Elibank Castle & The Tale o' Muckle Mooth Meg

[cessna152towser]

Four hundred years ago, while Elibank Castle was the home of Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank, his wife Margaret, and their several sons and daughters, The "Fray of Elibank" took place in 1611. To mark the four hundredth anniversary let's explore what remains of Elibank Castle in January 2011.

The castle is approached by a path which ascends through woodland from the minor road along the south bank of the River Tweed near Traquair.

First glimpse of the castle.
The Scotts of Harden were neighbours of the Murrays of Elibank and there had been a long running feud between the two families.

As we draw nearer we recall the derring do of Auld Wat Scott of Harden and Scott of Buccleuch who combined in 1596 to free Kinmont Willie Armstrong from English captivity in Carlisle Castle, the Scotts were a reiving family and were a force to be reckoned with.

Near the castle we find much rubble of outbuildings covering a wider area, in 1611 the castle would probably have been surrounded by stables and byres for livestock. One day in 1611, William Scott of Harden, eldest son of Auld Wat, who lived in Aikwood Tower, fifteen miles from Elibank allowed avarice to override common sense and set off with a raiding party for Elibank with the intention of stealing Murray's cattle.

Raiding this castle would have been no mean feat as it stands on a steep hillside on the south side of the Tweed valley.

There was a fray and Murray's men overpowered the Scotts and William Scott was imprisoned in the castle dungeon. So let's explore inside.....
More to follow shortly

[cessna152towser]

An opening in the north wall of the castle allows us into the vaulted cellar.

I wonder if this vaulted cellar was the dungeon in which William Scott of Harden was imprisoned.

Another view of the vaulted cellar. It was extremely difficult to obtain photos in here as my glasses and the camera lens kept steaming up.

Looking towards the other end, using only the natural light without the camera flash we can see that this cellar appears at one time to have been divided into two sections.

The view through a north facing arrow slot in the vaulted cellar

The south facing view through another arrow slot in the vaulted cellar. Can you imagine being imprisoned here, with this your only view of the outside world?

Coming out of the cellar and climbing to the next floor level, the hole in the foreground exposes a broken roof of a third section of the vaulted cellar which is walled off completely from the two sections we have just visited.

We are now on the first floor level, standing in what would have been the Laird's Hall. Note that above the opening leading into the adjoining room some repairs have been carried out on the wall, possibly during the nineteenth century. Perhaps it was in the Laird's Hall that Sir Gideon announced his intention to hang his prisoner. His wife Margaret persuaded him to offer William Scott the option of marrying the ugly daughter of the family, Agnes (Meg).
The option of death or marriage to Meg was put to William Scott and he chose to be hanged. He was led into the trees to meet his death...............
more to follow

[Jack Daw]

Cool pics. Are there most of the rubble stones left or have they been scavenged over the many years to build other buildings?

[cessna152towser]

A peek into the adjoining room. Although on the same level as the Laird's Hall, directly above the vaulted cellar, this room is too small to have been the Hall and there is no evidence of a grand fireplace, so it was probably a chamber. Perhaps it was Meg's chamber.
James Hogg, in his "The Fray of Elibank" describes her thus:- "Now Meg was but thin an' her nose it was lang, and her mou' it was muckle as could weel be. Her een they were grey and her colour was wan, but her nature was generous, gentle and free"

Looking upwards towards the roof. There would have been an upper level of chambers which would have been supported by a wooden floor.
Anyway at the last moment, William Scott said he would marry Meg and he was reprieved from hanging.

Such a lovely view the Murrays would have had from Elibank Castle, looking north-east diagonally across the Tweed valley.
More to follow

[cessna152towser]

The south face of Elibank Castle today.
William Scott of Harden married Agnes Murray of Elibank on 14th July 1611.
Later William Scott of Harden was knighted by King James VI.

The west gable
We must be thankful that William Scott of Harden agreed to marry Muckle Moothed Meg, for otherwise Sir Walter Scott would never have been born and we would never have known his literature. Sir Walter was a direct descendent of Scott of Harden and Murray of Elibank.

A view along the north face of Elibank Castle.

Finally, to bring the story up to the twenty-first century, a photo of Lord Polwarth, Andrew Hepburne-Scott of Harden, as he signed the Clan Cunningham guest book at the Muster of the Clans in Selkirk in Homecoming Year 2009. Andrew is directly descended from the marriage of William Scott of Harden with Muckle Moothed Meg. He also has a Cunningham pedigree from the Earls of Glencairn, but that's another story!!

[cessna152towser]

Are there most of the rubble stones left or have they been scavenged over the many years to build other buildings?

Some stone would have been scavenged, perhaps some was used for building the nearby dry stane dykes but there still seems to be quite a lot of stone rubble under the snow.

[MacMillans son]

As always, a heartfelt thank you for the photo tour. They are always such a pleasure to see and read.

[Downunder Kilt]

Again Alex, thankyou for taking us along on the tour and for the outstanding photos. Cheers mate

[thescot]

Alex, it would have taken a hardy soul to undertake the tour on the snow, steep bank and all. Once again, you have graced us with excellent photos of a place we cannot visit just now.

Maybe next year. . . .

You are a gentleman and a scholar, and I again thank you for your troubles.

BTW--is it a trick of the camera, or have you taken off a few pounds?

[KiltedDixon]

The pics and the story were great.

Thanks for taking the time and the trouble to post these.