Town Yetholm ('town yet-ham') is a small village 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 ...
in the valley of the
Bowmont Water
Bowmont Water is a stream in the Scottish Borders and Northumberland, England.
It rises in the Cheviot Hills and flows by Mowhaugh, Town Yetholm, and Kirk Yetholm. It then crosses the Anglo-Scottish border and continues past Mindrum Mill, Min ...
opposite
Kirk Yetholm. The town colours are green and yellow.
The centre of the small village is made up of the
village green
A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...
surrounded by the village shop, the Plough Hotel
Public House
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
a few houses to the south and a row of terraced dwellings to the north, separated from the green by the Main Street. The village has many notable houses with impressive views. The Wauchope Hall is situated at the east end of the main street next to Gibsons Garage. The Wauchope family had estates in the area, and an obelisk remembers Major-General
Andrew Wauchope
Major-General Andrew Gilbert Wauchope (5 July 1846 – 11 December 1899) was a British Army officer, killed commanding a brigade at the Battle of Magersfontein in the South African War.
Life
Andrew Gilbert was the second son of Andrew Wau ...
CB CMG (1846–1899) who was killed in the
South African War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...
.
Every year, in June the village holds a festival week to celebrate the village and the people within. Two respectable young adults are chosen to represent the village during its own festival and others around the Scottish Borders. They are named from the
gypsy language, Bari Gadgi (best boy) and Bari Manushi (best girl).
Every year on a Saturday in July the village plays host to several hundred visitors from the larger town of
Kelso during the town's "Civic Week" festival. On this day the Kelsae Laddie, his left and right hand men and a cavalcade of about 200 horses ride their way to
Kirk Yetholm via Hoselaw and the Venchen Hill. After a welcome and a toast the cavalcade moves across the Bowmont Water to Town Yetholm for lunch. After lunch in the Plough Hotel for the principals, and picnics on the green for rest of the visitors, the piper plays a reel which is danced by the Laddie and his right and left hand men joined by the Bari Gadgi and Bari Manushi. The visitors leave during the afternoon.
The first Saturday in October is traditionally the Yetholm Border Shepherds' Show, held on the land between Town Yetholm and
Kirk Yetholm, with the 156th show held in 2019.
It stemmed from the old practice of farmers gathering to sort through stray sheep from neighbours' flocks.
Gallery
File:Sco-Borders-TownYetholm approach finger sign-2018.jpg, Finger sign at approach to Town and Kirk Yetholm villages (May 2018).
File:Sco-Borders-TownYetholm town sign-2018.jpg, Town Yetholm village sign (May 2018).
File:Sco-Borders-TownYetholm main street B6352-2018.jpg, Village housing on the main street (May 2018).
File:Sco-Borders-TownYetholm green-2018.jpg, Village green (May 2018).
File:Sco-Borders-TownYetholm Wauchope obelisk-2018.jpg, Wauchope obelisk, village green (May 2018).
File:Sco-Borders-TownYetholm main street B6352 past green-2018.jpg, Along the B6352 road from the village centre (May 2018).
References
External links
* Yetholm Community Council websit
Yetholm Online* Yetholm Parish Church websit
Cheviot Churches
Villages in the Scottish Borders
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