Edrom
Parish No 738 Edrom is located within the County of Berwickshire
which is now known as the Scottish Borders.
Edrom lies near to the Whiteadder Water approximately 3 miles north east
of Duns. For a map showing the location
of Edrom please click here. The largest village within the Parish of
Edrom is that of Allanton.
"A parish in
Berwickshire, about 10 miles in length, and 6 in breadth, extending along the
foot of the Lammermuir hills, and into the flat country of the Merse ... It is
watered by the two rivers Blackadder and Whittadder, which here unite near a
hamlet called Allantown. The celebrated mineral spring called Dunse Spa is on
the borders of this parish, where its march runs with the parish of Dunse. The
greater part of the land is well inclosed, and drains have carried off several
small lakes and marshes, with which the face of the country was formerly much
disfigured. Population in 1801, 1355."
from Gazetteer of
Scotland published 1806, Edinburgh.
Church
History
Edrom Old Parish Church
Edrom Old Parish Church was dedicated to the
Virgin Mary. There is a panel on the
outside of the Norman arch on the Logan burial vault which
makes the claim that the church was founded by Thor Longus in around 1105.
Edrom Church had 4 dependant chapels
within the Parish. These chapels were
located at Kimmerghame, Blackadder, Allanbank and Ercildoune [now
Earlston]. Kimmerghame Chapel was
located close to Kimmerghame Mill and Blackadder Chapel was located on
Blackadder Mains Farm. The chapels of
Kimmerghame, Blackadder and Allanbank survived until bridges were built over
the Water at Kimmerghame, Kelloe and Allanton.
Ercildoune, the 4th dependant chapel was located on the site
of the present church at Earlston.
Ercildoune [Earlston] remained a dependant of Edrom until the Parish of
Earlston was established.
All that remains of the Old Parish Church is the foundations and
the South Aisle.
Edrom Parish Church
Edrom Parish Church could hold around 450
people in 1834. There were also stables
located within the churchyard for the horses to be kept during Church
Services. In 1837 the church was said to
have been in a bad state of repair. The
Church required to have the rafters replaced as they
were badly decayed and the church needed to be re-floored. As the floor of the church was lower than the
ground level outside when the floor was lifted the soil underneath was found to
be damp. Around 1.5ft of soil had to be
removed. The extensive repairs required
to the church were not actually carried out however until 1886. The church was also extended at this time.
Allanbank Chapel
Allanbank was once known as East Nisbet. Allanbank Chapel was dedicated to St Mary. The exact location of Allanbank
Chapel is not known although it is thought to have been situated in a small
field known as Chapel Haugh.
Blackadder
Chapel
Blackadder Chapel was located within the grounds
of Blackadder Mains Farm. There has been
no confirmation during cultivation of the land to confirm the position of the
church or the graveyard.
Kimmerghame Chapel
Kimmerghame Chapel was located in a
field called Kirk Park near to Kimmerghame Mill.
Population
Here are some figures
showing the parish's population through time:
|
1755
|
898
|
|
1831
|
1516
|
|
1881
|
1515
|
|
1790
|
1336
|
|
1841
|
|
|
1891
|
|
|
1801
|
1355
|
|
1851
|
|
|
1901
|
|
|
1811
|
1360
|
|
1861
|
1592
|
|
|
|
|
1821
|
1516
|
|
1871
|
|
|
|
|
Back to Berwick Homepage