Kelso Town and Abbey
Kelso, a Scottish Borders town historically in the county of Roxburghshire is on the north bank of the River Tweed close to where the Tweed is joined by the River Teviot. Five miles downstream from Kelso, near Birgham, the Tweed forms the border between England and Scotland but at Kelso it serves no such role.
Cross the Tweed from Kelso’s town centre and you are still firmly in Scotland. The old county of Roxburghshire stretches many miles to the south as far as Liddesdale and the old border with Cumberland.
Kelso’s principal features are its abbey and market square which has a Frenchified appearance. It was the foundation of the abbey that gave rise to the town’s development. On its north side the market square is joined by Roxburgh Street, one of the main historic streets.
Just off this street, overlooking the Tweed in an elevated position above the river is Chalkheugh Terrace, a small street that provides a clue to the origins of the name Kelso.
Chalkheugh means ‘chalk hill’ and describes a limestone hill that had the appearance of chalk. This hill provided the setting for the town of Kelso, overlooking the junction of the two rivers.
In 1128 the name Kelso first appears in records relating to the foundation of its abbey, with spellings including ‘Calchou’, ‘Kelchou’ and Kalchu. Like ‘Chalkheugh’ all these names mean ‘chalk hill’. The variation ‘Kelso’ is first recorded in 1176 and this became the accepted name of the abbey and its associated town.
Like several of the grand and beautiful abbeys of Scotland, Kelso Abbey owes its origin to the Scottish king, David I, who reigned from 1124-1153. It was in 1113 that David invited monks of the Tironensian order from Tiron (Thiron Gardais) in France to establish an abbey at Selkirk.
At that time David was not yet king as it was his elder brother, Alexander I who then ruled over Scotland. Nevertheless, David, who was styled ‘Prince of the Cumbrians’ held extensive territories including Stratchclyde and the lands of Tweed and Teviot in what is now Berwickshire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire and Peebleshire.
David became king of Scotland following his brother’s death in 1124. He had established Roxburgh and its castle near the banks of the Teviot on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon settlement and it became an important centre for his power.
In 1128, the monastery of Selkirk was relocated to Kelso, a place just across the Tweed from Roxburgh. The abbey became a major landowner in the area and helped to bring Anglo-Norman and European culture to the Borders.
Despite his defeat at the Battle of the Standard near Northallerton in 1138, David acquired much power and influence in North East England as well as in Scotland. In 1139 he effectively annexed the North East region of England along with parts of north western England during the period of ‘the anarchy’ south of the border in which factions supporting either Matilda and Stephen were fighting for control of the English throne.
David’s claims to Northumbria were made through his son Henry, Earl of Northumbria, and during this period David even appointed a Prince Bishop of Durham, William Cumin, to consolidate his power in that English region. A sign of David’s ambitions, it forced the English-elected Bishop of Durham to take refuge.
David’s son, Earl Henry, died in June 1152, possibly at Newcastle and was buried at Kelso Abbey. David himself died the following year and was succeeded by his 11-year-old grandson Malcolm IV (Malcolm ‘the Maiden’). In 1154, the powerful Henry II became King of England and reclaimed the northern and north eastern parts of England from the Scots with the exception of Tynedale over which the Scots retained some control until 1296.
Kelso’s first abbot was Herbert of Selkirk, who later became Bishop of Glasgow in 1147. His successor at Kelso was Ernald who became Bishop of St Andrews in 1163. These were appointments that reflected the important status of Kelso Abbey. Later abbots at Kelso include Robert de Smalhame (1248-1258); Henry de Lambden (1260-1275), who was an English appointee; William de Alyncrame (1317-1326) and Richard Robson (1456-1464). ‘Alyncrame’ is from an old form of Ancrum, a place north of Jedburgh.
Roxburgh and its castle, just across the river from the town and abbey, was a major target for English attacks and occupation during the Anglo-Scottish wars. Kelso Abbey often suffered during these periods of attack and invasion. It did not help that neighbouring Roxburgh and its castle fell under considerable periods of English control.
In August 1460, King James II of Scotland (of the Stewart dynasty), was killed near Roxburgh Castle which was then occupied by the English. His death resulted from an exploding Scottish cannon but the Scots fought on and eventually captured the castle. The coronation of James’ son and successor, James III, took place at Kelso Abbey.
Along with the other Border abbeys, Kelso Abbey suffered heavily from targeted attacks by the English noble Edward Seymour (the Earl of Hertford) during the reign of England’s Henry VIII. An attack on Kelso Abbey in 1545 was particularly disastrous when the abbey was described as ‘all put to royen, howsses and towres and styples’.
These attacks coincided with the growing momentum of the religious ‘Reformation’ in both England and Scotland that saw the dissolution of Catholic monasteries. Protestantism had taken hold in Scotland, particularly in the lowlands and under the influence of the Scottish regime and its religious leaders, Kelso Abbey was dissolved in 1560.
The former lands of the monastery, which came to be known as the ‘Barony and Lordship of Halydean’ would be given to Robert Ker of Cessford, the first Earl of Roxburghe.
Today the major physical survivor of the subsequent decay and destruction of the abbey is the abbey’s Norman and Romanesque abbey church which can still be seen. It would serve as the parish church for Kelso up until the early 1770s.
Around Kelso Town
Kelso town came into being as a result of the foundation of the abbey in 1128. It developed from two burghs established in association with the monastery. One of these burghs was called Wester Kelso.
First mentioned in 1323, Wester Kelso was situated above the river to the west of Roxburgh Street some way beyond what is now Chalkheugh Terrace in what are now the estate grounds of Floors Castle. Like the nearby but higher status burgh of Roxburgh just to its south, Wester Kelso was abandoned. Easter Kelso (the eastern burgh) lived on and developed into the present town of Kelso.
A beautiful market square stands at the heart of Kelso. It is joined on its east side by old streets called Woodmarket and Horsemarket and by Bowmont Street and Roxburgh Street on the north side.
On the west side of the Market Square are the narrow Mill Wynd and Oven Wynd. On the south, the square is joined by Bridge Street (part of the A699) that leads to the abbey and to Kelso Bridge across the Tweed.
At the heart of the pleasing Market Square, the most striking building is the beautiful town hall of 1816 built for James Innes-Ker, the 5th Duke of Roxburghe. It is on the site of Kelso’s old council room and toll booth.
The exterior upper level of the building features four doric columns beneath a pediment. Above this is a belfry tower featuring a clock and weather vane.
The town hall was remodelled in Baroque style in the Edwardian era between 1902 and 1908. Its tower, pediment and the four doric columns remained a feature of the remodelling with an additional pediment added above the entrance door. Today part of the building is home to the River Tweed Salmon Fishing Museum.
Roxburgh Street on the north side of Kelso’s Market Square is joined by the narrow Duns Wynd and Jamiesons Entry and further along by Union Street and Chalkheugh Terrace near which we find Kelso North Parish church.
This Gothic style church stands between Roxburgh Street and neighbouring Bowmont Street and was built in 1866. It is a prominent landmark in riverside views of Kelso. Near the Market Square end of Bowmont Street is the former North Trinity church of 1886.
Most buildings in Kelso’s market square date back to a remodelling of the town in the 1790s. A prominent feature of the square is the Cross Keys Hotel of 1769 on the site of an earlier coaching inn. In 1879 it was given its French-style roof and Italianate facade by its owner, James Keddie.
Just along Bridge Street, south of the square, is the Queens Head Hotel and opposite is the entrance to Ednam House (now also a hotel) overlooking the banks of the River Tweed. Ednam House was built by the architect James Nisbet for James Dickson who hailed from Ednam, a village north of Kelso.
As a young man Dickson broke a lamp on the town’s well. He fled to London and then to the Caribbean to escape punishment. Working in Cuba he became a naval agent and a man of wealth. Returning to his home town, he built this fine Georgian house which he initially called Havannah House from the Cuban capital.
A little further along Bridge Street from the hotel entrance, the beautiful Kelso Abbey comes into view alongside the street with the striking Kelso war memorial nearby. Here, we approach Kelso Bridge across the Tweed.
Dating from 1803, the bridge with its five arches was built by John Rennie of Haddington. It replaced an earlier bridge destroyed by a storm in 1797.
The new bridge was slightly downstream from the old one. This new bridge was a toll bridge. You can still see the old toll house, that ceased to operate in the 1850s, at the town end of the bridge. Near the river bank between the toll house and Ednam House is the Episcopalian church of St Andrew, which dates from the 1860s.
Kings, Burghs, Border Abbeys
Born around 1080, David I, the founder of Kelso Abbey was the son of King Malcolm III of Scotland. Malcolm (1058-1093), who was known as Malcolm ‘Canmore’, from the Gaelic ‘ceann More’ meaning the ‘big chief’ or ‘big head’ was related through his mother to Siward, Earl of Northumbria. Siward seems to have been Malcolm’s uncle, so Malcolm could arguably make political claims to northern England and desired to expand his kingdom southward.
Following the Norman Conquest of England, Anglo-Saxon refugees fled north into the Lothians. They included Edgar the Ætheling, the last remaining Anglo-Saxon heir to the English throne. Malcolm welcomed Edgar and supported his claims. He married Edgar’s sister, Margaret (St Margaret), who became influential in the adoption of the Anglo-Saxon language at the Scottish court.
Margaret also influenced the introduction of Roman practices to Scotland’s Christian church. These Anglo-Saxon cultural aspects were likely to have been accepted most enthusiastically in the Lothians and south eastern Borders region where linguistic and Christian cultural traditions were somewhat of Northumbrian origin but not so much in regions north of the Forth and Clyde, where Gaelic traditions prevailed.
In 1072, Malcolm submitted to William the Conqueror and the Normans at Abernathy and agreed to banish Edgar the Ætheling, who fled to Flanders. Despite this apparent peace, Malcolm continued to pose a threat to King William. Malcolm’s status and significance in North Eastern England was demonstrated by him laying one of the first three stones of Durham Cathedral in 1093. The other two were set in place by the Durham Prince Bishop, William of St Carileph and the Durham Prior, Turgot.
Later that year King Malcolm invaded England, meeting his mortal end in an ambush at Alnwick. Malcolm’s successors in Scotland included Duncan II, his brief-reigning son in 1094. As a younger man, Duncan had been held as a captive by the Normans in England, where he had formed a close friendship with William the Conqueror’s son, William Rufus.
Other successors to Malcolm between 1093 and 1097 were Malcolm’s brother Donald Bán, who ruled Scotland north of the Firth of Forth in alliance with Edmund, one of Malcolm’s sons. Edmund specifically ruled in Lothian and Strathclyde.
Both were ousted by another of Malcolm’s sons, King Edgar (not to be confused with Edgar the Ætheling) who reigned over Scotland from 1097 to 1107. Under Edgar the focus of Scottish power moved southward. He moved the royal seat from Dunfermline to Edinburgh and handed the Western Isles to King Magnus of Norway. He also encouraged the settlement of Anglo-Normans in Scotland.
Norman influence continued under Edgar’s successor, Alexander I (1107-1124) who was another of Malcolm’s sons. Alexander was a close friend of the Norman English king, Henry I and married Henry’s daughter, Sibylla. He even fought alongside Henry against the king of Gwynedd in northern Wales.
It was Alexander who appointed Turgot, the Prior of Durham Cathedral as Bishop of St Andrews during an era in which there were disputes over whether the Archbishops of York should have supremacy over bishops in Scotland. Turgot had been the hagiographer of Alexander’s mother, Queen Margaret, also known as St Margaret, who was the daughter of Edgar the Ætheling.
When Alexander was crowned king, the new king’s younger brother David was given Strathclyde and extensive territories in the dales of Tweed and the Teviot. Alexander was David’s superior but David’s power and cultural influence in the territories he held was considerable. He established Selkirk Abbey in 1113 and Jedburgh Abbey in 1118. Following Alexander’s death in 1124, David became King David I and his impact on the history of the Borders region and Scotland as a whole would have a profound and lasting legacy.
As king he founded Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh in 1128 and founded the new abbey at Kelso close to his Roxburgh power base that same year. He founded Melrose Abbey in 1136; St Andrews Cathedral Priory in 1140 and established a monastery on land belonging to the Church of Durham at Coldingham in 1147 as well as establishing several other monasteries.
David played a major part in the development of Scotland’s first towns – the market towns or ‘Burghs’ – in which trade was developed and particularly the woollen trade. Flemish merchants and traders were brought in along with Normans and Anglo-Normans. The Scottish surname Fleming is one vestige of this influence but other Scottish families such as the Douglas clan have Flemish roots too.
Scottish burghs founded by David included Edinburgh; Berwick; Roxburgh; Haddington; Aberdeen; St Andrews; Peebles; Lanark; Perth; Stirling; Elgin; Dunfermline; Montrose and Linlithgow. David’s influential period as the reigning king of Scotland is known to historians as the ‘Davidian Revolution’.
David’s family lineage was of a Gaelic background but as a boy he had spent time in exile at the Norman-dominated English court. He would play a major part in the continuing feudal development of Scotland in the mostly English speaking Scottish lowlands which formed the heart of his power base.
In fact David’s interests and ambitions, like those of his father, King Malcolm, extended into northern England too. David was married to Matilda, daughter of Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon. She was a granddaughter of Siward, Earl of Northumbria. Through Henry the Earl of Northumberland, who was David and Matilda’s son, David gained much control and influence in northern England and for a significant part of his reign North East England was effectively annexed to Scotland.
Roxburgh : Burgh and Castle
Beginning as a small farming settlement with an Anglo-Saxon name meaning the fortified place of someone called Hroc, Roxburgh would become one of the most important towns in Scotland under King David I’s influence. It was easily a rival to Edinburgh, Stirling and Dunfermline. The town or burgh of Roxburgh has long-since gone and should not to be confused with the present village of Roxburgh which occupies a quite different location but old Roxburgh played a major role in the history of the Kelso area.
The site of the Burgh of Roxburgh is located exceptionally close to Kelso, just across the Tweed in a diamond-shaped peninsula of land between the Tweed and Teviot close to where the two rivers merge. This peninsula is primarily a ‘haugh’ or flat piece of meadowland. At its western end the peninsula narrows before the two rivers head off upstream in different directions. The narrow neck of the peninsula was the site of Roxburgh Castle.
Just east of the castle site within the haugh is a raised piece of land above the Teviot called Kay Brae that was the site of the burgh or town of Roxburgh. The burgh seems to have been established before the 1120s. It would include several streets, including Senedgate, King Street and Market Street as well as being a home to schools, a friary of Greyfriars and two churches; one dedicated to St James and the other to the Holy Sepulchre.
On its eastern side, stretching between the Tweed and the Teviot, the burgh was protected by a fosse or defensive ditch but the successful and prosperous burgh soon spread eastward during the twelfth century.
Roxburgh’s beginnings seem to have been relatively peaceful but the fortunes of this burgh were closely tied to that of the neighbouring Roxburgh Castle that was likely established by David before 1120. Both the castle and burgh were subjected to the border ravages and changed hands between English and Scottish control on many occasions.
William the Lion, king of Scotland ceded Roxburgh Castle to the English in 1174 following his capture at Alnwick. In 1296 John Baliol, King of Scotland confirmed Edward I, the king of England as owner of the burgh and castle. Roxburgh was still held by King Edward when Robert the Bruce became King of Scotland in 1306. Edward and his successor Edward II, held Bruce’s sister, Mary as prisoner here. At some point she was apparently suspended from the castle’s walls in a cage by the French-speaking king.
The castle was held by an English garrison in 1311 who also occupied the burgh, but both were recaptured for the Scots by Sir James Douglas, known as ‘the Black Douglas’, in 1314. Robert the Bruce ordered the destruction of the castle but it would live on. In 1334 Roxburgh was a base for Edward III of England who had been granted the burgh and castle of Roxburgh along with the entire county of Roxburghshire itself, following victory over the Scots.
In 1340 Roxburgh and its castle was back in Scottish hands following its capture by Sir Alexander Ramsay. The defeat and capture of King David II (David Bruce) of Scotland at the Battle of Nevilles Cross near Durham in 1346 brought Roxburgh Castle once again under English ownership. The Scots attacked the castle and burnt the burgh in 1377. In 1385 it seemed to be firmly back in Scottish hands following its capture by the Earl of Dunbar.
However, it soon returned to the English as the Scots were besieging Roxburgh once again, in 1398. King Henry IV of England repaired the castle in 1417 and in 1460 James II of Scotland died while besieging the castle – the exploding cannon. Despite the king’s death the castle and burgh were taken by the Scots. Although still claimed by the English kings as late as 1470, the castle had in reality fallen into ruin by 1488 and the neglected and much ravaged burgh had already started to decay.
Today there are only scant ruins of Roxburgh Castle overlooking the Tweed and Teviot. Of the burgh, once one of the most important towns in Scotland, virtually nothing remains. An archaeological excavation of the burgh site by Time Team in 2003 showed the land had been significantly ploughed over, although traces of the town’s street layout were found.
The present day village of Roxburgh, a little village just under two miles upstream along the Teviot southward from Roxburgh Castle site is a completely different settlement and of later origin.
Roxburghshire, the county, was absorbed along with Berwickshire, Peebleshire, Selkirkshire and part of Midlothian by the Scottish Borders county region in 1975. Although Roxburghshire includes a short and significant stretch of the Tweed, Roxburghshire’s principal river is the Teviot. The name ‘Teviot’ seems to have very ancient roots, possibly from a pre-Celtic word ‘tau’ – meaning ‘flowing’ or ‘melting’ and may be related to river-names such as the Teifi in Wales or Tavy in Devon. It has no known link to the name ‘Cheviot’ as in the Cheviot Hills.
Roxburghshire with the River Teviot at its heart, shared historic borders with Cumberland and Northumberland in England and borders with the Scottish counties of Berwickshire, East and Mid Lothian; Selkirkshire and Dumfriesshire. Roxburghshire’s main towns are Kelso, Hawick, Melrose and Jedburgh.
Floors Castle
A great highlight of the town of Kelso is the magnificent Floors Castle and its grounds, which are situated on the western side of the town. This grand house stands on a terrace on the north side of the Tweed looking across the river to the site of Roxburgh Castle.
Floors, or ‘Fleurs’ which it was often historically called, has been open to the public since 1977 and is the seat of the Dukes of Roxburghe. Its name may be a reference to flowers (from the French ‘fleurs’) or to the terraces (floors) on which the castle is built.
The Dukes of Roxburghe (notice the spelling of ‘Roxburghe’ with an ‘e’) can trace their origins back to Norman times and are descended from two branches of a family called Ker. Their most notable ancestor was Robert Ker of Cessford (1570-1650) who was a particularly notorious and formidable Border Reiver.
In the 1580s Ker’s father William (1544-1599) was given extensive lands that had belonged to Kelso Abbey following the dissolution of the monastery. In 1602 Robert was granted the Barony and Lordship of Halydean which had made up the former lands of the abbey.
Roxburghshire was a homeland for the Kers that now became an all the more significant power base for the family. Robert Ker was however, a reiver through-and-through and very much a part of the culture of plundering, theft and revenge.
Ker’s plundering raids took him into both England and other parts of Scotland. Adversaries in his reiving feuds included the Turnbulls, a Scottish reiving family, and a rival Ker branch, the Ker’s of Ancrum. Ker was also a great source of trouble for English Border reiving families and those who were employed to keep the peace there. In 1598 he was imprisoned by the English march warden Sir Robert Carey who was himself of a reiving background but Ker was subsequently released.
The trouble Robert Ker caused in the English marches and the riches he obtained there helped him find favour with the Scottish king. In 1590 Ker was knighted; in 1600 he became Lord Roxburgh and in 1603, King James VI of Scotland, the newly crowned King of England made Ker the first Earl of Roxburghe. There were a succession of four further earls of Roxburghe until John Ker, the 5th Earl of Roxburghe was given the title first Duke of Roxburghe in 1707 by Queen Anne for his part in supporting the Act of Union between England and Scotland.
Historically, the site of Floors Castle had formed part of the lands of Kelso Abbey which came into the hands of the Kers but the family’s principal Scottish seat was for many years focused upon Broxmouth Park near Dunbar in Lothian until the first duke’s mother relocated to Floors around 1730.
It was the first Duke who instigated the building of the present Floors Castle which was constructed by William Adam between 1721 and 1726 possibly based on designs by Sir John Vanbrugh. In 1837 the 6th Duke of Roxburghe, Robert Innes-Ker employed the English architect, William Playfair to add the beautiful embellishments to the battlements and turrets of the house that give this impressive sandstone castle its beautiful fairy-tale features.
Floors Castle is the largest inhabited house in all Scotland and set in beautiful grounds, gardens and woodland. There is an impressive walled garden, a beautiful ‘millennium garden’ and extensive woodlands including riverside walks and cycle trails. The grounds include the spot where King James II of Scotland met his end – killed by that exploding cannon – while besieging nearby Roxburgh Castle.
Around Kelso
The historic county of Roxburghshire extends northward from Kelso to take in Smailholm and Smailholm Tower to the north west and Stichill and Ednam to the north. As we head further north, places such as Mellerstain House; Gordon; Hume and Greenlaw are historically in Berwickshire as too is Coldstream, along the Tweed to the east, which faces across the river to England.
Just north of Kelso on the northern fringe of the town is Kelso Racecourse where horse racing has been held since 1822. Racing has been held in the Kelso area since the 1730s but the present course, so close to the town, was developed by the Dukes of Roxburghe.
Along the Tweed downstream just east of Kelso is Hendersyde Park, home to the Agnew family and a place noted for horse trials. Its grounds were developed from the late eighteenth century by a former owner, George Waldie. His mansion was replaced by the present house in the 1930s. Earlier owners of Hendersyde prior to Waldie were the Ormston family and Edmonestones of Ednam.
Ednam, about a mile north of Hendersyde is a village with a name that derives from ‘Eden-Ham’ – the homestead on the Eden. It is situated on the Eden Water, a little river that joins the Tweed a mile downstream from Hendersyde. Ednam was the birthplace of a farm labourer called James Cook (1693-1779) who later moved to the Cleveland area of North Yorkshire where he married Grace Pace of Thornaby. They were the parents of the famous explorer, Captain James Cook (1728-1779) who was born at Marton near Middlesbrough.
Half a mile downstream, the River Tweed becomes the Scotland-England border with nearby Birgham being in Berwickshire while Carham across the river is in England. Carham was the site of an important battle in 1018 that really established the England-Scotland border as we know it today.
Stichill, a pretty village a mile north west of Ednam has a parish church that dates from 1783 on the site of an earlier medieval one. The village was historically a centre for the Pringle family. Stichill’s parish church is one of two attractive ecclesiastical buildings in the village. The other is the former United Free Presbyterian Church of 1878. Having fallen out of use, this church was purchased in 2001 and converted into a stunning house and luxury holiday home called Cairns House.
Stichill village is thought to have been the birthplace of Robert Stichill, the Prince Bishop of Durham from 1260 to 1274. He was previously a Durham monk and the one time Prior of Finchale.
Smailholm Tower at Smailholm, about four and a half miles west of Kelso, is a typical tower-house border stronghold that dates from the early fifteenth century when it was built by the Pringle family. It was one of the principal strongholds of the family who were guardians of Ettrick Forest though they relocated to Galashiels in the late sixteenth century.
In the 1640s the tower was purchased by the Scott family of Harden near Hawick which they rented out to a Walter Scott who was the great-grandfather of the famed poet of that name. On a good day there are views from the battlements reaching as far as Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast.
As with many such towers associated with the Border Reivers on both side of the border, Smailholm Tower has a splendid wild setting. There seems to be some doubt about whether the ‘holm’ of its name means ‘island’ or ‘homestead’.
Smailholm Tower is not situated on a literal island but on a narrow (small – ‘smail’) rocky prominence that stands out in rugged surrounding scenery. It forms part of a larger hill bordered by marshlands to the west with the River Eden to the north and the River Tweed to the south. The village of Smailholm itself, to the north of the tower is also situated on this hill.
Just across to the north of Smailholm on roads heading towards the village of Gordon is Mellerstain House, situated in the valley of the Eden Water. Here we have actually left what was historically Roxburghshire and entered part of what was the county of Berwickshire but Mellerstain is within easy travelling distance of Kelso so we cover it here.
The name Mellerstain would have originally referred to a small settlement now occupied by the house and its grounds. Its name is thought to mean ‘Maelóc’s stone’ – the first part being a possible Gaelic personal name although it has also been suggested that it is from the Anglo-Saxon ‘milk stone’.
First noted around 1182, the lands of Mellerstain were granted to the Baillie family in 1642. Descendants, George Baillie and his wife Lady Grisell Baillie (a member of the Hume family) set about the building of a new house here in 1725. It was commenced by the Scottish architect, William Adam (1689-1748), who built the east and west wings of the house.
For some years the house remained incomplete with the family living in the east wing. In 1770, George Baillie, the grandson of George and Lady Grisell Baillie employed Robert Adam (1728-1792), the son of William Adam to complete the house and connect the two wings. The completed house is widely recognised as one of Robert Adam’s greatest works.
Kirk Yetholm and Bowmont Water
A significant area of the historic county of Roxburghshire to the south of Kelso and east of Jedburgh, stretching south into the Cheviots finds itself in the curious situation of lying directly west of England and also directly to England’s north. Cross the Tweed from Kelso and the eastward-bound roads head through little Scottish villages such as Sprouston and Lempitlaw along roads that take us into England within a couple of miles.
Historically called Lempetlaw the name of Lempitlaw is rather curious. A medieval church once stood close by and a Viking hogback sculptured stone has been found here. A little to its south is a tiny body of water called Hoselaw Loch. This Scottish loch is less than half a mile from England. Over in Northumberland, lakes are called ‘loughs’ so this lake gains ‘loch’ status by half a mile.
As we increasingly head into the hilly country south east of Hoselaw the Scotland-England border cuts across a river called the Bowmont Water before following an adjoining stream called the Shotton Burn as it heads south, deeper into the Cheviots.
The famous Pennine Way long distance walking path which has its northern terminus at nearby Kirk Yetholm follows the Scottish border for many miles from here passing west of the great mountain of the Cheviot itself. The name Cheviot is probably Brythonic, meaning something along the lines of ‘ridge-like’.
The Bowmont Water river is peculiar because it flows from Scotland northward into England. It crosses the border north of Kirk Yetholm to become an English river where it then continues eastward to feed the River Glen near Wooler in Northumberland. The River Glen feeds another English river called the River Till that subsequently flows into the English side of the River Tweed at Tillmouth.
Returning back to the Scottish stretch of the Bowmont Water, only a mile and half from the border we find the largest settlements of the valley which are two places called Yetholm. These two tiny Scottish towns are Town Yetholm, west of the river and Kirk Yetholm to the east of the river.
Yetholm derives from the words ‘yet’ meaning gap or gateway and ‘holmr’ – a Scandinavian word for ‘river island’. The holm or ‘island’ of the name best describes the location of Town Yetholm. This place is situated on the lower part of a small hill called Yetholm Law that is surrounded on three sides by water.
On its east side is the Bowmont Water river itself and on its north side is a stream called ‘The Stank’. On the west side is Yetholm Loch and associated marshland, so that water almost completely envelopes the whole site.
Over on the west side of Yetholm Loch, to the north of Morebattle, is Linton Hill; in legend home to a worm or wyvern that terrorised the countryside, swallowing sheep, cattle and people alive in much the same way as the Lambton Worm in County Durham. It was eventually slain by a local lord named Somerville who cut its throat using a wheel attached to his sword, daubed with pitch, sulphur and brimstone. His act is commemorated above the door of nearby Linton church.
Although Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm are linked by a bridge across the Bowmont Water, the river forms a broad green vale a quarter of a mile wide between the two places so they are quite separate but closely linked communities.
In days gone by Kirk Yetholm was associated with gypsies including the family called the Faas, who were the principal gypsy clan of the Border Country. Kirk Yetholm was the ‘gypsy capital’ of all Scotland and the last gypsy king was crowned here in 1898. Many local people claim gypsy descent and a stone on Kirk Yetholm green commemorates the gypsy connection.
There’s also a celebrated gypsy connection at Town Yetholm. During the village festival in June there’s a tradition of choosing a ‘Bari Gadgi’ and ‘Bari Manushi’ – which means ‘best boy’ and ‘best girl’ in Romany gypsy language and the young man and young woman are dressed in a green coloured sash and rosette.
Each July, during Civic Week celebrations at Kelso, numerous horse riders led by the ‘Kelsae Laddie’ and his ‘left and right hand men’ leave that town wearing blue sashes and cross the countryside to head for Kirk Yetholm. They take a route not far from the English border and arrive in Kirk Yetholm from the north where they are greeted with a toast.
Riders then retire to Town Yetholm across the Bowmont Water for lunch in the Plough Hotel where they are joined by the Bari Gadgi and Bari Manushi to dance a reel to the accompaniment of a piper.
Bowmont Water rises in the Cheviot Hills eight miles south of Yetholm back near the English border in the region of Cock Law and Windy Gyle.
Here the English border (still followed by the Pennine Way) lies to the south rather than the east, with streams beyond the watershed across the border feeding the upper reaches of Northumberland’s River Coquet in Coquetdale.
Morebattle and the Kale Water
About three miles south west of Town Yetholm we find the pretty village of Morebattle with a name that seems to fit in quite well with the region’s border history. However, the ‘battle’ part of the name is in fact from an Anglo-Saxon word ‘bothl’ meaning an abode or building of some kind.
The first part of Morebattle’s name seems to refer to a mere – a lake or marsh. Morebattle sits on the edge of the hills or moors beneath the site of an Iron Age fort. The village overlooks a broad plain, that is quite marshy in places. This is part of the valley of a little river called Kale Water and was once the site of a shallow loch (Linton Loch) that was drained. Just to the west is a place called Cowbog.
Morebattle’s village church of red stone, dates from 1757 and stands on the site of an earlier medieval one that became ruinous after enduring centuries of border warfare. A battle of sorts took place in the churchyard here as late as 1725, when a new church minister was appointed who was unacceptable to the parishioners. The appointment was made by the Duke of Roxburghe as was his rightful tradition, but prior to the new minister taking up office, the people of the parish assembled in the churchyard and fought off the new minister and his retinue.
The minister’s appointment was eventually pushed through and many of the congregation stopped attending services and held their own services on a spot in the open countryside a mile from the village, which resulted in the establishment of a breakaway church.
Street-names in Morebattle include Toongate; Teapot Lane; Teapot Bank and a narrow lane called Chairlie’s Vennel. Kale Water makes a sharp bend at Morebattle as we head upstream into the Cheviots. At the south western end of the village a road called ‘The Pike Stanes’ climbs southward to follow the valley and within half a mile becomes Sibbald’s Path.
Places further upstream include Hownam where an ancient pathway called ‘The Street’ leaves the valley and heads over the hills towards Windy Gyle across the Northumberland border. Staying on the Kale Water, upstream is the hamlet of Chatto, with a little stone circle of ancient times called ‘Five Stanes’ to its west.
Upstream, two miles to the south, is Tow Ford where the Roman Dere Street crossed Kale Water after passing between Hanginshaws Hill and Woden Law on the east bank. Near the west bank of the river are the remains of an extensive Roman camp.
Three miles or so south of Tow Ford near Coquet Head is another significant Roman Camp at Chew Green in Northumberland near the head of Coquetdale. The Pennine Way still follows the Scottish Border here but leaves the border behind to the west of Chew Green and heads south into Redesdale.
Close to the English border around Grindstone Law; Crooked Hope Hungry Law; Leithope Forest and the cairn of Phillips Cross there are several burns that feed the upper reaches of Kale Water. To the west, bordering the forest is the natural ridge called Arks Edge running along the border westward to Carter Bar and the head of Redesdale, where the A68 heads north to Jedburgh.
We now head back downstream into the lower lying parts of the Kale Water which eventually joins the River Teviot at Kalemouth four and a half miles west of Morebattle. Little villages near the Kale’s mouth include Grahamslaw north of the Kale Water and a place called Eckford to its south. There is a tiny body of water near Eckford called Wooden Loch.
Half way between Eckford and Morebattle the Kale Water is joined on its south side by the little Cessford Burn and about a mile and a quarter along this stream to the south is the village of Cessford. Its name means ‘wattled ford’ – the first part being from ‘chis’ a Gaelic word for a wattled causeway.
A Scottish family surname, Cessford, originated here but a more senior family associated with Cessford were the Ker family of Border Reivers of which this was a principal seat.
One of the most influential families in the Borders, the Kers were also connected with the neighbouring Jed Valley to the west, dominating the town of Jedburgh and being the owners of Ferniehirst Castle just to the south of that town.
Cessford Castle was the main stronghold of a branch of the Kers. Its imposing remains can still be seen to the north of the village and date from around 1450. The Cessford Kers often feuded with the rival Kers of Ferniehirst.
Kers from both branches served as Wardens of the Marches, reflecting their important status in the Borders. The Earls and later the Dukes of Roxburgh, including the present holder of that title, are members of the Ker family.
Cessford Castle was abandoned as a residence around 1650 but the imposing remains still dominate the neighbouring hillside overlooking the little village of Cessford.
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