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Features: Scottish Parishes » Historic Shires » Selkirkshire » Ettrick

Neidpath Hill by Jim Barton
Neidpath Hill, near Caddonfoot, Scottish Borders © 2011, Jim Barton

ETTRICK PARISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS


ALTERNATE NAMES AND SPELLING:

  • Caddonfoot and Ettrick
  • Ettrick and Buccleuch
  • Rankilburn (Buccleuch)

LOCATION

Location Description:

Ettrick is a parish in Selkirkshire. The parish is bounded by the counties of Peebles, Dumfries, and Roxburgh, and by the parishes of Roberton, Kirkhope, and Yarrow. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).

Shire, District, and Region Timeline:

  • Shire: Selkirkshire (Before 1707)
  • County: Selkirk (After 1707)
  • District: Selkirk (Before 1930)
  • Landward District: South (1930-1975)
  • Region: Borders (1975-1996)
  • District: Ettrick and Lauderdale (1975-1996)

Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets:

Buccleuch, Caddonlee, Clovenfords, Ettrick, Ramsaycleugh, Tushielaw, Wardlaw


PARISH TIMELINE

PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Diocese: Glasgow
  • Deanery: Peebles

POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Synod: Merse and Teviotdale
  • Presbytery: Selkirk, previously Melrose

PAROCHIAL OVERVIEW:

The parishes of Ettrick and Buccleuch were united in 1650.
Ettrick. The church, dedicated to St Mary, belonged to the Abbey of Melrose. There was a chapel at the Chapelhope.
Buccleuch, or Rankilburn. This parish was united for a time to Yarrow, but severed in 1621. It was joined to Ettrick in 1650.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CLERGY:

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

  • John Scott, 1568
  • Robert Martin, 1618
  • Alexander Cunningham, 1641
  • James Adamson, 1684
  • James MacMichen, 1693
  • Thomas Boston, 1707
  • Thomas Boston (son of Thomas, above), 1733
  • Andrew Walker, 1750
  • John Adams, 1765
  • Robert Potts, 1772
  • Thomas Sharp, 1781
  • James Hay, 1785
  • David Grant, 1786
  • Robert Gillan, 1787
  • Robert Russell, 1790
  • Charles Paton, 1791
  • John Bennet, 1818
  • James Smith, 1823
  • Henry Duncan, 1858
  • John Falconer, 1864
  • George Mackenzie, 1894
  • Alexander Horn, 1907

(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. 1693-1819; M. 1693-1820; D. 1746-1820 (Ettrick)
  • (2) B. and M. 1816-54; D. 1816-52 (Ettrick)

OPR and RD Numbers
Date RangeNameNumberType
1693-1854Ettrick774OPR
1855-1870Ettrick774RD
1871-1930Caddonfoot774aRD
1871-1930Ettrick774bRD
1931-1968Ettrick774RD
2009Scottish Borders, Selkirk811RD
2026(Caddonfoot) Scottish Borders Council; Clovenfords and District Community Council
2026(Ettrick) Scottish Borders Council; Ettrick and Yarrow 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: 397
  • 1831: 530
  • 1841: 525
  • 1851: 477
  • 1861: 454
  • 1901: 1,026 (Caddonfoot: 695; Ettrick: 331)
  • 1911: 1,082 (Caddonfoot: 738; Ettrick: 344)

RESIDENTS


Common Surnames:

Amos, Anderson, Blyth, Brydon, Elliot, Johnston, Laidlaw, Pringle, Roden, Scott

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.

  • Francis NAPIER, Lord Napier of Thirlstane, Gamescleugh, Scabcleugh, and Craighill
  • Walter Francis Montagu Douglas SCOTT, Duke of Buccleuch of Buccleuch Easter and Wester, Anelshope, Crosslee, Deephope, Gair, and Roplaw Shiel

Other residents:

By the Reverend Mr Robert Russell.
"The present number of inhabitants amounts to 470; of these 222 are males, and 248 females. The nearest market town is 15 miles distant; the roads to all of them are almost impassable. The snow also, at times, is a great inconvenience; often for many months, we can have no intercourse with mankind. It often also obliges the farmers to fly with their stocks to Annandale for provision."
(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. 294
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 3, Section III, p. 59

See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.


Photo credits: (Featured) Neidpath Hill, near Caddonfoot, © 2011 Jim Barton, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 2.0, (Related Resources) Selkirkshire Locator Map, © 2024, Elianfoo, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related Resources
Map of Scotland with Selkirkshire highlighted
Location of Selkirkshire
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
  •  
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