BEDRULE, a parish, in the district of Jedburgh,
county of Roxburgh, 3 miles (S. W.) from Jedburgh;
containing, with the villages of Bedrule, Newtown, and
Rewcastle, 256 inhabitants, of whom 1 1 1 are in the
village of Bedrule. This place derives its name from its
situation on the small but rapid and impetuous river
Rule, whose waters, impeded in their progress by fragments
of loosened rock, pursue their course with tumultuous
noise. It lays claim to considerable antiquity, and
formed part of the possessions of the Turnbull family,
one of whose descendants was keeper of the privy seal
in 1441, an<l subsequently Bishop of Glasgow: he procured
a bull from Pope Nicholas V. for erecting a college
for literature within the city of Glasgow, in 1452 or
1453. The parish, which is nearly in the centre of the
county, is of eUiptic form, and comprises about 1600
acres of arable land, an equal quantity in pasture, about
forty acres of woodland and plantations, and a considerable
portion of waste. The surface is diversified
with hills and dales: of the former, the hill of Dunian,
in the south-east, is the highest, rising in a circular
form to an elevation of 1031 feet above the sea j it is
flat on the summit, and forms a conspicuous mark for
mariners. The scenery is generally picturesque, and in
some parts enriched with stately wood. The chief rivers
are, the Rule, which winds between wooded banks displaying
much beauty; and the Teviot, which skirts the
parish for a considerable distance, and receives the waters
of the Rule at no great distance from the village.
The soil is extremely various, though generally fertile:
near the rivers it is a rich sandy loam, resting on a bed
of gravel, and in some parts intermixed with clay; in
other places, of a thinner and less productive quality,
on a subsoil of retentive clay. The principal crops are
oats, barley, wheat, potatoes, and turnips; the system
of agriculture is improved, and lime and bone-dust are
unsparingly used for the benefit of the land. Great
attention is paid to the rearing of live stock, for which
the pastures are well adapted: the sheep are of the
Cheviot breed, with a few scores of the Leicestershire,
and a few Merinos; the cattle, of which only a moderate
number are fed for the butcher, are all of the shorthorned
breed. The annual value of real property in
the parish is £'2/47. The woods consist chiefly of
birch, alder, common and mountain ash, hazel, cherry,
and oak; and the plantations, of firs of all kinds, which
thrive well. In general the substrata are greywacke,
of which the hills mainly consist, and sandstone of a
reddish hue; the sandstone is of excellent quality, and
is extensively quarried for building and for ornamental
uses. There are some indications of coal, but no adequate
attempts have been made to obtain it: limestone
is also found, at Bedrule hill, and a quarry was formerly
open there, but the working of it has been discontinued.
Knowsouth House, in the parish, is a very elegant
mansion in the Elizabethan style of architecture, situated
in a highly picturesque and richly-wooded demesne, laid
out with great taste.
For ecclesiastical purposes the parish is in the presbytery
of Jedburgh, sj'nod of Merse and Teviotdale:
the minister's stipend is £150, with a manse and globe;
patrons, the Hume family. The church, erected about
1S05, is a substantial edifice, situated on the summit of
a steep bank, and adapted for 140 persons. The parochial
school is well attended; the master's salary is £'26,
with from £15 to £20 fees, and a house and garden.
There are some slight remains of the castle of Bedrule,
the baronial seat of the Turnbulls, consisting chiefly of
the foundations of the ancient buildings, on the right
bank of the Rule; and on the opposite side of the
river are vestiges of out-works formerly connected with
that stronghold: the site commands an extensive prospect.
Remains also exist of an old fort at Fulton, one
of the numerous strongholds erected during the times
of border warfare. On the farm of Newton, near the
road from Jedburgh to Hawick, is the site of an encampment,
surrounded on all sides but one by a fosse
of running water; it is situated on a sloping piece of
ground in Newton moor, and is about 600 feet in cir-
cumference: the work is supposed to have been an outstation
connected with a Roman camp at Stirk-rigg,
about a mile distant, but of which every trace has been
obliterated by the plough. Not far from this station
is a well called Our Lady's Well, which runs into a
neighbouring pond, said to have been constructedby
the monks of Jedburgh for a fish-pond.