Bunkle and Preston
These were separate parishes until the latter end of the sixteenth century when they were united to form one parish under the name of Bunkle.
The original church of Bunkle is ancient. In connection with the parish boundaries, David I had to settle a controversy about the proper limits of "Bonkillscire and Coldinghamscire" ("scire" being used here in the sense of parish). Later, William the Lion was called upon to settle the same boundaries due to disputes among persistent parties.*
Of the original structure, only the small semicircular Norman apse remains, standing a short distance to the southeast of the modern building. This apse is considered one of the earliest examples of medieval ecclesiastical architecture in Scotland. Mr. Muir, a notable authority, believes it may date from before the beginning of the 12th century. The extreme plainness—or, one might say, rudeness—of its features suggests great antiquity. The arch that once opened to the chancel is entirely devoid of ornamentation. It is a plain, semicircular-headed, square-edged structure, resting on slightly projecting imposts (7 feet 4 inches above ground level), square on the upper edge but chamfered below.
The northwest corner of the apse has evidently been repaired recently, incorporating two stones likely taken from another part of the ancient church. These stones display the zig-zag or chevron ornament in its earliest and simplest form. Several stones in the facing of the west wall and some voussoirs of the arch exhibit a variety of masons' marks, some of which resemble those found on the earliest Norman portions of Jedburgh Abbey. The walls of the apse are 3 feet thick, and the roof features a plain rounded vault internally, covered externally with stone slabs. A slightly projecting cornice, with a hollow chamfer below, runs along the top of the wall. Close to the ground, a narrow basement course with a plain slope above completes the structure.
The only original window is a small, round-headed opening facing the southeast. It is slightly bevelled around the outer edge and very widely splayed on the inside. The orientation of the apse is nearly due east.*
Recently, traces of another window, similar to the original round-headed one, have been discovered on the opposite side of the structure, facing the northeast. A rectangular piscina niche, located a little below and to the right of this window, had been concealed when it was built up in 1890. The decayed state of the plaster has since revealed it in its original form.*
In this apse lie the remains of the murdered Mrs. Margaret Home.
Norman Ross
"The lady's gane, and Norman's ta'en,
Norman wi' the bloody hand;
Now he will hae to pay the kain
For being at the deil's command.
Norman Ross, wi' pykit pow,
Three corbies at his e'en;
Girnin' in the gallows tow,
Sic a sight was never seen."
Norman Ross, to whom the above rhyme refers, was a confidential servant to Mrs. Margaret Home, Lady Billy, widow of Mr. Ninion Home of Billy, in the parish of Bunkle, in the year 1751. Lady Billy then resided at Linthill, an old mansion near Eyemouth. On the evening of Monday, August 12, Norman Ross concealed himself in his mistress's room while she was out enjoying a walk. After she returned and went to bed, Ross, assuming she was asleep, emerged from his hiding place and attempted to take her pocket containing her keys from beneath her pillow to access her money. The lady awoke, and Ross, in a panic, seized a case knife lying on top of the drawers in the room and cut her throat. As she resisted, grasping his hair and making other efforts to save her life, she was grievously injured on her hands, arms, and other parts of her body.
The noise of the struggle awoke the servants below. One of them immediately ran upstairs, saw the assailant emerging from the lady's room, and witnessed him fleeing through a window. The following day, Ross was apprehended in a nearby cornfield, unable to escape farther due to a broken leg, reportedly sustained when he jumped from the window. He was escorted by a military party to the gaol at Greenlaw. The unfortunate lady succumbed to her injuries on Friday, August 16, 1751, four days after the attack. Norman Ross was tried for the murder before the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh on November 11 of that year, found guilty, and sentenced to execution at the Gallowlee, between Edinburgh and Leith. A curious anecdote recounts that the mourners at her funeral had traveled a considerable distance before realizing they had left Linthill without the corpse of the murdered lady.
The Church
The church at Bunkle was repaired in 1718, but the original building was largely demolished a century later. Only the Norman apse remains, as noted earlier, and the materials were repurposed for constructing the present church in 1820.
From the following extract, we gain insight into the ecclesiastical condition of the parish in the early seventeenth century:
"The valuation of the lands and teinds and kirk lands within the parish and barony of Bonckell:
"Imprimis, there are five hundred communicants in the parish. The extent of the parish is three miles in length and three in breadth; the kirk stands in the midst of the parish. The farthest house in the parish is not two miles from the kirk. The kirk of Prestone is united to the kirk of Bonckell. This union was directed by the last Parliament held at Edinburgh by our gracious sovereign of worthy memory, King James [the Sixth], and by the plate ordained for the provision of unprovided kirks, as Bonckell was at that time. The farthest house of the parish of Prestone is no more than two miles from the kirk of Bonckell. The reasons for the union: Both parishes were on a lord’s land or barony, and the kirk of Bonckell is in the midst of the barony. Both parishes had five hundred communicants. Before the union, the case of these kirks was as follows: In the parish of Prestone, there were two hundred communicants. The minister of Bonckell then had three-score pounds in money, and the vicarage was estimated above its worth at two hundred merks but was not worth one hundred pounds, including manse and glebe. The minister at Prestone then had fifty pounds, with a vicarage reckoned at one hundred merks but actually worth no more than fifty pounds, with his manse and glebe and pertinent lands."
The text continues, signed by David Lumisden of Blanerne, Adame Trumbill, and J. Gaittis, minister at Bonckell, and dated June 1, 1627.
The Modern Church
The modern church of Bunkle, erected in 1820, is a plain, rectangular structure with a barn-like appearance. Its simplicity is such that, without the belfry, it could hardly be recognized as a church. Surrounding it is a churchyard containing few notable features. The oldest gravestone with a legible inscription reads:
"Here lies the corpse of Thomas Atchison, who died Jan. 1, 1686."
The church’s communion plate includes two cups inscribed as follows:
"For the use of the United Parishes of Bunkle and Preston, 26 Feb., 1755."
SOURCE: The Churches And Churchyards Of Berwickshire By James Robson 1893, updated 2025 Nathan Zipfel