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Features: Scottish Parishes » Historic Shires » Haddingtonshire » Stenton

Old Doocot in Stenton by Jennifer Petrie
Old Doocot in Stenton, East Lothian © 2021, Jennifer Petrie

STENTON PARISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS


ALTERNATE NAMES AND SPELLING:

Hanus, Pitcoks


LOCATION

Location Description:

Stenton is a parish in the eastern part of Haddingtonshire. It consists of two detached districts, a southern and a northern. The southern district lies wholly among the Lammermoors, with a declination southward to the Whiteadder Water, and is bounded by Berwickshire, by Whittingham, and by the Lammermoor sections of Dunbar and Spott. The northern district commences at the skirts of the Lammermoors, and declines north-eastward to within 2 miles of the sea. It is bounded by Prestonkirk, Dunbar, Spott, and Whittingham. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).

Shire, District, and Region Timeline:

  • Shire/County: Haddingtonshire/Haddington
  • Shire: Haddingtonshire (Before 1707)
  • County: Haddington (After 1707)
  • District: Haddington (Before 1921)
  • County: East Lothian (1921)
  • District: East Lothian (After 1921)
  • Landward District: Dunbar (1930-1975)
  • Region: Lothian (1975-1996)
  • District: East Lothian (1975-1996)

Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets:

Beil Grange, Pitcox, Stenton

Estates:

Beil


BOUNDARY & NAME CHANGES

The parish of Stenton had two detached parts, and the parish of Whittingehame one detached part. One of the detached parts of Stenton was situated at Friarsdykes, between the parishes of Spott and Innerwick. The other detached part of Stenton was separated from the rest of the parish by part of the parish of Spott and by the detached part of Whittingehame. The detached part of Stenton at Friarsdyke was transferred to Spott, and the other detached part of Stenton was united to the main portion of Stenton by the transference to that parish of the intervening portion of Spott and of the detached part of Whittingehame. See affected properties and landholders. (1892: Boundary of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government Act, 1889, by Hay Shennan)


PARISH TIMELINE

PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Diocese: St Andrews
  • Deanery: Haddington

POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Synod: Lothian and Tweeddale
  • Presbytery: Dunbar

PAROCHIAL OVERVIEW:

Previous to the Reformation, Pitcoks or Hanus was a prebend of the collegiate church of Dunbar. The church was removed to its present position in the village of Stenton about 1561.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CLERGY:

Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.

  • Patrick Cockburn, 1560
  • Thomas Daill (Dall), 1578
  • Nicol Suddie (Suttie), 1588
  • James Lauder, 1593
  • Patrick Carkettill, 1599
  • William Carkettill, 1606
  • James Dalrymple, 1612
  • Patrick Cuike (Cook), 1631
  • Robert Davidson, 1641
  • Richard Waddell, 1658
  • John Pollok, 1661
  • Thomas Hamilton, 1679
  • Alexander Hamilton, 1683
  • Robert Stark, 1691
  • John Hamilton, 1718
  • Gavin Henderson, 1751
  • Alexander Davidson, 1767
  • Henry Grey, 1801
  • Robert Balfour Graham, 1814
  • David Logan, 1823
  • Thomas Marjoribanks, 1849
  • George Marjoribanks, 1868

(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)


RECORDS

Parochial Registers:

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.

  • (1) B. 1679-1819
  • (2) M. 1668-1793; D. 1668-1794
  • (3) B. 1819-54; M. 1827-54; D. 1831-45

OPR and RD Numbers
Date RangeNameNumberType
1668-1854Stenton721OPR
1855-1967Stenton721RD
2009East Lothian, Dunbar724RD
2026East Lothian Council; East Lammermuir 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)

Population:

Statistics from informal and official censuses

  • 1755: 631
  • 1811: 686
  • 1821: 685
  • 1831: 686
  • 1841: 686
  • 1861: 692
  • 1881: 595
  • 1901: 511
  • 1911: 461

RESIDENTS


Common Surnames:

Barnett, Brown, Fairbairn, Hope, Hunter, Lawrie, Stewart, Thomson, White, Young

Land-owners, teachers, and other professionals:

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.

  • J. G. Baird HAY, of Belton
  • William HAY, Esq., of Hopes
  • Gavin HENDERSON, Schoolmaster (circa 1751)
  • H. T. Nisbet Hamilton OGILVY, of Halls
  • Thomas B. SYDSERF, of Ruchlaw

Other residents:

By the Reverend Mr Alexander Davidson.
"The numbers in this parish, by an accurate list just now made up, are 624 souls. In Dr Webster's report (1755), the number is 631."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)


NOTES:

Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 3, p. 231
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 2, Section II, p. 55

See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.


Photo credits: (Featured) Old Doocot in Stenton, East Lothian, © 2023 Jennifer Petrie, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 2.0, (Related Resources) Haddingtonshire Locator Map, © 2025, Elianfoo, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related Resources
Map of Scotland with Haddingtonshire highlighted
Location of Haddingtonshire
See more maps at Wikimedia Commons
Glossary
  • Burghs:
  • Royal - Towns on royal lands
  • Regality - Towns granted to noblemen/landowners
  • Barony - Towns granted to tenant-in-chief (laird)
  • Police - Towns with elected officials
  • Small - Population under 20,000
  • Large - Population over 20,000
  •  
  • Chapel-of-Ease: Small church for those living far from the main church
  • Collegiate church: See What is a Collegiate Church?
  • Commune kirk: Owned by a larger church
  • Court of Teinds: Controlled funds for support of clergy
  •  
  • Friars:
  • Black - Dominican
  • Grey - Franciscan
  • Red - Trinitarian
  • White - Carmelite
  •  
  • Iron chapel: Building made of corrugated galvanized iron
  •  
  • Landward District: Rural part of a district
  •  
  • Mensal: Source of income to support clergy member (Roman Catholic)
  •  
  • OPR: Old Parochial Register
  •  
  • Pre-Reformation: Before 1560
  • Prebend: Source of income to support a clergy member
  •  
  • QO: Quoad Omnia - Civil and church control
  • QS: Quoad Sacra - Church control only
  •  
  • RD: Registration District - Civil control
  •  
  • Tryst: Large-scale market or fair, particularly for livestock
  •