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Features: Scottish Parishes » Historic Shires » Edinburghshire » Newton

Newton Parish Church by James Denham
Newton Parish Church, Midlothian © 2010, James Denham

NEWTON PARISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS


ALTERNATE NAMES AND SPELLING:

  • Newton and Woomet
  • Wymeth (Woomet)

LOCATION

Location Description:

Newton is a parish in the north-eastern district of Edinburghshire. It is bounded by Liberton, Inveresk, and Dalkeith. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).

Shire, District, and Region Timeline:

  • Shire: Edinburghshire (Before 1707)
  • County: Edinburgh (After 1707)
  • District: Edinburghshire (Before 1930)
  • County: Midlothian (1947)
  • Landward District: Musselburgh (1930-1975)
  • District: Midlothian (1975-1996)
  • Region: Lothian (1975-1996)

Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets:

Adamsrow or Adam's Row, Backdean, Claybarns, Easter Millerhill, Edmonstone, Little France, Millerhill, New Engine, Old Engine, Pentecox, Redrow, Sheriffhall, Squaretown, Wester Millerhill

Estates:

Edmonstone House


PARISH TIMELINE

PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Diocese: St Andrews
  • Deanery: Linlithgow

POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Synod: Lothian and Tweeddale
  • Presbytery: Dalkeith

PAROCHIAL OVERVIEW:

Newton. Previous to the Reformation the church, dedicated to St Mary, belonged to the Abbey of Dunfermline.
Woomet. Woomet was united to Newton about 1584.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CLERGY:

Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.

  • Lawrence Watson, 1576
  • John Barbour, 1586
  • John Nymbill (Nimmo), 1597
  • John Aird, 1614
  • John Melvill, 1617
  • Robert Carson, 1640
  • Archibald Douglas, 1673
  • Robert Bannerman, 1681
  • John Shaw, 1696
  • Thomas Moffat, 1700
  • David Gilchrist, 1743
  • John Main, 1770
  • Leslie Moodie, 1796
  • Thomas Scott, 1801
  • John Adamson, 1826
  • Malcolm MacGregor, 1863
  • Archibald Fleming, 1888

(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)


RECORDS

Parochial Registers:

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.

  • (1) B. 1629-1730
  • (2) B. 1731-97
  • (3) B. 1798-1819
  • (4) M. 1639-1819; D. 1730-1805
  • (5) B. 1819-54
  • (6) M. 1820-54; D. 1823-54

OPR and RD Numbers
Date RangeNameNumberType
1629-1854Newton696OPR
1855-1971Newton696RD
1972-1984Newton761RD
2009Midlothian762RD
2026Midlothian Council; Danderhall and District 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)

Population:

Statistics from informal and official censuses

  • 1755: 1,199
  • 1793: 1,135
  • 1801: 1,060
  • 1811: 1,578
  • 1821: 2,150
  • 1831: 2,274
  • 1841: 1,743
  • 1861: 1,553
  • 1881: 1,316
  • 1901: 1,028
  • 1911: 1,156

RESIDENTS


Common Surnames:

Anderson, Black, Brown, Cleghorn, Denholm, King, Murray, Ross, Williamson, Wilson

Land-owners, teachers, and other professionals:

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.

  • Francis Wemyss-Charteris DOUGLAS, Earl of Wemyss
  • Walter Francis Montagu Douglas SCOTT, Duke of Buccleugh
  • Sir John WAUCHOPE, Esq., of Edmonstone

Other residents:

By Mr John Main, D. D., Minister.
"By an exact list, taken in June last (1793), the number of souls in the parish was 1135. Of the above number there are 410 males, 428 females, and 297 under 8 years of age. The number of families is 239. The great body of the parish consists of colliers and carters."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)


NOTES:

Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 11, p. 532
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 1, p. 557

See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.


Photo credits: (Featured) Newton Parish Church, Midlothian, © 2010 James Denham, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 2.0, (Related Resources) Edinburghshire Locator Map, © 2025, Elianfoo, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related Resources
Map of Scotland with Edinburghshire highlighted
Location of Edinburghshire
See more maps at Wikimedia Commons
Glossary
  • Burghs:
  • Royal - Towns on royal lands
  • Regality - Towns granted to noblemen/landowners
  • Barony - Towns granted to tenant-in-chief (laird)
  • Police - Towns with elected officials
  • Small - Population under 20,000
  • Large - Population over 20,000
  •  
  • Chapel-of-Ease: Small church for those living far from the main church
  • Collegiate church: See What is a Collegiate Church?
  • Commune kirk: Owned by a larger church
  • Court of Teinds: Controlled funds for support of clergy
  •  
  • Friars:
  • Black - Dominican
  • Grey - Franciscan
  • Red - Trinitarian
  • White - Carmelite
  •  
  • Iron chapel: Building made of corrugated galvanized iron
  •  
  • Landward District: Rural part of a district
  •  
  • Mensal: Source of income to support clergy member (Roman Catholic)
  •  
  • OPR: Old Parochial Register
  •  
  • Pre-Reformation: Before 1560
  • Prebend: Source of income to support a clergy member
  •  
  • QO: Quoad Omnia - Civil and church control
  • QS: Quoad Sacra - Church control only
  •  
  • RD: Registration District - Civil control
  •  
  • Tryst: Large-scale market or fair, particularly for livestock
  •  
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