Houses in Walkerburn

[bullzeye]

Does anyone know the builder of a couple of houses in Walkerburn please?

There are 2 or 3 houses in Walkerburn, built just above the river and the road through the village. Directly opposite those houses is the row of Pink Bank Cottages I think.  The houses I am interested in have the letters "AS" on them which perhaps may indicate the builder or for whom they were built.
My Gt. Gt. Grandfather Alexander Stewart 1815 -1891 lived No.7 Pink Bank Cottages with his wife Isabella Baillie (1822-1896) however Alexander was of lowly means, having mostly worked as a farm servant/labourer for most of his life and is unlikely to have had the money to buy the land or build the houses.
I would be very grateful for more information on these houses which have "AS" on them.

[hanes teulu]

 "PinkbBank" in 1856/9
https://maps.nls.uk/view/74428022#zoom=7&lat=2658&lon=8029&layers=BT

The same location 1950 - "Pinkbank" not marked
https://maps.nls.uk/view/75652544#zoom=6&lat=2843&lon=7732&layers=BT

Which houses are you interested in?

[AlanBoyd]

Here’s a link to a map from the 1960s. Where are they on here?

http://tinyurl.com/yjvtpkbv

[fiddlerslass]

I don't know exactly how old the houses you are interested in are, but Adam Stirling, b. ABT 1818 builder of Galashiels did some work in the area, according to this

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kirna

"Ordnance Survey Name Books for the parish of Innerleithen written prior to the construction of The Kirna cite a "one storey house" named Kirnie, property of the Horsburgh family, situated at or near the current site of The Kirna.

It is believed that the house started life as the shepherd's cottage for Pirn House (demolished in early 1950s) and was built by Stirling & Son of Galashiels when they were building the mill houses in Walkerburn for "Captain" Horsburgh."


Adam Stirling, builder and his wife Mary had several sons, eldest James was a builder and went into the family business while the second son David became a joiner. Although son William is recorded as an architect in the census of 1871, in 1881 he seems to have been working for the family business with James. They employed 29 men.

[GR2]

Looking at the indexes to the valuation rolls for the parish of Innerleithen on ScotlandsPeople, nothing comes up for Alexander Stewart in 1855, but from at least 1861 he seems to have owned two houses at Pinkbank, one of which he occupied himself and the other was rented out to a tenant.

[bullzeye]

Thank you so much fellow RootsChat community! What a speedy and interesting response, I am extremely grateful to you all for supplying so much information.
Thank you hanes teulu and Alan Boyd for the Walkerburn & Pinkbank maps - most useful and I look forward to a visit to Walkerburn this year so I can use them in situ to identify where my ancestors lived. They are absolutely fascination to study as they reveal so much about the village and its community.
Thank you GR2 for the important snippet of info which I had missed about Alexander Stewart owning two houses at Pinkbank and for the tip to look at the Parish Valuation Rolls. Much appreciated.
Thank you to Fiddlerslass for the information about Adam Stirling, a builder who did some work in the area - it would certainly explain the set of initials. I shall follow this up to see if I can find anything further.
Thank you again everyone.

[hanes teulu]

You're welcome and good luck with the proposed visit.