Kirkurd is a parish in

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire (), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a Counties of Scotland, historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

situated 3 miles south-east of

Dolphinton Dolphinton is a village and parish in Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located northeast of Biggar, northeast of Carstairs, southwest of Leadburn and southwest of Edinburgh, on the A702 road. The local manor belonged in the 12th century to Do ...

and 6 miles north-east of Broughton. Tarth Water, a tributary of Lyne Water (itself a tributary of the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers ...

) forms the northern boundary, with the parishes of Linton and

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...

on the north bank. The parish of Stobo lies to the east and south, the parish of Broughton, Glenholm and Kilbucho to the south, Skirling and Dolphinton (Lanarkshire) to the east.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis Groome, 2nd edition 1896; article on Kirkurd The parish lies in the

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands () are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the others being the Central Lowlands and the Highlands). The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to col ...

. It is lowest, at 680 ft, where Tarth Water leaves the parish in the east and the land rises to the south reaching 1,872 ft at the Broughton Heights at the southern boundary. Much of the land is around 700 ft above sea level.Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol III Roxburgh, Peebles, Selkirk, publ.William Blackwood, 1845; article on Kirkurd (Peeblesshire section) The name signifies the Kirk of a place called Urd or Orde, but the origin of this place name is uncertain. The name "Urd" also appears in the place names Netherurd, Lochurd and Ladyurd within the parish and may mean quarter.Third Statistical Account of Scotland: Peebles and Selkirk, Ed. James Boyd Prentice Bulloch, John Munro Urquhart; article on Kirkurd Netherurd lies in the west of the parish, Lochurd south of Netherurd, Kirkurd near the centre and Ladyurd in the east.Ordnance Survey one inch to one mile Sheet 62 - Edinburgh; Publication date 1960 The parish also contains the settlements of Kirkdean and West Mains, near the present site of Kirkurd church.

Kirkurd Church

It is recorded that a church in "Kercayrd" belonged to the bishopric of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1116. It was later given to the hospital at

Soutra Soutra Aisle, (the present structure lies just within the boundary of the Scottish Borders from Midlothian) not far from Fala, is the remains of the ''House of the Holy Trinity'', a church that was part of a complex comprising a hospital and a ...

and in 1462 transferred to Trinity church in Edinburgh. The original church was located in the grounds of the Castle Craig estate, but when the present church building was built in 1766,Canmore website of Historic Environment Scotland, formerly the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland canmore.org.uk/event/709689 retrieved May 2016 it was located further west. The church was built by

John Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford John Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford (15 March 1701 – 19 July 1767), styled Lord Carmichael between 1710 and 1737, was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat. Life He was son of James Carmichael, 2nd Earl of Hyndford and succeeded to the earldom i ...

who died in the year of its completion. The church bell is inscribed to his memory. Kirkurd Church was closed for public worship in 1985 when the ecclesiastical parish was joined to Newlands and used its church.Church of Scotland parish web site www.newlands-kirkurd.org/churchhistory.html retrieved May 2016 The principal mansions in the parish are

Castle Craig Castle Craig, located on East Peak in the Hanging Hills, is constructed of trap rock and is in height and has a base in circumference. A metal interior stairway is used to ascend the observation deck on top. It stands above sea level and pro ...

(formerly Kirkurd house) and Netherurd. Castle Craig became a hospital during and after the Second World War, which it still is. The mansion of Netherurd was let to the Girl Guides in the 1950s and is now an outdoor activities centre. The civil parish of Kirkurd is in the Lamancha, Newlands and Kirkurd Community Council area.Scottish Borders Community Council web site www.scotborders.gov.uk/directory_record/7721/lamancha_newlands_and_kirkurd retrieved May 2016 The civil parish has a population of 218 (in 2011) 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 and its area is 5,704 acres.Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Kirkurd. Places are presented alphabetically

References

{{reflist Parishes in Peeblesshire