural with a high proportion of the people living a subsistence existence.  Most of the Lowlands was open moorland with almost no roads. There were few property owners.  By 1791, out of a total population of 1351 in Earlston Parish - roughly 6 miles from east to west and between 3 and 4 miles north to south - there were only 40 ‘proprietors’ of land.  The first Cossar in the story may seem a little surprising.  

James Cossar was described as a ‘Herd in Huntlywood’, a shepherd or cattle herdsman.  He had married Margaret Marshal (or ‘Mershal’) in 1740. They had one son and three daughters.  

In 1744 James bought two ‘coathouses’ on the south side of ‘the street in Earlstoun’, together with two yards behind and also 5 acres of the ‘East Muirs of Earlstoun’ from the trustees for creditors of George Gray, shoemaker in Fans.  This property had been sold in 1721 by John Shiel of Croftrigg, Earlstoun to John Cowan, Maltman Brewer.  After Cowan’s death his daughters sold in 1735 to George Gray. In 1745, James Cossar bought an adjacent coathouse and yard from George Pringle, Merchant in Earlstoun.



‘Coathouse’ is another form of the term cottarhouse, a small, basic, single storey dwelling. In 1744 it would probably have had a turf roof with an earth floor, possibly accommodating quite a large family.


The five acres was included in the original sale in 1721 as compensation for the loss of rights in the ‘commonty’ that was available for grazing and taking of turf.  Statutes of 1695 permitted the division of arable land that had been worked on a runrig system of strips, which in Earlston were called ‘husbandlands’ and  also the division of ‘commonties’ that had been available for grazing and taking of turf.   Some time before 1721, court petitions had been submitted and granted for the permanent division of both in Earlston.   The five acres was part of John Shiel’s share.



Thomas Cossar - when James' twins, Thomas and Margret, were born in 1747, James was ‘Herd in Chapplie’, now Chapel on Leader and by the time he died, sometime before 1793, his son Thomas was a tenant farmer in ‘Birkhillside’ near there.  Thomas had married Peggy Weir in 1781 and had two sons and two daughters.  He inherited the Earlston property.  Sometime after 1805 he leased Mosshouses farm on the moor 3 miles west of Earlston, part of the Mellerstain estate. 


James Cossar - After Thomas died, the Earlston property and Mosshouses farm tenancy passed to his son James.  In 1815 he recorded the first Cossar title to the Earlston property, previously relying on unrecorded deeds, then quite common.  In 1816, James sold the five acres of the ‘East Muirs of Earlstoun’ to James Thomson, ‘labourer, Earlston’. It was sold in 1838 to George Baillie, landlord of Mosshouses.

In 1828 James Cossar married Alison Craw, daughter of the tenant of West Mains farm, Lauder. They had a daughter and 3 sons.  The first census in 1841 records James and family at Mosshouses together with 7 labourers and 2 female servants accommodate in the house and two other buildings. 


Ten years on  Mosshouses was recorded as 653 acres with 420 arable. The 1851 census records James and family with son Thomas, now 17, 4 labourers, a shepherd and a housemaid, only one from 1841.



James had suffered from heart problems for some years.  In 1855 he conveyed the Earlston coathouses to his wife, Alison, in life rent, entitling her to rental income during her lifetime, and then outright ownership to son, Thomas.  James,70, died two months later. 


James'  estate inventory gives a rare glimpse into the family’s financial standing.  A stock of 8 horses, a riding pony, 34 cattle, 417 sheep and 6 pigs valued at just under £1,000,  bank deposits of £1200 and a total of £2391 (roughly £250,000 in 2020). The farm lease and bulk of his estate went to Thomas, subject to paying £50 (£5,400 in 2020) yearly to each of his two brothers and £300 (£32,500 in 2020) to each on the death of their mother.  He left £200 to daughter Isabella who had received £100 on marriage.



The 1861 census records Thomas’s brother John and 3 ploughmen, 2 agricultural labourers, a shepherd and 2 domestic servants. None was employed in 1851.



Thomas Cossar - In 1863, not long before Alison died, she and Thomas sold the Earlston property to brother John, aged 23.  John had already demolished the coathouses and had built two two-storey houses, the one adjacent to South Croft, now ours, and the adjoining one. It has been suggested that the building was constructed by Rodger Builders of Earlston, who started up in 1847. Moray Cottage at the other end of the terrace is older, so the final part of Cossars Buildings, now known as Foremans Cottage, must have been a later infill between two gables. 



In 1867 Thomas married Elizabeth Broomfield, a grocer with her sister in Earlston. The 1871 census Shows Thomas, Elizabeth, her sister, who may have been visiting and John as well as a shepherd, a cattleman, 4 labourers, a female farm servant and a domestic servant, none other than John employed in 1861.  Two cottages housed families, one with 8 children and both provided two of the labourers each. .



Family Blows:  Thomas’s other brother, James, born 1839, qualified as a Solicitor in Edinburgh.  James married in 1867 and had a son, Thomas John Cossar, in 1872.  Any joy from that was short lived;  that same year James died of heart disease, aged 36, compounded by the death of his widow, Helen, the following year, aged 41. The infant Thomas John was taken to Mosshouses to live.  It must have been a devastating time, but the losses didn’t abate. Thomas’s sister, Isabella, who had married a widowed farmer of neighbouring Langshaw farm in 1855 and had three daughters, died in 1875 aged 43.  Two years later, brother John, the ‘developer’ of Cossars Buildings, died suddenly aged 37. The Earlston property passed back to Thomas.  


The 1885 Valuation Roll of Earlston shows Thomas as proprietor of 9 houses rented out.  The 1890 Valuation Roll shows Thomas as proprietor of 10 houses and Elizabeth as proprietor of 5 houses and a shop with total rental of £55,6s,8p per annum.  This included 3 houses and a stable in New Street (now Thorn Street).  Apart from Cossars Buildings and one house and stable in Thorn Street, I have found no evidence of them taking title to or disposing of any property in Earlston!  Unfortunately, the Valuation Roll does not give any indication of individual location other than High Street and New Street.  It is clear, however, that somehow the Cossars contributed in a considerable way to the development of Earlston.



The 1891 census shows Thomas, Elizabeth and Thomas John, who at 18 is simply ‘Farmer’s nephew’.  Employed are a general domestic servant, a farm servant and an assistant shepherd or ‘lambing man’.  Now in his own house is the same shepherd from 1871.  There are also two ‘Hinds cottages’ with two families providing 7 labourers between them.  Hind or hynd was the common term in the borders for a married agricultural employee provided with accommodation, who was obliged to provide another person, normally female, to work as a condition of being employed on the farm.  The hind was responsible for providing board and lodging and for paying the bonded person out of the payment they received from the farmer.



Ten years on the 1901 census shows Thomas, Elizabeth and Thomas John, who at 26 is shown as ‘living on own means’.  Employed are a general domestic servant, a shepherd and a labourer as well as two families housed in cottages providing a Farm Steward, a cattleman, 3 ploughmen and another 2 labourers.  The term Hind is not used.  The arrangement seems to have fallen out of favour after a good deal of general protest amongst those who were not directly employed.


Thomas, Elizabeth and Thomas John left  Mosshouses some time between 1901 and 1904 to live in Earlston.  Thomas and Elizabeth had built a house in New Street bearing Elizabeth’s maiden name, ‘Broomfield House’.  Elizabeth died in 1904 aged 70 and Thomas died in 1908, aged 74.  Ownership of what is now known as Cossars Buildings passed to Thomas John Cossar along with Broomfield House.


Cossars Building immediately right of the white house (Moray House) c.1900



Thomas John Cossar married Helen Stewart, both aged 38 in 1911 and moved to Peebles.  They returned around 1918 to live in Broomfield House. He was then designated  as a ‘retired farmer’. He died in 1926 after suffering heart disease and kidney disease for some years.  Helen, still living at Broomfield House, died in January 1930 11 days after an accident.  She died at the Edinburgh home of Lord Fleming, a Judge in the Court of Session.  It may not be a coincidence that his father had been a Solicitor and a contemporary of Thomas John’s father, James.



Thomas John bequeathed Cossars Buildings after the death of Helen to Thomas Cossar Scott, who was working for Standard Bank in Nyasaland, now Malawi.  He appears to have grown up at Cairneymount farm on the Earlston side of Mosshouses.    

Although it is easy to see how the building would have become known by the family name, the first title record of the building name appeared in 1934 after 190 years of Cossar ownership when it was sold by Thomas Cossar Scott to Adam Rodger, builder, Earlston, who had acted as agent for the Cossars for some years. His family controlled ownership of the house we now live in from then until we bought it 86 years later. 



Having discovered something of the generally unknown part the Cossars played in Earlston life, it is  gratifying that our sign now records their name, possibly the first time it has appeared on the building.




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Friday 12 June 2020

Earlston Mothers' Union - A Forgotten Group

Earlston Mothers' Union  is the focus here in our new  series looking at  Local Clubs and Societies.  But today, it is a group we rarely hear about. Yet   In the 1920s and 30s,  it was a popular organisation with over 100 members in Earlston.  Past newspapers remain  the main,  if not the only source  of information.

What is the Mothers' Union? 
The Mothers' Union today  is a movement of over 4 million Christians in 84 countries worldwide.  Members work as volunteers in communities, putting their faith into action.  

The movement was started in 1876 by Mary Sumner, the wife of an English  vicar  to support mothers as they brought up their children in the Christian faith. It was formally set up in 1876 and rapidly grew as Mary, at a time when women did not usually speak at large gatherings,   promoted the aims of the organisation nationwide.

From 1900 onwards, Mary Sumner and the members started to advocate on issues of key importance to families and children – she campaigned to stop children collecting alcohol from public houses for their families, and for the age of marriage for girls to be raised from 12 to 16. She was not afraid to speak up on difficult issues, despite resistance from members of the establishment.  By 1909 the Mothers’ Union became  the largest voluntary women’s organisation in Britain. The death of Mary Sumner in 1921 saw 4000 women attending her funeral.

Mothers' Union in Earlston

Badges of the  Scottish Mothers' Union

1924 saw the inaugural meeting of the Mothers' Union in Earlston, as noted in "The Southern Reporter:  27th March 1924, when 40 members were enrolled. 


 
In common with many other organisations of the time, the local “gentry” were to the fore in the inauguration and management, especially in the provision of facilities for events. 

The membership soon grew and a Southern Reporter of  9th September 1925 noted that the "membership now exceeded 100".


Monthly Meetings  
Meetings,  were held, usually involving  a prayer, singing, recitations and refreshments.  On occasions lectures on a range of subjects were given, sometimes featuring a “lantern show with lime-light views”.

In the 1920s and 1930s,  talk were given on a range of  topics including: 
  • Flora Macdonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
  • A competition on "Searching  the Scriptures". 
  • Craft demonstrations.
  • The Works of J.M. Barrie. author of "Peter Pan".
  • The Upbringing of Children in the  Home.  
  • Mrs Sharpe of The Park entertained the audience with her private cinema. 
  • A "racy and most practical"   address given by Mrs Scott,  wife of the Master of Polworth, Harden House, Roberton on  "The story of the Mothers'Union meetings among the natives of  South Africa.,,,,, a very happy and successful gathering with  hearty cheers given to the speaker."     [You do wonder what was "racy" about the talk - or did the word have a different meaning then? ] 
Outings in "the luxurious buses of  Scottish Motor Traction Co."  were made to houses and gardens, including  Harden House, Roberton and Lennoxlove, Haddington. Christmas and New Year Parties were held at the Girls’ Club Hut with  "a long and varied programme of entertainment".


The Southern Reporter: 9th August 1928  featured an article describing   a Sale of Work and Garden Fete, held at Chapel-on-Leader, in aid of the Edinburgh Crippled Children's Hospital.  The event was opened by  Lady Edith Trotter who was the President of the Berwickshire branch of the Mothers’ Union. She spoke of the sterling work done by the Hospital and was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, as were Mr and Mrs David Colville, host and hostess for the use of their residence.
“As well as the stalls, there were golf, tennis and other amusements and performances from the Earlston Orchestral Party under the leadership of Samuel Fisher. They played a pleasing selection of music and accompanied several costume dances,  gracefully executed by Jessie and Catherine Cockburn.

For a nominal sum patrons could also visit the gardens and greenhouses and partake of an excellent tea in the garage. At the close of the proceedings it was ascertained that the gratifying sum of £47 had been realised.”

Change of Name  
In 1936, the Earlston branch of the Mothers' Union changed its name to the Earlston League of Wives and Mothers, but continued under the patronage of Mrs Ferguson, Carolside and Mrs Colville, Chapel-on-Leader, assisted by Mrs Brownlie, Haughhead.  The Southern Reporter of October15th 1936   included an item  on a meeting at which Mrs Ferguson explained the reason for the change.  Frustratingly the newspaper report did not go onto elaborate what these were.

No information has been traced on the reason for the  change, but it marked the end of the  Mothers' Union in the village,   after just 12 years of providing women  with an outlet for activities outside the home. 

Mrs Ferguson, a sterling figure in so many of Earlston's organisations  died in August  1937. 

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Postscript
The League continued  its programme on very much the same pattern as the Mothers Union, opening it meetings with a prayer and hymn, welcoming speakers on such topics as "Love in the  Home" and outings to North Berwick  and Edinburgh where the members attended a service in St. Giles' Cathedral.


The last reference found on the League was in the Berwickshire News of 2nd June 1946 with  a brief note that the League had given a £16 donation to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary   It is thought that the League of Wives and Mothers later became the Young Wives' and Mothers' Group and later the Young Wives' Group - both active well into the 1980s, with the Women's Group still welcoming members today and providing a regular  programme of talks, demonstration and outings. 

Fulfilling similar activities,  though not church based,  is the Scottish Women's Institute (formerly "The Rural") which was established in Earlston in 1937,  as reported in The  Berwickshire News of  4th May that year, with Miss Vera Davidson elected President. By the time of its first birthday it had 95 members.

The Scottish  Mothers' Union continued until its dissolution in 1983 when the remaining active branches affiliated with their English counterpart. 

Sources:

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Contributors:  Susan Donaldson and Richard Smith of  the Auld Earlston Group