NOTICES OF AECHITECTURE IN BERWICKSHIUE. 25 



Repeated 1683-84, and in 1685— William Wadderstoun, Robert 



Thomson, William Brotherstaines, and James Thomson, 



being omitted in 1685. 



Note. — The Beedsmen of Thirlestoun were paid by the 

 miller in 1701. 



With reference to the ancient church of Lauder, Mr Romanes 

 remarks in a recent letter ; 



"The site of the old church was long ago quite obliterated; 

 but I fancy we now know of the existence of a vestige of it. 



"The old manse, now taken down and in course of being 

 replaced by anew erection, was built in 1660, 13 years before 

 the present church; and in a projecting part of the building to 

 the back, there was introduced in the wall, evidently subsequent 

 to its erection, a square, red, rudely cut sandstone, inscribed : 



PATRIB. 



ET 



PO 





STERI8. 



IN 



RELI 



ONe 







61 



M.I.B.K.D 





. 



1 61 



James Burnet was the minister from 1615 to 1642, and the last 

 four letters and date were probably added during his ministry. 

 I do not know what the letters K.D. stand for. Burnet was 

 married, but I cannot find the name of his wife. 



"It seems probable that the first date, '61' refers to a 

 century before that in which the old manse was erected ; and it 

 is thought that this stone had been built into the original 

 church, and on its being pulled down, had been removed and 

 inserted in the wall of the manse." 



The terms of the itiscription are quite consistent with the 

 theory stated by Mr Romanes, and it would seem that there is 

 an appreciable difference between the lettering of the first 

 part of the inscription and that part bearing the date 1618. 

 There can be little doubt that the letters M LB. are the initials 

 of Magister Jacobus Burnet, minister of the parish in 1618. 

 According to Keith [Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops) 

 he married a daughter of the house of Traquair, but as the 

 name of that family was Stuart, the mystery of the other initials 

 K.D., remains unsolved, unless they are those of a second wife. 



LEGE R. WOOD.— This church is being restored, and it is in- 

 tended to remove the modern njasonry which blocks the chancel- 



E 



