A brief history of bolton church
A bronze plaque on the boundary wall of the churchyard reads:
In this Churchyard lies the mortal remains of the mother, brother
and sister of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns.
In this Churchyard lies the mortal remains of the mother, brother
and sister of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns.
There has been a church at Bolton since 1244. By the time of the Reformation in 1560 the lands at Bolton belonged to John Hepburn, a member of the family of the notorious Bothwell family. In 1568, Hepburn was executed for his part in the Kirk o' Field plot, which had resulted in the murder of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots. The estate, along with neighbouring Lethington (later Lennoxlove), then passed to the Maitland family who owned it until 1696. For the first few years after the Reformation, Bolton shared a minister with Saltoun but this arrangement ended in 1576 and the two parishes remained completely separate until 1928 when they were united, again sharing a minister. In 1979, they were linked with Humbie and Yester, a return to the situation at the Reformation and for much the same reason - to make the most economic and effective use of the Church's resources. 2015 saw the further union of Yester, Bolton and Saltoun congregations, linked with Humbie. |
There are no records of what the previous churches looked like but, towards the end of the 18th century, the building was no longer felt to be satisfactory. In the Old Statistical Account, the minister of Bolton states it was only "an old building very thick in the walls", and by 1804 the Heritors had agreed that something should be done. They decided that the church "required to be wholey new seated". The initial plans involved erecting a gallery with three lofts. However, at a meeting in 1805, the Heritors took account of warnings regarding the weakness of the church walls: "It is for the interest of the Heritors that a new church should be erected instead of repairing the old one. They therefore resolve that a new church shall be built capable of containing 250 people". (In 1791 the population of the parish was 235, increasing to 323 in 1835.) The lofts are still a feature of the church and were originally allocated to the three estates in the parish: Colstoun, Lennoxlove, and Eaglescairnie.
For the next three years, the Heritors negotiated with architects and contractors but a meeting in late 1809 recorded that, "as it appears that some parts of the church are not yet finished, the Heritors do not consider themselves as authorised to take the church off the hands of the contractors ... The meeting therefore adjourns this present meeting to Wednesday 8th November, by which time they desire ... a more particular report informing the meeting of the church being completely furnished, pointing out every deviation from the specification and stating that the work of every kind is not only tolerably but perfectly sufficient" (emphases in original manuscript). Their firm resolve clearly had the desired result - by the time of their next meeting, the Heritors had a satisfactory report from the experts and agreed to take the Church off the contractors’ hands. One person who was very much involved with the building of the new church was Gilbert Burns, brother of the poet and factor to Lord Blantyre. Burns undertook many of the dealings with the architects and tradesmen, and the church, along with the family tombstone in the churchyard, can be considered as his memorial.
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There have been further changes since Burns’ day: in 1930, the pulpit was moved from its central position below the east window to its present location, the sanctuary platform was extended to the full width of the church, and the choir seats removed; in 1957, the present central aisle was introduced. Since then, chairs have been added for the Communion Table. The minister’s chair was the gift of the late Norman Manclark of Monkrigg; elders’ chairs were presented in memory of the late Sir Humphrey Broun Lindsay by his sister, and others were gifted by the Wallace and MacGregor families. |
THE BURNS GRAVE
In 1800, Robert Burns’ younger brother, Gilbert, moved to East Lothian with his wife, Jean, and their eleven children, his widowed mother, Agnes, his sister, and his more famous brother’s first child, his love-begotten daughter, Elizabeth. Gilbert worked on the Lennoxlove estate and the family lived at nearby Grant’s Braes. Gilbert erected the tombstone in the churchyard where several of the family are buried. One of their sons, Rev Dr Thomas Burns, was a founding father of Dunedin in New Zealand. The Haddington Burns Club has planted a red rose beside the grave and there is now a Burns Heritage Trail from Haddington, past Grant’s Braes and ending at the grave.
In 1800, Robert Burns’ younger brother, Gilbert, moved to East Lothian with his wife, Jean, and their eleven children, his widowed mother, Agnes, his sister, and his more famous brother’s first child, his love-begotten daughter, Elizabeth. Gilbert worked on the Lennoxlove estate and the family lived at nearby Grant’s Braes. Gilbert erected the tombstone in the churchyard where several of the family are buried. One of their sons, Rev Dr Thomas Burns, was a founding father of Dunedin in New Zealand. The Haddington Burns Club has planted a red rose beside the grave and there is now a Burns Heritage Trail from Haddington, past Grant’s Braes and ending at the grave.
FROM THE KIRK SESSION RECORDS
The Session's main responsibility was to its parishioners, some of whom received a modest annual pension. Occasionally, the records also show entries to "a distrest stranger", demonstrating the giving of alms to the poor. This was usually about sixpence (21/2p in modern currency).
In addition, the Session acted as a moral court, disciplining perceived misdemeanours. Records refer to parishioners being "compeared", which usually involved being the subject of the sermon and sitting on the stool of repentance for successive Sundays.
The Session's main responsibility was to its parishioners, some of whom received a modest annual pension. Occasionally, the records also show entries to "a distrest stranger", demonstrating the giving of alms to the poor. This was usually about sixpence (21/2p in modern currency).
In addition, the Session acted as a moral court, disciplining perceived misdemeanours. Records refer to parishioners being "compeared", which usually involved being the subject of the sermon and sitting on the stool of repentance for successive Sundays.
HISTORIC ARTEFACTS
In 1783, the Session agreed to buy a "new fashionable herse" at a cost of £37.15.6, from funds reserved for the relief of the poor. Uniquely, an extra section was later added to the hearse as people’s diets improved and they grew taller, requiring longer coffins. The Bolton Hearse is now on display in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The Hearse Hoose (now in private ownership) can still be seen in the corner of the churchyard – note its eye-catching weather-vane. Mention of the hearse leads to another grim relic of the past: the grave-guard, displayed in the church porch. As the name implies, this was designed to thwart body snatchers, who stole newly-buried corpses to sell to the Medical School in Edinburgh. |
At one time there were two communion cups of Canongate silver, dated 1690, but later sold. One is now in the National Museum of Scotland, and the other is in Huntly House Museum on Edinburgh’s Canongate.
However, still in the church’s possession is a pewter basin, inscribed This is for the Kirk of Boultyn 1692, and used today for baptisms. It is thought to be an early piece of Scottish pewter, representing the only known extant work of the Haddington pewterer Simon Sawyers, a pupil of John Hay. (It is not kept on display.)
In the south-east corner of the graveyard there are two stone steps leading down to a steep hillside. This was where the lepers could come into the churchyard by a back way and listen to the service through a hole in the church wall, thus avoiding contact with any members of the congregation. They lived in the nearby colony of Meal-Poke Brae, so-called because local folk would leave them a ‘poke’, or bag, of meal by the burn at the foot of the hill.
INTO THE FUTURE
The writer in the Third Statistical Account was perhaps being unduly negative in emphasising that in 1953 Bolton had "no village, no railway station, no shop, no post office, no public house and no police station". (Nowadays he could have added, no school). This is true; but it is also true that those who live and worship here are very aware of their connection with past generations and continue to share a strong sense of community.
The writer in the Third Statistical Account was perhaps being unduly negative in emphasising that in 1953 Bolton had "no village, no railway station, no shop, no post office, no public house and no police station". (Nowadays he could have added, no school). This is true; but it is also true that those who live and worship here are very aware of their connection with past generations and continue to share a strong sense of community.