Eckford Church

[loandy]

I believe that my GGGrandparents were married in this church 1837, my question is , is it the same Church that is there today & how can I access the Church records re. the marriage of George Carter & Jane Gilholm , I was able to visit this place about 5 years ago ,but was unable to go inside as the place was locked but a very interesting Churchyard,
Cheers,

[CaroleW]

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk is the site to use for that information.

However - marriages for that period do not give a lot of information

[Forfarian]

I believe that my GGGrandparents were married in this church 1837, my question is , is it the same Church that is there today

The present Eckford Parish Kirk is the same one that would have been there in 1837. See https://canmore.org.uk/site/58233/eckford-parish-church

how can I access the Church records re. the marriage of George Carter & Jane Gilholm

Online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, but prepare to be disappointed at the amount of information contained in the record.

However the overwhelming likelihood is that the wedding ceremony was not held in the kirk itself. Traditionally weddings were held in the bride's parents' home, or, if she had no parents or was marrying a long way from home, in her employer's house or in the parish manse. It wasn't really until the 20th century that a wedding in the kirk building became the norm.

[Sunlaws]

The Church of Scotland has sold this church (but not the graveyard) and it is in the process of being converted into a private house.

regards,
Lesley

[loandy]

Thanks Lesely, I was fascinated by the old round tower building in the Church yard, I was told that a watch was kept there the night before a funeral to guard against body snatchers,
Cheers  Wal

[Forfarian]

Watch towers in kirkyards are not uncommon. Usually it was after the funeral, rather than before, until the body had decomposed enough to be of no further interest to bodysnatchers. Also known as 'resurrectionists', these people dug up recently buried bodies and sold them to university medical faculties for use by students learning anatomy. The most famous of the bodysnatchers were Burke and Hare.

Here are a few examples. More are available.

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2154286
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/860057
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/299267
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1338021
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1003475
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1347822
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1343317
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/392073

[Sunlaws]

Until about 30 years ago the watch tower was still complete with its musket, which I believe is now in the Wilton Lodge Museum in Hawick.

Lesley

[terianne]

Church record held at NAS and heritage hub in Hawick - not all OPRs on scotlandspeople pre 1855 -nonconformist

[Rakiura John]

Earlier this year I had a situation where ScotlandsPeople had a nonconformist marriage in its index but no image of the record, which they advised I could get from the Hawick Heritage Hub. I provided the details to the Hub which confirmed to me they had the record but would require "a half-hour remote research fee of £15". Perhaps I've gotten used to the very reasonable fee charged by SP, but £15 a shot rather quickly changed my research strategy ...