52 REPORT OF THE MEETINGS FOR 1899 



veil of foliage, beneath which the great wizard, "in the 

 midst of the land he has made enchanted," sleeps his last 

 long sleep. St. Boswells Grreen and Maxton House were 

 quickly passed, and then the ancient cross which marks the 

 spot where once stood the market place of Maxton came 

 into view. The base and shaft of the cross are apparently 

 original, and lately, by the exertions of the Rev, Mr Graham, 

 the upper part has been restored. On arriving at Ringley 

 Hall, the party dismounted and examined the structure. 

 Mr Richardson had kindly provided a number of printed 

 copies of his description of Ringley and the neighbouring 

 moot-hill for the use of the members, and it is unnecessary 

 to do more than quote his account of both. 



"According to Alex. Jeffrey's 'Roxburghshire' (Edin., 1859, 

 Vol. III., p. 162), the remarkable structure known as ' Ringley 

 Hall' is an ancient British fort. He derives the name from 

 Rhin, a point, and ley, a fortihed place ; but, whatever its 

 original appellation was, the modern name may have been 

 popularly bestowed upon it from the three concentric rings 

 surrounding the fort. Jeffrey gives as an illustration a 

 ' Bird's-eye view of Ringley Hall taken in 1776,' which is 

 a thoroughly untrustworthy representation of the fort, as it 

 furnishes no idea of the wide extent of ground covered by 

 Ringley Hall. 



" By aneroid, I ascertained that the highest point of the 

 fort is fifty feet above the ground (mtside its outer rampart. 

 The fort occupies the summit of a headland, composed of 

 porphyrite, rising abruptly from the right bank of the 

 Tweed, but it is completely obscured by trees from persons 

 passing quite close to it on the Kelso road. Consequently, 

 Ringley Hall is little known and seldom visited. 



" On measuring the area of Ringley Hall, I found that 

 its dimensions were approximately as follows : — 



Diameter of fort next Tweed ... ... 60 Yards. 



Circumference of first or inner rampart ... 145 ,, 

 Circumference of remains of second or middle 



rampart ... ... ... ... 126 ,, 



Circumference of remains of third or outer 



rampart ... ... ... ... 145 ,, 



