119-706: Coldingham is a village and parish in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders . It lies a short distance inland from Coldingham Bay , three miles northeast of the fishing village of Eyemouth . The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir district. It is the second-largest civil parish by area in Berwickshire county, after Lauder. It is bounded on the north-west by the North Sea, on the east by
238-547: A superintendent . This plan was complicated by the conversion of three bishops to Protestantism, who were allowed to remain in their posts. Few superintendents were appointed and temporary commissioners were nominated to fill the gaps. In 1576, when the General Assembly considered the structure of the Kirk, it recognised five offices: archbishops, bishops, superintendents, commissioners, and visitors. Beside these posts
357-531: A Boundary Commission transferred a detached portion of Oldhamstocks parish, namely Butterdean, to Coldingham. It was already in Berwickshire, despite its mother parish being in East Lothian. The civil parish has an area of 25,379 acres (10,271 ha) and a population of 1,919 (in 2011). The settlement of Coldingham has a population of 563 (in 2011). Nearby Coldingham Bay has a sandy secluded beach popular with surfers, with rows of beach huts . There
476-540: A bear chained to a wych tree, forming a pun on the name of the original county town of Berwick. Upon the abolition of Berwickshire County Council, the arms were regranted to Berwickshire District Council. When the district council was abolished the arms reverted to the Crown. The East Coast Main Line railway line passes through the county, running roughly parallel with the coast. From the railway's opening in 1846 there were
595-509: A combination of kirk funds, contributions from local heritors or burgh councils and parents that could pay. They were inspected by kirk sessions, who checked for the quality of teaching and doctrinal purity. There were also large number of unregulated "adventure schools", which sometimes fulfilled a local need and sometimes took pupils away from the official schools. Outside of the established burgh schools, masters often combined their positions with other employment, particularly minor posts within
714-480: A laird's family, or kin group and social networks, who continued to attend the Catholic Church, Protestants began to develop a series of privy kirks (secret churches), whose members increasingly turned away from existing church structures. Their organisation was sufficient in 1555 for Knox to return to Scotland. He administered a Protestant communion and carried out a preaching tour of the privy kirks. He urged
833-564: A medium. The anonymous The Maner of the Cyring of ane Play (before 1568) and Philotus (published in London in 1603), are isolated examples of surviving plays. The later is a vernacular Scots comedy of errors, probably designed for court performance for Mary, Queen of Scots or James VI. The same system of professional companies of players and theatres that developed in England in this period
952-467: A network of ministers, a parish-based school system, university education and poor relief. This proposal for the use of church wealth was rejected. Instead, an Act of Council kept two-thirds of the Church's assets in the hands of its existing holders, while the remaining third was divided between the Crown and the reformist measures. The educational programme, was abandoned, ministers remained poorly paid, and
1071-439: A number of small stations within Berwickshire, but they were all closed by 1964. A rebuilt Reston railway station opened on this stretch of line in 2022, being the only railway station within the historic county (apart from Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station which lies within the area ceded from Berwickshire to England in 1482). The Berwickshire Railway formerly serviced the county, however this closed following damage caused by
1190-652: A parliament, although it was not to touch the issue of religion. The Parliament of Scotland met in Edinburgh 1 August 1560. Fourteen earls, six bishops, nineteen lords, twenty-one abbots, twenty-two burgh commissioners and over a hundred lairds, claimed the right to sit. Ignoring the provisions of the Treaty of Edinburgh, on 17 August, Parliament approved a Reformed Confession of Faith (the Scots Confession ), and on 24 August it passed three Acts that abolished
1309-410: A portion of it continued its religious activities until 1650, when it was fortified against Oliver Cromwell . After a siege of two days, the main tower in which the besieged defended themselves was so shattered by artillery that they were forced to capitulate. This great tower of the original priory finally collapsed about 1777. The ruins of about 40% of the original priory church were rebuilt in 1855; it
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#17327971889841428-596: A raiding party of Danes in 870. This time the ruins were not rebuilt, it would appear, until 1098, when King Edgar founded the Priory of Coldingham in honour of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne . It became the caput for the Barony of Coldingham, with the prior as the feudal lord. The priory continued in its religious purposes until 1560, when it was partially destroyed during the Scottish Reformation . However,
1547-519: A result, in 1536 the first provincial church council called since 1470 failed to achieve major reforms or a united front against heresy. After the execution of Patrick Hamilton , the Crown prosecuted some men and a small number of executions followed in the 1530s and 1540s, but there was no systematic persecution, as the king was not interested in wide-scale bloodletting. An increasing number of lairds and nobles began to favour reform, particularly in Angus ,
1666-526: A revised version. The result of the delay was that the document, known as the First Book of Discipline , was considered not by the full Parliament, but only by a thinly-attended convention of nobles and about 30 lairds in January 1561 and then only approved individually and not collectively. The Book proposed a programme of parish-based reformation that would use the resources of the old Church to pay for
1785-421: A rugby team under the name of Berwickshire schools. The Berwickshire Coastal Path runs from Cockburnspath to Berwick-upon-Tweed (28 miles; 45 km). Scottish Reformation Electors of Saxony Holy Roman Emperors Building Literature Theater Liturgies Hymnals Monuments Calendrical commemoration The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Scotland broke away from
1904-589: A series of provincial councils (in 1549, 1552, probably in 1556 and in 1559), modelled on the contemporaneous Council of Trent . These blamed the advance of the Protestant heresies on "the corruption of morals and the profane lewdness of life in churchmen of all ranks, together with crass ignorance of literature and of the liberal arts". In 1548, attempts were made to eliminate concubinage , clerical pluralism , clerical trading, and non-residence, and to prohibit unqualified people from holding church offices. Further,
2023-659: A target of missionary work. Their effectiveness was limited by rivalries between different orders at Rome. The initiative was taken by a small group of Scots connected with the Crichton family , who had supplied the bishops of Dunkeld . They joined the Jesuit order and returned to attempt conversions. Their focus was mainly on the court, which led them into involvement in a series of complex political plots and entanglements. The majority of surviving Scottish lay followers were largely ignored. The humanist concern with widening education
2142-627: A third of nobles and gentry were still Catholic in inclination. In most of Scotland, except for the Outer Hebrides , Catholicism became an underground faith in private households, connected by ties of kinship. This reliance on the household meant that women often became important as the upholders and transmitters of the faith, such as in the case of Lady Fernihurst in the Borders. They transformed their households into centres of religious activity and offered places of safety for priests. Because
2261-499: A violent storm in 1948. The nearest open stations are in Dunbar and Berwick-upon-Tweed . The A1 road runs roughly parallel to the railway and provides access to Edinburgh in the north and to the south Berwick-upon-Tweed, continuing on to Newcastle . The A68 and A697 serve the towns of western Berwickshire. The Berwickshire News is published weekly, and numerous organisations and groups have Berwickshire in their titles (i.e.:
2380-726: A year while under siege , before they were defeated with the help of French forces. The survivors, including chaplain John Knox , were condemned to be galley slaves, helping to create resentment of the French and martyrs for the Protestant cause. In 1547, the English under Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset renewed their invasion and defeated the Scots at Pinkie , occupied south-east Scotland with forts at Lauder , Haddington and an outpost at Dundee . This occupation (1547–1549) encouraged
2499-772: Is now linked to Ayton and is served by places of worship at Reston (formerly a free church) and Grantshouse. The church became a crematorium in 2015. A Parochial Board was established under the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845. With the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 , Coldingham Parish Council was established, and it carried out poor relief and various public works, such as the acquisition and improvement of Houndwood cemetery in 1901. Civil parishes in Scotland, as units of local government, were abolished in 1929 but have been used later for census and other purposes. In 1891
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#17327971889842618-419: Is today used as the parish church and is the most notable building in the parish. Berwickshire Berwickshire ( / ˈ b ɛ r ɪ k ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪər / ; Scottish Gaelic : Siorrachd Bhearaig ) is a historic county , registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed , its original county town , which
2737-525: The Berwickshire Courts Act 1853 ( 16 & 17 Vict. c. 27) was passed allowing the courts and commissioners' meetings to be held at Duns as well as at Greenlaw. Another courthouse, known as County Buildings , was subsequently built at 8 Newtown Street in Duns in 1856. Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , taking over most of
2856-799: The Catholic Church , and established the Protestant Church of Scotland . It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation . From the first half of the 16th century, Scottish scholars and religious leaders were influenced by the teachings of the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther . In 1560, a group of Scottish nobles known as the Lords of the Congregation gained control of government. Under their guidance,
2975-726: The Earl of Bothwell , who was implicated in Darnley's murder. Opposition to Bothwell led to the formation of a coalition of nobles, who styled themselves as the Confederate Lords. Michael Lynch describes the events of 1567 as "second Reformation crisis". Mary and Bothwell confronted the Lords at Carberry Hill on 15 June 1567, but their forces melted away. He fled and she was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle . Ten days after
3094-470: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , from 1975 to 1996. Before the Reformation, a vaguely defined jurisdiction known as Coldinghamshire was linked to Coldingham Priory and extended along the east coast of Berwickshire. By the 15th century, there is some indication that the civil administration was gradually attaining paramount sway with the consent of the Church itself. In 1406, the lordship of
3213-587: The Scottish Reformation Parliament passed legislation that established a Protestant creed , and rejected Papal supremacy , although these were only formally ratified by James VI and I in 1567. Directed by John Knox , the new Church of Scotland adopted a Presbyterian structure and largely Calvinist doctrine . The Reformation resulted in major changes in Scottish education, art and religious practice. The kirk itself became
3332-991: The missal used in St Nicholas church in Aberdeen . New cults of devotion related to Jesus and the Virgin Mary began to reach Scotland in the 15th century, including the Five Wounds , the Holy Blood , and the Holy Name of Jesus . New religious feasts arose, including celebrations of the Presentation , the Visitation , and Mary of the Snows . In the early 14th century, the Papacy managed to minimise
3451-423: The "special daughter of the see of Rome". It was run by special councils made up of all the Scottish bishops, with the bishop of St Andrews emerging as the most important figure. The administration of parishes was often given to local monastic institutions in a process known as appropriation . By the time of the Reformation in the mid-16th century 80% of Scottish parishes were appropriated, leaving few resources for
3570-784: The 1480s. In most Scottish burghs there was usually only one parish church, in contrast to English towns where churches and parishes tended to proliferate. As the doctrine of Purgatory gained importance in the late Middle Ages, the number of chapelries, priests, and masses for the dead prayed within them, designed to speed the passage of souls to Heaven, grew rapidly. The number of altars dedicated to saints, who could intercede in this process, also increased dramatically. St. Mary's in Dundee had perhaps 48 such altars and St Giles' in Edinburgh more than 50. The number of saints celebrated in Scotland also proliferated, with about 90 being added to
3689-651: The 17th century, with parishioners in Aberdeen reproved for parading and dancing in the street with bells at weddings and Yule in 1605, Robin Hood and May plays at Kelso in 1611 and Yuletide guising at Perth in 1634. The Kirk also allowed some plays, particularly in schools, when they served their own ends for education, as in the comedy about the Prodigal Son permitted at St. Andrews in 1574. More formal plays included those of James Wedderburn , who wrote anti-Catholic tragedies and comedies in Scots around 1540, before he
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3808-455: The Baptist's at Perth on 11 May on Christ cleansing the temple . The congregation responded by stripping the shrines, images and altars of the church and then sacked the local friaries and Carthusian house. The regent responded by sending troops to restore order and Glencairn led a force to defend the town's new Protestant status. A royal delegation, including Argyll and James Stuart persuaded
3927-556: The Berwickshire Housing Association, Berwickshire Sports Council). The Berwickshire Civic Society is campaigned for road signs at the entrances to the county to have notices added saying "You are now entering the ancient county of Berwickshire", and they hold an annual Keep Berwickshire Tidy Campaign , judged each April. The high school west of Duns is named Berwickshire High School , and has been open since 1896. Together with Eyemouth High School they run
4046-482: The Church and rejected its doctrine on the Eucharist . Despite evidence of the burning of heretics and some popular support for its anti-sacramental elements, it probably remained a small movement. From the 15th century, Renaissance humanism encouraged critical theological reflection and calls for ecclesiastical renewal in Scotland. As early as 1495 some Scots were in contact with Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536),
4165-677: The Church was underfunded. The Scots Confession was produced by Knox and five colleagues in four days. Its structure parallels that of the Apostles' Creed , with 25 chapters based around themes of the Father, Son, Church and Consummation. It remained the standard of the Kirk until it was replaced by the Westminster Confession , negotiated with English Parliamentary allies during the English Civil War and adopted by
4284-491: The Continent were recruited to the new Scottish universities founded at St Andrews , Glasgow , and Aberdeen . These international contacts helped integrate Scotland into a wider European scholarly world and were one of the most important ways in which the new ideas of humanism entered Scottish intellectual life. By 1497 the humanist and historian Hector Boece , who was born in Dundee and studied at Paris, returned to become
4403-479: The English ambassador at Antwerp noted that Scottish merchants were taking William Tyndale 's New Testament to Edinburgh and St. Andrews. In 1528 the nobleman Patrick Hamilton , who had been influenced by Lutheran theology while at the universities of Wittenberg and Marburg , became the first Protestant martyr in Scotland. He was burned at the stake for heresy outside St Salvator's College at Saint Andrews . Hamilton's execution inspired more interest in
4522-559: The Highlands there were shortages and very few spoke the Gaelic of the local population. The universities were unable supply sufficient trained ministers over a generation and many (over three-quarters in 1574) held the junior post of readers, rather than qualified ministers. The bulk of these were former Catholic clergy. The untidy system of thirteen medieval dioceses was to be replaced by ten more rational districts, each to be overseen by
4641-505: The King's Party fought a civil war on behalf of the regency against Mary's supporters. This ended, after English intervention, with the surrender of Edinburgh Castle in May 1573. In 1578, a Second Book of Discipline was adopted, which was much more clearly Presbyterian in outlook. In England, Mary became a focal point for Catholic conspirators and was eventually executed for treason in 1587 on
4760-493: The Kirk in 1647. The Confession was strongly Calvinist in tone. It emphasised the "inscrutable providence" of God, who had determined all things. It stressed the extreme depravity of mankind, who deserved eternal damnation and the mercy of God in selecting a portion of humanity for salvation through grace alone. It denied transubstantiation , but retained the real presence in the Eucharist . It largely avoided negative emotive condemnations of Catholicism, focusing on setting out
4879-608: The Kirk, such as clerk. At their best, the curriculum included catechism , Latin , French , Classical literature and sports. Scotland's universities underwent a series of reforms associated with Andrew Melville, who returned from Geneva to become principal of the University of Glasgow in 1574. A distinguished linguist, philosopher and poet, he had trained in Paris and studied law at Poitiers , before moving to Geneva and developing an interest in Protestant theology. Influenced by
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4998-455: The Lords in July, and Mary moved her base to Dunbar . The arrival of French reinforcements of 1,800 men forced the Lords onto the defensive and they abandoned the capital. The Lords appealed for help from England and Mary from France. English agents managed the safe return of Earl of Arran , the eldest son and heir of Chatelherault, allowing him to accept the leadership of the Lords. In October
5117-563: The Mearns , Fife and within the University of St Andrews. Leading figures included Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn and John Erskine of Dun . In 1541 Parliament passed legislation to protect the honour of the Mass, prayer to the Virgin Mary , images of the saints, and the authority of the pope. James V died in 1542, leaving the infant Mary, Queen of Scots as his heir, with
5236-470: The Netherlands-born leading figure in the northern humanist movement. They were also in contact with Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples (c. 1455 – 1536), a French humanist and scholar who like Erasmus argued strongly for reform of the Catholic Church by the elimination of corruption and abuses. Scottish scholars often studied on the Continent and at English universities. Humanist scholars trained on
5355-593: The Priory was held by Archibald, Earl of Douglas . In 1414, the Prior and Chapter of Durham (the ecclesiastical superiors of the priory) signed a deed constituting the Earl of Douglas "sovereign bailie" and governor of the house and barony of Coldingham. The barony of Coldingham, which included Eyemouth and other areas adjacent to the parish of Coldingham, continued as a jurisdiction into the 17th and 18th centuries. Because of
5474-590: The Reformation took over the existing structures and assets of the Church, any attempted recovery by the Catholic hierarchy was extremely difficult. After the collapse of Mary's cause in the civil wars in the 1570s, and any hope of a national restoration of the old faith, the hierarchy began to treat Scotland as a mission area. The leading order of the Counter-Reformation , the newly founded Jesuits , initially took relatively little interest in Scotland as
5593-528: The University of Glasgow. Another major figure was Archibald Whitelaw, who taught at St. Andrews and Cologne, becoming a tutor to the young James III and royal secretary in 1462–1493. Robert Reid , Abbot of Kinloss and later Bishop of Orkney , was responsible in the 1520s and 1530s for bringing the Italian humanist Giovanni Ferrario to teach at Kinloss Abbey . Ferrario established an impressive library and wrote works of Scottish history and biography. Reid
5712-467: The West Highlands, where there had been a hereditary caste of monumental sculptors, the uncertainty and loss of patronage caused by the rejection of monuments in the Reformation meant that they moved into other branches of the Gaelic learned orders or took up other occupations. The lack of transfer of carving skills is noticeable in the decline in quality when gravestones were next commissioned from
5831-419: The acts that Parliament had passed and the new kirk existed in a state of legal uncertainty. The Lords had intended Parliament to consider a Book of Reformation , which they had commissioned and was largely the work of Knox. They were unhappy with the document and established a committee of "six Johns", including Knox, John Winram , John Spottiswood , John Willock , John Douglas , and John Row , to produce
5950-418: The anti-Aristotelian Petrus Ramus , he placed an emphasis on simplified logic and elevated languages and sciences to the same status as philosophy, allowing accepted ideas in all areas to be challenged. He introduced new specialist teaching staff, replacing the system of "regenting", where one tutor took the students through the entire arts curriculum. Metaphysics were abandoned and Greek became compulsory in
6069-672: The border to lay siege to the French in Leith . Mary of Guise fell ill and died in June. With no sign of reinforcements, the French opened negotiations. Under the Treaty of Edinburgh (5 July 1560) both the French and English removed their troops from Scotland, leaving the Protestant Lords in control of the country. The Lords accepted Mary Queen of Scots and her husband, now Francis II of France , as monarchs and were given permission to hold
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#17327971889846188-610: The border with East Lothian; it is here that Meikle Says Law , the highest point in the county at 535 m (1,755 ft), can be found. The River Tweed forms the border with England to the south, with the exception of a small section in the vicinity of Berwick-upon-Tweed (formerly the river formed the entirety of the border out to the North Sea); other major rivers include the Eye Water , Whiteadder Water , Dye Water , Watch Water , Eden Water and Blackadder Water . Between
6307-437: The burgh to open its gates, but the heavy handed treatment by the regent's forces led to a breakdown in negotiations. Argyll and Stuart changed sides and the Lords of the Congregation now began raising their followers for an armed conflict. A series of local reformations followed, with Protestant minorities gaining control of various regions and burghs, often with the support of local lairds and using intimidation, while avoiding
6426-404: The clergy were enjoined to scriptural reflection, and bishops and parsons instructed to preach at least four times a year. Monks were to be sent to university, and theologians appointed for each monastery, college, and cathedral. But in 1552, it was acknowledged that little had been accomplished. Attendance at Mass was still sparse and "the inferior clergy of this realm and the prelates have not, for
6545-474: The confrontation at Carberry Hill, the General Assembly met in Edinburgh with the aim of rooting out "superstition and idolatry". The Reformation settlement of 1567 was much more firmly Calvinist than that of 1560. The Assembly set out a programme of reform that included the ratification of the legislation of 1560, better provision of the ministry, new resources and manpower for the parishes, a purge of
6664-464: The corruption and unpopularity of the late Medieval Scottish church. Since the late 20th century, research has indicated the ways in which it met the spiritual needs of different social groups. Historians have discerned a decline of monastic life in this period, with many religious houses maintaining smaller numbers of monks. Those remaining often abandoned communal living for a more individual and secular lifestyle. The rate of new monastic endowments from
6783-413: The corruption of church and state, and which is the only complete play to survive from before the Reformation. George Buchanan (1506–1582) was major influence on Continental theatre with plays such as Jepheths and Baptistes , which influenced Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine and through them the neo-classical tradition in French drama, but his impact in Scotland was limited by his choice of Latin as
6902-431: The county as a whole. Inhabitants are called "Merse-men". Berwickshire borders Midlothian to the west, East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, and Roxburghshire and the English county of Northumberland to the south. The terrain of Berwickshire is characterised by a series of low hills and agricultural land, with a number of small towns scattered throughout the county. The Lammermuir Hills traverse
7021-465: The creation of Catholic martyrs, to carry out a "cleansing" of friaries and churches, followed by the appointment of Protestant preachers. Such reformations occurred in conservative Aberdeen and the ecclesiastical capital of St. Andrews together with other eastern ports. In June, Mary of Guise responded by dispatching a French army to St. Andrews to restore control, but it was halted by superior numbers at Cupar Muir and forced to retreat. Edinburgh fell to
7140-399: The encouragement of Calvin, he had written his own Book of Common Order and it was this that was printed and approved by the General Assembly of 1562. Enlarged, it was reprinted with the Confession and the Psalms in metre in 1564 , and it remained the standard until replaced with the Westminster Directory in 1643. A Gaelic translation of the Book of Common Order was produced in 1563,
7259-474: The existing church helped keep the political nation unified. But the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to the dauphin in 1558 heightened fears that Scotland would become a French province. Reformers were given hope by the accession, in England, of the Protestant Queen Elizabeth in 1558, which created a confessional frontier in Great Britain. The Church responded to some of the criticisms being made against it. John Hamilton , Archbishop of St Andrews , instigated
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#17327971889847378-406: The existing regime. On 1 January 1559 the anonymous Beggars' Summons was posted on the doors of friaries, threatening friars with eviction on the grounds that their property belonged to the genuine poor. This was calculated to appeal to the passions of the populace of towns who appeared to have particular complaints against friars. Knox returned to Scotland and preached at the church of St. John
7497-407: The first book printed in Gaelic, but there would be no Gaelic Bible until the 18th century. The First Book of Discipline envisaged the establishment of reformed ministers in each of approximately 1,080 parishes. By the end of 1561, 240 of these places had been filled. By 1567 there were about 850 clergy and by 1574 there were just over 1,000. These were mainly concentrated in the south and east. In
7616-416: The first principal at the new university of Aberdeen. The continued movement of scholars to other universities resulted in a school of Scottish nominalists at Paris by the early 16th century, the most important of whom was John Mair , generally described as a scholastic . His Latin History of Greater Britain (1521) was sympathetic to the humanist social agenda. In 1518 he returned to become Principal of
7735-529: The first year, followed by Aramaic , Syriac and Hebrew , launching a new fashion for ancient and biblical languages. Glasgow had probably been declining as a university before his arrival, but students now began to arrive in large numbers. He assisted in the reconstruction of Marischal College , Aberdeen , and to do for St Andrews what he had done for Glasgow, he was appointed Principal of St Mary's College, St Andrews , in 1580. The University of Edinburgh developed out of public lectures that were established in
7854-490: The functions of the commissioners. Berwickshire County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at County Hall in Greenlaw, when it decided by 18 votes to 12 that all subsequent meetings should be held at Duns. The county council therefore based itself at the County Buildings in Duns, sharing the premises with its continuing use as a sheriff court. The county council subsequently established additional offices in various converted houses along Newtown Street. A modern extension
7973-410: The historic county becoming part of the lower-tier Berwickshire district . Berwickshire district was abolished in 1996, when all the districts in the Borders region merged to become the Scottish Borders council area . The low-lying part of Berwickshire between the Tweed and the Lammermuirs is known as " the Merse ", from an old Scots word for a floodplain, and this name is sometimes extended to
8092-408: The independence of the Kirk. By 1600 he had appointed three parliamentary bishops. By the end of his reign there were 11 bishops and diocesan episcopacy had been restored, although there was still strong support for Presbyterianism within the Kirk. Although officially illegal, Roman Catholicism survived in parts of Scotland. The hierarchy of the Church played a relatively small role and the initiative
8211-477: The king in key positions, including James IV 's (r. 1488–1513) illegitimate son Alexander Stewart , who was nominated as Archbishop of St. Andrews at the age of 11. This practice strengthened royal influence but it also made the Church vulnerable to criticisms of venality and nepotism . Relationships between the Scottish Crown and the Papacy were generally good, with James IV receiving tokens of papal favour. Traditional Protestant historiography tended to stress
8330-412: The late King James V, Lord James Stewart (later the Earl of Moray), and Lord John Erskine . In 1557 a "first bond" was signed by Argyll, Glencairn, Morton, Lorne, and Erskine, for mutual support against "Sathan and all wicked power that does intend tyranny and truble against the foresaid congregation." This group, which eventually became known as 'the Lords of the Congregation ', was a direct challenge to
8449-426: The late tenth and early eleventh centuries, the land between the rivers Forth and Tweed came under Scottish control. The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed was made a royal burgh by David I (reigned 1124–1153), and it would appear that the shire of Berwick, or Berwickshire, was also created during David's reign. The shire covered the town of Berwick plus a largely rural area to the north-west of it, and corresponded to
8568-499: The lower ranks of the profession, leading to frequent complaints about their standards of education or abilities. Although there is little clear evidence that standards were declining, this was expressed as one of the major grievances of the Reformation. Heresy, in the form of Lollardry , began to reach Scotland from England and Bohemia in the early 15th century. Lollards were followers of John Wycliffe (c. 1330 –84) and later Jan Hus (c. 1369 –1415), who called for reform of
8687-480: The match, an action later known as the "rough wooing", which devastated south-east Scotland. In 1546, George Wishart , a preacher who had come under the influence of Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli , was arrested and burnt at the stake in St. Andrews on the orders of Cardinal Beaton. Wishart's supporters, who included a number of Fife lairds, assassinated Beaton soon after and seized St. Andrews Castle, which they held for
8806-489: The medieval province of Merse. After the town of Berwick had finally been ceded to English control in 1482, the functions of the county town (principally holding the sheriff court ) were initially shared between Duns and Lauder , until 1596 when Greenlaw was declared the county town by James VI . In 1661 the county town was moved to Duns, but in 1696 it was moved back to Greenlaw. Commissioners of Supply were established for each Scottish shire in 1667. County Hall
8925-421: The members to reject Nicodemism , by which they held Protestant convictions, but attended Catholic services. Despite being offered protection by the Earl of Argyll , he returned to Geneva in 1556. In the absence of a leading clerical figure, the leadership of the movement was taken by the few nobles who had embraced Protestantism and a new generation that included Argyll's son Lord Lorne , the illegitimate son of
9044-500: The most part, attained such proficiency in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures as to be able by their own efforts rightly to instruct the people in the Catholic faith and other things necessary to salvation or to convert the erring." Protestantism continued to expand in this period and became more distinct from those who wanted reform within the existing church. Originally organised as conventicles that consisted of members of
9163-437: The new faith in simple language. It saw the Kirk as a "catholik" community of, "the elect of all nations, realms, nations, tongues, Jews and Gentiles". In 1581, as part of a reaction to the perceived threat of Catholicism, the court signed a King's , or Negative Confession , probably commissioned by James VI, that much more harshly denounced Catholicism. The Reformation saw a complete transformation of religious observance. In
9282-415: The new ideas. The Archbishop of St Andrews was warned against any further such public executions as "the reek [smoke] of Maister Patrik Hammyltoun has infected as many as it blew upon". After entering his personal reign in 1528, James V avoided pursuing the major structural and theological changes to the church undertaken by his contemporary Henry VIII in England. In exchange for his loyalty to Rome, he
9401-582: The new kirk to local lairds, who were able to take on the dignity and authority of an elder . In the 1560s the majority of the population was probably still Catholic in persuasion, and the Kirk would find it difficult to penetrate the Highlands and Islands, but began a gradual process of conversion and consolidation that, compared with reformations elsewhere, was conducted with little persecution. The monasteries were not dissolved but allowed to die out with their monks, and before 1573 no holders of benefices were turned out, even for refusing to conform. The focus on
9520-489: The nobility also declined in the 15th century. In contrast, the burghs saw the flourishing of mendicant orders of friars in the later 15th century, who, unlike the older monastic orders, placed an emphasis on preaching and ministering to the population. The order of Observant Friars were organised as a Scottish province from 1467, and the older Franciscans and the Dominicans were recognised as separate provinces in
9639-472: The old faith in Scotland. Under these, all previous acts not in conformity with the Reformed Confession were annulled. The sacraments were reduced to two ( Baptism and Communion ) to be performed by reformed preachers alone. The celebration of the Mass was made punishable by a series of penalties (ultimately death) and Papal jurisdiction in Scotland was repudiated. The Queen declined to endorse
9758-468: The only person to partake legally in Catholic services and did not attempt to re-impose Catholicism on her subjects, thus angering the chief Catholic nobles. Her six-year personal reign was marred by a series of crises, largely caused by the intrigues and rivalries of the leading nobles. The murder of her secretary, David Riccio , was followed by that of her unpopular second husband Lord Darnley , father of her infant son, and her abduction by, and marriage to,
9877-581: The orders of her kinswoman Elizabeth I. James was Calvinist in doctrine, but strongly supported episcopacy and resisted the independence, or even right to interfere in government, of the Kirk, which became associated with the followers of Andrew Melville , known as the Melvillians. He used his powers to call the General Assembly where he wished, limiting the ability of more radical clergy to attend. He paid for moderate clergy to be present, negotiated with members, and manipulated its business in order to limit
9996-413: The outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 16 May 1975. Throughout the council's existence a majority of the seats on the council were held by Conservatives : The county council of Berwickshire was formed in 1890 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , and applied for a grant of arms the same year. The grant, by Lord Lyon King of Arms was made on 10 October. The coat of arms shows
10115-496: The parish church as the centre of worship meant the abandonment of much of the complex religious provision of chapelries, monasteries and cathedrals, many of which were allowed to decay or, like the Cathedral at St Andrews, were mined for dressed stone to be used in local houses. When her husband Francis II died in 1560, Mary, now 19, elected to return to Scotland to take up the government. She gained an agreement that she would be
10234-568: The parish clergy. In 1472 St Andrews became the first archbishopric in the Scottish church, to be followed by Glasgow in 1492. The collapse of papal authority in the Papal Schism (1378–1418) allowed the Scottish Crown to gain effective control of major ecclesiastical appointments within the kingdom. This de facto authority over appointments was formally recognised by the Papacy in 1487. The Crown placed clients and relatives of
10353-519: The parish of Eyemouth , on the south-east by Ayton on the south by Chirnside and Bunkle , on the west by Abbey St Bathans and on the north by Cockburnspath . Besides the village of Coldingham, the parish contains the villages of: The civil parish is divided between the Community Council areas of Coldingham, St Abbs , Reston and Auchencrow, and Grantshouse. It was included in the former Berwickshire District of Borders Region , by
10472-583: The parishes of Channelkirk , Earlston , Lauder , Legerwood , and Mertoun , which went to Ettrick and Lauderdale district. The Berwickshire lieutenancy area was adjusted from being the historic county to being the new district at the same time. Berwickshire District Council was based at the former County Buildings at 8 Newtown Street in Duns, which became known as the Council Offices. The Borders region and its four district councils, including Berwickshire, were abolished in 1996, merging to form
10591-459: The place of the many holy days and festivals of the Catholic Church and the occasional observance of the Mass, the single surviving holy day was Sunday and regular attendance and participation was required of the laity. Latin was abandoned in favour of the vernacular. Congregational psalm singing replaced the elaborate polyphony of trained choirs. An emphasis was put on the Bible and the sermon, which
10710-404: The present Scottish Borders council area. The Berwickshire lieutenancy area continues to be defined as the area of the pre-1996 district rather than the pre-1975 county. The former council offices in Duns continue to be used for some departments of Scottish Borders Council. The first election to Berwickshire District Council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside
10829-493: The problem of clerical pluralism , by which clerics held two or more livings , which elsewhere resulted in parish churches being without priests, or served by poorly-trained and paid vicars and clerks. The number of poor clerical livings and a general shortage of clergy in Scotland, particularly after the Black Death , meant that in the 15th century the problem intensified. As a result, parish clergy were largely drawn from
10948-469: The prohibition against reading the Bible in the vernacular . A planned marriage between Mary and Edward , the son of Henry VIII of England, which had been agreed under the Treaty of Greenwich (1543), led to a backlash in Scotland and a coup led by Cardinal Beaton . He repudiated the reforming policies, and all consideration of an English marriage for the Queen, angering the English. They invaded to enforce
11067-450: The prospect of a long minority. At the beginning of Mary's reign, the Scottish political nation was divided between a pro-French faction, led by Cardinal Beaton and by the Queen's mother, Mary of Guise , and a pro-English faction, headed by Mary's prospective heir James Hamilton, Earl of Arran . Initially Arran became Regent, backed by the small "evangelical party" at court, who favoured religious reform. The act of Parliament of 1543 removed
11186-464: The reforming cause. The English supplied books and distributed Bibles and Protestant literature in the Lowlands . Several earls pledged themselves 'to cause the word of God to be taught and preached'. To counter the English, the Scots secured French help, the price of which was the betrothal of the infant Queen to the French dauphin , the future Francis II . She departed for France in 1548, where she
11305-571: The regent was declared "suspended" and replaced by a "great council of the realm". Mary of Guise's forces continued to advance, once again threatening St. Andrews. The situation was transformed by the arrival of the English fleet in the Firth of Forth in January 1560, and the French retreated to the stronghold of Leith near Edinburgh. The English and the Lords agreed further support by the Treaty of Berwick in February 1560 and an English army crossed
11424-478: The size of the parish, an additional chapel was set up for the interior or western part of the parish in 1794. With the opening of a new trunk road in the area (now the A1) in 1816, communications between Grantshouse and Reston were so improved, it was decided in 1836 to erect a church midway between the villages, at Houndwood. Houndwood was made an ecclesiastical parish for the western part of Coldingham in 1851. This parish
11543-534: The start of the 17th century. According to N. Prior, the nature of the Scottish Reformation may have had wider effects, limiting the creation of a culture of public display and meaning that art was channelled into more austere forms of expression with an emphasis on private and domestic restraint. The loss of ecclesiastical patronage that resulted from the Reformation, meant that native craftsmen and artists turned to secular patrons. One result of this
11662-645: The subject of national pride, and many Scots saw their country as a new Israel. Christianity spread in Scotland from the 6th century, with evangelisation by Irish-Scots missionaries and, to a lesser extent, those from Rome and England. The church in Scotland attained clear independence from England after the Papal Bull of Celestine III ( Cum universi , 1192), by which all Scottish bishoprics except Galloway became formally independent of York and Canterbury . The whole Ecclesia Scoticana , with individual Scottish bishoprics (except Whithorn/Galloway), became
11781-560: The teachers in the universities and schools, and a closer relationship with parliament. A parliament was called in December, which allowed the acts passed by the Reformation Parliament to be ratified. The subsequent religious settlement would be worked out over the 1570s against a background of civil war and unstable regencies. In July 1567, Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her 13-month-old son James VI . James
11900-588: The town in the 1540s on law, Greek, Latin and philosophy, under the patronage of Mary of Guise . The "Tounis College" become the University of Edinburgh in 1582. The results of these changes were a revitalisation of all Scottish universities, which were now producing a quality of education the equal of that offered anywhere in Europe. Medieval Scotland probably had its own Mystery plays , often performed by craft guilds , like one described as ludi de ly haliblude and staged at Aberdeen in 1440 and 1445 and which
12019-658: The treasury and the Great Seal , and the French ambassador Henri Cleutin sometimes attended the Privy Council . At first Mary of Guise cultivated a policy of limited toleration of Protestants, hoping to gain their support for her pro-French policies and against England, which from 1553 was under the rule of the Catholic Mary Tudor , who married the future Philip II of Spain in 1554. Hopes for reform of
12138-624: The way for the Castalian poets of James VI's adult reign. Scotland's ecclesiastical art paid a heavy toll as a result of Reformation iconoclasm , with the almost total loss of medieval stained glass and religious sculpture and paintings. The only significant surviving pre-Reformation stained glass in Scotland is a window of four roundels in the Magdalen Chapel of Cowgate , Edinburgh , completed in 1544. Wood carving can be seen at King's College, Aberdeen and Dunblane Cathedral . In
12257-511: Was a monastery of high order on this site as early as AD 660 when it is recorded that Etheldreda , the queen of Egfrid , became a nun at the Monastery of Coldingham, then under the management of Æbbe, the Elder , aunt of her husband. Bede describes it as "the Monastery of Virgins" and states that in 679, the monastery burnt down. It was rebuilt but was again destroyed by fire at the hands of
12376-460: Was a system of church courts of kirk sessions and presbyteries , which dealt with discipline and administration. Some local sessions had existed before 1560, moderators emerged in 1563, but the presbytery not until 1580. By the 1590s Scotland was organized into about 50 presbyteries with about 20 ministers in each. Above them stood a dozen or so synods and at the apex the general assembly. The system of kirk sessions gave considerable power within
12495-612: Was able to appoint his many illegitimate children and favourites to office in the Church, particularly David Beaton who became a Cardinal in 1538 and Archbishop of Saint Andrews in 1539. James increased crown revenues by heavily taxing the church, taking £72,000 in four years. The results of such appointments and taxation undermined both the status and finances of the Church. The Church was also divided by jurisdictional disputes between Gavin Dunbar , Archbishop of Glasgow and James Beaton , Archbishop of St. Andrews until his death in 1539. As
12614-515: Was abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which reorganised local government across Scotland into upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Berwickshire was incorporated into the Borders Region . Borders was divided into four districts, one of which was named Berwickshire, with borders which broadly resembled those of the historic county, but excluded the parish of Nenthorn , which went to Roxburgh district, and
12733-649: Was absent in Scotland, but James VI signalled his interest in drama by arranging for a company of English players to erect a playhouse and perform in 1599. The Kirk also discouraged poetry that was not devotional in nature. Nevertheless, poets from this period included Richard Maitland of Lethington (1496–1586), who produced meditative and satirical verses; John Rolland (fl. 1530–1575), who wrote allegorical satires and courtier and minister Alexander Hume (c. 1556 –1609), whose corpus of work includes nature poetry and epistolary verse . Alexander Scott 's (?1520–82/3) use of short verse designed to be sung to music, opened
12852-476: Was added to County Buildings in 1967. Greenlaw was still considered the official county town after 1890, despite the county council meeting in Duns and courts being held at both towns. An Act of Parliament in 1903 finally revoked Greenlaw's status as county town and declared Duns to be the county town for all purposes. At the time of the county council's abolition in 1975, Berwickshire contained four burghs and three districts : Berwickshire County Council
12971-448: Was built at Greenlaw in 1829 to serve as the courthouse and meeting place for the commissioners, replacing an earlier building on an adjoining site. The building was paid for by William Purves-Hume-Campbell of Purves Hall, near Greenlaw, who was keen for Greenlaw to retain its position as county town. However, Greenlaw remained a very small town, and Duns was clearly the larger town by the nineteenth century. In 1853 an act of Parliament ,
13090-656: Was forced to flee into exile. These included the Beheading of Johne the Baptist and the Historie of Dyonisius the Tyraonne , which were performed at Dundee. David Lyndsay (c. 1486 –1555), diplomat and the head of the Lyon Court , was a prolific poet and dramatist. He produced an interlude at Linlithgow Palace for the king and queen thought to be a version of his play The Thrie Estaitis in 1540, which satirised
13209-482: Was left to lay leaders. Where nobles or local lairds offered protection it continued to thrive, as with Clanranald on South Uist , or in the north-east where the Earl of Huntly was the most important figure. In these areas Catholic sacraments and practices were maintained with relative openness. Members of the nobility were probably reluctant to pursue each other over matters of religion because of strong personal and social ties. An English report in 1600 suggested that
13328-456: Was often longer than an hour, although many parishes, which had no minister, would have had only a "readers service", of psalms, prayers and Bible readings. The Geneva Bible was widely adopted. Protestant preachers fleeing Marian persecutions in England had brought with them Edward VI 's second Book of Common Prayer (of 1552), which was commended by the Lords of the Congregation. Knox initially supported it, but before leaving Geneva, and with
13447-472: Was part of Scotland at the time of the county's formation in the twelfth century, but became part of England in 1482 after several centuries of swapping back and forth between the two kingdoms. After the loss of Berwick, Duns and Greenlaw both served as county town at different periods. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of the Borders region, with most of
13566-401: Was probably connected with the feast of Corpus Christi , but no texts are extant. Legislation was enacted against folk plays in 1555, and against liturgical plays ("clerk-plays or comedies based on the canonical scriptures") in 1575 by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Attempts to ban folk plays were more leniently applied and less successful that once assumed. They continued into
13685-425: Was shared by the Protestant reformers, with a desire for a godly people replacing the aim of having educated citizens. The First Book of Discipline set out a plan for a school in every parish, but this proved financially impossible. In the burghs the old schools were maintained, with the song schools and a number of new foundations becoming reformed grammar schools or ordinary parish schools. Schools were supported by
13804-513: Was the flourishing of Scottish Renaissance painted ceilings and walls, with large numbers of private houses of burgesses, lairds and lords gaining often highly detailed and coloured patterns and scenes, of which over 100 examples survive. These were undertaken by unnamed Scottish artists using continental pattern books that often led to the incorporation of humanist moral and philosophical symbolism, with elements that call on heraldry, piety, classical myths and allegory. The earliest surviving example
13923-470: Was to be brought up a Protestant and the government was to be run by a series of regents, beginning with Moray, until James began to assert his independence in 1581. Mary eventually escaped and attempted to regain the throne by force. After her defeat at the Battle of Langside in May 1568, by forces loyal to the King's Party, led by Moray, she took refuge in England, leaving her son in their hands. In Scotland,
14042-491: Was to be raised and educated. At this point, "the policy of Henry VIII had failed completely". French ascendancy was made absolute over the next decade. In 1554, Arran was given the title Duke du Châtellerault and removed from the regency in favour of Mary of Guise (the Queen Mother). During her regency (1554–1560), the Queen's mother ensured the predominance of France in Scottish affairs. She put Frenchmen in charge of
14161-444: Was to leave sufficient endowment in his will, for the foundation of Edinburgh University. James McGoldrick suggests that there was a circle of "Erasmian-type scholar-reformers" at the royal court in the first decade of the sixteenth century. From the 1520s the ideas of Martin Luther began to have influence in Scotland, with Lutheran literature circulating in the east-coast burghs. In 1525 Parliament banned their importation. In 1527,
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