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Kirkurd

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"KIRKURD, a parish in the west border of Peeblesshire ... It is bounded by Lanarkshire, and by Linton, Newlands, Stobo, Broughton, and Skirling ... Population in 1831, 318; in 1861, 362."
From the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868.
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Cemeteries

Nigel Hardie has transcribed and published parish of Kirkurd mortcloth records for 1769-1793.

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

Presbyterian / Unitarian
Kirkurd, 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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Churches

Presbyterian / Unitarian
Kirkurd, Church of Scotland
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Church Records

The parish church (Church of Scotland) has registers dating from 1705. 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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Civil Registration

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. For further details of this see the National Records of Scotland website.

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Kirkurd which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

A 19th century account of Kirkurd is available online.

Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson and published by A. Fullarton and Co - 1868

KIRKURD, a parish in the west border of Peebles-shire.  Its postal communication is through Noblehouse, 5½ miles to the north-east.  It is bounded by Lanarkshire, and by Linton, Newlands, Stobo, Broughton, and Skirling.  Its length eastward is 5½ miles; and its breadth is about 3½ miles.  Tarth-water runs east-south-eastward along the whole of its northern boundary.  Dean-burn rises close on the southern boundary, and runs northward to the Tarth, cutting the parish into two not very unequal parts.  The surface all lies high above sea-level, is beautifully diversified, and, in general, rises gradually from the Tarth to the southern boundary.  A water-shedding chain of heights stretches along the whole of the southern and south-western frontier, and sends up, among other summits, that of Pyked Stane or Hell's Cleuch, 2,100 feet above the level of the sea.  See PYKED STANE.  The soil, toward the Tarth, is chiefly loam; in one large farm it is clay; and, in other parts, it is of a gravelly nature.  One-third of the whole area is arable; 600 acres are under plantation; and nearly all the rest is sheep-walk.  The woods and cultivated grounds being almost all on the north, and phalanxes of plantation pressing down upon the frontier from the conterminous parishes, the vale of the Tarth presents a rich appearance.  Castlecraig-house and Cairnmuir-house are elegant modern mansions.  There are four landowners.  The value of assessed property in 1860 was  £2,520; and the estimated yearly value of the raw produce  in 1834 was £5,126.  Near Castlecraig is a copious sulphureous spring, similar to those of Moffat and Harrowgate, stronger than the former and weaker than the latter.  In the parks of Castlecraig are two artificial mounds, surrounded with an irregularly formed dyke, and supposed to have been used as moats or seats of feudal justice.  R

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NT126431 (Lat/Lon: 55.673843, -3.391297), Kirkurd which are provided by:

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Population

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

  • 1755 - 310
  • 1792 - 288
  • 1801 - 327
  • 1831 - 318
  • 1861 - 362