gb0551ms-36-2-162

Transcription

[Page] 162
[Continued from page 160]

the Swinton arms - A chevron bet. [between] 3 boars heads erased.
Above the shield the letters A.S S – below M.H & date 1636.
Built into the S. [South] wall of the Swinton burial aisle on
the N. [North] of the church is another panel within a
decorated moulding has carved on it a boar
chained, above 3 boars heads and over all the
letters A.S S. M.D.H. The minister informed me that the
bell is inscribed “Maria est nomen meum 1499:”
Lying in the manse garden is a foxt or trough roughly
oblong. 2’.8” in length 1’.6” across front, 1’.8” across
the back. In the front a bed has been chiselled out
1ft. sq. [foot square] & 1inch deep to receive a panel. The basin is
1ft. [foot] 7” long. and 10ins [inches] across. The font 1’.4” high.

[Simprim]
After a little refreshment with the minister & a chat,
on to Simprim. It is as described except that
the round headed window in the East gable has
been built up in the inside. Beyond the East gable
& the N. [North] wall of the chancel which remains to a height
of about 6ft. [feet] little has survived. A number of quaint
18th. cent. [century] tombstones stand around. S’ward [Southward] again
past Milne Graden where on the left bank of the Tweed
about 1/3 m. [mile] S.W. [South West] of the house partly in a grass park &
partly in a thick covert inaccessible for barbed wire are
the remains of a strong fort. It has consisted of
3 concentric ramparts with their base on the bank
above the Tweed. In the field the ramparts have been
much ploughed down but the inner is still traceable

[Margin] (see O.M. [Ordnance Map] 25 ins. [inches] )

for a distance of 230ft. [feet] with a height in parts of 7ft. [feet] while
the 2nd rampt. [rampart] is about 4ft. [feet] high & the outer almost obliterated. Inside the wood the three
mounds are very distinct, the inner about 10ft. [feet] high, the
middle about 6ft. [feet] and the outer low. They appear to
be of earth. A couple of miles along the left bank of
Tweed brought us to Lennel church. Situated in the
middle of a graveyard. The west gable in centre of
which there is a rectangular window is still almost entire

Lennel Ch. [Church] see Pre Ref. Ch. of B’shire. [Pre-Reformation Churches of Berwickshire] 1890 – 91 p. [page] 118
The side walls remain to a height of a few feet and a
doorway exists in the S. [South] wall with a segmental
arch. The East gable has gone entirely. The
width (est.) [estimate] 26ft. [feet] probably length. 63ft. [feet] thickness of walls 3’.6”.
There are numerous 18th cent. [century] tombstones around it.
N.W. [North West] a few miles we reached a farm where I left the
motor to seek out Castle Law and The Mount. The
former I found a half ruinous modern house but
the latter was of great interest, a very well preserved mote.

The Mount
It lies in a small plantation 1/4 m [mile] S. by W. [South by West] of [ -- ] farm
It is a mound, apparently of earth about 25 ft. [feet] high
with a dia. [diameter] from N. to S. [North to South] of 121ft. [feet] surrounded by a
ditch about 30ft. [feet] wide in the bottom (where measd. at S.E.) [measured at South East)
and 9 – 10ft. [feet] deep. The summit is perfectly level
with a diameter of 62ft. [feet]. The ditch on the S. [South] has
been partially filled in as if for an entrance. There is
a slight mound on top of the counterscarp. No
stones are visible about the mound or in the ditch.
As it was getting on for 5. o’clock by the time I returned

[Continued on page 164]