Traditional Porteous Coat-of-Arms



A HISTORY OF PEEBLESSHIRE

Tweedsmuir estates

Entering the parish by the road from Edinburgh, the first property to be noticed is the farm of

CROOK AND NETHER OLIVER

This is a small farm mostly on the right-hand side of the road, and on the shoulder of a steep and rather bare hill. The name Crook, the origin of which is uncertain, does not appear in any of the early titles, although the Crook Inn was in existence before 1600. The property was part of the barony of Oliver Castle and as such belonged to the Frasers and afterwards to the Flemings. In 1470 Robert, first Lord Fleming, granted to Sir David Hay of Yester (father of John, first Lord Yester), the lands of Oliver Castle and the half of the lands of Over Kingledoors, together with the superiority of the tenandry lands of Fruid, Polmood, Cockieland, and Glencotho; and received in exchange the lands of Biggar with the patronage of the church there. This transaction was confirmed by a charter from King James III dated 12th July, 1470.

The lands of Crook represent the half lands of Over Kingledoors, and Nether Oliver is the ground in the vicinity of the castle of Oliver, and includes the site. The property thereafter was held as a part of the Neidpath estate, until 1919, when it was sold to three brothers who are among the chief farmers in the county – John, James, and Ebenezer Braidwood Masterton. The inn of Crook was included in the sale, but this was resold in 1921 to Mr. John Cameron.

The rental of the lands is £131.

Between the site of the Castle of Oliver and the high road is a field called

CADGER'S ACRE

In the 1470 grant of the lands of Oliver Castle before referred to, Robert, Lord Fleming reserved to himself 'one messuage,' for what reason there is no record to show. That 'messuage' is what is now known as Cadger's Acre, and is referred to in 1538 in a Crown charter of confirmation to Malcolm, third Lord Fleming, as 'one acre of land of Olivercastell on the east side of the burn of Oliver, on the side of the public road.' In 1636 John, second Earl of Wigtown, conveyed this field along with the lands of Over Menzion to Sir David Murray of Stanhope, who on 17th March, 1645, got a Crown charter incorporating them into the barony of Stanhope-Murray. The reason of this grant was no doubt the marriage about 1627 of Lilias Fleming, the daughter of the second Earl, to Sir David Murray. She brought no tocher with her, but her father bound himself to support her and her husband, and to bring up their children. Thereafter the Cadger's Acre shares the history of Stanhope, and the present proprietor is Sir Basil Templer Montgomery, Baronet.

The rental is £3 17s. 6d.

OLIVER AND THE BIELD

This property, lying on the west side of the high road between Crook and Glenbreck, was a 50s. Temple land, and as such, although part of the barony of Oliver Castle, it belonged in superiority to the Knights Templars until the suppression of that Order in 1312. It is not unlikely that it was granted to the Templars by Oliver Fraser, but there is no record to show. The original vassals under the Knights Templars, cannot now be ascertained, but there were Tweedies in the lands (William and Lawrence) in 1489 who for some reason or other had been 'put to the horn,' not an uncommon experience for that family. Their goods were in consequence forfeited to their superior, William, lord of Sanct Johns. These Tweedies are said to have been the second and third sons of James Tweedie of Drumelzier, who married Katherine Caverhill, and it is from William Tweedie that the line of Oliver probably descended, although it cannot be definitely traced prior to the middle of the sixteenth century.

On 11th December, 1565, Lord Torphichen, as superior of the temple lands in Scotland, granted a charter of Oliver to William Tweedie, and the holding was blench on payment yearly of 1d. Scots. William Tweedie, who was concerned in the murder of Rizzio, was succeeded by his son Thomas, who had a charter on 18th August, 1611, from Robert Williamson of Murieston, who was then the superior. Patrick, son of Thomas, married Janet, daughter of John Bollo of Staine, had sasine in the lands as heir of his father on 3rd February, 1620, and died in 1655 succeeded by his son John, who had a precept of clare conslat from the superior, John, Earl of Haddington, on 7th April, 1657. In these deeds the lands are described as 'the 50s. Temple land on the west side of Oliver Castle,' and the Tweedies are designed as 'of Oliver Castle,' showing that they resided there although they were not the owners of the castle. The castle was in a habitable condition till the middle of the seventeenth century. In 1649 it is said that Patrick Tweedie built a house on his own lands of Oliver, and after that the family were designed as 'of Oliver.'

John Tweedie married Elizabeth Laidlaw in 1652, and died in 1669, succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, who married in 1681 Christian Williamson, and on 28th March, 1694, resigned Oliver in the hands of the Earl of Haddington, as superior, for new infeftment to his eldest son James, but under reservation of his own liferent.

Thomas Tweedie was one of the Commissioners of Supply for the county in 1704. In 1717 he and his sons quarrelled with the Hunters of Polmood, but what the dispute was about is not clear; both sides were bound over to keep the peace. In 1719, when Thomas Tweedie was in his 63rd year, an arrangement was made with his son James, who had married the previous year, whereby the latter entered into possession of Oliver, and paid to his father an annuity, partly in cash and partly in kind.

James Tweedie married Margaret Ewart of Sailfoot, Dumfriesshire. In 1724 his father, Thomas, was apprehended for failing to pay his doctor's bill, and James had to pay that, and also other debts amounting in all to 1,800 merks. Oliver was rebuilt during his ownership, at or near the site of the present house. In 1741, in connection with a debt contracted to Michael Anderson (probably of Tushielaw), letters of horning were issued against him, but the debt was paid. James Tweedie died in 1753 and was succeeded by his only surviving son, Thomas.

Thomas Tweedie, on 21st August, 1754, had a precept of clare constat from John Naesmyth, clerk to the admission of Notaries, who was then the superior of Oliver. He married the same year Jane, daughter of James Brown of Edmonstone, Lanarkshire, and died in 1803. The present dwelling-house at Oliver was built by him. He had a family of four sons and seven daughters, and was succeeded by the fourth but only surviving son Lawrence.

[Note: His elder brother, Adam Ewart Tweedie, a captain in the 12th Regiment, was wounded at the siege of Gibraltar in 1781, and was killed at Guadaloupe in 1794.]

Four daughters survived him: Elizabeth or Bethia, who married Thomas Tweedie, farmer at Patervan; Margaret, who married John Anderson, residing at Cramalt; Anne, who married John Crawford, merchant in Leith and Christian, who married Thomas Stodart, residing at Cardrona Mains.

Lawrence Tweedie had a precept of clare constat on 22nd September, 1803, from the superior, Sir James Naesmyth of Posso, Baronet. He never married and on his death Oliver passed to his nephew, George Stodart, W S, the son of Thomas Stodart and Christian Tweedie. He had a charter on 3rd August, 1838, from the superior, David Anderson of Moredun, and on his succession assumed the name of Tweedie.

George Tweedie-Stodart died in 1869: by his settlement Oliver and also lands which he held in Dumfriesshire were bequeathed to Thomas, his eldest son, who died in 1917. Thomas Tweedie-Stodart married Eleanora Littledale, daughter of the Rev. John Dick, minister of Tweedsmuir, and was survived by his wife and a family of one son and two daughters. The son, Lawrence Tweedie-Stodart, Engineer in Chief, Chinese Maritime Customs, Shanghai, is now the heir to the lands, and his mother has the liferent. The old Temple superiority has lapsed, as no title to it was completed by the heir of David Anderson of Moredun.

Accordingly Oliver is now held direct of the Crown. It is one of the few estates on Tweedside which is still held by the descendents of the earliest known vassals.

The Bield is included within the bounds of Oliver. It is a building on the side of the road, and was at one time used as an inn. The present house dates from 1726, when it was erected by James Tweedie, the contractors being permitted to use the timber and iron-work of the old tower. A stone over the door bears the initials of James Tweedie and his wife, Margaret Ewart.

[Note: This tower at the Bield was still occupied in 1696, and Thomas Tweedie of Oliver had difficulty with his tenant there, William Tweedie, and had to eject him.]

The present rental is £347 10s.

GLENBRECK, BADLIEU, AND TWEEDHOPEFOOT

This large estate adjoins Oliver and Kingledoors on the south and extends up Tweed to within a few hundred yards of its source. The total acreage is about 6,500. The lowest elevation of the ground is 900 feet, but it rises on the western side to a ridge of high hills dividing the Tweed and Clyde valleys: these hills vary from 1,500 feet to over 2,000 feet.

Glenbreck, itself, rated at £6 13s. 4d. of old extent, adjoins Oliver and on it there is a convenient shooting lodge. It contains about 2,200 acres. Badlieu (which has the strange alternative name of Glenumphard) lies further up the river beyond Glenbreck, and still further up is Tweedhopefoot (or Glencraigs) which lies on both sides of the Tweed and includes the lower part of Cor Water.

A connected story of the lands cannot be told prior to the seventeenth century. Probably they were royal demesne till the time of King Robert I. The Tweedies of Drumelzier acquired them, and they then became a part of the barony of Drumelzier, the proprietor of which still holds the superiority. Only a few of the early transactions have been traced.

In 1331 Roger Tweedie, son of Finlay of 'Twydyn', acquired the lands of 'Glenbruk' (Glenbreck) from Sir Hugh de Gurelay. James Tweedie of Glenbreck is referred to in 1525 in connection with the Fleming-Tweedie feud, and it is said that the Veitchs of Dawyck were afterwards in possession of these lands.

The Hunters of Polmood were in possession of the four merkland of Badlieu or Glenumphard (Glenumford) in the middle of the sixteenth century. Robert Hunter in 1549 was infeft therein, and in 1555 gave half of it as part of her jointure lands to his promised wife, Katherine Hay. In 1551 Janet Lauder, the widow of his father, Walter Hunter, was 'kenned' to her terce out of the lands, and on the stone bridge of Peebles gave her oath that she would give a tack of her portion for her lifetime to Robert Johnston in Cottis. In 1622 Andrew Hay, writer, had a grant of part of Glenumphard, then said to be possessed by Robert Tweedie, uncle of James Tweedie of Drumelzier .

Glencraigs or Glencrago, as it was then called, was in the possession of James Lowis in 1500. In 1622 there is record of a charter by James Tweedie of Drumelzier to Mr. Alexander Greg, minister of Drumelzier, of lands called Glencraigga (presumably Glencraigs).

The whole property with the exception of one half of Badlieu (which belonged to the Hunters) was acquired by Sir David Murray of Stanhope early in the seventeenth century, but from whom it was acquired is not known. His son William was served in the lands as his heir on 28th April, 1654, and they remained with that family till 1719, when Alexander Murray, younger of Stanhope, sold Glencraigs or Tweedhopefoot and the half of Badlieu to George Hunter of Polmood, and the following year James Murray, brother of Alexander, sold Glenbreck to Sir James Naesmyth of Posso, Baronet. The Hunters already held the other half of Badlieu which had 'pertained of old' to the family according to the description in the titles.

Glenbreck, for which a feu-duty of 26 merks or £1 8s. 10 and 8/12d. stg. is paid, remained with the Naesmyths of Posso till 1829 when Sir James Naesmyth sold it to William Steuart of Glenormiston. From him it passed in 1846 by purchase to Anthony Nichol, a Liverpool merchant, then at Cardrona House, who subsequently purchased Kerfield. He died in 1872, and his widow, Letitia Margaret Giles, sold Glenbreck to Houston Mitchell of Polmood.

Badlieu and Tweedhopefoot, for which a feu-duty of 54 merks or £2 Stg. is paid, remained with the Hunters of Polmood till 1847, when they were sold by Lord Forbes (Walter Hunter) to George Graham Bell of Crurie, advocate. He died in 1875, and his trustees the following year sold the lands by public roup to the said Houston Mitchell.

Houston Mitchell, who thus became proprietor of the whole property, entailed it along with Polmood, and died in 1881 succeeded by his nephew, Richard Blunt Mitchell, as heir of provision. He disentailed the estates and in 1889 sold the Tweedsmuir lands to Walter Thorburn, M.P. (afterwards Sir Walter Thorburn), for £31,000.

Sir Walter Thorburn was born at Peebles in 1842, and died in 1908. From his father, Walter Thorburn, Springwood, Peebles, he inherited that energy and business acumen which made him and his brothers so successful in the development of the tweed industry of the burgh. In 1871 he married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of David Scott of Meadowfield, Duddingston, and from that year till 1889 resided at Kerfield. Keenly interested in agriculture, he took over in 1889 the farms of Orchardmains and Newhall, in the parish of Traquair, and quickly established a high reputation as a breeder of shorthorn cattle. He returned to Kerfield in 1896, where he lived till his death. As a politician Sir Walter Thorburn became even better known. He began life as a Liberal, but after the Home Rule Bill in 1886 he became a Unionist, and in that year successfully contested the constituency of Peebles and Selkirk against Sir Charles Tennant. He held the seat for almost twenty years, defeating Sir Thomas D. Gibson Carmichael in 1892, Alexander O. Murray, Master of Elibank, in 1895, and Edward P. Tennant in 1900, in which year he was knighted. At the election of 1905, when no Unionist seat in Scotland was safe, he was defeated by the Master of Elibank. During that long period he was a most popular representative, and exerted himself to the utmost in the interests of his native county.

Sir Walter Thorburn was a deputy Lieutenant and a justice of the Peace for the county. He served for one year, 1874–5, as a member of the Peebles Town Council; and he was a member of the Royal Archers, the King's Bodyguard for Scotland. In 1906 he was President of the Highland and Agricultural Society. His eldest son, Captain Walter Ernest Thorburn, died in 1919, as a result of war service; his second son, Mr. David Scott Thorburn, of The Mount, Peebles, is a deputy Lieutenant, a Justice of the Peace, an honorary Sheriff Substitute, and one of the directors of Lowe, Donald and Co, Ltd. Another son, Major Charles Thorburn, who is at present a member of the Peebles Town Council, served with distinction through the Great War; and another son, Robert, came over to fight with the first Canadian contingent.

One of Sir Walter Thorburn's brothers is still alive, Mr. Michael Grieve Thorburn of Glenormiston, who succeeded the late Lord Carmichael of Skirling in 1926 as Lord Lieutenant of the county. Another brother, Col. William Thorburn, DL, JP, of Craigerne, Peebles, died in 1926; he also was closely identified with the tweed industry in the burgh and the public life of the county, and was chairman of Lowe, Donald and Co, Ltd. He was an enthusiastic Volunteer, and chairman of the Territorial Force Association. As a rifle shot he was well known; he was captain of the Scottish Eight and Twenty, and represented Scotland at Bisley twenty-nine times. Another brother, Robert Thorburn, Springmount, was a writer and banker in Peebles, and died in 1910.

In 1921 Sir Walter Thorburn's trustees sold Glenbreck, Badlieu and Tweedhopefoot to the present proprietor, Mr. Hylton Ralph Murray-Philipson of Stobo Castle.

The rental is £1,147.

EARLSHAUGH AND TWEEDSHAWS

These hill farms adjoin Tweedhopefoot and Badlieu on the south, and include the source of the Tweed and the wild glen of Cor Water. The house of Tweedshaws on the roadside was formerly an inn. Above the herd's house at Earlshaugh, on the ridge between the property and Carterhope, is a hill (1,765 feet) called the Crown of Scotland, 'for what reason I cannot conceive' says Armstrong.

This property, which was a £4 land of old extent, is also part of the barony of Drumelzier, and a feu-duty of 50 merks or £2 15s. 6d +8/12d. stg. was paid. This feu-duty has recently been purchased and the property is now held of the Crown. When it was first feued is not known.

The earliest recorded vassals were the Langtons, who were in Earlshaugh in the sixteenth century. In 1561 Nicol Langton of Earlshaugh received from Katherine Moffat, lady of Earlshaugh, widow of his father, James Langton of Earlshaugh, a tack of her terce from the lands for £6 yearly: Nicol's wife was Janet Johnston. Colin Langton of Earlshaugh was before the Privy Council in 1585, and was denounced as a rebel for being concerned in an assault on John Livingstone of Belstane in the parish of Carluke. In 1643 there is record of William Langton of Earlshaugh, and his wife Margaret Johnston who survived him and married in or prior to 1653 Thomas Porteous, a tenant of the lands. Patrick Langton and his son William had a charter of Earlshaugh in 1685 from the superior, the Laird of Drumelzier, and in the same year were fined in the Burgh Court of Peebles £50 for assaulting Neil Ewart of Sailfoot, and placed under caution to pay the surgeon's fee for his services to Ewart, whose head had been injured. Patrick married Isabella Porteous, a daughter of William Porteous of Glenkirk, and their son William became one of the heirs portioners to Glenkirk. In 1691 Patrick wadset Earlshaugh to James Williamson of Cardrona for 2,500 merks, which in 1698 was increased to 8,000 merks. This wadset was apparently not redeemed, and the Langton connection with Earlshaugh came to an end.

In 1729 James Naesmyth, writer in Edinburgh, was the proprietor, and he along with John Sibbald of Burnetland gave evidence in 1734 as to the value of the estate of Broughton. He married in 1710 Isabel, daughter of Mr. John Brown, minister of Crawford, and died in 1754 survived by his wife, by whom he had three children: John, a planter in Virginia who died in 1752; Elizabeth, who died in 1776; and Agnes.

In 1774 John Loch, writer in Edinburgh, is referred to as proprietor of Earlshaugh in a deed relating to the teinds of Hawkshaw. He was succeeded the following year by his son William, and from him the property apparently passed to David Welsh, who was an uncle of Robert Welsh, first of Mossfennan. David Welsh married Margaret Welsh, and one of his sons, the Rev. Professor David Welsh, DD, is a well known figure in church history. He was Moderator of the General Assembly in 1842, and the following year, along with Dr. Chalmers, he led the Disruption.

In 1823 Earlshaugh was held jointly by George Welsh, tenant in Braefoot, and James Welsh, tenant in Corehead, who that year granted a bond to Alexander Kettle, WS, for £2,000. That bond was assigned in 1825 to the children of the deceased Alexander Welsh, tenant in Cardon, who was a relative of the Welshes of Mossfennan.

George Welsh (who died about 1832) bequeathed his half to the said James Welsh, who had a charter of confirmation of the whole property from Andrew White of Drumelzier in 1833. James Welsh died about 1856, and his trustees, in accordance with the directions of his settlement, conveyed the property in 1872 to his son Thomas.

Thomas Welsh died in 1882, after which the property was held for behoof of his only son Tom, who fought in the Great War as captain in the 5th K.O.S.B., and was killed. His trustees are now in possession.

The rental is £361.

HAWKSHAW, CARTERHOPE AND FINGLAND

These three hill farms lie north of Earlshaugh, and may be conveniently dealt with together, as, although they are now owned by different proprietors, they were one holding in early times. The Fingland and Hawkshaw burns flow direct into the Tweed opposite the lands of Glenbreck, but the Carterhope burn flows into the Water of Fruid, which joins the Tweed below the Hawkshaw burn.

The property, a £15 land of old extent, was apparently royal demesne until the time of King Robert the Bruce, who granted it to Sir David de Lindsay, Lord of Crawford, for his homage and service, and the services of two archers in the King's host. In this grant only the lands of 'Hawkeschaws' are referred to, but it is clear that at that time and later, Carterhope and Fingland were considered to be parts of Hawkshaw. Part of Hawkshaw was also known as Glengonvir or Glengonar.

Sir David Lindsay was an ancestor of the Earls of Crawford, and also of the Lords Lindsay of the Byres. His grandson, Sir James Lindsay, was Lord of Crawford and Symington and a number of other baronies, and a powerful man in his day. He fought at Otterburn, and was one of the promoters of the famous fight between the Clan Chattan and the Clan Kay on the Inch of Perth. His sister Isabel married about 1369 Sir John de Maxwell of Pollok, and that no doubt explains why Sir John received from his brother-in-law a grant of 'Haukschawys, Glengonvir and Fynglen,' which was confirmed by a charter from King Robert II dated 19th September, 1372. The superiority of the lands was retained by the Lindsays, and that superiority is still in existence. The holding was blench, viz: one suit at the court to be holden at Crawford after the feast of Pasch, and payment of 1d. silver thereat.

Sir David Lindsay had no sons, and the superiority passed to his uncle, Sir Alexander, and from him to his son David, who married a daughter of King Robert II, and who became first Earl of Crawford and Admiral of Scotland, and was a mighty man of valour. The superiority was held by the successive Earls of Crawford as part of the barony of Crawford Lindsay until 25th January, 1495-96, when David, the fifth Earl, alienated that barony, together with the Castle of Crawford in Lanarkshire to Archibald (Douglas), fifth Earl of Angus.

The King, James IV was suspicious for a time (and with reason) of the loyalty of this nobleman, and also that of his son George, Master of Angus, with the result that they lost their great border possession of Liddesdale, Eskdale and Ewesdale. The barony of Crawford Lindsay was also taken by the King, but was restored to the Master of Angus, the name being changed to Crawford Douglas. The Master of Angus was killed at Flodden (9th September, 1513) and his father died a few months later.

Archibald, sixth Earl, eldest son of the Master, succeeded his grandfather, and married as his second wife Margaret Tudor, the widow of King James IV, who divorced him in 1528. In 1526 he was guardian of the young King, James V, and for two years was practically ruler of Scotland. He was succeeded in 1557 by his nephew David, son of Sir George Douglas of Pittendriech.

The superiority of Hawkshaw, Carterhope and Fingland continued with this famous family. Archibald, the eighth Earl, 'guid Archibald,' was for a time the companion and friend of Sir Phillip Sidney, who read to him the MS. of his Arcadia. William, tenth Earl, became a Catholic and had to leave Scotland: in 1609 he asked permission to return for a few months to bid a 'last gudnicht' to his country and friends, but this appeal was refused, and he died in Paris in 1611. His son William was created Marquess of Douglas, and fought for Montrose at Philiphaugh. Archibald, the third Marquess (1694–1761), was created Duke of Douglas by Queen Anne in 1703, when he was nine years old, and with him the family titles come to an end, as he left no family. The estates passed to Archibald James Edward Steuart, who was the eldest son of Lady Jane Douglas (sister of the third Marquess) and Colonel John Steuart, afterwards Sir John Steuart of Grandtully, Baronet. His legitimacy was disputed by other claimants, and a long and celebrated law plea was the result, known as the Douglas Cause. He lost the case in the Court of Session by the casting vote of Lord President Dundas (5th July, 1767), but the decision was reversed by the House of Lords (17th February, 1769). In 1790 he was created a British peer with the title Lord Douglas of Douglas and died in 1827.

Lord Douglas was succeeded by his son Archibald, who was succeeded in 1844 by his brother Charles, who in turn five years later was succeeded by his brother James. He died about 1857 succeeded by his eldest sister Jane Margaret, wife of Henry James, Lord Montagu of Broughton. Their daughter Lucy Elizabeth married in 1832 Cospatrick Alexander, eleventh Earl of Home, and on the death of her mother in 1859 succeeded to the Douglas estates, which now belong to the Home family, and the superiority is now held by Charles Cospatrick Archibald, twelfth Earl of Home, KT.

Turning back to deal with the grant of the lands to Sir John Maxwell of Pollok, which was confirmed in 1372, there is record of an indenture made at Dumbarton in the year 1400 between Sir John of Maxwell, Lord of Nether Pollok, and his son Robert, on the one side, and Sir John of Maxwell, the son and heir of the Lord of Nether Pollok, on the other side, according to which it was agreed that Robert and his heirs should have the 'Hawkschawland, Fynglen, and Carterhope in Twede muir' with certain lands in the sheriffdom of Lanark. Thereafter the lands continued to be held by a branch of the Maxwell family, and they were sub-feued to the family of Porteous, but when this took place there is no record. The result was that a third superiority was created – the Crown being the over-superior of the barony of Crawford Lindsay or Crawford Douglas, the successive proprietors of that barony being the superiors of the Maxwells, and the Maxwells and their successors being the superiors of the family of Porteous and their successors.

The chartularies of the barony do not go back beyond the beginning of the seventeenth century. In 1626 the holder of the third superiority was Edward Maxwell, son of Sir James Maxwell of Caldercross, and it is reasonable to infer from that entry that the Maxwell family had been in continuous possession since the grant confirmed in 1372. In 1635 Sir James Maxwell of Caldercross, Baronet, was the proprietor, and he transferred his right of superiority to Sir William Murray of Stanhope, Baronet, from whom it passed in 1696 to his son, Sir David Murray, and in 1738 to Sir David's son, Sir Alexander. In 1738 the owner of this superiority was James (Stewart), fifth Earl of Galloway, and his son Alexander, the sixth Earl, conveyed it in 1763 to William Loch, a writer in Edinburgh.

Dealing now with the right of property, this was held by the family of Porteous for almost three centuries. There was a 'tower' on the banks of Hawkshaw burn which is marked on Blaeu's map, and near it in ancient times was a chapel on the banks of Fruid Water, the remains of which were still visible in the eighteenth century, 'standing in a cemetery which was not then altogether forsaken.'

There was a WILLIAM PORTEOUS of Hawkshaw in 1439. In 1467 THOMAS PORTEOUS of Hawkshaw is referred to. He took action against Walter Tweedie of Drumelzier for some wrong which is not specified, and obtained a judgement in 1478 on behalf of himself and the widow and children of Herbert Porteous. On 27th October, 1479, the Lords of Council in Edinburgh ordained that:
'Jofra Litil and William Litill sall restore to Thomas Porteous of Halkschawis 18 score of scheip with yowis, price of the pece, 4s.; spulzeit, takin and withholdin be the said Jofra and William out of the landis of Halkschawis.'
Ten years later Porteous had to
'content and pay to William, Lord of Sanct Johns, 3 scor and 14 lammis taken be him of the said Williamis landis of Olivercastell . . . . quhilkis gudis pertenis to the said William ... be ressoun of eschet, throw the being of William Twedy and Laurence Twedy, his tennents, beand at our soverane lordis horne for the tyme,'
He was a turbulent fellow, this Porteous, and in the accounts of the Lord High Treasurer there is an entry on 6th August, 1491, 'to pass to the lordis of Lammyngton, Drummelzeare, and Hawkshawis to gar them cess a gadering' John Tweedie of Drumelzier sued him in 1500 for 40s. and 100 hogs which his father, James Tweedie of Drumelzier, had given Porteous in part payment of a larger sum to be paid on the completion of the marriage of the deceased Thomas Porteous (evidently a grandson), son of Patrick Porteous. In the same year he was also sited for molesting the tenants of James Lowis in Glencrago (Glencraigs). Thomas Porteous had two sons, Patrick, who succeeded and Oswald who married Janet Fleming, and to whom John Tweedie of Drumelzier had to make reparation in 1489 for wrongfully occupying his half lands of Kingledoors, valued at £10 yearly.

PATRICK PORTEOUS Succeeded his father before 1507, and in 1511 granted a bond of rnanrent to John Lord Hay of Yester. He was also a dependant of Malcolm, third Lord Fleming, and was among those who were taken under the royal protection during his master's absence in France in connection with the King's (James V) marriage. He had a son John who is referred to in 1551 as younger of Hawkshaw, but he must have predeceased his father, for the next Laird of Hawkshaw was Adam Porteous probably another son of Patrick.

ADAM PORTEOUS was Laird in 1555, in which year there was a dispute with Albert Johnston of Poldean. Adam's son John was contracted to marry Albert's daughter Margaret, and John declined to implement the contract, complaining that Johnston was not fulfilling his part of the bargain, and that Margaret was past thirteen years of age. The dispute was settled by John Porteous assigning to Johnston the lands of Finglen (Fingland). Adam Porteous had another son, Oswald, and also a daughter, Elizabeth, who married in 1561 Alexander Dishington in Carrington.

SIR PATRICK PORTEOUS, probably a son of John, mentioned above, is the next Laird of Hawkshaw of whom notice has been found. He was concerned in the murder of James Geddes of Glenhigton at the hands of the Tweedies. In 1602 he signed at Peebles along with other proprietors in the county the 'General Bond' against the border thieves and raiders. The following year he was in ward in the tolbooth of Edinburgh at the instance of George Hay of Monktoun for failing to find 'lawburrows.' In 1621, being at the horn for debt, a messenger was sent to arrest him and take him to the tolbooth of Edinburgh. They broke their journey at the house of James Geddes in 'Cruik of Tweddell' (the Crook Inn), but after that they did not get far on their way, for a number of his neighbours armed themselves and pursued and rescued Porteous. Two years later he was again put to the horn, and Lord Yester, the sheriff, sent his officer to poind some of the stock at Hawkshaw for payment of a tax which had been levied. Cattle were seized and driven off to Peebles, but before they had gone two miles Porteous overtook the officer, threatened him with death, and drove the cattle home. This lawlessness did not prevent him being made a burgess of Peebles in 1634. He followed Montrose in his fight for the King, for which he had to appear before the Kirk session of Tweedsmuir in December, 1646, and 'make satisfaction.' His wife was Isabella Govan, sister of William Govan of Cardrona, and he lived till about 1650 and was succeeded by his son John. A daughter Elizabeth married James Williamson of Hutcheonfield. Another, Janet, married Walter Scott of Gamescleucli, from whom descended the Lords Napier of Merchiston.

JOHN PORTEOUS married Mary Ramsay, and on 10th November, 1677, made over his property (which had previously been wadset to his brother-in-law, James Williamson) to his elder son Patrick. Another son, James, was a surgeon in Peebles. John Porteous died about 1683.

PATRICK PORTEOUS was made a burgess of Peebles on 2nd May, 1678. He married in 1681 Mary Scott, daughter of William Scott of Headshaw, and on the death of her brother John in 1691 she became his heiress. In 1683 he purchased Chapelhill, which he sold in 1692. Fingland was wadset in 1683 for 2,000 merks to Patrick Govan in Peebles – perhaps this money went towards the purchase price of Chapelhill. Carterhope in 1686 was wadset to John Scott of Linton, and in 1700 the whole property was wadset for 9,000 merks to James Williamson of Cardrona, whose son Walter had a charter from Porteous in 1707. This charter was in security of debt, and the same year Porteous transferred all his lands to his daughter Henrietta and her husband, Michael Anderson of Tushielaw. He had another daughter, Elizabeth, who married Alexander Williamson of Chapelhill. The provisions of these two daughters were fixed by their father's marriage contract at 7,000 and 5,000 merks respectively. Patrick Porteous died before 1738, and with him the male line came to an end.

MICHAEL ANDERSON, who thus became proprietor, [Note: It was probably he who took out letters of horning against James Tweedie of Oliver] quartered the Porteous arms in virtue of his marriage, and entailed the lands in 1714. He died in 1719 and was succeeded by his son Michael, who in 1732 married Janet, daughter of Sir James Naesmyth of Posso, and who in the year of his death, 1762, conveyed Hawkshaw to trustees for his creditors, this deed being in fortification of a similar disposition to trustees in 1742.

In 1769 the trustees, in implement of articles of roup executed in 1762, sold the lands of Hawkshaw (not Carterhope and Fingland) to William Loch, writer in Edinburgh, who, as we have seen, in 1763 acquired the third superiority of the whole lands, including Carterhope and Fingland.

Dealing now with the three lands separately –

HAWKSHAW AND GLENGONAR

William Loch (died about 1779), succeeded by his son James Loch, WS, who in turn was succeeded in 1795 by his second son James. In 1797 this son, Lieut. James Loch, sold the superiority of the whole lands, and the property of Hawkshaw and Glengonar, to William Govan of Hermiston, to whom succeeded his sisters and nephew, who had a charter of confirmation and precept of clare constat in 1820 from Lord Douglas of Douglas. The sisters were Agnes, Christina, Elizabeth, who married Archibald Smith, tobacconist, Peebles, and Margaret, who married William Stewart, brushmaker and ironmonger in Edinburgh. The nephew was John Horsburgh, baker, Edinburgh, son of a deceased sister Isobel, who had married Alexander Horsburgh, baker in Peebles. These heirs portioners conveyed the same year (1820) to the sister Agnes, who died in 1824 leaving a settlement in favour of William Stewart, late ironmonger, Edinburgh, her nephew, and his heirs, whom falling Adam Stewart, his younger brother. Under this destination, Adam Stewart, by a decree of the Court of Session in 1831, was found entitled to succeed to the superiority and the property. In his day he was a prominent Liberal, and took an active part in the political activities of the county during the fight for electoral reform. He sold his property in 1846 for £9,000 to George Graham Bell of Crurie, from whom it passed in 1864 to his second son Richard.

Richard Bell in 1889 sold Hawkshaw and the superiority for £10,000 to David Lyell, sometime residing at Pressock in the county of Forfar. That superiority was then extinguished, and in 1889 an agreement was made with the Earl of Home, the second superior, whereby the casualties were redeemed and the feu-duty fixed at £10.

David Lyell died in 1908, and his trustees in 1911 sold Hawkshaw to the present proprietor, William Murdoch Moffat, Craigbeck, Moffat.

The present rental is £375.

FINGLAND

Perhaps the dispositions to trustees for behoof of creditors granted by Michael Anderson (the second), son of the entailer in 1742, and in 1762 did not include Fingland and Carterhope. If they did, the family later regained their title.

Michael Anderson had three sons, Michael (the third), John, and Patrick. Michael (the third) had one son, Michael (the fourth), and a daughter, Barbara. Michael (the fourth) who married Isabella, daughter of Peter Colville, younger, of Ochiltree, died without issue in 1779, and the property then passed under the entail to his uncle Patrick, a younger brother of Michael (the third). He was infeft in Fingland and Carterhope in 1782 on a charter by James Loch, WS, the superior, dated 29th March, 1781; he married Rachel Watt, and, dying without issue in 1786, was succeeded by his niece, Barbara (a sister of the fourth Michael Anderson), who was infeft in 1788. Barbara Anderson was twice married: to Alexander Kirton, chirurgeon in Barbados, and to William Castor, supervisor of excise, Northampton. By the first marriage there was one son, John Kirton, who was born at Tushielaw in 1758, succeeded to the property, assumed the name of Anderson in accordance with the entail, and became John Kirton Anderson of Tushielaw.

John Kirton Anderson in 1801 had a decree of removing against Thomas Tweedie of Oliver from Fingland, which had been leased to him for nineteen years on 11th April, 1782, by Patrick Anderson. In 1812 Fingland (which was then occupied along with Carterhope by Robert and David Welsh, as sub-tenants of the principal tenant, Gilbert Chisholm), was exposed for sale by John Kirton Anderson in order to provide funds for the redemption of the land tax applicable to the rest of his property. The upset price was £3,000, and it was purchased by Henry Scott, merchant, Edinburgh, on behalf of Gideon Scott, tenant of Kirkhope, for £3,540. This was confirmed by a charter from the immediate superior, William Govan of Hermiston in 1817; and the feu-duty payable was £1 13s. 6d.

From Gideon Scott the property passed to his nephew, William Scott, whose son, Mr. William Scott, is the present owner. The immediate superiors are now the trustees of the late Richard Bell of Crurie and Castle O'er.

The rental is £250.

CARTERHOPE

John Kirton Anderson, as we have seen, became the proprietor of Carterhope and Fingland. He married Angel Price, and died without issue in 1816. On 15th August, 1818, his grandniece, Ann Vernona Simmons, was served as his heir. She was the only child of Philip Simmons of the parish of St. Michael in the island of Barbados, who was the eldest son of Ann Kirton (a sister of John Kirton Anderson) and her husband, Henry Peter Simmons, of the parish of St. Philip in Barbados.

Ann Vernona Simmons, who assumed the surname of Anderson, was twice married – in 1818 to Benjamin Gaskin, Commissary General of Jamaica, who died a few weeks after marriage, and in 1828 to the Rev. Thomas Gordon Torry, Edinburgh, son of the Right Rev. Patrick Torry, Bishop of St. Andrews. By the first marriage there was one child, Benjamin Thomas Gaskin Anderson; and by the second marriage two daughters, Vernona Thomas Christian Torry Anderson (wife of Richard Sidney Smith of the Royal Navy, commander of the coastguard at Yarmouth), and Patricia Jane Torry Anderson.

Benjamin Thomas Gaskin Anderson succeeded his mother, and had a precept of clare constat on 5th January, 1838, from his superior, Adam Stewart of Hawkshaw. he married his cousin, Emily Claston Callendar, Barbados, and died in 1855, succeeded by his son of the same name, who was served as heir on 2nd May, 1860, and had a writ of confirmation from the superior, George Graham Bell of Crurie, on 13th December, 1865. This heir died on 23rd September, 1908, without issue and was succeeded by his third cousin, Henry Peter Carter Simmons Anderson, residing at Hastings, Barbados, who was served as such on 6th August, 1910. He disentailed the lands in 1912, and sold Carterhope in 1925 to the tenants, John, James and Ebenezer Braidwood Masterton, farmers. The previous tenant was the late Tom Welsh, proprietor of Earlshaugh.

The original feu-duty was £1 10s. and is now (including commutation of casualties) £6 13s. 4d. The immediate superiors are the trustees of Richard Bell of Crurie and Castle O'er.

The present rental is £295.

FRUID

This large sheep farm is bounded on the west by Earlshaugh and Carterhope, on the south by Gameshope, on the north by Menzion and on the south by the county of Dumfries.

It contains the upper half of Fruid Water, which rises in a wild and lonely glen on the shoulders of Hartfell (2,651 feet). The principal herd's house is at the north end on the banks of one of the numerous smaller streams, and is approached by a road from Tweedsmuir through Menzion and up Fruid Water.

The proprietors in early times were the Frasers, who built a castle there, no trace of which now remains, but it is supposed that the site was in the vicinity of the herd's house, and the tradition is that this castle was the first which Oliver Fraser built. The lands were part of the barony of Oliver Castle, and were possessed by a branch of the Fraser family for almost two centuries after the main line of the Frasers of Oliver died out. After the death of Sir Simon Fraser in 1306, the barony passed into the hands of the Flemings and the Hays and both, as we shall see, laid claim to the superiority of Fruid.

There is record of Thomas Fraser (or Frizele) of Fruid in 1426: he had also lands in the barony of Drumelzier, which that year he resigned and renounced to the superior, Walter Tweedie of Drumelzier, receiving the following year an annual rent out of Drumelzier of 44s. He was still designed 'of Fruid' in 1439. In 1445 William Fraser (probably a son of Thomas) got sasine of Fruid both from the bailie of Hay of Yester and the bailie of Lord Fleming, showing that there was a doubt at that time as to which family had the better right. This doubt was apparently settled in 1470, when by excambion Sir David Hay of Yester had a grant of the superiority along with the lands of Oliver Castle and other lands. Thomas Fraser of Fruid is referred to in 1476, and in 1490 William Fraser resigned Fruid in the hands of his superior, John, first Lord Hay of Yester, for new infeftment to William Fraser (probably a nephew), son of Simon Fraser, under reservation of his own liferent and his wife's terce. This William married Agnes Johnstone, and on 28th July, 1500, he had a charter of resignation from the superior, John, first Lord Hay of Yester, according to which Fruid was held blench for payment of a pair of black spurs. In 1507 he resigned the annual rent of 44s. before mentioned to John Tweedie of Drumelzier, and in 1512 was again infeft in the lands of Fruid, owing to their having been 'recognosced' by the Crown along with other lands in the barony of Oliver Castle. William Fraser died about 1512, in which year his widow, Elizabeth Douglas, disponed to John Tweedie of Drumelzier the rents of Fruid and Mossfennan during the nonage of her children.

Katherine Fraser of Fruid now appears on the scene, one of the central figures in the famous Fleming-Tweedie feud, the story of which is told in another chapter. She was served on 20th June, 1523, as heiress to her Grandfather, William Fraser (from which it may be erred that she was either the daughter or niece of the last proprietor), and the following month she had a precept of clare constat from John, third Lord Hay of Yester. This was sufficient authority, as Lord Hay was clearly the superior under the excambion of 1470. But John, second Lord Fleming, desired that this young woman should marry his son Malcolm, and with that design in view he put forward a claim as feudal superior to her ward and marriage. Steps were actually taken to have her re-served as heiress, to which Lord Hay of Yester objected: but a more strenuous objector was John Tweedie of Drumelzier, who intended Katherine to marry his nephew James. The result was the assassination of Lord Fleming on 1st November, 1524, and the imprisonment of his son Malcolm in Drumelzier Castle. As a condition of Malcolm's release, Tweedie insisted that Katherine should be handed over to him, and also the writs and evidents of her lands. This was done on 25th November, as a notarial instrument by Thomas Kincaid of that Ilk bears, Katherine protesting at the same time that she only agreed in order to secure the liberation of her husband, Malcolm Fleming. This reference to Malcolm Fleming as her husband can only mean that she was affianced to him, for when she arrived at Drumelzier she was promptly married to James Tweedie. It is a singular story, and Katherine is a mysterious figure in it. Probably the Tweedies did not greatly care whether she was a willing bride or not, as might to them was always right, and their family motto, if they ever stopped to think about it, must have caused them ironic amusement. But was Katherine unwilling? It is just as likely that young Tweedie was the man of her choice, for there is no evidence to show that Malcolm Fleming's life was in danger at Drumelzier, and it is improbable that she would surrender herself to secure his liberation knowing that such a course would inevitably lead to a forced marriage with Tweedie. Malcolm Fleming himself, we can imagine, would not have consented to such an arrangement if he truly desired Katherine.

For their crime the Tweedies were punished, and Katherine by order of the Privy Council had to convey to the Flemings her possessions in the parish of Glenholm – the £4 10s. lands of Mossfennan, the 40s. lands of Smellhope, and the 40s. lands of Uriesland – and the deeds were granted by herself and her husband in 1531. Of her husband, James Tweedie, little is known beyond the manner of his death, but his name frequently appears as a witness to deeds, He and his brother John were appointed executors by James Tweedie of Drumelzier in 1556, but both appeared in St. Mungo's Kirk of Kirkurd, and declined the office. Katherine Fraser died in or about 1560, and was succeeded by her son James. There were two other sons, Patrick and William. Her husband survived her, and met a violent death in Edinburgh in December, 1561. He was seated before the fire in the house of a kinsman, William Tweedie, burgess of Edinburgh, when he was suddenly attacked and mortally wounded before he could defend himself. Patrick and John Hunter (perhaps of the Polmood family) and others were tried for this murder and acquitted.

James Tweedie, the son of Katherine, was served heir to his mother on 11th January, 1560–1, sasine being taken in the tower of Fruid on a precept from the superior, William, fifth Lord Hay of Yester. The following month he resigned the lands on bended knees at Neidpath Castle in the hands of Lord Yester for new infeftment, but under reservation of his father's right of courtesy.

[Note: James Tweedie, after Katherine's death, was married again. On 20th March, 1561–2, his widow, Margaret or Begis Weir, appointed John Tweedie, her natural son, her assignee to the kirklands – of the vicarage glebe of Stobo, which she occupied.]

He married in 1563 Christian Scott, presumably a daughter of Phillip Scott in Dryhope, and in 1579 resigned Fruid in favour of his son John. But he was still alive in 1585, in which year there is record of a quarrel between him and his kinsman, James Tweedie of Drumelzier, as a result of which the latter had to find sureties for his good behaviours. He died between that year and 1596.

John Tweedie, the son of James, married Janet Elphinstone, and with her consent and also with consent of James Tweedie of Drumelzier, at whose instance he had been interdicted, he granted a deed on 10th October, 1596, undertaking for a certain sum of money to obtain himself infeft as his father's heir. Along with others he was called on in 1599 to find caution that he would observe the King's peace. On 23rd May, 1604, with consent of James Tweedie of Drumelzier, he conveyed the lands of Fruid to Gavin Thomson, a burgess of Peebles. Thomson four years later resigned them to the said James Tweedie, who had a charter from James, seventh Lord Hay of Yester, on 18th May, 1608.

James Tweedie of Drumelzier, who thus became the proprietor of Fruid, granted in 1608, with consent of his son James, a wadset over the lands for 9,000 merks to Thomas Porteous, tenant of Fruid, and his eldest son Thomas. In 1620 the lands themselves were conveyed by James Tweedie, the son, to John Murray of Halmyre, and the above wadset was excepted from the warrandice. Thomas Porteous, the son (the holder of the 1608 wadset), granted in 1625, with consent of Margaret Scott, his wife, a wadset over Fruid to Thomas Lindsay, merchant and burgess of Biggar, to whom he was indebted. Under this deed the lands were conveyed with a clause of reversion on payment of £769, which in 1628 was increased to £1,329 and accrued interest. Two years later Lindsay assigned his wadset rights to David Murray of Halmyre, who was the proprietor of the lands (under burden of the 1608 wadset) as son of his father, John Murray.

[Note: It is said that James Tweedie, after the loss of Drumelzier in 1623, settled down at Fruid. This is unlikely, unless he lived there as a tenant as he had at that time no right to the lands. It is true that he was on 3rd February, 1631, served as heir to his father in Fruid, and that he had a precept of clare constat in 1633 from Lord Hay, but these were only with the view of fortifying the purchaser's title.]

On 10th August, 1632, David Murray (then designed as of Stanhope), for 'certain sums of money,' sold Fruid to John, eighth Lord Hay of Yester (afterwards first Earl of Tweeddale), whose family had held the superiority since 1470. That superiority was extinguished and the lands have since been held direct of the Crown.

Fruid thus became part of the Neidpath estate and remained with the successive proprietors of that property until 1919, when it was sold to John, James, and Ebenezer Braidwood Masterton.

The present rental is £335 5s. 8d.

GAMESHOPE AND MENZION

These two large sheep farms may be taken together as Gameshope was originally part of Menzion. The lands. were part of the barony of Oliver Castle and as such belonged to the Frasers.

After the death of Sir Simon Fraser they were divided between his two daughters Joanna and Mary, who married respectively Sir Patrick Fleming and Sir Gilbert Hay. Over Menzion thereby became the property of the Flemings and Nether Menzion of the Hays.

(1) OVER MENZION

The extent of this property cannot now be definitely ascertained, but it included the upper part of the Menzion burn (where Upper Menzion is still marked on the Ordnance map), and also the wild glen of Gameshope. The earliest writ traced is a charter on 7th November, 1395, by Sir Malcolm Fleming to his second son Patrick of his lands in the barony of Oliver Castle, viz: Overmenzeon (Over Menzion) and Glenrusco (Glenriska).

Patrick Fleming was dead by 1421, and apparently he met his death at the hands of his nephew, Malcolm Fleming of Biggar. But Patrick's son James, styled 'of Bord,' forgave his cousin, and on 3rd November, 1421, renounced in his favour all his rights in the lands. Malcolm Fleming's brother David also received on 26th January, 1425–6, a grant from James Fleming of his right to the lands of Bord (Dumbartonshire) and Menzion, followed by a bond undertaking as soon as those lands were recovered, to infeft David Fleming therein. These deeds do not appear to have been acted on, or perhaps James Fleming reacquired the lands, for it is in record that he afterwards resigned Over Menzion in the hands of Robert, first Lord Fleming, for new infeftrnent to his son and apparent heir, William Fleming, showing that the superiority of the property had been retained by the main line of the Fleming family. This William Fleming on 3rd January, 1502-3, conveyed Over Menzion to John, second Lord Fleming (who held the superiority), receiving in exchange the lands of Nether Auchinreoch, in the barony of Auchtermony; and he bound himself to deliver all the writs he had of Menzion and Glenriska, so that a disposition of them might be drawn up in favour of John Murray of Sandlahill (evidently a mistake for Falahill), who had purchased them for £80. Perhaps it was as a result of this grant to John Murray that Lord Fleming forfeited his superiority. Lord Fleming held Over Menzion direct of the Crown, and under the rules of feudal usage he forfeited his right if he alienated the greater part of the lands without the King's consent. Such a forfeiture was technically termed the casualty of recognition, and it came into operation here.

On 17th February, 1506–7, the sheriff of Peebles was directed to 'recognosce' the lands of Over Menzion and Glenriska (called here Glenslow), belonging to Lord Fleming, and also the lands of Blackbarony belonging to John Murray of Blackbarony. This was done on 6th March, and on 9th June, 1508, King James IV. granted a charter of Over Menzion to John Murray of Blackbarony, Lord Fleming giving his consent to Murray's infeftment in the lands which were to be held ward of the Crown and attached to the barony of Haltoun Murray or Blackbarony.

John Murray was killed at Flodden, and his son Andrew was served as his heir in Over Menzion on 13th February, 1513–4. But the lands were life-rented by John Murray's widow, Isobel Hoppar, who married as her second husband Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie, uncle of Archibald, Earl of Angus. This liferent she forfeited owing to the political activities of the Earl, and on 8th February, 1532–3 a royal gift of the rents of Over Menzion was made to Malcolm, third Lord Fleming. The lands themselves were redeemed in 1535 by Lord Fleming from Andrew Murray by a payment of 360 merks, and Over Menzion was included in a charter of confirmation of his properties granted by King James V. on 9th April, 1538.

The Fleming family retained their title until 1636, when John (Fleming), second Earl of Wigtown, conveyed Over Menzion to Sir David Murray of Stanhope, who on 17th March, 1645, got a Crown charter incorporating the lands into the barony of Stanhope-Murray.

(2) NETHER MENZION

There are no references to this property, which the Hays acquired by marriage, until the fifteenth century. Gilbert Hay of 'Meynyhene,' who may have been a brother of Sir William Hay of Locherworth, was a witness at the Castle of Peebles (Neidpath Castle) in 1435, and to the charter of the lands of Talla in 1439. He acted as bailie for Sir David Hay of Yester, and was still alive in 1531. He was succeeded by his son William, who on 3rd October, 1495, resigned Nether Menzion in the hands of his 'cousin' John, first Lord Hay of Yester, from which it appears that the superiority had remained with the main line of the family. Six days later the first Lord Hay granted a charter of the lands under reservation of the liferent of the resigner, and the terce of his wife, Janet Lowis, to his own son William, and failing his heirs to George Hay, William's younger brother. Under this destination George Hay succeeded, and had a charter of Nether Menzion on 21st July, 1512, from his brother John, second Lord Hay of Yester, in which deed it is stated that the lands pertained to George Hay in property and to the granter in superiority, and had been recognosced in the hands of the Crown as a tenandry of the barony of Oliver Castle. The holding was for three suits yearly at the barony of Easter Happrew. George Hay (better known as Mr. George Hay of Nether Menzion and Monktoun) married Eupham Wauchope, and from him the property passed to his son George, who married Janet Betoun and had a son Gilbert, who in 1564 was infeft in Nether Menzion as heir of his grandfather, Mr. George, on a precept of clare constat by William, fifth Lord Hay of Yester. Gilbert Hay married Alison Douglas, and had a charter on his own resignation on 24th April, 1592, from James, the seventh lord. The holding was then four pennies Scots. Gilbert's son George died in 1633, and with him the male line failed. Early in the seventeenth century, the date has not been ascertained, Nether Menzion was acquired by Sir David Murray of Stanhope, to whom his son William was served as heir on 28th April, 1654.

(3) OVER AND NETHER MENZION

Thereafter the whole lands of Menzion remained with the proprietors of Stanhope. Nether Menzion and the part of Over Menzion at the head of Menzion burn became known as Menzion; and the remainder of Over Menzion, consisting of the glen of Gameshope burn and the loch became known as Gameshope. Gameshope, together with 88 acres of Menzion lying on the left bank of Talla Water, was sold in 1895 by Sir Graham Graham Montgomery of Stanhope, Baronet, for £16,150 to the Edinburgh and District Water Trustees (now the Corporation of Edinburgh), who effected the purchase in view of the proposed construction of a large reservoir at Talla for the supply of water to Edinburgh. Gameshope burn now flows into this reservoir. Menzion was sold in 1903 by Sir Basil Templer Graham Montgomery to Simon Linton of Oakwood, Selkirk, who died in 1921. His son Simon succeeded, but died the same year, and Menzion is now held by his trustees.

The present rental of Menzion is £624 12s. 6d. Gameshope is now rated along with Talla.

TALLA

The principal tributaries of the Tweed in the parish are the waters of Cor, Fruid, and Talla. The last named rises above the Talla Linns and joins the Tweed at the village of Tweedsmuir. The lands of Talla were part of the barony of Oliver Castle, and belonged to the Frasers. Whether they passed to the Flemings is a matter of doubt, as no writs have been traced to show that that family were ever proprietors. It seems likely that Talla (along with Nether Menzion, which adjoins it) represented part of the share of the barony which fell to the Hay family on the marriage of Sir Gilbert Hay to Mary Fraser.

The earliest writ traced is a charter dated 12th August, 1439, of the lands of Thalek (Talla) and Kingledoors, and an annual rent of two and a half merks from Wester Happrew, by David of Hay (designed as lord of the barony of 'Olivercastel') to his brother Edmund for his homage and service. This charter was granted at Neidpath Castle, called then Castrum de Peblis, and was confirmed by King James 11 on 16th November. But Talla was in Edmund's possession before this grant, for on 12th July, 1439, as Edmund de Haia of Thalow he witnessed a charter by his brother.

Edmund Hay, who also owned one quarter of the lands of Linplum in Haddingtonshire, founded the chapel of St. Edmund the Martyr in the south transept (which he probably built) of Bothans Kirk. He died in 1463 survived by his widow, Annabella Boyd, who on 2nd April, 1467 – she was then married to Patrick Dunbar of Biel – gave a tack to the chaplain of St. Bothans of lands granted in alms by her son, Sir William Hay.

Sir William Hay was served heir to his father in 1467. He married Margaret Mowbray, and died in 1478–9 succeeded by his eldest son William. He had also a son Edmund.

William Hay married Margaret, daughter of William Cockburn of Henderland, and died about 1520, survived by four sons:
(1) William, his heir, of whom presently.

(2) Mr. Thomas, Dean of Dunbar, Secretary of State, parson of Rathven, and a senator of the College of Justice.

(3) Mr. George, rector of Rathven (this benefice being given to him by his brother), a senator of the College of Justice, and parson of Eddleston. He was considered one of the most learned men in Scotland in his day. He married Marion Henrison, and from him is said to be descended the family of Hay of Rannes. He died in 1588.

(4) Mr. Andrew, rector of Renfrew, who is said to have been concerned in the murder of Rizzio. He married Janet Wallace.
William Hay of Wyndane and Talla, the eldest son of William Hay and Margaret Cockburn, repaired the altar of St. Edmund at Bothans in 1531. He married Janet Spottiswoode, and in 1540 gave to his son Nicholas the lands of 'Apletreesyde,' in the barony of Lyne, and in the following year to his son Andrew a quarter of Craig Kingledoors, reserving in both cases his liferent, and the terce of his wife. About the same time he resigned in the hands of his superior, John, Lord Hay of Yester, one third of Talla and other lands, in favour of his eldest son John and his wife. He had a fourth son, William, who married Margaret Hay, and had the lands of Wyndane, Baro and others; they had a son, Mr. William Hay of Baro, advocate, who was Commissary of Glasgow and father of Sir John Hay of Baro and Lands, sometime town clerk of Edinburgh, and afterwards Clerk Register of Scotland.

William Hay died in 1566, and was buried in St. Edmund's aisle, Bothans. He was succeeded by his eldest son John, who was served as heir on 13th November, 1566. On 27th February, 1569–70, he had a precept of clare constat from William, fifth Lord Hay of Yester, for his infeftment in one half of Wyndane as heir to his father, and in November, 1572, he was infeft in the same capacity at the 'Crukburn' in a quarter of Craig Kingledoors. On 31st January, 1578–80, he resigned Talla absolutely to Lord Hay of Yester, on condition that the lands of Linplum were secured to him. He died about 1585, and was twice married – to Jean (daughter of Patrick Hepburn of Bolton, Master of Hailes), who died in 1575; and to Janet Hathowie. By the first marriage he had three sons, John, William and Andrew.

John, the eldest son, 'chief servant' of the Duke of Orkney, his second cousin, was one of the chief actors in the murder of Darnley (1567) and suffered death for that crime in 1568. Professor Veitch's poem assumes that he was born and brought up in the wild border glen of Talla, but it is more probable that he was brought up in Haddingtonshire, at Linplum or Hugston. The poem also refers to him as 'Young Hay of Talla' That is a mistake, for his father being alive he was not 'of Talla,' but 'younger of Talla,' a designation still used to distinguish the son and heir of a landed proprietor. William Hay, the second son, succeeded his father and was infeft in Linplum in 1585, and in Craig Kingledoors in 1595. He married Helen Cockburn.

Talla, by the resignation of John Hay in 1578–80, became the property of the Hays of Yester, and it remained a part of the Neidpath estate until 1897, when it was sold by the trustees of the Earl of Wemyss and March for £20,425 to the Edinburgh and District Water Trustees (now the Corporation of Edinburgh). This sale included 60 acres of Hearthstane lying on the right bank of Talla Water. A large reservoir was constructed, which now supplies water to Edinburgh.

The present rental of Talla and Gameshope is £540 10s.

HEARTHSTANE

This large sheep farm lies between Polmood (parish of Drumelzier) and Talla, and includes the burns and glens of Hearthstane or Harestanes, and Glenriska. It was also part of the barony of Oliver Castle, but the name does not appear in the titles, the probability being that it was included in early times as part of the lands of Glenriska and Cockieland or in the general description of the lands of Oliver Castle. At the head of the Hearthstane glen is Broad Law (2,754 feet), the highest hill in the south of Scotland with the exception of Merrick (2,764) in Ayrshire. The summit, as the name implies, is broad and flat, and would admit, says Armstrong, 'of a circuit horse race of two miles, without the smallest inequality of surface.' No one is likely to test this statement.

The Frasers held Hearthstane and the Hays and Flemings each held part of it. In 1470 Robert, first Lord Fleming, in exchange for the lands of Biggar and the patronage of the church there, granted to Sir David Hay of Yester the lands of 'Olivercastel,' one half of the lands of Over Kingledoors, together with the superiority of the tenandry lands of Fruid, Polmood, Coqueland (Cockieland) and Glencotho, under reservation of 'one messuage' of the Oliver Castle lands. What was included under the expression 'lands of Olivercastel' it is not possible now to say.

The Hays and the Flemings both claimed to be lords of the barony, and Sir David Hay of Yester so designed himself in 1439 when he granted Talla to his brother Edmund. Of the lands specified in this grant of 1470, Cockieland (on the right bank of Talla) is the only one which is part of Hearthstane as we now know it. It was a six merk land. In 1533 John Fraser (Fresal) was infeft therein on a precept from John, third Lord Hay of Yester, as grandson and heir of Margaret Cokyland of that Ilk. On 24th July, 1550, John, fourth Lord Hay of Yester, granted a precept for infefting Herbert Johnstone of Poldean in the lands, and four days later Thomas Fresal, as bailie for John Fresal of Cokeland, gave sasine therein to Mr. George Gledstanes, senator of the College of Justice. The Hays of Yester were in right of the superiority from 1470, and later acquired the lands themselves, but the transaction has not been traced.

By a Crown charter dated 3rd February, 1511–12, King James IV confirmed to John, second Lord Hay of Yester, the lands and barony of Oliver Castle, which had belonged to his father, John, the first Lord; also the half of the lands of Glenriska (Glenrusco) within the barony, which it was stated had belonged to John, Lord Fleming, in superiority and to John Murray of Falahill in property. Glenriska is another part of Hearthstane, and has already been referred to in connection with the lands of Over Menzion. The reason why it was conveyed to Lord Hay was because Lord Fleming had forfeited it under the feudal casualty of recognition, having alienated the greater part without the consent of the King, his superior. By this transaction the Hays acquired one half of Glenriska, and the other half they already had, indicating that this property, like Menzion, had apparently been divided between the two families after the death of Sir Simon Fraser. This other half was on 27th January, 1501–2, granted by John, first lord Hay, to Gavin Veitch on the resignation of his father, William Veitch of Kingside, who had bought the lands from Sir David Hay, Lord Hay's father, for £40. Gavin was succeeded by his son William in 1532, and the property was still with that family in 1557. But it was re-acquired by the Hays prior to 1586, in which year Glenriska and Hearthstane were said to be tenanted by James Geddes of Glenhigton.

It may therefore be said that Hearthstane (including Cockieland and Glenriska) became a possession of the Hays, both property and superiority, in the sixteenth century, and it has since remained part of the Neidpath estate with the exception of 60 acres sold in 1897 to the Edinburgh and District Water Trustees. During the eighteenth and a considerable part of the nineteenth century Hearthstane was occupied by a branch of the Tweedie family.

In the famous litigation about Polmood, Margaret Tweedie, 'the guid wife of Herstanes,' is referred to as the niece of Robert Hunter, the owner of the wonderful dog Algiers, and when Robert grew old she took care of him till his death.

The present rental is £671 6s. 6d.


Reproduced from 'A History of Peeblesshire' by JW Buchan and Rev H Paton, 1925–27, Jackson, Wylie and Co of Glasgow


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