Hawick House Holds History

By Elizabeth Turnbull
To the observant visitor the walls in the Black Tower of Drumlanrig in Hawick, Scotland tell a tale of conquests and struggles.  You need only listen very carefully, and you’ll hear the stories of colorful invaders: English soldiers, Scottish Patriots, wealthy nobles, weary travelers and even foreign tourists.

Drumlanrig’s Tower

Hawick, which is strategically positioned along the Scottish-English border, has long served as an intersection of settlers, conquerors and raiding parties.  As early as 1,000 B.C. Stone Age-people roamed the area, long before the Roman invasion, which left roads and fortifications as a memento of the empire’s withered grandeur.

It wouldn’t be until the 600’s A.D., however, that the land would be settled for residence by Anglo-Saxon tribes.  To protect their vulnerable village from potential invaders, they planted a long hawthorn hedge, thus giving the settlement the name Haga-wic (the hedged town) later morphed into ha-wick and pronounced “hoyk.”.

Temporary Peace

The borderlands enjoyed a temporary period of peace and prosperity under the rule of the Lovels, a family of French nobles who received extensive Borderlands after the Norman invasion of Britain in the 11^th century.  However, the Wars of Independence in the late 13^th and early 14^th centuries sent the region into turmoil and the Lovels to their estates further south.

The outbreak of the Wars of Independence ushered in nearly 400 years of unrest and power struggles along the borders.  The clans relied solely upon their own strength and defense for protection until the Union of the Crowns in 1603 with the coronation of the Scottish King James VI brought peace.

Border Reivers

Raids on cattle, household goods and other supplies from one group were quickly answered with a reprisal raid by the other.  This was the era of the legendary Border Reivers comprised of families such as the Turnbulls, Scotts, Douglases and Armstrongs.

By the 1540’s, James Douglas held the most substantial of Hawick’s three towers.  Shortly after an English force attacked and burned the three towers

in 1548, Douglas used the stones from the remains to build his legendary stronghold – Drumlanrig’s Tower designed to be a silent but bold statement of power to his rivals, both English and Scottish. 

Constructed for Defense

Douglas built this tower in the latest style with a strongly fortified L-shaped dwelling.  The door was impressively thick and positioned in the angle of the L to provide optimal defense.  As yet another precaution, the door was protected by an outer yett, or gate.

The design of the ground-floor rooms, both of which were barrel-vaulted, made the building virtually fireproof.  Though the exact use of the bottom rooms is not known, it is thought that they were likely used either for storage or as kitchens.  The narrow spiral staircase leading from the ground-floor to the upper floors featured a design that would allow a skilled swordsman to ward off rivals.

The Great Hall room of the tower functioned as a space both for dining and administration.  The Great Hall originally featured five large windows, each of which was fitted with iron bars.  Today, a fireplace added in the 17^th century also adorns the room.

The third floor of the tower housed the garret, which was used by the household servants.  Outside the garret sits a parapet walkway that runs around the head of the tower. 

Side view of Drumlanrig’s Tower

The parapet served as an invaluable vantage point from which a guard could keep watch on the land below.  The parapet also offered a space from which rocks, boiling oil and stones could be thrown down on enemy aggressors.

Only seventeen years after the tower was built, an English army once again attacked the borders, burning and plundering their way through Hawick.  The tower would suffer a series of invasions, sieges and local struggles.

(Continued on page 6)