At some point during this period, probably around 1300, the Knights Templar, who were reputed to have helped Robert the Bruce win the Battle of Bannockburn, are thought, possibly, to have acquired land on the outskirts of the village – hence Temple Hall Farm on the Eastern edge of Midlem and similarly, nearby Friarshawmuir, to the West of the village, previously known as Jerusalem.
After the Reformation and dissolution of the monasteries, the Earl of Roxburgh had managed to “acquire” much of the Kelso Abbey lands including Midlem. It was not until 1643, seventy years later that the feuars of Midlem were confirmed in their rights as ‘native and kindly tenants and proprietors’. Even to this day the Duke of Roxburgh has ownership of the village green although the Village now has ownership of the residual Common Land.
In 1739, the minister of the joint parish of Bowden and Midlem died; his successor, Mr Hume, nominated by the Duke of Roxburgh, was not a popular choice, the dissent being centred on Midlem because “they were not satisfied with his sermons”. The dissenters seceded and formed their own Secession Kirk in the village. The Meeting House was built in 1746. This building was knocked down in the 1970s, having been closed for worship in 1938. Photos shows that the ‘Auld Lichts Kirk’ was very functional and unadorned. Interestingly, small as it was, the Secession Kirk of Midlem had a transatlantic influence. In 1754 the Rev Andrew Arnot of Midlem went to America with a colleague and founded the first Associate Presbytery there.
In 1850, the village trades were listed as an Inn keeper, shoemaker, joiner, tailor, blacksmith, 3 farmers and 7 portioners (small landowners). There were also several itinerant workers, some from Ireland, mostly employed in local agriculture and labouring. For a short time, there were two village schools, one of which was a Catholic school built for the children of the Irish workers. The other school had a roll of 54 pupils.
