JEDBURGH, a parish and market-town and burgh, in the district of Jedburgh, county of Roxburgh, of
which it is the capital, II miles (S. VV. by S.) from Kelso, and 49 (S. E. by S.) from the city of Edinburgh;
containing, with the villages of Bongate,Bonjedward,Lanton, and Ulston, 5116 inhabitants,
of whom 2697 are in the town. This place derives
its name, originally Jedworth or Jedivood, from its situation
on the river Jed, which rises on the north side of
the Carlin Tooth, in the Cheviot range, and after flowing
with considerable rapidity through nearly the whole
length of the parish, and receiving in its course numerous
tributary streams that descend from the higher
lands into the vale of the Jed, falls into the river Teviot
about two miles and a half to the north of Jedburgh.
From the name of the river, in ancient records frequently
called Ged or Gad, the place is thought to have
been the principal seat of the Gadeni, who occupied the
district lying between the county of Northumberland
and the river Teviot. The ancient town, now called
Old Jedworth in contradistinction to the present burgh,
from which it is about four miles distant, appears to
have originated in the foundation of a chapel by Ecgred,
Bishop of Lindisfarn, who died in 845; and there are
still some slight remains of the walls of the building,
and of the tombstones in the cemetery, though scarcely
above the level of the ground, and perfectly hidden by
the grass by which they are overspread.
The present town owes its origin to the foundation
of the magnificent abbey of Jedburgh. This establishment
is, by some historians, said to have been founded
in Ills, and by others in 1147; but from the great
antiquity of some parts of the structure, and also from
old documents in which St. Kennock is mentioned as
abbot in the year 1000, it is supposed to have existed
prior to the time of David I., by whom it was probably
rebuilt or enlarged. From the situation of Jedburgh as
a border town, it vias exposed to continual depredations,
and was frequently plundered and reduced to ashes. It
suffered materially during the invasion of Scotland by
Edward I., and subsequently by the incursions of hostile
clans; the abbey was burnt and pillaged by the Earl of
Surrey in 1523, and by the Earl of Hertford in 1545.
In 1566, Mary, Queen of Scots, attended by an armed
retinue, held a court of justice at this place, for the suppression
of the turbulence of the borderers; and, being
seized with a dangerous illness during her continuance
here, resided in "the house of the Lord Compositor"
till her recovery, when she returned along the eastern
borders to Dunbar. In 1575, a severe affray, called the
" Raid of the Reed Swire ", happened here: it was the
last of those hostile feuds which so frequently took
place between the borderers of Scotland and England;
and since its occurrence the only event deserving of
historical notice, has been the temporary alarm created
by the arrival of the Pretender and his Highland troops in 17-15.
From its exposed situation, the town was strongly
defended by castles, and numerous other fortifications;
and the forest in its immediate vicinity was the rendezvous
of armies. The Castle of Jedburgh was of great
antiquity, though the precise time of its erection, and
the name of its original founder, are unknown; it was
a place of much strength, and the favourite seat of
Malcolm IV., who died here in 1165. This castle was
the frequent residence, likewise, of many others of the
kings, among whom were William the Lion, Alexander
II., and also Alexander III., whose son, Alexander, was
born here in 1263, and who, after the death of his
children, celebrated in the castle with unusual pomp his
marriage with Jolande, daughter of the Count of Dreux.
During the wars between the two kingdoms, it was often
an object of contest: after the battle of Durham, it was
taken by the English, who kept possession of the castle
till 1409, when it was retaken by the Scots, by whom it
was afterwards demolished. The Castle of Feniihirst,
situated on the eastern bank of the river Jed, about two
miles from Jedburgh, is supposed to have been founded
by the ancestors of the Marquess of Lothian. It was
taken in 1523, by the Earl of Surrey, and remained in
the hands of the English till 1547, when, after an obstinate
siege, it was retaken by the Scots, assisted by a
party of French at that time stationed at Jedburgh. In
1569, the Earl of Westmorland, who had entered into a
rebellion against Elizabeth, in favour of Mary, after the
dispersion of his troops took refuge in the castle, where
he remained in concealment till he finally effected his
escape into the Netherlands. In the year following, the
castle, in consequence of its owner having joined with
others of the border chiefs, in an irruption into the
English pale, was taken and demolished by the Earl of
Sussex and Sir John Foster; but it was rebuilt in 1598,
and part of it still remains entire. After the destruction
of Jedburgh Castle, the town was defended by six towers,
none of which, however, are remaining; and numerous
other fortifications were scattered through the parish, of
which the tower at Lanton, and the ruins of another at
Timpandean, are still left.
The TOWN is pleasingly situated in the picturesque
and fertile valley of the river Jed, over which, within
the parish, are nine bridges. Of these, one at the foot
of the Canongate, handsomely built of stone, and having
three ribbed circular arches, is of great antiquity, supposed
to be coeval with the abbey, and had formerly a
gateway over the centre, long since removed. The bridge
near Bongate is of modern erection; near it is a large
stone, sculptured with representations of various animals,
and inscribed with nearly obliterated characters, and
which is supposed to have been the pedestal of the
ancient cross of Bongate. The house in which Queen
Mary resided during her illness is still entire; it is a
spacious building with walls of great thickness, and some
of the ancient tapestry is yet preserved: the house is at
present the property of the Lindsay family, by whom it
was purchased from the Scotts of Ancrura. The streets
are spacious and ren;ularly formed, the houses in general
well built; and in the immediate neighbourhood of the
town are many handsome villas. There are three public
libraries, one of which, called the Company's Library,
contains a very extensive collection; also a circulating
library and a reading-room, and two public readingrooms.
The principal trade is the manufacture of
blankets, flannels, tartans, shawls, plaidings, hosiery,
woollen-yarn, and carpets, affording constant employment
to nearly 400 persons. There are also foundries
for brass and iron, and a manufactory for printingpresses,
in which latter about twenty persons are engaged.
Jedburgh has two branch banks, one a branch
of the Linen Company, and the other of the National
Bank; likewise a savings' bank for the district of Jedburgh,
including the parishes of Jedburgh, Ancrum,
Bedrule, Southdean, Hobkirk, Minto, Oxnara, and Crailing,
established by Mr. Rutherford of Edgerston, in 1815,
and the expenses of which are defrayed from a fund
raised by subscription. The market is held weekly on
Tuesday, for grain, which is sold by sample to a very
considerable amount, and for other business. There is
a market for cattle and sheep on the second Thursday of
each month, from December until May, both inclusive.
A market for the hiring of hinds is holden on the first
Tuesday of March, and one for hiring servants on the
Tuesday on or before the I6th of May. Whitsuntide
fair, for cattle and horses, is held on the first Tuesday
after the '26th of May; Lady-day fair, for cattle and
horses, and for hiring shearers, on the Tuesday on or
before the 20th of August; Rood- day fair, for cattle and
horses, on the 25th of September, excepting when the
25th falls on the Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, in
which case it is held on the Tuesday; and Rite or Martinmas
fair, for cattle and hnrses, and for hiring servants,
on the Tuesday before the 22nd of November. There
are also large fairs for sheep, at Rink, in the parish,
seven miles from the town, on July 12th and October
15th, which are numerously attended by farmers, and
dealers in wool, both of Scotland and England. In 1846
an act was passed authorizing the construction of a
branch railway from Roxburgh to the town of Jedburgh,
in connexion with the Kelso branch (sanctioned by parliament
the same year) of the Edinburgh and Hawick railway.
The various charters by which the buugh was originally
incorporated were all destroyed during the wars
with England, in the course of which the town was frequently
burned; but they were renewed and confirmed
by Queen Mary, in 1556, when the magistrates were
invested with the power of apprehending, and passing
sentence upon, criminals guilty of capital offences. By
another charter, James VL, in 1569, granted to the
corporation all the revenues of the abbey of Jedburgh
arising within the parish, for the purpose of erecting
hospitals for the support of the poor and infirm, and for
other pious uses. 'This gift was ratified by parliament
in 1597; and a further charter was bestowed by Charles
IL, in 1641. By these charters, the government of the
burgh is vested in a provost, four bailies, a dean of guild,
and a number of councillors: the incorporated trades consist
of the smiths, weavers, shoemakers, masons, tailors,
Wrights, butchers, and glovers. The revenues abovc-
mentioned are not now held by the magistrates. Under
the act for amending the representation, the burgh unites
with Haddington, North Berwick, Lauder, and Dunbar,
in returning one member to parliament. The original
boundary has been changed by the inclusion of a considerable
suburb on the south side of the river, and the
exclusion of a few acres of uninhabited land: the number
of houses of the value of £10 and upwards is 208,
and of those above £5 and below £10, sixty-eight. In
addition to their control within the burgh, the magistrates
exercise jurisdiction over the great fair of St.
James, near Kelso, where they preside at a court to take
cognizance of offences during the fair. A bailie-court,
and a court of the dean of guild, are held in Jedburgh;
but since the small-debt sherilTs court, and that of the
justices of peace, have been established, the burgh courts
have greatly declined. The chief officer under the corporation
is the town-clerk, who holds his office for life.
The county-hall is a neat building of stone, containing
the necessary apartments for transacting the public business
of the county and the burgh. What is called the
Castle, comprising the gaol and bridewell, is a handsome
edifice, well arranged for classification, and containing
day-rooms, airing-yards, and every requisite for
the health, cleanliness, and comfort of the prisoners.
The PARISH, which is divided into two detached portions
by the intervening parishes of Oxnam and Southdean,
is bounded on the north by the parish of Ancrum,
on the west by the parishes of Bedrule and Southdean,
on the east by Oxnam, Crailing, and Eckford, and on
the south by the county of Northumberland. The lower
portion, in which the burgh is situated, is about seven
miles in length and five in breadth, and the upper portion
five miles in length and four in breadth, including
together an area of about thirty-eight square miles. The
eastern part of the lower portion is intersected by the
riverOxnam,and the northern part bounded bytheTeviot.
The surface is pleasingly diversified with hills and valleys:
the high grounds on the sides of the vale of Jed
are penetrated by deep ravines, and in some places gradually
attain an elevation of 300 feet above the level of
the river. In the upper part of the parish are several
green hills of conical form, two of which, rising to the
height of 1021 feet, are apparently lessened from their
proximity to Carter Fell, one of the Cheviot hills, which
has an elevation of more than 2000 feet. The Dunian,
the highest hill in the parish, but the summit of which
is in the parish of Bedrule, attains an elevation of 1 120
feet above the level of the sea. Some remains of the
ancient forest of Jed, consisting of a few clusters of
birch-trees, still exist near Fernihirst; and considerable
plantations, which have now attained a luxuriant growth,
add much to the beauty of the scenery. Two oaks, also,
of the ancient forest are yet left, near the town: one,
rising to the height of ninety-nine feet, measures fourteen
feet in girth; and the other, which has less height,
but branches out more widely, is twenty-one feet in girth
at three feet from the ground. Forest-trees of every
kind grow well in the lower lands; in the higher, Scotch
fir and larch are the prevalent trees. From the old
stocks in the forest, which was cut down in the last century,
many new trees have arisen; and the whole district
abounds in timber.
The SOIL is peculiarly favourable for the growth of
fruit-trees; and pears in great variety, and of the finest
quality, are produced in abundance. The land, especially
in the lower districts, is fertile, and of good
quality, and the system of agriculture is much improved;
considerable tracts of waste have been reclaimed
within the last thirty years, and at present the
number of acres under tillage is 14,281, in pasture 6930,
and in wood 2483. The prevailing plan of husbandry
is the five-shift, consisting of two white and three green
crops. The fences and inclosures are kept in excellent
order, and the farm-buildings are commodious and in
good repair. Many improvements have been made in
draining and planting, and in the breed of stock, under
an association called the Farmers' Club; and the Ro.kburgh
Horticultural Society hold monthly meetings in
the town from the beginning of April to the end of
September, for the distribution of prizes to the most
successful growers of flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
Limestone of excellent quality abounds in the southern
parts of the parish; and near the town are several
strata ranged above each other, one of which is nine
inches in thickness. Coal exists, and there are appearances
of its having been formerly worked; but some
recent attempts to procure it have been discontinued.
There are quarries of sandstone of a white, and of a
reddish colour. Iron-ore is found in a bed three feet in
thickness, occurring between the primary and secondary
formations, which near the town are seen in combination;
the strata of the former are vertical and in many
places irregular, and of the latter horizontal, alternating
with red freestone and soft sandstone of the same colour.
Several of the hills are of whinstone, resting on sandstone.
In this parish the chief seats are Edgerston,
Mossburnford, Langlee, Lintalee, Hundalee, Glenburn
Hall, Hunthill, Stewartfield, and Bonjedward. The annual
value of real property in the parish of Jedburgh is £22,370.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Jedburgh, of which this is
the seat, and of the synod of Merse and Teviotdale;
patron, the Crown. The stipend of the incumbent averages
about £300, with a manse, built in 1S06; and the
glebe comprises seven acres of arable land worth £5 per
acre, and pasture land that lets for £13. 13. The church
is part of the ancient abbey, of which the western portion
of the nave has been fitted up for public worship, and
affords accommodation to 910 persons. Of that stately
and magnificent structure, situated on the sloping bank
of the river Jed, near the southern extremitj' of the
town, the only remains are the nave, the north transept,
and the choir of the church, a cruciform building
230 feet in length, with a massive central tower rising
to the height of 100 feet, and surmounted by a projecting
battlement crowned with turrets and pinnacles.
The western entrance is strikingly beautiful, consisting
of a lofty Norman doorway of deeply-recessed arches,
springing from slender clustered columns, richly moulded
and elaborately ornamented. Above the doorway is a
spacious window of three compartments, of which the
central arch is circular, and the others finely pointed;
and in the gable is a round window of very elegant
design. The nave, 130 feet in length, is separated on
each side from the aisles by a series of lofty arches supported
on clustered columns with sculptured capitals:
the triforium consists of semicircular arches richly
moulded, circumscribing two pointed windows of elegant
tracery; and the clerestory, of a range of pointed windows
of graceful proportions. The choir, which is greatly
dilapidated, is of more ancient character. Its roof is
supported on massive pillars, from which spring broad
circular arches of the earlier Norman style, ornamented
with zigzag mouldings; the triforium is of similar
character, surmounted by a range of sharply-pointed
clerestory windows of later date. The north transept,
which is still entire, is embellished with windows of
elegant design, highly enriched with tracery; and the
principal window is of lofty dimensions and of great
beauty. The south transept, the cloisters, the chapterhouse,
and other conventual buildings, have all disappeared;
but a doorway, forming the south entrance to
the church from the cloisters, is still remaining, an almost
unrivalled specimen of architectural beauty and elaborate
decoration. On the south side of the choir is a chapel,
formerly used as a grammar school. There are three
neat places of worship in connexion with the United
Presbyterian Church, a place of worship for members of
the Free Church, and a particularly beautiful Episcopal chapel.
The United Schools of Jedburgh, consisting of the
grammar-school and the burgh English school, united
in 1S04, contain about 150 children, and are under the
superintendence of the heritors and the magistrates of
the burgh, by whom the rector is appointed. The rector
receives from the burgh £21. 6. 8., and £12 for the
English school, for which he is bound to keep an assistant;
also £8. 6. 8. from the heritors, making a total
salary of £41. 13. 4. The school fees amount on the
average to £120, and the offerings at Candlemas to nearly
£30; the rector has also a commodious house and garden.
Two parochial schools, at Lanton and Rink, are well
attended; the masters are allowed by the heritors
£11. 2. each. There is also an infants' school endowed
by the Marquess of Lothian. The town has two religious
societies, one for the diffusion of education, and the
other for imparting religious knowledge; they are supported
by subscriptions, amounting on an average to
£15. A dispensary was founded in 1807, chiefly by
donations from the Kerr family, and is maintained by
annual subscriptions: a commodious house, with baths
and other requisites, was erected in 1822, by the then
Marquess of Lothian. The number of patients, who are
received from the parishes of Jedburgh, Ancrum, Bedrule,
Southdean, Hobkirk, Minto, Oxnam, and Craihng,
amounts annually to about 220. A sum of money arising
from accumulated legacies, chiefly by Lady Yester,
a daughter of Ker of Fernihirst, produces an interest of
£23, appropriated to the education of poor children, and
to the relief of the poor, for whose benefit also about
£40 are annually collected at the church. The poor are
chiefly maintained by assessments.
A Roman road, crossing the Jed and the Teviot about
half a mile above their junction, intersects the northern
part of the parish within two miles of the town; it is
paved with whinstone, and in a state of good preservation.
There are also vestiges of an ancient road leading
over the high ground from Ancrum bridge to the
town. Near Mouklaw are the remains of a Roman
camp about 160 yards square; and there are traces of
camps at Ilowdean, Swinnie, Scraesburgh, Camptown,
and Fernihirst, but nearly obliterated by the progress of
cutivation. At Lintalee are the remains of an encampment
formed by Douglas for the defence of the frontier,
during the absence of Bruce in Ireland, and celebrated
for a memorable engagement in which the Earl of Richmond,
who had invaded Scotland at the head of 10,000
men, fell in a personal combat with Douglas: the double
rampart by which it was defended is still remaining.
In the face of the precipice belovv the camp, and now
inaccessible, is a cavern dug in the rocky bank of the
river Jed; and at Hundalee and Mossburnford are
similar caverns, excavated in the rock as places of refuge,
and for the concealment of property during the
frequent irruptions of the English borderers. In the
year 1827, many ancient coins of silver, chiefly of the
reign of Ethelred, and one of the reign of Canute, were
found in a field near Bongate, with a ring formed of
silver wire; some of the coins are at present in the possession
of Mr. Bainbridge, of Gattonside, but most of
them are widely dispersed. A number of coins of the reigns
of Edred, Edwy, Ethelred, Edward I. and III., and of
Henry I. and II., have been also found, near the abbey
bridge; and some Roman coins are said to have been
discovered at Stevvartfield. A horn was discovered near
Swinnie within the last few years, containing silver coins
of the reign of James V.; and in the year 1834, about
400 silver coins of the reigns of Henry VIII., James V.,
Robert III., and Mary, Queen of Scots, were ploughed
up near the farm-house of that place. A silver coin,
or medal, commemorating the marriage of Mary, with
the Dauphin of France, wa.s not long since found at
Larkhall. On one side are combined the letters F. and
M., surmounted by a crown, with the inscription Fecit
utraque unum 15.58; on the other are the arms of Scotland
impaled with those of the Dauphin, and the inscription
Fran, et Ma. D. G. R. R. Scotor. D. D. Fieri.
Arrow-heads of flint are occasionally dug up on Howdean
moor, which is reported to have been the scene of
a battle; and a camp-kettle, which was presented to the
late Sir Walter Scott by Mr. Rutherford, was found at Edgerston.
In 1815, a sarcophagus of stone, formed of unhewn
slabs, four feet six inches in length, and two feet si.x
inches in breadth, containing a large urn and three of
smaller size, one of which was full of pure water, was
found in a garden on the west side of the High-street.
The large urn, near which were parts of skulls, was of
very elegant form; two of the smaller urns crumbled
into dust on being touched. In the same garden, which
is in some records called the Temple Garden, were discovered
the foundations of ancient buildings, at a depth
of six feet below the surface. A trophy taken from the
English at the battle of Bannockburu, and another from
the Highlanders at Killiecrankie, are in the possession
of the corporate body of weavers; and another, taken
from the English at the battle of Newburn, in that of
the shoemakers. The inhabitants of Jedburgh, and of
the forest, constantly accustomed to warfare, were a
brave and hardy race; and their valour is recorded by
the Earl of Surrey, in his despatches to Henry VIII.
respecting the storming of Jedburgh. Their favourite
weapon was the Jedworth axe, and their war-cry, " Jedworth's
here ". At Tudhope, about half a mile from the
town, is a spring strongly impregnated with sulphur and
iron, and found very ellicacious in scorbutic disorders:
there are chalybeate springs in several parts of the parish,
and at Giiliestongues is a petrifying spring.
Among the eminent persons of this place were numerous
abbots of Jedburgh, successors to St. Kennock,
who held various high offices of trust and importance
under the kings of Scotland, and were greatly distinguished
by their learning and talents. Adam Bell, a
brother of the Carmelite convent, who died here, was
the author of a history of Scotland from the earliest
period to the year 1535, entitled Rota Temporutn. John
Rutherford, principal of St. Salvator's college, St. Andrew's,
and author of a work on the Art of Reasoning,
was a native of the town. Samuel Rutherford, principal
of St. Mary's college, St. Andrew's, and author of
the Letters, who was born in an adjoining parish, received
his early education in the grammar school of Jedburgh;
as did also the poet Thomson; and among distinguished
natives may be named Andrew Young, regent
of philosophy in the university of Edinburgh, and Sir
David Brewster.