A Holiday, Curling & Bowling make the Earlston Headlines in the 1880's

Reader Richard Smith came across these headlines on Earlston in "The Berwickshire News" of the 1880's.    Old newspapers make fascinating reading for anyone interested in local history, as they  reflect life,  in all its aspect, as it was at the time.   

Read about:

• News,  given at short notice, of the New Year shopkeepers' holiday, 
• Activities of the Curling Club.
• The early days of the Bowling Club and an impressive fund-raising bazaar - among the more unusual items for sale were clerical photographs, a Tom Scott painting, and live poultry.

NEW YEAR HOLIDAY - 20th December 1881.

"The shopkeepers have agreed to hold the New Year Holiday on Saturday December 31st inst., as New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. and Monday is an unsuitable day, being Market Day.  The Volunteers hold their annual ball on the Friday  evening the 30th  and their shooting on the Saturday following"

CURLING  -15th February 1878

"Nearly every day last week the members of the Curling Club enjoyed a game on Mr. Allan's pond at Georgefield. Thursday which was the Fast Day*  was necessarily an off-day,  and it is possible that the keen curlers begrudged letting it slip,   as the day was very favourable for this pastime.  Besides going to Dunse on Friday and beating the Dunse men, the Club played for the Silver Cup presented by Mrs Coteworth  of Cowdenknowes. The ice from the heat of the sun in the middle of the day was very soft,  and great difficulty was felt by some in getting their stone over the hog score.  The cup was won by Mr George Henderson with a score of 7, Mr J. P Smith and Mr. James Sharp  came next with 5 points each.  The weather was rather fresh and it is not unlikely that curling for the season is nearly over."

*Fast Days  were a tradition of the Presbyterian Churches,  whereby a special day was marked as a public holiday,and set aside for  a time of reflection,  ahead of attendance at the service of Holy Communion.   

More than 100 years later,  and members of Earlston Curling Club play out of doors at Lauder,  December 1995.     

BOWLING CLUB - 20th December 1881.

"This club now numbers over 50 members and they have resolved to the formation of a bowling green on the site of the old curling pond. This work is to be done by Mr. Smith, Hawick whose estimate for the work we understand to be £150.  Some farmers interested in the formation of the bowling green will do the  necessary driving of materials gratuitously.  If this bowling club proves a success, Earlston will be amply provided with means of recreation.

An early photograph of Earlston Bowling Club members

                           

 BOWLING CLUB BAZAAR - 16th July 1889
A lengthy article reported  on a Bazaar in the Corn Exchange, held:

"To liquidate a debt.....The club was formed in 1882 and the formation of the Green, together with a recent enlargement,  cost between £300 and £400  of which £80 remained to be paid....An energetic committee, consisting of Mr Dunn, Mr Murdison, Mr. Steedman, Mr Tait, Mr Aitkenhead,  and Mr Wallace (secretary) was formed  to carry out the arrangements;  the ladies of the town and neighbourhood  readily gave their cooperation and the result of their united exertions was the Fancy Fair opened on Wednesday.

There were six stalls  furnished abundantly with the usual cushions, scrapbooks, dolls, paintings,  clerical photographs,  live poultry,  firescreens,  shawls,macrame work etc. etc...... The paintings were a particularly excellent collection and included work by Tom Scott A.R.S.A. There were also some fine etchings.  The drawings over the two days  rather amounted to over £260.  The stalls were distinguished by the names of flowers....... There was also a refreshment stall and a flower stall  attended to by Mr. Gray,   gardener, Gladswood and Mr. Robertson,gardener, Cowdenknowes."

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Have you come across an interesting story or item from the past 
that can be shared with others on our blog?  We would  like to hear from you. 
 Please contact us at:     auldearlston@aol.com 

THANK YOU  

Have you an Interesting Story on Earlston - We Would Like to Hear From You

Our  Auld Earlston blog aims to give its readers a variety of short items, photographs on a theme and longer articles on the village's past.  It  features:

• Life in all its aspects  in Earlston down the centuries, both at work and at leisure.
• Profiles of Local People who have made their mark at home and abroad.
• Personal Memories of more recent times.

We would very much like to include  more items from  readers.
Have you come across an interesting story from the past 
that can be shared with others? 

Contact us at:     auldearlston@aol.com 

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82, 895 page-views have been recorded since the blog was first launched in March 2015.  So in case you missed first time round, here are six more popular posts from the past three years. 

Click on the headline to read  the full article with  images from the Auld Earlston collection and the local press. 

Earlston - the First with an Aerodrome. 
In 1931  local papers (plus The Scotsman) reported that Earlston had become the first place in Berwickshire to have an aerodrome  where

"A large number of Earlstonians were entertained to a succession of thrills by the advent of an aeroplane, the property of Messrs W. Rodger  & Sons which gave several aerial exhibitions at a newly constructed aerodrome at Purveshaugh, Earlston".

Dr. Young (1859-1934) - Serving Earlston for over 50 years
Dr. Young was a colourful character, who was widely remembered for his warm, if sometimes irascible personality. His work was his life and he had few hobbies apart from his horses.  His sudden death in September 1934 received wide tributes

Shopping in Earlston in an Earlier Era
A nostalgic look at Shops in Earlston in the early 20th century, Slater's Directory of Berwickshire for 1903 noted that the population of Earlston was 1677 (as per 1901 census), and shops  in the village included:
6 grocers/spirit dealers/ironmongers
5 tailor/drapers/ clothiers
3 butchers 
3 watchmakers/clockmakers/jeweller
3 dressmakers/milliner 
2 bakers
1 confectioner
1 chemist 
1 fish man & earthenware dealer. 

 

Sharing Memories of the Spittal Trip 
A colourful account  from the 1920's of the annual trip by train to the seaside at Spittal. 

 

Two trains in Earlston station
Copyright © A R Edwards and Son,  Selkirk.    (Cathy Chick Collection).   
All Rights Reserved

Isabella Wallace - Earlston's Friend and Benefactor
Two plaques in the village,  at the Mill Meadow Gate and in the gardens in the Square,  give testimony to Isabella Wallace, who in her will left money for the benefit of her local community,  




 

Earlston on the Dance Floor 

Dances were a regular feature of social life in Earlston in the 20th century  and the local press give many accounts of the events  involving the Bachelors' Ball, Earlston Jazz Band, the Earlston Rhythm Band, an Ankle Competition and a "Spectacular Rumba Competition". An entertaining read!

 

Taking a break from the dance floor 

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Note: 

Press Cuttings Source - Newspaper Archives Online at www.findmypast.co.uk 

Looking Back on 3 Years of the Auld Earlston Blog

This month marks three years since the Auld Earlston blog was launched in 2015 - so in  the first of two posts, a look back at some of the most popular topics featured. To read more, click on the titles below. 

EARLSTON READING ROOM
A look  at the past   - and the future - for the Earlston Reading Room which dates from 1852.   It was a  symbol of  Victorian self-help and the  desire for education.  The rules and regulations make entertaining reading. 

 The Reading room on the left to next to the Corn Exchange with its belfry tower. 

The photograph pre-dates 1921 when the pump tower on the right was demolished to make way for the war memorial.  

THE WHALE SISTERS - MANUFACTURERS OF EARLSTON GINGHAMS

A profile of Christian and Marion Whale, who in the first half of the 19th century had a national reputation as producers  of Earlston ginghams, at a time  when few women showed such enterprising spirit to head successful businesses.  
 

 Two surviving examples of the Earlston Gingham. 

REMEMBERING EARLSTON'S RAILWAY, 1863-1965

A photographic account of the history of the railway through Earlston  from its low key opening to its equally  low key closure  over a 100 years later.

 

 The last train through Earlston Station - July 1965.

WARTIME AIR CRASH OVER EARLSTON
An account of the air crash of 1943 when a German bomber came down near the village, killing all four members of the crew.  In 2015 the daughter and grandson  of the pilot made a moving visit to  Earlston to commemorate this war time tragedy.   

The unveiling of a memorial to the German crew

 EARLSTON KIRK SESSION RECORDS - CHARITY AND CENSURE
The records  provide us with a unique  social commentary on life in the village at the time. 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 14th October 1901,  a woman was brought before the Kirk Session  to be questioned on her "sin of fornication and having a child out of wedlock"

EARLSTON ON PARADE
To mark Civic Week 2016,  parades of the past and photographs of Earlston people having fun! 

 

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Thank you to everyone who has contributed 

 information, photographs and memories to Auld Earlston 

E-Mail:  auldearlston@aol.com

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.

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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. 

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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. 
  
  
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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. 

 

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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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