Biggar is a parish on the eastern border of the upper ward of Lanarkshire. It is bounded by Peeblesshire, and by the parishes of Dolphinton, Walston, Libberton, and Culter. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Biggar, Edmonston
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was made collegiate by Malcolm, Lord Fleming, 10 January 1545.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(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 |
| 1730-1854 | Biggar | 623 | OPR |
| 1855-1971 | Biggar | 623 | RD |
| 1972-2004 | Biggar | 584 | RD |
| 2005-2008 | Biggar, South Lanarkshire | 584 | RD |
| 2009 | South Lanarkshire, Biggar | 584 | RD |
| 2026 | South Lanarkshire Council; Biggar 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
Black, Brown, Dickson, Forrest, Graham, Mitchell, Murray, Smith, Watson, Wilson
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 Watson.
"The total inhabitants of the parish is 937; in the town of Biggar there are 389, and in the country part there are 348; of whom 207 are under 10 years of age.
In the town there are 7 merchants or shopkeepers, 15 shoemakers including journeymen, 1 physician, 7 surgeons with apprentices, and 1 attorney. No houses are unoccupied, and three new ones have been lately built.
The want of manufactures, and the high price of fuel, occasions rather an indolent habit among the lower classes, in whom a taste for dress seems to be on the increasing hand; and tea drinking is more common than it was 20 years ago."
(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 1, p. 332
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 6, p. 354
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
