Our archive and search room is now open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 4pm. Keep up to date via our Facebook page and Twitter.
Smailholm
The Parish of Smailholm is situated in the north east of Roxburghshire and it is bounded on three sides by Berwickshire with the Parish of Mertoun to the west, the Parish of Earlston to the north and the Parish of Nenthorn to the east. It is joined to the rest of Roxburghshire by the Parishes of Makerstoun and Kelso to the south. Smailholm is now one of the Kelso Country Churches - the others are Makerstoun, Nenthorn, Roxburgh & Stichill - which is linked with Kelso Old Parish Church & Sprouston.
Smailholm Tower once home to Scotts and Pringles is a prominent landmark on a crag to the south of the village.
Memorial Inscriptions Roxburghshire Vol XII, 2nd Edition (Smailholm) 2009 edited by Elspeth Elma Fleming - CD-ROM includes:
Hearth and Poll Tax
War Memorial transcriptions
List of Ministers
Graveyard Plan of 1814
See our sales list for full details and cost of postage.
Volumes available for consultation within our Archive
The High Toun on The Hill by Ian Abernethy.
The Churches and Graveyards of Roxburghshire by Dr. G. A. C. Binnie 2001.
Rutherford's Southern Counties Register and Directory 1867.
County Directory of Scotland 1912 - Borders Towns and Villages.
CD-ROM Pigot's 1837 Directory of Berwickshire and Roxburghshire.
CD-ROM Land Ownership Commission Report 1872 -1873.
Roxburghshire 3rd. Statistical Account Vol 28 by John Herdman.
Magazine Articles;
Please note that the heading Author includes persons who have compiled or transcribed records; and that the topics indexed, and the synopses are subjective opinions. See the Sales List to buy copies of the magazines containing articles in which you're interested.
Title
Synopsis
Size Description
Issue No
Author
The Crammond Family of Smailholm
Notes about a Crammond family of Smailholm and their children.
1 page or more
57
Hazel Crammond
Letter to the Editor - Ulster Pringles?
A request for help with researching the Pringle Clan who lived at Smailholm Tower (1400 to 1650-1700), and their connection with the Pringles of Ulster.
less than 1 page
101
Nigel C.B. Pringle
A DNA Revelation
The author's discovery of a direct link to a blood cousin with the name of CRAM, and the surmise that CRAMMOND got shortened along the passage of time.
less than 1 page
57
Gordon Crammond
James Fleming, father of Sir John Ambrose Fleming
Some notes on James Fleming, born near Smailholm, father of Sir John Ambrose Fleming who featured in issue 82.
2 pages or more
84
Ian McGregor
Sir Walter Scott's Borders
A note about Scott being born in Edinburgh, but convalescing at Sandyknowe Farm near Smailholm with grandfather and Aunt Jenny, where he was immersed in Borders history and folklore and music. A year at Kelso Grammar School, Deputy Sheriff of Selkirkshire, Ashestiel and construction Abbotsford.
less than 1 page
106
Editor
Captain Cook's Border Background
The history of Captain James Cook and the Ednam connection.
1 page or more
6
Dr Jim Trainer
Marth’s Marmalade and Diet Loaf
Some letters which brought life to the bare bones of the author's family tree.
2 pages or more
56
Marjorie Dybeck
Map of Smailholm from UK Great Britain, Ordnance Survey one-inch to the mile (1:63,360), 'Hills' edition, 1885-1903 by kind permission of the National Library of Scotland. Use the control at the top left of the map to zoom in or out and drag the map left, right, up, or down as you wish.
Map of Smailholm from UK Ordnance Survey Historical Maps from 1919-1947 by kind permission of the National Library of Scotland. Use the control at the top left of the map to zoom in or out and drag the map left, right, up, or down as you wish.
20 Most Common Surnames
The 20 most common surnames on gravestones recorded by us in the Smailholm monumental inscriptions volume are (number of gravestones in brackets): TAIT (10), DICKSON (10), ROBERTSON (9), FORSYTH (9), FAIRBAIRN (9), BROWN (7), WILSON (7), SMITH (6), PURVES (6), PATTERSON (5), HENDERSON (5), KNOX (5), TEMPLETON (5), THORBURN (4), MITCHELL (4), YULE (4), BRACK (4), STEVENSON (4), THOMSON (4), PAXTON (4).
Other Sources
Diary of George Ridpath, Minister of Stichill 1755-1761 University Press Edinburgh 1922. (fully indexed).
Smailholm Parish Church by W. L. Sime 1896.
The records of the Pringle or Hoppringles of the Scottish Border by Alex Pringle.
Two Centuries of Borders Church Life by J Tait Kelso 1891.
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland compiled initially between 1791 and 1799, with a subsequent edition between 1834 and 1845 are a valuable record of the geography, history, economy, people and customs recorded by local ministers. You'll need to search for the parish name.
Two Centuries of Borders Church Life by J Tait Kelso 1891.
