Border Reivers at Tosson Tower

That great Borders writer Sir Walter Scott himself added a number of the Border Riding Families who were labelled 'Clans' back in 1814. So if you are interested in going for Clan status with the Lord Lyon King of Arms for your own family, as many are today, don't despair as there is some historical presidence to add weight to your claim outside of the '17 Unruly Clans' document. The list is quoted verbatim below. Scott's book is available from a number of sources. From The Border Antiquities of England and Scotland By Walter Scott, ESQ A little work called Moneypenny's Chronicle published in 1597 and 1603 gives among other particulars concerning Scotland a list of the principal clans and surnames on the Borders not landed as well as of the chief riders and men of name among them From this authority we add the following list of foraying or riding clans as they were termed not found in the parliamentary roll of 1587. It commences with th...

With the King and a huge chunk of Scotland’s aristocracy and clergy lying dead on the field at Flodden, the Kerrs took the opportunity to ride up to Kelso abbey the night after the disastrous battle and Dand Kerr of Ferniehirst had his younger brother Thomas, or Tam as he was known to his reiver friends, installed as Commendator, on the reckoning that they were protecting it from any English follow-up attack. Tam went on to become Abbot of the abbey in 1534, with the Cessford Kerrs eventually taking over after the murder of William Kerr in 1556 on the orders of the Regent Moray. The abbey is an impressive ruin near the centre of modern Kelso today and is well worth a visit. There are also partially ruined abbeys at nearby Jedburgh and Melrose, where the heart of Robert the Bruce is buried.

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 16 th 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 ...