St Abbs
St. Abbs (Scottish Gaelic Cill Aba),is a small fishing village located on the southeast coast of Scotland, in the committee area of Berwickshire, Scottish Borders region.
The village was originally known as Coldingham Shore, the name was changed in the 1890's to St. Abbs. The new name was derived from St Abb's Head, a rocky promontory located to the north of the village, itself named after St. Aebbe.
History
St. Abbs was originally called Coldingham Shore. Prior to any buildings the fishermen who worked their boats from the beach resided at Fisher's Brae in Coldingham. These fishermen had to carry their fishing gear the one and a half miles down a path. The path is now known as the Creel Path, Creel is the local name for a Lobster pot.
The first building in St. Abbs was constructed about the middle of the 18th century followed later by a row of 5 cottages. This first row of houses where constructed in a traditional Scottish style with a central fire and a wide chimney. The walls were constructed of "Clat and Clay" a framework of wood interlaced with straw and daubed over with moist clay.
By 1832 it is recorded that the inhabitants of the Shore comprised sixteen families, who with twenty others residing in Coldingham, obtained their livelihood by fishing. In addition to these, thirty people proceeded annually to the North for the Herring fishing, which gave employment for fourteen boats from the village.
The village was renamed at the end of the 19th century by the then Laird Mr Andrew Usher, to its present title St. Abbs.
In November 1907 the Member of Parliament for Berwickshire, Mr H J Tennant, announced that the Royal National Lifeboat Society had agreed to supply St Abbs with a lifeboat, and that the Board of Trade had also agreed to place life-saving apparatus at St Abbs as soon as possible.[1]
Diving
St. Abbs is a popular site for Scuba Divers. The sea around the village is unusually clear, in contrast to the more silt-laden coastal waters further to the north or south. These clear waters and the spectacular underwater scenery resulted in Britain's first Voluntary Marine Reserve being established at St. Abbs. The Marine Reserve was established on 18 August 1984 by David Bellamy.
Shore diving to a depth of about 15 metres is possible from the rocks on the outside of the harbour wall. It is common for trainees to do initial sea dives here.
The double archway at "Cathedral Rock" is just 50 metres from the shore.[2][3] Several small, nearby rocky islands, such as "Big Green Carr", "Broad Craig" and "Little Carr" are near to the harbour and easily can be circumnavigated underwater.[4]
References
- ^ The Berwickshire News November 29, 2007, "Looking Back", p.13
- ^ http://www.stabbs.org/shorediving.html
- ^ http://www.ukdiving.co.uk/places/coastal/articles/st_abbs.htm
- ^ http://www.dcordes.freeuk.com/abbs.htm
External links
