I have to start today’s blog with this poem from Sir Walter Scott about Melrose Abbey AND the picture I took the other night at midnight:
If thou would’st view fair Melrose aright;
Go visit it by the pale moonlight;
For the gay beams of lightsome day
Gild, but to flout the ruins grey….
I just found out that Steel-eye Span have an album from 1974 that has a song called Thomas the Rhymer! We were thinking about visiting Priorwood Gardens, but we can see everything from our windows! These gardens once belonged to the Curle family who owned Priorwood House, now the Melrose Youth Hostel where Ray stayed in 2009. From our window, you can see the initials of James and Blanche Curle who moved here in 1904. Within the gardens are apple trees, some of which are direct descendants of those grown by the monks of the Abbey. There is a flower-drying business here and each of the 3 fireplaces in our cottage has a display of these in them.
Harmony Gardens down the road was built by Robert Waugh, a local joiner who made a fortune from a Jamaican plantation and later became known as “Melancholy Jacques” when he rarely emerged from behind the walls of the garden. There is a fire insurance plaque displayed here—this indicated that the owner had paid the insurance firm his dues and was therefore covered from risk. Private companies would fight fires only if a building displayed this plaque.
We tried to get a closer view of Bowhill as the house is closed until July 1, but the far away view was better. May try again later. Bowhill is the main seat of the Duke of Buccleuch, set in a 46,000 acre estate. The lands were owned by a branch of the Scotts in the 17th century and from 1708 it was a Douglas seat, before the Scotts reacquired it in 1747. It was used as a military hospital in WWI and was also occupied by the army in WWII. The grounds contain what is probably the oldest ash tree in Scotland. While we were driving away, a huge hawk carrying some tasty morsel-- : ( -- almost crashed into our windshield. Never been that up close to a hawk.
We headed one more time into the Ettrick Valley. If I haven’t said it enough, then let me say once more, I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! And to think that my ancestors lived here is just amazing to me. We passed by the East and Wester Deloraine homesteads again and this time I noticed a footpath sign for Cacrabank—that was one of the residences in the 1841 Census I found in the Ettrick Kirk.
We looked for the Thirlestane Tower and the Gamescleuch Tower, but found neither. We did find a Thirlestane Lodge and a Thirlestane Cottage. And I found Ettrick Hall where a Charles Scott who attended Ettrick Kirk lived. It is on the same site as the former cottage where James Hogg was born. Then we went to Yarrow Kirk.
The first church in this area was high on a hillside overlooking St. Mary’s Loch. It was damaged when it was raided by the Scotts of Buccleuch in 1557 while searching for an enemy. In 1640, a new church was erected on the Buccleuch property of Whitehope. The present Yarrow Kirk was never intended to be more than a simple country kirk. Erected during the stormy days of the National Covenant when architecture was at a low ebb, it conformed to a design common to Scottish churches at the time, being T-shaped. The main walls were only 13 ft. high and though the roof was slated, there was no ceiling and only an earthen floor below. The only light was from a few low windows set in the south wall and from the circular window in the east. A tiny belfry was mounted on the end of the western gable. In 1772, the walls were raised 3 ft. all around to provide for lofts and a 2nd row of windows were inserted. The roof was re-slated, the uneven floor leveled and graveled and a proper bell-house installed—all at a cost of about £250. Now there was room for 770 parishioners.
This was the kirk known to Sir Walter Scott, James Hogg, and Willie Laidlaw, whose names are proudly associated with Yarrow Kirk. From his home at Ashiestiel, Scott occasionally rode over the hills to worship in what he called “the shrine of my ancestors,” and to visit the grave of his maternal great-grandfather John Rutherford, Minister of Yarrow from 1691 to 1710. His grave is marked by an inscribed mural tablet in the north wall outside. In 1826 doors were added to the pews to restrain the herds’ dogs who then accompanied their masters to the Kirk. In 1922, the church was almost gutted by fire and left with hardly more than the ancient walls standing. The 18th century Communion pewter, the memorial windows, the old collection ladles, the brass tablets commemorating Scott, Wordsworth, Hogg, Laidlaw and others were all destroyed. One survivor of the fire was the ancient sundial built into the outside of the kirk with the message: Watch and Pray/Tyme is Short.”A pamphlet stated that the walls still stand as they have since 1640 … in the spiritual hear of the valley of the “dowie dens.”
Since this church is so close to the Charles and Walter Scott who lived in Catslackbuern Cottage, my main objective was to find their graves and I believe I was successful. The names and dates match and I gleaned much new information to add to my notes.
Next we were off to find Dryhope Tower. This is the property of the Scott family and was home to Mary Scott, the “Flower of Yarrow,” in Sir Walter Scott’s book, who married Walter Scott of Harden in 1576. The tower suffered following Scott’s involvement in treachery against James VI in 1592 but was rebuilt by 1613. It is in ruins now but is being restored. I also checked into what a “pele” tower was--small fortified keeps or tower houses intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger. By an Act of Parliament in 1455, each of these towers was required to have an iron basket on its summit and a smoke or fire signal, for day or night use, ready at hand.
Our next few items were not successful. We tried to go to the Peebles Old Parish church of the Holy Cross, but as there was no parking available and there was a downpour of rain that hit just as we got there, we decided to move on. Inside is buried Sir David Scott (d. 1491/2) from my family tree. Maybe we can return later. The church was built in 1887 on top of older ones—one built in 1261 by King Alexander II of Scotland.
Then we went to Innerleithen to visit Robert Smail’s Print Shop, a National Trust Property, but unfortunately after parking—brilliant parallel parking by Ray if I do say so—we then found out that they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Maybe we’ll return here and get both.
We stopped by Tesco in Galashiels for supplies and went home for lunch where I had smoked salmon on ciabatta bread—yum. After lunch we went to Melrose Abbey—right next door!
Melrose Abbey was founded around 1136 and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Border abbeys were centers of learning, politics, and economic and cultural life. Melrose abbey had the largest flock of sheep of any religious houses in the country—in the order of 15,000 by 1370. The wool was sold far afield. The Abbey owned around 22,000 acres of land in the Borders and elsewhere. All this wealth made the abbey natural targets for invading armies and Melrose was sacked on at least 4 occasions.
The heart of King Robert I (The Bruce) is buried in a leaden casket in Melrose Abbey. (The rest of his bodyis in Dunfermline.) He was the greatest knight in all of Christendom and had always wanted to take part in a crusade. His wish was fulfilled only after his death when his embalmed heart was carried in its leaden casket on a crusade by his friend, James Douglas. James hurled the casket at the Moors, shouting, “Where Bruce leads, Douglas follows.” The heart was then brought back to Melrose and buried. Recently it was unburied and then reburied.
The original Abbey building would have been richly decorated using lime washes inside and out and the statues of the saints would have been painted. We looked for and found the bagpipe-playing pig, the ceiling bosses, decorated corbels, and the off-center arches. We also found the inscription carved by the master mason of the Abbey, Jean Moreau. The final attack on the Abbey came in 1545 when the Earl of Hertford bombarded the site with a cannon he had set up near Gattonside on the other side of where the chain bridge is now. He was carrying out the orders of Henry VIII of England who wanted Queen Mary to marry his son—Prince Edward—whereby he would gain sovereignty over the Scots. The Abbey was never the same afterwards. After the Reformation, the monks lost the use of the money the Abbey generated and could not recruit new monks. The religious community died shortly after 1590. The Abbey became neglected and was used as a source of building materials for the town.
By 1618, part of the nave had been adapted to serve as a parish church. After the Reformation, little respect was paid to the building and often cattle and sheep could be found inside. The interior was gloomy, filthy, and damp. The church was still used until the new parish church was begun in 1808. The Duke of Buccleuch cleared a large amount of rubbish off the site. Sir Walter Scott was so alarmed at the state of the building that he made direct appeals to the Duke to carry out repairs. Eventually, the Duke allowed Scott to direct his builder to undertake whatever work he saw as necessary to safeguard the building. The first part of the Abbey to be repaired was the east window in 1822. There is a quote by Scott about this window in the museum: “…I have looked at it for forty years and for thirty years of the time with anxious regard for its safety…I think within the last four years it is decidedly getting much worse and I do not think it can stand many years more….” And to think it is still standing today. Scott mentioned Melrose Abbey in his writings often.
We saw a grave for John Pringle, “…and his Lady, Christian Scott.” His Lady, how nice. There was also a new grave for one of my ancestors, the 9th duke of Buccleuch, who died in 2007—Walter Francis John Montagu Douglas Scott. Lots of Scotts of Gala. I looked all over for the little statue of sir Michael Scott the Wizard. Not everyone can say they have a wizard in their family tree! The resident expert otld me where to find the grave—near the main altar—but I was disappointed as it was unmarked and in bad condition. Not clue at all as to who is buried here. When I told the woman why I was asking, she said how very lucky I was to have him as an ancestor as he was brilliant. Well then why doesn’t someone spiff up his grave? I may go back another day and leave a token of my appreciation for him. His little statue of him wearing a turban is no longer here either. There is a head of him in the museum, but I wish I could’ve seen the statue standing near his grave as it used to.
The town of Melrose owes its existence to the Abbey as it was a center of pilgrimage. Houses would have been set up close to the main gate of the precinct for the use of visitors and pilgrims. Perhaps even our own Pear Cottage was used for this purpose.
After Melrose, we made another pass at finding Ancrum Moor and this time we succeeded. Evidently the A68 road goes straight through it. The Battle of Ancrum Moor was fought during the War of the Rough Wooing in 1545. The Scottish victory put a temporary end to English depredations in the Scottish border and lowlands.
As his reign drew to a close, King Henry VIII sought to secure the alliance of Scotland and the marriage of the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, to his son Edward. He had the support of some Scots nobles who had been taken prisoner at the Battle of Solway Moss and mixed diplomacy with the threat of force, but in December 1543, the Scottish Parliament, after much internal dissension, decided to reject Henry's overtures and instead renew the alliance with France.
Henry's reaction was to launch a ruthless war against Scotland. This attempt to force Scotland into alliance was known as the "Rough Wooing". Henry ordered the Earl of Hertford, his Warden of the Marches, to devastate Edinburgh, Leith, and many other towns. Hertford dutifully laid waste to much of southern Scotland in two expeditions in 1544.
The following year, his army continued to pillage in the borders. Perhaps their worst atrocity was the burning of Brumehous Tower with the lady of the house and her children and servants inside. Their activities forced an unlikely alliance of the Earl of Arran, , Regent for the infant Mary, and the Earl of Angus. The Scottish army consisted initially of between 300 and 1,000 "lances" under Angus, and a similar number of troops under George Leslie, 3rd Earl of Rothes. Arran may have brought some levies from Fife. They were joined by borderers under Scott of Buccleuch (another of my ancestors), whose lands had also suffered devastation at Eure's hands. Together, they moved to confront the English army near Jedburgh.
The English lost 800 men killed (including Eure and Layton) and 1,000 taken prisoner. This temporarily stopped their harrying of Scotland. News of the victory also induced Francis I of France to send troops to aid the Scots, although they achieved little. The war came to an end shortly afterwards on the death of Henry VIII, only to break out again with perhaps even more violence when Hertford, now Protector Somerset ruling on behalf of Edward VI, sought to impose his own political and religious settlement on Scotland.
We also made another pass at Bowhill, but there is just no getting a good picture of it from afar, though my pictures of it peeking out of the trees does show how enormous it must be. We got to Abbotsford, also, but they were closed. I took a picture in case we don’t get a chance to come for a visit.
Dinner was cracked black pepper coated salmon filets and rice and vegetables a la Ray.
Pictures from top: Melrose Abbey at midnight; Melrose Abbey at sunset; Yarrow Valley; St. Mary’s Loch; our Pear Cottage above the gift shop.
