Bolton and Saltoun Church Home Page

And some Genealogy and Local History stuff as well.

(Note that tombstone texts are now On-Line here
for Bolton and Saltoun churchyards, and also for Pencaitland churchyard).

Welcome to my website ...

***** Working on the principle of autre temps, autre mores the Kirk Session of Bolton & Saltoun has decided to update the official church website to something more modern and more inter-active and more Community oriented. It also proposes to make more use of social media, though I am unsure of details. (It appears there is actually no new website, at least at present, but there is Facebook and Twitter presence. I don't know the details.)

This present site of mine therefore becomes something of a historical record, although still widely praised by genealogists and lauded by local historians. I have therefore decided to retain it for as long as I can, and for so long as it is perceived to serve a need.

Certain pages will be frozen in time (it was either that or delete them altogether) so no new Church News, no Parish Records after 2013, and no Services and Events will be updated. These things should now be found elsewhere.

Bolton Church, East Lothian, Scotland Saltoun Church, East Lothian, Scotland

*****

This is, by intention, a very simply laid out website. It is almost something of a period piece these days. It has no Pop-Ups; no posh animated graphics; few links, and certainly no synthetic music. Actually, it is fast becoming a sort of cyber-archaeological curiosity, as it was designed in the 1990s (one of the very first church websites ever to go on-line) using very basic - some would say crude - handwritten HTML, but as it continues to serve its purpose, it remains largely untouched apart from necessary updates. The copyright of all text remains with the author, N.D.H.Murphy, although fair dealing for the purposes of research etc., and with due acknowledgement, will usually be permitted.

Treat it as a series of a dozen or so pages. (Some of the pages have links elsewhere, which I occasionally try to keep valid.)

Enjoy!

*****

Here is some information about our Parishes (page 2) and our Churches (page 3), including some paragraphs and pictures featuring the East Saltoun Tithe Byre. Also here are some fairly brief details of notable people (page 4) who have been associated with the parishes. (Well, moderately notable people, anyway!)

There is also information on churchyard Memorial Inscriptions (page 5) which have been recorded in both Bolton and Saltoun. (This page links to an index of all names deciphered in both churchyards; pages called (Bolton) (page 56) and (Saltoun) (page 55) respectively. Access them from here if you like, or from the Memorial Inscriptions Page - or use the Search facility below to check for recorded names.) Note: In February 2002 all the readable Memorial Inscriptions in Bolton and Saltoun churchyards were up-loaded. Note 2: And in September 2004 Pencaitland churchyard was also added. See below for Pencaitland details.

There is information (alas no longer updated!) on baptisms, deaths and much else in the Parish Register (page 6) and the possibly interesting archived on-line extracts from the Kirk News (page 7) publication. There's also some historic stuff about the Church of Scotland's amazing Vacancy Procedures on a page called, unsurprisingly, Archive. (page 77) Read it and despair!

Times and places of Services and Events (page 8) were also given, but no longer (2014) updated.

Then, here are some Pictures (page 9), although they may take a few moments to load on slow links.

Also here are some Historic Pictures (page 10) of Saltoun villages - West and East, and neighbouring areas, and local people, for anyone interested in these things in times past.

Then, here is a page which lists the Banns - that is to say, the applications for marriage - in Saltoun from 1929 until 1963. Click on Record of Saltoun Banns. (page 11)

Following many expressions of interest, the Webmaster has managed (with some difficulty!) to put on-line his elderly typescript of the Pencaitland Churchyard Memorial Inscriptions, researched and recorded in 1969. (A good few of the stones transcribed then are now unreadable.)
This feature starts on "Pencaitland Churchyard Memorial Inscriptions" (page 12) . Click on the title. The MI texts are followed by an "Index of Names" . Click on the title.

The Webmaster welcomes all non-commercial feedback and positive suggestions. (Please delete the word "cancelspam" from his email address before sending.) The views expressed herein are all his own and do not represent official Church policy, which might well be horrified by some of his opinions! Every effort will be made to keep these pages easy to access. (Note that a "Site Search facility" can be accessed at the bottom of this page). Thank you for visiting our site. We'd be happy to hear from you.

*****

Other Recent Updates:
On 1st October 2012. Updates to Parish Register on page 6.
On 29th October 2012. Updates to Parish Register on page 6.
On 27th February 2013, Various updates on page 8 and elsewhere.
On 9th May 2013, Updates to Services and Events on page 8.
On 29th August 2013, Updates to Services and Events on page 8.
On 12th December 2013 Routine updates to all pages will cease

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