Holydean Castle (pronounced "hollydeen") was a castle sited near Melrose in

Bowden Bowden may refer to: Places Australia * Bowden Island, one of the Family Islands in Queensland * Bowden, South Australia, northwestern suburb of Adelaide * Bowden railway station Canada * Bowden, Alberta, town in central Alberta England * Bowde ...

, 1.25 miles SW of the village, 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 ...

region of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and the former

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

. The castle was founded by

King David I David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic language, Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was David, Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later Ki ...

. It was destroyed in 1276, rebuilt in 1530 by Dame Ker, and destroyed again by the 3rd

Duke of Roxburghe The Duke of Roxburghe () is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles ''Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford'', ''Earl of Kelso'' and ''Viscount Broxmouth''. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder ...

in 1760. Very little of it now remains. This Norman castle was named after the Lords Holydean, who were originally the deans of

Kelso Abbey Kelso Abbey is a ruined Scottish abbey in Kelso, Scotland. It was founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Scotland in the reign of Alexander I. It occupies ground overlooking the confluence of the Tweed ...

: monks who held great power in what was one of the largest feudal territories and most profitable regions of Scotland. The peerage title, barony, and castle eventually went to the Kerrs who were made Earls of Roxburghe, and later Dukes. Holydean Farm stands on the site of the old Holydean Castle. A stone block rescued from the castle now forms the lintel of the farmhouse doorway, and the castle well is still preserved. The castle's alternative name is Hobbie Ker's Well.

References

*A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: ''A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical'', edited by Francis H. Groome, originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

External links

CANMORE/RCAHMS record of HolydeanRCAHMS record for Holydean CastleGeograph image: Farmland at Holydean, viewed from a track between Holydean Farm and Over Whitlaw Farm

E-book

Alexander Jeffrey, The history and antiquities of Roxburghshire and adjacent districts (Volume Four, pages 28 of 30

References

External links

E-book

See also