Gordon
Parish
No 742 Gordon is located within the
"GORDON, a parish,
containing a post-office station of its own name, in the western part of the
Merse, Berwickshire. It is bounded by Westruther, Greenlaw, Hume, Earlston, and
Legerwood. Its length westward is nearly 5 miles; and its greatest breadth is 4
miles. The surface is uneven; has several rising-grounds, one of which is
entitled to be called a hill; and, in general, lies higher than any district in
the eastern part of the Merse. Till a recent date it had great tracts of moss
and moorland, and wore a bleak sterile aspect; but it is now very extensively
cultivated, and considerably sheltered with plantation; and it begins to wear a
smiling and productive appearance."
from the Imperial
Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868.
Census Information
The National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh have amongst the Kirk Session Records for Gordon the Census Returns for the Parish for the years 1801, 1811 and 1821 (NAS reference CH2/457/2).
Military Records, Monumental Inscriptions, Poll
Tax Lists etc
The Borders Family History
Society have produced a book called ‘Gordon, Nenthorn &
Westruther Berwickshire Monumental Inscriptions 7’ [ISBN 1 874232 04 4]. 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. This book contains the following
information:
|
Gordon |
Parish Hearth Tax
Inscriptions Ministers Militia List War Memorial Gravestone
Inscriptions |
|
Nenthorn |
Parish Hearth Tax
Inscriptions Ministers Militia List War Memorial Gravestone
Inscriptions |
|
Westruther |
Parish Hearth Tax
Inscriptions Ministers Militia List War Memorial Gravestone
Inscriptions |
The Gravestone Index at
the back of the book is an index by surname and includes all three
Parishes. This book is well worth a read
for those interested in Gordon, Nenthorn and / or Westruther.
Church History
St Michael’s Parish Church
It is thought that the
foundations of St Michael’s Parish Church in Gordon date back to the middle 12th
Century. The Church was dedicated to St
Michael in the year 1242 by David de Bernham.
St Michael’s Parish Church was demolished and re-built in 1763. The church was re-seated in 1815 and was said
to be able to seat approximately 400 people.
Huntleywood Chapel
Sir Adam Gordon had
his own private chapel within the Parish of Gordon. Huntleywood Chapel
was founded in the early part of the 14th Century. As far as records show the Chapel was last
used in 1638. It is thought that Huntleywood Chapel stood in a field near Nether Huntleywood Farm.
The field is called Chapel Lea it is also thought that in the early 19th
Century foundations were found indicating that the Chapel could have indeed
stood here. Also amongst the foundations
a stone cross was found.
Gordon United Free Church
Gordon United Free
Church was built in 1843. In 1893
improvements were made to the church including a porch, tower, belfry and
library. The congregation was a small
one with around 130 members in 1848 and around 160 in 1900.
The United Free Church
and the Church of Scotland united in Gordon in 1929, however part of the
congregation re-joined the United Free Church in 1931. A Congregation worshiped at Gordon United
Free Church until 1986. The United Free
Church was sold in 1986 to be used as an Auction Room. The building was then sold again in 1994 and
has now been converted into a residential home.
Here are some figures
showing the parish's population through time:
1755
– 737
1791
– 912
1801
– 802
1811
– 851
1821
– 740
1831
– 882
1841
–
1851
–
1861
– 931
1871
–
1881
– 836
1891
–
1901
–