Talk:Berwickshire Towns and Villages S

St Abbs

The history of St Abbs Church is much younger than the village itself, once known as Coldingham Shore (and part of the parish of Coldingham) the village grew from a handful of dwellings that housed the fishermen and their families. The first major developement within St Abbs took place in the late 1820's and early 1830's, the village is split into two distinct sections, the lower (harbour) and upper sections. It was only in the late 19th century that the name of St Abbs came into being.

Simprim

The original church on the site at Simprim Church dates to the early or mid 12th century, built by Hye (Hugh) de Simprine. The income from the church was kept by the then priest. After the death of the priest Hye gave a farmstead, cottage and land to Kelso Abbey, this allowed the income from the church to be used by the abbey.

In 1482 upon the orders of Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later to become King Richard III of England) the church was burnt, although it was rebuilt the Reformation of 1560 left the church without officers for many years. Around 1700 a new minister provided a revival for the church and in the mid 1700's a new bell and steeple were added. By 1761 the tiny parish had united with Swinton, the bell was removed and the church began to fall into ruin.

Within the grounds of the old church gravestones dating back to the early 1700's can still be seen.

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