Cockburnspath

Parish No 731 Cockburnspath is located within the County of Berwickshire, which is now known as the Scottish Borders. Cockburnspath lies close to the North Sea Coast approximately 7 miles South East of Dunbar.

For a map showing the location of Cockburnspath please click here.

When James IV married Margaret Tudor in 1503 he gave her the lands of Cockburnspath as part of her dowry. The Mercat Cross, which is situated in the centre of the village, commemorates this.

James VI, who in 1564 owned the lands of Cockburnspath, gave Cockburnspath to Wm Arnot and his son John burgess of Edinburgh in payment of his debt to them.

In 1609 the village of Cockburnspath became a Parish. Cockburnspath became a Burgh of Barony in 1612, which gave the people trading and legal rights. In 1612 the village was sold to an advocate from Edinburgh Thomas Nicolson.

By 1693 the Nicolson Laird had become bankrupt and so Cockburnspath was sold once again, this time to Sir John Hall. Sir John Hall was the Lord Provost of Edinburgh on 1689 / 90 and was also a Privy Councillor as well as a Member of Parliament. Cockburnspath remained in the Hall Family until 1919.

In 1480 a hospital was built beside the church with a tiny chapel dedicated to the Virgin and St John the Baptist for the lodging of the Pilgrims and for the poor. However no trace of this remains today.

"A parish on the sea coast in the county of Berwick. It consists of two parts; one high and mountainous, the other comparatively low and even. The upper division makes part of the Lammermuir hills, which approach within 3 miles of the shore towards the W.; the lower division on the sea coast is light and sandy, interspersed with fields of rich deep clay. The shore is high, presenting a sea of cliffs about 100 feet above the level of the sea ... Situated near the boundary of the kingdom, and possessing many strong military passes, this parish has been frequently the scene of war: this appears from the camps still visible on the rising grounds, and the marks of military entrenchments in the glens ...Population in 1801, 930."

from Gazetteer of Scotland published 1806, Edinburgh.

Two relevant books are:

Cockburnspath: a documentary social history of a Border parish by Eric Rankin, published Edinburgh in 1981.

Cockburnspath - a history of a people and a place by Sally Smith, published by Dunglass Mill Press in 1999, 360 pages (including 180 photographs, 88 drawings and 11 reproductions), ISBN 095354091X (paperback) and ISBN 0953540901 (hardback).

Population

Here are some figures showing the Parish's population through time:

1755	919	1841		1901	982
1793	883	1851	1196	1911	997
1801	930	1861	1191	1921	941
1811	904	1871		1931	877
1821	966	1881	1133	1951	761
1831	1143	1891	1112

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