TWEEDSMUIR PARISH HISTORY
6. Hawkshaw.
The name of Hawkshaws enters the chronicles in the reign of King Robert the Bruce in a charter that was granted to King Robert Bruce to David Lindesay, for his homage and service,of his lands of Hawkeschaws which were to be held of the Crown for the services of two archers in the King's host. (1). For more about archers and yew bows see page 5.1.Yew Trees of Neidpath.
The Hawkshaw Castle site was surveyed by the Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments for Scotland (RCAHMS) in June 1960 (2). THe Castle site is on Canmore ID 48524 and the Roman Marble Head on Canmore ID 48557. For more about the Marble Head see page Hawkshaw Roman Marble Head. The survey was carried out before the construction of the Fruid Reservoir. The report of the survey of the Hawkshaw site. No 509 follows below. In the report the reference three is for "Buchan iii, 395", and for four "Armstrong, Companion, 107."
The Castle site is the ancestral home of the Porteous Clan that resided at Hawkshaw Castle for a considerable time and they have a memorial there. It is thanks to the efforts of the Clan Porteous that the site has survived. It is fortuitous that the site is in the Hawkshaw valley and not in the Fruid valley that was flooded. The Clan have a gathering every five years at the site. Photograph on the right shows the memorial with the weir on the Hawkshaw burn on the right.
Despite the fact that Amstrong stated that the Burial Ground was close to the Castle he did not show the Castle Site /Burial Ground on his map and the location of the actual sites are open to debate. The burn that passed close to Hawkshaw farmhouse is named the Chapel Burn and hence an obvious location for the chapel.
Another possible location of the chapel was further south in the Fruid Valley namely at Priesthope and its associated burn. It is very unfortunate that more is not known about the chapel or the burial ground where members of the Porteous and Fraser and other residents of the valley are interred. For more about the Fruid Chapel and its possible location see Page 11. Pilrgrim's Way, Chapels and the Expansion of Christianity.
For information on the Farm House and also on the Covenanter/Sheep trail see page Hawkshaw Farm
For information on the Roman Marble Head found at Hawkshaws see page Roman Marble Head..
For information on Fruid (St Cuthberts) Chapel and Burial Ground see page Fruid Chapel.
More images in the Hawkshaw Picture Gallery
References.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) and Historic Scotland (H.S.) combined in 2015 to form a new organisation Historic Environment Scotland (H.E.S.). The references in the above pages and following references to the RCAHMS and HS should now be read as H.E.S.
1) Renwick, Robert; Historical Notes on Peeblesshire Localities, Watson & Smyth, Peebles, 1847. p327.
2) Royal Commission on the Ancient Monuments of Scotland, Inventory for Peeblesshire. Edinburgh, 1967, p236. Also Canmore ID 48546 for Chapel Site and 48557 for Roman Head.
3) Armstrong, Mostyn, John; A Companion to the Map of the County of Peebles, W Creech, Edinburgh 1775, p107.
or return to Tweedsmuir Parish History page.