| Static Image Name: | Kirk Yetholm from the Mindrum Road.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | Kirk Yetholm from the Mindrum Road (September 2007) |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Official Name: | Kirk Yetholm |
| Map Type: | Scotland |
| Coordinates: | 55.5471°N -2.2754°W |
| Civil Parish: | Yetholm |
| Unitary Scotland: | Scottish Borders |
| Lieutenancy Scotland: | Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale |
| Constituency Westminster: | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk |
| Constituency Scottish Parliament: | Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire |
| Post Town: | KELSO |
| Postcode District: | TD5 |
| Postcode Area: | TD |
| Dial Code: | 01573 |
Kirk Yetholm ('kirk yet-ham') is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, 8miles southeast of Kelso and less than 10NaN0 west of the border. The first mention is of its church in the 13th century. Its sister town is Town Yetholm which lies NaNmiles across the Bowmont Water. The population of the two villages was recorded as 591 in the 2001 census.[1]
Yetholm means either:
Kirk Yetholm was the headquarters of the Romanichal travellers (gypsies) in Scotland, having settled in the village about 1750.[2] [3] The last King of the Gypsies, Charles Faa Blyth Rutherford, aged 70, was crowned on 31 May 1898.[4] A second male, David Blyth, claimed he was the rightful heir, but did not attend the huge ceremony and festivities which was held between the two Yetholm villages.[5] The king died just four years later on 21 April 1902.[6] Today the gypsies have been integrated and are no longer a separate ethnic minority. A memorial stone can be found on the village green.[7]
The village is notable for being the northern terminus of the Pennine Way, and to a lesser extent the southern terminus of the Scottish National Trail. The Border Hotel public house is the official end of the Pennine Way.[8]
Saint Cuthbert's Way also passes through the village, going between Melrose, Scotland and Lindisfarne (Holy Island), Northumberland.
In 1942 the village school building was converted into a Scottish Youth Hostels Association hostel. It now continues in use as an affiliate hostel named the Kirk Yetholm Friends of Nature House.[9] It provides accommodation for tourists, particularly walkers and cyclists, being located on Saint Cuthbert's Way, the Pennine Way, the Scottish National Trail, the Sustrans National Cycle Route 1 and Scottish Borders Loop.[10]
The first Saturday in October is traditionally the Yetholm Border Shepherds' Show, held on the land between Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm, with the 156th show held in 2019.[11] [12] It stemmed from the old practice of farmers gathering to sort through stray sheep from neighbours' flocks.
A song referring to Kirk Yetholm called "Yetholm Day" was written and composed by Gary Cleghorn.
Scottish Border poet and Australian bush balladeer Will H. Ogilvie (1869–1963) wrote 'The gipsies' (c. 1910; and later put to music by British composer Graham Peel), having been raised away. Ogilvie also wrote a song for the 'Coronation of the Gipsy King at Yetholm' by July 1898 whilst in Australia.
The Kirk Yetholm Gypsies is available from the Hawick Archaeological Society website.[13]