Innerleithen Parish is situated in the County of Peebles being bounded on the north by the County of Midlothian and the Parish of Stow,
on the east by the Parish of Caddonfoot, on the south by the Parish of and Traquair and on the west by the Parishes of Peebles and Eddleston. Robert Smail's Printing Works is located in Innerleithen High Street. This preserved Victorian business includes a significant archive of business and private papers, including the records of a shipping agency run by RC Smail at the beginning of the 20th century. The town war memorial is the gardens in front of the former Burgh Chambers.
Historically the neighbouring village of Walkerburn was part of the parish of Innerleithen but a separate parish was established in the late 19th century. In 2000 both parishes became part of the Parish of Innerleithen, Traquair and Walkerburn. Walkerburn has its own war memorial alongside the A72.
Old Parish Records cover the periods:
Births: 1643-1681, 1706-1819 (Mothers' names are not recorded until 1761)
Marriages: 1642-1693, 1706-1819, 1820-1854
Deaths: 1706-1763, 1824-1854 (Mortcloth Dues recorded until 1763)
Church of Scotland, Innerleithen (formerly the Parish Church)
Innerleithen Burial Records 1824-1854 by Nigel Hardie.
Innerleithen Monumental Inscriptions (CD-ROM).
(see our sales list for full details and cost of postage)
Volumes available for consultation within our Archive
Pre 1855 Monumental Inscriptions of Peeblesshire by S.A. Scott published by Scottish Genealogical Society 1971.
At the Sign of the Cleikum by J. A. Anderson.
Old Innerleithen, Walkerburn and Traquair by Alex F Young.
Rutherford's Southern Counties Register and Directory 1867.
County Directory of Scotland 1912 - Borders Towns and Villages.
C.D. Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Peebles 1652 to 1716.
Magazine Articles
Please note that the heading Author includes persons who have compiled or transcribed records; and that the topics indexed, and the synopses are subjective opinions. See the Sales List to buy copies of the magazines containing articles in which you're interested.
Title
Synopsis
Size Description
Issue No
Author
Innerleithen Poll Tax Roll, 1694
An Innerleithen Poll Tax Roll, 1694; transcribed by John Ballantyne. Lots of people, their occupations, the rent values of their lands, and poll taxes due.
A very useful and interesting document.
7 pages or more
43
John Ballantyne
Archives at Robert Smail’s Printing Works
A brief history of the famous Robert Smail’s Printing Works at Innerleithen which was started in 1866, and about their wonderful archives.
2 pages or more
67
David Rudram
Family History Records
An archivist from the Heritage Hub in Hawick discussess a range of records that can be used to provide a fuller picture of our ancestors
5 pages or more
70
Juline Baird
An Unexpected Homecoming
An Englishman migrates to the Borders when Riddell House changes hands. He marries a local lass with links to Innerleithen.
2 pages or more
71
David Rudram
Map of Innerleithen from Quarter-inch to the mile, Scotland, 1921-1923 or One-inch to the mile, Popular edition, Scotland, 1920-1930 by kind permission of the National Library of Scotland. Use the control at the top left of the map to zoom in or out and drag the map left, right, up, or down as you wish.
20 Most Common Surnames
The 20 most common surnames on gravestones recorded by us in the Innerleithen monumental inscriptions volume are (number of gravestones in brackets): LAING (151), SCOTT (52), WILSON (36), TAIT (36), SMITH (31), BALLANTYNE (28), ANDERSON (27), THOMSON (27), MATTHEWS (24), BROWN (22), ROBERTSON (20), TURNER (17), SANDERSON (17), EUMAN (17), RUSSELL (16), STEWART (16), DOUGLAS (15), DAVIDSON (15), CURRIE (15), TURNBULL (15).
Other Sources
Innerleithen and Traquair, Ancient and Modern by H Anderson 1984 Bognor Regis.
The Cleikum - reminiscences of Old Innerleithen by J.A. Anderson 1933 Galashiels.
Reminiscences of Innerleithen and Traquair by T Dobson 1896 Innerleithen.
The Buildings of Scotland - Borders, Cruft, Dunbar & Fawcett, Yale University Press, London 2006
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791-99 vol.19 p.592 :
Innerleithen, County of Peebles (click "browse scanned pages" and insert Parish name)
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1834-45 vol.3 p.24 :
Innerleithen, County of Peebles (click "browse scanned pages" and insert Parish name)
