A Busy Weekend

For possibly the first time the Borders Family History Society had a presence at two events on the same day. Both events were associated with the celebrations for Homecoming 2009. In the west, we had a stand at the Muster at Bowhill House near Selkirk
whilst at Coldingham on the east coast, we were present at Coldingham History Weekend. The team will be back at Coldingham today.

The Bowhill Muster started as the Scott Clan Gathering but grew to encompass a slew of other clans. It was held in a field below Bowhill House on a really beautiful September day. The clan associations, the Heritage Hub and we were in a marquee devoted to genealogy and family history - the Family History Tent.
There was a whole range of events going on in the arena outside and at one point during the afternoon two vapour trails from passing jets left a perfect saltire in the blue sky. Does the Duke of Buccleuch have that kind of pull or was it merely good fortune ?

Coldingham History Weekend was held in the village hall next to the priory, and over 150 people came. There was a lot of interest in our publications, and we talked to several people about their family history research; one of whom returned to show us his family tree and he allowed us to copy it. On other stands there were archaeological finds, local photographs, old maps, and historical accounts. We were blessed with a beautiful day, with lots of sunshine, though it was cold in the wind. A highlight of the day was access to the inside of the priory, and Julia Carter, Friends of Coldingham Priory, gave me a guided tour of the priory.

Many people enquired about the gravestone inscriptions for Coldingham, and unfortunately these haven’t yet been recorded and transcribed, but that’s intended for next year. If you would like to help, please let us know.

As is normal for this type of events we spoke to a number of people with an interest in family history and hopefully were able to point some of them in the right direction. We sold a few of our publications and may recruit one or two members as a result. Overall it was an interesting and satisfying day.

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