Morebattle is a village 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 ...

, on the B6401, seven miles south of Kelso, Scottish Borders, beside the Kale Water, a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

River Teviot The River Teviot (; ), 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 Atlantic salmon, but ...

. The St. Cuthbert's Way

long distance footpath 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 exce ...

passes through the village. Surrounding villages include Cessford and Eckford to the west; Linton to the north; Town Yetholm and

Kirk Yetholm Kirk Yetholm ('kirk yet-ham') is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, southeast of Kelso, Scotland, Kelso and less than west of the Anglo-Scottish Border, border. The first mention is of its church in the 13th century. Its ...

to the east; and Hownam and Mowhaugh to the south.

History

The place-name comes from the Anglian ''mere-bōðl'' - "dwelling place by the lake" (Linton Loch). No evidence of any battles (the simplistic origin) exists. Morebattle parish church is noted as being in the diocese of Glasgow from approximately 1116.Morebattle
, www.cheviotchurches.org It stands on a prominence overlooking the Kale Water. The building was engulfed by fire in 1544 and rebuilt. The present structure dates mostly from the 1750s with extensions being erected in 1899 and 1903 by Hardy & Wight. The village has a "Teapot Street" which according to local legend (unlikely to be true) was named by

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 ...

, who, passing through the village one day, noticed the wives in the street carrying teapots to the nearby Kale Water to picnic, and remarked, "that must be Teapot Street." Linton Loch was a substantial loch between Morebattle and Linton, but it was drained as part of the 19th century agricultural improvements in the area.History of Morebattle
www.morebattle.bordernet.co.uk

Dialect of Morebattle

The distinctive traditional Southern Scots dialect of Morebattle was the subject of a study by Swiss

dialectologist Dialectology (from Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , '' -logia'') is the scientific study of dialects: subsets of languages. Though in the 19th century a branch of historical linguistics, dialectology is often now considered a sub-fiel ...

Rudolph Zai, published in 1942.Zai, Rudolf (1942). ''The Phonology of the Morebattle Dialect (East Roxburghshire)''. Lucerne: Räber.

Famous residents

* 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, was born in Morebattle. * Robert Davidson, poet, lived and was buried in Morebattle, where he is commemorated.

Morebattle Hillfort

On the summit Morebattle Hill, half-a-mile south of the village, is the remains of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

().Morebattle Hill 1
RCAHMS, retrieved 12 May 2014 The fort is shaped like an elongated letter D, with its main axis lying northeast to southwest. The fort measures 190 metres in length by 70 metres in greatest width within a single rampart. The remains of a small settlement can be seen at the northeast end of the fort. About 400 metres to the northeast, on a spur of the hill (), is a second smaller fort, largely levelled by cultivation.Morebattle Hill 2
RCAHMS, retrieved 12 May 2014 It originally measured 70 metres by 50 metres within double ramparts. The northeast end has been destroyed by a later quarry.

References

External links