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Whitsome & Hilton

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"WHITSOME, a parish, containing a post-office village of its own name, in the Merse district of Berwickshire. It is bounded by Edrom, Hutton, Ladykirk, and Swinton ... The village of Whitsome stands in the centre of the parish, 2½ miles south of Allanton, and 6¼ east-south-east of Dunse. It dates back to a considerable antiquity; and, in 1482, was, along with many other seats of population on the Border, burned by the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III. It is now an entirely rural place, inhabited chiefly by agricultural labourers."

"HILTON, an ancient parish in Berwickshire, united, in 1735, to that of WHITSOME, which see. The old church stood on a small hill, and hence drew the name Hilton, or Hilltown, upon the hamlet in its vicinity."

From the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868.

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Cemeteries

Pre-1855 inscriptions for the parish are contained in the Scottish Genealogy Society's volume of Berwickshire Monumental Inscriptions (Pre-1855).

Presbyterian / Unitarian
Hilton, Church of Scotland
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Census

Graham and Emma Maxwell have transcribed and indexed the 1841, 1851 and 1861 census returns for this parish.

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Church Records

The parish church (Church of Scotland) has registers dating from 1724. Old Parish Registers (before 1855) are held in the National Records of 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 National Records of Scotland as are any records of non-conformist churches in the area (often unfilmed and unindexed, and only available there).

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Whitsome & Hilton which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Maps

The National Records of Scotland holds the following as part of its collection of maps and plans:

  • 1823: Plan of Whitsome - Newton (East Newton farm). Scale 1:3200. Size 67x52cm. Grid (map) reference NT8549. NRS reference RHP.3625/1-2
  • 19th century: Plan of Easter Laws and Ravelaw. Scale circa 1:3600. Size 96x59cm. Grid (map) reference NT8450. NRS reference RHP.1207

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NT868501 (Lat/Lon: 55.744255, -2.21241), Whitsome & Hilton which are provided by:

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Population

Here are some figures showing the population through time:

  • 1755 - 399
  • 1801 - 560
  • 1811 - 536
  • 1821 - 661
  • 1831 - 664
  • 1861 - 640