Richie Graham of Brackenhill (1555–1606) was a prominent

Reiver Border Reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scottish and English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "England, Scotland and Europe: The ...

active in late sixteenth century Great Britain. Richie was the son of Fergus Graham of Mote in Lydysdale,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. Fergus Graham of Mote acquired Brackenhill in

Arthuret Arthuret is a civil parish in Cumbria, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,434, increasing to 2,471 at the 2011 census. The parish includes the town of Longtown and the village of Easton. It is bounded by the River Es ...

after 1561. He purchased it from Sir Thomas Dacre. He settled the property on to his third son, Richard or Richie in the 1580s. Falkland Palace - geograph

Richie Graham built Brackenhill Tower in 1584 . On 27 June 1592 he joined the forces of the rebel

Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell (c. December 1562 – November 1612), was Commendator of Kelso Abbey and Coldingham Priory, a Privy Counsellor and Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He was a notorious conspirator who led several uprisings aga ...

and surrounded and besieged

Falkland Palace Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, who took refuge there from political and religious turmoil of her times. Today it is under th ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

while

James VI James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

were in residence. Graham and his companions, including Thomas Musgrave, captain of

Bewcastle Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. It is in the historic county of Cumberland. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411, reducing to 391 at the 2011 Census. ...

, sacked the town of Falkland and stole 80 horses and clothes and money from the townspeople. After the Raid of Falkland he sheltered the Scottish rebel

James Douglas of Spott James Douglas of Spott (died 1615) was a Scottish landowner and conspirator. Career He was a son of James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, the Regent Morton. He was appointed Prior of Pluscarden in 1577 by his father, and given a lease of lead mines ...

at Brackenhill. He aided Lord Buccleuch in springing

Kinmont Willie Armstrong William Armstrong of Kinmont or Kinmont Willie was a Scottish border reiver and outlaw active in the Anglo-Scottish Border country in the last decades of the 16th century. He lived at the Tower of Sark, close to the border between Scotland and E ...

from

Carlisle Castle Carlisle Castle is a stone keep medieval fortress located in the city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1092 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is over 930 yea ...

in 1596. In June 1596, he was accused of making the queen's tenants pay rent to him, and hosting a coiner making counterfeit money in a dwelling in a mill and in a room in the tower of his own house at Brackenhill. Richie Graham died in 1606. Richie Graham can be confused with a contemporary Scottish Richie Graham, who was involved in the

North Berwick Witch Trials The North Berwick witch trials were the trials in 1590 of a number of people from East Lothian, Scotland, accused of witchcraft in the St Andrew's Auld Kirk in North Berwick on Halloween night. They ran for two years, and implicated over 70 peopl ...

.''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 505.

References

1555 births 1606 deaths Border Reivers 16th-century English criminals People of Falkland Palace {{England-bio-stub