Places
The network of special sites listed here form an integral part of the Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum and together they tell the full, varied and rich story of the Flodden Campaign far better than one site alone.
Here you will find details of the Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum sites themselves, their history, location, and on-going remembrance of the Battle of Flodden. Together they piece together the wider story of the conflict, both past and present.
The sites are located across the UK. Those local to the Tweed basin are listed against a blue background and those more distant sites are shown against a green background.
The Battlefield of Flodden is the location of the major engagement in the Flodden campaign, where the armies of James IV of Scotland and the Earl of Surrey, met on 9th September 1513. The battle occurred somewhere in the fields to the south of Branxton on the slopes of...
After the success of his first epic poem, The Lay of the Last Minstrel, published in 1805, Sir Walter Scott settled down to write a similarly long work climaxing on the battlefield of Flodden, entitled Marmion. This tragedy commanded a special place in the history and culture of the...
Barmoor Castle had been a stopping point for English armies on their way to Scotland since before the time of Edward II and continued in this role through to 1745 and after. The gates at Barmoor Castle were erected in 2010, to commemorate Barmoor as...
Berwick upon Tweed was an important port and staging post for troops and supplies in preparation for the battle. At the time of Flodden, 600 soldiers were garrisoned in Berwick upon Tweed, treble the normal strength. This was as protection for the strategically important but...
The army of the Earl of Surrey is said to have mustered near Bolton during the 3rd – 5th of September 1513 and on a number of occasions he used the chapel to worship in.
Though extensively rebuilt during 1849 the Church of St Paul was originally constructed in the medieval period and may stand on the site of an older timber church. During the days following the Battle of Flodden it served first as a temporary mortuary and then...
There are two Ecomuseum sites in Coldstream, the Museum and the ford at Tweed Green but the town has many other close links with the battle. The Cistercian Priory of Coldstream was founded in 1166 as a Nunnery and remained so until its dissolution in...
Ellemford was a regular muster site for Scottish armies in the Borders. James IV mustered here before Flodden. It is easy to understand why this area was chosen. It is a flat, sheltered area which could easily accommodate thousands of troops and also offered an easy crossing of the...
A defended manor was first established here in the 13th Century by the Manners family, but was only fortified as we see it today during the 14th Century. It remained occupied by the Manners descendants until it was finally abandoned as a home in the 15th Century and by...
Being the closest chapel to his camp, it is highly likely that King James IV attended Mass in the Church of St. Michael & All Angels before the battle. Originally built in Norman times, it was significantly enlarged in the 19th century by the Newcastle architect John Dobson. ...
In 1514 a skirmish took place at Hornshole, a few miles out of Hawick, when English soldiers were pillaging the area which was still recovering from the disaster of Flodden. Local youth (most of Hawick’s men were killed at Flodden) rode out from the town, fought the soldiers and...
The earliest reference to Heatherslaw Mill dates back to 1306 and suggests that a mill had stood on this site at least from the 13th Century. Since that time, it is believed that the mill ground corn largely uninterrupted for at least 700 years and is likely to have...
Hume castle was the family seat of the Earl of Home at the time of Flodden and a muster point of the Home contingent before the invasion in August 1513. In 1515 it also featured in the aftermath of the Battle when Albany decided Home...
Kelso Abbey was the site of the crowning of James IV in 1488. It is said (but unattributed) that some of the dead of the battle were returned to Kelso Abbey for burial in the days following the defeat of the Scottish army. The town itself has many connections...
The church of Ladykirk, originally dedicated as Our Lady Kirk of Steill, is said to have been built during the last years of the 1490s on the orders of King James IV of Scotland. On returning from the siege of Norham Castle in 1496, King...
Norham Castle was established as a motte-and-bailey by the Bishops of Durham in the early 12th Century and within 100 years developed the stone form we see today. It was captured by James IV during the last week of August 1513 after a five day...
The Historic border town of Selkirk has many associations with Flodden both past and present. Ecomuseum site Halliwell’s House Museum has displays relating to the border reiving and also to Flodden. These include two artefacts that have the firmest provenance of such items, a sword and the Macclesfield Banner....
Christianity in Berwickshire goes back 1400 years and the first written record of a kirk on this site is from 1098. The original stone building was built around a wooden Celtic church and the kirk has undergone many changes in its long life. Over a...
Traquair is Scotland’s oldest inhabited house dating back over 900 years. Originally a royal hunting lodge, 27 Scottish monarchs have visited Traquair and there are strong associations with Mary Queen of Scots and the Jacobite Uprisings. The Stuarts of Traquair have lived in the house...
Twizel Bridge, built in 1511, two years before the Battle of Flodden, provided the only dry crossing of the River Till between the Tweed and Etal. During the Scottish Campaign of 1513, it is likely that parts of both armies crossed the bridge. The Scots...
Very little remains today of Wark Castle, one of the most strategically important border castles of its time. Wark on Tweed lies about 3.5 miles south-west of the border town of Coldstream. Today it is a small, quiet village of just a few houses situated next to the River...
Weetwood Bridge has been much altered over its existence but is thought to have first been constructed as a crossing point over the Till during the early 16th Century. The bridge lies on the direct route from Wooler Haugh where Surrey’s army camped on the...
Castle Semple Collegiate Church is owned and cared for by Historic Scotland but sits within the Muirshiel Regional Park (a few miles west of Paisley). Walking and cycle paths go from Castle Semple visitor centre to the church. Within the church is the tomb of Lord Sempill, killed at...
Edinburgh has many connections with Flodden with perhaps the remains of the town wall being the most visible reminder of the conflict and its consequences. The Flodden Wall (an Ecomuseum site) is the remains of a town wall that was built around the southern extent of the late medieval...
