exploretheborders.com

Your guide to the brilliant borderlands

  • Welcome
  • Home
  • Towns
    • Hawick
    • Jedburgh
    • Selkirk
  • Active Borders
  • Historic Borders
  • Homes & Gardens
  • Coast & Countryside
  • Trips and Trails

Jim Clark Museum in the Scottish Borders

Friends of Monteath Mausoleum turn back time

Lock of Napoleon’s hair rediscovered at Abbotsford

Salmon fishing in the Scottish Borders

Selkirk’s a town in touch with historic traditions

July 7, 2020 By David Pike Leave a Comment

Selkirk’s a town in touch with historic traditions – Scratch the surface of any town in the Scottish Borders and you will find a community of independent minded people who are fiercely proud of their traditions.

In Selkirk, perched on a terrace of hills overlooking the Ettrick Water, where locals are know as ‘souters’ (shoemakers), there’s a generous welcome waiting for anyone who wants to know more.

Here we have a small town that achieved Royal Burgh status in the 12th century and has consistently boxed above its weight ever since in terms of the contribution it has made to Borders’ history.

The lives and times of King David I, William Wallace (appointed Guardian of Scotland at the Kirk o’ the Forest, Kirk Wynd in 1298), James V, the Dukes of Buccleuch, the Marquis of Montrose (Battle of Philiphaugh 1645), Mungo Park and Sir Walter Scott are all closely intertwined with Selkirk.

As is Fletcher, whose imposing statue stands outside Victoria Hall and around whom the spectacular Common Riding revolves each year.

He was part of the Selkirk contingent who marched away to fight under James IV at the ill-fated battle of Flodden (1513) – and reputedly the only one to return. Fletcher is said to have staggered into the market place to bring news of a terrible defeat, casting down a captured English flag before dropping down dead.

His final flourish is commemorated each year by the Casting of the Colours ceremony (top) that closes the Selkirk Common Riding.

After Flodden the town was ransacked and burnt by the English, punitive action that won Selkirk 1000 acres of forest and a Royal Charter from James V in appreciation of the valour of local people and in order that they might have timber for rebuilding.

Selkirk is a great place for statues. A short stroll west from Victoria Hall, standing at the end of High Street, is a monument to explorer Mungo Park, who died trying to discover the source of the Niger in Africa,

The casts of Fletcher and native cameos that adorn the four corners of the Mungo Park statue are the work of Border sculptor Thomas Clapperton who achieved international fame after studying in Glasgow, London and Paris. Many of his best pieces can be found in the Borders.

In Selkirk market place is a memorial to Sir Walter Scott, the Borders most famous son, standing in front of the courthouse he presided over as Sheriff of Selkirkshire from 1803-1832. Of all the famous footprints that have made their mark in the Borders, Sir Walter’s have left by far the biggest impression.

A short walk from the market place is the award-winning Halliwells museum recreating the building’s former use as a home and ironmonger’s shop.  It also tells the story of the historic burgh of Selkirk and the Robson Gallery hosts regularly changing contemporary art, craft and local history exhibitions.

Selkirk’s shoemaking industry, still going strong in the mid-1700’s when 2,000 pairs were provided for Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army on its march south, was eclipsed by textile production from the 1800’s onwards.

A forest of tall chimneys once dominated the skyline along Ettrick Water, testament to the importance of textile manufacture in the Borders. The mills were internationally famous and today Locharron of Scotland carries on that tradition as the world’s leading tartan manufacturer. More at www.lochcarron.com

The company stocks over 700 tartans and has kilted numerous celebrities from Sean Connery to Shrek.

Filed Under: Historic Borders, Selkirk Tagged With: Mungo Park, Scottish Borders, Selkirk, Sir Walter Scott

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

11 + 4 =

Welcome to the brilliant borderlands

Welcome to the brilliant borderlands – Before it was finally anchored on the English side of the border with Scotland, Berwick-upon-Tweed changed hands no less than 13 times. Some 530 or so years later, the good folk of Berwick still lean to the north – by a margin of 60-40% – if local polls are […]

Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders

Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders – The number of stone keeps and peel towers scattered across the Borders landscape are testament to the turbulent times that ebbed and flowed through the region for hundreds of years. One of the best preserved is Smailholm Tower in the Scottish Borders, a defiant landmark built on […]

Step into borders history

Step into borders history – If you enjoy history and exploring times gone by you will love the Borders. Northumberland and the Scottish Borders was the most fought over land in Britain as the crossed swords marking local battlefields on maps of the region will show. From the earliest times, when Agricola marched his Roman […]

Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders.

Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders – There may be as much Hollywood as there is historical fact in Mel Gibson’s ‘Braveheart’ but it does nothing to diminish the stature of Scotland’s national hero, Sir William Wallace. To the English he was an outlaw and murderer while in Scotland he is credited with laying […]

Borderlines

Scottish Borders on track for new opportunities

Scottish Borders on track for new opportunities – The Campaign for Borders Rail has received a top level boost following a meeting with Scotland Office minister, Iain Stewart MP. He confirmed the UK Government’s support for the project and gave a commitment to drive the plans forward with his ministerial colleagues. It was revealed that […]

Scottish Borders push for a national park

Scottish Borders push for a national park – A Borders National Park could provide an important post-Covid boost for the Scottish Borders region. The campaign to create seven national parks across Scotland – including one in the Borders – is expected to take on a new urgency now that a return to normality is in […]

Recent Posts

  • Jim Clark Museum in the Scottish Borders
  • A five star cast for the Tweed Valley Hotel
  • Friends of Monteath Mausoleum turn back time
  • Sir Walter Scott’s historic home re-opens
  • Salmon fishing in the Scottish Borders
  • Pirn House a welcome stop for first class food
  • Welcome to the brilliant borderlands
  • Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders
  • Step into borders history
  • Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders.
  • Melrose – A small town with a big history
  • The Tweed – recreation, romance and history

Copyright © 2021 · Explore The Borders - Privacy Policy