Earlston Corn Exchange Opening Events

The 1860's was a significant decade in Earlston history: 

• The Commercial Bank of Scotland opened a branch in the village  in 1864. 
• The Berwickshire Railway from Reston reached  Earlston in 1863 and was extended  to Newtown in 1865,  with the completion of the Leaderfoot Viaduct.
• The Corn Exchange opened in the Market Square in 1868.

How did the Corn Exchange come into being? 
Corn Exchanges were originally built as a venue for corn merchants to meet and arrange pricing with farmers for the sale of wheat, barley and other corn crops. With the repeal of the Corn Laws  in 1846, a large number of corn exchanges were built in town centres across Britain, coinciding with the expansion of the railways, making transportation of the corn easier.

The buildings were also let out for many other purposes,  including public meetings concerts and dances, lectures, fund raising events, and in the 20th century as cinemas.  

A photograph that can be dated pre 1920 

when the pump well on the right was demolished to  make way for the War Memorial. 

An article in “The Southern Reporter”: 28th May 1868 reported on the plans for a Corn Exchange in Earlston.

“There is now a certainty of the long-talked of Corn Exchange and Public Hall being erected. A site on the north side of the Market Place and adjoining the Reading Room has been purchased and now the whole works have been contracted for.

The plans and specifications have been prepared by Mr. Rodger of Rodger & Co., builders, and show shops in front and a main entrance of seven feet in width on the ground floor, with rooms which can either be used as dwelling houses or business rooms.

Behind is the Public Hall and Corn Exchange which is to be 60 feet long by 32 feet wide, with a height of 22 feet and will be lighted from the roof.

The hall is also to be provided with stalls, opening from the wall and which, when closed, enable the whole length and breadth of the hall to be made available for public meetings, or Volunteer drill.

The Directors go forward in the expectation that the building will be finished for a sum not exceeding the share capital of the company which is fixed at £1400. [equivalent to £87,652.60 today]

The mason work has been let to Messrs Rodger & Co., Earlston; joinery work to Mr. John Wallace, Earlston; slating and plumbing to Mr. Murdison, Earlston, and the plaster work to Mr. John Johnstone, Gattonside. Mr. Herbertson, builder, Galashiels has been appointed inspector over the works.

The building, it is expected will be roofed in and the hall finished by the middle of October and the whole work completed by the middle of December.

We may here notice the deep interest taken in the building by Mrs. Colesworth of Cowdenknowes, she having, in addition to her subscription to the share capital, presented the company with a very handsome piano.

It is proposed to hold a bazaar on the day the hall is opened, for the purpose of liquidating any debt that may be left."

It was May 1869 before a public dinner  was held to celebrate the opening of the Corn Exchange.

 An article in "The Southern Reporter"   gave a fulsome report on the  occasion where Mr. Balfour of the Commercial Bank was given a presentation of a "silver tea and coffee service of chaste design"  for "his unwearied labours  in connection with the Corn  Exchange"  and  "his excellent business sense, his affable and gentlemanly deportment, and his kind and obliging disposition." 

Further reports in "The Southern Reporter" commented  on "a handsome if not actually imposing structure"........"In addition to its usefulness as a place of business on market days, it is also proving a place of amusement". 

So what events  took place in the Corn Exchange  in the late 19th century - as reported  in the local press?  They span dramas, bazaars, concerts, balls, election and evangelical meetings. As ever with newspaper reports of the period, the style of writing is wordy - but entertaining to read.

• In Spring 1869 a series of "Penny Readings" were held with the comment that these were  "instructive and pleasing entertainments."
   
• On 4th November 1869, "The Southern Reporter"  described the formal opening of a piano donated to the Corn Exchange by Mrs Colesworth of Cowdenknowes.   
  
  The ceremony was slightly marred by an "unforeseen accident" in opening the piano, but this was followed by "three hearty cheers for Mrs Colesworth"  and  "a  grand concert of miscellaneous music......with the hall crammed in every part."  

• Also in November 1869,  a meeting was called   in the Corn Exchange for the Electors of Earlston  to select a Liberal Candidate  to stand in the forthcoming election, on the current MP Robertson being raised  to the peerage.  The handbill for the meeting carried the headline  "Caution - Electors of Earlston - Beware!"   with Lord William Hay selected  to contend the seat. 

• September  1869 saw  the annual show of the Earlston Cottagers Horticultural Society  taking place for the first time in the Corn Exchange.  "The hall was set off in an artistic  and pleasing manner"  with contributions from the gardens and greenhouses of Cowdenknowes, Carolside and Drygrange.

• On a more serious note, in January1869 a series of evangelical  meetings was held  "commencing the evening of Monday and continuing nightly until Sunday", when Lord Polwarth's talk was "listened  to throughout his lengthy discourse with marked attention"  from the packed hall".
  
• 

• The September 1877   programme included  "a troup of darkies" in  the shape of Stow Christy Minstrels. 

• In December 1881 The Earlston Tradesmen held their annual  "Show of  Roots" in the Corn Exchange.
• In February 1882 a lengthy article reported on a lecture "Holidays in the Highland", given by local  bank manager John Mackenzie - one hopes he was a good speaker, as there would be no visual aids to enliven a long talk.
• A concert and ball were held in September 1886 under the auspices of the Earlston Street Lighting Committee to raise  funds for winter street lighting in the village.
  
  
  "After the concert, dancing commenced to the inspiring strains of Earlston Orchestral Party and carried on with unabated zeal  to  the  advanced hours in the morning." 
   
    
• Another fund rising event in July 1889 was on  behalf of the Bowling Club, founded six years earlier, who were looking to liquidate its debt, with"the amount taken far exceeded the sanguine expectation of the club."  A wordy description gave a picture of the stalls - along with the more usual cushions and crafts,   "live poultry" - and a painting by renowned Borders artist Tom Scott.
  
  
  
  
   
• In 1892, advertisements in "The Berwickshire News" promised the  following entertainment at  the Corn Exchange  
  

  and 

  *
  
  

• Taking to the stage on 17th September 1897 was "Alone in London - a   wonderfully sensational and  realistic Drama......the greatest ever put before a Scotch audience......witnessed on several occasion by Members of the Royal Family"

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Source of Information 
"The Berwickshire News" and "The Southern Reporter" on:  British Newspapers Online 1710-1963  at FindMyPast

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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. 

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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. 


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

Memories of Earlston Grocers in Times Past

In the 1860s there were 10 grocers/general merchants/spirit merchants in the village, as listed in the 1861 Census and in Rutherfurd's Directory of the Southern Counties, published in 1866.  But what of more recent times?   Local residents, past and present, especially members of Earlston Wednesday Club  have shared their memories of local grocers' shops. 

"Customers were very loyal to their particular grocer,

 whether it be Tom Bell, Willie Park, Forrest’s or Taylor’s.” 

TAYLOR'S SHOP AT THE EAST END

 "The location of the shop was on the site of a flour mill known as Huntspool Mill, which operated there in the mid to late 1800’s. The mill had a waterwheel that drew water from the burn around the area where King’s Yard was.  The derelict site of the mill and the several adjoining cottages were bought by Mr. Andrew Taylor of Pencaitland in around 1908 and the family grocery business was moved there,  after the shop was built by Rodger Builders, at around the same time as Kilnknowe and Bellevue Terrace were constructed."  (From Walter Taylor)

"The shop was there in the 1950’s - was  an excellent grocer’s shop of the old school. Very friendly service. Walter, Tom and Charlie delivered by van after the war, and would loan a marmalade cutter at the time of year for making marmalade.  The shop sold paraffin through the back, and the family were much involved in local activities – Dramatic Society  and the Horticultural Society. "

"I worked in Taylor's grocer's shop 1953-1956". 

Note: 43 year old Andrew Taylor, a grocer, was listed in Earlston with his family in the 1911 census and in local trade directories for 1915, and 1928, continuing in business into the 1950’s, with the help of his sons.  

TOM & ALAN BELL'S on  the corner of Thorn Street,  was a general grocery and tobacco shop.

"It was very handy for all the people who lived at the west end of the village."

 A Brownlie's lorry negotiating the tight bend by Tom Bell's shop on the left

GEORDIE BIRBECK.  

"He  was a grocer, selling sweets, fruit  & veg.  He went round the country areas with his van selling goods  – he said no one else would put in the required effort.” 

 
JIMMY BROWN'S

"He was known as “the midnight grocer” – as he went out in his travelling grocer’s van all hours "

FORREST'S , HIGH STREET

"This was a high class grocery shop – it sold just about everything, one part electricals, HMV & Bush radio & TV dealers. Also hardware, china, fancy goods.   A Miss Hogg worked there.  One day a TV went on fire and Miss H. panicked.  Someone threw a bucket of water over it (while the TV  was  still plugged in), so there was an almighty  explosion." 

WILLIE  PARK , WEST HIGH STREET 

"The  grocer was situated where One Stop and Jackie Lunn, Bakery are now. It sold everything – paraffin, sherry, dish cloths, clogs, pots and pans." 

 "My mother would take a bottle along and ask for it to be filled with sherry."

"The shop had a large hardware dept. – you were told not to buy more nails than you needed."

"Standards were different then - the same cutter was used for cutting bacon and slicing cooked ham."

"We were a family of five children and Willie Park used to keep ends of ham and broken biscuits to give to my mother" 

 "Food was loose – not pre-packed.  A housewife could go in and ask for two slices of bacon and have it sliced and wrapped, or a small pat of butter and it would be cut off a large slab.  I thought loose sugar was great.  Mr. Park would get a strong brown paper bag, scoop up sugar, weigh the bag and deftly fold and pack the top,  so it was secure.  We would get broken biscuits as a treat for a penny or two."

    "Willie Park’s also handled the SMT parcels for the buses.  I worked at the Chemist’s and we got sent prescriptions from Gordon and Greenlaw.  I then went along to Park’s with the compLeted prescriptions for them to be sent back to the villages on the bus." 

Note:  Willie Park was listed in a 1928 Trade Directory for Earlston – Telephone No. 20.  He was still in business in the early 1950’s.

The West  High Street with Willie Park on the right 

in what is now One Stop and Jackie Lunn's Bakehouse.

 
THE OLD CO-OP ON STATION ROAD

 "It was very different shop in the 1950’s  -  no self- service of course, but  wooden counters all the way around where assistants waited to serve you with your groceries."

"Shoppers could hand in their order, or “message line” and leave it to be put together  and delivered  by the  message boy on his bicycle, with a large basket on the front.  All the grocers in the town offered a delivery service."

  "The manager of the Co-op, Mr. McQuillin, who sang in the church choir,  sat in a very important little booth and handed out milk tokens, to have milk delivered to the doorstep daily." 

"Twice a year, Co-op members received “the divi”. A note was kept of the total amount of shopping done by each member and this was totalled up and paid as a loyalty dividend. This was a particularly busy day at the Co-op as members had to queue up at the manager’s booth to collect their cash." 

 "My mother relied on getting the “Divi” to buy us children our shoes."

"A "Southern Reporter" column of 21st November 1918 noted:

"At a recent meeting of the Earlston Co-operative Society, it was unanimously agreed to adopt the proposal that the affairs of the Society be taken over by Galashiels Society.  This change will take place at the end of the present quarter .The Earlston Society was started 35 years ago [1883] and was the only society of its kind in the County of Berwick.”

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Do you have more memories of local shops?
Do share them with us by commenting here or e-mailing: auldearlston@aol.com