page_title: Coldingham
section_title: Parish
hierarchical_section_title: Coldingham / Parish
caption_attribution_description: A map depicting the parish of Coldingham in Berwickshire in 1900. Parish boundary in red. The green coloured area was formerly part of Oldhamstocks parish, but was transferred to Coldingham in 1891.
context_page_description: Coldingham is a village and parish in Berwickshire, Scottish Borders, on Scotland's southeast coastline, north of Eyemouth.
context_section_description: The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir district and is the second largest civil parish by area in the county of Berwickshire, after Lauder. It is bounded on the north-west by the North Sea, on the east by the parish of Eyemouth, on the south-east by Ayton on the south by Chirnside and Bunkle, on the west by Abbey St Bathans and on the north by Cockburnspath. 
  Besides the village of Coldingham, the parish contains the villages of: 
  St Abbs (formerly Coldingham Shore)
  Reston
  Auchencrow
  Grantshouse
  The civil parish is divided between the Community Council areas of Coldingham, St Abbs, Reston and Auchencrow, and Grantshouse. It was included in the former Berwickshire District of Borders Region, by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, from 1975 to 1996.
  Before the Reformation a vaguely defined jurisdiction known as Coldinghamshire was linked to Coldingham Priory and  extended along the east coast of Berwickshire.  By 15th century there is some indication that the civil administration was gradually attaining paramount sway with the consent of the Church itself. In 1406, the lordship of the Priory was held by Archibald, Earl of Douglas and in 1414, the Prior and Chapter of Durham (the ecclesiastical superiors of the priory) signed a deed constituting the Earl of Douglas "sovereign bailie" and governor of the house and barony of Coldingham. The barony of Coldingham, which included Eyemouth and other areas adjacent to the parish of Coldingham continued as a jurisdiction  into the 17th and 18th centuries.
  Because of the size of the parish, an additional chapel was set-up for the interior or western part of the parish in 1794. With the opening of a new trunk road in the area (now the A1) in 1816, communications between Grantshouse and Reston were so improved, it was decided in 1836 to erect a church midway between the villages, at Houndwood. Houndwood was made an ecclesiastical parish for the western part of Coldingham in 1851. This parish is now linked to Ayton and is served by places of worship at Reston (formerly a free church) and Grantshouse. The church itself became a crematorium in 2015
  A Parochial Board was established under the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845. With the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894, Coldingham Parish Council was established and it carried out poor relief and various public works, such as the acquisition and improvement of Houndwood cemetery in 1901. Civil parishes in Scotland, as units of local government, were abolished in 1929  but have been used later for census and other purposes.
  In 1891 a Boundary Commission transferred a detached portion of Oldhamstocks parish, namely Butterdean, to Coldingham. It was already in Berwickshire, despite its mother parish being in East Lothian.
  The civil parish has an area of 25,379 acres (10,271 ha) and a population of 1,919 (in 2011).
caption: Parish of Coldingham (part formerly in Oldhamstocks shown in green)
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