Special Areas

Two areas of the Borders were special in that they were so lawless that special measures had to be taken over them. The first is a strip of land barely 4 miles wide and 12 long running roughly along the line dividing the Scottish and English West Marches. This was the Debateable Land. Called 'Debateable' because of the dispute in its ownership between the two countries. This was due to the fact that the area had originally been part of Scotland, until wrested from her by force by William Rufus (William II, son of the Conqueror). It became a source of annoyance and irritation to both countries, due to the activities of those living there. Neither country would take responsibilty for those living there and so it became, in effect, a lawless area.

Such an inviting area soon became a magnet for the worst elements and riff-raff of the Border, mainly Grahams, Littles, Bells and elements of the Armstrongs, and so great was the amount of trouble its inhabitants caused that the Wardens of the West Marches eventually issued a decree which said that anyone could steal the goods, including livestock, of anyone living there or even kill any of the inhabitants with impunity. There would be no law to protect the lawless elements who chose to live there. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Even a general devastation of the area in 1551, by the Scottish Warden Lord Maxwell, failed to deter the hard men (and women) who chose to live there. Eventually, in 1552, both countries called for arbitration and the French Ambassador was brought in to decide where the line of the Border should be placed. Although he gave the lion's share of it to Scotland (which is hardly surprising given that the Scots and French were allies against the English) the English did not demur - possibly since administration of the worst part of the area would now land on the Scots. If they wanted the land they could have all the responsibilities that went with it. To mark the Border a ditch was dug, with the spoil being used to form a bank. This still exists, and to this day is called the Scots Dyke and still marks the line of the Border.

The second area was a valley which rivalled the Deabateable Land for the debateable and decidedly dubious nature of those who lived there. Liddesdale was originally part of the Scottish Middle March, but such was its lawlesness that it became a separate administrative area. A sub-Warden, known as the Keeper of Liddesdale, was appointed. The onerous task facing him can be estimated from the fact that when William Kerr of Cessford became Warden of the Middle March and Keeper his salary as Warden was £Scots100 (about £20 sterling) and as Keeper was £Scots500. The valley was the base of operations for the Armstrongs, together with the other major family with whom they shared it, the Elliots and the other smaller families associated with them the Nixons and the Crosers. The valley was ideally suited to raiding in the English West and Middle Marches, or the Scots equivalent as well since reivers were never fussy as to which side they stole from.

A castle, called Hermitage, had been built here in the 13th century to block the advance of anyone attempting to enter Scotland by force of arms through the back door, as it were. It was extensively re-built in the late 1300s and was fought over by both Scots and English so that additional fortifications were continuously built around the core until it reached its final form in 1540. The Douglases and the Bothwells are among the families who were its tenants, and it eventually became the headquarters of the Keeper of Liddesdale.

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