Eckford is a small village located between the larger towns of Kelso and

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lot ...

. The village is in close proximity to both the

River Teviot The River Teviot (; gd, Abhainn Tìbhiot), or Teviot Water, is a river of the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, and is the largest tributary of the River Tweed by catchment area. The Teviot is an important river for wildlife, especially the A ...

and its tributary the

Kale Water The Kale Water is a long tributary of the River Teviot in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Its feeder burns in the Cheviot Hills are the Long Burn, Hawkwillow Burn and the Grindstone Burn, east of Leithope Forest near the Anglo-Scottish ...

, and the A698 and the B6401 which run approximately parallel to the respective rivers. The village itself consists of around 20 houses, situated off Eckford road, the minor Well road and the historic drove road, the Loaning.

Eckford Village Hall

The village hall was built in 1930, funded primarily by local subscription and fund raising, and sits in the heart of the village, and is its last remaining public building (previously there was also a school (1963), post office and shop). The hall remains an important hub within the village and hosts events throughout the year.

Eckford Parish

The parish of Eckford consists of Caverton, Cessford and Eckford. *Caverton comprises Caverton Mill (by the Kale), Old Caverton, Caverton Hillhead, and Caverton Mains. * Cessford comprises

Cessford Castle Cessford Castle is a large ruined mid-15th century L-plan castle near the village of Cessford, midway Jedburgh and Kelso, in the historic county of Roxburghshire, now a division of the Scottish Borders. The Castle is ''caput'' of the Barony of ...

, the

Cessford Burn Cessford Burn is a small stream which eventually runs to meet the Kale Water and then joins the River Teviot, finally entering the River Tweed at Kelso, Scotland. A site at Cessford Burn has the remains of an ancient farmstead attached to C ...

, and Cessford Moor. *Eckford comprises Eckfordmoss and Mosstower. Eckford's church, which sits close to the

and around 3/4 of a mile from the village was closed for safety reasons in the late 2000s due to required repairs to the bell tower, the cost of which proved insurmountable. The graveyard surrounding the church remains in use, however, and contains a remarkable circular tower, used in the 19th century to guard newly buried bodies against the risk of body snatchers.

In History

The name Eckford is locally accepted to be a variant on Oakford, meaning simply a ford by oak trees. It has also been suggested independently, however, to mean ford by the church. It was known as Eckeforde in 1200 and Hecford in 1220. The prefix Ecc is from the Latin ecclesia meaning church. On 17 October 1557 a Scottish army led by the Earl of Huntly halted at Eckford. There the Scottish lords held a consultation, and considering the time of year, the foul weather, and English preparations against them, decided not to attack Wark as

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. Sh ...

had instructed them. The next day they crossed the border and approached Wark Castle with their artillery but then returned to Scotland.

Moss Tower

The ruins of Moss Tower remain in Eckford parish. This castle was damaged by the English commanded by

Lord Dacre Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by writ. History The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre was summoned to Parliament as Lord Dacre. He married Margaret, 2nd Baroness Multo ...

in 1523, and again in 1544, and 1570. It later belonged to the rebel earl

Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

, who used it as refuge in March 1594, and his wife

Margaret Douglas Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (8 October 1515 – 7 March 1578), was the daughter of the Scottish queen dowager Margaret Tudor and her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. In her youth she was high in the favour of her unc ...

stayed there.Annie I. Cameron, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1593-1596'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 304, 471: ''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 239.

Footnotes

External links