The parish church of Mertoun and Maxton - geograph

Mertoun is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in the south-west of the historic county of

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of ...

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 ...

. Together with the parish of

Maxton, Roxburghshire Maxton is a hamlet and civil parish in Roxburghshire, Scotland, and part of the Scottish Borders region. Maxton lies just off the A68, south of St. Boswells, north of Ancrum, and east of Newtown St. Boswells Maxton is part of the St. Cuthbert' ...

it forms the Maxton and Mertoun Community Council area. It was included in the former

Ettrick and Lauderdale District Ettrick may refer to: Places Australia * Ettrick, New South Wales, administered by Kyogle Council * Ettrick, South Australia, a locality in the Rural City of Murray Bridge * Ettrick Station, pastoral lease and former sheep station in northwest W ...

Borders Region 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 Lothian an ...

, by the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...

, from 1975 to 1996. The parish is bounded by the Berwickshire parish of

Earlston Earlston ( sco, Yerlston; gd, Dùn Airchill) is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland. Early history Earlston was originally called ''Arc ...

to the north and by the Roxburghshire parishes of

Smailholm Smailholm ( sco, Smailhowm) is a small village in the historic county of Roxburghshire in south-east Scotland. It is at and straddles the B6397 Gordon to Kelso road. The village is almost equidistant from both, standing northwest of the abbe ...

and

Makerstoun Makerstoun is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, as well as the historic county of Roxburghshire, south-west of Kelso.Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles, publ. J.G. Bartholomew, 1904, p. 535 The parish lies north of the rive ...

to the east, Maxton and

St Boswells St Boswells ( sco, Bosels / Bosells; gd, Cille Bhoisil ) is a large village on the south side of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, about southeast of Newtown St Boswells on the A68 road. It lies within the boundaries of the historic ...

on the south and

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnet ...

in the west. Maxton, St. Boswell's and Melrose lie on the other side of the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), 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 R ...

, which forms the southern and western border of the parish.The New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol. 2, Linlithgow-Haddington-Berwick. Publ William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1845. Article on Mertoun, p. 26Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by, Francis Groome, publ. 1882-4. Article on Mertoun The parish includes the hamlets of

Dryburgh Dryburgh is a village in the Borders region of Scotland, within the county of Berwickshire. It is most famous for the ruined Dryburgh Abbey. Dryburgh Abbey Hotel lies on the edge of the village. The village K6 red telephone box outside the f ...

and

Clintmains Clintmains is a village by the River Tweed, in the parish of Mertoun, to the east of Newtown St Boswells, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former county of Berwickshire. Places nearby include Bemersyde House, Dryburgh Abbey, Scott ...

, the historically important sites of

Dryburgh Abbey Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regul ...

Mertoun House Mertoun House is a country house situated by the River Tweed, east of St Boswells in the Scottish Borders. It is home to the Duke of Sutherland. The early 18th-century house is an A listed building, and was designed by Sir William Bruce. The ga ...

Mertoun Bridge The Mertoun Bridge is a bridge across the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders. History The Act of Parliament that authorised the building of a bridge was passed in 1837, and it was designed by James Slight of Edinburgh. Although the original d ...

and

Bemersyde House Bemersyde House is a historic house in Roxburghshire, Scotland. The nearest towns are Newtown St. Boswells, Melrose, and Dryburgh. The William Wallace Statue, Bemersyde is on the Bemersyde Estate. History Dating back to the 16th century as ...

.Topographical, Statistical and Historical Gazetteer of Scotland, Vol 2, I_-Z, publ by.A. Fullarton and Co., Edinburgh,1853 Also the statue of William Wallace at Bemersyde. Mertoun Church was erected in 1658 and restored in 1820 and 1898. It stands in a wood near Mertoun House ½ mile south-east of Clintmains. The date 1658 is carved in stone above one of the doors.Web site of Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland and its successor Historic Environment Scotland http://canmore.org.uk/site/57277 retrieved March 2016 For church purposes the parish is united with Maxton and linked with St Boswells and Newtown St Boswells.Scotland’s Churches Trust web site https://www.scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/church/mertoun-parish-church retrieved March 2016 The original church of 1241, not on the same site, was dedicated to St Ninian. Robert Haig of Bemersyde built himself a stall or "laird's loft" in the old church in 1594. His neighbours, the Kers of Shaws and Dalcowie, took offence and dismantled it. A Parochial Board was established under the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845. With the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 58) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It created a Local Government Board for Scotland, and replaced existing parochial boards with parish councils. Part I of the ac ...

the Parish Council was established. Civil parishes in Scotland, as units of local government, were abolished in 1929 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 but have been used later for census and other purposes. The civil parish has an area of 6377 acres Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Mertoun. Places are presented alphabetically. and a population of 309 (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

References

{{authority control Villages in the Scottish Borders Parishes in Berwickshire