Eckford is a village on the A698 and the B6401, in the Scottish Borders

Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

 area of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, close to the place where the Kale Water

Kale Water

The Kale Water is a long tributary of the River Teviot in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Its feeder burns in the Cheviot Hills are the Long Burn, Hawkwillow Burn and the Grindstone Burn, east of Leithope Forest near the Anglo-Scottish Border....

 joins the River Teviot

River Teviot

The River Teviot, or Teviot Water, is a river of the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, and a tributary of the River Tweed.It rises in the western foothills of Comb Hill on the border of Dumfries and Galloway...

. Kalemouth

Kalemouth

Kalemouth is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, where the Kale Water joins the River Teviot, near to Eckford, Cessford, Crailing, Kelso, and Roxburgh.Kalemouth Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge.-Sources:...

 and the Kalemouth Suspension Bridge

Kalemouth Suspension Bridge

The Kalemouth Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge at Kalemouth in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, near the B6401. It crosses the River Teviot just above its confluence with the Kale Water, near Eckford...

 are also nearby, as are Crailing

Crailing

Crailing is a village on the A698, in Teviotdale, 4m east of Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire.Places nearby include Ancrum, Crailinghall, Eckford, Hownam, Kelso, Nisbet, Roxburghshire, the Oxnam Water, the River Teviot.Rory Bremner bought Crailing House...

, Crailinghall

Crailinghall

Crailinghall is a village near Oxnam in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire.Crailinghall is on the route of the St. Cuthbert's Way and the Roman Heritage Way.-See also:*List of places in the Scottish Borders...

, Roxburgh

Roxburgh (village)

Roxburgh is a village off the A699, by the River Teviot, near Kelso in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland.Other places nearby include Ednam, Heiton, Maxton, Morebattle, Smailholm, Sprouston and Stichill,The Borders Abbeys Way passes through the village....

, Roxburgh Castle

Roxburgh Castle

Roxburgh Castle was a castle sited near Kelso, in the Borders region of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire.-History:The castle was founded by King David I. In 1174 it was surrendered to England after the capture of William I at Alnwick, and was often in English hands thereafter. The Scots made...

, and Morebattle

Morebattle

Morebattle is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the B6401, seven miles south of Kelso, Scottish Borders, beside the Kale Water, a tributary of the River Teviot.The nearby Linton Loch was drained in the 19th century to improve agriculture....

.

The parish of Eckford consists of Caverton, Cessford

Cessford

Cessford is a village off the B6401, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland.The placename is from Gaelic 'ceis' and means 'the wattled causeway over the ford'; spellings vary between Cesfuird, Cesford, Cessfoord, Cessfuird, and Cessfurde....

 and Eckford.

• Caverton comprises Caverton Mill (by the Kale), Old Caverton, Caverton Hillhead, and Caverton Mains.
• Cessford
  Cessford
  Cessford is a village off the B6401, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland.The placename is from Gaelic 'ceis' and means 'the wattled causeway over the ford'; spellings vary between Cesfuird, Cesford, Cessfoord, Cessfuird, and Cessfurde....
  
   comprises Cessford Castle
  Cessford Castle
  Cessford Castle is a ruined L-plan castle lying equidistant between the Royal Burgh of Jedburgh, and the Burghs of Kelso and Kirk Yetholm, in the historic county of Roxburghshire, now a division of the Scottish Borders...
  
  , the Cessford Burn
  Cessford Burn
  Cessford Burn is a small stream which eventually runs to meet the Kale Water and then joins the River Teviot, finally entering the River Tweed at Kelso, Scotland....
  
  , and Cessford Moor.
• Eckford comprises Eckfordmoss and Mosstower.

In History

On 17 October 1557 a Scottish army led by the Earl of Huntly

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the son of John Gordon, Lord Gordon, and Margaret Stewart, daughter of James IV. George Gordon inherited his earldom and estates in 1524 at age 10...

 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

Wark on Tweed

Wark on Tweed is a village in the English county of Northumberland. It lies about south west of Berwick-upon-Tweed...

 as Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...

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

External links

• RCAHMS record for Eckford Parish
• RCAHMS: Cist at Eckford
• RCAHMS: Romano-British Hoard at Eckford
• RCAHMS: Eckford, Eckford Road, Eckford Cottage, Eckford Tower
• Scottish Borders Council: Adopted Local Plan - Eckford - with Settlement Profile and Map
• The history of Eckford in the Scottish Borders

Footnotes