Skirling is a parish, community council area and village in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders situated 2½ miles east of Biggar in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

. Biggar Water, a tributary the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the ...

forms the southern boundary of the parish with the parish of Broughton, Glenholm and Kilbucho. It is also bounded by that parish on the east, namely the Broughton part of it. On the north it is bounded by the parish

Kirkurd Kirkurd is a parish in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders situated 3 miles south-east of Dolphinton and 6 miles north-east of Broughton. Tarth Water, a tributary of Lyne Water (itself a tributary of the River Tweed) forms the northern boundar ...

in Peeblesshire. Spittal Burn forms most of its western boundary with Lanarkshire.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis Groome, 2nd edition 1896; article on Skirling The parish lies in the

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands ( gd, Na Monaidhean a Deas) are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the other two being the Central Lowlands and the Grampian Mountains and the Highlands, as illustrate ...

. Its village is 690 ft above sea level. Its length, north to south, is 3 miles and it is 2 miles at most wide.Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol III Roxburgh, Peebles, Selkirk, publ.William Blackwood, 1845; article on Skirling (Peeblesshire section) The highest point in the parish is Broomy Law, 1399 ft,Ordnance Survey 1 inch to 1 mile, Sheet 61 - Falkirk and Lanark, Publication date 1961 on the north-west boundary. At its northernmost point the parish is met by 5 other parishes (boundary stone at site). The earliest known record of Skirling by name dates from the reign of King Robert Bruce, who granted the barony of ''Scrawline'' to John Monfode. The barony of Skirling was possessed by the Cockburn family c.1370 - 1621 and during the 18th and 19th centuries by the Carmichael family. Thomas Gibson-Carmichael was raised to peerage of the United Kingdom in 1912 as Baron Carmichael of Skirling, but this title became extinct on his death in 1926. He commissioned the building of Skirling House in 1905.Website of Historic Environment Scotland, formed in 2015 by the merger

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS): canmore.org.uk/site/97985 - retrieved Oct 2016 Skirling Parish Church - geograph

The earliest record of a church is in 1275, sited near the present war memorial.Church of Scotland website www.uppertweeddale.org.uk retrieved Oct 2016 Former ministers include

John Greig John Greig (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the ...

. In 1843,

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

left the established Church of Scotland in 1843, joining the Free Church of Scotland, taking most of his congregation with him. The present building was rebuilt in 1720 and was much altered in 1891. It has a pleasant bell tower with a sundial, the bell dating from 1748.Historic Environment Scotland web site portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB15153; retrieved Oct 2016 Ironwork on the graveyard gates is by

Thomas Hadden Thomas Hadden (1871–1940) was a Scottish maker of ornamental ironwork from wrought iron, particularly for the architect Robert Lorimer. Life Hadden was born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire in 1871. He came from an ironworking family, and serve ...

and the Carmichael family plot is flanked by two charming angel sculptures. The church is now a member of the linked "Parishes of Upper Tweeddale", which is made up of four neighbouring Parishes. The Skirling Community Council area is the same as the civil parish. The council has 6 members. The village of Skirling has a central position in the parish. It originally consisted of five small farms on the valley floor of Skirling Burn, forming a roughly linear shaped settlement. The village is a conservation area, which includes the parish church, the old Free church, Skirling House, along with many 1 - 2 story buildings made from traditional materials. Just south-west of the village is the site of Skirling Castle, described as "ane notable beilding" and demolished and burnt by

Regent Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. A supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for hi ...

on 12 June 1568. The village war memorial was designed by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

and added in 1920. The civil parish has a population of 194 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved March 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930 and its area is 3,423 acres.Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Skirling. Places are presented alphabetically At 11.18am on 31 December 2020 Skirling was the epicentre of a 1.9 Magnitude earthquake which was also felt in Biggar, Symington, West Linton and Peebles. Locals reported that they heard a "loud bang" or "loud rumbling noise" and that the "room shuddered".British Geological Survey: https://earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/recent_events/20201231111811.html#page=summary

References

{{reflist Parishes in Peeblesshire