Darnick is a village near Melrose 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 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 ...

, in 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 name was first recorded in 1124, and has changed from Dernewic, Dernwick and Darnwick to the present Darnick. was built in c. 1425, and another

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

, Fisher's Tower, is still recognisable by its remains. Fisher's Tower, Darnick - geograph

Skirmish Hill by Darnick is the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

which took place on 25 July 1526 between the Scotts of Buccleuch and the Kerrs of Ferniehirst, trying to intercept King

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and duri ...

who was then under the guardianship of

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (c. 148922 January 1557) was a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the son of George, Master of Angus, who was killed at the Battle of Flodden, and suc ...

. John Smith of Darnick created the Wallace Statue at

Bemersyde House Bemersyde House is a historic house in Roxburghshire, Scotland. The nearest towns are Newtown St. Boswells, Melrose, and Dryburgh. The William Wallace Statue, Bemersyde is on the Bemersyde Estate. History Dating back to the 16th century as ...

. His family were builders and masons during the first half of the 19th century, and they have to their credit an extension to Abbotsford,

Dryburgh Abbey Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regu ...

House, Eckford Church, Gattonside House, Hawick North Bridge, the bridge over the

Hermitage Water The Hermitage Water is a river in Liddesdale, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Among its many feeder burns are Braidley Burn, Dinley Burn, Gorrenberry Burn and Twislehope Burn. The Water flows through the hamlets of Dinley and Gorrenbe ...

, Melrose Parish Church, and Yetholm Parish Church. Places nearby include Abbotsford, Buckholm,

Eildon Eildon is the largest committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, with a population of 34,892 at the census in 2001. It also contains the three Eildon Hills, tallest in the Scottish Borders. Places in Eildon References See also *Subdivi ...

, the

Gala Water The Gala Water ( Lowland Scots: Gala Watter; Scottish Gaelic An Geal Ath) is a river in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland and a tributary of the River Tweed. It is sometimes known as the "Gala", which nickname is also shared with Galashiels, ...

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive ...

Gattonside Gattonside is a small village in the Scottish Borders. It is located north of Melrose, on the north side of the River Tweed. In 1143, the lands of Gattonside were granted to the monks of Melrose Abbey by King David I. Gattonside was the home o ...

Lindean Lindean is a village north of Selkirk and the Ettrick Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. In 1590 the parishioners of Lindean had permission to rebuild their church on the north side of the Tweed, at the west end of Boleside, ne ...

and

Newtown St Boswells Newtown St Boswells ( sco, Newtoon; gd, Baile Ùr Bhoisil ) is a village in the historic county of Roxburghshire which houses the administrative centre of the Scottish Borders council area. The village lies south of the Eildon Hills on the Spr ...

References

* Douglas, Sir George (1899)
''History of the Border Counties: Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles''
Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood & Sons.

Sources

A walk around Darnick, described by Nigel Tranter in his 'Illustrated Portrait of the Border Country' 1972

External links

RCAHMS record of Darnick, Skirmish Field

Darnick Tower
information and pictures published by the ''Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland'' {{authority control Villages in the Scottish Borders