44 Origin of Name of Kirkpatrick-Durham. 



18th December, 1U08. 



Chairman — Mr M. H. M'Kerrow. 



The Origin of the Name of Kirkpatrick-Durham. By 

 Rev. W. A. Stark, F. S.A.Scot. 



The name of the parish, of which I have had the honour to 

 be parisli minister now for more than thirty years, has possessed 

 for me a fascination, and its origin has seemed worthy of careful 

 inquiry. At various times, as opportunities permitted, I have 

 tried to penetrate the mists of antiquity and discover the origin 

 and history of the name. 



Some may ask, Wliat's in a name ? Why trouble about the 

 origin of the name of the parish ? If it is sufficient to distinguish 

 the place from other places, what does it matter where the name 

 came from ? The truth is that the most interesting facts about 

 a place are sometimes wrapped up in the name of it. If you do 

 not call a place by its right name you are confusing history. If 

 you change the name of a place, unless you do so very carefully, 

 you may be giving future antiquaries a world of trouble, perhaps 

 to very little purpose. Rather than say scoffingly, What's in a 

 name ? we should say with Lowell — 



"There is more force in names 

 Than most men dream of." 



At one time — probably in the 18th century — the parish 

 appears to have been popularly called Kilpatrick-on-the-Moor : 

 but as the moorland has mostly disappeared before the shovel of 

 the drainer, so that old name has also passed out of mind. It is 

 known now almost invariably as Kirkpatrick-Durham. 



Taking then the name of the parish as one sees it written or 

 hears it spoken of at the present day, the first part of it offers no 

 special difficulty or point of immediate interest. Kirkpatrick is 

 the Kirk of Patrick, or Kilpatrick, as it is sometimes spelled or 

 pronounced, is the Cell of Patrick — Kella Patrikii. There are 

 manv foundations in honour of St.* Patrick. Besides Kirkpatrick- 

 Durham, there are Kirkpatrick-Fleming, Kirkpatrick-Juxta, 

 KirkpatrickTrongray, and Old and New Kilpatrick on the Clyde. 

 There was also a chapel called Kirkpatrick in the parish of 



