The North UF Church was sometimes referred to as the Townhead Church, due to its position at the head (upper end) of the town.
It was originally known as the Secession Church, then the United Secession Congregation, then the North UP (United Presbyterian), before the UP denomination merged with much of the Free Church to become the United Free Church. It was known as the North UF until it merged with the South UF in 1925 and became the Erskine Church, named after Ebenezer Erskine, one of the leaders of the First Secession in 1733.
It united with the Langholm Parish Church in 1974 and closed in 1978.
The formation of the congregation dates back to 1786, which met initially in the open air in Langholm. Their first attempt at a building had no roof for over a year due to a lack of funds. However, a traveller passing through was impressed with the congregation’s determination and gave them funding for the roof.
The church was rebuilt twice as the congregation grew. The building in the photo at the top of the page was the third, completed in 1867. Part of it was badly damaged in a fire in 1904.
The ministers until the late 1930s were:
- John Jardine, 1789-1820: from Jedburgh. Formed the first Sunday School in the south of Scotland in the kitchen of his manse on the corner of Mary and Frances Streets.
- John Dobie, 1821-1845: very popular but died at age 44. Lived at Greenbank manse, next to the second church building. His son Hugh was a Langholm chief magistrate whose private legal practice later became Dobie & McGeorge.
- William Ballantyne, 1846-1892: highly scholarly, particularly in Hebrew. He declined to be nominated as moderator (leader for a year) of the United Presbyterian synod.
- George Orr, 1863-1938: appointed assistant to William Ballantyne in 1892, who died three months later and was succeeded by George. George co-founded the Eskdale and Liddesdale Archaeological Society, founded the Townhead Literary Society and was the local treasurer for the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
The annual business meeting in 1915 reported the congregation’s healthy situation, including increased membership, increased attendance at prayer meetings and six new Sabbath School teachers (see 1st February in the Diary).
The church sometimes held children’s flower services, collecting bouquets to send to the Royal Infirmary and the Royal Sick Children’s Hospital in Edinburgh. On one Sunday alone the children contributed 124 bouquets as well as nearly 240 parcels for soldiers in the Dardanelles.
In 1915, the congregation lost: