Place:Peebles, Peeblesshire, Scotland

Watchers
NamePeebles
TypeParish
Coordinates55.65°N 3.183°W
Located inPeeblesshire, Scotland     (1622 - 1975)
See alsoBorders, Scotlandregional authority 1975-1996
Scottish Borders, Scotlandunitary council area since 1996
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog

Peebles was a parish located in the former county of Peeblesshire, which ceased to exist following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1974. The parish had an area of 67.4km2 (26 sq. miles) and had 7 neighbouring parishes: Eddleston, Innerleithen, Lyne, Manor, Stobo, Traquair, all in Peeblesshire, and Yarrow in Selkirkshire. Settlements included Eshiels and the town of Peebles.

The boundaries of this parish were modified among significant changes recommended by the Boundary Commissioners after the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889.

Peebles is now located in the Scottish Borders Council Area, some 13 miles (21 km) south of Penicuik and 16 miles (26 km) south of Bonnyrigg in Midlothian.

"The town originated at the pont where Eddleston Water enters the Tweed. John Buchan, the author, and William Chambers, the publisher and orignator of Chambers dictionary were both born in Peebles. There are now two [ecclesiastical] parishes in Peebles - the Old Parish Church (to which Eddleston is now linked) and St Andrews Leckie." (Source: The Borders Family History Society

NOTE: Wikipedia states that John Buchan was born in Perth, and this has not been disputed on their "talk" page which has a lot of comments. The Gazetteer of Scotland states that John Buchan was a "visitor" to Perth. His grandparents lived in the neighbourhood.

Contents

Research Tips

Sources for Old Parish Registers Records, Vital Records and Censuses

  • Scotland's People This is a pay website providing vital statistics and census data for all of Scotland with original images. There is a description at Scotland under Genealogical Resources.

Notes for Peebleshire

  • GENUKI has a list of references for Peeblesshire. Some of these may be superseded by more modern material.
  • The Borders Family History Society provides a page of facts and publications for each of the parishes in its area. They have a lot of material and they publish monumental inscription books or CDs for many parishes. On each parish page is a map of the local area taken from either the Ordnance Survey Quarter-inch to the mile, Scotland, 1921-1923 series or the Ordnance Survey One-inch to the mile, Popular edition, Scotland, 1920-1930 series. These maps are not visible immediately upon opening a page, but worthwhile scrolling down to find.
  • The FreeCen Project has transcriptions of the whole of Peeblesshire online for the 1841 through 1871 censuses inclusive.
  • The Peebles Parish Registers for the Church of Scotland provide records of baptisms (1622-1854), marriages (1628-1854) and burials (1628-1712 and 1742-1847). See the FamilySearch Wiki article on Peebles for other church denominations.

Further Sources of Reference

Please note and respect the copyright warnings on these websites.

  • GENUKI article on Peebles. These articles often include a bibliography.
  • Scottish Places article on the parish of Peebles. The tabs of the right provide more information, and a map of the parish within its surrounding area, with small settlements highlighted and linked to more information.
  • The FamilySearch Wiki article on Peebles provides direct reference to FamilySearch holdings on many topics with respect to the parish.
  • The National Library of Scotland have a website devoted to maps from the 1600s right up to the present. Comparisons of modern-day and old maps of the same place can be made. From the home page click on "Find by place" and then follow the instructions on the next page. Once you are viewing the place you want, use the slider <----> at the top of the map to compare the layout of roads and the place names of smaller areas, perhaps even farms, with the landscape today. The website takes some getting used to. The One-inch 2nd edition, Scotland, 1898-1904 OS is a series of maps with the parishes delineated. Each of these maps cover an area of 18 x 24 miles and will zoom to comfortable reading size with a couple of mouse clicks on the map itself. Unfortunately, they are not geo-referenced, and it is necessary to go to the OS One Inch 1885-1900 series to locate places by latitude and longitude.
  • The Statistical Accounts for Scotland In the 1790s and again in the 1830s, the ministers of the all the parishes of the Church of Scotland were asked to provide a description of their parish to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The original account request included 160 questions to be answered. These accounts are available in print in 20 volumes and are also online where it is freely available to browse. The browsing portal is below the viewing area of most computer screens. Scroll down to "For non-subscribers" and click on "Browse scanned pages". This brings you to another page on which one can enter the name of the parish in which you are interested.
  • Excerpts from The Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885 are provided by Scottish Places. Selections from Groome and other gazetteers from the 19th century are also found on GENUKI.