Scott-Kerr feud — Cessford raid on Buccleuch lands 1548

History & Significance

Sir Walter Scott, 1st of Branxholme, 3rd of Buccleuch (c. 1495 – killed 4 October 1552), known as "Wicked Wat", was a nobleman of the Scottish Borders and the chief of Clan Scott who briefly served as Warden of the Middle March active in the wars known as the Rough Wooing and a noted Border reiver. He was killed on Edinburgh High Street in a feud with Clan Kerr in 1552. His great-grandson was Sir Walter Scott, 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch, the "Bold Buccleuch" (1565–1611), a border reiver famed for his role in the rescue of Kinmont Willie Armstrong.

Walter Scott was the son of Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch, 2nd of Buccleuch, and Elizabeth Kerr, daughter of Walter Kerr of Cessford. The elder Sir Walter succeeded his grandfather, David Scott, 1st of Buccleuch, as baron of Branxholme in 1492 and died before 15 April 1504.

He was named heir to his father on 27 October 1517, and was appointed Baillie of the lands of Melrose Abbey in 1519, a position that was soon after made hereditary and confirmed in Rome in 1525. The destruction of the Abbey in 1545 and the Scottish Reformation of the Catholic Church of 1560, created the opportunity for his successor claim ownership of much of these lands.

He was warded in Edinburgh in 1524 following a dispute with Margaret Tudor, the Queen Dowager of James IV, regarding her dower lands in Ettrick Forest, but he escaped the same year and associated himself with the opposing party of her estranged husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus and Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox. He received a pardon on 9 May 1526 for an attempt to capture the Earl of Arran.

Later that year the young king James V enlisted Scott's help to free himself from the tutelage of the Douglas faction led by Angus. Scott led 600 lances to intercept the king and his train, which included Kerrs of Ferniehirst and Cessford, but was defeated by Angus's forces at the Battle of Melrose, near Darnick on 25 July. The Scotts lost 100 men and were driven off, hotly pursued by the Kerrs. In the pursuit, a rider in Scott's service killed Kerr of Cessford, an action that led to a bloody feud between the Kerrs and Scotts that would culminate 26 years later in Scott's murder. Scott was imprisoned in Blackness Castle and exiled for his role in the affair under a penalty of £10,000 Scots, but he was pardoned on 10 February 1528, and by Act of Parliament on 5 September 1528.

In October 1532 the Earl of Northumberland burned Branxholme Tower, and Buccleuch retaliated by leading 3000 lances on a formidable raid into England. In 1535 he was accused of assisting the English Warden Lord Dacre, and burning Cavers Castle and Denholm. He was warded in Edinburgh, on 19 April 1535, at the King's will, but was released before 13 May 1536, though again imprisoned in 1540.

The ground they fought on

The site of Scott-Kerr feud — Cessford raid on Buccleuch lands 1548 lies on Stratheden Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Scott-Kerr feud — Cessford raid on Buccleuch lands 1548

Castle Hill, fort

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~2.1 mi

Castle Hill, fort is an Iron Age hillfold positioned on high ground in Roxburghshire, commanding views across the surrounding landscape. The fort occupies a naturally defensible location, its prominence enhanced by the underlying geology of mafic igneous rock from the Carboniferous to Permian per…

Ancrum,market cross

Scheduled monument · ~2.4 mi

Ancrum Market Cross is a market cross situated in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. The monument stands upon bedrock of the Stratheden Group, a Late Devonian formation of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate that underlies much of this part of the border country. Market crosses served as…

Mantle Walls, Ancrum, bishop's palace

Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Mantle Walls is a bishop's palace situated at Ancrum in Roxburghshire, Scotland. The site occupies land underlain by Stratheden Group bedrock, a Late Devonian formation of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate that would have provided local building stone. As the residence of a bishop, the palac…

Remains of medieval bridge below Ancrum Old Bridge

Scheduled monument · ~3.1 mi

The Remains of the medieval bridge below Ancrum Old Bridge is a substantial stone structure located in Roxburghshire, Scotland, positioned beneath the later Ancrum Old Bridge which itself dates to the eighteenth century. The medieval bridge represents an important crossing point over the River Te…

Timpendean,tower & earthwork

Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

Timpendean is a tower and earthwork located in Roxburghshire, Scotland, and is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The site occupies ground underlain by sandstone and conglomerate of the Stratheden Group, Late Devonian in age, typical geology of the Scottish Border…

Settlement, 53m NW of Hawthorn Lodge

Scheduled monument · ~3.5 mi

Settlement, 53m NW of Hawthorn Lodge is a prehistoric or medieval settlement situated in Roxburghshire, southern Scotland. The site lies on bedrock belonging to the Stratheden Group, a Late Devonian formation of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate that characterises this part of the Borders la…

Other Tudor Battles

Battles near Scott-Kerr feud — Cessford raid on Buccleuch lands 1548

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• Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch · Wikipedia