Coldingham History

The Priory about 1200

One of the priors recorded events over the previous 50/100 years and these were added to Symeon's authoritative History of the Church at Durham.

Some of the monks at Coldingham wrote a book called the Life of Æbbe.

The lands of the Priory were expanding to an area of about half of present day Berwickshire.

The monks were helping at a hospital in Auld Cambus.

Two shepherds found the "tomb of Æbbe is on the Kirk Hill. The people of Coldingham took Æbbe's alleged "relics" to the Church of St Mary in Coldingham.

A new church [associated with Prior Thomas de Melsonby] After the church was damaged by the men of King John of England, a new priory church was started in 1216 according to documents or c1195 according to the architectural style. Either way Prior Thomas de Melsonby is associated with the new building at some early stage. [A copy of one of his seals is on the village street signs.] Later he was responsible for the building of an east transept on to Durham cathedral. This was necessary as the east end of the building was collapsing. Now Thomas was Prior of Durham. With the death of the Bishop of Durham the community elected Thomas to succeed. This the king would not agree to. Thomas had been prior at Coldingham and he might have Scottish sympathies.

In Thomas' church the isolated arch seen today was at the junction of the south aisle of the nave and the south transept. It had been "restored" before 1789. When part of Thomas's church the top of the arch would never have been semi-circular [see its east side].

Some burials

Near to the arch is a good place to be aware of burials:-

On one side of the arch are the graves of two priors from c1200. It is known that one of them, IErnaldus, held at least one court in the open at the Homili Knowe, Coldingham Sands. These burials are likely to have been put under the tower of Edgar's Church.

On the other side of the arch aregrave covers standing upright._ r These were incised with crosses and swords. The Knights TemPla Claim them and suggest they are from about 1472 when the pope temporarily suppressed Coldingham Priory and these knights were given some responsibilities at Coldingham. The initial purpose o these Knights was toprotect pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Towards the end of the 18th century the church tower fell down and exposed the skeleton of a female. The person had been built into the wall alive. This could have been a punishment for some wrong deed. It also could have been a sacrifice to try and insure that.the. building would not fall down. Walter Scott copied this sacrifice in his poem Marmion.

The ruins of the other main monastic buildings lie to the south of the present church and so to the south of the east end of Thomas' church. This is an unusual position and is probably explained by these buildings being first positioned south of Edgar's church. During the rebuild their positions did not alter. The highest remaining wall is known as "Edgar's walls". The original building here was the refectory but someone hatched up the idea that it had been Edgar's house. It seems that the last use for the "building" was for a cattle shed. Most of what is standing now is from a post priory alteration. The stone used is probably from a quarry at Coldingham Law. On the other hand some of the original blocks of dressed red sandstone used for the chapter house can be seen at the east end of the exposed ruins.

Destructions

It was from Coldingham Law that Cromwell's cannon almost finished the Priory buildings. After the Battle of Dunbar [1650] "Cothingham Abbey (sic) was one of the five strongholds quitted and left" by the Scots. Only two walls were left standing.

The buildings were damaged at other times including

Prior William Drax smoked out some Scottish Reivers who had barricaded themselves in the Priory [1420]. This made him unpopular with the Scottish parliament and he quickly went home to Durham taking the Priory papers with him. The documents are still there. Memories were short. Drax was soon back in Coldingham and remained Prior until 1441. During this period it is said that one day near Cockburnspath the Prior of Coldingham and others attacked a messenger and took the 2000 merks the messenger was carrying.

In 1532 the English burned the Priory.

Henry VIII wished his 6 year old son, Edward, to marry the infant Mary, Queen of Scots. He sent [1544] Hereford with an army to persuade the Scots to agree by pillaging the south of Scotland. This is known as the "rough wooing". The English attempted to burn the Priory but the wind changed direction and little damage was done. In the following year the English were in possession. Arran appeared with guns, but the English proved stronger than he had expected and he started to withdraw, abandoning his guns. Scottish reinforcements under Angus then appeared and they quickly seized the guns and took them to Dunbar.

[It appears that often reports from these times talk about great destructions only to have the buildings back in operation in a short time.]

[An early 20th century wreck Near to the rear gate and on the east side of the path there is a gravestone on which the writing is obliterated but on the edge there is a rope and at the apex an anchor. This must be the grave of the lost crew of the Danish vessel the "Alfred Erlandsen" bound from Riga to Grangemouth with a cargo of timber. In mountainous seas and thick fog she struck Ebb Carrs on 1907/10/17.]

Some other page(s) on the Priory that may be of interest.

Navigation Link below: (Click/Tap)

1. Drone View of the Priory (Video) - First shown by the Coldingham Local History Society Oct 2024 - Well worth a look !!
2. Priory History (Extracts from Book written by T D Thomson and published in 1972)

Mary Queen of Scots was here

Between the former manse and the present church building are the buried foundations of the Prior's lodgings. Probably one of the last important personages to be entertained there before the Reformation was Mary. The priors had long ceased to hold any religious authority. They held the post so as to have access to the remaining income from the land still held by the church. At the time of Mary's visit, the Prior was her favourite half brother Lord Johnnie Stewart [died 1563]. The visit was a private social affair.

The various pinks and buff sandstone of which the Priory was made could have been quarried from the cliff on the east side of Greenheugh [neighbouring Pease Bay]. Near to this abandoned quarry there is a natural harbour and the name Kirk Rigging. One can postulate about boats carrying building stone from here to the Sands. The stone would have been put in carts for the last part of its journey.

He improved and returned to his second lady. Later in dreams two men told Henry to build a little chapel on the Kirk Hill, "a remote place with nowhere to celebrate the divine mysteries". People thought he was daft so he did nothing. Enter woman, number three. She was Æbbe and she appeared in another dream. She told Henry to get on with the chapel. He took up the task with great enthusiasm and Henry became known as "St Æbbe's Man". When miracles started to happen at Henry's simple chapel the monks came along and replaced the structure with one of stone and mortar.

[There is a later record of a garden at St Michael's.]

The crosses in and around Coldingham

The likely sites of four freestanding crosses about Coldingham are known from place-names but it seems that there were also other crosses. In local folklore these crosses are said to have marked sanctuary limits in which a fugitive would be safe for a limited amount of time. The fugitive was usually then put on a boat and sent to foreign parts. One would have thought that the motherhouse of Coldingham, that is Durham, with its huge sanctuary knocker could help on this point but it does not. In fact it is among the records of Ripon Cathedral that there is a clearer picture of sanctuary. There all the sanctuary crosses were a mile from the cathedral. Applying this criterion to Coldingham then perhaps Whitecross qualifies. The monks had in addition other reasons for erecting freestanding crosses. One reason was as route markers and it seems that Crosslaw and Cairncross might fall into this category. Another reason for the placing of a freestanding cross could have been to mark where the approaching traveller has a first view of the church. Applin Cross could have fulfilled this for the traveller returning from the headland. It is generally taken that Applin comes from Applying. However a quality Scots dictionary suggests Applin is from Appin for Opening. It has already been noted that Coldingham lies in a hollow. The easiest access route to and from Coldingham is to use the valley of the burn running to the sea.

Today, if the derelict buildings could be made attractive and they are conveniently placed, then the steading can become housing incorporating features from its previous use. At Burnhall the farmhouse is substantial but the other buildings are decaying. The aim is to knock away as much as possible. Across the burn a horse driven mill has already been demolished to make way for a dwelling. Traditional roofing for farm steadings was red pantiles brought over as ballast in boats chiefly from Holland. On the East Lothian coast these boats called at those harbours nearest to where coal was being won. Red roofs on farm outbuildings are a feature of the East Lothian and Berwickshire countryside. However slate roofing has been used at Burnhall for both house and byre. In the recent development the vernacular has been sought. The next house upstream used to be called Moose Ha'.

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The full inscription will be display together with an image of the row containing the gravestone in the cemetary.

The attractive terrace of varying style of houses is known as Bogan. It was here that weavers used to stay and work producing linen and woollen clothes. C1800 there were 36 weavers in Coldingham. Cloth surplus to local requirements was sent off to be sold in larger towns. Some of the weavers became well off. There is a tirling pin on the door of the first house in Bogan. Its purpose was the same as a knocker.

Wee Willie Winky runs through the Loon Upstairs and doonstairs in his nicht goon Rapping at the window, tiding at the lock Are a' the bairnies in their beds? It's past 10 o'clock.

A few centuries before, Durham had done much to build the great Church in Dunfermline. It was a Durham monk who was the personal priest to Margaret. He wrote a Life of Margaret painting her in such glowing terms that her sainthood was never in any doubt. Transferring some of the "relics" at this time in the 14th century was a political gesture to emphasise Durham's role. Bishops, Kings, Popes and Earls were involved in the struggle for Coldingham. At the end of this episode the Prior was John of Aycliff, a Durham monk, and he was firmly in charge. He is considered to be the last great Prior of Coldingham.

Perhaps at one time long distance travellers to the 'north' left Coldingham by Gosmount for Westerside and beyond, or by Crosslaw for Lumsden and beyond. By 1776 the post road bypassed Coldingham. The section over the Moor stretches from Dowlaw road end (as today) to Press Castle and on to Cairncross and 'south' [My heart was as desolate as Coldingham Moor on a misty day. Alexander Somerville]

There were other dangers that the traveller may have had to face. ThisMoor seems to have been for a long time a place of dispute. Take just one incident. The commoners were chased off melt moor by a gang wielding sticks and hacquebutt filled with powder and lead. They were headed by George Hume {a brother of the then Home of Rentoun} [1630-1].

The people of Coldingham had a right to cut peats on the Common & though the peats were of poor quality. They used them as a fuel and also as a roofing material. This helped to give Coldingham a particularly uninteresting appearance. In 1766 the Common was enclosed. The redundant Commoners were able to find better employment. Soon they had coal in their fires and tiles on their roofs. The vista of Coldingham improved. In 1856 there were still heaths, bogs, and mosses. Today there are probably less. In the 18th century a change in agricultural practices made the land more productive as with the Common.

When Wilfrid was away from the church he took these "relics" with him. After a disagreement with the king, the "relics" were taken from him and given to the new queen. She took to showing them off. On a visit to Æbbe, Æbbe persuaded the royal pair to return the St Andrew "relics" to Wilfrid. Later, Wilfrid's successor at Hexham, Acca took these "relics" to the land of the Picts. They became a focus of Scottish nationalism in the Middle Ages.

Marriage lintel

Further down the road at Thornbank' are a small group of old houses. Here over the doorway of one is a marriage lintel. It is carved with a date and two sets of initials. This is a record of the first newly married occupiers of this house.

Two Interesting Names.

On the west side of the property "Golden Square" a path leads to the St Andrew's Burn and on to the bottom of Bridge Street. One has passed through Paradise.

Across the road a row of small houses line the burn on one side. This is called the Bow. At one place the burn flows over stonework. Perhaps this indicates a mill having been here in the past. The area immediately to the south of the burn here was at one time called Kiln Knowe. This suggests a limekiln operated here. This was another 18th century agricultural improvement - adding lime to the soil reduces the acidity giving conditions for better productivity**.

In Scotland the 18th century was a time of improving agriculture. This was successfully pioneered locally by James Hutton who farmed at Slighhouses [between Reston and Chirnside] and also at Nether Monynut, a hill farm in the Lammermuirs. On taking over these farms he spent two years in Norfolk studying farming methods there. On his return, Hutton's farms became models for neighbouring farmers to copy. Up to this time in Scotland the ploughs were made of wood. The wooden ploughshares were peppered with hard pebbles to make them last longer. The improvers used iron ploughshares. Hutton used new crop rotations to give a marked increase in the fertility of the fields. After 13 years he sold the farms and returned to Edinburgh.

James Hutton is revered as a father figure of geology. It was at Siccar Point [on the coast and near Auld Cambus] that he first demonstrated publicly the recycling of rocks and the enormity of time needed for this to happen. Siccar Point is now a World Geological site and is regularly visited by geologists from around the world.

The Mercat Cross

This is in the 'village square'. This cross was erected in 1815. It was about 1305 that King Edward I of England permitted Coldingham to have a weekly Wednesday market and an annual fair on St Luke's Day [18th October]. Edward was in a position to ordain so as he had just won Berwick and controlled South East Scotland.

The house on the west and partly closing the square has crow step gables. The war memorial garden was constructed by a team directed by the "Beechgrove Garden" TV personalities. This was just before the 1998 Priory 900 year anniversary. Following an old Coldingham custom they included a piece of Priory stone in a low wall.

The opening down the side of the garage leads to the Robertson Memorial Hall. It had been the hall of an adjoining church. In the 1940s this church was abandoned due to dry rot in its woodwork. The church is now demolished. Andrew Brodie Robertson [from i Infirmary Street in Edinburgh] was the minister here for 44 years n the 19th century. The first church here was built in 1793 as a relief

church [rebuilt 1870]. Some of the Priory Church congregation were not too keen on Landell's appointment as minister [or was it his music?] so they moved out and had this church built. The present Mercat Cross was donated by the Earl of Home.

In a cunning way Alexander made John, one of his sons, Prior of Coldingham while another son Patrick went to Rome and did his best to sever the connection between Coldingham and Durham. At this time Durham was poorly represented in Rome and appears to have been unaware of the gravity of the situation. When Durham wakened up to the situation they were too late. In mid May 1462 the Scottish Parliament put all English monks out of Scotland forever. Patrick Home immediately put the Durham monks out of Coldingham. At this very time a Durham clerk was coming north with a summons for Patrick Home to appear and answer charges at Newcastle. The poor clerk fearing for his life, came no further than Fishwick. Coldingham Priory was now firmly in Scottish hands.

The struggle for Coldingham became a three cornered fight in 1465 when James III entered the fray and alienated the Homes. In 1466 a papal bull excommunicating John and Patrick Home was issued as they had failed to respond to a citation regarding the Coldingham Priory. Things flared up again in 1471. The next year James III had the Priory suppressed. Following this, James made arrangements for the Priory to be succeeded by a collegiate church under James' Patronage, with Patrick to be its first dean replacing the deposed Prior John. However Alexander was in such a strong position as to become Warden of the East March. Alexander continued to recognise John as the strong man at Coldingham. Patrick died in exile in 1478. The conflict became monarchy v the Lords Home. The Homes with their allies won. James was beaten and killed at the battle of Sauchieburn by an army led by those of his subjects whom he had alienated in typical Stuart arrogance.

The Homes kept marching on, murdering when necessary, marrying so as to claim an inheritance. The last Commendator of Coldingham vvas.a Home. The unofficial leader of Scottish Enlightenment was David Hume, a philosopher of international renown. [Note the change in spelling to Hume. This was a deliberate change by Davi to dissociate himself from his ancestors. One of the 20th century British prime ministers was a Home, and so on.

We are but children of our times.

Some other page(s) on the Priory that may be of interest.

Navigation Link below: (Click/Tap)

1. Drone View of the Priory (Video) - First shown by the Coldingham Local History Society Oct 2024 - Well worth a look !!
2. Priory History (Extracts from Book written by T D Thomson and published in 1972)