Bothenden
Bowden is a parish in the north-west of Roxburghshire. It is bounded by the parishes of Melrose, St Boswells, Ancrum, Lilliesleaf, Selkirk, and Galashiels. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Bowden, Midlem or Midholm
Kippilaw
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The parish was called Bothenden in 1124. The church, founded by the monks of Kelso, was probably dedicated to St Bathan. At Holydean, called also Ringan's Dean, there was a chapel of St Ninian. The church of Bowden was restored in 1909.
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 |
| 1697-1854 | Bowden | 783 | OPR |
| 1855-1967 | Bowden | 783 | RD |
| 2009 | Scottish Borders, Melrose | 820 | RD |
| 2026 | Scottish Borders Council; Bowden 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
Brown, Hardie, Hume, Ormiston, Redpath, Scott, Simpson, Thomson, Turnbull, Wood
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.
[Drawn up by a Friend to Statistical Inquiries, from Materials chiefly furnished by Mr Andrew Blaikie, Tenant in Holydean, who has resided 35 Years in the Parish.
"At present (January 1794) the parish contains 217 families, and 860 persons. Of these, 223 are under 10 years of age. About one third of the inhabitants are Burghers and Antiburghers.
Most of the inhabitants are either feuars, farmers, or cottagers employed by them, except the after mentioned, viz., 14 wrights, 3 coopers 1 wheel-wright, 13 tailors, 11 masons, 12 weavers, 2 shoemakers, 6 grocers, 3 blacksmiths, 1 founder, 2 flax-dressers, and 4 alehouse-keepers.
The people in general are sober and industrious. Few of them engage in adventures or speculations, except in the line of farming, and even there with a prudent caution. Their divisions, in religious opinions, do not now occasion so great a want of cordial intercourse as formerly, and the prejudices of the sects are daily dying away."
(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 16, p. 230
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 3, Section I, p. 34
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
