Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 5

PEEBLES
the Old Town, and afterwards removed to the High
Street, was given to Sir John Hay, Bart., in 1807, and
set up by him at Kingsmeadows. In 1859 it was re-
stored to the town, and stands now in the court of the
Chambers Institution. According to the writer of the
New Statistical Account of the parish, ' the cross was
a work of great antiquity, having been erected by one
of the Frasers of Neidpath Castle before the time of
Kobert the Bruce, and bears the arms of the Frasers.'
It consisted of an octagonal column, 12 feet in height
and 3J in circumference. A house in High Street,
inhabited for generations by a family called TurnbuU,
bakers by business, bears a stone with implements used
in baking carved upon it, and with the inscription,
'God provides a rich inheritans ; 1717. W T.' A
small one-storied shop in the High Street, a few doors
E of the Chambers Institution, was used by Mungo
Park (1771-1805), the famous African traveller, as
a surgerj'. He practised in Peebles during 1801-2,
and was well received, but doubtless found existence
in a Scotch country town rather dull after a life of
adventure in Africa. This may explain why he gave
up his profession to enter upon his second and fatal
expedition to the Niger. Some of the names of
streets and localities in Peebles are interesting on
account of their associations. Such, for example, are
Borthwick's "Walls, Port - brae, Northgate, Eastgate,
Bridgegate, which preserve the fact of Peebles having
been at one time a walled town. Again, there are
King's-house and King's-orchards, which call to remem-
brance the not un frequent visits of royalty ; and there
is Dean's-gutter, which brings into recollection the old
religious establishments, swept away at the Reformation.
A house standing at the corner between High Street
and Northgate bears the name ' Cunzie Neuk ' or
' Cuuye Neuk.' It is said that it derived its name
from a house, erected as early as 1473, on the same site,
and so called, according to some, because money was
coined there. It is more likely, however, that it ob-
tained its name from the fact of its being a corner house.
There are not fewer than seven hill forts in the
parish, erected by the Britons as defences against their
various foes. These forts are on Meldon Hill, Janet's
Brae (2), Cardie Hill, Kittlegairy Hill, Cademuir Hill
(2), Camp-law. The extent of these and their history
have been carefully treated in the chapter entitled
' Early History and Antiquities, ' in Dr Chambers's
History of Peeblesshire.
History. — When Peebles was first founded is not
known, but that it must have been at a very early date
is certain. Its name, which is spelt Peblis, Peeblis,
Peebles, is derived, according to Chambers, from ' pehyll,'
•which means 'movable habitations, tents, or pavilions.'
If this derivation is correct, the word meaning tents has
been transferred, by a common figure of speech, to the
place where they were pitched, i'he natural surround-
ings of the town, which is well sheltered and amply
supplied with water, make this far from unlikely. A
tradition of the 6th century connects Peebles with the
patron saint of Glasgow — St Mungo. According to it,
ie visited the town and planted a church there, and
' Saint Mungo's Well ' still calls to remembrance the
visit of the bishop. It is not, liowever, before the 12th
century that history takes the place of tradition. Al-
though the vi£w that Peebles was created a royal bui'gh
by David I. is probably wrong, and that according to
which it was created a royal burgh by David II. in 1367
correct, the town still had, even at the earlier date, a
certain position in Scottish history. In the 12th century
a rector of Peebles, afterwards Bishop of Glasgow, vindi-
cated at Rome the resistance of the Church of Scotland
to the claim of superiority over it, made by the Arch-
bishop of York. At that time there were in the town a
church, a mill, and a brewery.
Peebles stood in a country which then afforded good
hunting, and, in consequence, its castle, which may
have been built in the reign of David I., was used as a
royal residence by various kings when residing in that
part of the kingdom. David I. himself, Malcolm IV.,
PEEBLES
his son, William the Lyon, Alexander II., and Alex-
ander III. may be mentioned. During one of his
invasions of Scotland, Edward I. spent some time at
Peebles, from whose castle he dated more than one
charter. In 1304, Peebles, with its mills, etc., was
granted by him to Aymer de Valence, Warden of Scot-
land, and his heirs. The right to hold a fair was given
to the town by King Robert the Bruce, but the charter
which conveyed it has disappeared. In 1329 David II.
visited Peebles, and in the Scottish Parliament, which
met after the battle of Durham (1346) and during the
King's captivity, to ratify the agreement entered into
with England, two commissioners from Peebles took
part. This, combined with the creation of Peebles into
a royal burgh (1367), shows that, even at that early
period, the town was regarded as important. In these
unsettled times it suffered considerably, though not to
the same extent as towns nearer the English border.
In 1406, Sir Robert Umphraville, Vice-Admiral of Eng-
land, made a raid upon Peebles, and, as Hardyng
relates,
' Brent the town upon their market-day.
And raete ttieir cloth witli spears and bows sere
By his bidding without any nay.'
The next monarch whose name is connected with
Peebles is James I. of Scotland. After his return from
captivity in England, he visited the town on several
occasions. There, it is almost certain, that he would
see the sports of Beltane Day (May 1), which, in turn,
might well suggest to him the idea of Peblis to the
Play. According to Chambers, 'the festivities of
Beltane originated in the ceremonial observances of the
original British people, who lighted fires on the tops of
hills and other places in honour of their deity Baal ;
hence Beltane or Beltien, signifying the fire of Baal.
The superstitious usage disappeared, . . . but certain
festive customs on the occasion were confirmed and
amplified, and the rural sports of Beltane at Peebles,
iucluding archery and horse-racing, . . . drew crowds
not only from the immediate neighbourhood, but from
Edinbm-gh and other places at a distance.' Numerous
local allusions and intimate acquaintance with the
humours and customs of the age prove that the poem
was written by one who had witnessed the rejoicings of
Beltane Day ; and all that is known of King James I.
makes it very likely that he was the author of Pehlis
to the Play. The poem opens with the following lines :
' At Beltane, when ilk body bounds
To Peebles to the play,
To hear the sinjring and tlie sounds.
Their solace, sooth to say,
By firth and forest forth they found,
They graithit them full gay,
God wait that wold they do that stound,
For it was their feast day.
They said
Of Peebles to the play.'
In the poem of Christ Kirk on the Green, which has
been ascribed both to James I. and James V. , the sports
at Peebles are also alluded to :
' Was ne'er in Scotland heard nor seen
Sic dancing:, nor denay,
Neither at Falkland on the Green,
Or Peebles at the Play.'
Chambers points out as evidencing the popularity of
James I. that, after he had been murdered at Perth
(1437), money was subscribed by the inhabitants,
sufficient to have a mass said daily for the King's soul.
The reign of James II. is interesting in connection
with Peebles, because in it begin the burgh records.
The 4th October 1456 is the earliest date to which it is
possible to go back. To the reign of his successor,
James III., a poem called The Tales of the Thrie
Priestis of Peebles must be referred. It is constructed,
to a certain extent, on the same lines as the satirical
poems of Sir David Lindsay, especially as regards the
parts in which the faults and failings of the clergy are
severely criticised. From James IV. the town obtained
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