Hawick
Hawick (pronounced
‘Hoyk’) was a Scott stronghold and the town is a great base for getting
around the area today.
The Border textiles towerhouse is a
hands-on exhibition exploring the town’s industrial past in knitwear and tweed,
while hidden inside the building is a 16th century pele and you can
learn all about it in the ground floor tower room. The Registrar of Genealogy
can also help with your family history research.
The textiles towerhouse is at 1 Tower Knowe
in the town, has free entry and is open all year around, Monday to Saturday
10-4.30 and Sunday 12-3 from April to October and Monday-Saturday 10-4, closed
Tuesday and Sunday, from November to March.
In 1593 two bands of English riders raided
all the way up to Hawick, taking goods and cattle, and although the King sent
Hamilton, Hume, Seton and Sir Robert Kerr to rescue the goods, it was felt by
many to be a false alarm.
Three years later Buccleuch gathered most
of the Elliot clan to his house in Hawick as a defence against a raid he
suspected was coming from the King led by his brother in law, Cessford, along
with Lord Hume in retaliation for his standing up for the Turnbulls in a feud.