Upper Teviotdale and the Scotts of Buccleuch, a local and family history ... With illustrations of Border scenery by T. H. Laidlaw

Chapter I. Introductory

— Extent of Upper Teviotdale — Its Ancient Boundaries — Description of the Catrail— Ancient Inhabitants of Upper Teviotdale — Origin of the Name of Hawick — Hawick Moat, its Antiquity and probable purpose — The Angles in Teviotdale — 'Tyr ye bus, Tyr ye Odin,' a war cry of the Angles — Miracle at St Cuthbert's Chapel on the Slitrith — Building of St Mary's Church at Hawick in 1214 — Relics of it — The Ceremony of Consecration, performed by the Bishop of Caithness — His Murder at the Instigation of the Earl of Caithness — The Lovels — Their English Possessions and their Settlement in Teviotdale — The ' Auld Brig ' — The probable Date of its Erection — Poem on its Demolition, .......

Chapter II

Death of Alexander III. — Prophecies and Supernatural Prognostications Regarding it — Its Direful Results — The Different Competitors for the Crown of Scotland — Edward I. chosen as Arbiter — His Final Decision in favour of John de Baliol — Edward invades Scotland, and Conquers the greater part of the Kingdom — Sir William Wallace vindicates the National Independence of Scotland — la made Governor of the Kingdom — Second Invasion by Edward I. — Scotland again Subdued, and Wallace taken and executed — Robert Bruce's Wars, and Final Triumph at Bannockburn— Miserable Condition of the Borders — Taking of Roxburgh Castle by Sir James Douglas — Treaty of Peace with England — Death of Robert Bruce — Edward Baliol, with the Help of the English, seizes the Crown of Scotland, but sustains a Severe Defeat at Annan — Edward III.

Invades Scotland — Defeat of the Scots at Halidon Hill — Baliol again placed on the Throne of Scotland — Exploits of Sir William Douglas and Sir Alexander Ramsay — Ramsay appointed Sheriff of Teviotdale — Carried off from Hawick and Starved to Death in Hermitage castle — Battle of Durham, and Capture of David the Second — Edward III. holds Dominion over the South of Scotland — Grants and Exchanges of Lands in Teviotdale — The Lovels disappear from the district, ...........

Chapter III

Edward's Last Invasion of Scotland — Monasteries and Churches Plundered and Destroyed — Treaty of Peace with England— Hostilities on the Borders — Raid into Scotland by the Earls of Northumberland and Nottingham — French Knights come to Scotland in Search of Adventure — Their Contents. VI TAGE 60 S2 152 184 Experience of Border Warfare— The League between France and Scotland— A French Army Sent into Scotland— Mutual Inroads by the English and the Scots— Battle of Otterburn— Death of Earl Douglas— His Descendants Founders of the Families of Cavers and Drumlanrig— Demoralising Effect of the Protracted Wars— Battle of Homildon— Siege of Coklaw— Incursions by Sir Robert de Umfraville— Jedburgh Sacked and Burned— James I. taken Prisoner by the English — Regency of the Duke of Albany — Great Depredations committed on the Borders,

Chapter IV

First Appearance of the Scotts in Teviotdale — Obtain Possession of Branxholme by Exchange — Their Legendary History — Earliest Authentic Notices Regarding Them — Origin of the Name of Buccleuch — Territorial Designations of the Scotts — Resume of General History of the Period — Laws for the Protection and Defence of the Country — The Part taken by the Scotts in Public Affairs — Grants of Land made to them — Burning of the Manor of Buccleuch — Rebellion Instigated by the Earl of Angus — Battle of Lochmaben — Death of David Scott of Buccleuch — His Will — Murder of a Monk by Langlands of that Ilk — Gawain Douglas, .....

Chapter V

Causes which led to the Battle of Flodden — Character of the King — Muster of the Army — Portents and Warnings — James IV. Invades England — Lays Siege to Norham — the Battle of Flodden — Death of the King — Calamitous Results of the Battle — Exploit of the Hawick Youths at Hornshole — Commemorative Song — Gift of the Hawick Common — The Common-riding, . . 1 1 1

Chapter VI

General Condition of the Kingdom— Description of Liddesdale and its Inhabitants — Legendary Account of Lord Soulis and Hermitage Castle— Lordship of Liddesdale Conferred on the Earl of Bothwell— Teviotdale and Jedburgh Harried and Destroyed by the English— The Earl of Angus Warden of the East and Middle Marches— Obtains Possession of the King, and usurps the Supreme Power— Scott of Buccleuch's Attempt to Rescue the King— Ker of Cessford killed Proceedings against the Liddesdale Thieves— Johnnie Armstrong Hanged at Caerlenrig,

Chapter VII

Government of James V.— Forfeiture and Banishment of the Earl of Angus and the Douglases— They Urge Henry VIII. to Invade Scotland— Predatory Wars on the Borders— Defeat of the Scots at Solway Moss— Death of James V— Henry VIII. Proposes a Marriage between the Infant Queen of Scots and his Son, which is Rejected by the Scots-English Invasion— Border Abbeys Defaced and Destroyed— Battle of Ancrum Moor— Feud between the Scotts and the Kers— Raid against the Scotts by the Kers Assisted by the English— Lady Buccleuch Burned in the Tower of Catslack— Murder of Sir Walter Scott by the Kers, Contents. VII PAGE 213 232 267 283 299

Chapter VIII

Sir William Scott, Younger of Buccleuch — His Exploits and His Early Death — References to the Young Heir of Buccleuch in the Lay of the Last Minstrel — Retainers of the House — Efforts to Heal the Feud between the Scotts and the Kers — Division of the Debateable Lands — The Reformation in Scotland — Return of Queen Mary from France — Excesses on the Borders — Ballad of Jamie Telfer — Feud between the Scotts and the Elliots — English Policy towards the Borderers — Queen Mary holds a Court at Jedburgh — Her Visit to Liddesdale— Her Flight into England — Further Troubles on the Borders, .........

Chapter IX

State of Religious feeling in Scotland — Roman Catholic Rebellion in the North of England — Its Collapse, and Flight of the leaders into Scotland — Punishment of the Insurgents — Teviotdale laid waste by the English — Hawick burned — Branxholme razed to the ground — Attack on Jedburgh — Death of Sir Walter Scott — His will, and the Inventory of his goods, .....

Chapter X

Effects of the Civil War— Plunder of Ancrum Woodhead— The Raid of the Reidswire —Efforts of the Regent to maintain peace with England — Rebellious exploits of Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell — Sir Walter Scott appointed Warden of the middle Marches — Capture of Kinmont Willie ; —His rescue from Carlisle Castle by Buccleuch— Queen Elizabeth's indignation — Sir Robert Carey's Raid into Liddesdale— Sir Walter Scott created Lord Scott of Buccleuch— His Campaign in the Netherlands— His death at Branxholme, .......

Chapter XI

Succession of Walter, Second Earl of Buccleuch— His life at Branxholme— Plot to Murder Him— Acts of the Privy Council relating to Border affairs— Suicide in the Steeple of St Mary's Church- Mutilation of the sheep at Howpaslot— Encounter between Drumlanrig and Coshogle— Buccleuch's Campaigns in the States of Holland— An Earl's Patent conferred upon him— His death in London— Perilous Voyage to Leith with the body— Funeral Procession from Branxholme to St Mary's Church at Hawick, .... .....

Chapter XII

Hawick Municipal enactments of the first half of the seventeenth century— Extracts from the Town Council Records— Boundaries and description of the Town, ..... Contents. VIII PAGE 313 321 35° 362 388

Chapter XIII

Childhood of Francis, Earl of Buccleuch— His Education at St Andrews— The National Covenant and the Civil Wars against Charles I.— Buccleuch's Services to the Covenant— His Opposition to Cromwell— Border Disturbances— Death of the Earl of Buccleuch, ....

Chapter XIV

, Mary, the eldest daughter of Earl Francis succeeds him as Countess of Buccleuch— Her Trustees— Their Schemes for the Marriage of the young Countess— Her Marriage to Walter Scott of Highchesters— Her delicate health— Goes to London for the benefit of the King's touch— Her husband created Earl of Tarras— Her death at Wemyss Castle, ....••

Chapter XV

The Countess Anne succeeds to the Buccleuch estates— Her Marriage to the Duke of Monmouth— Troubles in Scotland— The Duke sent to quell the Insurrection— The Siege of Hawick Castle- Harsh and Tyrannical treatment of the Covenanters— Monmouth's popularity among the Nonconformists—His Rebellion— His Flight and Capture— His Execution— Character of the Duchess of Monmouth— Her Marriage to Lord Cornwallis— Her return to Scotland — Her death at the age of eighty-one, .....••■•■•

Chapter XVI

Succession of Francis, Second Duke of Buccleuch — Brief account of James, Earl of Dalkeith — Local incidents connected with the Rebellion of 1 715 — Second Jacobite Rising in 1745 — Political attitude of the Duke of Buccleuch — Municipal Improvements — Removal of the Mercat-Cross — Bull-baiting — Cock fighting — Postal arrangements, delivery of Letters — Building of Teviot bridge — Francis, Earl of Dalkeith — His early death — Death of the Duke, .....

Chapter XVII

Henry, Third Duke of Buccleuch — Travels with Dr Adam Smith — His Marriage to Lady Elizabeth Montagu — Settles on his estates — President of the Royal Society — Raises a Regiment of Fencibles — Anecdotes illustrative of the Duke's kindly disposition — Beginning of Woollen Manufactures in Hawick — Development of the Town — Division of the Hawick Common between the Burgh, the Duke of Buccleuch, and other adjoining proprietors — Opposition to the movement, and ultimate settlement by legal procedure — Benefit to the Town in consequence of the Common being inclosed and let — The threatened French Invasion — Lighting the Beacons on the Borders — Death of the Duke — His character and that of the Duchess, ..... Contents. IX PAGE 402 432 435 439 445 447 454 456 460 462

Chapter XVIII

Charles, Fourth Duke of Buccleuch— His quiet life— Hisbenevolent disposition— The woods of Tweeddale and Nithsdale destroyed by the Duke of Queensberry — Efforts of Duke Charles to repair these damages— His marriage to the Honourable Harriet Townshend— The beauty and talents of the Duchess— Correspondence between Sir Walter Scott and the Duke of Buccleuch— His kindness to James Hogg the Ettrick Shepherd— The football match at Carterhaugh— Poems written on the occasion — Death of the Duke at Lisbon, ........

Chapter XIX

The Youth of Walter Francis, Fifth Duke of Buccleuch — Sir Walter Scott's solicitude regarding his education — Melrose Abbey repaired — Duke entertains George IV. at Dalkeith House — Majority of the Duke — Fete at Branxholme — The Duke's Political Opinions — The Repeal of the Corn Laws — Progress of the Town of Hawick — Origin of the name of Tweeds — Philanthropic character of the Duke of Buccleuch — His liberality towards Dalkeith, Thornhill, and Hawick — The water supply in Hawick — Demonstration in honour of his Grace — The Buccleuch Memorial — The last Illness and Death of the Duke — Conclusion, .......

Appendix

. I. Pedigree of the Scotts of Buccleuch, II. Charter of Confirmation granted to the Burgh of Hawick by Queen Mary, III. Bond of Security signed by Borderers, IV. Inventory and Valuation of the Effects of Sir Walter Scott of Branxholme, 1574, V. Address presented to his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, by the Magistrates and Town Council of Hawick, 1865, ....•■•••• VI. Address presented to his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, by the Magistrates and Town Council of Hawick, 1882, ....•••■• VII. Address presented to his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, by the Hawick Working Men's Building and Investment Society. .....•■■■ VIII. Address presented to their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch at the opening of the Buccleuch Memorial, Hawick, on the 14th of April 1887, . ERRATA. Page 43, line 16, omit the words ' and Branxholme.' Page 305, line 3, instead of Chander read ' Chancellor. ' LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE FRONTISPIECE — Portrait of His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch. Teviot Stone, ........... i Coble Pool on the Teviot, ........ 2 Hawick from Victoria Bridge, ......... 10 The Moat, ............ 10 St Mary's Church, . . . . . . . . . . . "17 The Auld Brig, Hawick, .......... 23 Views in Jedburgh — The Abbey, — Queen Mary's House, — Old Bridge, . . .27 Hermitage Castle, ........... 41 Percy Gauntlets, . . . . . . . . . . • S1 Douglas Banner, ........... 53 Branxholme — The Old Hanging Tree at Branxholme, ..... 61 Norham Castle, ........... 83 Branxton, a Village on Flodden Field, ....... 90 Marmion's Gate, Norham Castle, ........ 95 Hornshole Bridge, . . ... . ■ • • • • -99 Cessford Castle, . . . . . • • • • • .112 Barnhills Castle, . .......... 124 Bowden Church, near Melrose, ......... 137 Minto Crags, ......•■■••■ '43 Gilnockie Tower, ........... 146 Melrose Abbey, — Cross at Melrose, ........ 162 Dryburgh Abbey, ........... 163 Dryburgh Abbey, ........... 165 Kelso Abbey, . . . .-' . . . . • ■ • .172 Old Pend House, . . . . . . . . • ■ :79 Harden, and Harden Glen, ......... list of Illustrations.

XII PAGE Interior of Hermitage Castle, ......... 206 Queen Mary's House, Jedburgh, ... ...... 208 Fernihirst Castle, ........... 218 Old Court in Silver Street, Hawick, ........ 223 Goldilands Tower, ........... 242 Carlisle Castle, — Old Gateway of Do. ....... 253 St Mary's Church, ........... 281 Behind the Old Town Hall, ......... 285 Old Doorway, and the Midrow, ........ 297 The Dovecot, ....... ... 298 Newark Castle, — Newark from the Yarrow, . , . . . . . . 306 Dalkeith House, ........... 344 Old Bridge over the Teviot at Hawick, ....... 359 Lynnwood Mill, and an Old Spinning Wheel, ...... 371 Old Town Hall, ......... . 378 The Reservoir, ........... 424 Bowhill, ............ 428 New Town Hall, ........... 430 Burgh Arms, Flag, and Halberds, ........ 432 MAPS. Upper Teviotdale, ........... 83 Debateable Land, .... IA, Hawick in 1S24, .... .„, -i> .....

Chapter I

' Teviot ! still shall thy waters hold their way, Nor fear the fate that makes our race decay ; Still shall thy waves their mazy course pursue Till every scene be changed that meets my view, And many a race has traced its narrow span Since first thy waters down these valleys ran.' Leyden THE district anciently known as Teviotdale, was not merely the vale of that classic stream, but comprehended the whole county of Roxburgh, from the Tweed on the north — to the ridges of the Cheviot Hills— which form the boundary between England and Scotland ; and from Teviot Stone on the west to Kelso on the east ; where the river, after following its winding course for thirty miles across the country, mingles its waters with the Tweed. A The Teviot rises among the hills on the west borders of Roxburghshire.

These hills have little grandeur of outline, and the landscape has few striking features. Wild bleak moorlands stretch away in all directions, and one smooth rounded hill-top rises beyond another like waves of the sea. An occasional shepherd's cottage, the only sign of habitation, the cry of the wild fowl and the bleating of sheep, the only sounds which break the silence. A peaceful pastoral district, somewhat dreary and monotonous, it is true, to eyes accustomed to a more varied landscape, yet not lacking a serene quiet beauty of its own, especially when the purple flush of the heather and the warm gold and brown hues of the bent, spread over the green hillsides and marshy uplands. The upper part of the valley of the Teviot is narrow, the hills sloping steeply down, in some parts almost to the bank of the stream, and again falling in gentle undulations here and there, fringed with natural wood, or clothed with dark fir plantations.

The clear stream which issues from the narrow gorge at the head of its course, is increased by many sparking burns which foam and tumble down the hillsides. Gliding quietly along, it receives its tributaries, the Allan, the Borthwick, and the Slitrig, and swells into a considerable river. Below the town of Hawick the valley gradually widens, and its stern aspect changes to the softer beauty of fertile meadows and cornfields, and well-wooded slopes, varied by such picturesque features as the grey precipices of Minto Crags, or the bold outline of the crest of Ruberslaw. This, now quiet valley, was the scene of much violence and strife in the olden days; and in its winding course the Teviot passes many a spot associated with deeds renowned in song and story. The lonely graveyard at Teviot-head, where lie 'Johnnie Armstrong, and all his gallant company,' so summarily put to death by James the Fifth.

Branxholme, the ancient home of the ' Bold Buccleuch.' Harden, where the ' Flower of Yarrow ' entertained her husband to a ' feast of spurs,' as token of an empty larder, and a hint that he must ride for English beef. A mile to the south of the river stands the ancient manor house of Cavers, where the banner of the hero of Otterburn is still preserved with the trophy taken from the gallant Hotspur. A few miles further down, the stream washes the foot of Penielheugh, where ' Scott and Douglas led the Border Spears ' and defeated the blood-thirsty soldiers of Henry VIII., and just where the Teviot loses itself in the Tweed stood the ancient stronghold of Roxburgh Castle, the residence of Scottish Kings, and the scene of many a fierce struggle between the English and Scotch. The ' Lay of the Last Minstrel' has made Teviotdale and Branxholme Towers known all over the world ; and vividly recalls the days of old when steel-clad warriors mustered on Teviot's flowery banks, and when its waters reflected the angry glare of the beacon fires, which told of the approach of the southern foe.

Many a spirited Border ballad commemorates the wild and warlike deeds of which Teviotdale was the scene in these times of strife and violence. Poets of later times have sung of ' Bonnie Teviotdale,' from Henry Scott Riddle, who tuned his patriotic lays to the, gentle murmur of Teviot's infant stream, to Leyden, who in statelier verse celebrated in ' The Scenes of Infancy,' the valley which he loved with all a Borderer's fervour. The district known as Upper Teviotdale comprises the south-western division of the county from Teviot Stone to a few miles below Hawick, and includes the lateral vales of the Allan, the Borthwick, and the Slitrig. Rule-water and Liddesdale lie between it and the English border. Hawick is the only town in Upper Teviotdale, but in former times there were a number of villages, and a large rural population.

The changes in agriculture, and the centralizing tendency of trade and manufactures, have drawn the people from the country to the town ; hence the villages have almost all disappeared, while the town has increased in proportion, and has become an important manufacturing centre. Teviotdale formed part of the ancient Angle kingdom of Bernicia, which extended from the Forth to the Tyne. To the west lay the British kingdom of Strathclyde, which was separated from Bernicia by the great forest of Ettrick, and the Rampart of the Catrail.* The term ' Rampart,' as applied to the ancient earthwork known as the Catrail, is rather misleading. It may be more accurately described as a ditch or trench from eight to ten or twelve feet wide at the top, and four or five at the bottom, and has been formed by digging a trench to the depth of two or three feet, and throwing up the earth on either side, which has thus formed a couple of parallel mounds ; the whole depth from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the embankments does not exceed five feet, in some parts considerably less.

The Catrail can be traced from near Rankilburn across the country to Robert's Linn on the borders of Liddesdale ; but it is not a continuous work, it stops whenever a stream or cleuch occurs on its line of route, and is resumed again, often at a distance of several miles. This peculiarity has led to the conclusion that it was originally constructed to mark a territorial boundary. The rivulet or burn being adopted as the boundary line where such could be made available, and the ditch constructed across the hillsides where no such natural landmark existed. The Catrail has been very inaccurately described by Chalmers in the ' Caledonia,' and by other writers, which has led to an entire misapprehension of the nature of the work. Chalmers describes it as a fosse or ditch twenty-six feet broad, with a rampart on each side from eight to ten feet high, formed by the earth thrown from the interior of the ditch.

These measurements have been taken from the Rink Camp near Galashiels, which the writer has assumed to be a portion of the same work. Several isolated trenches in Selkirkshire, though running in quite a con trary direction, he describes as part of the Catrail, though there is no evidence or probability that they are at all connected with.it. After minutely tracing its course, real and imaginary, Chalmers says-^Æhere can hardly be a doubt that the Catrail was once a dividing fence between the Romanized Britons of the Cumbrian kingdom and their Saxon invaders on the east.' ' The Britons and the Saxons were the only hostile people whose countries were separated by this * Skene's ' Celtic Scotland,' vol. i. p. 235-6. warlike fence, which seems to have been exactly calculated to overawe the encroaching spirit of the Saxon people.' The author of the 'Caledonia' appears to have had no personal knowledge of the Catrail, for it is still sufficiently well preserved in many places to enable anyone who sees it to judge of its original dimensions and probable use.

It seems absurd to describe a mere scratch along the hillsides as a ' war-fence ' calculated to overawe the warlike Saxons ! These mis-statements, which might with perfect facility have been tested by personal investigation, have been perpetuated by local writers with reprehensible carelessness. Mr Jeffrey, in the ' History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire,' gives the same description and exaggerated measurements of the Catrail as arc given in the ' Caledonia,' * and adds — ' This gigantic undertaking was carried through by the Ottadini and Gadeni people after the Romans left, to protect themselves and their possessions from the Saxons, who were advancing upon them from the north and east. It would also serve as a screen, under cover of which the tribes could pass from one place to another without being seen by the enemy.

In the same way their flocks and herds might be conveyed without being observed.' Mr Wilson, in the 'Annals of Hawick,' gives the same account of the Catrail, with the additional statement from oral testimony, that 'at equal distances appearances indicate the sites of separate towers, thus giving the work the character of a regular fortification.' \ An examination of the fosse or ditch is sufficient to show that it cannot have been constructed for a defensive or warlike purpose, the mounds being the same on both sides of the ditch. It is too shallow to have served as a screen or covered military way, and as both the inner and outer surface of the trench can be seen from great distances on both sides, it is plain that it never can have served such a purpose. The appearances of towers mentioned by Mr Wilson may possibly refer to several isolated ditches, which have been traced in the immediate vicinity of the Catrail, and are similar in construction, but running in a contrary direction.

They vary from four to six hundred yards in length. Their original purpose is, of necessity, quite unknown, and whatever conjectures may be formed regarding them, the wildest imagination could hardly connect them with ' towers.' Though the Catrail may be regarded as approximate to the line of division between Strathclyde and Bernicia, it is doubtful if it was constructed * ' History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire,' vol. i. p. 196. T Wilson's ' Annals of Hawick,' p. 7. either by the Angles or the Britons of Strathclyde as the boundary of their respective kingdoms. An examination of the work is sufficient to prove that it never can have served any defensive purpose. If it was erected as a boundary it must have been a peaceful one, and mutually agreed upon, and was probably the work of the native tribes before the Angles occupied the district.

Teviotdale and Liddesdale were peopled by British tribes belonging to the Brigantes, called by some writers the ' Gadeni,' and the ' Ottadeni,' whose town of Curia is supposed to have been on Carby Hill in Liddesdale. Many of the hill tops in Teviotdale show traces of camps or entrenchments which have all the indications of ancient British origin. Perhaps the best examples of this class of antiquities to be found in the district are the curious and extensive group of earthworks or camps at Chapel-Hill. These hill forts, as they are sometimes called, are situated at the summit of the rising ground, between the river Teviot and its tributary the Borthwick, a site which commands a most extensive and beautiful view of the surrounding country, and down the vale of the Teviot. The camps or entrenchments are either circular or oval, and have evidently been formed, like the Catrail, by digging a trench or ditch to a depth of three or four feet, and throwing up the earth to form mounds on either side ; the outer mound or rampart being heightened in many places by the natural declivity of the ground on the brow of the hill.

Inside the outer rampart is a trench four or five feet in depth, which has an inner as well as an outer mound. The interior of these enclosures bear no marks of excavations, but are slightly raised towards the centre. Six of these entrenchments occupy the plateau on the top of the hill, the largest of which encloses a space ninety yards in length by fifty in breadth. The outer rampart measures, in some parts, thirty feet in height. Each entrenchment is complete in itself, but forms part of a station or settlement, the whole having been enclosed and defended by a strong rampart and ditch 13,000 yards in circumference, and surrounding an area of thirty acres. The greater part of this circumvallation is still perfectly distinct, and its whole extent can be traced with little difficulty. This great camp commanded a view of a regular chain of forts which occupied the surrounding heights to a distance of six or seven miles.

Many of these can still be traced, more or less distinctly, and others which have now been completely erased by agricultural operations, were known to have been plainly visible within the last fifty years. So far as can be judged from their remains, these camps are similar in construction and design to the larger camp at Chapel-Hill, and probably formed part of a complete system of fortification, designed for defence against a common foe. Numerous sepulchral tumuli have been found in the district, which are probably relics of the same tribes who constructed the hill forts.* Many of these ancient graves have been opened, but beyond human remains, they contained little to throw any light on the habits of the people who constructed them. Some rude specimens of pottery, a few flint arrow heads or stone axes, and a few bits of charcoal, have been found, — occasionally some ashes or charred bones.

The cists in which the body was placed, generally in a sitting posture, was constructed of large unhewn stones, placed on the surface of the ground, and the tumulus or mound heaped over it. These tumuli or barrows, as they are called, are understood to be the graves of great chiefs, or of those who fell in battle. Very little is known with certainty about the ancient inhabitants of Teviotdale. Half a century before the Christian era, Cæsar describes the country as very populous, those inhabiting the interior as less civilised than those on the coast. They were clothed in skins, painted their bodies, and lived upon their cattle or wild animals killed in hunting, but they did not cultivate the soil. Cæsar also bears testimony to the bravery with which they defended their rude fortresses, and met the disciplined Roman legions in the field.

The aboriginal inhabitants of Teviotdale had no doubt existed for ages much as Cæsar describes them. These ramparts, trenches and tumuli, they have left behind them, must have cost an enormous amount of labour, constructed, as in all probability they were, before the use of iron was known, and with no better implements than rough wooden stakes or flat stones. The hill forts must have been the work of a gregarious and settled people, for a nomadic race would never have expended so much toil for the security and defence of temporary dwellings. Though possessed of considerable skill in the art of fortification, their knowledge of the arts of civilized life was of the most rudimentary description. The hill forts, which were also the habitual dwelling-places of the tribe, were sometimes still further defended by a stockade or breast-work of felled trees ; but there are no traces of buildings of any kind, and the weems or subterranean stone-dwellings appear to have beena later development of domestic architecture. * Transactions os the Hawick Arch.

Society. There may have been huts within the enclosure, but possibly the hollow trench which encircled their camp, roofed with branches of trees and turf, was their only shelter from the storms of winter. Their flocks and herds too, would most likely be sheltered within the camp at night-fall, to protect them from the wild boars and wolves which roamed the vast forests which surrounded them. In the earlier half of the fourth century the Angles invaded Britain, subjugated the native tribes, or drove them out, and at length founded the kingdom of Bernicia. Teviotdale was on the western extremity of this kingdom, and at an early period a settlement was formed where Hawick now stands. Local antiquarians have been much exercised regarding the origin and etymology of the name of Hawick.* The only tenable hypothesis which accounts for all the old spellings is that which refers it to the old English (Anglo-Saxon) ha'za — wic or haga — wic which would mean enclosure or town.