Polwarth
Parish No 754 Polwarth
is located within the
"A
parish in Berwickshire, of a triangular form, each side of which is about three
miles in length. The soil is mostly clay, lying on a cold impervious tilly bed;
but there is a considerable extent of gravelly and sandy soil. The greater part
is inclosed. The principal crops are oats and barley, a few pease, and sometimes
a little wheat. There are several extensive woods and plantations. The
from Gazetteer of Scotland published
1806,
History
The Parish of Polwarth is the second smallest in the
I requested from my Local Library a book called ‘Marchmont and the Humes
of Polwarth by one of their descendents, Margaret Warrander’. Because of its age I could only review the
book in the Library. This book was
published in 1894 by William Blackwood and Sons of Edinburgh and
Inside this book there are drawings of the Marchmont Earls, Ladies and Countesses. These illustrations are covered with a tissue
paper. The drawings are very beautiful,
nothing like what you would find in a book of today.
The book has a dedication :
To
Sir Hugh
Hume Campbell, Bart.
Of Marchmont
This little book
Is affectionetly dedicated by
His Granddaughter
Margaret Warrender
The book has information on, ‘Situation of Polwarth Parish’, ‘Sir Patrick
Hume, Eight Baron of Polwarth’, ‘Continued Prosperity of the Hume Family’, ‘Lord
Marchmont’s attachment to the house of Hanover’, ‘Alexander, Second Earl of Marchmont’,
‘Careers of the Twin Brothers’ and ‘Description of the county round Polwarth
Village’. Also contained within the book
in the Appendices is a ‘Bill of Fare’ belonging to the Countess of Marchmont, there
are also three letters one written by George I and to written by Caroline
Princess of Wales.
The book along with a lot of information about the Hume Family, has good
information on the
Marchmont House was sold in 1912, and today is a Respite Home run by The
Sue Ryder Foundation.
Church
History
Polwarth Kirk
Polwarth Kirk sits at the top of a hill on a side road. Polwarth Kirk was made famous as the hiding
place of Sit Patrick Hume of Polwarth in the 1680s. If you visit the Kirk you will find on the
external walls around the church small plaques telling you the legends of the
church and translating the Latin inscriptions.
One of the translations tells us that there was a church on this site in
the year 900, however as far as I am aware there is no other evidence to
suggest that there was a church in the same location in the year 900.
Polwarth Kirk was dedicated to St Mungo or Kentigern by Bishop David de
Bernham of St Andrews in April 1242. The
church was unusual in the fact that it has a crypt. It is said that Sir Patrick Home hid in the
crypt in the 1684. On the east gable of
the Kirk is a grate at ground level which looks down into the Crypt. Above the grate is a plaque with a
description of who is interred within the crypt. It is quite dark as you look in and all you
can really see is the outline of 4 coffins which lie below ground level.
Military
Records, Monumental Inscriptions, Poll Tax Lists etc
The Borders
Family History Society have produced a book called ‘Polwarth
Berwickshire Monumental Inscriptions 1’ [ISBN 1 874232 05 0]. 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 Polwarth Parish Graveyard along with information on the War
Memorial, Hearth Tax, Poll Tax, Ministers of Polwarth and Polwarth
Militia. This book is well worth a read
for those interested in Polwarth.
Here are some
figures showing the parish's population through time:
1755 - 251
1793 - 288
1801 - 291
1811 - 307
1821 - 298
1831 - 288
1841 -
1851 -
1861 - 251
1871 -
1881 - 227
1891 -
1901 -