Coldingham

Last updated

Coldingham
High Street, Coldingham.jpg
Coldingham High Street
Scottish Borders UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Coldingham
Location within the Scottish Borders
Population500 (2020) [1]
OS grid reference NT905665
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town EYEMOUTH
Postcode district TD14
Dialling code 01890
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°53′00″N2°10′00″W / 55.8833°N 2.1666°W / 55.8833; -2.1666

Coldingham is a village and parish in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It lies a short distance inland from Coldingham Bay, three miles northeast of the fishing village of Eyemouth.

Contents

Parish

The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir district. It is the second-largest civil parish by area in Berwickshire county, after Lauder. [2] It is bounded on the north-west by the North Sea, on the east by the parish of Eyemouth, on the south-east by Ayton on the south by Chirnside and Bunkle, on the west by Abbey St Bathans and on the north by Cockburnspath. [3]

Besides the village of Coldingham, the parish contains the villages of: [3]

The civil parish is divided between the Community Council areas of Coldingham, St Abbs, Reston and Auchencrow, and Grantshouse. [4] It was included in the former Berwickshire District of Borders Region, by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, from 1975 to 1996.

Parish of Coldingham (part formerly in Oldhamstocks shown in green) Coldingham Parish Map.jpg
Parish of Coldingham (part formerly in Oldhamstocks shown in green)

Before the Reformation, a vaguely defined jurisdiction known as Coldinghamshire was linked to Coldingham Priory and extended along the east coast of Berwickshire. [5] By the 15th century, there is some indication that the civil administration was gradually attaining paramount sway with the consent of the Church itself. In 1406, the lordship of the Priory was held by Archibald, Earl of Douglas. In 1414, the Prior and Chapter of Durham (the ecclesiastical superiors of the priory) signed a deed constituting the Earl of Douglas "sovereign bailie" and governor of the house and barony of Coldingham. The barony of Coldingham, which included Eyemouth and other areas adjacent to the parish of Coldingham, continued as a jurisdiction into the 17th and 18th centuries. [6]

Because of the size of the parish, an additional chapel was set up for the interior or western part of the parish in 1794. With the opening of a new trunk road in the area (now the A1) in 1816, communications between Grantshouse and Reston were so improved, it was decided in 1836 to erect a church midway between the villages, at Houndwood. Houndwood was made an ecclesiastical parish for the western part of Coldingham in 1851. [7] This parish is now linked to Ayton and is served by places of worship at Reston (formerly a free church) and Grantshouse. [8] The church became a crematorium in 2015. [9]

A Parochial Board was established under the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845. With the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894, Coldingham Parish Council was established, and it carried out poor relief and various public works, such as the acquisition and improvement of Houndwood cemetery in 1901. [10] Civil parishes in Scotland, as units of local government, were abolished in 1929 [11] but have been used later for census and other purposes.

In 1891 a Boundary Commission transferred a detached portion of Oldhamstocks parish, namely Butterdean, to Coldingham. It was already in Berwickshire, despite its mother parish being in East Lothian. [3]

The civil parish has an area of 25,379 acres (10,271 ha) [12] and a population of 1,919 (in 2011). [13]

Village

The settlement of Coldingham has a population of 563 (in 2011). [14]

Nearby Coldingham Bay has a sandy secluded beach popular with surfers, with rows of beach huts.

Monastery

There was a monastery of high order on this site as early as AD 660 when it is recorded that Etheldreda, the queen of Egfrid, became a nun at the Monastery of Coldingham, then under the management of Æbbe, the Elder, aunt of her husband. Bede describes it as "the Monastery of Virgins" and states that in 679, the monastery burnt down. It was rebuilt but was again destroyed by fire at the hands of a raiding party of Danes in 870. This time the ruins were not rebuilt, it would appear, until 1098, when King Edgar founded the Priory of Coldingham in honour of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. It became the caput for the Barony of Coldingham, with the prior as the feudal lord.

The priory continued in its religious purposes until 1560, [15] when it was partially destroyed during the Scottish Reformation. However, a portion of it continued its religious activities until 1650, when it was fortified against Oliver Cromwell. After a siege of two days, the main tower in which the besieged defended themselves was so shattered by artillery that they were forced to capitulate. This great tower of the original priory finally collapsed about 1777. The ruins of about 40% of the original priory church were rebuilt in 1855; it is today used as the parish church and is the most notable building in the parish.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berwickshire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the time of the county's formation in the twelfth century, but became part of England in 1482 after several centuries of swapping back and forth between the two kingdoms. After the loss of Berwick, Duns and Greenlaw both served as county town at different periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyemouth</span> Coastal town in Berwickshire Scotland

Eyemouth is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is two miles east of the main north–south A1 road and eight miles north of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selkirkshire</span> Historic county and registration county in Scotland

Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. It derives its name from its county town, the royal burgh of Selkirk. The county was historically also known as Ettrick Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auchencrow</span> Village in Scottish Borders, Scotland, UK

Auchencrow is a small village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, by the Lammermuir range of hills, and near Reston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lasswade</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melville Castle lies to the north east. The Gaelic form is Leas Bhaid, meaning the "clump at the fort."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathmiglo</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Strathmiglo is a village and parish in the north east of Fife, Scotland on the River Eden. It lies on the old A91 road from Milnathort to Cupar and St. Andrews but was bypassed by a new road to the north in the 1970s. Nearby settlements include Auchtermuchty and Falkland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coldingham Priory</span> Church in Scottish Borders, Scotland, UK

Coldingham Priory was a house of Benedictine monks. It lies on the south-east coast of Scotland, in the village of Coldingham, Berwickshire. Coldingham Priory was founded in the reign of David I of Scotland, although his older brother and predecessor King Edgar of Scotland had granted the land of Coldingham to the Church of Durham in 1098, and a church was constructed by him and presented in 1100. The first prior of Coldingham is on record by the year 1147, although it is likely that the foundation was much earlier. The earlier monastery at Coldingham was founded by St Æbbe sometime c. AD 640. Although the monastery was largely destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1650, some remains of the priory exist, the choir of which forms the present parish church of Coldingham and is serviced by the Church of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borthwick</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Borthwick is a hamlet, parish and stream in Midlothian, Scotland. The parish includes the 15th century Borthwick Castle, which is to the east of the village and the villages of Gorebridge and North Middleton. Nearby is Newtongrange in the parish of Newbattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coldingham Bay</span>

Coldingham Bay is an inlet in the North Sea coast, just over three kilometres north of the town of Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is situated at grid reference NT918666 and is easily reached by a minor road which leaves the B6438 road at Coldingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caddonfoot</span> Village in Scottish Borders, Scotland, UK

Caddonfoot is a village on the River Tweed, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the A707, near Galashiels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavers, Scottish Borders</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Cavers is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former county of Roxburghshire, south and east of Hawick. The largest village in the parish is Denholm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reston railway station</span> Railway station in the Scottish Borders council area

Reston is a railway station in the small village of Reston that serves the wider rural parish of Coldingham and nearby small town of Eyemouth in the eastern Scottish Borders council area. The station is a minor stop on the East Coast Main Line and opened on 23 May 2022 after a £20 million investment. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by ScotRail, although the latter company does not provide any services to or from the station. It is the second railway station to have been located in the village, having replaced an earlier station that closed in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cockpen</span> Parish in Midlothian, Scotland

Cockpen is a parish in Midlothian, Scotland, containing at its north-west corner the town of Bonnyrigg, which lies two miles (3.2 km) south-west of Dalkeith. It is bounded on the west and north by the parish of Lasswade, on the east, by Newbattle and on the south by Carrington. It extends about three miles (4.8 km) from north to south and its greatest breadth is about 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channelkirk</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Channelkirk is a parish and community council area in the north-west corner of the historic county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, forming the upper part of the ancient district of Lauderdale, while the parish of Lauder forms the lower part. The Community Council has the name Oxton and Channelkirk, Oxton being the main village of the parish. It was formerly in the Ettrick and Lauderdale district of Borders Region. A small strip of land along the northern boundary of the parish was added to Ettrick and Lauderdale district and thus also to the community council area, in the Brothershiels area, in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mertoun</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Mertoun is a parish in the south-west of the historic county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Together with the parish of Maxton, Roxburghshire it forms the Maxton and Mertoun Community Council area. It was included in the former Ettrick and Lauderdale District of Borders Region, by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, from 1975 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranston, Midlothian</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Cranston is a parish of Midlothian, Scotland, lying 4+1⁄4 miles south-east of Dalkeith. It is bounded by the parishes of Inveresk and Ormiston on the east, by Crichton and Borthwick on the south ; and by Newbattle on the west and north. The River Tyne flows through the centre of the parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Largoward</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Largoward is a village in East Fife, Scotland, lying on the road from Leven to St Andrews in the Riggin o Fife, 4½ miles north-east of Lower Largo and 6½ miles south-west of St Andrews. It is an agricultural and former mining village, one of the three main villages of the civil parish of Kilconquhar, along with Colinsburgh and the village of Kilconquhar. Coal must have been worked for a considerable length of time in the district, as it is recorded that coal was driven annually from Falfield, just north-west of the village, to Falkland Palace for the use of King James VI.

Manor is a parish in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders, whose church lies on the west bank of Manor Water 3 miles south-west of Peebles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skirling</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Skirling is a parish, community council area and village in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders situated 2+1⁄2 miles east of Biggar in Lanarkshire. Biggar Water, a tributary the River Tweed forms the southern boundary of the parish with the parish of Broughton, Glenholm and Kilbucho. It is also bounded by that parish on the east, namely the Broughton part of it. On the north it is bounded by the parish Kirkurd in Peeblesshire. Spittal Burn forms most of its western boundary with Lanarkshire.

References

  1. ↑ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Coldingham - Parish and Priory, by Adam Thomson (minister at Coldstream), publ by Craighead, Galashiels,1908. P.20
  3. 1 2 3 Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis Groome, 2nd edition publ. 1896. Article on Coldingham
  4. ↑ Community Council entries on Scottish Borders local authority web site http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/directory/30/a_to_z/s retrieved March 2016
  5. ↑ Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by, Francis Groome, 2nd edition publ. 1896. Article on Coldinghamshire
  6. ↑ Coldingham - Parish and Priory, by Adam Thomson, Galashiels,1908. pp.58 and 79
  7. ↑ Historic Scotland’s article on Houndwood http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designation/LB4107 retrieved March 2016
  8. ↑ Duns Presbytery web site http://onlineborders.org.uk/community/dunspresbytery/our-churches retrieved March 2016
  9. ↑ Houndwood Crematorium web suite http://www.houndwoodcrematorium.co.uk/ retrieved March 2016
  10. ↑ Coldingham - Parish and Priory, by Adam Thomson, Galashiels,1908. p.176
  11. ↑ Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929
  12. ↑ Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Coldingham. Places are presented alphabetically.
  13. ↑ Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. By National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved March 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930
  14. ↑ Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved March 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Settlement/Locality 2010
  15. ↑ Coldingham - Parish and Priory, by Adam Thomson, Galashiels,1908. p.82
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.