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Cavers is a parish 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 Lot ...
area 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 ...
, in the former county of
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 Be ...
, south and east of
Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one ...
. The largest village in the parish is
Denholm Denholm is a small village located between Jedburgh and Hawick in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, UK. The estimated population of Denholm is 600. There is a village green in the centre. It lies in the valley of the River Teviot. Denho ...
. The name means "enclosure".


History

Robert The Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
rewarded ‘The Good’ Sir James Douglas with lands spread across Scotland. These included Cavers, granted in 1320. Sir James had been Bruce's trusted lieutenant at
Bannockburn Bannockburn (Scottish Gaelic ''Allt a' Bhonnaich'') is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing int ...
in 1314, and was key to his power base in southern Scotland. The lands passed to James, 2nd Earl of Douglas, who, like so many other Douglases, was not to die in his bed, but on the field of battle, at Otterburn in 1388. James's sons and (a) daughter(s) were all illegitimate. To ensure their succession, he granted the lands of
Drumlanrig Drumlanrig (Scottish Gaelic: ''Druim Lannraig'') is a settlement in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, which is best known for nearby Drumlanrig Castle. The earliest record for Drumlanrig is from 1384, spelled ''Drumlangryg''. There are a number o ...
(see
Marquess of Queensberry Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was inh ...
) to his bastard son William and Cavers to Archibald. Cavers remained in Douglas hands until 1975 when James Palmer-Douglas moved away from Cavers and the remaining lands of the once vast estates in Roxburghshire were put on the market.


Cavers House

Although little or nothing remains of the original materials, the evidence suggests the building was originally constructed in the later 15th or early 16th century as a five storey high tower, which is now known locally as the "Warden's Tower".Website of Historic Environment Scotland, which was formed in 2015 by the merger
Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...
and the
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Historic Scotland, an executive ...
(RCAHMS): canmore.org.uk/site/55298 - retrieved Oct 2016
It probably incorporated part of a 13th-century castle Historic Environment Scotland web site portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB2051 – retrieved Oct 2016 and the foundations of the oldest part of the building date from 1200. In 12th-13th centuries the castle was possessed by the Baliols, but in 1352-3 passed to William, Lord Douglas, with the barony, by grant of Kind David II. In 1511, King James IV granted a new charter to James Douglas for the town and lands of Cavers including the castle, manor and mill. The castle in this charter probably refers to the existing tower and this is again mentioned in a charter of 1576. The tower was subsequently modernised and the removal of a vault above the first floor in 1890 revealed a fine 13th Century piscina-niche. This feature appeared to be in its original position, indicating that part of the tower wall is older than the tower itself. This may be a vestige of the Baliol castle. The upper two storeys were altered in 17th century and an extension was added to the tower on its north side from 1750, such that between 1750 and 1884 a classical mansion was formed known as Cavers House. This had a symmetrical seven bay front, which faced east and a three windowed semi-circle at the centre. The building was remodelled in the Scottish Baronial style in 1885-7 by Kinnear and Peddie, reducing the semi-circular centre to two storeys, adding attics to the tower and north wing, and constructing a new north-west wing. However this new wing and part of the north wing were demolished in 1953. The roof was removed in 1953, but the tower (including the 13th century remains) and a substantial part of Cavers House still remains, up to its eaves.


Parish Churches

The old church of Cavers (dedicated to St. Cuthbert), which dates from 12th century, was rebuilt in 1662, although parts of the east gable, north wall and north-west corner survived from the original building. The church stands within the grounds of Cavers House. This church building was superseded by a modern church in 1822, although the old church was used as a parochial hall into the 20th century.Website of Historic Environment Scotland: canmore.org.uk/site/55296 - retrieved Oct 2016 Kirkton Church, built in 1841, is a simple but well-proportioned church standing on an elevated site near the north-eastern boundary of the old parish of Kirkton. It is a conspicuous feature in the landscape. It replaced an older church of unknown date which had become dilapidated.New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol III Roxburgh, Peebles, Selkirk, publ.William Blackwood, 1845, pp. 377-378 Currently, the Church of Scotland parish comprises Cavers and Kirkton linked with Hawick.


Denholm

Denholm Denholm is a small village located between Jedburgh and Hawick in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, UK. The estimated population of Denholm is 600. There is a village green in the centre. It lies in the valley of the River Teviot. Denho ...
was and is the only village in the civil parish of Cavers and is situated in the north-east corner of the parish.


History of the parish

The parish of Cavers corresponded exactly or closely to the
barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of the same name. A barony in later medieval Scotland was a common franchise, increasingly defined as an estate to which specific ‘baronial’ powers attached. In general the barons had essentially the same criminal and civil jurisdiction within their barony as the sheriffs had within the
sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a ...
.Liberties and Identities in the Medieval British Isles, ed. M. Prestwich, Boydell Press, 2008. Chapter 9 Franchises North of the Border: Baronies and Regalities of Medieval Scotland, by Alexander Grant, p 155 et seq This Barony together with the lands of Cavers, and also the hereditary sheriffship of Roxburghshire, were possessed by the family of Douglas until the abolition of heritable jurisdictions in the 18th century.New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol III Roxburgh, Peebles, Selkirk, publ.William Blackwood, 1845, p.430 In 1325
Robert I Robert I may refer to: *Robert I, Duke of Neustria (697–748) *Robert I of France (866–923), King of France, 922–923, rebelled against Charles the Simple *Rollo, Duke of Normandy (c. 846 – c. 930; reigned 911–927) * Robert I Archbishop of ...
bestowed on the Sir James Douglas many lands, including the barony of Cavers, and erected the whole into a
regality A regality was a territorial jurisdiction in old Scots law which might be created by the King or Queen only, by granting lands to a subject ''in liberam regalitatem'', and the tract of land over which such a right extended. A lord of regality h ...
. The charter, by which the king made the grant is called the " Emerald Charter." The History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire and Adjacent Districts , by
Alexander Jeffrey Alexander Jeffrey (c. 1806–1874) F.S.A. (Scot) was a solicitor and local historian who spent most of his adult life in Jedburgh, Roxburghshire. He was known as the Historian of Roxburghshire. Early life Jeffrey's parents were Alexander Jeffr ...
,publ. Edinburgh, 1864, Vol 4, p. 327
Originally the parish of Cavers was very irregular in shape, being almost cut in two by the parish of KirktonOrdnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by, Francis Groome, publ. 1882-4. Article on Cavers The parish of Kirkton was bounded by the parishes of Hawick and Teviothead in the west and by Cavers on all the other sides. It had a length of 8½ miles, from north-east to south-west, and its width (east-west) varied from half a mile to almost two miles. The Kirk of Kirkton was in the north–east and Stobs station (Waverley line) was in the south–west of the parish. Area 6,222 acres.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by, Francis Groome, publ. 1882-4. Article on Kirkton The two parts of the parish of Cavers were joined by a narrow strip east of Kirkton and south-west of Rubers Law. In the northern division was the village of
Denholm Denholm is a small village located between Jedburgh and Hawick in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, UK. The estimated population of Denholm is 600. There is a village green in the centre. It lies in the valley of the River Teviot. Denho ...
, 5 miles north-east of
Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one ...
, while in the southern division was Shankend station (on the Waverly Route) 7 miles south of Hawick. The parish was 13 miles long with a width varying from 4 miles to 70 yards. Area 18,352 acres From the 19th century there was a single school board covering both parishes, which ran three schools. In December 1894 an inquiry was held in Hawick regarding representations made by the Parochial Board of Cavers that an Order be issued under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland. In this it foll ...
amalgamating the Parishes of Cavers and Kirkton. Following the inquiry, the parishes were amalgamated on 15 May 1895 and a new parish council was established covering both areas.Edinburgh Gazette (official journal of the government), 5/3/1895 p. 295; and 18/12/1894 pp. 1449-1450 At that time (1891 census) Kirkton had a population of 320, while Cavers had 1,211 of which 475 were in Denholm. Civil parishes in Scotland, as units of local government, were abolished in 1929 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 but persist for censuses, administrative records and other purposes. The parish of Cavers comes within the area of Denholm and District Community Council, whose area south of the Teviot lies within Cavers, except for the
Bedrule Bedrule ( gd, Ruail Bheathaig) is a hamlet and civil parish in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The hamlet lies on the east side of the Rule Water, which gave the village its name, about 4 miles ...
area in the east. The southern less populated part of the parish comes within the Upper Teviotdale and Borthwick Water Community Council area.Community Council boundary map http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/directory_record/7696/denholm_and_district retrieved March 2016Ordnance Survey 1 inch to 1 mile, Sheet 70 – Jedburgh, publ. 1956 The parish has a population of 1,085 (in 2011),Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved Feb 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930 of which 653 live in Denholm.Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved Oct 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Settlement


See also

*
John Leyden John Caspar Leyden, M.D., (8 September 1775 – 28 August 1811) was a Scottish indologist. Biography Leyden was born at Denholm on the River Teviot, not far from Hawick. His father, a shepherd, had contrived to send him to Edinburgh University ...
*
List of places in the Scottish Borders ''Map of places in the Scottish Borders compiled from this list'':See the list of places in Scotland for places in other counties. This list of places in the Scottish Borders includes towns, villages, hamlets, castles, golf courses, historic hous ...
*
List of places in Scotland This list of places in Scotland is a complete collection of lists of places in Scotland. *List of burghs in Scotland *List of census localities in Scotland *List of islands of Scotland **List of Shetland islands **List of Orkney islands **List o ...


References


External links


CANMORE/RCAHMS: Teviothead churchyardRCAHMS record for Cavers HouseRCAHMS record for Cavers Mains, Temporary Camp (Roman)RCAHMS record for Cavers House, St Cuthbert's Church, ChurchyardNAS record, Plan of Water Supply To Cavers ManseNAS record for Plans of Cavers Burial GroundGENUKI: Cavers Parish
{{authority control Villages in the Scottish Borders Parishes in Roxburghshire