"10 years of hell"
Four hundred years before I was born, 1981, began what I have aptly named the 10 years of hell. As that's what it must have been to the Routledge families who lived along the borders; Mainly in the Bewcastle area. These ten years would become in my notes, one long list of sufferings and murders upon the Routledges of Bewcastle. In total three pages of A4 and not so much as one raid is to be found where we are the victors in these encounters what so ever. The only reason why I have managed to find so many raids in the last twenty years of the 16th century is simply down to the sources available; The main one being the 'Calander of Border Papers' Volume 1 and 2. These span the last few decades of the Reivers and are one of the main sources used to research the Reivers raids but before there is nothing like them at all. This is one of the major reasons I feel that I have such a large void of knowledge from 1544 to 1580.
Curiously enough as if by some querk of fate, the very first record I came across in the 1580's was the Muster Roll's of the parishes of Cumberland. These were basically a long, very long in fact, list of all the persons who carried arms. By this I don't mean whether people had one or two arms, but who had what weapons. They were only listed if they owned one of four things; A sword (sw), a steel helmet or cap (cap), a spear (sp), or a lance (la). It would also list if some times they had horses or had nothing at all if they were a notable enough person in the parish. I found the following Routledges in both the East and the West Marches;
West March:
Askerton Parish: - John Rowtlege [cap and sp], Wille, Rowland and Mathew Rowtlege [la]
Lanercost Parish: Randell Routledge [caps and sp]
Watton Parish: - Thomas and Andrew Routledge [caps and sp], William Routledge [la]
Skailbye Parish: - Lanceolote Reutledge [sp]
Leath Parish: - Archie Routledge is named as unfurnished
East Ward: - John, Christopher, Thomas and Rigmone Rutliche [all named having horses]
This gives us a brief insight into the sort of weapons we had to our disposal. Now forgetting about the ones in the East march for the time being, we'll take a look at the Reivers in the West March roll as a few of them reoccur quite a few times and it means we can follow the plight of an individual Reiver and see how they suffered...
The Musgrave List
Sir Thomas Musgrave the captain of Bewcastle in December 1583 wrote a very lengthy list and letter to Lord Burghley regarding the Border Riders he was about to inherit. This letter gives us a wonderful picture of the people of all surnames who were raiding and suffering in the Bewcastle area and where they were living. It breaks each family down and starts to describe where they lived and then what, if any, their allegiance was with Scotland. The Routledges read:
"Black leven water is a little brooke and so is Whyt leven, the lyke and are not in anie place a myle and a halfe dystant from one an other, and are inhabyted with nyxsons, until it comes to a place called the Blackdobs, and then the RUTLIGIS dwell on bothe sydes of it, until it comes to a place called the Lukkins of Leven...
...The Ruttligis and there allegance with Scotland which is but little, for that they are every mans praye there.."
So this was the man to blame for our nickname 'everyman's prey', well him and every historian since who has taken it out of context. If you are Routledge like me then you have always just taken for granted that it was a justified nickname. But this was in fact referring to our fortunes in Scotland and that we had no alliance at all over the border, and said nothing at all about or status as a Reiving family on the English side. Just about all of the raids that where against us in the decade where by attackers from Scotland.
So who were these Routledges on this list then? Well firstly the most surprising thing about them is that there is a female listed among them, and as far as I'm aware this is the only female reiver I've come across. However I think the most valuable information to come from this list is not the names, but where they lived. The reason I can say this is that I would not be bothered what their names were, but where they lived so I can go to the places and see if there is anything remaining, and try and imaging living there 400 years ago... looking over the horizon as the Elliots can riding towards me, steal held high and rage in their eyes.
I digress however, and not for the first time on this site. Below is the list off the men and a map showing in red where they lived, and in blue where raids took place between 1580 to 1585. The black line is the Scottish border and just off the right hand side of the map is Bewcastle.
John Routledge, slain by the Scottish, and his son Gerry of Cructboure
Addame, Anton and Andrew Rutledge of Neteclugh (unknown)
Jeme
and Rowland (Dikes Rowe) Rutledge of the Neuk (Nook)
Jeme, Jeme the younger, and Jarre of the Stubb
Thomas and Alane Rutledge of Todhills (Todholes)
Dick and Thomas Rutledge of Bailey heade (Bailey Head)
Andrew, John and his brother Nichol Rutledge of the Black Dobs (Unknown)
Jeme and Gourthe Rutledge (female) of Sletbecke (Sleet Beck)
Will, Richie, Johne, and Jeme Rutledge of Comcrauke (Cumcrook)
John, Richie, John and Allen Rutledge of Troughead
Will and Will Rutledge of Lukkens
Cleme Rutledge of Kyll
Jenkyn Rutledge of Bellbank
Will Rutledge of Nunscleugh
John Rutledge of Kermoflat (unknown)
Will Rutledge of Kyrkbekmouthe
Will Rutledge of Sinkeheade
You may have noticed already that some of the names from the muster role match the names in the Musgrave list as I've dubbed it. Namely, Rowland or 'Dikes Rowe' as his nickname goes, appears a few times throughout the decade and gives us a good insight into one persons suffering.
Dike's Rowe
I suppose the best place to start with Dike's Rowe is to explain the nickname. Its quite simple really; Dike is Dick which is short for Richard, and Rowe is short for Rolland. So his nickname told us he was Rolland son of Richard. Straight away we have two generations of Reivers from his name in life, but in death would come a rare insight into family during these troubled times. Rolland was kind enough not only to leave a legacy in the pages of the Border Papers, but also in his will. in a space of 3 years, Rolland appears 5 times as a victim or a important man of the area.
A will of this period by a common man is extremely rare, almost unheard of. It starts of by saying that his sons son, Adam, is to marry Elizabeth, the daughter of a Gracie Routledge of Cructboure, who in turn was the widow of John of Cructboure who had been slain by the Scottish pre 1583. (God that was a long sentence...try reading the original will!) Once he's said that in his will he goes on to state that if Elizabeth and Adam die without Issue (children) then his land etc shall pass to Thomas Routledge and Gracie Routledge his mother. He then wraps up his very lengthy will by say that because Adam is not of age yet, under 16, then Gracie Routledge will have the land till then. Confused yet?
Dike's Rowe's will was dated March 22nd 1597. His land or where he came from was the Nook, which comes up time and time again throughout the last 20 or so years of the 16th Century, and is even reported as having had a tower or bastle house on the site. From the Muster Roles, we also know that on adjacent lands or sharing the land was a 'Jeme Rutledge of the Neuk'. Whether he was a cousin or brother I'm unsure, but would hazard a guess at a brother, though as his name appears nowhere on the will, it would seem he either died or was killed before 1597.
Assuming that Adam was about 14 when the will was wrote we can roughly work out the rough age of Rolland when the will was wrote and when each person was born. Now the average age of the time was 45ish, so if Adam was 14, and his father had had him when he was 20ish, and Rolland had had him when he was 20, then that gives us a rough age to play with. That would mean Adam was born 1583, his father 1563, and Rolland 1543. Meaning that when Rolland wrote the will he would have been around 54 years old. Now this is very old for the time, but is not unheard of. His longevity is supported by the fact he is an elder of Bewcastle in the late 80's
The first mention of the family, other than the above mentioned muster role in which we find out he owned lance and nothing more, well nothing declared anyway, was actually his father, Richie, on June 3rd 1581. He had fell victim to a raid in which Elliots numbering the some of 80 men stool 30 old kye, 40 old oxen and took them in a broad daylight too. Like on the previous page I figured it better to display Rolland's life below in a list of raids and historical appearances rather than waffle on about his life in paragraph;
1582 Jan: - "Dick's Rowie Rootledge complains upon Kynmont Jock and his accomplices for taking 30 Kye and oxen, a Horse and his insight to the sum of £60"
1583 Jun 20th: - "In a letter from Lord Scrope to Lord Walsingham, he states that he has received various letters of complaint from 'one Rowland Rowtledge' about raids on Bewcastle, too the point where Scrope is asking for more men"
1583 Oct 5th: - "Rowy Rotlege of Bewcastle and Dand Rowtlege complain upon the Laird of Maingerton, Laird of Whithaugh and Eamont Armstronge of Whisgills to the number of 40 men of Liddesdale, who stole 30 Kye and oxen, all insight, and personnes were hurt"
1583 Oct 5th: - "Dick Rowltege complains upon Kynmonnt Jock, and other to the some of 20 men, who stole 20 kye and oxen, two naiges and all his insight. At this raid, Dick and his sonne 'were maymed and wounded in the peril of death' (very badly or mortally wounded)"
1597 March 22nd : - Makes out his will leaving everything to his grandson when he comes of age and that he must marry presumably his sisters daughter. (who is the daughter of the John of Cructboure who'd been described as killed in the 1583 Musgrave list)
Poor old Rolland eh? It would seem he did not have the best of lives, and would seem to be well acquainted with Kinnmont Jock too, the infamous Armstrong Reiver of the late 16th century. It also seems that those around him suffered just as badly too, with his father being seemingly mortally wounded or killed in 1583. and his brother in law (possibly) having been killed earlier. The Border Papers tell us he was killed by 'the Lardes Jocke' (Kinnmont Willie), in April 1582. He too is easy to trace in the records as he went by the name of 'Gerardes John'. which again would be John son Gerard.
As for what became of the land I would guess it was passed down the family. There must have been other tenants on the land at the same time too however, and possible relations, as in the September of 1587 'Andrew Rootledge' of the Neuk (Nook) is found complaining the the Laird Jock, Dick of Dryupp, Lancie of Whisgills and the asccomplices for the theft of 50 kine and and oxen, burning his house, corn and stealing his insight to the value of £100 sterling. This may very well have been the raid in which the reported tower at the Nook was burned down.
Poor Thomas Routledge
Dike's Rowe is not the only example we have to draw from of what a suffering life was like alone the Border. In fact compared to Thomas of Todholes, Rolland was quite fortunate in his misfortunes. Where Rolland had his livestock and a possessions Thomas would have much more taken. Todholes is another one of those places in the Borders and mainly in the Bewcastle Parish that would become synonymous with the Routledges name.
Todholes today is split into three farms, Low, mid and high, But back then this was not the case and the scars of the original building can still be see at Mid Todholes, well certainly the older building. And even on this site it is not the first time we've come across it. For it was from here that in 1540, George Rowtleische, Willie and brother Jame Rowteische, sons to Reyd Rolland, and Jame Rowtleische of Todhillis rode into Abbotrule near Hawick and killed some locals and took the usual quantity of cattle.
The first time we come across Thomas is in 1581; Robin Elliot of the Park, Sim Elliot, Clemie Croser, Gawen's Jock and their accomplices not only take from Thomas 60 kye and oxen and a horse, but also take Thomas too as a prisoner. At some point, I don't know when, between June 1581 and January 1582 he was released. I know this for certain as this is when he next appears in the records. For on the same night that Dick Rowie was to suffer at the hand of Kinmont Jock and his accomplices, as too would 'Thomas Rootledge of Todholes'. He, along with his neighbour's are found complaining in the January of 1582 that they came and took 40 kine and oxen, 20 sheep and goats, a horse and household goods, totaling the sum of £300 sterling. Judging by the amount it was worth it does sound to me as if he was pretty much cleaned out.
But Thomas' luck was not to hold out forever. October 5th 1583 must have been a night or carnage and despair in Bewcastle, particularly around the Bailey. In one night "Kynmont Jock, and other to the some of 20 men" would not only run the steal and hooves over Rowie and Thomas land, but also 3 others too. Below it the entry in the Border papers describing the raid on Todhills that night:
1583 Oct 5th: - "Anthonie Rowtledge of Nutticlughe in Bewcastle complains upon Laird of Maingerton, Laird of Whithaugh and Eamont Armstronge of Whisgills to the number of 40 men of Liddesdale (Kinmont Jock and his lot), for stealing 15 kye and oxen and all his insight. At this heirshipp (raid), Allan Rowtlege was slayne, William, Thome Rowtlege, John Rowtledge and Thome of Toddholls, all maymed and hurt in perill of death, wherof one hath his legge (legs) cutt off"
So there you have it, Thomas was either maimed, mortally wounded, or he had both his legs cut off; Either way he suffered. Thomas of Todholes disappears after this point so perhaps he died or never recovered form his wounds, but which ever the case he is just another example of suffering in the 1580's. For all I said ten years off hell after the the Musgrave list in 1583 there, once again, is hardly any records involving Routledges.
Well there is two, but I have already covered them. The Buccleuch's raiding Bewcastle in 1588 and Andrew of the Nook being raided and left homeless in 1587. So below to finish this rather woefully depressing and rather pitiful account of the Routledges I have gave a few more raids where the Routledges suffered
More Raids
Of course to conform to the current writings about Routledge I suppose I must "tell the tale of Isabel Routledge". Although personally I don't know why every book writer uses this example as there are much worse raids to choose. I've also included a few from the 1590's that I came across too
1581 April 2nd: - "Isabell Routledge complains upon the Elliots, numbering 30, for taking 3 old oxen, 5 old kye, one horse and all the insight of her house"
1581 April 12th: - "James Rowtledg of the Hill complains upon Elliots to the number of 50 men for taking 7 old oxen, 11 old kye, one mare and all his insight"
1582 September: - "James Rootledge and his Neighbour's, Complain upon Geordie Armstrong of Calfhill and their accomplices for taking 100 kye and oxen"
1583 August 17h: - "James Rowtledge of Cumrick complains upon Jamy Elwood (Elliot) and Younge Dand of the Braydleye, Scottishmen. for taking 16 kye and oxen and all his insight"
1592 November: - "Dickie Gramme of Bewcastle and his wife, Quinting Routledge, complain upon The Armstrongs of Calfhill and co for takign 60 kye and oxen, 40 sheep, a horse, his insight and cruelly killing Quinting his wife"
1596 September 8th: - "Complains by the wife of Andre Routledge, alias Leatche, in Bewcastle, upon the Armstrongs of Whittleye for willful murder of said husband"
And with that I leave you to go lick your pride and wonder if we deserved the name everyman's prey..... well I don't think so. If you look at these 10 years then yes, but if you look into the sources deeper and past and beyond the Calander of Border Papers (not that I'm ranting though) then you will see that before and after these ten years we made our mark and did our damage. The nickname was taken out of context and we were judged on 10 years of Reiving out of 170 years. Not really fair when you think off it that way... its like watching a football match for five minutes and writing the full match report on just those five minutes.
One raid amongst none
But just when you where fully down heartened and consigning yourself to us being everyman's prey, I came across this one raid which is unprecedented against all the rest of the raids by any surname. It was the largest amount of livestock being taken that I had ever heard of. I don't know where the men came from, all I know is that the Raid took place in Scotland:
1587: Thome Armstrong of Tinnisburne, complains of having had 300 kye and oxen, 6 horses and mares, 800 sheep and gaite taken by Ensign Knap, Jamie's Adam Rootledge, John Taylor, Geordie Hetheron and Mark's Tom's Geordie"
Everyman's prey where we? I don't think so! More like the records are better kept of our misfortunes. And large raids like this one where conveniently forgot about by book writers and historians so that they did not have to explain them. The Routledge's were Reivers, not a weak family at all...
