Hume

Parish No 744 Hume is located within the County of Berwickshire which is now known as the Scottish Borders just over 3 miles south of Greenlaw. For a map of Hume please click here.

"STITCHEL and HUME, an united parish in the district of the Merse, on the mutual border of Roxburghshire and Berwickshire. Stitchel is in Roxburghshire, and Hume is in Berwickshire; they were united in 1640; and each contains a village of its own name. The united parish is bounded by Gordon, Greenlaw, Eccles, Ednam, Nenthorn, and Earlston. Its length from north to south is between 5 and 6 miles; and its breadth is between 3 and 4 miles."

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

History

At one time the Parish of Hume was one of the largest Parishes in the County of Berwickshire. However a large part of the land was lost to the Parish of Gordon in 1607. The two Parishes of Stichel and Hume were untied as one sometime prior to May 1610. The Parish Church of Hume was closed in 1640 in favour of Stichil Church. Stitchil is part of the County of Roxburgh, with Hume being in Berwickshire. The graveyard at Stichil Parish Church is still used for burials from Hume and the Northern part of Stichil.

As far as I have found the only known church within Hume was the Parish Church of St Nicholas. The outline of the foundations of this church can still be found within the graveyard. This church is approximately 800m south west of Hume Castle and can be reached by the road going past Hume Byres Farm.

The Parish of Hume was the ancestral home of the Home’s and Hume’s. The played a large part in the history of both Berwickshire and Scotland. The church lands of Hume were granted to Home by King James VI in 1610. In return for this Earl Hume had to provide a clergyman for the Parish.

The Choir of Hume Parish Church was kept solely as the burial place of the Earls of Home. The Estate was sold in 1766 to the Hume’s of Polwarth, the Earl retained the right of burial in the graveyard.

Church History

Hume Parish Church

Hume Parish church was dedicated to St Nicholas in April 1147 by Robert, Bishop of St Andrews. The Parish Priest at the time was Orm. St Nicholas is said to be the Patron Saint of the Earls of Dunbar.

The Churchyard

As far as I can find there is not much known about the graveyard of Hume Parish Church. It is believed that it was last used in 1640. It is said that Cromwell destroyed the Churchyard in 1653. In 1673 the churchyard was described as ruinous.

Population

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

1755 - 959

1801 - 506

1811 - 522

1821 - 451

1831 - 434

1841 -

1851 -

1861 - 425

1871 -

1881 - 406

1891 -

1901 -

Back to Berwick Homepage