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Lang Sandy Armstrong of Rowanburn was a 16th century leader with a large family who were all hanged by the English warden at Carlisle castle

To get the title of ‘The Worst Reiver Ever’ you must have been really bad, the worst of the worst.  Lang Sandy Armstrong of Rowanburn is known as ‘The Worst Reiver Ever’.  He gained this nickname mostly because of his height he was well over six foot tall which was a giant 400 years ago.  He also was one of the most successful and daring freebooters of his clan – Clan Armstrong.

Clan Armstrong were the most dangerous and feared riding clan on the whole Scottish Borders.  They could put 3,000 men into the saddle and are reputed to have done more damage by foray than any other border clan. Clan Armstrong were now broken and without a leader.  Their last chief, Alexander Armstrong of Mangerton, died about 1610.

Alexander Armstrong was known as ’Lang (Long) Sandy’.  He and  his family lived in a tower house in the nearby fields at Cleughfoot.  It was generally known by the name of “Lang Sandy’s Keep,” and was situated on the side of the Tarras, about ten miles from Langholm.

The village of Rowenburn and Cleughfoot in the borders was part of the notorious Debateable Land, one of the most dangerous places in Europe.

Sir John Carmichael  (1542-1600) was described by the Bishop of Durham as “the most expert borderer.”  Known as an honest official.  But to the reiver he was a thorn in their side, he was made Warden of the Scottish West March in 1598.  It was his job to police the area – to bring law especially to the Armstrong Clan.  In 1600 Carmichael tried meeting with The Armstrong Clan sent one of Kinmont Willie Armstrong’s brothers. Alexander Armstrong was known as Sandeis Ringan. Some of Carmichael’s men set about humiliating Ringan.  At some point in proceedings for a jest Ringan’s sword was removed from its scabbard and egg yolks put in.  The sword was returned and became stuck. Not surprisingly Sandeis Ringane was furious and swore vengeance.  The meeting did not finish on a positive note. In June that same year Carmichael was ambushed by a party of Armstrongs including Thomas Armstrong and his father along with a Taylor, a Forrester, a Scott and a Graham at Raesknowes, on the way to Lochmaben.  Richard Lowther commented that it was the third warden that had been killed in Scotland.

The Armstrongs then proceeded to raid Stanwix, just across the river and up the hill from Carlisle Castle.  As the bishop preached his sermon – the Armstrongs were helping themselves to the available horses.  They then moved on to Linstock for some cattle.  In 1601 Thomas Armstrong, son to Sandies Ringane, was tried for his part in the murder, had his right hand cut off and was then hanged at the Mercat Cross at Edinburgh. His body was left to hang in chains.  In 1606 Lang Sandy Armstrong of Rowanburn.

evaded capture for his part in Carmichael’s murder until 1606.  He was hung together with all eleven of his sons and Willie Kang was indicted.  Lang Sandy agreed that he’d taken part in the murder but added that he felt forced to the act of violence.

“To the men that hangit the theves in Canonbie, be the king’s command, 13 shillings.

The following verses are said to have been composed by one of the Armstrongs, probably Thomas,  executed for the murder of Sir John Carmichael, of Edrom, Warden of the Middle Marches.

ARMSTRONG’S GOODNIGHT

This night is my departing night,

For here nae langer must I stay;

There’s neither friend nor foe o’ mine,

But wishes me away.

What I have done thro’ lack of wit,

I never, never can recall;

I hope ye’re a’ my friends as yet;

Goodnight, and joy be with you all! 

In 1603, Scotland’s King, James VI, travelled south to be crowned King James I of England, and that coronation was the beginning of the end of reiving as it had been known. What had once been to some extent tolerated on James V’s southern boundaries of his Scottish kingdom was no longer acceptable during the reign of James I of England, with the Anglo-Scottish Border an important hub in his new kingdom.

In the purported ‘pacification’ of the Anglo-Scottish Borders, Reivers were rounded up so that James could return this particular part of his kingdom to a state of peace. Armstrongs, Elliots, Grahams, Little’s and many other border families were either eradicated in a variety of disposal procedures of the time, shipped to Northern Ireland, or sent to fight in Europe.

A life sized red sandstone figurine of Lang Sandy can be seen during your tour in the village of Rowanburn.  The original wooden statue stands guard at the entrance of the Armstrong Museum in Langholm.

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Gilnockie Tower

Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie was once one of the most popular, powerful, and feared clan chiefs in the Scottish borders. However, after his execution in 1530 by order of James V, Clan Armstrong have been without a chief for over 450 years.

The Border Reivers were a band of raiders along the Scottish-English border from the late 1400s to the beginning of the 1600s, with their heyday arguably during the last 100 years of their existence. They consisted of families from both sides of the border, and one of the most significant and powerful of these border clans was the Armstrongs.

The Armstrongs had a rather uneasy relationship with the Scottish monarchy for a long time, and one of the most notable incidents between the two was the execution of Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie along with a number of his men.

Johnnie Armstrong was a popular character who had a lot of followers, and he was also a wealthy man, having amassed great wealth. There has been a lot of speculation as to how Armstrong gained such a fortune in which he was able to maintain his high style of living. It is said that after disappearing for a number of years he reappeared with immense wealth, which allowed him to pay his brother a commission to build Langholm Castle.

It is generally considered that a lot of his fortune came from reiving throughout the lands just south of the border, into England, though there is not a single complaint of reiving recorded. It has also been suggested that Armstrong’s wealth came from piracy.

Langholm Castle today

Some say that Johnnie Armstrong specialised in black mail or black rent, and that there was no town of prominence between his home Gilnockie Tower and Newcastle, that did not pay protection money to him. This protection racket Johnnie had was there to act for security for each town so they would not be attacked by the Border Reivers.

Armstrong’s power and influence was considered an embarrassment to the Scottish monarchy, and this enraged the 17 year old King James V. The Scottish king had already been under some pressure to put an end to the raids that were encroaching south-of-the-border by his English counterpart Henry VIII because they were threatening the peace between the two countries.

Mosspaul – in the narrow defile on the A7 Johnnie and his followers were ambushed on their way to join the King

James V decided that he would hold talks with Johnnie Armstrong, sending a letter to Armstrong inviting him to meet up with the royal hunting party at Carlinrigg Chapel. Johnnie  rode north from Gilnockie Tower with his men to Carlinrigg dressed in their fine clothes which was to show their wealth and status, and hoping that they would be well recieved by the king, they were all unarmed. But they were greeted by an ambushed of the king’s accompanying army, which was said to have been 10,000 men strong, and the demonstration of wealth did nothing but infuriate the short tempered and education deprived young James V especially since he was said to not have been dressed as well.

It became clear to Johnnie Armstrong that the king had no intention of holding talks, and knowing that his life was in danger he attempted to bribe the king, and even make reassurances that he never killed a fellow Scotsman. But these promises of wealth did nothing for the king and he ordered the execution of Armstrong and all of his men.

In a final act of defiance it is claimed that Armstrong said directly to James these words,

“I am but a fool to seek grace at a graceless face, but had I known you would have taken me this day, I would have lived in the Borders despite King Harry (Henry VIII) and you both.”

Johnnie Armstrong and his men (figures range between 24, 36, and 50+) were all taken out and hanged from the trees, and then buried in a mass, unmarked grave.  It is believed that Armstrong only attended such a meeting with the King because he had given unequivocal assurance that he would be safe.  In the king’s official statement he said the reason for the hanging was because Johnnie Armstrong attended their meeting better dressed than himself which was a public display of disrespect for his King.

History states that one of Johnnie Armstrong’s sons managed to escape the scene and fled to England where he settled under a different name. It was not uncommon for some of the border reivers to flee and change there names by either adopting something completely different such as Blackburn or Walker, but they have even been known to have simply just spelt their name backwards to avoid detection. So a blood line of the last Chief of the Armstrong‘s exists.

Even though over the years a lot of the border families fought amongst each other, even to the point of death, whenever one of them was attacked by an outsider they would stand shoulder to shoulder, united. The death of the popular Johnnie Armstrong by James V caused great indignation throughout the border clans. The King’s actions were considered underhand and unjust, especially since Armstrong and his men were unarmed, and the King’s popularity along the borders hit a low.

The mass grave of Johnnie Armstrongs and his followers was discovered

A memorial stone to Johnnie Armstrong

The grave of Johnnie Armstrong and his men remained undiscovered until around 30 years ago when a farmer working the field opposite Carlinrigg Chapel overturned a large stone. The stone was rectangular in shape and had unusal markings. The farmer contacted the Armstrong Association who were excited at the thought that he may have found discovered the final resting place of the infamous Johnnie Armstrong.

A group of dowsers were brought in and positioned at different points of the field. They all set off, each of them finally came to a hot point at the same place -where the stone sat. Archaeologist arrived to survey the area and a mass grave was found at the point of the stone, which contained a large number of men, and it is generally accepted to be the grave of Armstrong and his men.

The border reivers finally came to an end around the time of the Union of the Crowns in 1603. James VI, the grandson of James V, forcefully put an end to the raids by splitting up the families and deporting them to Ulster, or conscripting them off to Holland, or just executing them.

There have been stories as to what happened to Johnnie Armstrong’s vast fortune. One of the most prominent stories is that it is in fact buried at Langholm Castle, under a point where there is a risen part of the ground where a vault could easily be hidden.

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This little story is about William Armstrong, son of Christie. He was a lineal descendant of Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie who was hanged without trial by the seventeen year old King of Scotland, James V in 1529/30. He lived in the reign of Charles 1, 1625 – 1649. He was known as Christie’s Will.

gilnockie tower

In the ‘Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border’ written by Sir Walter Scott and published in 1802, one can find the ballad of ‘Christie’s Will’. Extracts from it will appear throughout this story.

Although by the reign of Charles 1 who was king of both Scotland and England, Border Reiving, the robbing and murder, the feud and blackmail, had been almost eradicated from the English/Scottish Border lands, old habits died hard in some areas and with some of the more recalcitrant inhabitants of Border society.

One such person, who held to the old ways, in a defiant, almost last stand against all authority, was Christie’s Will.

On one of his fierce-some raids he was eventually captured and imprisoned in the tollbooth in Jedburgh.

Whilst he languished and slowly festered and awaited the outcome of his capture, be it death or long sentence, a very distinguished person happened to visit. It was none other than the Earl of Traquair, Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, who, like most folks in the Border country, be they high or low born, had heard of Christie’s Will and his formidable prowess as a Border Reiver.

He asked that he might see Will, and in deference to his exalted position, was granted a visit. Traquair was much taken by the Reiver’s droll humour especially when he explained why he was banged up in Jedburgh. Will told him that he had stolen the halters of two horses. The Lord was stupefied – surely such a theft did not justify a long confinement and the threat of the rope? Will explained that there might be other crimes to take in to account though evidence for them was somewhat circumstantial but pointed out that he had forgotten to say that the two halters each had a bonny horse in tow.

The Earl laughed loudly at Will’s sardonic turn of mind. He liked the man and, using his influence, had Will freed.

A little later a lawsuit involving the Earl was to be heard in the Court of Sessions. The Earl believed that the outcome would be decided on the casting vote of the judge and would go against him. There seemed to be no love lost between the Earl and the Lord of the Sessions appointed to deal with the case.

Accordingly he thought long and hard how he should deal with situation and eventually came to the conclusion that he must make sure that the judge should not preside at the Court of Sessions on the appointed day. But how was this to be achieved? He must not be implicated should the attempt to kidnap the judge go awry. He dare not ask any of his friends to take such a risk. A friend, he deliberated, could soon be an enemy should the clink of gold become a temptation.

Who then? The answer came slowly but the more he thought of it, the more he liked it. He would approach Christie’s Will with whom he had no obvious links. Moreover, Will owed him a favour for obtaining his release from Jedburgh and, true to the code of the Border Reivers, nothing would ever be said of any involvement with the Earl should Will be captured in the attempt.

Will, forever in the debt of Traquair, had no hesitation in offering his services and confidentiality. He was animated by the thought of taking another swipe at high authority.

Will began following the judge, who it might as well be stated now, was Alexander Gibson, the illustrious Lord Durie. He was made a lord of the session in 1621 and died in 1642.

He soon learned that the judge was wont to take the air whilst riding his horse on Leith Sands (Edinburgh). He was always unaccompanied and rode always on a Saturday afternoon if the weather was clement. Will noted carefully that the man was more often than not lost in some reverie and concluded that he took great pleasure in time away from the courts, officialdom and the decisions that determined a man’s destiny.

Will soon struck up a conversation with the judge who was delighted by the humour and lively discourse of his new-found friend; he was unaware that he rode peacefully along the sands with one of the last of the awesome Border Reivers.

After a few meetings, Will enticed the goodly Durie into a little frequented area known as the Frigate Whins, a sheltered and much secluded spot. There he dashed him from his horse and enveloped his unconscious body with a voluminous cloak and rode off with him over his saddle.

Following many a lonely path familiar only to the reiving fraternity, he arrived at the Tower of Graham, not far from Moffat (Scottish Borders), on the Water of Dryfe. There he deposited the luckless, terrified judge with the inmates of the Tower who had already agreed, for a price, to securely house a gentleman of wealth of whom they knew nothing.

On the same day as this daring abduction, the judge’s horse was found contentedly grazing on the grasses behind the beach. It was concluded that the creature had been startled, bucked and thrown its rider into the Firth of Forth.

In due course a successor was appointed to the office formerly held by Lord Durie. The appointment was made by the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland; none other than the Earl of Traquair!

In the Tower of Graham the judge was held in solitary confinement; even his food was pushed through a hole in the dungeon wall. He had no contact with the human race – left to dwell on his fate, alone, uncared for. The only voices he heard were when a shepherd called for his dog Batty or a female servant called up Maudge, the cat.

About three months later, the lawsuit was decided in favour of Lord Traquair, a forgone conclusion one might say, as the presiding judge, as we have already noted, was appointed by the Lord High Treasurer.

Will was asked to set the judge free. He did so at dead of night. He once more muffled the terrified President of the Court of Sessions and rode hard back to Leith Sands in total darkness and dropped the judge on the very spot where he had captured him.

Eventually, much to the pleasure of both family and friends who had gone into mourning at his loss, and the annoyance of his short-lived successor, he reclaimed his office and the honours that went with it.

He let it be known that he had been spirited away by witchcraft; all agreed. They lived in a superstitious age.

A few years later the good Lord Durie happened to be travelling through Annandale, down the Water of Dryfe. As he rode past the Tower of Graham, he was amazed to hear the call of a shepherd for a dog named Batty and the higher, more feminine tones which endeavoured to entice a cat named Maudge back to the Tower.

The story was soon out with the humiliating conclusion that it was not witchcraft that had taken the unfortunate Lord, but the hand of man. Many years afterwards it became known that an Earl of the realm in association with a nefarious Border Reiver were responsible.

Border Reiver Re-Enactment at Hawick,Scottish Borders. The March Warden stands between his Land-Seargents.

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Stirling Castle

Scotland, it has from time immemorial been a key strategic location securing the kingdom; indeed the very name Stirling may derive from an ancient term for ‘struggle’ or ‘battle’. It was here in 1314 that Robert the Bruce defeated the English king, Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn and saw Scotland reclaim her freedom – and with the 700^th anniversary looming; and all the potential events planned it is a good time to look at this most enigmatic of cities.

The Dark Age annals record a famous siege at an unidentified fort in central Scotland called Iuddeu in the year 655; when King Penda of Mercia (a kingdom in the English Midlands) surrounded his Northumbrian counterpart. Most scholars are in agreement that this mystery fort is probably Stirling Castle. The geography seems right: plus the much travelled Roman road runs close by and until the medieval period the Forth was navigable as far as the modern town. Combining this with Stirling’s natural defensive position close to the border of several Dark Age kingdoms the case is strong.

Castle rock has probably had some sort of fortification built on it since at least 500BC, and during the early middle ages it way a key site for the Maetae (a Celtic people related to the Britons of Strathclyde and the Goddodin of Lothian), until absorbed into Scotland around 1000 years ago. Over the next 600 years it played a huge part in the evolution and defence of the realm – kings were born, crowned and killed here; and the battles fought under the ramparts forged a nation that would be as stubbornly resistant as the very basalt rock itself. The town of Stirling developed below these ancient walls, echoing the growth of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile; and soon became and important market town; both independent from and welded to the castle and court. In 1130 King David I elevated Stirling into a Royal Burgh: a town with special rights and trading privileges derived directly from the crown, giving the burgeoning settlement a huge economic boost (nearly 900 years later his descendent Queen Elizabeth would bestow City Status, again resulting in economic advantages).

The Battle of Stirling Bridge

As part of that deal, Bruce held fairly regular parliaments, and one in 1326 was at Cambuskenneth Abbey across the river from Stirling. Although little remains today, apart from the tower, it is still possible to visit the site. Within the grounds is the grave marker to King James III who was killed nearby at Sauchieburn in 1488 by a rebel force loyal to his teenage son (later James IV). Queen Victoria paid for the elaborate tomb, paying homage to her ancestor who met with such a bloody end. Above the ruins lies Abbey Craig, and in 1861 work was begun on an even more elaborate expression of Victorian historical sycophancy – the Wallace Monument. That said, it is fantastic tower and worth the visit; and today the exhibitions do tell the story of Wallace and the Battle of Stirling Bridge well. Seemingly airbrushed out of that history is Sir Andrew Moray, the co-commander that day – but Stirling Council now plan to set this right with a statue to the accepted brains behind the operation.

Following the battle in 1297 a new bridge was erected, this time of stone, and it still remains. Although no traffic crosses today it you still get the sense walking across its cobbles of being ushered north into the Highlands. Capturing and crossing the Bridge was a key objective for any Highland army heading south; particularly during the Jacobite wars. However, during the ’45 Rising the Jacobites chose to by-pass both Bridge and Castle and crossed the Forth upstream at the Fords of Frew and marched unhindered to Edinburgh. It was a vision of the future: the age of stone castles was drawing to a close. By ignoring completely Stirling and her huge garrison the mobile Jacobite army ushered in a new age of modern warfare. It is perhaps fitting then that within a year the last battle would be fought on British soil; a new dawn was rising.

Wallace Monument

In 1603 James VI, who had been christened and partially raised behind the cold walls of Stirling Castle (and crowned nearby at the Church of the Holy Rude), became the king of England; and moved south to London. The Stewart dynasty owned and variously resided in a large number of castles and palaces across Scotland, but with James’ move south many of them became redundant. Indeed, only the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh would be retained as an official royal residence. Stirling, with her royal association and long traditional as residence needed a new role – and the most obvious was as garrison. Many regiments would come to call home a castle more used to kings; but, the collapse of the Jacobite cause in 1746 raised the question of the necessity of retaining such places – where was the practical value in comparison to the utilitarian and effective moderns garrisons such as Fort George near Inverness? Yet, there was something special about Stirling Castle – a sense of connection with both the nation and the monarchs that have ruled it that fostered a sense of sentimentality. Not until 1964, when the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders finally departed did the citadel cease to be an active military barracks.

Today, the Castle is essentially a museum – but a brilliant one, with few parallels, especially after all the renovation work to restore it to her Renaissance heyday. Hundreds of thousands visit yearly, making it the second most visited castle in Scotland after Edinburgh. Technically, it still belongs to the Crown and the Queen has visited on more than one occasion. The town remains a bustling market, although with a heavy reliance on the service industry, and the university has brought a lot of rejuvenation. Tourism of course plays a big part in the economy and good links to Edinburgh and Glasgow adds vitality. In 2014 we hope to host the next international Clan Gathering here, and what a celebration that has the potential to be!

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The story of Hobbie Noble of the Crew, one of the English Border Reivers of somewhat dubious reknown, is one such example of Scots and English coming together. He would aid the Armstrongs of Liddesdale, a Scottish Border clan, in their hour of need, yet eventually be betrayed by one of their own.

The Pathetic Remains of Crew Castle. Now nothing more than a Sheep Pen.

Hobbie Flees to the Scottish Borders.

Hobbie was from Bewcastle in what was known in his time as the Waste of north Cumberland; his home was Crew Castle. Little of what would once have been a formidable tower remains today; the earthworks, however, easily recognised, bear testimony to a place of formidable strength: the home of a family of prominence and importance in the region. The Waste is still there to this day. It is a harsh and unforgiving country yet delights in little pockets of sylvan beauty which are a delight to the eyes.

Hobbie spent many years raiding in Tynedale (Northumberland) and even parts of his homeland, to the south of his Cumberland fortress. It would seem that allegiance to his countrymen was of little concern to a man bent on raiding wherever the opportunity presented itself. The product of theft, the ‘reive’, meant more to Hobbie than allegiance to his own countrymen, his own people.

Eventually they disowned him as they tired of the retribution exacted on them by the surnames (families) he had raided within his own country and the clans to the north of the Border. Their lives were dominated by the relentless raids from Tynedale, other parts of Cumberland, and southern Scotland which, with regular monotony, raided the homesteads of the folk of Bewcastledale.

He was much prized by the English West March Warden, the law in Cumberland. Doubtless there were many crimes laid at his door in which he had taken no part.

Hobbie fled to Liddesdale in the Scottish Borders were he was well received by the Laird of Mangerton, head of the Armstrongs. Anyone on run from the law, irrespective of nationality, was welcomed by the Armstrongs of Liddesdale.

Hobbie is True to his Scottish Hosts.

When Jock Armstrong of the ‘Side’, a stalwart and leading member of the Scottish clan was captured and thrown into gaol in Newcastle to await a fate which would inevitably see him dangle at the end of a rope, Hobbie was a major force in planning and achieving his rescue. He was lauded by the Armstrongs of Mangerton for the sterling part he played in the rescue of Jock but there were other Armstrongs, within Scottish Liddesdale, who resented the popularity of the Englishman.

Mangerton Tower. Once home to the Chief of the Armstrongs of Liddesdale.

The remains of Mangerton Tower, Liddesdale

Hobbie is asked to lead a raid into England by the Armstrongs of the Mains

Sim Armstrong was Laird of the Mains, today a peaceful farm in Liddesdale, but in the days of the Border Reivers, the most dangerous valley in the whole of Europe. Sim had grown to hate the great English Reiver whilst the English Warden was bent on wresting Hobbie from the Scottish Border lands and bringing him to account for his crimes in England. Sim and the Warden made a deal whereby, in return for English gold, Sim would betray Hobbie into the Warden’s hands. Accordingly, on the pretext that Hobbie knew the English ground better than he did, Sim persuaded Hobbie to lead a raid south of the Border into England. The cattle and sheep were fat and ripe for the picking.

Hobbie is betrayed by Sim of the Mains

Hobbie led the Armstrongs of the Mains into England but at the same time Sim Armstrong sent word to the English Keeper of Askerton that Hobbie was back on English ground. Hobbie and the Armstrongs had rested overnight before their final assault on their target. At the first light of the following day Hobbie woke to see the English confronting him. He was not unduly concerned because he knew the ground right well. His fertile mind instantly recognised the path in which he and the Armstrongs could evade any confrontation. But it was not to be. The Armstrongs at his back suddenly voiced their allegiance to the English and Hobbie was betrayed for gold.

Askerton Castle.

Defence against the Border Reivers of Liddesdale

Hobbie is bound and taken to Carlisle

Hobbie was bound with his own bow-string and led ignominiously to Carlisle and thrown in the dark damp cells of Carlisle castle. He was told he would hang next day unless he would confess to stealing Peter of Winfield’s horse, a crime that had hung over his head for some time. There is some doubt that Hobbie was involved, that the charge was trumped up by the English to see an end to the great English Border Reiver. He denied the allegation and prepared himself for death. Next morning he was hanged. There was a lot of sympathy in the watching crowd for the man who had risked life and limb to rescue Jock of the ‘Side’ from the Black Tower of Newcastle.

Sir Walter Scott, avid lover of Scottish English Border history and eminent writer of the early nineteenth century gathered the story of Hobbie Noble and committed it to verse in his ‘Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border’.

Here are two particularly poignant verses from the ballad:

‘And fare thee weel , sweet Liddesdale, (weel = well)

Baith the hie land and the law;

Keep ye weel frae the traitor Mains,

For gould and gear he’ll sell ye a’ (goud = gold, a’ = all)

‘Yet wad I rather be ca’d Hobbie Noble, ( wad = would, ca’d = called)

In Carlisle , where he suffers for his fau’t, (fau’t = fault)

Than I’d be ca’d the traitor Mains,

That eats and drinks of the meal and maut’. ( maut = malt)

English Gold was no benefit to Sim of the Mains

When the Laird of Mangerton, head of the Armstrongs, heard of Hobbie’s fate and Sim’s involvement, he was furious. Normally, as Hobbie was executed by the English, his retribution would have been aimed against the English families who dared to steal in his domain, Liddesdale or its surrounds. For once he directed his wrath against his own. He planned a great reprisal against the Armstrongs of Mains even though they were a sect of the clan. Sim fled to England but within two months, thanks to intelligence furnished to the English by Mangerton, Sim of the Mains also dangled at the end of a rope on Harrabee Hill, the killing ground of Carlisle. No tears were wept by a crowd who were pleased that he had got his come-uppance for the betrayal of Hobbie Noble of the Crew.

Noblestown today. Home of the Nobles following the Union of the Crown and the Pacification of the Borders.

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Border Reivers following the Hue and Cry

In 1530 James V, king of Scotland, was a mere lad of seventeen. Freed at last from the clutches of those men who endeavoured to reign in his stead, in his minority, he was determined to prove that he was the real power in Scotland.

One area where allegiance to the clan and its leader came before any deference to royal power was the Scottish Border country. There the clans were a law unto themselves, particularly troublesome and unruly.

Accordingly he moved south from his seat in Edinburgh intent on doling out justice and punishment to those who were of particular notoriety. It is said he had six thousand armed followers.

The history of Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie, a power in the Scottish Borders, is well recorded. By subterfuge, some say as the result of a ‘loving letter’ he was encouraged to wait upon the king at Carlenrig, south of the Borders town of Hawick. There James, incensed by the apparent affluence of the fierce Border Reiver and his twenty-four followers, ordered their execution without trial. Johhnie had fallen into a trap from which there was no way out. He pleaded with the rash, impetuous youth of a king but to no avail. He resigned himself to his fate but not before saying in the Border Ballad which tells his story:-

‘To seek hot water beneath cold ice,

Surely it is a great folly-

I have asked grace at a graceless face,

But there is none for my men and me!’

He and twenty-three of his followers were strung up on the spot. The twenty-fourth was burned alive in vengeance for the burning of a poor women and her son in which he was the instigator.

In time, when maturity replaced the rashness and callowness of youth, James would regret his actions at Carlenrig. He lost any allegiance the Armstrongs of Liddesdale had for the Scottish monarchy on that fateful day in July 1530. In 1542 at the rout of the Scottish army by the English at the Battle of Solway Moss, the Armstrongs withheld their support for the Scottish cause, even harassed the losers as the terrified remnants of the Scottish army fled the field of conflict and headed back north.

James died shortly afterwards. He was about thirty years old.

Before he arrived in Carlenrig in July 1530, James V was determined to mete out the royal justice against two other Border Reivers of particular renown. One was Adam Scott of Tushielaw, known as the ‘King of Thieves’. Not only did he reive both far and wide; he was feared for the way in which he summarily despatched his adversaries. He strung them up from the trees which surrounded his tower at Tushielaw.

He was soon apprehended by the army of James V, and, it is said, hanged from the very trees from which had swung in their death throes many of the Reivers who had contested his bloody and audacious raids.

The other Border Reiver who was the subject of James’ ferocity was William Cockburne of Henderland (near St. Mary’s Loch). It is said he was hanged over the doorway of his Tower there.

Sir Walter Scott tells us in the ‘Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border’ that ‘in a deserted burial place, which once surrounded the chapel of the castle (the Tower of Henderland), the monument of Cockburne and his lady are still shown. It is a large stone broken in three parts; but some armorial bearings may yet be seen and the following inscription is still legible, though defaced:-

HERE LYES PERYS OF COKBURNE AND HIS WYFE MARJORY.

the grave of Perys and Marjorie Cockburne.

The table-topped grave can still be seen on a little knoll of a hill in what was the churchyard of the Tower.

Following the deaths of Johnnie Armstrong and his followers emotions ran high and truth ran second best to fact; an approach handed down to the writers of Scottish Border history of the nineteenth century, including the rightly well-respected Sir Walter.

Perys Cokburne was not the William Cockburne who suffered at the hands of James V.

Neither Adam Scott ‘King of Thieves’ nor William Cockburne were summarily despatched within the confines of their own Towers. Rather they were taken to Edinburgh, tried and beheaded.

Robert Pitcairn (1797 – 1855) compiled the documents which recorded the fate of the Border Reivers who were tried and executed. The compilation is known as ‘Pitcairn’s Criminal Trials’.

For 1530 he records the following:-

William Cokburne of Henderland, Convicted (in presence of the King) of High Treason committed by him, in bringing Alexander Forester and his son, Englishmen, to the plundering od Archibald Someruile: And for treasonably bringing certain Englishmen to the lands of Glenquhome: And for common Theft, common Reset of Theft, outputting and inputting thereof – SENTENCE. For which causes and crimes he has forfeited his life, lands, and goods, moveable and immoveable; which shall be escheated to the King.- BEHEADED.

ADAM SCOTT of Tuschelaw, convicted of art and part of theftuously taking blackmail from the time of his entry within the castle of Edinburgh, in ward, of John Browne in Hopprow; and of art and part of theftuously taking blackmail of Andrew Thorbrand and William his brother: and of theftuously taking blackmail from the poor tenants of Hopcailzow: and of theftuously taking blackmail from the tenants of Eschescheill: BEHEADED.

Cockburne, it would seem, was convicted for his alliance with Englishmen which, under the Border Law, was treason, Scott for blackmail which was probably the least of his crimes.

And what of the Border Widow?

One of the most evocative of the Border Ballads is that of the ‘Lament of the Border Widow’. It has always been associated with the death of William Cockeburne following his capture by James V. Although this is historically impossible, it admirably portrays the emotion, the futility, isolation and sorrow which followed many a death in the days of the Reivers.

A BORDER WIDOW’S LAMENT.

My love he built me a bonny bower,

And clad it a’ wi’ lilye flour (all) (flower)

A brawer bower ye ne’er did see,

Than my true love he built for me.

There came a man, by middle day,

He spied his sport and went away;

And brought the king that very night,

Who brake my bower, and slew my knight. (broke)

He slew my knight, to me sae dear; (so)

He slew my knight and poin’d his gear; ( escheated to the king)

My servants all did life for flee,

And left me in extremitie.

I sew’d his sheet, making my mane, (grieving and crying)

I watch’d the corpse myself alane (alone)

I watch’d his body night and day;

No living creature came that way.

I took his body on my back,

And whiles I gaed and whiles I sat; (moved, went)

I digged a grave, and laid him in,

And happ’d him with the sod sae green. (covered) (so)

But think not ye my heart was sair, (sore)

When I laid the moule on his yellow hair? (soil)

O think na ye my heart was wae (weary)

When I turn’d about, away to gae? (go)

Nae living man I’ll love again, (no)

Since that my lovely knight was slain,

Wi’ a lock of his yellow hair,

I’ll chain my heart for evermair.

In the reiving times, the 13th to the 17th centuries, the Scottish English Border was a land in turmoil. Endless confrontation and bloody feud spawned a people who were hard both mentally and physically. The ‘Lament of the Border Widow’ shows another side of the relentless strife which dominated the land of which little is said. Sadness and sorrow followed in its wake.

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Kinmont was well prized by the English who had no answer to his constant raids into northern England. His organised forays south of the English Scottish Border Line, coupled with his contempt for English authority and its hapless attempts to curtail his reiving, had made him enemy number one to the Lord Scropes. They were members of the English aristocracy who, father and son, were Wardens of the English West March from 1561 to 1603.

Kinmont raided Tarset in Tynedale, Northumberland on more than one occasion and was party, in these particularly vicious forays, to the murder of many men. One of these raids was carried out in daylight, unusual in itself as the reivers usually operated at night, and contained over a thousand men from the valleys of southern Scotland. They returned to the Scottish Border valleys with thousands of sheep and cattle and left homelessness and destitution in their wake.

Border Marches showing the Border Line

The ‘Day of Truce’ at the Dayholme of Kershope.

In March 1596 a ‘Day of Truce’ was held near Kershopefoot on the Border of England and Scotland. It was a day purportedly to be held at monthly intervals in each of the East, Middle and West Marches of both countries; a day when felons were brought to the very Border Line to answer for their crimes in an open-air venue. Many men, both English and Scottish, were requested to attend the court and witness that the proceedings were both honourable and fair and upheld the principle and spirit of the Border Law. All who attended were granted safe conduct whilst the Truce lasted through the medium of the ‘Assurance of the Truce’. Such a measure was necessary as both the Scots and English invited to attend as witnesses might, outside the Truce, be at Feud or deadly enemies of each other, the result of previous reiving or family disagreement. Many a man viewed his neighbour of the day with suspicion, hatred or scorn.

Theft of cattle, sheep and ‘insight’, i.e. household and farming goods and tools, were the most common reasons for trial but murder, the result of constant feud and searing animosity against neighbour or enemy from across the Border Line, was ever present. Murder was the inevitable outcome of the hatred that hardened in men’s hearts. It mattered not a whit should such enmity concern a fellow countryman. The product of the Feud often encompassed many generations.

Kinmont Willie is Present at the Truce

Kinmont Willie was called by the Keeper of Liddesdale, Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch, to attend the ‘Day of Truce’ at the Dayholme of Kershope to represent the Scots. The trials of the Border Reivers on the day went without incident and both Deputy Wardens, presidents of the proceedings, were satisfied that justice had been achieved. Just before sunset both English and Scottish parties began to make their way home. The safe conduct or ‘Assurance’ of the Truce was enshrined in Border Law and lasted until sun-up of the following day. Thereby all who had attended were confident that they could make their way home unmolested by erstwhile enemies who, on this occassion, were required to honour the Law.

Kinmont Willie is Captured by the English.

As Kinmont Willie rode down the Scottish bank of the river Liddel, he was seen by a party of English making their way home on the opposite side of the river, down the English bank. They could not resist the temptation of seeing the greatest Reiver of the age tantalisingly within their grasp. Safe conduct and ‘Assurance’ thrown to the wind, they turned and rode hard across the river Liddel and chased Kinmont down. He was bound and taken to Carlisle castle where he was imprisoned.

War of Words leads to Deadlock

When Buccleuch, Keeper of Liddesdale, learned that Kinmont Willie was in prison as a result of being taken against the honour of the ‘Assurance of the Truce’, he was incandescent with rage. He took no time in writing to the English March Warden, Thomas Lord Scrope, demanding Kinmont’s immediate release. Scrope, like his father Henry before him as Warden, so coveted the neck of the much vaunted Reiver that he refused to succumb to Buccleuch’s forthright petitions. Rather he met the fury with measured indifference and cited more than one spurious reason why he would not comply. Even James Vl of Scotland and Elizabeth l became embroiled in the acrimonious affair.

Eventually tiring of the impasse, Buccleuch resolved to breach the defences of Carlisle castle and rescue Kinmont. He was heartened by the fact that he would have inside help from members of the English garrison of the castle who had tired of Thomas Lord Scrope’s dictatorial rule as well as aid from the premier English clan, the Grahams of Netherby and Mote.

Branxholme-the Nesby Tower-Home of Walter Scott

A Small Rescue Party achieves its Aims

On 13th April 1596 the rescue party led by Buccleuch and consisting mainly of Armstrongs, moved south through English territory to Carlisle. It was a horrendous night of heavy rain and thick cloud. They were adeptly aided by members of the Grahams who had been at odds with the Scropes for years.

The rescue was achieved with an ease that defied logic. A postern gate was opened from the inside by one of the friends of the English Carletons, another family who had vowed to see the end of Thomas Lord Scrope. Having previously been told exactly where Kinmont was warded, the five of the rescue party who entered the castle lost little time in freeing the great Scottish Reiver. The remainder of the rescue band were outside the castle walls banging on drums, blowing trumpets at a strident pitch and making such a discordant noise that the English garrison, already sheltering under coverlets from the veritable downpour, refused to stir. They thought there was an army outside the walls.

Kinmont was soon across the river Eden and heading north sheltered by his comrades in arms. He was to lie low in the valley of the Ewes, north of Langholm.

The Aftermath

Elizabeth l was furious when she received the news of the rescue. How dare any Scot attack one of her premier Border fortresses when peace existed between the two countries? The diplomatic wrangle between various ambassadors and the two monarchs went on for over a year. Elizabeth demanded that Buccleuch be handed over to the English for punishment as he was the one who had orchestrated the affair. James Vl, reluctant to upset his countrymen who to a man applauded Buccleuch’s outrageous actions, refused to do so.

Tomb of Thomas Lord Scrope in the Village of Langar, Nottinghamshire

As was usual in the Borders of the times where a catalogue of crime superceded the event, the heat finally went out of the situation but not before the strained allegiance between England and Scotland was severely tested.

Kinmont Willie? He went on to reive for many another day and died in his bed about 1603.

Sark Churchyard-Burial Place of Kinmont Willie.

Sark Churchyard-Burial Place of Kinmont Willie.

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Murder, theft, arson, blackmail and feud were the canker of the Border Marches. Whatever resources, initiatives or amendments to the Border Laws were put in place to counter the disreputable practices of the Reivers, the strife and confrontation rolled on apace, even quickened.

One of the more formidable of the Elliot clan at this time was Jock of the Park. Hailing from Copshawholme (modern day Newcastleton), he was renowned for his relentless strikes against the English and, indeed, any of the Scottish clans with whom the Elliots were at feud.

By 1566 Liddesdale, which because of its notoriety had its own Warden, known as Keeper, had such a burgeoning reputation for lawlessness that a Lord Warden of the Marches was appointed. He had just one objective – subdue the unholy Reivers of Liddesdale!

Accordingly, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, Lord High Admiral of Scotland and Duke of Orkney moved south from Edinburgh. He was a man reputed for his fierceness, was fearless in any confrontation, a skilled military man. He was also a particular confidante of the young Mary, Queen of Scots. Rumours of a liaison between the pair were rife.

Bothwell was certain that he would rid the Borders of its worst offenders.

He was, however, to soon find out that position and reputation counted for nothing against the hard, obdurate and wily Border Reivers. At first his success rate was good. He managed to capture the Lairds of Mangerton and Whithaugh and other Armstrongs. Soon these men were festering in the dank hole of the Hermitage castle awaiting summary justice from the illustrious Lord Bothwell.

HERMITAGE CASTLE

When Bothwell heard that Jock of the Park had been seen in the vicinity of Hermitage he pursued him with alacrity. Jock was a prize not to be missed.

Somewhere near the Billhope burn Bothwell encountered Jock, and without any ceremony, shot him from the saddle of his horse. Jock lay motionless on the ground and Bothwell approached, sure he had severely wounded or killed the prostrate Reiver. As he leaned over to take a closer look, Jock sprang to his feet and knifed the astonished Lord. He even managed to cut to the bone the forehead of his foolish adversary before hobbling to his horse and making away.

BILLHOPE COTTAGE. NEAR HERE JOCK KNIFED BOTHWELL

Bothwell’s guard who had witnessed these events from a distance, conveyed the stricken Lord back to Hermitage intent on providing the shelter and succour that he needed for recovery. On the short journey back to the castle Bothwell appeared to be failing fast from loss of blood.

To the surprise of all, once there, they were refused entry. In the short time that they had been away, the Armstrongs had broken free of the hell-hole of a dungeon, and in true Reiver fashion, overpowered the garrison. Even though Bothwell appeared at death’s door they would not let him enter without assurance that their crimes would be forgiven and that a general amnesty should ensue.

Bothwell had no alternative but to agree; the Armstrongs and others walked free and he was to receive the aid he most certainly needed.

Thus Jock of the Park lived to fight another day and the Armstrongs returned to their loved ones.

Twenty-five miles north of the Hermitage, Mary, Queen of Scots was holding a justice court at Jedburgh. When she was told of the plight of Bothwell, she set off on a grey October day to travel the vast expanses of moor, bog and bent to comfort, console and help mend her favourite.

After but a few hours at Hermitage she made the return journey to Jedburgh. Thus she completed a round trip of fifty miles within a day in most inclement weather. Above the Hermitage her horse stumbled at a place still called the Queensmire to this day and she lost a watch which was found over two hundred years later by a farm worker draining the bog.

By the time she arrived back in Jedburgh Mary was so ill with fatigue and cold that it was thought, her being in a high fever and delirious state for day after day, that she would die. She was given the last rites of the Catholic Church.

She survived though as did Bothwell and the next year they were married not long after the murder of her second husband, Henry Lord Darnley, in which Bothwell was implicated.

The pair was to incur the wrath of the protestant Lords, including Mary’s half-brother, Moray, and two battles ensued for control of the country of Scotland.

After the Battle of Carberry Hill, at which not a sword was raised in anger, Bothwell fled north to Orkney purportedly to raise troops for Mary’s cause whilst she was warded in Lochleven castle. They were never to see each other again.

Bothwell was pursued and took ship for Norway to evade his would-be captors.

The ship floundered in a storm and when it eventually reached safe harbour it was soon recognised that one of its crew was special. It took little searching of the cabins to prove that it was Bothwell who sought sanctuary in a foreign land. The king of Norway and Denmark offered him to the Scots in exchange for the Orkney Isles which had been given to Scotland as part of a marriage dowry some one hundred years before. When the Scots refused the bargain Bothwell was incarcerated in Dragsholm castle in Denmark, tied to a post in the dungeons for ten years, it is said. He died of insanity in one version of his pathetic end.

His embalmed body could be seen for centuries in an open top coffin in the village church of Farjeville a few miles from the castle of Dragsholm. In the late 1970′s the lid to the coffin was secured on the order of the Danish monarchy.

Mary escaped from Lochleven and confronted the Protestant Lords yet again at the Battle of Langside where her forces were convincingly beaten.

She fled to England, determined to seek the aid of her cousin, Elizabeth l, in an effort to regain her throne. It was not to be and, after spending nineteen years in ward in various English castles and secure country houses, she was beheaded after conspiring to break free and overthrow the English monarchy.

She was to often remark during her time in captivity that she wished she had died at Jedburgh.

Given the obscene ordeal that was to end Bothwell’s life it is probably true that he reflected on his confrontation with Jock of the Park and wished that he had died listening to the burble of the Billhope burn.

Little Jock Elliot of the Park had a lot to answer for.

The post Infamous Border Reiver Encounters Illustrious Scottish Lord appeared first on ScotClans | Scottish Clans.

THE RIVERS ESK AND EWES AT LANGHOLM.

Sir John was born in 1542, son to an illustrious family which hailed from Lanarkshire. He was a direct ancestor of the Earls of Hindford.

He was Scottish Deputy March Warden at the ‘Day of Truce’ which was held on the Border in the hills aside present day Carter Bar in July 1575. The Day of Truce, a meeting to try the perpetrators of crime, both English and Scottish, was enshrined in Border Law. March Wardens from each side of the Border presided over the affairs and were charged with bringing the criminals for trial; juries were a mix of both Scots and English. Yet the ‘Day’ was a time when many men attended from both England and Scotland to witness that fair play presided throughout.

In 1575 numbers who attended were limitless; it was not unusual for a thousand men from each country to witness the events. Thus it was nigh on impossible to bring Scots and English together without inviting many who were at feud. Such was the turmoil that reigned in the Border country that even blood-feud prevailed as men from the same clans and same side of the Border rubbed shoulders at the Truce but smarted for revenge at the sight of an adversary with whom they were at odds. The atmosphere was charged with belligerence and aggression, yet there was little alternative. All invited might ostensibly be there to see fair play but there was another reason, unspoken yet acknowledged by all. Their presence was some insurance that neither side would take advantage of the other, nor resort to violence should any judgement be deemed unfair by family or friend of the accused. All who attended the Truce were to arrive unarmed but the reality was so different. No man would have been so foolish as to adhere to this code in the cauldron of ill feeling which prevailed. The Wardens turned a blind eye to the steel which swung at each man’s belt.

All took an oath to honour the precept of the Truce. They swore that they would not offend ‘by word, deed or countenance’.

THE BORDER MARCHES

At the Raid of the Redeswire Carmichael fell victim to the invective and guile of Sir John Forster, seventy-five years old, and English Middle March Warden. Reaction to the aggressive exchanges of the two Wardens soon spilled over to the men of both sides who attended and all hell let loose.

The Redeswire affair was the last battle between English and Scottish Border Reivers and the last time that the English used the longbow in warfare. The English came off the worse in this encounter and Carmichael was warded in York in an effort to appease the wrath of Elizabeth l of England. Sir George Heron of Chipchase in Tynedale, Northumberland was murdered in the affray.

There was at least one other occasion where Sir John Carmichael played a prominent part. In the Raid of Ruthven in 1582 the sixteen year old king of Scotland, James Vl, was captured by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, and confined for ten months. Gowrie was unhappy at the influence of Catholicism and the effect this might have on the young king. Carmichael held the same views and readily espoused the cause of ridding the nation of the pro-catholic and pro-French influences epitomised in the young king’s cousin, Esme Stuart.

Carmichael was soon pardoned for his part in the affair. In 1588 he was one of the ambassadors sent to Denmark to negotiate the marriage between James Vl and Anne, daughter of the king of Denmark.

When Carmichael was made Warden of the Scottish West March in 1598 he had come of age. For all his turbulent past he was respected as a Warden who would see fair play between the English and Scots. There were many in the Scottish Border Lands who resented his impartial approach; none more so than the Armstrongs of Liddesdale.

LIDDESDALE

In 1600 Carmichael made it plain that he would use his power as March Warden even against his own people and especially the Armstrongs whose raids south of the Border were a particular embarrassment to a man dedicated to bringing peace to the Borders. The Armstrongs decided to plead for leniency on the promise of amendment to their nefarious ways and sought an audience with Sir John. They sent a brother of William Armstrong of Kinmont to parley with Carmichael, one Alexander Armstrong, known as Sandeis Ringane. Carmichael had heard the promises too many times before and would have no truck with the Armstrong clan. Their past outrages deserved the punishments he held in store.

THE RUINS OF MANGERTON TOWER; THE MAIN ARMSTRONG STRONGHOLD

At the meeting with Carmichael were a few of his young followers. They began to taunt the elderly Armstrong and endeavoured to humiliate him at every opportunity. It would seem that Carmichael did little to curb their youthful pranks and overt hostility to the once powerful warlord. At one stage they removed his sword and filled his scabbard with egg yolks. Having replaced the sword it was now impossible to remove it from the scabbard.

Sandeis Ringane was besides himself with fury and swore that should any of the present company of Carmichael ever stray on Armstrong land he would have no compunction in pulling his sword and ridding the world of their odious presence.  The meeting broke up with acrimony.

On his return home Sandeis Ringane told his sons of his mistreatment. His eldest son, Thomas Armstrong, said little in the way of comfort to calm the distress and shame of his unfortunate father but the thought of revenge was soon at the forefront of his mind.

He knew that next morning Sir John Carmichael was to leave Langholm and ride for Lochmaben where he was to preside over a Warden Court. The journey, through hilly woodland, would surely present the perfect opportunity to confront the illustrious March Warden.

THE RUINS OF LOCHMABEN CASTLE

Accordingly next morning a party of Armstrongs including Thomas Armstrong and his father along with a Taylor, a Forrester, a Scott and a Graham lay in wait for Carmichael at a place still known to this day as the Raesknowes, on the way to Lochmaben. As the March Warden passed the ambush party a number of hagbutts rang out and Carmichael fell dead.

The ambush party scattered and sought refuge at the homes of friends who had been apprised of the intention to kill Carmichael but they were relentlessly pursued on the orders of King James.

Carmichael was a king’s Warden of the Marches and the perpetrators of the murder were therefore considered as traitors. Murder in the Border lands was pretty commonplace in the 16th century but this one was different. Murder of a man appointed by the King himself was not to be tolerated. The wrongdoers would pay the ultimate price for their rash and impetuous crime against a King’s man.

In 1601 Thomas Armstrong, son to Sandies Ringane, was apprehended, taken to the Mercat Cross at Edinburgh and hanged. Before he stood the drop that ended his life his right hand was cut off. Subsequently his body was wrapped in chains, the lifeless corpse hung up at the Borroughmuir.

‘And Thomas Armstrang, “sone to Sandeis Ringane” was condemned to be “tane to the mercat croce of Edinburgh, and thair his richt hand to be stricken fra his arme; and thaireeftir, to be hanget upoune ane gibbet, quhill he be deid; and thaireefter, to be tane to the Gallows on the Burrowmure, and thair his body to be hangit in irn chains…

Thomas Armstrong was the first man ever to be hanged in chains after death; at least he is the first recorded as such in the Scottish records. Even in death he was to suffer for his crime, his body subject to the butt of endless atrocity by the Edinburgh populace.

One man evaded capture until 1606.

Should you ever find yourself taking the road from Canonbie to Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders, you will come across a statue to Lang Sandy as you pass through the village of Rowanburn. It is on your right as you pass through the village.

Lang Sandy, as his name implies, was a huge man. His real name was Alexander Armstrong, the board at his feet simply declaring that he was hanged in 1606.

He took part in the ambush and murder of Sir John Carmichael in June 1600 but was not caught until six years later.

At his trial he admitted the murder but not before saying that the crime was brought on against his will.

The murder of Sir John Carmichael would herald the end of the Armstrongs as the superior force in the Scottish Border Lands. Within three years of the murder, James Vl of Scotland would also rule in England on the death of Elizabeth l. He would not forget the atrocity committed by a clan that had often been the bane of his endeavours to cement a lasting and firm relationship with the English queen before her death. Many of the Armstrongs would be unjustly hounded and persecuted, evicted from their lands, deported and executed without trial.

Carmichael‘s death would signal their demise.

LANG SANDY OF ROWANBURN

Border Reivers

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