244 Report of Meetings. By James Hardy. 



with, houses granted by David I to the monks of Coldingham. 

 When the Edmonstuns, about 1630, had parted with their Mid- 

 Lothian property and came here to reside permanently, they 

 would probably employ the materials of the dismantled fortress 

 for their new erections. 



About a quarter of a mile to the north-west of the village is a 

 considerable hillock, called at present '' The Mount," the sum- 

 mit of which is fenced by an earthen wall enclosing a plantation. 

 At the northern end is a ponderous undressed flag of sandstone, 

 some inches thick, and about 8 feet square, laid against a tree ; 

 and near it is the sepulchral cavity whence it has been raised. 

 The present inhabitants have forgotten its history; but it 

 appears to be alluded to in the old "Statistical Account" of 

 1794, vol. XI., p. 307. " There is," says the Eev. David Dick- 

 son, " a small rising ground, west from the village, called the 

 Picts Knowe ; out of which some years ago, were dug three stone 

 cofiins, with an urn in one of them. The Knowe is since en- 

 closed and planted with trees." The interments it will thus be 

 seen belong to the pre-historic era. There is a considerable ex- 

 panse of flat ground surrounding the hillock, extending to the 

 Eden. Not far off sheltered by trees is Newton Lees. The fair 

 mansion of Newton Don stands^out in the distance in the midst 

 of woods. 



Cultivated fields lie close up to the village. The wheat-crop 

 is much infested with grip-grass, ( Galium aparine), whose seeds 

 are a nuisance to the miller ; corn-poppies were also prevalent. 

 Convohulm arvensis grows at the bottom of one of the hedge- 

 rows. 



The house in which Lyte, the hymnologist, was born, is 

 detached from the village, by the side of the public road, near 

 the old toll-house. There is a small rookery in the vicinity. 



The drive from this pretty village to Eccles opens up a succes- 

 sion of interesting views, but it is only places and objects in the 

 line of the Club's researches that I am called on to mention. 

 By glancing in Armstrong's Map of Berwickshire, 1771, at 

 the route taken, it is evident that several places then extant are 

 now obsolete, and as some of these occur in historical documents, 

 it is useful to have them pointed out. This I shall do as we 

 proceed. 



Nearly mid-way Harpertoun was passed, and as a few observa- 

 tions were made there, this appears to be a fitting opportunity 



