Mary, Queen of Scots House, Jedburgh

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The crow stepped gables and smart houses of Jedburgh mark it as a typical Border town.
But not many others can boast of having an original tower and bastle house where Royalty lived right in the centre. Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed there in 1566 and it’s now lovingly dedicated to her with a grand collection of objects relating to her on display in each themed room. It’s free to visit and open year round.
Mary’s lover, then third husband, Lord Bothwell had been stabbed by the reiver Little Jock Elliot of the Park who is famous for the refrain: ‘Wha daur meddle wi me!’ She rode out from the town in miserable weather to where he lay injured at Hermitage. Mary caught pneumonia on the way and it almost killed her, leading the monarch to moan: ‘would that I had died in Jedburgh,’ as her troubles piled up.
Jedburgh Castle Jail and museum was built in 1823 on the remains of the original Jedburgh Castle – ironically by an Elliot, whose kinsmen so often occupied the earlier cells – and is also free to visit. Opening times are 10am to 4.30pm from Monday to Saturday from the end of March to the 31st October. Sunday opening is 1.00 to 4.00 pm. See more at: http://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/member/jedburgh-castle-jail-and-museum#sthash.Kr96ZYMJ.dpuf
The abbey is also a popular visitor attraction while Jedburgh is also the home of the notorious phrase ‘Jeddart Justice’ – hanging first and asking questions later.

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