East Lothian

Contents

Nearby places

Spott

"SPOTT, a parish, containing a post-office village of its own name, and comprising a detached section and a main body, in the eastern part of Haddingtonshire ... bounded by Dunbar, Innerwick, Whittingham, and Stenton. Its length north-north-eastward is 3 3/4 miles; and its greatest breadth is 2 3/4 miles. Its surface, in a general view, is an alternation of hill and valley; but, in the north, it is aggregately lowland or undulated plain, and in the south it climbs up to the summit-range of the Lammermoors about 700 feet above sea-level. Population in 1831, 612; in 1861, 555." from the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868.

Church History

Church Records

The parish church (Church of Scotland) has registers dating from 1683. Old Parish Registers (before 1855) are held in the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh, and copies on microfilm may be consulted in local libraries and in LDS Family History Centres around the world. Later parish registers (after 1855) are often held in the Scottish Record Office as are any records of non-conformist churches in the area (often unfilmed and unindexed, and only available there).

In his entry for the Statistical Account of Scotland (compiled 1790s, see the Statistics section of the East Lothian page for more details) the Rev. John Martin made the following comment about deficiencies in the registration of births in the parish of Spott in the late 18th century:

"The number [of baptisms] at present would be greater, but few of the Seceders register their baptisms."

Civil Registration

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. For details of these and other records held at the General Register Office in Edinburgh, see the GRO tutorial.

Gazetteers

Extracts for this parish from the 1868 National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland are available.

Maps

The Scottish Record Office holds the following as part of its collection of maps and plans:

• 1832: Division of commonty plan for Dunbar Common, including names of adjacent owners. Scale 1:3200. Size 183x238cm. Grid (map) reference NT6469. SRO reference RHP.201/1
• 1832: Division of commonty plan for Dunbar Outer Common, including names of adjacent owners. Scale 1:9500. Size 64x80cm. Grid (map) reference NT6469. SRO reference RHP.201/2. Also lithographed copy - RHP.201/3

Population

Here are some figures showing the parish's population through time: