Boost for 12 Towers of Rule project

SOAS has awarded £2,000, while the Community of the Twelve Towers of Rule – essentially Denholm & District and Hobkirk community councils – received £2,000 from SBC’s Teviot & Liddesdale Area Partnership’s neighbourhood support fund.

Together with £1,000 committed by the Campaign for a Scottish Borders National Park (CSBNP) which is coordinating the project, the funding will allow vital research to be carried out by Professor Richard Oram, an expert in medieval and environmental history at the University of Stirling.

He will pull together diverse records held in various archives to create a better understanding of the economy, society and culture of the Rule Valley right up to the time it was destroyed.

Professor Jane Bower, CSBNP chair, said: “It is terrific to have the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland come on board alongside so many of our other supporters.

"We can now commission a review of archival records to complement our recent archaeological findings, providing an important piece of the jigsaw to build up a picture of this late medieval Borders community.

“This will help us to build up the valley’s story down the ages, which we can then share with visitors and local residents especially those using the new walking and cycle routes we are developing in the area.”