Hawick Heritage Hub - Changed Opening Hours

If you're planning a visit to the Hawick Heritage Hub (Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Centre) from 19th December, please note the changed hours.

• Monday 19 December 10am - 4:45pm
• Tuesday 20 December 10am - 4:45pm
• Wednesday 21 December Closed
• Thursday 22 December 10am - 4:45pm
• Friday 23 December 10am - 1pm 2pm-4.45pm
• Saturday 24 December Closed

The Hub will be closed for Christmas and New Year from 24 December 2011 and re-open on Thursday 5 January 2012.



Their new opening hours (from 5th January 2012) will be:

• Mondays 9:30am - 1pm 2pm-4.45pm
• Tuesdays 9:30am - 1pm 2pm-7pm
• Wednesdays Pre-booked groups and school groups only
• Thursdays 9:30am - 1pm 2pm-7pm
• Fridays 9:30am - 1pm 2pm-4.45pm
• Saturdays 10am - 2pm

There's been positive reaction from several people, one of whom said that the new hours are more convenient, another said that she'll make more use of the facilities because she can get in straight after dropping her daughter at school.

Family History Workshop at The Heritage Hub, Hawick

Are you watching “Who Do You think You Are ?” on TV ? Are you interested in tracing your family history . . . but don't know where to start? Then go along to a Family History Workshop at the Heritage Hub, Hawick on Tuesday 25 October from 7pm-9pm.

They will show you how the resources at the Heritage Hub can help you in your search. As well as the standard census returns, old parish records, and monumental inscriptions, you will have the opportunity to view a range of records including, business records, council records, family papers, militia lists, school, police and poor law records.

The setting is friendly and informal and you will go away with hints, tips and handouts.

Rachel Hosker, Archive Manager says “Family history is much more than being a collection of names and dates. We hold fascinating and unique evidence covering the whole of the Scottish Borders to help people gain a picture on how their ancestors lived and worked and so build up the story of their own family.”

Places are limited - so do please book early to avoid disappointment – the charge of £5 will include handouts and a family history chart. For more information, telephone 01450 360699.

Transcribing at Lilliesleaf

This week-end (27^th. and 28^th.) August we shall be transcribing the stones at Lilliesleaf.

Lilliesleaf is a very old Church which can trace its history back to 1116 although perhaps fortunately from our point of view we shall not be called upon to transcribe stones quite so far back although there will certainly be a number going back to the 18th. and 19th. centuries which will no doubt prove challenging.

The transcribing of these stone is a vital service for family research as often information contained on the stones is simply not available from any other source and if not recorded is in real danger of being lost. Once transcribed the information with photographs of every stone and also other information pertinent to the parish such as the Hearth Tax, Militia Lists, lists of Ministers etc. is produced on C.D. and is available both to purchase and to view within our Archive. For a full list of the parishes/graveyards which we have transcribed to date see our Sales List.

We shall be transcribing on Saturday between 10 and 4 p.m. and on Sunday between 1 and 4 and we invite anyone interested in helping to come along even for a brief period during these hours. Don’t worry if you have no previous experience in transcribing as full training will be given. Bring though a notebook and pen/pencil and also a soft brush and also optionally chalk, water and a kneeling pad.

This is an opportunity to meet with other members of the Society who usually bring along a picnic so it becomes quite a social occasion.

Lilliesleaf is situated about 7 miles north-east of Hawick, 7 miles south-east of Selkirk, 7 miles north-west of Ancrum, and 7 miles south-west of Melrose so very central for all these places. The Church is situated on the left hand side of the village approaching from Melrose.

If you can manage let me know as this helps with organizing or if you wish further information please contact.

Looking forward to a successful week-end and fingers crossed the weather holds.

Ronald Morrison

Return of Kirk Session Records to the Scottish Borders

During a small ceremony on Monday 14 March at 3pm, George MacKenzie, Keeper of the Records of Scotland, will officially handover important historical records of Borders Kirk Sessions dating back to the 1660s to the Heritage Hub, Heart of Hawick.

The Kirk duties were to maintain good order amongst its congregation (including administering discipline and superintending the moral and religious condition of the parish. It also took a keen interest in, irregular marriages, welfare and religious observance.

With moral stories and tales of scandal and social responsibility, the Kirk Session Records give us a real glimpse of the past. They show us what our ancestors and our communities thought and did, rather than just details of names and places. 

This is real recognition of the quality of the facilities at the Hawick Heritage Hub and its staff.

It's also much more useful to have these records available for research in the Borders from whence they came rather than having to go to Edinburgh for them.

More information on the press release from the Hawick Heritage Hub.

New Selkirkshire Parish Pages

We've created new web pages about parishes in Selkirkshire.


These pages show information about the parish location, coverage of old parish records, relevant publications for sale from Borders Family History Society, specific volumes in our archive at Old Gala House (in addition to the items for sale), articles in our magazine, other sources of information including some of the Hawick Heritage Hub's records, items in the National Archives of Scotland, and in the LDS Family History Library.


There are also links to useful websites, place and farm names appearing in the 1841-1861 census records, and population figures.


From the Scottish Borders Counties Map you can drill down to the Selkirkshire (Parish) Map page by clicking on the Selkirkshire area, and from that page you can access the individual parish pages either by clicking the relevant parish area or by clicking the parish name.


We've deliberately tried to include information that is not easily available online elsewhere, and these pages are not intended to be a substitute or in competition with pages on other websites, for example, GENUKI.

We hope that you will find these useful, and we'll update them as resources permit.


If you know of other resources relating to any of these parishes or if you find a mistake, please let us know, using the form on our Contacts page and selecting contact type Unlisted Questions.


We're working on pages for the remaining Borders county of Roxburghshire.


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Dr John Leyden, His Life and Family

In September 1775, in a thatched cottage overlooking Denholm Green, a young father proudly looked down on his first child, to be named John after his father and forefathers. At the time, neither of the parents, John Leyden nor his wife Isabel Scott, could have predicted the fascinating life ahead for their son - a life which was to see him master over 30 Oriental languages, become a minister, surgeon and naturalist, bring him fame as a poet and linguist and earn the respect, admiration and friendship of Sir Walter Scott and other eminent members of 19th century society before travelling to India and an untimely death in Java. A genius had been born - Dr John Leyden.

The title is the title of a talk to be given by Marjorie Gavin at Hawick Library, North Bridge Street, Hawick, TD9 9QT, Scotland on Tuesday 16th November at 7.15pm.

How the Reivers Came Ti Ride Yince Mair

For those of us who are lucky enough to have the names of the Border reiving families in our ancestry, an evening in Hawick Town Hall, 44 High Street, Hawick, TD9 9EF at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, 15th September 2010, will provide an insight into life in the Borders and the Debateable Lands and this time.

The title means How the Reivers Came To Ride Once More.

Hawick Common Riding 2010 - Friday Morning Procession

The Friday morning procession cannot fail to stir the emotions of the assembled spectators as the Cornet and his followers ride along Hawick High Street, Hawick, Scotland, to the sound of the fifes and drums and the Saxhorn Band on their way up to the Mair.

Short video of the Fife and Saxhorn Band as they march along Hawick High Street playing fifes and drums leading the Cornet and his followers.



Longer video of the Cornet and followers riding along the High Street. Note the colours of the various riders and horses, representing the various Common Riding towns including Galashiels, Jedburgh, Langholm, Selkirk - blue and yellow/gold representing Hawick. Those wearing oak leaves in their lapels have attended the celebratory breakfast. Note that, in contrast to other Border towns, there are no female riders - they're barred.



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'Safe oot, safe in' - Hawick Common Riding

The hearts of Teries everywhere will be in Hawick this week as the annual Common Riding takes place.  The ride-outs are over for another year, the town is bedecked in blue and yellow and the Horse has been washed once more. Everything is in place for the climax to this year’s festivities.

The excitement builds all week  as the Cornet carries the Banner Blue for the first time at the  Thursday morning  chase. Young and old make their way to the Nipknowes for 6 am to see the flag once again being proudly held aloft.

After partaking of curds and whey in the Hut, the Cornet and his followers return to Hawick to display the flag  at Hawick Town Hall. Then it’s off round the schools to experience enthusiastic welcomes from the young of Hawick.

Thursday evening sees the Colour Bussing ceremony when the Cornet’s Lass once again busses the flag. The Cornet leads his supporters on the walk  to the Horse monument  where ribbons are tied onto the horse’s neck to the loud cheers of the many townsfolk gathered to watch this event.

The Friday morning procession cannot fail to stir the emotions of the assembled spectators as the Cornet and his followers ride along Hawick High Street to the sound of the fifes and drums and the Saxhorn Band on their way up to the Mair.

Of the many  poignant ceremonies which take place during the Common Riding, two cannot fail to impress - dipping  the flag at the Coble Pool on the Friday afternoon  and the laying of the wreaths at the War Memorial on the Saturday morning.

These are only some of the events which Teries everywhere will recognise.
More information.


Text by Marjorie Gavin.


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Hawick Reivers Festival, 26th to 28th March 2010

We will be providing a Family History Surgery at the Hawick Heritage Hub on Saturday 27th March from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4.45pm.

Come and ask us or the Hub's expert staff on how to get started or advance your family and local history research.

Staff from the Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Service as well as us will be on hand to advise, discuss resources that can be used and challenge you to find your family’s story.

As usual, we'll have a selection of publications for sale, including the recently published and very popular 52 page book Days of Our Youth - Memories of Melrose that describes life in Melrose, the shops, excursions, church antics, local characters, celebrations, holidays, and school in the late 19th and early 20th century.

There's lots of other events - see the full programme, including a medieval market during the day, and a torch-lit procession and fireworks on Saturday evening.

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New Berwickshire Parish Pages

We've created new web pages about parishes in Berwickshire.

These pages show information about the parish location, coverage of old parish records, relevant publications for sale from Borders Family History Society, specific volumes in our archive at Old Gala House (in addition to the items for sale), articles in our magazine, other sources of information including some of the Hawick Heritage Hub's records, items in the National Archives of Scotland, and in the LDS Family History Library.

There are also links to useful websites, place and farm names appearing in the 1841-1861 census records, and population figures.

From the Scottish Borders Counties Map you can drill down to the Berwickshire (Parish) Map page by clicking on the Berwickshire area, and from that page you can access the individual parish pages either by clicking the relevant parish area or by clicking the parish name.

We've deliberately tried to include information that is not easily available online elsewhere, and these pages are not intended to be a substitute or in competition with pages on other websites, for example, GENUKI.
We hope that you will find these useful, and we'll update them as resources permit.

If you know of other resources relating to any of these parishes or if you find a mistake, please let us know, using the form on our Contacts page and selecting contact type Unlisted Questions.

We're working on pages for the other Borders counties.

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New Peeblesshire Parish Pages

We've created new web pages about parishes in Peeblesshire.

These pages show information about the parish location, coverage of old parish records, relevant publications for sale from Borders Family History Society, specific volumes in our archive at Old Gala House (in addition to the items for sale), articles in our magazine, other sources of information including some of the Hawick Heritage Hub's records, items in the National Archives of Scotland, and in the LDS Family History Library.

There are also links to useful websites, place and farm names appearing in the 1841-1861 census records, and population figures.

From the Scottish Borders Counties Map you can drill down to the Peeblesshire (Parish) Map page by clicking on the Peeblesshire area, and from that page you can access the individual parish pages either by clicking the relevant parish area or by clicking the parish name.

We've deliberately tried to include information that is not easily available online elsewhere, and these pages are not intended to be a substitute or in competition with pages on other websites, for example, GENUKI.
We hope that you will find these useful, and we'll update them as resources permit.

If you know of other resources relating to any of these parishes or if you find a mistake, please let us know, using the form on our Contacts page and selecting contact type Unlisted Questions.

We're working on pages for the other Borders counties.

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Waverley Route Heritage Association

I visited the Waverley Route Heritage Centre Open Weekend on Sunday, 30th August 2009 with a friend.

This is at Whitrope about 4 miles north of Hermitage and 11 miles south of Hawick on the scenic B6399 road.

They've achieved a lot in a short time, a few hundred yards of track, and they have 2 carriages and a snow plough.

One of the carriages is a cafe, the other a very nice exhibition with photos of stations, newspaper cuttings, artefacts, station name boards, lamps, signs etc.

The navvies that carved out the line were extremely well paid for the middle of the 19th century, they earned £100 to £150 per year, compared with a labourer's average earnings of £25 to £30 per year; and for agricultural labourers and farm servants, more than half of that would be in the form of rent, food, and fuel.

The navvies lived in bothies (wooden huts) in the hills.

There were no shops for them to spend their money, apart from enterprising contractors who brought clothing and footwear from Hawick to sell.

A Mr MacDonald opened a superior bothy offering accommodation, food, and booze known as the Turf Hotel near Langburnshiels.

At the weekend many of the navvies went to Hawick, some, no doubt, full of good intentions to send money home to their families; most drinking their two or three pounds away. Their natural exuberance and competitiveness often erupted into brawls, though as one policemen said "At least they fight only amongst themselves." Some were carted away and spent a night or two in Jedburgh prison.

I wonder how many navvies found sweethearts among the Hawick women ?

How many stayed and married there and raised families ?
 
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Borders Poor Law Records - Jedburgh (1852-1874)

For those who have studied the 19th century or read the works of Charles Dickens, 'The Poor Law' might be represented by the grim illustrations of the 'Poor House' by Phiz and George Cruikshank.
The Poor Law was the means of providing food, accommodation, financial assistance and, latterly, care to those in need from the middle of the 19th century. This system replaced the parish support mechanism and recognised that the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions had led to great population movements and drift within Scotland making the parish support no longer able to cope without assistance.
The Poor Law created a plethora of records covering details on those who applied for assistance in specific areas, case studies, details on inspectors and much, much more. In many respects it saw the beginnings of Local Government as we know it today.
When the Heritage Hub in Hawick started to digitise a number of these records for the Borders, they soon realised the scale of the work and agreed that Borders Family History Society could assist in indexing the records and transcribe the most useful data.
Apart from the obvious interest to the local historian, the publication opens up a new horizon for the genealogist, providing details on peoples' movement between the censuses, descriptions of illnesses suffered, domestic circumstances and more. Uniquely, the records provide details on people not born in the Borders but who lived or died there.
Whilst the budding genealogist may set out with high hopes of finding 'noble roots', the reality is usually different but no less fascinating. The Poor Law touched and helped people from differing backgrounds at a time of great change. These records might help you piece together the last pieces of your own family jigsaw puzzle.
You can search the index online to the volumes as they are published.
This is the first volume we've produced as a result of this huge but very interesting project. As we publish new ones, we'll add them to the list of Borders Poor Law Records volumes, and there's more information there too.

It's been published as a CD covering over 1000 named people, including images of the records so that you can discover even more, historical notes, and an index.
CD price £12.00 plus UK postage of 47p, £1.21 (Europe), £1.68 (World)
The CD can be purchased directly from us at Borders Family History Society, Whitberry, Todlaw Road, Duns, TD11 3EW, Scotland.

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