Closeburn is a parish in Nithsdale, Dumfriesshire. It is bounded on the north by Lanarkshire, and on other sides by the parishes of Kirkpatrick-Juxta, Kirkmahoe, Keir, and Morton. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Auldgirth, Closeburn, Dalgarnock, Kirkpatrick, Whitespots
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The parishes of Closeburn and Dalgarno were united in 1606.
Closeburn. The church of Closeburn belonged to the Abbey of Kelso. At Kirkpatrick, in the parish, there was a chapel of St Patrick. A spring near that site is called St Katherine's Strand.
Dalgarno, or Dalgarnoch. The church belonged to the Abbey of Holyrood. It was dedicated to St Michael, and near its churchyard is St Michael's Well. Here was held the fair or "tryste o'Dalgarnoch," sung by Robert Burns. (See: A Braw Wooer on YouTube.)
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
Closeburn (QO)
Dalgarno, or Dalgarnoch (QO)
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1765-1854 | Closeburn | 816 | OPR |
| 1855-1968 | Closeburn | 816 | RD |
| 2009 | Dumfries and Galloway, Thornhill | 833 | RD |
| 2026 | Dumfries & Galloway Council; Closeburn Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Anderson, Brown, Douglas, Duff, Gibson, Kirkpatrick, Murray, Ross, Smith, Williamson
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr Andrew Yorstoun.
"According to Dr Webster's report, the population in 1755, was 999. The number of inhabitants in the year 1778, was between 1000 and 1100. Last year (1791), they amounted to 1490. This great increase has been occasioned by extensive lime-works in the parish, the division of farms, making of roads, and other improvements. The number of males was 729, of females 761. There were 83 tenants, 30 subtenants, 80 labourers, 6 masons, 8 carpenters, 7 weavers, 4 tailors, 3 shoemakers, and 5 blacksmiths.
Within the memory of man, no inhabitant of this parish has ever been guilty of suicide; none has ever suffered death by the hand of the executioner; none has ever been banished from his country; none has ever been so much as tried for murder, theft, or any capital crime. They are upon the whole a quiet, sober, honest, and industrious people. The farmers in particular are a very decent set of men, attentive to their business, just in their dealings, civil and obliging in their manners."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 13, p. 232
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 4, Section I, p. 77
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
