Tarras Moss & The March of the 500
Tarras Moss
In the early years of the Routledges we are often described as having a prominent seat in the Debateable lands in the north and in Tarras Moss. This is surely no coincidence that not far north of Tarras Moss is Hawick, which as already covered was the first emergence of us in history. Tarras moss sat at the head of the Debatable lands, and today sits on the Scottish side of the border. The name Tarras Moss is hardly ever mentioned without it being connected to a Reiver or a group of Reivers escaping. Today it is a barren moss, heather and moor land, devoid of major vegetation and any distinguishing features but during the time of the Reivers it was a very different place. Tarras Moss is now drained and the concealing vegetation has been cleared away.
It was a huge expanse of treacherous bog covered with low scrub, a desolate waste, and in parts thick wood, the hiding place of reivers, moss troopers and wanted men. The moss was impenetrable to all but those who, out of dire necessity, knew the safe tracks and how to negotiate the hazards, for the Border ponies could always pick their way. When threatened, the reivers withdrew into the Moss, taking with them their possessions. When the danger was over, they would emerge, rebuild their homes, and continue with their reiver activities as before. To an outsider, the Moss was a place of great danger, not only from bogs and mires, but also from hostile prowlers. It was a place to be avoided. Seemingly solid ground could swallow a man whole or even a horse. Routes in and out of the Tarras Moss, and patches of dry ground were well known by certain Reiver families and they intended it to keep it that way.
There is one account where the Armstrong's were chased onto the Moss by the English, but instead of pursuing the attacker waited for days until starvation was close. None of the locals would feed them until just before he was about to give up he was sold some very healthy oxen. In no time at all they bought them and the wait for the Armstrong's continued, but not for long. It soon transpired that not only had the Armstrong's escaped via a different route but they had stolen the attackers best oxen and sold them back to him to eat. The siege was soon called off and they returned to England very red faced.
The Moss was over looked, and policed from the eerie and formidable Hermitage Castle in the east. Which on first sight appears to have the biggest doorway ever. It stands tall and proud in an otherwise desolate landscape. On cold, wet days the large stone walls seem to amplify the depressing weather and even on sunny ones it still seems a dark and overbearing place. A historian once described it as the closest any one will get to "sod off!" in stone.
Even though it is a large uninviting place on the edge of the Moss it is still never the less, one of the more majestic feats of castle architecture in my eyes and has often turned up in the history books. Originally built in 1244 by Nicholas de Soulis, it changed hands over the following centuries between the English and Scottish a few times. First it was taken by the English during the reign of David II (1324 - 1371 ), and then taken back by Sir William Douglas in the early 1400's who was granted lands by the King as a result (This was the same Douglas that sold land to the first Routledge). The Douglas's finally lost control of this mighty castle when the handed control over to non other than Sir David Scott of Buccleuch. This was the same David who's Manor Simon and Mathew Routledge burned and sacked, and as a result he made vast enhancements to the defenses of Hermitage.
The most famous event to happen at the Castle was when Mary Queen of Scots met her injured lover, the Earl of Bothwell there. It should be noted that he had been injured by none other than a Border Reiver
The Debatable Lands
Over the centuries there is countless tales of men from the debatable lands raiding homes in England and Scotland and every time they managed to escape pursuit through their knowledge of the land. The Debatable lands were caused as both England and Scotland claimed the land but neither had any jurisdiction over it. It stretched from roughly Newcastleton in the north all the way down to the Esk estuary in the south. The northern boundary of the Debateable land was marked by a set of standing stones found about three and a half miles west of Kershopefoot. (Map ref: 79 431 839)
The Debateable land was not the only area still in dispute when the border was established, in fact there was two others but this was the largest by far. It is about 1450 when the area is first described as the 'Debateable Lands' and is still present on Maps as late as 1590 that I know of. Due to its sheer size it dwarfed the land and problems caused by any other disputed areas. Both Scotland and England made a joint declaration outlining their involvement, and rather foolishly and some what naively, declared that everyone should refrain from conflict and conduct themselves in an orderly manner. The Border Reiver families that lived and spread in to the Debateable lands, such as the Armstrong's Elliots, Crosiers, Nixon's and of course the Routledge, had no interest in declarations and strangely enough continued to go about the lives as usual.
When ever either side tired to dislodge families they simply dispersed into nearby wastes, such as Tarras Moss or the Solway Moss and once it was safe simply returned and the problem just continued. Another solution was attempted in 1551 with the creation of the Scots Dyke. This was a three mile long ditch that cut across the land from just south of Canonbie three miles in a westward direction. Of course a ditch may have solved this problem in the eyes of those in control but it was very naive of them to think that 250 years of lawlessness would be settled and controlled by a ditch or a line on a map. The Debateable lands were still very much a troublesome area for many years afterwards. In the end both countries were forced into making a joint declaration to the affect,
'All Scotsmen and Englishmen from this time forth shall be free to rob, burn, spoil and slay any person or animals or goods belonging to all who inhabit the Debateable Lands'
Add this to already existing ferocious family feuds and existing reiving and this must have turned the area into an even bloodier free for all!
25th May 1528
This, some might say, this date marked the end of the Routledges as a powerful family along the border and bringing to an end a mere 40 years of reiving, but not me. After a lot of research and many many hours, I've come to the conclusion that this merely changed the direction of the Routledges, and possible did not even effect them as much as has been made out. Although there is no doubt that we did disappear for a decade after this and would never carry out such audacious raids again as those on Buccleuch and Branxholm.
The story begins a few weeks before this date when the Armstrong's and Elliott's of Liddesdale had raided and ravaged the lands of Sir Christopher Dacre, who was the Uncle of the Warden of the West March on the English side. So Sir Dacre not wanting to appear weak took a force of 500 men and went after "a fairly inoffensive" family know as the Routledges. The full story is shown below taken form a letter wrote a week after the event
On Monday night, the 25th May, he went with Dacre’s servants to the debateable ground “where as the Routleges called the Qwskes was drawn to the shells with their goods in the head of Terres, which is the uttermost part of all the said Debateable ground, and there missed the persons selves by reason of the great strength of the woods and mosses, and their goods that is to say, four-score head of nolt, five score sheep and forty gate” and returning burnt the houses of Black Joke’s sons upon the Mere burn adjoining the side of Lidisdale.
For a change this document left only a few questions unanswered due to other research I had done in the past. From this above letter I knew about the Routledges living in the Debateable lands and had proof, I knew their nickname, 'the Qwskes (although have no clue as to what it means), and I also know who's house he burned on the way home. If you cast your mind back to the burning of Branxholm, it was Black John Routledge who did it, and Black 'Joke' is a safe miss translation, having seen the original letter, for John.
But the big question really that needs to be answered here, and it is one I've given a lot of time and thought too, is why did he choose the Routledges to go after. Well some might say it is because the Routledges were a weak family and would not put up much of a fight. Well unsurprisingly I rather disagree with this. The Routledges are first mentioned in Liddesdale as early as 1471 in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, and continue to be mentioned through out the next 140 years. Even the first Routledges in Bewcastle were said to have come from the Debateable Lands and Liddesdale in 1473.
Having said this I did come across two interesting mentions of a few Routledges in the same year as which Dacre went after the Qwskes. In a letter from William and Christopher Dacre to the Earl of Northumberland in which they informed the Earl of the prisoners they list prisoners held in Anlwick, Berwick and Carlisle Castle. Among these prisoners were;
"Cristall Routlege, Lyon's son; James Routlege; Geo Routlege, donned Rolland's son... Feb 8th 1528"
So in the dungeons of Carlisle castle three months before the raid sat three Routleges which the Dacres describe as taken under the Earl's instructions regarding reivers. And then in another letter from Christopher Dacre to Wolsey, he tells the story of how Riche Grahame escaped from Carlisle Castle and lists all the people involved in his escape; Among which was a "James Roullege", and this is dated April 2nd 1528, only a month before the raid.
From this its easy to see how the Routledges were fresh in Christopher Dacre's mind, and also how we had humiliated him too. Add to this the fact his nephew was the Warden in which the Routledges roamed and raided and you have a reason for choosing us to send 500 men after. But then again it may just have been a way of showing strength to the Borders without risking himself.
What is certain though is after this some Routledges fled the area and its after this date they start to appear else where besides just in the English and Scottish West March. Some fled south further into England, while some fled to Ireland, to which more would follow years later. Some fled to Scotland and its reported, though unconfirmed, that they took the name of local clans.
Christopher Dacre may not have dealt with the Routledges as he had in mind, but he did change the course as to which they fortunes would run from this point onwards...
...The Routledges had reiving to do!
