Scott Country - Roxburgh Castle

Roxburgh Castle
Watercolour illustrations from The Scott Country completed by Ernest William Haslehust (1866-1949).

Scott Country - Bemerside Hill

Bemerside Hill

“This Bemerside Hill is a ‘Mount of vision’ from which all the chief shrines and high places of the Scott Country can be surveyed, at least with the mind’s eye. Abbortsford itself, if not in actual view, can be mapped into the scene by direction and position Out of sight, directly under the brow of the hill, is the ancient square fortalice, with later buildings attached, and grounds stretching down towards the Tweed, where Haigs have been resident for seven centuries. They were benefactors of Melrose when Alexander III was king, and when Thomas the Rhymer was their neighbour and wellwisher, and uttered the prophecy that has so mightiliy helped its own fulfilment:

“Betyde, betyde, whate’er betyde,
Haig shall be Haig of Bemersyde.”

Sir Walter Scott was a later friend of the family, and was often a guest in the beautiful rose-garden below the mansion. A grateful nation bestowed the house and manor on the late Field-Marshal Earl Haig, who now lies at rest close by Sir Walter at Dryburgh.” The Scott Country (pp. 32, 33)

Watercolour illustrations from The Scott Country completed by Ernest William Haslehust (1866-1949).

The Scott Country -- Branxholm Tower

Branxholm Tower

“It was from Branxholm, on the Teviot above Hawick, that another Scott of the name – generation after generation were Walters – rode forth to rescue ‘Kinmount Willie’ from prison in Carlisle. The Minstrel’s tale, in the Lay, opens at and returns again to Branxholm Ha’; it was at the Tower Inn, at Hawick, where the Duchess Anne of Buccleuch and Monmouth held her receptions, and that the greatest of all the Sir Walters parted from his guests the Wordsworths.” The Scott Country (p. 21)

Watercolour illustrations from The Scott Country completed by Ernest William Haslehust (1866-1949).

The Scott Country -- images

Smailholm-Tower

Smailholm is a well preserved and restored border tower house dating from the 15th century. Situated on Sandyknowe Farm, it is visible for miles around. Formerly home to the Pringles of Smailholm and later the Scotts of Harden, it was well known to Sir Walter Scott who came to Sandyknowe regularly to visit his grandfather.

Watercolour illustration from The Scott Country completed by Ernest William Haslehust R.I., R.B.A. (1866-1949)

The Scott Country

A series of watercolour illustrations for The Scott Country were completed by Ernest William Haslehust R.I., R.B.A. (1866-1949). Born at Walthamstow in Essex, the eldest son of William Henry Haselhust, of Lee, Kent, he studied at the Slade School. Besides his life as an artist he was a keen gardener and nature lover he had a interest in scientific instruments.

His legacy to the illustrators craft remains the hundreds of illustrations completed for the series Beautiful Scotland, Beautiful England and Beautiful Ireland. Bublished by Blackie & Son Ltd. no indication of date or any claim of copyright is made in the documents. Most were published in the 1920's. The images are considered to be stock image royalty-free for non-commercial uses only, and usage credit is requested by the website making these available to the public for download at http://www.fromoldbooks.org/

Newark Tower

Name Profiling - A New Tool in Tracking Scotts

Name profiling is a form of research that allows one to follow migration patterns - as family names become established in new locations. Both telephone and electoral data are used to determine how prevalent both surnames and given names are in various areas.

Research on the surname Scott has been done by a team of geographers from University College, London, using data from electoral rolls and telephone directories as part of an effort to map the distribution of 10.8 million distinct surnames.

The information, covering a billion people in 26 countries, shows concentrations of individual surnames which is used to help show where different names originated and where families with those surnames are currently living around the world - revealing the ongoing impact of migration.

The online maps, at www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames, lists the top regions and cities for the presence of each last name.

The highest prevalence of Scotts in Scottish districts shows a concentration in the counties north and south of Edinburgh. This includes the current districts of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Midlothian, East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, Northumberland, and the Scottish Borders. As well the Orkney Islands are equal in having the highest frequency of the surname in the UK.

Scotland is clearly recognized as the source of the surname, a fact borne out by a continuing presence measured by frequency per million (FPM) of 5492.02. Despite being the source, it is closely followed by both New Zealand at 3031.03 and Australia at 2409.68, which place second and third internationally.

Perhaps it is no surprise given the waves of Scottish immigration to North America that Canada is the fourth highest country for Scotts at 1990.45 and the US is fifth at 1582.32.

With the high frequency of Scotts in New Zealand, one could logically expect that some of the top ten Scott areas in the world might be located there. The top international districts include:

Scotland - 5492.02
Northern UK - 5201.8
Otago Region, NZ - 4727.51
Marlborough Region, NZ - 4345.43
Nelson Region, NZ - 4345.43
Tasman Region, NZ - 4345.43
Gisborne Region, NZ - 3661.09
Northern Ireland, UK - 3608.02
Western Australia, Australia - 3572.36
Canterbury Region, NZ - 3558.98

The research also lists the top five Scott cities worldwide with the majority of those being in Scotland. They include:

Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

The website provides a unique mapping tool which allows one to type in a surname and then click on the maps to drill down from world maps to a district level.

Clan Scott Society Gathering - 2009 - Bowhill - Scotland

As part of Homecoming Scotland 2009, Bowhill is hosting a Clan Scott Society Gathering between the 24th and 27th of September 2009. Details are now available on the various events.

The Bowhill House & Country Estate site now has the details in pdf format through the following link.
The details have been copied (without the original formatting) below

Bowhill House and Country Estate
www.bowhill.org

Provisional Programme for Scott Clan Gathering at Bowhill

24 – 27 September 2009

Wednesday September 23, 2009
Evening Welcome with traditional music and supper - location County Hotel, Selkirk

Thursday September 24, 2009
All Day Bus Tour of Scott Country - Around the Scottish Borders (preference given to Scott Clan members)

Thursday September 24, 2009
Evening Theatre Performance Bowhill Theatre (numbers limited to 72)

Friday September 25, 2009
Afternoon Tours of Bowhill House - Bowhill House and tea with 10 Duke of Buccleuch (tickets limited)

Friday September 25
Afternoon Ranger led tours of Bowhill Country Estate - Bowhill Woodlands

Friday September 25
Evening Reception Dinner at Abbotsford (Scott Clan only)

or Traditional Music Supper in Selkirk - location County Hotel, Selkirk

Saturday September 26, 2009
All Day Tented Village: local crafts, Genealogy, Clan Parade, Storytelling, Re-enactment of Carterhaugh Ba’ Game
(open to all) - location Bowhill Gardens and Estate

Saturday September 26, 2009
Evening Concert with SCOCHA – traditional Scottish folk rock band (open to all) - location Bowhill Gardens

Sunday September 27, 2009
All day Walks round Estate, display of Buccleuch Fox Hounds, Ox roast BBQ to bid farewell to the Scotts
(open to all) - location Bowhill Gardens and Estate

(Pricing and further details to follow)