130 Mr. A. Jeffrey on A?icrum. 



lay between tlie building and the river. The plough has now 

 passed over the palace, chapel, and burying-ground. The 

 parish church of Ancrum is situated in a secluded nook of 

 the river a little to the west of Ancrum. It Avas built in 

 1762. The old church was formed of wood and broom. In 

 the middle of the village green stands a cross, consisting of 

 a tall shaft of stone, the top of which has been broken off, 

 rendering it difficult to say what kind of a termination it 

 had originally. It is thought to have been surmounted by a 

 unicorn. In the statistical account of the parish, it is said 

 that " one of the most learned architectural antiquaries of 

 the present day, thinks it may be pronounced as old 

 as the reign of Alexander III." There can be little 

 doubt, that the cross owes its erection to the saintly David 

 on obtaining possession of the district south of the Forth at 

 the death of his father. On the bank of the river next to 

 the village, are a number of caves of the same form as those 

 seen at Lintalee on Jed, Roxburgh on Teviot, and on the 

 Cayle at Graham'slaw. A number of the same kind of caves 

 are to be seen on the left bank of the river as it sweeps past 

 the site of the Bishop's Palace. One of these caves close by 

 the manse is popularly known as Thomson's Cave, from the 

 idea that the poet had made it his resort while residing with 

 Mr. Cranstoun, the minister of the parish ; but it is believed 

 that the Author of the Seasons was only once in the cave, 

 and while there, became so nervous and frightened that he 

 durst not leave till a chair was obtained with ropes attached, 

 into which he was placed and hauled up the steep bank. 

 The name of *' Thomson" carved upon the roof, was cut by 

 a son of Dr. Campbell, a late incumbent of the parish, and 

 not by Thomson himself as is generally supposed. The cave 

 was however, the resort of the Rev. Mr. Cranstoun for prayer 

 and meditation. 



Farther down the river, the banks attract the attention of 

 the student of Geology. 



On the left bank of the Alne and exactly opposite to the 

 village, stands Ancrum House, formerly Over Ancrum. The 

 lands originally belonged to the Abbey of Jedburgh, and 

 were by the monks let in feu to Robert Ker, third son of the 

 celebrated Dand Ker of Fernieherst, about 1542, and who, 

 on his marriage with Margaret Home of Wedderburn, built 

 a tower which now forms the centre of Sir William Scott's 

 castle. With the Kers the lands remained till the Reform- 

 ation. In 1610, King James granted them to Alexander, 



