Duddingstone
Duddingston is a parish on the coast of Edinburghshire. It is bounded by the Firth of Forth, and by the parishes of Inveresk, Liberton, Canongate, St Cuthberts, and South Leith. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Clearburn, Duddingston Mill, Duddingston Saltpans, Easter Duddingston, Joppa, Portobello, Wester Duddingston
Prestonfield
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church, previous to the Reformation, belonged to the Abbey of Kelso.
Disjoined Quoad Sacra Parishes:
Portobello. The foundation stone of the church was laid on 27 October 1808, the building being opened in 1810, as a Chapel-of-Ease to Duddingston. Declared a parish quoad sacra 31 May 1834, and erected by the Court of Teinds, 17 July 1861.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
Duddingston (QO)
Portobello (QS)
Prestonfield (QS)
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1631-1854 | Duddingston | 684 | OPR |
| 1855-1896 | Duddingston, Portobello Burgh | 684-1 | RD |
| 1855-1896 | Duddingston, Landward | 684-2 | RD |
| 1897-1902 | Duddingston | 684 | RD |
| 1903-1919 | Portobello (City of Edinburgh) | 685-7 | RD |
| 1920-1929 | Portobello | 685-9 | RD |
| 1930-1938 | Portobello | 685-8 | RD |
| 1939-1971 | Canongate and Portobello | 685-3 | |
| 1972-1994 | Canongate and Portobello | 742 | RD |
| 1995-2002 | Edinburgh Central | 734 | RD |
| 2009 | City of Edinburgh, Central | 734 | RD |
| 2026 | (Duddingston) City of Edinburgh Council; Portobello Community Council Northfield and Willowbrae Community Council Craigmillar Community Council | ||
| 2026 | (Portobello) City of Edinburgh Council; Portobello Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Anderson, Brown, Gray, Hogg, Robertson, Scott, Smith, Thomson, Wilson, Young
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr William Bennet.
"In the year 1794, the number of souls was found to be 910, of whom there were 428 males, and 482 females.
The state of population has been for some time very variable. From the late interruptions and threatened decay of the coal works, a great body of the people employed in them have removed to scenes more favourable to the regular and durable exercise of their occupations. In one village alone, Joppa, which was solely inhabited by colliers, above 30 houses have been deserted, or suffered to fall to ruin, within the space of the last 4 years.
The people in general of the parishes in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis, are necessarily of a very mixed character, and too frequently more corrupted comparatively, in the lower ranks, than in situations more remote, and less exposed to the contagious effects of such a neighbourhood. In every country, persons employed in the active exercises of husbandry, have generally displayed an inoffensive simplicity, and laudable regularity of manners."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 18, p. 358
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 1, p. 381
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
