Stichill Kirk is an ancient church situated in the village of

Stichill Stichill is a village and civil parish in the historic county of Roxburghshire, a division of the Scottish Borders. Situated north of the Burgh of Kelso, Stichill lies north of the Eden Water and from the English Border at Coldstream. Stichi ...

in the old county of

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

, now part of the

Scottish Borders Council Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The village lies north of the abbey town of Kelso on the B6643 road and is at .

History

The meaning of the name 'Stichill' is thought to come from the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

signifying a declivity meaning a downward slope, as on a hill. The first mention of the church came in 1124 when Gilleb was described as being the Presbyter of Stichil.http://www.stichill.bordernet.co.uk/ Stichill Community Website In the early years, the church of Stichil was in the patronage of the

Earls of Dunbar The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, was the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this earldom ...

but later in the century, the monks of Kelso obtained both the parish and the church. That situation did not change until the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...

in the 1560s. and some of the early clerics were: *Gilleb. Presbyter–1124 *W. de Stichel–1153 *Goze, Goscelno, Sacerdos of Stichill–1158

Post Reformation

The first known minister after the Reformation was Rev. William Hood, who was the incumbent from 1567 until 1577. In 1640 the parishes of Stichill and Hume were united and the Parochial records have been kept since that time.http://www.electricscotland.com/History/gazetteer/index.htm Gazetteer of Scotland The present parish church was built in 1770 before a virtual reconstruction in 1869 followed by major renovation in 1906. A secession church - The Associate Church of Stichill was built in 1773 but became part of The

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

1900. Finally, in 1938, that church united with Stichill Parish Church. (The Associate Church was also known as the Cairns Memorial Church) In the 18th. century the Secession (Associate) Church was famous for its annual "Holy Fairs" The old Associate Church, is now a private home. The parish church is now linked with the parishes of Smailhom, Hume,

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...

Ednam Ednam is a small village near Kelso in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Places nearby include Stichill, Sprouston, Nenthorn, Eccles, Gordon, Greenlaw as well as Floors Castle. The village was formerly in Roxburghshire. Its name is a cor ...

and

Nenthorn Nenthorn is a parish and hamlet in the south of the historic county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is included in the Floors, Makerstoun, Nenthorn and Smailholm Community Council area, which also includes the parishe ...

Notable Minister

Reverend George Gunn M.A. who was minister at Stichill from 1878 until 1900, he preached his last sermon on 5 November 1899.

External links

RCAHMS record of Stichill Manse, SteadingRCAHMS record of Stichill Parish ChurchRCAHMS record of Stichill, Parish Church, Graveyard

References

{{Coord, 55.6372, -2.4604, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Category B listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Churches in the Scottish Borders Listed churches in Scotland

History

Post Reformation

Notable Minister

See also

External links

References