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In 1737 a number of praying societies located in Morebattle and the surrounding areas gave an accession to the Associate Presbytery and two years later, in March 1739, the boundaries of the congregation of Morebattle Associate Session, which served as the mother church of the Border counties, were agreed upon. The arrangement being that the Morebattle charge would cover an area eight miles to the south of Gateshaw and seven miles north and east of Stichel. John Hunter, the first minister of Morebattle Associate Session, was ordained in 1739 however he died in the following year and a few months after his death the congregation was divided into two, to form the distinct congregations of Morebattle and of Stichel. The first church of the Morebattle Associate Session, which was erected at Gateshaw, was not built until 1749 and it is believed that prior to this time services must have been conducted in the open air. In 1780 the place of worship was removed to Morebattle, were a new church was erected , seated for 400 and this building was superceded in 1866 when a new church was built at a cost of over £1000, close to the site of the old church. In 1847 Morebattle Associate Session became part of the United Presbyterian Church. Following the union of the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland, Morebattle United Presbyterian was renamed Morebattle Gateshaw Brae and in 1907 Morebattle Gateshaw Brae United Free was united with the congregation of Morebattle St Lawrence. After the local union, under the name of Morebattle United Free, the former Gateshaw Brae church was retained for worship. Upon the 1929 union of the United Free Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland, Morebattle United Free became Morebattle St Aidan's Church of Scotland and further union followed in 1952 with the congregation of Morebattle St Lawrence, to form the session of Morebattle Church of Scotland. In 1963 a link was established with the linked charge of Hownam and Yetholm and in 1972 Morebattle and Hownam were united together under the name of Morebattle and Hownam. The link with Yetholm continued after this union and the congregation of Morebattle and Hownam Church of Scotland sits under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Jedburgh. |