Thursday 23 January 2020

Looking Back to Earlston in the 1950s

Earlston's more recent past is the focus of this article  with a look at what topics  were making the headlines in the local press. Some issues  still sound familiar today, with items ranging  from concerns on the state of roads, and  a village hall venue,  to housing in the village, and leisure activities.


ROADWAY AT THE GREEN
 "A Petition on the State of the roadway bordering the Green  was considered at the Berwickshire West District Meeting  with the  claim that:
"The road was in a disgraceful condition and the state of the drainage was disgusting. It was suggested that the balance of   £230 in the  Wallace Trust* could be used."  (Berwickshire News:  31st January 1950)

VILLAGE HALL FOR EARLSTON  
 The Berwickshire West District  Committee also discussed:
"The acquisition of a village hall for Earlston   as there were two church halls for sale.  It was left to local members of the committee to see if  the inhabitants would  raise funds to buy one". (Berwickshire News:  31st January 1950)

GAS SUPPLIES  - Berwickshire News:  4 January 1950

 

  
     






ANIMALS WOULD NOT LIVE UNDER THESE EARLSTON CONDITIONS
 This was the claim at a meeting of BerwickshIre Health Committee, with the housing of agricultural workers the focus of this discussion.
" People are being denied the essentials of life such as water".
(Berwickshire News:  31 January 1950)

EARLSTON HOUSING APPALLING 
The housing issue remained a key topic of concern at council meetings  with the comment:
"The housing situation is most acute.   There are 390 houses in Earlston and 230 workers coming into the village every day to work with the desire to live here.  18 houses are only one room, sublet to a families;  57 have two rooms sublet and 28 homes are overcrowded.  16 families are living in caravans  ............It was proposed a site be selected with a plan for the development of 50 houses."  (Berwickshire News: 16th May 1950)

A HANDYMAN FOR EARLSTON - 
At the same meeting, it was suggested that in the more populous villages, including Earlston:
"A handyman be employed  - his duties to include street cleaning etc , burial grounds, water,  lighting, drainage and public conveniences. he scheme was agreed on in principle."  (Berwickshire News:  31st January 1950)

GEORGEFIELD EGG PACKING STATION ADVERT: 



Advertisement in the Berwick Advertiser:25th July 1957

 Below:  Two photographs of the workers c.1950s - from the Auld Earlston Collection







 SUNDAY SCHOOL OUTING
 Berwickshire News:  28th June 1958.
"Six  buses conveyed to Spittal 150 children from Sunday Schools at Earlston, Redpath, Fans, and Mellerstain, together with 100 adults.  A "Tide Fight" was held at Spittal  along with paddling, races and a sandcastle competition.  The outing  was favoured with brilliant sunshine."
 EARL OPENS WEST GREEN GARDEN 
"There was a large attendance at the West Green Garden for its official opening by the Earl of Haddington, accompanied by the Countess of Haddington. .......All this had been made possible by the generosity of a very kind benefactor Miss Wallace,* who had left a fund to make Earlston a pleasant to live in.  Grateful thanks were also extended to Lord Haddingon for the gift of the land." (Berwickshire News:  4th August 1953)


 The small stone plaque (across from the War Memorial)
acknowledging Isabella Wallace's * generosity 


 Other newspaper editions of  the  decade abound with reports on leisure activities -   Corn Exchange concerts and dances, rugby and football matches, the Bowling Club, and Tennis Club, etc., plus groups that  we no longer hear about such as the:
  • Weekly Whist Drive Club
  • Earlston  Budgerigar Society
  • Earlston Ornithological Society
  • Earlston and District Ambulance Association

     

    Tennis Club Dance, held in St. John's Church Hall, 1959. 


    And Finally:
    A CINEMA ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE 1950S.
     

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    NOTE
    the references to the Wallace Fund and to Miss Isabella Wallace:

    Isabella Wallace (c.1854-1920) was the unmarried daughter of John Wallace, joiner.  In her will she left money to Earlston Parish Council for   "For the purpose of improving the amenities of the Town of Earlston including footpaths, paving,  and lighting, and similar objects". 

    She never forgot that in 1874 a devastating fire had destroyed the family home and bushiness.  But the Earlston community rallied round and gave generously to support the family and enable her father to resume his business.   Isabella Wallace  repaid   this generosity through her will, to become "Earlston's Friend and Benefactor".



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    Wednesday 8 January 2020

    Sir Thomas Learmonth of Ercildoune - Thomas the Rhymer

    Thomas the Rhymer is probably the one historical figure that best comes to mind when  thinking about Earlston's past, with fragments of his reputed tower house  remaining the  symbol  of the  village, as seen on street signs and the primary school uniform.


    We are grateful for this article on Thomas, written by Gwen Hardie of the Friends of Thomas the Rhymer Group. 

    Mention the name ‘Thomas the Rhymer’ to most folk and they will either reply that they have never heard of him or that he was a fantasy figure who  disappeared for seven years to live with the Queen of Elfland and returned to Ercildoune with the gift of prophecy.

    There is very little factual information on the life of Sir Thomas Learmonth of Ercildoune, yet two extant documents, both written in Latin, are proof of his existence. Despite the dearth of information, Thomas the Rhymer’s role in shaping the course of Scottish history cannot, and should not, be underestimated. His prophecies included:

    • The death of King Alexander III in 1286, 
    • The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, 
    • The defeat and death of King James IV at the Battle of Flodden in 1513
    • the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1603. 
    Thomas's  prophecies were consulted before major battles, not least the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745, and a copy of his chapbook of prophecies was kept in many households in Scotland and consulted regularly. He was regarded as the greatest prophet until the time of Nostradamus - the 16th century French  astrologist, physician and reputed seer.


    What we do know is that Thomas was born in Ercildoune, now known as Earlston, to a family of nobility in or around 1220. The family home was a stone-built tower-house or castle, situated near the Leader water and included around ten acres of land. In this medieval period, the villagers would live in meagre, quite squalid accommodation; therefore the home of the Learmonths would be regarded as a grand and imposing structure.

    It  is written that Thomas was a frequent visitor to the hunting lodge/castle of the Earls of March and Dunbar; this situated further to the west of his home in a hamlet known as the ‘Earls Toun’. He, allegedly, was an ally of, and perhaps prophet to, King Alexander III. It has also been suggested that Lady Bethoc, daughter of the 7th Earl Patrick, was his lover and bore him a son. It is rumoured that they met for secret trysts at the waterfall on Goblin Brook (Boglie Burn) on the slopes of the north Eildon. It has also been suggested that Lady Bethoc was the inspiration for the now famous ‘Romance of Thomas of Ercildoune’. Apparently, her death at a young age left Thomas distraught and their clandestine affair incurred the wrath of Bethoc’s brother, ‘Pate’, 8th Earl and successor to the title, Earl of March and Dunbar, on his father’s death.

    ‘Blind Harry’, biographer of William Wallace, wrote that Thomas was a frequent visitor to Fail Monastery in Ayrshire, and, during his many visits became acquainted with William Wallace. One of the Rhymer’s many prophecies told that William Wallace would lead Scotland to victory and, by all accounts, it would appear that Thomas was a staunch supporter of his cause against English oppression. By this time, the first ‘War of Independence’, of which Thomas had  forewarned, had begun. 

    While draining the peat bog in Earlston to lay the foundations for the railway line in the mid-nineteenth century, a two-handed broadsword was unearthed. It was in pristine condition and dated by an arms expert as being from the 13th century. The old track that linked the home of Thomas to the hunting lodge of the Earls of Dunbar skirted the peat-bog. This area had been known as “Hawkes Kaim” (Hawks comb), the old Hawking ground of the Earls. It is now known as Halcombe. Apparently, the sword still exists and is part of a private collection, though its whereabouts has not been revealed. 

    Thomas disappeared twice from the land of mortals, each time in mysterious circumstances. The first is well documented in the tale of his meeting with the queen of fair Elfland at the Eildon Tree and his subsequent return after seven years with the gift of prophecy. 

    The second time, he didn’t return to mortal earth. This tale is contained in "The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders" by Sir Walter Scott, entitled Thomas the Rhymer, (part third). It is also contained in ‘The Life and Times of Thomas of Ercildoune (The Rhymer) by Elizabeth Burton. This account tells of him following a white hart and hind across the raging River Leader and into the depth of the surrounding forest.

    It has also been suggested that Thomas  retired to live out his days at Fail monastery…….or, perhaps he was murdered by agents of his enemy, Earl Patrick of Dunbar, and his body disposed of in the murky depths of the peat bog of the Hawkes Kaim. Or, does he “Drie his weird” with the Fairy folk in the halls deep beneath the Eildon Hills and return at will to mortal earth? 

    With much of Thomas' life shrouded in mystery, it is strange then, that in the 21st century, some 700 years after his demise, information on his bizarre existence is still highly sought after. Indeed, ‘The Romance of Thomas of Ercildoune’, and the latter ballad versions, continues to inspire poets, authors, artists and film-makers, while stirring the imagination of lovers of mystique both locally and globally.   As Sir Walter Scott proclaimed: 


                        "Farewell my Father's ancient tower!  A long farewell, said he
                   The scene of pleasure, pomp and power, thou never more shall be!


    Some said to hill, and some to glen their wondrous course had been
                          But ne'er in haunts o'living men again  was Thomas seen".

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