Peeblesshire
|
|
|
Peeblesshire
|
||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
(Click on the picture to see a larger one) Peeblesshire is a landlocked southern county bounded by Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Lanarkshire to the west and Dumfriesshire to the south. Peeblesshire is hilly; in the "Third Statistical Account" 1964 the county is described as "an upland county with an average height above sea-level probably greater than any other county in Britain". The River Tweed (Scotland's fourth longest) rises in and runs through the county which is why the area is often referred to as Tweeddale. The county town, Peebles, is an ancient burgh that has been burned twice - once by Hertford's troops in 1545 and once by accident in 1607 (Anything London can do.......!) Several miles east of Peebles, just outside the tweed-milling and former spa town of Innerleithen, is Traquair House, reputedly the oldest inhabited house in Scotland. It is likely that at least part of this four-storey chateau-style building existed as long ago as the 12th century, although there have been many subsequent additions and improvements. In early years there were many royal visitors - King William the Lion signed the charter giving Glasgow its burgh status while at Traquair - while Mary Queen of Scots visited in 1566 (and left an embroidered quilt behind). In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie came to Traquair, passing through the famous Bear Gates. These have been kept closed and locked ever since, allegedly because the Earl of Traquair vowed that they would never be unlocked until a Stuart once again occupied the throne. Legend has it that the wizard Merlin, famed for his exploits with King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, is buried in the village of Drumelzier near the point where the Powsail Burn joins the River Tweed. It's claimed that poor Merlin came to a sad end when, lonely and half-mad, he was stoned to death by local villagers who were frightened of his powers. Sceptical? Well, much much later, in the 13th century, Thomas the Rhymer prophesied that "When Tweed and Powsail meet at Merlin's Grave, Scotland and England shall one monarch have". Yes, you've guessed it - on the day in 1603 when King James VI of Scotland was crowned James I of England, the River Tweed rose to an unprecedented height and ran up the Powsail Burn. Oh, and if you're wondering why King Arthur had strayed so far from Camelot, I would merely point out that he did in fact come from Scotland - but that's another story........ Family names associated with Peeblesshire include Hay, Stuart, Murray, Douglas and Tweedie. Our map of Peeblesshire measures 10¼ × 11¼ inches (260 × 285 mm) when stitched on 27-count Linda evenweave and has 11 buildings, place names, compass and crest. Stitch count is 139 x 152.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Mearnscraft |
