Scottish Border History
When I first went to the USA in 1953 I worked for a relative, Dale
Hartman at Hoddom Farm, Wheatland, Illinois
It was obviously
named after the area and castle near the Patterson country in Scotland. A massive emigration of Paterons took place to Illinois in the early 1800s. The original
name goes back as far as Norman times, when a French Lord Robert de Karliolo (Carlyle) who was born
about 1139 is referred
to as de Hodelm
Hoddom Castle (right) is now used as a camp site and is associated with a 9 hole golf course.
A rich seam ? While
investigating the history of Hoddom I came across the following interesting
facts. See Wikipedia……
1) Robert
the Bruce, the great, great, great grandson of David 1st, was
born at Lochmaber,
four miles west of Lockerbie. He became King of Scotland
2)
William Paterson, the founder of the Bank of England was also born near Lochmaber.
3) Thomas Carlyle, famous mathematician and
writer was born at Ecclefechan, a mile or two from Kirtlehead and was known to
the families who emigrated to America.
4) St Mungo established a monastery at Mungo
in Hoddom. He became a bishop and founded Glasgow,
of which he is the Patron Saint. One of the early settlers was called Mungo
Paterson
The map shows the area in Dumfriesshire from
which the Patersons
emigrated. The original farm is still situated at Kirtlehead (marked)
In earlier times the area, being between Scotland and England was often a scene of
fighting.
In order to get the Borders into perspective
it is necessary to realise how recently, in history, they have become part of Scotland. In
Roman limes and for several centuries thereafter the border between the Picts
and Britons was the line of the Firths of Forth and Clyde.
The Roman Emperor, Antonine, fortified this by a wall: a less massive structure
than the well known earlier wall of Hadrian to the South. The Britons who lived
between these walls were semi independent but under Roman protection.
When the Romans finally withdrew in 407 AD
the eastern side of this buffer state had already been colonised by Friesians(from Denmark). This seems to have been
the first Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain. Although
these Friesians gained ground at the expense of the Britons. the danger to both races
from the north induced them to make a common front against the Picts
and Scots. Gildas, the British Historian, writing in 560 AD. from Brittany.
tells of a raid in strength by Picts and Scots across
the Roman walls and deep into what is now England. They are described as
‘differing in manner but all sharing the same thirst for blood and more eager to shroud their faces in
beards than to cover with decent clothing the parts of their bodies which
required it’!
In 844 AD. Kenneth McAlpine.
King of the Scots brought the Picts under his rule and this unified the tribes
north of Antonine’s Wall. His vigorous successors
pushed south steadily, till the battle of Carham in
1018 settled the borders of Scotland
on the Tweed-Solway line, much as it is today but with very large variations
from time to time depending on the fortunes of war.
The
victory of William the Conqueror over the English in 1066 had profound
repercussions north of the Border. Many of the English would not put up with
Norman domination. They retreated to Scotland where they were made
welcome by Malcolm Can more. They made a valuable contribution to the fighting
strength of that country, which must have looked south with some apprehension.
A more valuable contribution to Scotland
by the refugees was the Saxon princess, Margaret, the beautiful, cultured and
pious, sister of Edgar Atheling the Saxon leader, and who became Malcolm’s
Queen.
It was
David I, youngest son of Malcolm Canmore and Margaret, who set the pattern for
Scotland in the middle ages. Brought up at the court of Henry I, he was trained
in Norman ways and when he succeeded to the throne in 1124 A.D. he set about organising Scotland
on Norman lines. He imported many of his friends from Norman families to help
him with the administration of his country. This had a very great effect in Dumfriesshire, where the family of de Brus
(Bruce) was given overlordship of Annandale. Many other prominent names in the
district, and indeed throughout Scotland,
are of Norman origin.
With this
background to the local history, we can begin to appreciate the Borderers and
their ways. Frontiersmen for over 1,000 years, they were bred to be tough and
wary. In the middle ages, they found themselves between the upper millstone of
the Scots and the nether millstone of the Normans;
their society was basically Welsh and Northumbrian, but contained a
considerable element of Norsemen, Danes, Saxons, Irish and Gaels. There was no
compelling reason why they should owe allegiance to the power north of them or
south of them, but they had to fend for themselves. If, at times, they seem to
us to have been somewhat rough, they were the product of their age and weakness
led nowhere but to disaster.
Pele
Towers Hoddom Castle is an
example of the many Pele
Towers that were a
feature of the Borders. These towers must be regarded as private residences
that could be defended in an emergency, and not confused with the great castles
that were designed as fortresses to withstand armies. Church towers were
sometimes fortified with the same defensive object as the Pele Tower.
Annan was an example of this.
The Pele
Tower was a development of the motte and bailey introduced by the Normans. Some later towers were on an L shaped plan with the door in the entrant
angle. This enabled fire to be brought on the attackers from both flanks. The
ground floor was vaulted and usually provided with arrow or gun slits which
also provided light and ventilation. It was used for stores, etc. A spiral
stair within the thickness of the walls led upstairs to the other levels. Where
the tower was the centre of a barony, the baron had jurisdiction of ‘pit and
gallows’, and a pit or prison was usually built into the tower.
On the first floor was the hall, which took up the whole of that floor
and was the centre of the domestic life within the tower. The owner and his
family had a dais at one end, which we would expect to be carpeted and
furnished with some semblance of comfort. The remainder of the hall would be
spread with rushes or heather for the retainers. A large open fire at one end
gave warmth and was used for cooking; a small cupboard at one side was provided
to keep the salt dry. The windows were narrow to the outside, with a wide splay
on the inside giving room for stone seats. Sanitary arrangements were usually
provided in one corner.
There would probably be one or two wooden floors above the hall for
sleeping accommodation. On the wall head was a parapet walk protected by
battlements and usually extended beyond the walls on corbels, with turrets at
the corners. Where it was desirable, provision was made for a beacon on top of
the tower. The walls of these towers were up to 10ft, thick at the base and
half that thickness at the wall head.
Hoddom is built on an L plan, with a very generous staircase up to the
second floor occupying the short (western) leg of the L. Above this a smaller
stair in a turret leads to the upper levels. The western leg of the L had been
extended upwards by two floors, probably at the end of the 16th century. A
chamber had been constructed on corbels, over the entrance door, to enable the
defenders to drop molten lead or other missiles on anyone attacking the door.
The castle was destroyed in 1570 by the English and it was reconstructed
not long after by Lord Herries and was continually used as a residence till
1945, with many adaptations.
The castle is not in the
parish of Hoddom, the boundary of which is the River Annan, but in Trailtrow. A much older castle stood on the site of Hallguards Farm across the river in Hoddom and this was
known of old as Hoddom
Castle. This castle was
probably partly demolished to build the present one which was consequently
known as Hoddom Stanes (stones?). An etching exists
dated 1789 which shows the ruins of this old castle which was probably of 14th
century origin.
Among the Norman families who came to Scotland at the invitation of David
I was that of De Karliolo, which became
the surname Carlyle. This family was settled in Hoddom (area) and we
find Robert de Karliolo who was born about 1139 also
referred to as de Hodelm. His son Udard
certainly owned Hoddom, and an elder son, Adam, owned Lockerbie and Kinmount. A William de Carlyle married Margaret de Brus, daughter of Robert de Brus,
first Earl of Carrick. She was the sister of King Robert I. William de Carlyle
died sometime before 1329. Mariotade Carlyle married Herbert, first Lord Herries of Terregles,
sometime before June, 1486 and it is probable that, by her, Hoddom passed to
the Herries family. The de Carlyles are almost
certainly the builders of the 14th century Hoddom Castle
and previous to this they would have had a wooden tower on the site. They held
much property in Annandale
and were Lords of Torthorwald.
The Norman family of de Heriz
came to Scotland
at the time of David I and were granted the lands and baronies of Terregles and Kirkgunzeon in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. They were closely associated
with the Bruce family and prospered greatly. In 1499 a charter granted to
Andrew Herries, son and apparent heir to Herbert, first Lord Herries of Terregles, gave him possession of the lands and baronies of
Terregles and Kirkgunzeon
and half the barony of Urr in the Stewartry
of Kirkcudbright; Hoddom, Tundergarth (where many of
the Paterson ancestors are buried), Lockerbie, Hutton, Avendale,
Moffatdale and Kirkandrews
in the County of Dumfries. These cannot have been all of the Herries lands
because it is noted that he succeeded to the whole of the lordships and
baronies in 1510. Andrew Herries was succeeded in 1514 by his son William who
died about 1543 without leaving a male heir. He left three daughters to share
the fortune. Agnes, the eldest, married John Maxwell, in March, 1548. A crown
charter dated 1st February, 1549 in favour of Agnes
and her husband, confirmed their rights to her share of the estate which
included one-third of the £20 lands of Hoddom. In May, 1549, just three months
after this charter, they made over her share of all the Herries lands in the
parish of Hoddom to Richard Irving
(called Duke Richie) ‘for the good faithful services done to him and to her,
and to be done in times to come and most earnestly desiring thankfully to
reward the said Richard, etc., etc.’ What had Duke Richie been up to? Nobody
knows, but it is a reasonable guess that the services were to John Maxwell, possibly
in connection with his betrothal to the heiress, the circumstances of which are
told later under the heading Repentance Tower.
The other two-thirds of the Herries lands belonged to Katherine and
Janet, who made over their interests to Lord John Hamilton, formerly an
aspirant for the hand of the Lady Agnes. Twelve years later, in 1561, Lord John
sold his interests in these lands to his successful rival, John Maxwell, now
Lord Herries and Warden of the Marches.
Herries was therefore proprietor of most extensive lands in Dumfriesshire
and Galloway and was back in Hoddom with two-thirds of the old Herries lands in
that parish. He was also guardian of his nephew, the young Lord Maxwell and his
son and so for a time had control of the senior branch of his family.
In all this
tangled web, woven around these three little girls and their fortune, and they
were but children at the beginning of the story, one thing stands out clearly;
Lord Herries was a capable soldier and as Warden was determined to have his defences
in good order and properly organised. Terregles was
not regarded as a particularly strong tower and moreover was a long way from
the frontier. If we accept 1560 or thereabouts as the date of
Hoddom Stanes, his strategy is apparent. He
intended to be on the spot in a strong tower with a watchtower close at hand
overlooking the English shore. In 1565 Annan, the nearest town to the Solway crossings, was equipped by him with elaborate defence works
and “a Fair tower able to receive about 100 persons at ease and 40 to 50
horses.’
This Lord Herries
was a strenuous supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots. After the battle of Langside on 13th May, 1568, he and the Archbishop of St.
Andrews escorted her from the field of battle, first to Terregles
and then to Dundrennan Abbey and from there to England.
The Regent Moray, following up his victory, took Hoddom after one day’s siege
on 2lstJune, 1568, but it is remarked that the garrison ‘mycht
haif holden long enewcht if there had bene gud fellowes within it.” The
Regent ordered it “to be keeped with ane wise stout man, and to have with him four well-horsed
men and these to have two footmen servants to keep their horses and the
principal to have ane stout footman.”
This castle, as
before stated, was demolished by the English in 1570 but to what extent is not
known. Lord Herries must have rebuilt the castle after this demolition, and at
a time when better accommodation and more comfort were being demanded than that
which was accepted in earlier times.
After the union of
the two kingdoms the story of the Castle is uneventful.
John Maxwell died
in 1582 and the castle passed from father to son till about 1627, when the last
Lord Herries, John Maxwell’s great grandson, sold it to Sir Richard Murray of Cockpool. This family of Murray was afterwards created Earls of
Annandale and the castle stood vested in John, Earl ofAnnandale in 1637. His son James married a Carnegie
of Southesk and conveyed the estate of Hoddom to
David, Earl of Southesk about the year 1653. The Southesk family sold the castle and Barony of Hoddom to Mr.
John Sharpe in 1690. In 1832 a General Sharpe added a wing to the design of Mr.
Burns and after the purchase of the property by Mr. Brook of Huddersfield in
1877, another wing was added. These 19th century additions have mercifully
disappeared. The castle was occupied by the army during the Second World War
and has been unoccupied since then, except for its use in connection with the
camp site.
No history of Hoddom would be complete without the mention of Irvings.. The chief of the Irving clan had his tower
at Bonshaw on the banks of the Kirtle and they steadily built up their lands in that district. By
the fifteenth century they had expanded into Hoddom and became a separate
branch of the clan under their own recognised leader. They absorbed much of the
Hoddom lands of the Carlyles,
who were falling on evil days. In 1420, Archibald, Earl of Douglas, joined the
Scottish Legion in France,
with a force composed entirely of Borderers. Among this force were the Hoddom Irvings, and
their leader was known as le Duc, signifying leader
but not regarded as a title, but for 200 years it was applied to the head of
the Hoddom Irvings. This accounts for such local
names as Duke’s Wood, Duke’s Pool on the Annan. The ‘Duke’ was probably
established in the old castle at one time but later the headquarters moved to Knockhill. Other Irving
holdings were at Pennersax, Whitehill,
Luce and across the river at Turnshaw
and Trailtrow. The lrvings
of Trailtrow had the duty of maintaining the fire on
Beacon Hill, before Repentance
Tower was built, and for
this duty they were given the adjacent farm of Ward Park. In 1552 Rychie Irwin, called Duke, was sworn to defend the Kynges Majestie and had 127 men.
The total clan strength then was sworn as 431 men.
Other notables from the
area: Information from Wikipaedia
Thomas Carlyle
was born in Ecclefechan,
Dumfries and Galloway, and was educated at Annan Academy He was powerfully influenced by his family's
(and his nation's) strong Calvinism. After attending the University of Edinburgh, Carlyle became a mathematics
teacher, first in Annan and then in Kirkcaldy,
where Carlyle became close friends with the mystic Edward Irving.
In 1819 - 1821, Carlyle went back to
the University of
Edinburgh, where he
suffered an intense crisis of faith and conversion that would provide the
material for Sartor Resartus.
He also began reading deeply in German literature.
Carlyle's thinking was heavily influenced by German Transcendentalism,
in particular the work of Fichte. He established himself as an expert on
German literature in a series of essays for Fraser's Magazine, and by translating
German writers, notably Goethe. His home in residence for much of
his life was Craigenputtock a beautiful house in
Dumfrieshire,
Scotland where
he wrote much of his works. He often wrote about his life at Craigenputtock, "It is certain that for living and
thinking in I have never since found in the world a place so favourable.... How blessed, might poor mortals be in the straitest circumstances if their wisdom and fidelity to
heaven and to one another were adequately great!" It was the Carlyle family that had, many years
before built Hoddom
Castle. The original family had been invited over
from Normandy
by David I in the name of De Karliolo. This family was settled in Hoddom and we find
Robert de Karliolo who was born about 1139 also
referred to as de Hodelm
Robert I de Brus (Robert the Bruce), was King of
Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329 (Mediaeval Gaelic:Roibert a Briuis; modern Scottish
Gaelic: Raibeart Bruis; Norman French: Robert de Brus
or Robert de Bruys; 11 July
1274 – 7 June 1329. Said to have been born at Lochmaben
, a small town in Scotland, four miles west of Lockerbie,
in Dumfries and Galloway.
His mother was by all accounts
a formidable woman who, legend would have it, kept Robert Bruce's father
captive until he agreed to marriage! From his mother he inherited the Gaelic Earldom
of Carrick, and through his father a royal lineage
that would give him a claim to the Scottish throne. Although his date of birth
is definitely known, his place of birth is less certain: it was either Turnberry
Castle in Ayrshire,
or Lochmaben
in Dumfriesshire.
Although his paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman
heritage (originating in Brieux, Normandy), his maternal ancestors were
Scottish-Gaels,
and he became one of Scotland's greatest kings, as well as one of the most
famous warriors of his generation, eventually leading Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence against the Kingdom of England. He claimed the Scottish
throne as a great-great-great-great grandson of David I of Scotland.
His body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey,
while his heart is buried in Melrose Abbey.
His heart was to be taken on crusade eventually to the Holy Land,
but only reached Moorish Granada, where it acted as a talisman for the
Scottish contingent at the Battle of Teba.
As
early as 1160, the Anglo-Norman de Brus (Bruce) family, had become the Lords of Annandale. Robert de Bruce,
Lord of Skelton in Yorkshire (some references say Cleveland), was a notable
figure at the court of King Henry I, where he became intimate with Prince David of Scotland,
that monarch's brother-in-law. When the Prince became King of Scots, in 1124,
Bruce obtained from him the Lordship of Annandale, and great possessions in the
south of Scotland.
(de Brus was nevertheless
buried at Gysburn, the place of his birth).
Sir William Paterson. Not known to be a relative but born
‘down the road’ near the same village, Lochmaben, in which Robert the Bruce is
also reputed to have been born
THERE
remains only one painting in existence of Sir William Paterson, which the founder
of the Bank of England posed for in 1708 about a decade before his death, but
his legacy lives on in every sinew of Scottish society today. Paterson's
name evokes strong feelings among Scots, who from history books recall his name
as the chief strategist behind the disastrous Darien
(Panama)
experiment that came so near to bankrupting his nation, its people and spirit.
Born in Skipmyre, near, Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, in 1658, Paterson
would by the end of his extraordinary life have made and lost a fortune, as a
banker of tremendous influence, acted as the nation's fiscal negotiator as
Scotland's chief settlement advisor in the 1707 Act of Union with England.
Paterson's early travels in the Caribbean
as a young merchant instilled in him an entrepreneurial zeal. It also offered Paterson practical
commercial experience that allowed him to amass a fortune, which he would
invest into Dutch banks.
An early
exponent of free trade decades before Adam Smith rewrote modern economics with
The Wealth of Nations, Paterson
would pen: "Trade will increase trade, and money will beget money, and the
trading world shall need no more want work for their
hands, but will rather want hands for their work."
Robbie Burns.
The famous poet and iconic Scotsman, died in 1796, aged 37. His last years were spent in a house (now a
museum) in Dumfries, ’our’ local city
Keith Paterson, Newmarket,
UK, June 2007
Copies of this article can be obtained from kpaterson1931@ntlworld.com