Bedrule Castle is a ruined 13th-century castle in the

Rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...

Valley, in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

area of Scotland.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.160 The castle was built in the 13th century by the

Comyn family Clan Cumming ( gd, Na Cuimeinich ), also known as Clan Comyn, is a Scottish clan from the central Highlands that played a major role in the history of 13th-century Scotland and in the Wars of Scottish Independence. The Clan Comyn was once the mo ...

. During King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

’s invasion of Scotland in 1298, he stayed at the castle. On the forfeiting of the Comyn lands in 1306, the castle passed to the

Douglas family Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

. The Douglases made the Turnbull family tenants.

Bedrule and the Turnbulls at war

On 8 November 1511,

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

came to do justice in the Rule Valley. He captured several leading members of the Turnbull family and took them to Jedburgh. They submitted to the king with naked swords in their hands and withies about their neck. They were sent as prisoners to be warded in distant castles. In July 1544, during the war now known as the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

, Bedrule and 15 or 16 other steads or farms were burnt by Master Clefforth and English soldiers with men from

Tynedale __NOTOC__ Tynedale is an area and former local government district in south-west Northumberland, England. The district had a resident population of 58,808 according to the 2001 Census. Its main towns were Hexham, Haltwhistle and Prudhoe. The ...

and

Redesdale Redesdale is a valley in western Northumberland, England. It is formed by the River Rede, which rises in the Cheviots and flows down to join the North Tyne at Redesmouth. Redesdale is traversed by the A68 trunk road, which enters Scotland vi ...

. The raiding party took 300 cattle and 600 sheep from the Rule valley and captured three field cannon called "basses" from the Laird of Ferniehirst. On 16 September 1545 Bedrule Castle was attacked by the English again. Lord Hertford reported that "I sent forth a good band to the number of 1500 light horsemen in the leading of me nd Sir Robert Bowes, with from 5 a.m. till 3 p.m., forayed along the waters of Tyvyote and Rowle, 6 or 7 miles beyond Jedburgh, and burnt 14 or 15 towns and a great quantity of all kinds of corn". This English incursion was a response to the Scottish victory at the battle of Ancrum Moor back in February 1545. After the

Rising of the North The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of ...

in England, in January 1570 Catholic fugitives were welcomed by the Laird of Bedrule at Bedrule, including Tristram Fenwyk, Robert Shafto, and Thomas Ogle. Bedrule, "a house of Sir Andrew Trumble", Andrew Turnbull, was burnt again by an English army commanded by the

Earl of Sussex Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel (up to 1243) were often also called Earls of Sussex. The fifth creation came in the Peera ...

on 19 April 1570, during the

Marian Civil War The Marian civil war in Scotland (1568–1573) was a period of conflict which followed the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her escape from Lochleven Castle in May 1568. Those who ruled in the name of her infant son James VI fought against ...

. Lord Hunsdon wrote, "we burnt also Bedrowle, which was the first house that

Leonard Dacre Leonard Dacre (by 1533 – 12 August 1573) was an English nobleman, one of the promoters of the Northern Rebellion against Queen Elizabeth. Life He was the second son of William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre of Gilsland and brother of Thomas Dacre, 4t ...

s took for his succor, when he fled out of England".

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and her ministers claimed that this invasion was not an intervention of behalf of the infant

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

against

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, but only a raid to punish and capture English border outlaws and fugitives and those who received them. The Turnbulls themselves were supporters of

Regent Lennox Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (21 September 1516 – 4 September 1571) was a leader of the Catholic nobility in Scotland. He was the paternal grandfather of King James VI of Scotland and I of England. He owned Temple Newsam in Yorkshire, E ...

and his grandson James VI. On 29 August 1571 the Laird of Bedrule (Thomas Turnbull) and his son (William), with many other lairds, were declared forfeited for treason by the supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots. In February 1572 Thomas Turnbull signed a band at Jedburgh to join with other lairds to support James VI and keep order on the English border, and resist the king's enemies, especially

Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst (died 1585) was a Scottish landowner, Roman Catholic and supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots. He and Jean Scott ended the feud between the Scott family and the Kerrs. Thomas and Jean were both involved with supporting Mary ...

. The later historian

David Hume of Godscroft David Hume or Home of Godscroft (1558–1629) was a Scottish historian and political theorist, poet and controversialist, a major intellectual figure in Jacobean Scotland. It has been said that "Hume marks the culmination of the Scottish humani ...

describes how the Hume lairds met the

Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, and were reluctant to sign a band to join with the lawless and notorious Turnbulls of Bedrule. Soon after, the Turnbulls ransacked the house of Robert Ker of Woodhead at

Ancrum Ancrum ( gd, Alan Crom) is a village in the Scottish Borders, Borders area of Scotland, 5 km north west of Jedburgh. The village — which currently has a population of around 300 — is situated just off the A68 road, A68 trunk road on the ...

and carried off his household goods, clothes, and farmstock. In November 1572 Thomas Turnbull attended the convention at Edinburgh when the Earl of Morton was elected as Regent. Andrew Turnbull of Bedrule was involved in the

Raid of the Redeswire The Raid of the Redeswire, also known as the Redeswire Fray, was a border skirmish between England and Scotland on 7 July 1575 which took place at Carter Bar, the Cheviot pass which enters Redesdale. The skirmish was between (on the English side ...

in 1575, and Hunsdon requested he be sent into England as a pledge or hostage for the English prisoners held by

Regent Morton James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581, aged 65) was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he won the civil war that had b ...

Dalkeith Palace Dalkeith Palace is a country house in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. It was the seat of the Dukes of Buccleuch from 1642 until 1914, and is owned by the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust. The present palace was built 1701–1711 on the site of the ...

. During the struggle at Redeswire, his companion, Robert Shafto, an English follower of the rebel

Earl of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...

, was shot dead. For a time the Turnbull family lost Bedrule. In May 1594 Harry Home of Coldenknowes sold the Castle and its lands back to Walter Turnbull and his son William Turnbull.John Maitland Thomson, ''Register of the Great Seal, 1593-1608'' (Edinburgh, 1890), pp. 598-9 no. 1659.

References

External links

Bedrule Castle: Towers of Rule
{{coord, 55.4547, -2.6369, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Castles in the Scottish Borders Castles and forts of the Rough Wooing