Spittal-on-Rule

My great-grandfather, David Scott, was born 15 April 1834 to Thomas Scott, hind, at Spittal at Bedrule, Scotland. Over the years, I have spent some time trying to figure out where or what is 'Spittal' and what exactly is a 'hind', so this was one of the first things I asked the archivist at the Heritage Hub in Hawick, Scotland. She smiled and said, "Let me get a map." I was a little surprised when she came back with a current road map, and I thought, "We're talking almost 200 years ago. What good is a road map?" Well, she spread it out on the table and said, "If you take this highway through Denholm, about two miles past the villlage the road makes a sharp turn to the right. There's an old barn painted white and then you will see a sign that says 'Spittal-on-Rule'. That's it. "

"That's it?" I said.

"That's it."

"I mean, is that the place where my great-grandfather was born? It's still there?"

"That's the very place. 'Spittal' is short for 'hospital'. It was probably established by monks many centuries ago."

So, one day, Edith, Jo, Robyn and I hopped in the car and went looking for some of our 'ancestor places'. We found Spittal-on-Rule, drove down into the farm area and talked to a man who rented one of the cottages -- the cowman's cottage. We took pictures and reveled in the feeling of being on the spot where our great-great-grandparents had lived and worked.

I've since discovered more about this 'Hospital on the River Rule':

It existed as early as 1425, and possibly was there a century or two before that. The Hospital at Rulemouth, as it was known early on, was for lepers. There are three wells on the property, one of which is supposed to have special curative powers for leprosy. Even before the hospital was built, a chapel existed on the spot. There is an old graveyard where, according to the record, the last witch of Denholm village was buried. They knew she was a witch because, when she was buried, a robin lighted on her coffin and one of the ropes snapped as the coffin was lowered into the ground! The hospital and chapel were burned in 1545 by the Earl of Hertford, who just happened to be in the area burning homes and churches. (Anything that might be Catholic must be burned.) The buildings were rebuilt and it became a farm, which it has been ever since. (Much of this historical information comes from a wonderful website, The Burning Beacon, http://www.rulewater.com/, written by a woman who lives at Spittal-on-Rule.)

Thomas Scott, my great-great-grandfather (see previous posting) was a 'hind' or farm servant at Spittal between the years of 1817 and 1834, when it was a farm owned, probably, by the Turnbulls. A hind often had charge of animals -- perhaps two draft horses and cows. It's possible that he lived in the very cottage at which we stopped. Centuries-old history is a part of everyday life in Scotland!