Strongholds of the border reivers: fortifications of the Anglo-Scottish Border, 1296-1603

68 Pages·2008·28.91 MB·English

by  Keith Durham

STRONGHOLDS OF
THE BORDER REIVERS . .
Fortificafons of the Anglo-Scottish Border 1296-1603
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
KEITH DURHAMlivesin Northumberlandand istheauthorof
Men-at-Arms279:TheBorderReiversand NewVanguard47:VikingLongship.
Heisalsoaskilledand respected sculptorofhistorical miniaturesand has
produced masterfiguresforanumberofcompanies including PasteMilitaire.
GRAHAMTURNERisaleading historicalartist,specializing inthe medieval
period.Hehasillustrated numeroustitlesforOsprey,covering awidevariety
ofsubjectsfrom thedressofthe 10th-centuryarmiesoftheCaliphates,
throughtheaction ofbloodymedieval battles,tothedailylifeofthe British
Redcoatofthe late 18thcentury.Theson oftheillustratorMichaelTurner,
Graham livesand works in Buckinghamshire,UK.
FORTRESS • 70
STRONGHOLDS OF
THE BORDER REIVERS
Fortifications of the Anglo-Scottish Border 1296-1603
KEITH DURHAM ILLUSTRATED BY GRAHAM TURNER
SerieseditorsMarcusCowperand Nikolai Bogdanovic
Firstpublishedin2008byOspreyPublishing DEDICATION
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443ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork,NY10016,USA ThisbookisdedicatedtothememoryofAngusMcBride,1931-2007.
E-mail:[email protected]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 4
CHRONOLOGY 8
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT 9
Norham Castle • Dunstanburgh Castle • Aydon Castle
BORDER FORTIFICATIONS 17
The pele • The tower house. The bastle • Stronghouses • Defensible churches
PRINCIPLES OF DEFENCE 39
Hermitage Castle, 'The Strength ofLiddesdale' • Barmkins and beacons
Siege ofCessford Castle, 1523
TOUR OF A TOWER HOUSE - SMAILHOLM 44
EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE TOWER HOUSE 51
BORDER STRONGHOLDS AT WAR 52
The effects ofraiding • The 'Rough Wooing', 1544-49
Assault on WarkCastle bythe Duke ofAlbany, 1523
THE FATE OF THE CASTLES, TOWER HOUSES,
BASTLES AND DEFENSIBLE CHURCHES 59
VISITING THE SITES TODAY 60
GLOSSARY 62
BIBLIOGRAPHY 63
INDEX 64
STRONGHOLDS OF THE
BORDER REIVERS
INTRODUCTION
Compleyenes[complainants]BartrameMylburneoftheKeyme,GynkneHunter
ofthe Waterhead in Tyndale, upon William Armstrong ofKinmowthe, Ecky
Armestronge of the Gyngles, Thome Armstrong of the Gyngles, Thomas
Armestonge called Androwes Thome, ofthe Gyngles, Johne Forster sone to
Meikle Rowie of Genehawghe, George Amestronge, called Renyens Geordie,
and his sons ofArcleton in Ewesdale, and there complices, for that thay and
others to the number of thre hundrethe parsons in warlike maner ranne one
opynforrowe inthedayetyme,onFridaieinthemornyngelast,beingxxxthof
August,inTyndaleuntocertenplacesthatistosaytheKeyme,theReidhewghe,
the Black Myddynes, the Hillhowse, the Waterhead, the Starr head, the Bog
head, the High feelde, and ther raysed fyer and brunte [burnt] the mostpairte
ofthem,andmaisterfullierefte [robbed],staleanddroveawayefowrehundrethe
kyen[cows] andoxen,fowrehundrethesheip,andgoate,xxxhorsesandmears
[mares],andspoyleandinsightofthehowsestothewaleweoftowehundrethe
pounds, andsleweandmurderedcrewelliesixparsons, andmaimedandhurte
ellevinparsons,andtookeawayxxxpresoners,andthemdo deteigneandkeip
in warlyke maner, myndinge to ransom them contrarie the vertewe oftrewes
[truces] andlawesoftheMarches.Wheroftheyaskeredress.
In the year 1583, this catalogue of woes arrived on the desk of Sir Francis
Walsingham,SecretaryofStateto QueenElizabethI.ItcamefromLordScrope,
WardenoftheEnglishWestMarch, andwasafurtherreminderofthe 'broken
state' of England's northern frontier. This 'compleynt' and claim for redress
againsttheArmstrongswasyetanotherexampleofaseeminglyendlessstream
ofsimilar'reiffis' (robberies), 'murtheris' (murders), 'birnyngs' and 'spoylings'
that emanated from the Border. To Walsingham, sitting at the hub of
government and deeply immersed in affairs ofstate, such barbaric behaviour
must have seemed outlandish indeed. But to the likes of Gynkne (Jenkin)
HunterandBartrame (Barty) Milburn,leftimpoverishedandbereft,itwasthe
grim reality of daily life on the Border Marches. Even their crudely built,
defensible homes, referred to in contemporary documents as 'bastell-houses',
were a direct result of a continuing legacy of three centuries of warfare,
violence,lawlessnessandsystematicdevastationthathadlefttheAnglo-Scottish
Bordercountryin a pitiful state.
During the second halfofthe 13th century peace and prosperity reigned
across the Borderland. Sharing a rugged landscape and a similar culture,
4
BorderReivers,1585.Coming
fromalllevelsofsocietyand
oftenridingwiththe'wynk'
ofapprovalfromtheofficials
whohadbeenappointedto
suppressthem,thegreatriding
familiesplunderedacrossthe
sixBorderMarches.Amongst
themweretheArmstrongs,
Burnses,Scotts,Robsons,
Elliots,Halls,Bells,Charltons,
Forsters,Nixons,Maxwells,
Johnstonesandtheubiquitous
Grahams,Theywerecursedas
'everryding'andasreiving
reacheditszenithinthe
midtolate16thcentury,
they'shookloosetheBorder'.
(Illustration:AngusMcBride,
author'scollection)
Border folk of both kingdoms had much in common and lived together in
relative harmony. Border towns flourished, merchants and landowners
prospered and farmers were able to enjoy the fruits of their labour. On a
national level, however, each nation remained wary ofthe other's territorial
ambitions and duringthisperiod ofcalm,the Englishinparticularhadtaken
the opportunityto strengthentheirBorderholds atNorham, Alnwick, Wark
and Carlisle, as well as establishing efficient lines of communication along
their northern frontier. When Scotland's king, Alexander III, was killed in a
riding accident in 1286, he died heirless and in the absence of an obvious
adult successor to the Scottish throne, the English monarch, Edward I,
in furtherance of his plans for the total domination of Scotland, used his
5
The Border marches
t SCOTTISH i/
Berwick-upon-Tweed
EAST MARCH
NORTH
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•- .- NationalBoundary
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20km
influence to installJohn Balliol on the Scottish throne in 1292. Unfortunate
and weak minded, Balliol was forced to recognize Edward as his feudal
overlord and by a process of intimidation and humiliation, the English
monarch proceeded to rule Scotland by proxy. In time, Edward's behaviour
became so overbearing that Balliol, albeit under pressure from his council,
eventually rebelled against him. In an act ofdefiance, the Scots negotiated a
mutual defence agreement - which became know as the 'Auld Alliance'
with Edward's traditional enemy, France, and proceeded to lay siege to the
Englishfortress at Carlisle. Ina fury, Edwardretaliated bylaunchingaseries
of devastating invasions across the Border. In 1296, Berwick was stormed
and in an act ofsheer brutalitythe town's entire male populationwas putto
the sword, earning Edward the epithet 'Hammer ofthe Scots'.
Recoiling from the initial impact, the Scots soon retaliated with equal
ferocity and in 1297, under William Wallace, defeated the English at Stirling
Bridge. As one outrage followed another, the two kingdoms became engulfed
in a war of attrition that was destined to last for 300 years. The Borderland
became their battleground and as the scavenging armies of both nations
invadedandretreatedacrossthe'line',townsandvillageswereputtothetorch,
their inhabitants' slaughtered, crops were looted or burnt and vast areas of
arable land were reduced to impoverished wastelands. Wallace was later
defeatedatFalkirkin1298,butin1314Englishambitionsforthesubjugation
of Scotland were dealt a crippling blow by Robert the Bruce, who gathered
6
the Scottish nobles to his cause and crushed the army of Edward II at
Bannockburn. Bruce wrested Berwick from English hands in 1318 and his
victorious Scottish armies plundered England's northern shires unopposed,
exacting tribute and blackmail from the terrified population. After Bruce's
death, Edward III defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill and Berwick was
recaptured in 1333. Fifty years later the Scots were victorious at Otterburn
and, in 1402, the English had their revenge at Homildon Hill. Although
Berwick passed briefly into Scottish hands in 1461, itwas retaken and finally
ceded to the English in 1482. Both nations continued to mount sporadic
raids and armed incursions that bedevilled the Border country and, in 1513,
James IV of Scotland led a large-scale invasion into Northumberland, which
culminatedinadevastatingdefeatatFloddenField,hisowndeathandtheloss
of a significant proportion of Scotland's nobility. It was, without doubt, the
worstmilitary defeatinScotland's history.
For the Borderland, worse was to come when 30 years later, Henry VIII
attemptedtocontrivethemarriageoftheEnglishPrinceEdwardtotheinfant
Mary, Queen of Scots. Having failed to woo the Scots with a mixture of
threats and diplomacy, the bellicosemonarchattemptedtoforce theunion by
means of a devastating show ofmilitary force and from 1544 to 1549, in a
periodthatbecameknownasthe 'RoughWooing', Englisharmies supported
by foreign mercenaries brought 'fyre and sword' to the Scottish Lowlands.
In this constant war of attrition, both governments encouraged their
Borderers to harass their embattled neighbours across the line by way of
incessantraiding and, eveninperiods ofcomparativepeace betweenthe two
kingdoms,violencealongtheBorderlinecontinuedunabated. Inevitably,such
appallingconditions bred a ruthless and resourceful societywho had, bythe
beginningofthe 16thcentury, become 'maisterfultheeves' andrustlers, skilled
inthe arts ofskirmish, raiding, ambushandextortion- theyaddedtheword
'blackmail' totheEnglishlanguage. (Itwasalso recognizedthattheywere by
far the finest light horsemen of their day and in times of national conflict,
bothgovernmentswere quicktoconscriptBorderhorsemenintotheirarmed
forces as scouts or 'prickers'.)
Caught up in this vicious cycle of warfare, raiding and reprisal, survival
becamethemostimportantelementintheBorderer'suncertainlife. Duetothe
ever-present threat of sudden violence descending upon him and his loved
ones, the Borderer's well being lay firmly amongst his own clan or 'grayne'
and his loyalty to his surname invariably overrode any national allegiance.
Itshould also be borneinmindthatraidingwas notconfinedsolelyto forays
into the opposite realm. Cross-border alliances were not uncommon and in
1525, it was noted that 'the Armstrangs of Liddersdaill and the theiffs of
Ewysdaill were joined with the rebels ofTyndaill ... and kepet all company
togedders'. When a suitable opportunity presented itself, formidable war
bandssuchasthesewerecertainlynotaversetoplunderingamongsttheirown
countrymen.Asaconsequence,evenfamilieswhosharedthesamenationality
livedinconstantsuspicionofeachotherandfickle loyaltiesledto bitterrivalry,
whichcould suddenly escalate into open hostility and deadly feud.
Inanattempttoimposesomedegreeoflawandorderonwhathadbecome
ananarchicsociety,bothkingdomshadagreedtodividetheirBorderterritories
into East, West and Middle Marches and appointed wardens and keepers to
governandpolicethem. Betweenthewestmarchesofeachkingdom,however,
was anarrowstripofterritoryknownastheDebateableLand. Althoughboth
kingdoms hotly contested ownership ofthis small piece ofground, neither of
7
themwaspreparedtotakeresponsibilityforthecrimesoftheinhabitantsand,
as a consequence, it became the haunt ofsome ofthe most nefarious reiving
bands and cutthroats in the Bordercountry.
Amongst his many responsibilities, part of a warden's duty was to meet
with his opposite number on truce days and dispense cross-border justice
accordingly. Both governments acknowledged that the standard laws ofthe
land were quite inadequate when dealing with such a violent and unruly
populace and as a consequence the unique Border Laws, which specifically
governed behaviour across the Border Marches, supplemented those laws.
Legislation covered such criminal activities as aiding and abetting raids into
one's own country, illegal marriage to a person from the opposite realm and
the conditions that applied when engaged in the lawful pursuit of stolen
goods, known as the 'Hot Trod'.
By the beginning ofthe 16thcentury, raiding, or 'reiving', had become a
wayoflifeandagainstthis backgrounditishardlysurprisingthatwhenthese
people built their homes, the emphasis was firmly on security. Fortified
HebburnBastle,Glendale, buildingson bothsides ofthe Borderrangedfrom large,well-defendedcastles
Northumberland.Thissmall to stark, imposing tower houses, fortified manor houses and defensible
fortressisactuallyastronghouse
farmhouses known as bastles, a class of building unique in the British Isles.
fromthe15thcenturyandisa
Inaddition, manychurcheswere strengthenedagainstattackand, intimesof
goodexampleoftherather
haphazarddesignationsthat trouble, served as austere sanctuaries for their congregations.
wereappliedtomanyBorder
strongholds.Itstandsabout
2kmfromChillinghamCastle CHRONOLOGY
andlooksouttowardsthe
CheviotHills.Inthe16thcentury,
Late 11thcentury Firstmotte and baileycastles appear inthe Borders.
Hebburnwasabletohousea
garrisonof20horsemen,whose Late 13thcentury Manor house is builtatAydon.
unenviabletaskitwastothwart
1296 EdwardIofEnglandinvades the ScottishLowlands andplunges
thenightlydepredationsof
Scottishmarauders. bothnations into 300 years ofintermittentwarfare.