Eckford is a small village located between the larger towns of Kelso and

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. The village is in close proximity to both the

River Teviot The River Teviot (; ), or Teviot Water, is a river of the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, and is the largest tributary of the River Tweed by catchment area. The Teviot is an important river for wildlife, especially the Atlantic salmon, but ...

and its tributary the Kale Water, and the A698 and the B6401 which run approximately parallel to the respective rivers. The village itself consists of around 20 houses, situated off Eckford road, the minor Well road and the historic drove road, the Loaning.

Eckford Village Hall

The village hall was built in 1930, funded primarily by local subscription and fund raising, and sits in the heart of the village, and is its last remaining public building (previously there was also a school (1963), post office and shop). The hall remains an important hub within the village and hosts events throughout the year.

Eckford Parish

The parish of Eckford consists of Caverton, Cessford and Eckford. *Caverton comprises Caverton Mill (by the Kale), Old Caverton, Caverton Hillhead, and Caverton Mains. * Cessford comprises

Cessford Castle Cessford Castle, is a large ruined mid-15th century L-plan castle near the village of Cessford, Scottish Borders, Cessford, midway Jedburgh and Kelso, Scottish Borders, Kelso, in the historic county of Roxburghshire, now a division of the Scott ...

, the Cessford Burn, and Cessford Moor. *Eckford comprises Eckfordmoss and Mosstower. Eckford's church, which sits close to the

and around 3/4 of a mile from the village was closed for safety reasons in the late 2000s due to required repairs to the bell tower, the cost of which proved insurmountable. The graveyard surrounding the church remains in use, however, and contains a remarkable circular tower, used in the 19th century to guard newly buried bodies against the risk of body snatchers.

In History

The name Eckford is locally accepted to be a variant on Oakford, meaning simply a ford by oak trees. It has also been suggested independently, however, to mean ford by the church. It was known as Eckeforde in 1200 and Hecford in 1220. The prefix Ecc is from the Latin ecclesia meaning church. On 17 October 1557 a Scottish army led by the

Earl of Huntly Marquess of Huntly is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existing marquessate in Scotland, and the second-oldest in the British Isles; only the English ma ...

halted at Eckford. There the Scottish lords held a consultation, and considering the time of year, the foul weather, and English preparations against them, decided not to attack Wark as

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...

had instructed them. The next day they crossed the border and approached Wark Castle with their artillery but then returned to Scotland.

Moss Tower

The ruins of Moss Tower remain in Eckford parish. This castle was damaged by the English commanded by Lord Dacre in 1523, and again in 1544, and 1570. John Ormeston of Ormeston wrote to members English Forster family in November 1559. He was the Earl of Bothwell's bailiff, living at Moss Tower, and was worried by news that an English army was coming to Scotland to aid the Protestant

Lords of the Congregation The Lords of the Congregation (), originally styling themselves the Faithful, were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured a reformation of the Catholic church according to Protestant principles and a Scottish ...

. He hoped they would warn him of any trouble. The tower later belonged to the rebel earl

Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell (c. December 1562 – November 1612), was Commendator of Kelso Abbey and Coldingham Priory, a Privy Counsellor and Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He was a notorious conspirator who led several uprisings aga ...

, who used it as refuge in March 1594, and his wife

Margaret Douglas Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (8 October 1515 – 7 March 1578), born Lady Margaret Douglas, was the daughter of the Scottish queen dowager Margaret Tudor and her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and thus the granddau ...

stayed there.Annie I. Cameron, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1593-1596'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 304, 471: ''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 239.

Footnotes

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