Lessuden
Lessuden village, as it was then known, consisted of one long street, now Main Street, and a narrow back-road which ran along Braeheads, on the high banks of the river. Several paths connected Braeheads to the main street. The form of the old village remains pretty much today as it was in times gone past. It probably was not much different in 1544 when the army of Henry VIII of England under the Earl of Hertford razed the Border Abbeys and caused destruction of dwellings in the village including Lessuden House, which was later rebuilt. Nearby this house stood the original village church called St Mary's which was established in the 12th century in the reign of David I. Through time the worshippers moved to a church erected at Benrig near St Boisil's Chapel which, with repeated repairs and reconstructions, stood until 1952 when it was finally demolished.
The worshippers from Benrig moved to the church in the village which itself has a history. In 1843, after a period of theological disaffection. One third of all ministers in the Church of Scotland walked out of the Assembly, mainly on the question of patronage, and formed the Free Church. A congregation was formed in St Boswells and originally met in a barn behind the old smiddy until a new church could be built in 1844. The re-unifications of 1900 and 1929 brought separated groups together again as one congregation and they worshipped in the building which has been variously known as St Boswells Free Church, the United Free Church, St Modans and now, St Boswells Parish Church. The building, still standing, was renovated in 1959.
Read more about this topic: St Boswells