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The following is an exerpt
from a journal that I kept on my visit to Scotland two years ago in
August.
The land in the lowlands of
southeastern Scotland called the southern uplands is a light emerald green
with gently rolling hills. Hence the words "the rolling hills of the
border"? There are many sheep and cattle here, probably many of them
originally English (see below regarding the border reivers). The wool of
the sheep is much better quality than that in the north of Scotland. This
area also used to be a popular area for raising and training race horses.
Castles dot the landscape. One of them is in Peebles, Scotland which is
almost due south of Edinburgh on the River Tweed - Neidpath (pronounced
Needpath) Castle. The castle is made of limestone which was probably from
right there in Peebleshire since it was once quarried there. Sandstone,
also found in that area, was used around the doors and windows. Wood
was used for some of the apertures and, of course, for inside floors,
etc. Neidpath Castle sits on a small hill with the land behind it
dropping steeply off to the shallow waters of the Tweed. It has a clear
view all around it and of a hill several miles away where a beacon could
be seen quite easily. It was through the use of beacons that the Scots
communicated across the miles. One of these beacons can be seen at the
castle. The land that it sits on originally belonged to the Frasers,
before they moved into the highlands, from the late 1100's to the early
1300's. They were of Norman origin and had come into the lowlands from
France. Their coat of arms still has the strawberry flower in it. In
French strawberry is fraise. This is very likely where the name Fraser
originated from. The last lowland Fraser heir was Mary who married into
Clan Hay. It was this clan who built Niedpath Castle in the late 1300's.
It was built in a tower formation (which was easier to defend) and is in
the shape of an "L" . Its lords ruled approximately ten to twenty miles
around it. The English attacked and were defeated nearby by Symon
Fraser. This castle held out against Cromwell longer than any other
castle south of the Firth of Forth which cuts into the eastern coast of
Scotland. These Hays became the Lords of Yester and then the Earls of
Tweedale. Can you see now why it is so difficult to keep Clan heritage
straight? And it gets even more tangled. The castle eventually was sold
to a Douglas in the late 1600's and the younger son, the Earl of March who
later became the Duke of Queensberry lived there. (And I've not named all
of the heritage line). It then passed on in the early 1800's to the Wemyss
family. Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed at this castle on one of her visits
to administer justice to her unruly border families. Episodes of her life
are depicted in Batik wall hangings. Batiks are a combination of wax and
colors used to create pictures.
And speaking of border
families. Border reivers (thieves) were much like a private army. They
dressed much like soldiers in helmets and carrying pike-like wapons. They
made others pay a "toll" to move their black cattle through certain areas
of the lowlands, especially through or across water,. This is where the
term blackmail originated. The castle is quite intact except for
one corner. There are privies which are nothing more than angular holes
set in a small alcove. The hole opens out into the wide open spaces along
the castle wall, giving new meaning to 'look out below'. There is a 21
foot deep well on the lowest level. All along the tight circling stairway
to the top of the castle are tiny alcove-type rooms. I did not get an
explanation of them so explain it to myself as either a place for someone
to allow another to pass on the stairway or perhaps even to fight with
one's back against the wall. When you walk through the castle there are 2
vaults. There used to be 3. The upper vault has been removed and
replaced with a regular roof. The other vaults have been split into
separate floors. There is a prison in the bottom of the castle with a 21
foot well. One of the walls has a space that you can walk through into
the prison, but originally the space was not there and this area without
windows would have been pitch black. The Hays were the last to keep
prisoners there. It was also at one time used as a wine cellar. There
are mason's marks throughout the castle. A modern day mason would still
recognize these symbols.
Neidpath is just one of
many castles in the lowlands. As I mentioned in a previous column the
lowlands and the borders were Scotlands first line of defense for attacks
from England. It is one of the more preserved castles and for a small fee
you can roam about the inside and the grounds where Mary, Queen of Scots
walked and lived for a period and where Wordsworth visited and wrote a
sonnet about it. |
