place

Cessford Burn

Rivers of the Scottish Borders
CessforBurninnadeneSW 001
CessforBurninnadeneSW 001

Cessford Burn is a small stream which eventually runs to meet the Kale Water and then joins the River Teviot, finally entering the River Tweed at Kelso, Scotland. A site at Cessford Burn has the remains of an ancient farmstead attached to Cessford Castle in the historic county of Roxburghshire (now an administrative area of Scottish Borders Region), between Kelso and Morebattle, in the parish of Eckford. The extant foundation stones of the dwellings, which can be seen to this day, are situated on the north bank of the Cessford Burn. Seven shiels, or thatched cottages, once housed the families of the farm steward, the shepherd and the ploughman. The farmstead was burned to the ground by the English many times, including the border campaign of the Earl of Surrey in May, 1523 and again by the Earl of Hertford in 1545, and during the Rough Wooing of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Henry VIII of England. The families living in these shiels were in the service of the Kers of Cessford, latterly the Dukes of Roxburghe, who were granted by Royal Charters of both James I of Scotland and James II of Scotland, to hold these lands of the Crown. This encompassed Cessford (or Kerr) Castle, the dwellings at Cessford Burn, and the castleton of Cessford, lying just outside the north gate to the castle. Cessford Castle, in ruins today, stands upon the ridge opposite Cessford Burn on the south bank. The castleton is no longer extant, but aerial photographs and Matthew Stobie's 1770 map of Roxburghshire show that the village lay hard by the castle to the northwest on the Morebattle road; about 140 souls lived in Cessford village during those times. Along the quiet, green banks of Cessford Burn is Habbie Kerr's cave, where local citizens had sought safety and shelter since the fifth century CE. Just south of Cessford Castle, there once stood an ancient ash tree known as the "Crow Tree", where summary Jeddart Justice was carried out. A branch of the old Border family Nisbet were shepherds in Cessford Burn from about 1665 until they emigrated to Canada and New York in 1822, due to the farm consolidations of the late 18th century on the Scottish Borders. Also see Nisbet, Roxburghshire.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cessford Burn (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 55.52017 ° E -2.40446 °
placeShow on map

Address


TD5 8EF
Scotland, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

CessforBurninnadeneSW 001
CessforBurninnadeneSW 001
Share experience

Nearby Places

Kelso Abbey
Kelso Abbey

Kelso Abbey is a ruined Scottish abbey in Kelso, Scotland. It was founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Scotland in the reign of Alexander I. It occupies ground overlooking the confluence of the Tweed and Teviot waters, the site of what was once the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh and the intended southern centre for the developing Scottish kingdom at that time. Kelso thus became the seat of a pre-eminently powerful abbacy in the heart of the Scottish Borders. In the 14th century, Roxburgh became a focus for periodic attack and occupation by English forces and Kelso's monastic community survived a number of fluctuations in control over the area, restoring the abbey infrastructure after episodes of destruction and ultimately retaining Scottish identity. From 1460 onwards, life for the abbey probably grew more settled, but came once again under attack in the early sixteenth century. By the mid-century, through a combination of turbulent events, the abbey effectively ceased to function and the building fell into ruin. Although the site of Kelso Abbey has not been fully excavated in modern times, evidence suggests that it was a major building with two crossings. The only remains standing today are the west tower crossing and part of the infirmary. The massive design and solid romanesque style of the tower indicate a very large building of formidable, semi-military construction and appearance, evidence of the importance with which Roxburgh was regarded when the abbacy was at the height of its power.