Another day and another hill to walk up. Thankfully though, this one wasn’t too steep
or too high, more of a gentle amble up over some grassy pasture to the top where
there stands an old, stone tower at the side of a walled graveyard. And from here there are views for miles
around, right over to the Solway Firth.
The tower was built by John Maxwell,
Lord Herries, in the mid sixteenth century as a watchtower. Over the lintel of the door into the building
is carved the word ‘repentance’, and it is by this name that the tower is
known.
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There are various stories about how the
tower acquired this name, with the most popular being that Maxwell was seeking
atonement for a terrible act he had committed or caused. One of the stories goes that he had led a
raid into England and captured several prisoners. On making his way back home, his boat was
caught in a storm in the Solway Firth.
Fearing that it might sink, Maxwell sought to lighten the load, so cut
the throats of his prisoners and threw them overboard into the sea. Later, on arriving safely at shore, he was so
overcome with guilt and grief about what he had done, that he had the tower built
and named Repentance as a penance for his terrible deed.
A rather melodramatic dirge, sorry
ballad, was written about this event by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe - ‘The Lord
Herries His Complaint’. I’ll quote a few
verses for you –
Under yon silver skimmering waves,
That saftly rise and fa,
Lie mouldering banes in sandy graves,
That fley my peace awa.
To help my boat, I pierced the throat
Of him whom ane lo'ed dear;
Nought did I spare his yellow hair,
And e'en sae bricht and clear...
Alas ! twelve precious lives were spilt,
My worthless spark to save;
Bet had I fallen, withouten guilt,
Frae cradle to the grave.
Repentance ! signal of my bale,
Built of the lasting stane,
Ye lang shall tell the bluidy tale,
When I am dead and gane.
And so, it goes on and on, like a lot of these
Victorian ballads.
Another of the stories is that Dumfriesshire
had been captured by the English, and Maxwell had been made to pledge
allegiance to the English Crown. To
ensure that he kept his word he had been forced to hand over fifteen of his kinsmen. These men would be kept as hostages and put
to death if Maxwell broke his pledge. However,
Maxwell wished to marry Agnes Herries, and take the title of Lord Herries. To do this he would have to betray his
promise to the English and turn against them.
Thinking of the title and land he would acquire, he decided to do just
this and at the Battle of Durisdeer he turned his forces against the English
army. The English were defeated and in
revenge for Maxwell’s betrayal they executed the hostages he had handed over to
them. So, in terrible grief and guilt
about causing the death of these innocents, Maxwell had the tower built to
atone for what he had done.
It would appear likely though, that the
way Repentance Tower got its name was quite mundane. The tower was built out of the remains of Trailtrow
Chapel, which had once stood there, and is why the tower is surrounded by a
graveyard. It is probable that the
lintel stone was one taken from the chapel with the word Repentance already
carved on it. People saw this name above
the door and assumed that this was the name of the building. Legends then grew up around why the building
had that name, leading to the various tales about Maxwell. This is a pretty boring explanation though,
so let’s not bother with it.
The tower was once a place that the
philosopher Thomas Carlyle liked to spend time at, as he found it a building
full of romance. For several years he rented a nearby farmhouse and farmed the land
around the tower. However, after riding
his horse around some of the adjoining lands like an early nineteenth century
boy racer, he fell out with the landlord and was asked to leave. He did, but the tower and the lands around it
always held a special place in his heart.
As well as serving as a watchtower in
the sixteenth century, Repentance Tower was also used during WWII as a lookout
post. The local Home Guard kept a watch
over the Solway Firth just in case there was an invasion, and the enemy force
came in from there. Luckily though, they
never did.
After wandering around the graveyard and
taking in the views from there, I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me
on my walk, in a fern spouting crack in the tower walls.
The coordinates for the location of the
Skulferatu are –
Latitude 55.03753
Longitude -3.323622
what3words: albatross.match.owns
I
used the following sources for information on Repentance Tower –
Repentance Tower and its Tradition
By George Neilson
1985
The Lord Herries His Complaint.
By Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border: Consisting
of Historical And Romantic Ballads, Collected in the Southern Counties of
Scotland; With a Few of Modern Date, Founded Upon Local Tradition. Vol. iii.
1821
Canmore – Repentance Tower
Information Board at site
Literary by-paths in old England
by Henry C. Shelley
1906
