Fogo

Parish No 740 Fogo is located within the County of Berwickshire which is now known as the Scottish Borders. Fogo is approximately 5 miles south west of Duns. For a map showing the location of Fogo please click here.

"FOGO, a parish in the central part of the Merse district of Berwickshire. It contains a hamlet or small kirktown of its own name, on the Blackadder, 3 1/2 miles south-south-west of Dunse, which is the post-town. It is bounded by Edrom, Swinton, Eccles, Greenlaw, and Polwarth ... Its basin is a sort of huge furrow, seldom closing in upon the river in steepness of banks, yet forming a hollow between parallel ranges of low heights; and having the church immediately on the margin of the stream, it suggested to the early colonists the name Fog-hou, which is the ancient and legitimate form of the word Fogo, and means the foggage pit, den, or hollow."

from the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868.

Military Records, Monumental Inscriptions, Poll Tax Lists etc

The Borders Family History Society have produced a book called ‘Fogo Berwickshire Monumental Inscriptions 3’ [ISBN 1 874232 07 7]. I have borrowed a copy of this book from my local Library. These books are great for finding out information on your ancestors. If you had family in this area you can look up the surname index at the back of the book and you can see how many entries you have for this parish. The book contains all monumental inscriptions from Fogo Parish Graveyard along with information on the Militia Records, Hearth Tax Records, Ministers of the Parish Church and details of the War Memorials. This book is well worth a read for those interested in Fogo.

Church History

Fogo Parish Church

Fogo Church stands in trees at the top of a steep slope opposite Caldra House in the centre of Fogo. Fogo Parish Church underwent restorations in 1817; most of these restorations are still evident today.

In the churchyard at Fogo Parish Church a lych-gate was erected as a memorial to the 10 men from the Parish who died during World War I. There are 16 war graves of men who died during the war from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There were also war graves of 3 German airmen; however they were exhumes in around 1967. They were taken to the German Military Cemetery in Cannock Chase, Staffordshire and re-buried.

St Nicholas Chapel

The chapel of St Nicholas was granted to Kelso Abbey by Patrick Corbet sometime between 1280 and 1297. The chapel was dedicated to St Nicholas by Bishop David de Bernham on 2 April 1242, the year before Fogo Church. The site in which St Nicholas’s Chapel stood is unknown.

Population

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

1755	566	1831	433	1881	468
1797	450	1841		1891
1801	507	1851		1901
1811	450	1861	559
1821	469	1871

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