Ancrum Old Parish Church is situated just over half a mile north west of the village of

Ancrum Ancrum ( gd, Alan Crom) is a village in the Borders area of Scotland, 5 km north west of Jedburgh. The village — which currently has a population of around 300 — is situated just off the A68 trunk road on the B6400 which runs through ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lot ...

area of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, on the B4600 road leading off the A68. The village of Ancrum is four miles north west of

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in s ...

. The churchyard contains the burial ground for the local area. The old church is situated at , and the remains are protected as a Category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

History

The origins of the church are from 1136 when a monastic settlement was established by

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malco ...

.http://stat-acc-scot.edina.ac.uk/sas/sas.asp?action=public Statistical Accounts of Scotland That foundation was part of the Archdeanery of

Teviotdale Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Ber ...

in the See of Glasgow. This situation existed until the Reformation in 1560 when the church was transformed, according to the new faith, to Ancrum Parish Church. Ancrum Gable

The old buildings were replaced in 1762 when a new church was built, incorporating a fragmented aisle from the old church. In 1832, the church was extensively repaired. The church, in later years, was alternatively known as "The Livingston Church" in memory of the most notable of all the clerics at Ancrum, the Rev. John Livingston (1603–1672). Livingston was part of the commission sent to

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda ...

in the Netherlands in 1660 to meet King Charles II of England and Scotland, to make arrangements for his homecoming to receive the

Crown of Scotland The Crown of Scotland ( gd, Crùn na h-Alba) is the crown that was used at the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland. It is the oldest surviving crown in the British Isles and dates from at least 1503, although it has been claimed that the ...

. In 1684, the parish of Longnewton was annexed to the parish at Ancrum. In 1890, the old church was abandoned when the new parish church (by Hardy & Wight) was opened in the village of Ancrum. The new church contains a Dutch bell of 1618.

List of ministers after the Reformation

Hew Scott's fuller list:
partial list: *1560 James Thornton - Parson and Vicar *1569 William Johnston *1578 Hector Douglas - Parson and Vicar *1582 George Johnston *1616 James Scott *1622 William Bennet *1648 John Livingston *1704 John Cranstoun

Other churches

There was a Free Church in Ancrum known as the John Knox Free Church and it was open for worship from 1859 until 1933.

Today

'New'Ancrum Kirk The Parish of Ancrum is no longer a separate parish and it is now part of the United Parish of Ale and Teviot, incorporating

Lilliesleaf Lilliesleaf is a small village and civil parish south east of Selkirk in the Roxburghshire area of Scottish Borders of Scotland. Other places nearby include Ancrum, Ashkirk, Belses, Hassendean, Midlem, Minto House, Old Belses, St Boswells, ...

Crailing Crailing is a village on the A698, in Teviotdale, 4m east of Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the historic county of Roxburghshire. Places nearby include Ancrum, Crailinghall, Eckford, Hownam, Kelso, Nisbet, Roxburghshi ...

and Eckford. The minister is the Reverend Frank Campbell.http://www.aleandteviot.org.uk/ Church website

Meaning of name

The meaning of the name Ancrum is, from the Gaelic 'alne cromb' - 'the bend in the Ale' (local river)

References

External links (further reading)

The Man from Ancrum

more photos from Geograph
{{Authority control Churches in the Scottish Borders Category B listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Listed churches in Scotland Ruins in the Scottish Borders Church ruins in Scotland Listed ruins in Scotland