Coulter
Culter is a parish in the south-east of the upper ward of Lanarkshire. It is bounded on the south-east by Peeblesshire, and on other sides by the parishes of Crawford, Lamington, Symington, and Biggar. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Causewayend, Culter or Coulter
Birthwood, Cornhill, Cultermains
The parish of Culter was situated partly in the county of Peebles and partly in the county of Lanark. No change was made on the county boundary, but the Peeblesshire part of the parish was transferred to the parish of Kilbucho. See affected properties and landholders. (1892: Boundary of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government Act, 1889, by Hay Shennan)
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church, dedicated to St Michael, belonged to the Abbey of Kelso.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(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 |
| 1700-1854 | Culter | 637 | OPR |
| 1855-1968 | Culter | 637 | RD |
| 2009 | South Lanarkshire, Biggar | 584 | RD |
| 2026 | (Coulter) South Lanarkshire Council; Duneaton 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, Carrick, Clark, Forrest, Lindsay, Moffat, Robertson, Sinclair, Somerville, Watson
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 William Strachan.
"The number of souls in 1791 was 326, of whom 147 were males, and 179 were females; there were 70 under the age of 10. There were 30 Relief Seceders, and 8 Burghers. There were in the parish 4 masons, 3 wrights, 1 weaver, 1 shoemaker, 2 smiths, and 1 miller.
The people are healthy, being mostly employed in active occupations, and are sober and exemplary."
(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 6, p. 75
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 6, p. 340
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
