Town Yetholm ('town yet-ham') is a small 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 ...

in the valley of the Bowmont Water opposite

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 ...

. 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 commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

surrounded by the village shop, the Plough Hotel

Public House A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

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 CB CMG (1846–1899) who was killed in the

South African War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. 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 Romani 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

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

, 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 {{Borders-geo-stub