Bedrule () is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and civil parish in the historic county of

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

area of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The hamlet lies on the east side of the Rule Water, which gave the village its name, about 4 miles west of

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

. It lies south of the A698 between

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

and Jedburgh. Other local place-names based on the river include Hallrule, Abbotrule, Ruletownhead and Spittal-on-Rule. Larger settlements include

Bonchester Bridge Bonchester Bridge ( Scots ''Binster Brig'') is a village in Roxburghshire, within the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, lying on the Rule Water, six miles away from the market town of Hawick. History The name of the town is said to be Roma ...

and Denholm, as well as

and

. The Rule Water forms the western boundary of the parish, separating it from Hobkirk and Cavers. The north-west boundary is on or near the Teviot, beyond which lies Ancrum. The parish is bounded on the east and south by Jedburgh parish.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by, Francis Groome, 2nd Edition 1896,. Article on Bedrule Bedrule lies on the path of the Borders Abbeys Way, a

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

. The civil parish has a population of 185 (in 2011).Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved Feb 2016. See "Standard Outputs", Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930

Name and etymology

The name ''Bedrule'' may be of Brittonic origin. The first element may be ''bod'', meaning "a dwelling, a habitation", with the second being the river-name ''Rule''.

Bedrule Kirk

Bedrule Kirk, a

category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, is linked with Denholm and Minto churches, and it has a memorial plaque with a link to the wartime Enigma Project: First Lieutenant of HMS ''Petard'', Anthony Fasson (a native of Lanton, Scottish Borders) died while recovering Enigma code books from a sinking German submarine. There is another plaque in memory of Bishop William Turnbull who, in 1451, received permission from

King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

to add the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

to the city's cathedral. The church was remodelled externally in 1803 and internally, by Thomas Greenshields Leadbetter in 1914, at which time sections were also added to create a cruciform plan. The stained glass includes work by Douglas Strachan. It lies on the southern edge of the village. The church

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

lies a further 100m to the south-west.

Bedrule castles

Fast Castle dates from the late 12th century and no much remains of it on the west side of Rule Water. Bedrule Castle dates from the 13th century. It was the 15th century seat of Clan Turnbull. It stood on the west side of the river Rule, where the river forms a bow, enclosing the ground on almost three sides. Only a mound now remains to mark its site, just west of the village. The slightly more intact remnants of a fortified tower stand on land further to the west. This is known as Fulton Tower.

Famous Residents

* Bishop William Turnbull * Sir David James Hamilton Dickson RN

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(1780–1850) naval surgeon and botanist. Born in the manse at Bedrule the son of Rev George Dickson and spent his youth here.

References

External links

RCAHMS entry for Bedrule ParishScottish Borders council: The Borders Abbeys WayClan Turnbull website
{{authority control Villages in the Scottish Borders Parishes in Roxburghshire