Blaikie's Cottage

 

Credit: Author

Introduction

If you travel north into Earlston, about 100 metres before the bridge over the river Leader, there is a modest, weather-beaten sign pointing towards 'Blaikie's Cottage'. The sign may be modest, but the cottage was home to James Blaikie, a deeply pious man, an eccentric, respected businessman, a miser, and a man of great physical strength.

Considering that more than 260 years since the last Blaikie died and that the house is still referred to as Blaikie's Cottage is evidence of his lasting impression on the village.

The Killing Times

James’ religion was central to his life, but there were threats to his faith from the Scottish Episcopalians, the 1689 Jacobite Rising and the 1715 and 1745 rebellions. The danger to his life and religion must have seemed endless.

Born in 1674, James witnessed the end of the Covenanters era which, because of the atrocities was known as the Killing Times. 

In 1684, the Privy Council passed the Oath of Abjuration. This Oath required all Scots to swear that the monarch was above the church, something Presbyterians could not agree to. Those who refused to swear were either executed or banished. 

Even though just a ten-year-old, James most likely heard of local people who were banished. John Young and Andrew Cook from Melrose were banished, as were Robert McGill and Robert Young from Galashiels, together with William Hardie and John Mather of Kelso and Jedburgh, respectively.

Where these men were banished to and if they survived is not known. However, an indication of their fate can be taken from the account of Gilbert Milroy of Penninghame parish in Dumfries.

Milroy was taken prisoner and was ordered to take the Oath. He refused and was taken to Edinburgh. Held at Holyrood, he was again ordered to take the Oath. Again, he refused. He was sentenced to have his ears cut off and be banished.

He was taken to Newhaven, where he and another 130 covenanters were held in the hold of the ship for their voyage to Jamaica. The passage took 3 months and 3 days, and due to the conditions onboard, lack of food and clean water, 33 covenanters died.

In Port Royal in Jamaica, Milroy and his fellow prisoners were sold as slaves. The King had gifted the prisoners to Sir Philip Howard, who consequently pocketed the proceeds of the sale.

In 1710, Milroy returned to Scotland where his and the other covenanters' accounts of their treatment were documented in 'A Cloud of Witnesses', which was published in 1714.

Credit: Internet Archive

James must have been aware of these events and the treatment meted out to the Presbyterians, so it is reasonable to suppose these reports must have strengthened his religious conviction.

Eccentricity

James never missed his daily devotions, and through time, he dug the family grave, which became his preferred place for prayer, which he referred to as the 'narrow house'.

After several years, he built a 'throuch' over the grave. A throuch is a gravestone that is typically laid directly onto the ground. However, in James' case, he mounted it on pedestal legs with ornately carved side panels. Tools of James' trade and leaf motifs were sculpted into the panels. James had the following inscribed on the throuch -

At Craigsford, January 20th 1724

Here is the throuch, and place designed for the body of James Blaikie, wright of Craigsford and Marion Sclater, his spouse; built by himself; wishing that God, in whose hand my life is, may raise me by the greatness of His power to a glorious resurrection; that this stone when I view it, may mind me of death and eternity, and the dreadful torments which the wicked endure. Oh that God may enable me to have some taste of the sweet enjoyment of His presence, that my soul may be filled with love to Him, who is altogether lovely; that I may go through the valley of the shadow of death leaning on Him in whom all my hope is; so strengthen Thou to me, oh Lord, who have done to me great things, more than I can express.⁽¹⁾

The side panels are interesting since they provide a catalogue, carved in stone, of the tools used by joiners and roofers in the early eighteenth century.

Businessman

On New Year's Eve 1702, James Blaikie married Marion Sclater and the ceremony was duly recorded in the Melrose Parish register. They set up home in a cottage on the banks of the river Leader opposite Rhymer's Tower. James built a workshop and saw pit to fashion the timber from logs to finished articles as needed to serve his needs as a joiner. 

He was obviously a well-respected craftsman since he was awarded the contract to renew the roof of Ledgerwood church. A stone is set into the gable end of the church, commemorating the repairs made in 1717 following a fire. James carried out those repairs, and so we can assume that such important work would only have been given to a competent business person. 

During that work, James' reputation as a man of considerable strength was enhanced. A newspaper reported that -

'When at last the building was ready for the roof, he rose early, and after offering up his morning devotions in 'the narrow house', he hurried away to Ledgerwood, where he raised and adjusted the whole of the ponderous kipples*, and had just finished this heavy part of the work, when his men arrived at the proper hour to begin the labours of the day.' ⁽²⁾

It was also reported that he fixed the slates to the church roof single-handed in one morning.

* main rafters supporting the roof.

Miserliness
It would be charitable to describe James as being cautious with money. He was known to tie a large stone to the bottom of his saw used in the saw pit to avoid paying a man to pull on the saw from below. And indeed, he preferred coins to notes. He hoarded his golden guineas, which he kept under lock and key. As he lay on his deathbed, it was reported that he asked his attendant to bring his hoard to him in a 'wecht' (weigh scales). He continued to count his money repeatedly 'while his life was ebbing away to another world.' ⁽¹⁾

Death and legacy

Part of James' trade was making coffins for the recently deceased in the area. He became increasingly concerned that no one would make his coffin when he died. James realised that a coffin of such proportions to accommodate him would be expensive. So he built his own in readiness. As an indication of James' size, the throuch measures 2.3 metres x 1.2 meters x 0.2 meters (7.5 feet x 4 feet x 8 inches). So he decided to build his own. However, if a customer required an oversized coffin, James would not be averse to selling his.

And so it was that James had taken up an offer to sell his coffin, and he subsequently died before he could make a replacement, leaving his family with the expense of having one specially made.

After his death, the following was added to the inscription on his throuch -

Here lies James Blaikie, portioner of Earlston, who died the 23rd day of June 1749, aged 73 years; as also Marion Sclater, his spouse, who died 1747, and his daughter who died 1st November 1755.

James' workshop has long since been demolished. The saw-pit has been filled in. There are some apple trees that may be distant descendants of those planted by James.
A relatively new extension, a scullery, has been reportedly, built over the graves. 

The scullery with the throuch on the right by the red pole
© JJ Price

The throuch was moved, and it remains intact however the inscription has succumbed to 'The influence of time and the thoughtless conduct of youths and visitors have long ago sufficed to efface the inscription, but a friend, the late Joseph Watson, Earlston, supplied us some years ago with a copy.' ⁽¹⁾

The throuch is now mounted on modern breeze blocks and serves as a makeshift bird table. The pillars remain intact, and some carved stonework lies at the site.
The legend of James Blaikie has been told and retold over the hundreds of years since his death. A newspaper article which described the damage done to the inscription made its way to George Mercer, mayor of Lodi, a town in New Jersey, USA.
George was one of three brothers from Earlston who had emigrated to the USA and, where George found fame and fortune. A fourth brother, John, had remained in Earlston and built Roosevelt Place on the Kidgate.
When George read the story about the vandalism, he felt compelled to write the Earlston minister Rev. W S Crockett. The letter read:

'The article remarked that it was a pity that some of the Border societies, or some individual, should not have taken up the matter of preserving the grave and the stone. It has been much abused by visitors and children, and I suspect that I am one of the 'children' who helped to efface the markings on the stone. We were pretty much alike, all of us, when we were playing around there, and were just as likely to chip a piece off for fun as not. I am a great believer in preserving the old historical land-marks, and always feel badly to see any of them wiped off the face of the earth. It has occurred to me that possibly I could do something to redeem my wrong-doing, if you can call it such; that is, by helping to restore as nearly as possible to its original condition the stone and the grave. And I would be willing to contribute all, or part of, the cost of this; if you will take the matter up with the proper authorities or some society, and give me an idea as to the cost of putting it in fairly good shape, I will consider the matter favourably and advise you very promptly what to do. I know no one better than your own good self to take this matter up. You are so familiar with everything in that line, and the history of our dear old town, that you can probably reach without much trouble just the one to do the necessary work.' ⁽³⁾ 

Obviously nothing was done to reinstate the throuch but James’ legacy remains, albeit in a sorry state.

The throuch now serving as a bird table
© JJ Price

Detail from the side panel
© JJ Price

Detail from the side panel showing one of James' tools of the trade
© JJ Price

Credits

1. Berwickshire News, 16 March 1875

2. The Border Magazine, June 1908

3. The Border Magazine, August 1908

War Graves in Earlston Churchyard

INTRODUCTION

A sign on the railings at the entrance to Earlston Churchyard announces that there are Commonwealth War Graves within the cemetery.  The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established in 1915 to honour the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars, and ensure they will never be forgotten. 


The churchyard contains the graves of five Earlstonians who died in military service. This post was written to try to reveal something of the people behind the names.

 

JAMES ARCHIBALD - died 1915 aged 18.
James was the son of James and Robina Archibald who ran a bakery on Earlston’s High Street. The shop has long since gone and is now a dwelling house (No. 15 The High Street).  

James had been in the Volunteers for two years before being mobilised, when war was declared. He travelled to the King’s Own Scottish Borderers garrison in the town of Cambusbarron for basic training.
 

In February 1915 he was granted a short leave. When he was at home, his mother noticed that he had developed a cough and, as any concerned mother would do, suggested that James visit Dr Young for a remedy. James,however, being a teenager (he was only 18) not wishing to be delayed getting back to his regiment ignored his mother’s advice. 

Back in Cambusbarron, James was able to perform all his regular duties, albeit that he was hoarse. However, on Thursday morning, his commanding officer, concerned for his health had him transferred to the garrison’s temporary hospital.

Initially, James was making good progress, but by Sunday, February 14, his condition deteriorated. About mid-day his parents received a telephone message from Captain Sharpe, saying that James was seriously ill and about half-an-hour later they received the news that James had died.

Mrs Archibald travelled to Stirling on Monday to make the necessary arrangements for James’ burial. Following a military funeral, his body transferred from Stirling Castle to the railway station. Men from the regiment, including Sergeant Louis Fisher, accompanied Mrs Archibald and James on  their journey to Earlston where it arrived in the late afternoon. The following day a large crowd of mourners gathered at the Archibald’s house for a short service before the funeral cortege made its way along the High Street to the cemetery. The hearse was flanked by an honour guard that included Sergeant Fisher and Colour Sergeant William Wilkie.

William Wilkie (died 1916 aged 46)
In December 1868, Andrew Wilkie, a twenty-nine-year-old blacksmith, born in Maxton, married Jane Tait, a twenty-eight-year-old spinster from Denholm. Their son William was born the following year.

In 1871 the family moved to Earlston, first living on  the High Street, then to a
house on Haughhead Road. By now William had two siblings, Margaret, aged
eight, and six-month-old John.

Ten years later, twenty-one-year-old William was living at 6 Rodger Place, close to the mill where he worked as a stake warper. The following year he married Alison Hunter, a twenty-one-year-old spinster-who lived with her parents at Leader Vale Lodge where the marriage ceremony was held. Their daughter Margery was born the year after.

By 1901 William had left the woollen mill to work as an assurance agent, and the family had moved to the High Street.

Sometime between 1911 and 1915, William had enlisted in the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, earning rapid promotion to Colour Sergeant. In 1915 William developed Bright’s Disease, a condition which affects the kidneys and he died, at home on January 10, 1916. His grave is marked by a simple headstone which is inscribed:

“In memory of my beloved husband WILLIAM WILKIE who died 10.1.1916
aged 46 years also his wife ALISON HUNTER who died 24.4.1945 aged 74
years

John Young (died 1918 aged 20)
John was born in Monkwearmouth in County Durham on February 2, 1898.  His father, William, was a journeyman tailor, travelling the country to either find permanent employment or until he qualified as a master tailor which would allow him to set up his own business.

William and his wife Margaret were both from the Scottish Borders  (Channelkirk and Melrose respectively), so it is no surprise that they should settle in Earlston  with son John and his sister, Jane, who was his elder by three years.The family lodged in a house on Station Road with three other families. The Young’s had three more children at this address, sons William and George and a daughter Mary. 

When he left school, eldest son John took a job at the Simpson and Fairbairn tweed mill.  He enlisted in the 4th Battalion King’s Own Scottish Borderers (Volunteers) in
early January 1914.  By 1917, John’s battalion was in the Middle-East engaged in the Second Battle of Gaza which had commenced on April 17. The fighting was brutal and bloody, and at the end of the third day of action, the brigade including John’s battalion had suffered almost 50% casualties, including John who was wounded twice, in his upper right arm and on the right side of his head.

It was three days before John was evacuated to the military hospital in Alexandria, Egypt. There, doctors discovered that John’s right humerus, the long bone in the upper arm was shattered. On a positive note, an x-ray showed no trace of the bullet in his head wound. His damaged arm caused the most concern due to the extent of the bone damage, and the injury was suppurating. On April 26, John’s condition was listed as “Dangerously Ill”, and he remained in this condition for over a month.

On August 16, John was transferred to the UK on board the hospital ship “Formosa”. As soon as the ship docked in Liverpool, on September 5, he was admitted to a Liverpool hospital.

It was not until February 1918 that John was considered fit enough to be transferred to the 2nd Scottish General Hospital in Edinburgh. His medical report of February 22 noted that John was “in good general health”. However, it also stated that his right arm and hand had limited movement. Also, the wounds on his arm had not healed despite having undergone five operations to drain the wound and remove bone fragments. The report also notes that “He had a wound on the right side of the face, which causes him no trouble now.”

John was discharged from the army as being permanently unfit for military service of any sort. He left hospital on March 24 and returned to his home in Earlston to be cared for by his family. Despite the medical board’s conclusion that John’s head wound was no cause for concern, John had developed an abscess on his brain at the site of the gunshot wound. As the effects of the abscess grew, caring for John must have been a particularly difficult time for the family. The abscess would most likely have caused dramatic changes toJohn’s physical control and personality. Additionally, the infection was damaging his heart.

A few days before his death,  his condition deteriorated, and he was transferred to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. He died on Thursday, June 20,1918. The cause of the death given on the registration of death was a temporo-sphenoidal abscess and ulcerative endocarditis (an abscess of the brain and a condition that affects the heart).

John’s burial took place on Sunday, June 23, 1918, when the Earlston Company of Volunteers, under the command of Lieutenant Harvie, provided an honour guard and pipers and drummers from a detachment of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders played laments.

William Barrie Young (died 1918 aged 24)

William was the only son of Dr John and Mrs Margaret Young of The Thorn, Earlston

He did not follow his father to medical school. Instead, he became a Motor, Steam and Mechanical Engineering apprentice at Waverley Engineering Works in Galashiels. Initially, William joined the Lothian and Border Horse, but at the first opportunity transferred to the Royal Flying Corps.

The Royal Flying Corps did not have a training facility. Instead, William trained at the Ruffy-Baumann Flying School in Hendon just outside London and on September 6, 1915, he qualified as a pilot.

After enlisting in the Royal Flying Corps, William was based in Brooklands Aerodrome as a member of No. 24 Squadron, the world’s first single-seat fighter squadron.

In March 1916, he qualified as an instructor pilot before returning to front line duties. Then on October 20, 1916, while flying over the Somme, his aircraft was attacked and severely damaged. Despite being shot through a lung, William managed to land his plane at a French aerodrome only to discover that his observer/gunner 2nd. Lt. Reginald Davis had been killed.

He was transferred to a hospital in Glasgow to start a long road to recovery. In October 1917 he was transferred to the School of Specialist Flying as an instructor and was promoted to Deputy Wing Exam Officer.

On August 8, 1918, William took off on a training flight. What happened during the flight was never established other than there was a catastrophic failure of the aircraft,  causing it to spin out of control, killing William.

The following week William was buried in Earlston Parish Churchyard. A guard of honour from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders accompanied the funeral cortege, and the pipe band from the same regiment played “The Land o'er the Leal” and “The Flowers of the Forest”. The “Last Post” was performed by a bugler at the conclusion of the service.

His headstone is in the form of a Celtic cross and stands adjacent to a cross of the same design marking the grave of his father and mother.

John Meins Wightman (died 1944 Aged 26)
John Wightman was born in Coldingham on July 30, 1917, to Ninian and May (nee Meins) Wightman. Like his father, John became a ploughman working on various farms in East Lothian and Berwickshire.

He married Jean Agnes Tait in 1942 while serving with the 8th Battalion Royal Scots. At the time he was a Corporal, but he would be later promoted to Sergeant.  The couple would spend their short married life living at Woodville with Jean’s parents, Bill and Jean (nee Angus) Tait.

In June 1944 John took part in the Normandy landings, and it was while  engaged in military operations,  he was wounded, suffering gunshot wounds to his abdomen, left hand and right shoulder. He was transferred to Killearn Hospital in Stirling, one of seven Emergency Hospital Services facilities established by the government in 1940 for military casualties. 

Despite receiving the best available medical attention, John died of peritonitis on July 16th, 18 days after he was wounded.

John was laid to rest in Earlston Churchyard where the Rev. Peter Wylie  conducted an impressive service. John’s widow, Jean, who never remarried, died in Melrose in 2002 aged 82.

How a person is “officially” remembered is something of a mystery. Take, for example, Captain David Colville, son of David and Elizabeth Colville of Chapel-on-Leader, Earlston. David is memorialised on the Lauder war memorial and in the Lauder Old Parish Church; he is also remembered at Melrose Holy Trinity Church and on the Earlston war memorial and church lectern. 

By comparison, John’s name is not listed  on the village war memorial, nor on any memorial,  and his death is not recorded on the  Imperial War Memorials Register. Why this is so,  remains an enigma. 

************ 

November 2018 - Earlston's Fall of Poppies,

 created by members of Earlston Parish Church 
in remembrance of those who died in the service of their country. 


 ***********************

With grateful thanks to Auld Earlston member Jeff Price 
for researching and compiling this article. 

Earlston Woollen Manufacturer - John Simpson

A local historian in Hawick   recently came across in the town's Wilton Cemetery these gravestones  to the family of  "John Simpson, Woollen Manufacturer, Earlston".  He contacted the Auld Earlston Group with this information.

Intriguing?   Why was an Earlston businessman remembered in Hawick? 

Simpson Gravestones in Wilton Cemetery, Hawick 

 

In Loving Memory of John Simpson, woollen manufacturer,Earlston who died 
 at Eildon Grove, Melrose on  June 8th 1919.

And his wife Anna Robertson who died 8th Feby 1944 aged 86 years.

Who was John Simpson?

He  was born in Galashiels in 1856, son of John Simpson, a wool hand-loom weaver.  At the age of 15 in 1871, young John  was working as a warper ** in a wool factory in   Innerleithen,  where five  years later he married Anne Robertson .   

By the time of the 1891 census,  the couple were  at 1 Rosevale Cottage in Wilton Parish, Hawick with their two son and two daughters - John, George, Euphemia and Jessie.    John, then aged 35,  was described as a tweed warehouseman. 

Ten years later in 1901, the family  was living at 2 West Stewart Place, Wilton, Hawick in a road of substantial Victorian houses,  with John's occupation listed as commercial traveller. Clearly he was going up in the world, culminating in the purchase of what became Simpson and Fairbairn Mill at Earlston, which was listed under that name in a 1903 Trade Directory.   

The 1911 census saw the family at Eildon Grove,  Melrose, Roxburghshire with John described as woollen manufacturer, with his wife and youngest daughter 28 year old Jessie, plus one servant.    John died there in 1919. 

His death at the age of 63 was reported  in "The Scotsman" newspaper,  intimating that John's funeral would be held at Wilton Cemetery, Hawick.   

The Scottish National Probate Index online  gave the value of his estate as £69,498.19s.5d. - estimated at over two and a half million pounds in today’s money values (www.measuringworth.com)

AAn obituary in the Berwickhire News:  10th June 1919  gives us a profile of John Simpson.

".......He was Chairman and Director of Simpson & Fairbairn Ltd, Rhymer's  Mill, in Earlston.  His early years were spent in Innerleithen where he acquired his knowledge of the tweed trade, and afterwards went to Hawick and became associated with the firm of Blenkhorn Richardson Ltd. of which he was a Director.  Fifteen years ago with Mr Thomas Fairbairn, he took over the business of  Robert Dunn & Co. at Earlston.   Mr Simpson was one of the best known and best liked of personalities in the Scottish tweed trade.

An ardent and successful golfer, he was a well known figure on several popular courses."

 Rhymer's Mill, Earlston,   early 1900's.  (Auld Earlston Collection) 

Rev. Walter Davidson of Earlston Parish Church, having heard the news that Sunday morning,  paid a tribute to John Simpson, at his  service, as reported in the press article,  saying:

........He was very closely associated with the church ......... As head of the firm which is by far the largest employer of labour in the town..... he was known as  an upright, conscientious and thoroughly efficient business man, a just and honourable master. 

Long before he came to Earlston I had heard him spoken of "as a prince among commercial travellers" and after he entered business on his own account here, his wonderful ability in this respect meant greater employment and consequently increased prosperity for Earlston, and for these things we owe him a debt of gratitude.

God endowed him with certain talents and these he developed as a faithful steward for the greater good of the community.  In his life he was greatly respected and widely esteemed. A keen reader, he possessed a library, rich in  beautiful works, as seldom seen.  .....Most of all he endeared himself to his own  by his kindly,  loving disposition"

Earlston Monumental Inscriptions, published by the Borders Family History Society, notes that in 1920 a carved oak Communion Table  was gifted to the church  "To the glory of God and in loving memory of John Simpson, manufacturer,  Earlston."

“The Kelso Chronicle” and “The Berwickshire News” of January 1920 reported on this memorial being dedicated by his son John M.D. Simpson, whose wife donated the embroidered communion cloths in memory of her father-in-law.

 *********

It seems that John's eldest son,  John Melville Drummond Simpson,  remained involved in the family business and in Earlston community affairs, as reported in the Berwickshire News.  In the 1920's he was a candidate  in local  elections, sitting on the School Management Committee.    He was also organist at Earlston Parish Church until  1929. In  1931  a report noted that "Delegates of the Scottish woollen industry on a visit to American and Canadian markets included John  M. Simpson of Simpson and Fairbairn, Earlston." 

A newspaper death announcement reported  "At Broomiebrae, Earlston on the 27th August 1931 John M. D. Simpson died, dearly beloved husband of Catherine Robertson".  

John was buried besides his parents in Wilton Cemetery, Hawick.  His death certificate, (on ScotlandsPeople website)  confirmed his distinctive middle names and his occupation as a woollen manufacturer - the informant his son J. Stanley Simpson.  

In 1946 as part of a major refurbishment of Earlston Parish Church, electricity was installed, and  Stanley Simpson,  as a memorial to his father,  gifted the electrification  of the organ blower, which previously had been pumped by hand. 

 ***********

NOTES

• ** "A warper", the occupation of 15 year old John Simpson in 1871, was a textile worker who arranged the individual yarns which created the "warp" of the fabric. 

• Simpson and Fairbairn
  
  In  a  1903 Directory  Simpson & Fairbairn  was described as "a tweed manufacturer and dyers at Mid Mills, Earlston"  It appears that the firm later adopted the address of Rhymer's Mill.  The photographs below, are believed to date from the early 1900's, and are in the Auld Earlston Collection. 

• At the time of John Simpson's (Senior) death in 1919, Border woollen manufacturers were starting to face  e global depression, with tariff barriers, and difficult export markets.   However Simpson and Fairbairn  weathered the storm,  although short time working was often prevalent. 
  
  During World War Two, the mill was fully employed on service and  utility clothing  and the post war years saw  a boom time for the Borders as world wide stocks of clothes had to be replaced, with the firm employing more than 300 workers, making it  the economic mainstay of Earlston. 
   
• But by the late 1950's and early '60's, the old problems of cheaper competitors and vulnerability to changing fashions had returned.  The   firm tried  to innovate by making cellular blankets and moving into  ladies' wear.  But the decline could not be stemmed.  The mill finally closed in 1969 when a workforce of almost 100 was made redundant.

Earlston's role in the  Borders textile industry came to an end.  

• Blenkhorn Richardson, Hawick.
  At the time of his death,  John Simpson, senior was a Director at Blenkhorn Richardson, Eastfield Mills, Hawick.  The business was   founded by two brothers-in -law  and become one of the largest manufacturers in southern Scotland.  The company closed in 1974, with its archives now held at the Heriot Watt University, Galashiels. 
  
  
  ****************

Both Earlston and Hawick had  a major part  in John's  Simpson's life, with his choice of a final resting place - Hawck.  But  he made a key contribution to  Earlston's textile industry, as reflected in  the eulogies on his death. 


With thanks to  David Lothian of Earlston and Gordon Macdonald of Hawick for their help with information on John Simpson, his  life and family. 

 

       ******************

A Look at Earlston Churches

In 1866 Earlston had three churches Ercildoune Parish Church, West United Presbyterian Church and East United Presbyterian Church.   Rutherfurd's Southern Counties Directory of 1866  noted that the three churches offered seating for 1400 worshipers - in a village with a population of 1825.  Religion was an integral  part of community life.

THE PRE-REFORMATION CHURCH

In the 12th century, the foundation charter for Melrose Abbey was signed by King David I at Ercildoune (the old name for Earlston),   It is known that a chapel was built in Earlston at the end of the 11th century  and in 1242 a new church was built and consecrated.  After the Reformation in 1560,  it became the Church of Scotland.

ERCILDOUNE, later EARLSTON  PARISH CHURCH
The  medieval church was replaced in 1736, enlarged in 1834 which in turn was replaced  on the same site in 1892 by the present building of red sandstone from Cowdenknowes Quarry, with seating for 700 people.   It was known as Ercildoune Church until its union with St. John's Church under the minister Rev. John Duncan in  1946 after 200 years of division.

 

The Old Parish Church, demolished in 1891

Men from Rodger Builders working on the  church, 1891.
One of the oldest photographs in the Auld Earlston collection 



A charming tinted image of the rebuilt  church,

early 20th century

In 1991 renovation work took place on the church  building, largely thanks to a generous bequest  from the late Miss Ella Newton of Edinburgh, whose father had been works manager at  Simpson & Fairbairn Mill in Earlston.   Again men from Rodgers Builders undertook much of the work. 

Some of the team working on the 1991 refurbishment

Ministers
Records go back to James Ker in 1549  up to the present day. One of the longest serving was William Mair (1869-1903), who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1897.  The Rev. John Duncan also served 30 years 1946-76. 


Communion Plate

The pewter communion plate mostly came from the Relief and  Associate Churches in Earlston, 1750 and 1780 respectively, with the  earliest chalice dated 1760. The Associate and Relief bodies came together in the early nineteenth century to form the United Presbyterian Church.   All the communion plate is kept in the bank and only brought out four times a year for  a  formal sacrament.

Church Records

• The Church of Scotland Registers go back to  the late 17th century, recording baptisms, marriages and burials, but with some gaps. You can search them online at www.scotlandspeopl.gov.uk or consult them on microfilm at the Heritage Hub in Hawick.
  .
• Earlston Kirk Session Records  give us a unique  social commentary on life in the village at the time - with the emphasis on chastisement and charity, as the church provided help to the poor and needy, but censure to those involved in what was regarded as moral turpitude. As late as 1901, a woman was brought before the Kirk Session  to be questioned on her "sin of fornication and having a child out of wedlock". 

"Having confessed  in sorrow for her sins and resolution to walk through grace in newness of life, the Moderator after solemn admonition did in the name of the Kirk Session absolve her from the scandal of her sin  and restore her to the privileges of the church.

Scottish Kirk Session Records are not available online,  but you can view them   in a digitized format at the Heritage Hub at Hawick, which serves  the whole of the Scottish Borders.  
 
WEST UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Following disputes over the appointment of  the Rev.  Lawrence Johnston to be minister of Ercildoune Parish Church,  a Relief congregation was formed in 1778 and a church built at the West End of the village with seating for 500.  

In 1887 it joined with the East Church (see below) to form one congregation with one minister, as the Earlston United Presbyterian Church. With some irony  the West Church was sold to the Parish Church (Church of Scotland) and used as a church hall until 1956.    The property was later demolished  and replaced eventually by the modern flats we see on the site  today. 

 
EAST, later ST. JOHN'S CHURCH

Dissatisfied members of the congregation at Ercildoune Church joined the Secession movement in 1738.  A church was built and later enlarged to seat 500 worshippers  and became the East United Presbyterian Church.  1887 saw it join with the West United Presbyterian Church  and the name of St. John's was adopted in 1929.  

In 1946 the congregation  reunited  with the  Parish Church of Scotland  under the ministry of Rev. John Duncan.   The old St. John's Church Hall became the parish church hall, with the church itself later demolished.

 

 United Presbyterian Church (East), later St. John's Church 
The building on the left became the Parish Church Hall, 

when the two congregation united  in 1946. 

  

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

There was a congregation for a few years in the mid 19th century.  Worship in Earlston resumed in 1949 in a chapel hall, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, on Westfield Road  which closed  c.2012.  

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Earlston Parish Church and Churchyard, 2016

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

• The Church in Earlston 600AD-1982, by Rev. John H. Duncan, 1992 - with a copy in the Auld Earlston Archives.
• The Churches and Graveyards of Berwickshire, by Dr. G. A. C. Binnie, 1985. Available from Scottish Borders Library Service.
• Earlston Monumental Inscriptions, published by Borders Family History Society, 2005 - available through  BFHS and Scottish Borders Library Service.
• Website of Earlston Parish Church - http://www.earlstonchurch.org
  
  
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  Future posts will look at other aspects of church life. 
   

  In Case You Missed: 

  For a fuller picture of the information in the Kirk Sessions Records,   see an earlier blog post  HERE. 
  

  
  
  The Auld Earlston Group  is grateful for the photographs and postcards featured here. It will be pleased  to receive  donations or loans of further material which can be scanned and returned to you.    E-mail:  auldearlston@aol.com
  
  
  
  THANK YOU 
  
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