Dryburgh is a village in the Borders region 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 ...

, within the county of

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

. It is most famous for the ruined Dryburgh Abbey. Dryburgh Abbey Hotel lies on the edge of the village. The village K6 red telephone box outside the former post office is Category B listed. The Old Corn Mill to the south-east is also Category B listed.

Dryburgh Abbey

Dryburgh Abbey was founded in the 12th century, and burned by English troops in 1322, and again in 1385. It was restored in the 15th century, before being destroyed in 1544. The ruined site is now a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

, and its grounds are listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

Orchard Gate

Orchard Gate is a 19th century, Category B listed Gothic arched gateway. It has battlemented parapet and piers with incised crosses.

Dryburgh Abbey House

Dryburgh Abbey House was built in the 18th century. The House was owned by

David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan David Stuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan, (1 June 1742 – 19 April 1829), styled Lord Cardross between 1747 and 1767, was a Scottish antiquarian, founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and patron of the arts and sciences. Backg ...

. He commissioned extensive garden and restoration works around the estate incorporating the Abbey as a partial ruin within the house grounds. This also included the erection of the nearby Temple of the Muses and the Statue of William Wallace, Bemersyde. Following a fire, the house was extensively remodelled between 1892 and 1894, under the architect Henry Francis Kerr. The current frontage is in Scottish Rennaisance style. The building is Category B listed, including its sundial, ice house,

stables A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

and doocot.

The Temple of the Muses

This circular nine columned

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

stands since 1817 on Bass Hill, a mound overlooking the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers ...

at the west end of the village. It is dedicated to the poet James Thomson, the

Ednam Ednam is a small village near Kelso in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Places nearby include Stichill, Sprouston, Nenthorn, Eccles, Gordon, Greenlaw as well as Floors Castle. The village was formerly in Roxburghshire. Its name i ...

poet and author of " The Seasons" and the lyrics of Rule Britannia, and his bust can be seen on the top of the structure. The temple originally contained a stone statue of the

Apollo Belvedere The ''Apollo Belvedere'' (also called the ''Belvedere Apollo'', ''Apollo of the Belvedere'', or ''Pythian Apollo'') is a celebrated marble sculpture from classical antiquity. The work has been dated to mid-way through the 2nd century A.D. and is ...

on a circular pedestal showing nine

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

s with

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...

s. Bronze figures of the Four Seasons by Siobhan O'Hehir were installed as a replacement in 2002.

William Wallace statue

Dryburgh was the first town to erect a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

in honour of

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

, in 1814. It is said that

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

did not like the structure. The current statue is in the grounds of Bemersyde House.

Chain bridge

Dryburgh Suspension Bridge is a pedestrian chain bridge in Dryburgh over the River Tweed. The current bridge was built in 1872 and replaces an earlier chain

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

which was the first chain bridge in Scotland when built in 1872. The bridge footpath forms part of the Borders Abbeys Way and also is an additional, optional route on St Cuthbert's Way to visit Dryburgh Abbey.

References

Sources

SCRAN image: The Dryburgh Wallace StatueRCAHMS record for Bass Hill, Dryburgh

External links

Engraving of Dryburgh in 1693
by John Slezer at National Library of Scotland Villages in the Scottish Borders {{Borders-geo-stub