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Spott

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"SPOTT, a parish, containing a post-office village of its own name, and comprising a detached section and a main body, in the eastern part of Haddingtonshire ... bounded by Dunbar, Innerwick, Whittingham, and Stenton. Its length north-north-eastward is 3 3/4 miles; and its greatest breadth is 2 3/4 miles. Its surface, in a general view, is an alternation of hill and valley; but, in the north, it is aggregately lowland or undulated plain, and in the south it climbs up to the summit-range of the Lammermoors about 700 feet above sea-level. Population in 1831, 612; in 1861, 555." [From the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868]
A lengthier description is available.

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Cemeteries

Presbyterian / Unitarian
Spott, Church of Scotland
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Churches

Presbyterian / Unitarian
Spott, Church of Scotland
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Church History

Photos of the church are available.

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Church Records

The parish church (Church of Scotland) has registers dating from 1683. Old Parish Registers (before 1855) are held in the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh, and copies on microfilm may be consulted in local libraries and in LDS Family History Centres around the world. Later parish registers (after 1855) are often held in the Scottish Record Office as are any records of non-conformist churches in the area (often unfilmed and unindexed, and only available there).

In his entry for the Statistical Account of Scotland (compiled 1790s, see the Statistics section of the East Lothian page for more details) the Rev. John Martin made the following comment about deficiencies in the registration of births in the parish of Spott in the late 18th century:

"The number [of baptisms] at present would be greater, but few of the Seceders register their baptisms."
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Civil Registration

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. For details of these and other records held at the General Register Office in Edinburgh, see the GRO tutorial.

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Spott which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

Extracts for this parish from the 1868 National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland are available.

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Maps

This map shows the location of the parish in the county.

The Scottish Record Office holds the following as part of its collection of maps and plans:

  • 1832: Division of commonty plan for Dunbar Common, including names of adjacent owners. Scale 1:3200. Size 183x238cm. Grid (map) reference NT6469. SRO reference RHP.201/1
  • 1832: Division of commonty plan for Dunbar Outer Common, including names of adjacent owners. Scale 1:9500. Size 64x80cm. Grid (map) reference NT6469. SRO reference RHP.201/2. Also lithographed copy - RHP.201/3

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NT658703 (Lat/Lon: 55.924702, -2.549215), Spott which are provided by:

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Population

Here are some figures showing the parish's population through time:

YearPopulation
1755727
1791619
1801502
1831612
1861555
1871560
1881579
1891475
1901424
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Statistics

For a social and economic record of the parishes of East Lothian together with considerable statistical material, see Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, which was compiled in the 1790s. Follow-up works to this were the New Statistical Account (also known as the Second Statistical Account) which was prepared in the 1830s and 1840s; and more recently the Third Statistical Account which has been prepared since the Second World War.

Thanks to a joint venture between the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh the First and Second Statistical Accounts can now be accessed on-line at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland, 1791-1799 and 1845.