HISTORY

OF THE

BERWICKSHIRE

NATURALISTS' CLUB

Price to members for additional copies £3.00
Price to non-members £5.00

The Centenary Volume, published 1933, provides an index to
the History from Volumes 1 to 27, (1831-1931).

Price £20.00

The Sesquicentenary Volume, published 1987, provides an
index to the History from Volumes 28 to 41 (1932-1980)

Price £15.00

For purchase apply to:

The Librarian, Berwickshire Naturalists' Club,
Borough Museum, The Barracks,
Berwick upon Tweed TD15 1BT, U.K.

PRINTED FOR THE CLUB
BY MARTIN'S PRINTING WORKS
MAIN STREET, SPITTAL
1991

HISTORY

OF THE

BRITISH MUSEUM

1

(NATURM. HISTORY

t

purchased
genera

UBRARY

BERWICKSHIRE

NATURALISTS' CLUB

INSTITUTED SEPTEMBER 22, 1831

"MARE ET TELLUS, ET, QUOD TEGIT OMNIA, CCELUM"

VOL. 45.
PART 2, 1991

OFFICE BEARERS
1990-91

President

J. LOGAN McDOUGAL, Esq., B.Sc.
Blythe, Lauder TD2 6SJ
(Tel. 05782 232)

Field Secretary Co-ordinator and Librarian
Dr G. A. C. BINNIE

Ladykirk, Norham, Berwick upon Tweed TD15 1XL
(Tel. 0289 382201)

Corresponding Secretary
D. C. SOUTER, Esq., V.R.D., F.I.C.S.
Detchant Park, Belford NE70 7PQ
(Tel. 0668 213353)

Treasurer

M. C, TROUSDELL, Esq.
Hillburn House, Ayton TDM 5SG
(Tel. 08907 81325)

Editing Secretary

Professor W. H. R. LUMSDEN, D.Sc., M.D., F.R.S.E.
16a Merchiston Crescent, Edinburgh EH 10 5AX
(Tel. 031 229 2702)

HISTORY OF THE

BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

BRITISH MUSEUSV
^NATURAL HISTORY!

CONTENTS OF VOL. 45
Part 2, 1991

GENERAL LIBRARY

1 . Anniversary Address — A Brief History of Climatology 91

2. Handled disc stone mould 98

3. The Seaweeds of Berwickshire 99

4. A Contribution towards a Marine Fauna of Berwickshire 104

5. Lime Kilns of North Northumberland Ill

6. The Willow Cathedral 139

7. Tweedbank — a success or a failure? 141

8. A note on Dr F. G. Hardy's Papers 157

9. Hareheugh Craigs 161

10. Cist Grave, West Longridge, 1945 165

11. Field Notes and Records 166

12. Field Secretary's Report 172

13. Librarian's Report 177

14. Treasurer's Financial Statement 179

Advice to Contributors

Inside Back Cover

ILLUSTRATIONS

Plates

Handled disc stone mould 98

Former kiln of Scremerston Lime Works, 1980 122

Lindisfarne: the Dundee Company's lime kilns, 1964 123

Lindisfarne: remains of the Castle Jetty, 1964 125

Ladykirk & Norham bridge 129

Norham bridge: former horsekeeper's cottage and stable 130

Catcraig lime kiln, near Dunbar, restored 131

Frosterley, Weardale, 1969: some of the last continuous lime
kilns at work in northern England 132

Frosterley lime kilns, 1969: the limestone piled high on the
kiln-top, became hot to the touch, before it gradually
sank into the kiln 133

Place-name associations: an example from the Borders 134

The Willow Cathedral 138

Figures

North Northumberland: solid geology 112

North Northumberland: Limestone Group 114

Cocklawburn: former industries 120

Lindisfarne: former industries 126

Lowick district: former quarries 127

Tweedbank, 1988 156

IV

HISTORY
OF THE

BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS'
CLUB

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLIMATOLOGY
or

CLIMATE OVER THE YEARS AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

being the Anniversary Address delivered by Mr J. Logan McDougal,
President of the Club , on 15th October ; 1991.

With so much talk of weather and climate and of ice-ages and
the greenhouse effect, I often feel that a brief look at what we know
of the climate of past eras and how we know it would be of
interest. I started to read about these matters many years ago and
as I am one of the volunteer observers for the Meteorological Office
I persevered and have become very interested in the subject,
probably to the extent of sometimes being a bore !

Ten or twenty years ago the talk was all of the new ice-age
creeping up on us, but quite suddenly that all changed. To-day
the talk is all about the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Did someone make a mistake or has something new really turned
up to change the picture?

Weather is what happens each day and what we all talk about.
Climate is the general picture of the weather over a longer period
so that one bad day or even one bad winter does not mean a
| change of climate. A change in climate usually takes place very
slowly, over decades and centuries; but recently it does seem to
I be happening more quickly and we must wonder why.

To look at changes of climate now, we must have basic
information about past climate for as far back as possible in time
1 and have some idea of how this knowledge is obtained.

Sources of information vary depending on how far back in time
, one goes. In so doing, different sources may at first appear to
disagree but usually after much scientific argument a reasonable
j picture of past climates emerges.

91

92

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Geological information is clearly available from the remotest
times. Rock studies show that some rock formations are composed
of older material broken down by wind and made into desert
sandstones even in areas which are now very wet; some are made
from silts and gravels laid down in fresh or salt water; some are
made exclusively from animal remains such as limestone, and
some from vegetable remains such as coal.

Each rock can now be dated and tells its tale of the climate at
the time of its formation in that area, and tells it with some
certainty. This leads to the specialist field of geology, the study
of fossils. These tell the story of what lived where and when and
so give a much clearer picture of the climate at that time.

Usually the picture is of slow evolution of species or slow change
to different species. But occasionally, as with the Dinosaurs, the
change was sudden. The dinosaur groups died off very suddenly
and their dominance was replaced by completely new and
different groups. Changes of that scale are thought to be caused
by a dramatic change of climate over the whole world stemming
from a large meteor collision or a series of very large volcanic
eruptions. Either of these could produce so much dust in the
upper atmosphere that a period of permanent winter would set
in. This still happens on a small scale with Mount St Helena or
Pinatubo in the Philippines or El Chino in South America.
Satellites can show the trail of dust and sulphur dioxide at about
20 miles up in the atmosphere. This sort of layer causes cooling
and could cause a drop of up to 2 degrees C. in some parts of
the world.

It is easy to think of Geology as old and un-changing but it is
still with us, causing change and leaving a record.

From Geology we move to Botany, Archaeology and Literature
which slowly merge one into the next over time, and show how
plants and people lived and reacted to changes in climate. Early
botanical studies can be made of fossils in rocks and then of actual
plant remains which have been preserved in silts or muds for
millions of years. Pollen is one of the best surviving parts of plants
and the study of pollen is now a very precise science. It is possible
to date accurately the layers of pollen in a deposit using radio
carbon dating methods and to define the exact species of plants
by microscopic analysis.

This makes it possible to identify the plants that grew at a
particular time and place and by the associations of plants it
becomes possible to define the climate and its changes and even
the rate of change.

In more recent times actual trees and remains of trees are used
to build a detailed record of the succession of tree rings in some

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLIMATOLOGY

93

species such as the bristle-cone pine of the South-west United
States which goes back several thousand years. In Britain it has
been possible to use oak trees and oak beams in old buildings
which, with computer analysis of the succession of tree rings,
shows growth conditions and therefore the climate for at least
two thousand years.

This study, dendro-chronology, is done using very thin cores
which can be taken from trees without damaging them, studying
these with fine microscopes to pick up the detail of each ring and
interpreting the story of hot or cold springs or summers or years
of drought.

The next source of knowledge is ice. In Greenland and East
Antarctica the ice is so deep that radio carbon and oxygen dating
tells us that the ice was formed from snow which fell over 150,000
years ago. Trapped in the ice, there is enough oxygen and carbon
dioxide to give a fair picture of the atmosphere at the time it was
frozen. These ice sheets are several thousand feet thick and so
contain vast detailed information.

We can move on to Man, in Archaeology, where we can see
by his remains how he lived and what he lived on. Soon he started
to leave better evidence with cave drawings and then writing on
stone, clay and later on scrolls of skin and paper. This should
lead to greater accuracy, but, alas, man is a very biased and
subjective reporter; and sometimes leaves a slightly confused
record.

The Bible is one such record and tells of the succession of flood
and storm; the seven fat years and the seven lean yeas, of deserts
blooming and so on. Unfortunately, the timings are rather hard
to define, but there is no doubt that these things happened and
that evidence from other sources correlates to give a complete
record.

The records of Egypt, Greece and Rome are all now available
for study, and along with more recent writings, usually by monks,
bring us to the next real change in the quality of evidence.

In the 17th century Galileo invented a practical barometer and
one of his pupils, Toricelli, produced an accurate thermometer.
From this time on, records became much more objective and
accurate. But even now, the records can vary with the health or
hang-over of the observer when he reads the instruments in the
early morning; or the rainfall can be altered by a passing dog using
the rain gauge for a lamp-post. Some days the weather station
may be covered with snow and the observer may note some
inspired guesses. I know that these things all happen because
I have seen or done them myself.

From this time on the detailed figures grow and with hind-sight

94 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

can confirm ideas about earlier climates.

By 1820 weather maps of a sort were being made and when
the telegraph arrived, it was possible to build up maps on a larger
scale and look at weather over wide areas at one time. Scotland
was well to the fore in this with the rise of the Scottish
Meteorological Society in 1855, which was the same year that the
Meteorological Office was set up. The Scottish Society was
founded by many well known figures, among them Archibald
and James Geikie, the geologists, Milne-Home of Milne-Graden,
Thomson later Lord Kelvin, and Buchan, writer of the Handy
Book of Meteorology and originator of Buchan's cold and warm
spells. Stevenson, the Civil Engineer, was also a founder. He
designed the Stevenson screen which is the beehive-like structure
which you see on most weather stations. It is designed to give
a standard level of shade and shelter from wind and sun for the
instruments inside, so making it easier to compare figures from
different sites.

This Society built and ran the Ben Nevis Weather Station from
1883 to 1904. This station was visited almost every day from Fort
William which is an amazing record of dedication. The
information gathered there contribited greatly to the
understanding of clouds and variation of both temperature and
rainfall with elevation.

This was an era of great natural discovery. Darwin and the
"Beagle", the survey ship "Challenger" and many others were
recording as much as they could wherever they went. One ship
sailing out from Canada found a temperature change of 20 degrees
F. over the length of the ship, and so dramatically located the
Gulf Stream with accuracy.

By 1930 balloons were being sent up with instruments and
radios, by 1960 hundreds of stations sent up balloons twice a day,
and now thousands of stations on land and sea and in the air
report weather conditions to places like Bracknell where the
Meteorological Office has one of the largest computer complexes
in the world.

To-day satellites give a running commentary on the weather
world wide and are now able to measure ground and sea
temperatures and even wind speed and direction at sea level by
using a form of radar to analyse the shape of waves and ripples
on the water. Soon we may know how the huge ocean currents
like El Nino, the Gulf Stream and others work; where they start
and end and perhaps what drives them.

Without computers all this information would be almost un-
usable. With computers it is possible to construct three-dimen-
sional models of the weather as it changes and develops; this

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLIMATOLOGY

95

is the basis of the longer range forecasts, which are getting better
apart from the odd rogue event and the parochialism of London
forecasters.

From all the evidence now available we can be reasonably
certain of some fairly consistent rhythms and patterns in the
climate of the world.

Full ice-age cycles seem to last about 100,000 years and have
done for some millions of years. Into each cycle is incorporated
an inter-glacial phase of about 10,000 years and it seems that we
should be nearing the end of this phase and be moving towards
the next ice age. There are shorter cycles within this of 20,000
and 40,000 years. These were defined by a Jugoslav, Milankovitch,
so his name is usually applied to them.

There are many theories attempting to explain these cycles. The
most likely are based on astronomic work which shows asymme-
tries in the rotation of the earth on its axis, a slight movement
in axis relative to the sun and a slight ellipse in the earth's orbit
round the sun. These vary the amount of solar heating reaching
the earth.

There are also short-term cycles of 2, 11, 80 and 200 years which
show up in tree rings and recent history.

The last ice age started to retreat about 12,000 years ago, a short
cold snap 9,000 years ago, then a really warm period when
civilisations developed and spread from the more tropical regions
to the cooler parts. This was the case up to the early middle ages
when the Norsemen could sail to Greenland and, it is thought,
to North America. But by the 15th century the climate was moving
into the Little Ice Age, these settlements were cut off and mostly
died out, the Thames froze and there was great hunger. The early
part of this century was the warmest since the 1300s. But, alas,
it should be getting colder if the Milankovitch rhythms are correct.
It did up to the seventies but since then it has got warmer again.

Should we be worried? And if so, worried about what?

There must appear to be a new heating effect countering the
well established rhythms which would show a general trend to
cooling.

Only in 1974 the B.B.C. ran a series "The Threat of Ice" but
on the last page there was mention of a possible "Joker" in the
pack. This was what is now called the greenhouse effect. The
cause is fairly certain and is an increase in the level of certain gases
in the upper atmosphere, which reflect heat back to earth.

Carbon dioxide is the largest and most talked of but there are
others such as methane, nitrogen oxides and chlorofluorocarbons

96

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

(C.F.C.s). These are less in quantity but are actually much
stronger in effect weight for weight. The C.F.C.s have another
effect at a much higher altitude, that of damaging the ozone layer
which filters out some of the more harmful radiations of the sun.

As usual, nothing is simple, each system feeds on the others
and once man has introduced the odd "dark horse" we cannot
tell if the older rhythms will over-ride the greenhouse or not. It
does seem to be thought there will be some temperature rise but
before everyone cheers, we should note that higher temperatures
often mean more violent weather, more droughts and more
floods. Ice ages had cold deserts, warm periods had great bogs,
steamy forests and hot deserts, so no era is perfect.

Some scientists feel that the temperature rises may well be no
greater than at some times in the past, but the danger is in the
rate at which the changes take place. The earth may not adjust
smoothly.

The significance of all this for Mankind is not in our comfort
but in our food and water. It does not really matter if our roads
do or do not get blocked in winter. It does matter if the crops
fail or the reservoirs do not fill. Britain is not self-sufficient and
many of our imports come from fairly sensitive areas. England
is not even self-sufficient in water but imports heavily from Wales.
A slight change in the Gulf Stream could take the rain clouds
away and the big cities would be in trouble. No matter what
people like to think, there is no civilisation without water and
food.

That is a small example of a world where population is very
finely balanced against resources and even small changes in
climate must have dramatic effects on populations.

This is just as true for an approaching ice age as for a
greenhouse. In past ice ages, mobile populations moved to more
equatorial lands but those which could not move fast enough
faded out. To-day the world is so full that large migrations of any
species will not be possible and so there is a vast potential for
trouble. That is why any dramatic change of climate is so serious.
It may change faster than the world as we know it can cope with
it.

It is not a time for panic or for listening to some populist semi-
scientists whose main aim sometimes seems to be publicity. Nor
is it a time for rushing into things which may actually be counter-
productive. There is, for instance, a school of thought which
thinks that exhaust catalysers may do more harm than would
taking time to design more efficient engines. That is because

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLIMATOLOGY

97

catalysers use power and therefore more fuel is used and so over-
all pollution increases rather than decreases.

Slow, careful study without political posturing is what is
needed. But nature may well be in charge and have other
weapons in the armoury which man has not yet discovered. As
I said earlier. Geology is still happening with earth-quakes and
volcanoes which can instantly affect climate whilst we may watch
and sweat or shiver, feast or starve.

HANDLED DISC STONE MOULD

Mr George McKendrick of Berwick upon Tweed has taken
advantage of unemployment to become a keen amateur archaeolo-
gist with a remarkable number of finds of artefacts to his credit.

The sculptured stone illustrated was found by him in 1984 in
what appeared to be a heap of stones discarded by a farmer near
the site of a mediaeval homestead near South Middleton, Wooler
(OS NT 98 52 31). The full length of the stone is 16 cm, about
2 cm across the bowl, and incised about 15 mm deep. The stone
was identified by Miss L. Allason-Jones, Newcastle University
Department of Archaeology, as a ' 'handled disc" stone mould
of a type known from the northern part of Scotland and the
Islands. None is known like it from the North of England, apart
from two moulds each with two handles from Romano British
settlement sites at Hartburn and Tower Knowe in Northum-
berland. Scottish crusie lamps were made from similar types of
moulds in the 19th century.

98

THE SEAWEEDS OF BERWICKSHIRE

F. G. Hardy

Department of Marine Sciences and Coastal Management,
The University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU

The coast of Berwickshire is one of the most unspoilt stretches
of coastline in the British Isles. Its high cliffs and exposed and
rocky (rather than sandy) shores makes access very difficult and
there has been very little human development or usage. There
is a very active fishing port at Eyemouth, and very small harbours
at Burnmouth, St Abbs and Cove from which boats go lobster
potting. Access to the shore is relatively easy adjacent to these
areas and local fishermen collect winkles ( Littorina littorea) on a
large scale. Coldingham and Pease Bay, with their sand beaches,
are very popular with holidaymakers but largely devoid of
seaweeds, which require a firm substratum for attachment. South
of the former a sewage outlet high on the shore is the source of
considerable pollution, severely restricting the light available for
photosynthesis by seaweeds as well as being a health hazard for
bathers. In 1988 the cliffs backing Hilton Bay, towards the south
lend of the county, were in danger of collapsing and an operation
I to shore them up was carried out very sensitively by contractors
associated with British Rail (whose east coast main line runs along
| the top of the cliffs at this point).

Despite the considerable natural beauty of the region, it is only
relatively recently that its importance has been recognised,
prompting close study of the area. In the nineteenth century
phycologists studied intensively Northumberland and Durham
(particularly A. Amory, E. A. L. Batters and G. S. Brady), and
! East Lothian (west of the county) was studied by G. W. Traill,
j Rather surprisingly, Berwickshire itself was largely ignored. Local
naturalists, such as G. Johnston, studied the flora of Berwick upon
-Tweed (in Northumberland). Whilst many records may come from
^Berwickshire (there are various citations of "coast north of
(Berwick") they are indefinite and could easily (and most probably)
|:ome from the short stretch of coastline north of that town before
beaching the England-Scotland border.

In the present century, fieldwork on the Berwickshire coast has
concentrated primarily on St Abb's Head. Research students from
he University of Durham went collecting there in the 1960s, the
|3ritish Phycological Society visited the area in 1972 (together with

99

100 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Cove, at the extreme west end of the county) and the Nature
Conservancy Council has made detailed studies in the early 1980s.

The present study was begun in September 1986, following on
from a detailed study of the marine flora of Northumberland and
Durham. The idea has been to carry out a very detailed and
intensive programme of field work and to back this up with a
study of the published literature for the area (which has now, as
far as can be ascertained, been exhaustively reviewed), as well as
a study of herbarium specimens originating from the county. The
herbaria of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, of the University
of Durham, and the Hancock and Sunderland Museums have all
been studied. In addition, specimens have been located in private
herbaria (for example, that of Dr David John, Natural History
Museum, London, a former research student at Durham in the
1960s). Further to studying the marine algae of the area, the
general topography of the shore and records of its marine fauna
have been noted and these records constitute a contribution
towards the Nature Conservancy Council's Marine Nature
Conservation Review. The flowering plant flora on the coastal cliffs
has also been studied, and all records have been transmitted to,
and confirmed by, the vice-county recorder. Some observations
on seabirds have also been forwarded to the relevant authorities
collating these records.

The field work has tended to fall easily into two sections. Visits
have been made in May to Burnmouth, and the stretch of shore
from Meg's Dub (at the England-Scotland border) to Hurker's
Haven (near Fancove Head) have been studied intensively from
that base. Visits have been made each year, with the result that
it has been possible to build up a very comprehensive picture of
the seaweed flora present and to observe any changes in this flora
with the passage of time. In July and August visits have been made
to a variety of sites along the whole length of the Berwickshire
coast so that, even in areas where access is very difficult, all rocky
shores within the county have now been surveyed.

Publication of the results will be in the form of two major, and
a number of minor papers. The major publications include an
introduction concerning the Berwickshire coast and a history of
the study of its marine flora, and a detailed checklist of the 170
or so species found there. The former paper has been published
in the Botanical Journal of Scotland (Hardy, 1992) and the latter has
been accepted by the same journal. The first of the minor papers
was published in 1990 (Hardy, 1990), being a survey of the
occurrence of the green seaweed Codium fragile in the county.

One of the most interesting finds of the 1990 field season was
a rare stalked jellyfish ( Haliclystus auricula) attached to a large

THE SEAWEEDS OF BERWICKSHIRE

101

brown seaweed, the serrated wrack ( Fucus serratus) at Meg's Dub,
the southernmost point of the Berwickshire coast. This brown
seaweed acts as a host to various epiphytic algae (such as Elachista
fucicola) and to animals (such as the tube worm Spirorbis spirorbis).

The thong weed ( Himanthalia elongata) is particularly common
on rocky platforms, where its reproductive receptacles, up to six
feet in length, drape over the rocks at low tide. Extensive
populations of this brown seaweed are found at Lamberton Beach.
Himanthalia is colonised by another species of epiphytic alga
(Elachista scutulata) and this was frequently encountered on the
receptacles of specimens growing at Lamberton. A varied fauna
is also present there including the starfish Henricia sanguinolenta.
Wild, feral, mink live amongst the rocks at the top of the shore
and prey on a range of animal species.

Of particular interest was the green siphonaceous alga Codium
fragile subsp. tomentosoides , found in an isolated rock pool near
Fancove Head in May 1988. Since then the species has spread
along the length of the Berwickshire coast and may be recorded
from rock pools in several localities (but was absent from its
original location in 1991). Near the Maiden's Stone, south of Ross
Point, Bummouth, is one of the sites (along with Partanhall) where
the red seaweed Chondrus crispus (Irish moss) has been observed
fluorescing a vivid electric blue in deep rock pools. The fauna of
this stretch of shore is particularly varied and includes chitons
(Lepidochitona cinereus), sea lemons (Archidoris pseudoargus), squat
lobster ( Galathea squamifera), brittle stars ( Ophiothrix fragilis) and
star ascidians ( Botryllus schlosseri). In the bed of a stream running
down the cliff backing the shore at this locality is a population
of the great horsetail ( Equisetum telmateia).

Viewed from the top of the cliffs at Burnmouth, Ross Point and
the flat rocky platform between there and Burnmouth Harbour
are seen particularly clearly. This locality has a varied flora and
fauna and the coastal cliffs have a particularly interesting flora,
especially in the spring, with large populations of primrose
(Primula vulgaris), cowslip (Primula veris), common oxlip (Primula
veris x vulgaris), early purple orchid (Orchis mascula), thrift (Armeria
maritima) and sea campion (Silene vulgaris subsp. maritima). In the
summer, large plants of wood vetch (Vida sylvatica) flower at the
base of the cliffs.

In 1987 specimens of blue-rayed limpet (Helcion pellucidum
pellucidum) were found on Laminaria but they had not been
recorded in subsequent seasons (until 1991 when they were seen
frequently). Red seaweeds are typically found most abundantly in
deeper water, but frequently become detached and are washed
up in the drift. Two such species are Callophyllis laciniata and

102 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Phycodrys rubens. Sea urchins ( Echinus esculentus) are abundant on
the Berwickshire coast, and may frequently be encountered in Kelp
forests. Other very interesting animals found on the stretch of coast
near Partanhall include a spider crab ( Hyas araneus) and a lump
sucker ( Cyclopterus lumpus) amongst the kelp, and green sea
urchins ( Psammechinus miliaris). Also found were the dead remains
of another species of spider crab ( lnachus dorsettensis). Scot's Lovage
(Ligusticum scoticum) is found amongst the rocks at the top of the
shore at several localities in Berwickshire including near Partanhall
and a slow worm was found near this point in 1988, 1990 and 1991.

Wherever a shore is very exposed one expects a considerable
amount of wave splash, and the Berwickshire coast is no exception
to this. The splash zone of such shores is colonised by extensive
growths of lichen species. At the foot of Breeches Rock and Gull
Rock there are a number of shallow rock pools which are the
habitat for a particularly rich flora and fauna, often lined with the
encrusting coralline red alga Lithophyllum incrustans with
individuals of several other species, including the large brown
seaweed Halidrys siliquosa. The Berwickshire coast has a rich flora
of coralline algae, and other species found within these pools
include Lithothamnium glaciale, Phymatolithon lenormandii,
Phymatolithon purpureum and Titanoderma pustulatum (epiphytic on
the red seaweed Mastocarpus stellatus). Deeper rock pools in the
area contain fine specimens of such species as the common lobster,
Homarus gammarus and squat lobster (Galathea strigosa).

One of the most spectacular stretches of coastline in Berwick-
shire is to be found at Hurker's Haven, between Burnmouth and
Eyemouth. Low spring tides reveal very extensive populations
subtidally of the kelp Laminaria hyperborea often with red seaweeds
(especially Palmaria palmata) growing epiphytically. The red sea-
weed Dilsea edulis is also found at this point. Many of the rocks
have extensive coverings of breadcrumb sponge (Halichondria
panicea ) and, amongst coralline encrusted rocks, the dahlia
anemone Urticina felina, with striped tentacles and its body covered
in fragments of gravel, broken shells and debris, was found. In
1990 the rock pools contained large numbers of comb jellies ( Borne
cucumis and Bolinopsis infundibulum).

On the shingle at the top of the shore at Lumsdaine (and also
near Cove), there are a few plants of the yellow horned-poppy
(Glaucium flavum), the most northern localities on the east coast.
Beyond Lumsdaine, the shore at Brander is particularly impressive
due to the rugged topography with enormous plate-like rock
formations.

Meikle Poo Craig is a flat platform of red sandstone towards the
western boundary of the county. It is of particular interest because

THE SEAWEEDS OF BERWICKSHIRE

103

the buttons of Himanthalia elongata, instead of being flat, stalked,
concave discs, have become inflated like vivid yellow-green golf
balls. The pools are littered with dead shore crabs ( Carcinus
maenas). Whether these occurrences are related to the proximity
of the Torness Nuclear Power Station in East Lothian is a matter
for conjecture.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Very grateful thanks are due to the following for providing financial assistance
to support this project:

Royal Society

Nature Conservancy Council
Botanical Research Fund
British Ecological Society
Oleg Polunin Memorial Fund
Percy Sladen Memorial Fund
John Ray Trust

REFERENCES

Hardy F. G. (1990). The green seaweed Codium fragile on the Berwickshire coast.

History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, 44, 154-156.

Hardy, F. G. (1992). The marine algae of Berwickshire: a description of the shore
and the history of its study. Botanical Journal of Scotland, 46, 89-96.

A CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS A MARINE FAUNA OF
BERWICKSHIRE

F. G. Hardy and M. C. Wheeler

Department of Marine Sciences and Coastal Management,
The University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU.

Between 1986 and 1991 a detailed programme of fieldwork was
carried out on the Berwickshire coast in order to prepare a flora
of the marine algae of the county, and this work is now appearing
in published form (Hardy, 1990, 1992a, 1992b). As this research
was financed, in part, by the Nature Conservancy Council as a
contribution towards the Marine Nature Conservation Review, a
study of the littoral fauna was included in the work.

The Berwickshire coast is largely composed of rocky shores,
ranging from bedrock (almost vertical in some places, in flat
platforms elsewhere) to shores covered in boulders and cobbles.
This sort of environment provides a range of habitats: large
boulders with crevices and overhangs, rock pools, kelp forests.
Considerable efforts were made, often using a collecting net, to
find and identify the animals found in the littoral zone and in the
upper sublittoral. With the exception of a very few areas which
proved to be completely inaccessible from land, the coast was
studied along the entire length of the county (from Meg's Dub
in the south to Bilsdean in the north-west).

The Berwickshire coast was the site of intense marine biological
activity, particularly subtidally by SCUBA divers, in the early
1980s. The Nature Conservancy Council commissioned several
studies around the St Abb's Head area preparatory to declaring
this as a Marine Consultation Area (Nature Conservancy Council,
1990), and these studies were summarised in a series of reports
(Earll, 1981, 1982; Pagett, 1983; Smith & Gault, 1983). The last cited
report gives a particularly detailed account of the marine fauna
from Burnmouth to Redheugh concentrating on the mollusca. The
work of the Nature Conservancy Council in the area was sum-
marised by Bennett (1991).

In the present study, identifications were made initially using
the standard field guides (Barrett & Yonge, 1958; Baxter, 1990;
Campbell & Nicholls, 1976). These were later confirmed, and the
nomenclature updated, using the Marine Fauna of the British Isles
and North-West Europe of Hayward and Ryland (1990). No claim

104

CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS MARINE FAUNA OF BERWICKSHIRE 105

is made for this study being in any way comprehensive: it simply
sets out to record the species of animals found on the shore of
Berwickshire during the period for reference by future workers
and to encourage others to study this fascinating habitat.

Porifera (Sponges)

This group of organisms includes a number of species which
are particularly difficult to identify. The following list are of those
species for which determinations have been made.

Clathrina coriacea. Lamberton Beach.

Leucosolenia complicata. Hurker's Haven.

Sycon ciliatum. South of Ross Point; Cove.

Scypha compressa (Purse Sponge). On overhanging rocks.
Lamberton Beach; South of Ross Point; Partanhall; Burnmouth;
Gull Rock; Hurker's Haven; Pettico Wick. St Abb's Head.
Suberites domuncula (Sulphur Sponge or Sea-orange).

Partanhall, Burnmouth.

Halichondria panicea (Breadcrumb sponge). Common on the
undersurface of boulders along the entire coast of the county,
this is a very variable species. Colour ranges from bluey-green,
through olive-green, to honey; morphology ranges from being
almost flat to having oscular openings on craterous cones.

Cnidaria (Jellyfishes and Sea-anemones)

Haliclystus auricula (Stalked Jellyfish or Sessile Jellyfish). This
interesting, and unusual, scarlet-coloured animal was found in
May 1990 on the thallus of Fucus serratus (saw or toothed wrack)
in the upper sublittoral of Meg's Dub.

Cyanea lamarckii. Trapped in rock pools, and in open sea.
Partanhall, Burnmouth; Fancove Head; White Heugh and
Pettico Wick, St Abbs's Head.

Cyanea capillata. Trapped in rock pools, and in open sea.

Partanhall, Burnmouth; Fancove Head.

Aurelia aurita (Common Jellyfish). Trapped in rock pools, and in
open sea. Lamberton Beach; Partanhall, Burnmouth; Fancove
Head; Hurker's Haven.

Actinia equina (Beadlet Anemone). This species is abundant in the
littoral zone along the entire coast of the county. All the
specimens seen were of the red form, with vivid blue acrorhagi
(individuals of the green form may be found on the east coast
at Whitby, North Yorkshire).

Urticina felina (Dahlia Anemone). This very distinctive species of
anemone, with its column covered with gravel and broken
shells, is frequently found on the shore (from Partanhall, Burn-

106 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB
mouth to Brander).

Metridium senile (Plumose Anemone). Shore east of Coldingham.
Sagartia elegans var. venusta. Wuddy Rock, St Abb's Head.

Ctenophora (Sea-gooseberries and Comb- jellies)

A number of species of ctenophora were recorded in 1990,
trapped in rock pools (often in considerable numbers) or in the
open sea. The movement of fused cilia in the animal's comb-rows
is one of the most fascinating sights to be seen on the shore.

Pleurobrachia pileus (Sea-gooseberry). Hurker's Haven.

Bolinopsis infundibulum. Hurker's Haven.

Beroe cucumis. Lamberton Beach; Fancove Head; Hurker's Haven;
Pettico Wick, St Abb's Head.

Annelida (True worms)

Arenicola maritima (Lugworm). Casts present on sand at low tide.
Cove Harbour.

Nereis pelagica. South of Ross Point.

Eulalia viridis. (Green leaf worm). Partanhall, Burnmouth.
Amphitrite gracilis Gull Rock.

Pomatoceros triqueter. Tube encrusting on stones. Lamberton Beach;

Pettico Wick, St Abb's Head.

Spirorbis spirorbis. On Fucus serratus. Meg's Dub.

Crustacea

Semibalanus balanoides (Acorn Barnacle). Common on rocks in the
littoral zone along the entire coast of the county.

Praunus flexuosus (Chameleon Shrimp). In rock pools. Ross Point;
Lumsdaine Shore.

Idotea baltica. Among plants of Laminaria. Partanhall, Burnmouth;

Hurker's Haven; Pettico Wick, St Abb's Head.

Homarus gammarus (Common Lobster). Whilst obviously present
in numbers in the area (the local fishermen set pots) this animal
resides in crevices under boulders at low tide. One specimen
was examined in detail at Breeches Rock, Burnmouth, and
others were seen to be present at Yellow Craigs, Coldingham.
Pagurus bernhardus (Common Hermit Crab). Common in rock
pools along the entire coast of the county, inhabiting the old
shells of Buccinum undatum (Common Whelk).

Galathea squamifera. In rock pools. South of Ross Point; Meikle Poo
Craig; Cove.

Galathea strigosa. This spectacular, and aggressive, squat-lobster
lives in crevices underneath boulders (at low tide). Breeches
Rock, Burnmouth.

CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS MARINE FAUNA OF BERWICKSHIRE 107

Porcellana platycheles (Porcelain Crab). Undersides of boulders in
the littoral zone. Ross Point; Partanhall, Burnmouth; Cove.

Hyas araneus (Spider Crab). In deep rock pools low on the shore,
and amongst plants of Laminaria in the upper sublittoral. One
large specimen at Partanhall, Burnmouth; one small specimen,
densely covered in camouflaging marine algae, at Lumsdaine
Shore.

Inachus dorsettensis (Spider Crab). One dead specimen found on
top of a rock (left by a bird?) at Partanhall, Burnmouth.

Cancer pagurus (Edible Crab). Found in rock pools, under stones,
from south of Ross Point to Brander.

Carcinus maenas (Shore Crab or Green Crab). Abundant in rock
pools along the entire shore of the county.

Mollusca

Lepidochitona cinereus. On rocks in pools from Lamberton Beach
to Pettico Wick, St Abb's Head.

Acanthochitona crinatus. Cove.

Acmaea virginea (White Tortoiseshell Limpet). South of Ross Point;
Hurker's Haven.

Patella vulgata (Common Limpet). Abundant on rocks (both
uncovered and in rock pools) in the littoral zone along the entire
coast of the county.

Helcion pellucidum pellucidum (Blue-rayed limpet). The electric blue
lines on the shell make this species immediately recognizable.
On fronds and stipes of Laminaria digitata (Oarweed or Tangle).
Partanhall, Burnmouth; Hurker's Haven.

Gibbula cineraria (Grey Topshell). On Laminaria. Meg's Dub;
Lamberton Beach; south of Ross Point; Partanhall, Burnmouth;
Lumsdaine Shore.

Littorina littorea (Edible Periwinkle). Common in rock pools. Meg's
Dub to Lumsdaine Shore.

Littorina obtusata (Hat Periwinkle). A distinctive yellow shell, clearly
visible on plants of Fucus vesiculosus (Bladder Wrack). Meg's
Dub; south of Ross Point; Partanhall, Burnmouth.

Littorina saxatilis (Rough Periwinkle). Common in rock pools from
Meg's Dub to Brander.

Trivia monacha (European Cowrie). South of Ross Point; south of
Burnmouth Harbour; Partanhall, Burnmouth.

Nucella lapillus (Dogwhelk). Egg capsules found on undersurface
of overhanging boulders and wedged in crevices. Lamberton
Beach to Brander.

Onchidoris muricata. Hurker's Haven.

Cadlina laevis. Partanhall, Burnmouth; Hurker's Haven.

108 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Archidoris pseudoargus (Sea-lemon). On Halichondria panicea in rock
pools and on undersurface of boulders. Ross Point to Brander.

Jorunna tomentosa. South of Ross Point; HurkePs Haven; Pettico
Wick, St Abb's Head.

Mytilus edulis (Common Mussel). Abundant on rocks (with
Semibalanus balanoides and Patella vulgata) along the shores of the
entire county.

Sepia officinalis (Common Cuttlefish). No living specimens were
observed, but a number of 'cuttle bones' were found washed
up on the top of the shore at Partanhall, Burnmouth, in May
1991.

Bryozoa (Sea Mats)

A number of these colonial animals are to be found in

Berwickshire, often on marine algae.

Flustra foliacea (Hornwrack). This distinctive species is often
mistaken for seaweed. North of Burnmouth Harbour (Drift).

Echinodermata (Star-fishes, Brittle-stars and Sea Urchins)

Henricia sanguinolenta. Common among Laminaria in the upper
sublittoral along the entire coast of the county.

Asterias rubens (Common Starfish). Common along the entire coast
of the county.

Ophiocomina nigra. Under stones in rock pool. South of Ross Point.

Ophiothrix fragilis (Common Brittle-star). Common under stones
in rock pools along the coast of the entire county.

Amphipholis squamata. Partanhall, Burnmouth.

Psammechinus miliaris (Green Sea-urchin). Under stones in shallow
rock pools along the coast of the entire county. Occasional.

Echinus esculentus (Edible Sea-urchin). Abundant, especially on
Laminaria , from Lamberton Beach to Meikle Poo Craig.
Particularly large populations were seen in the upper sublittoral
at Partanhall, Burnmouth, in May 1991.

Chordata: Tunicata (Sea-squirts)

Botrylloides leachi. On undersurfaces in rock pools. South of Ross
Point.

Botryllus schlosseri (Star Ascidian). On undersurface of stones in
rock pools. Ross Point; Partanhall, Burnmouth; Cove.

Chordata: Euchordata (Vertebrata): Pisces (Fish)

A number of species of fish are recorded from the shore, mainly

having been trapped in rock pools as the tide recedes.

Anguilla anguilla (Common Eel). South of Ross Point.

CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS MARINE FAUNA OF BERWICKSHIRE 109

Conger conger (Conger Eel). Lumsdaine Shore.

Zoarces viviparus (Eelpout or Viviparous Blenny). Cove.
Gasterosteus aculeatus (Three-spined Stickleback). Lamberton
Beach; Linkim Shore, Coldingham.

Myoxocephalus scorpious (Bull Rout or Father Lasher). Partanhall,
Burnmouth (four specimens seen).

Cyclopterus lumpus (Lump Sucker or Sea Hen). Lamberton Beach;
Partanhall, Burnmouth.

Lipophrys pholis (Shanny). Lamberton Beach; Linkim Shore,
Coldingham; Brander; Reed Point, Bilsdean.

Pholis gunnellus (Butterfish). Lamberton Beach; Partanhall, Burn-
mouth.

Pleuronectes platessa (Plaice). One very small specimen (c. 1 cm)
in rock pool, Hurker's Haven.

The animals found in the littoral zone and the sublittoral exhibit
a wide range of forms and colours, and a very interesting study
has been made by Stephenson (1944). For a general account of
the natural history of the shore and the relationships which exist
between the organisms to be found there, reference should be
made to the classic works by Lewis (1964) and by Yonge (1949).
A substantial proportion of the animals either live in, or feed on,
marine algae and a study of these creatures has recently been
published by Hayward (1988), which includes an invaluable guide
to identification.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Financial assistance for this project has been obtained from the following sources,
to whom gratitude is expressed:

Royal Society (Marshall and Orr Bequest)

Nature Conservancy Council

Botanical Research Fund

British Ecological Society (Small Ecological Project Grant)

Oleg Polunin Memorial Fund

John Ray Trust

Percy Sladen Memorial Fund

Much of this work was carried out whilst staying at Burnmouth, and we would
like to express our sincere thanks to Mrs Peggy Robinson and Mr Nigel Robinson
for the use of their cottage there.

110

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

REFERENCES

Barret, ]., and Yonge, C. M. (1958). Collins Pocket Guide to the Sea Shore. London,
Collins, 272pp.

Baxter, J. M. (1990). The Mitchell Beazley Pocket Guide to the Seashores of Britain and
Northern Europe. London, Mitchell Beazley. 144pp.

Bennett, T. L. (1991). Benthic Marine Ecosystems in Great Britain: A Review of Current
Knowledge. Orkney , North Scotland, East Scotland and North-East England (MNCR
Coastal Sectors 2 to 5). Report to the Nature Conservancy Council. 84pp.

Campbell, A. C., and Nicholls, J. (1976). The Hamlyn Guide to the Seashore and Shallow
Seas of Britain and Europe. London, Hamlyn. 320pp.

Earll, R. C. (1981). The Sublittoral Ecology of the St Abb's area, Berwickshire. Report
to the Nature Conservancy Council. 33pp.

Earll, R. C. (1982). The Sublittoral Ecology of the St Abb's area, Berwickshire. Report
to the Nature Conservancy Council. 50pp.

Hardy, F. G. (1990). The green seaweed Codium fragile on the Berwickshire coast.
History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, 44, 154-156.

Hardy, F. G. (1992a). The marine algae of Berwickshire: a description of the shore
and the history of its study. Botanical Journal of Scotland, 46, 89-96.

Hardy, F. G. (1992b). The Seaweeds of Berwickshire. History of the Berwickshire
Naturalists' Club, 45, 99-103.

Hayward, P. J. (1988). Animals on Seaweed. Richmond, Richmond Publishing, 108pp.

Hayward, P. J., and Ryland, S. (editors). (1990). The Marine Fauna of the British
Isles and North-West Europe. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 2 vols, 996pp.

Lewis, J. R. (1964). The Ecology of Rocky Shores. London, English Universities Press.
323pp.

Nature Conservancy Council (1990). Marine Consultation Areas: Scotland. Edinburgh,
Nature Conservancy Council.

Pagett, R. (1983). The sublittoral ecology of the St Abb's area, Berwickshire (III). Report
to the Nature Conservancy Council. 35pp.

Smith, S. M., and Gault, F. I. (1983). The shores in the neighbourhood of St Abbs
(Bummouth-Redheugh): marine fauna with emphasis on the Mollusca. Report to
the Nature Conservancy Council. 60pp.

Stephenson, T. A. (1944). Seashore Life and Pattern. London, Penguin. 28pp and
16 plates.

Yonge, C. M. (1949). The Sea Shore. London, Collins. 311pp.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

J. W. Bainbridge, M.Sc.

41 Castle Terrace, Berwick upon Tweed TD15 1NZ
Mishaps

It was two hours before midnight on the 18th December 1810 as
H.M. ships Pallas and Nymphe moved into the Firth of Forth at
ten knots an hour. The two frigates were fine warships, the Pallas
of 32 guns, and the Nymphe of 36, with combined crews of 600.
It was pitch-dark as the two vessels passed the feeble but
reassuring light of the coal-fired lighthouse on the Isle of May,
at the entrance to the Forth. All was well on both vessels and a
pilot had been taken on board the leading ship; suddenly, one
warship crunched to a stop and, some time later, a second. They
had both run aground on rocks that were, in the hours of
darkness, to reduce them to total wrecks. As the 19th December
dawned the southern shore of the Forth was a scene of devastation
and it was eleven that morning before the first boat mounted a
rescue operation. Amazingly, only nine sailors perished.

The cold light of morning also revealed one wreck to be a mile
below Dunbar and the other three miles away. One of them was
only a cable's length from the shore. The loss was estimated at
not less than £100,000. An immediate explanation given was that
those navigating the warships had mistaken the flare from a lime
kiln at Broxmouth for the Isle of May light, and the May-light for
the Bell rock.1 Working kilns could be an impressive sight on the
darkest nights, though those on board the Pallas and Nymphe , the
night they were wrecked, doubtlessly thought otherwise. Perhaps
the flares of kilns were safer markers for cross-country travellers
who are known to have relied on them.

In the period of numerous working kilns tramps also slept near
them, in preference to workhouses that could be notoriously cold
in winter.2 This use of lime kilns to provide warm nightly shelter
for homeless people in the 19th century appears to have been
widespread and a report3 of 1874 described how scores of Bedouin
Arabs slept nightly on and around the kilns of the Carrieres
dAmerique, near Paris. This, unfortunately, could be hazardous,
as a report4 of 1st November 1835 made clear:

The body of a young man about 19 years of age, named Thomas
Thorsby, was found lying on the edge of a lime Kiln at the Skinners
burn, near Newcastle, quite dead, and with one of his legs
completely burned off. He was addicted to intemperance and
frequently went to the lime kilns to sleep.

Ill

112

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Recent /Post - Glacial

Glacial

Lower Carboniferous

Pre - Carboniferous

Alluvium

Peat

Sand & Gravel
Boulder Clay

Upper Limestone Group

Middle Limestone Group

Lower Limestone Group

Scremerston Coal Group

Fell Sandstone Group

Cementstone Group

Sandstone & Marl

Cheviot Lavas

Figure 1. North Northumberland: solid geology.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

113

Solid geology

Carboniferous rocks outcrop over most of north Northumberland
and all the limestones represented, with the exception of the
lowest in the series, the Dun, were quarried. These limestones
are separated by mudstones, shales, cementstones, flaggy sand-
stones and thin coal seams. The principal Lower Carboniferous
limestones present in the district are:5

Limestone

Features

Great

Most important of
the series

Formerly quarried

North of Lowick in a continuous
line of quarries 3/4-mile long

Sandbanks

Dark earthy stone, with
few fossils, of inferior quality

Extensively at Cocklawburn and
at the northern end of Holy
Island

Acre

Compact crinoidal stone that
was considered by some to be
the best of the series

North of Lowick

Eelwell

Top of stone heavily
fossilised

In a long working, the Eelwell
Quarry, immediately north of
Lowick

Oxford

Grey or bluish-grey stone,
crinoidal throughout

Woodend

Whitish-grey, streaked stone,
rich in corals

From Linkhamdean Quarry
there is an uninterrupted series
of quarries past Oxford to the
Allerdean Burn. Also west of
Ancroft and on the coast at
Cargie's kiln west of Seahouse.

In Reekyrow Plantation, near
East Allerdean and west of the
Slateford Burn

I Dun

Dark crinoidal stone with a
yellowish-rusty weathering,
hence its name

Outcrops not common.
Not worked

Initially, the limestones could be won with comparative ease,
j But by 19146 most of the quarries had been abandoned due to
increasing 'cover' and the importation of other limes. Many of the
| former workings are now water- or debris-filled.

The Lower Carboniferous series also outcrops from the border
to Duns and Greenlaw and southwards beyond Kelso. The
youngest strata exposed on the Berwickshire coast at Hilton Bay
and Lamberton include the Lamberton Limestone, thought to be
j equivalent to the Dun Limestone at the base of the Lower Lime-
I stone Group of Northumberland7 and referred to above. There
is a marked absence of economic limestones immediately north
! of the border and it is not until the Dunbar district is reached
that the Lower Carboniferous limestones were, and still are,

114

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

300’

300/400’

GREAT LIMESTONE

SANDBANKS LIMESTONE
ACRE LIMESTONE

EELWELL LIMESTONE

15’

OXFORD LIMESTONE

300/400’

12’

5’

120’

WOODEND LIMESTONE

DUN LIMESTONE

Figure 2. North Northumberland: Limestone Group.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

115

wrought on a large scale. Some Ordovician limestones, associated
with volcanic rocks, were formerly worked near Peebles.

Kilns

Before articifial fertilisers and cement were widely available,
farmers and builders used natural lime that was obtained by
burning limestone or chalk. Thus, where a fuel and limestone were
plentiful, and accessible, the raw materials needed to manufacture
lime were at hand. This was done in a kiln, and in north Britain
two main types existed: the flare and continuous varieties.

The flare, or periodic or intermittent, kiln was normally used,
as its secondary names suggest, at irregular intervals to provide
relatively small amounts of lime. A section through a flare kiln
was roughly that of an inverted cone, some 10 feet across and
much the same in height, that tapered to a width of about three
feet at the base. Such kilns were invariably built into a hillside
to make them easier to top-load with raw materials. The more
primitive had walls built of a local fire-resistant stone while the
more advanced were brick-lined. Arched spaces, called ashpits,
were tunnelled out underneath and led to the base or draught-
hole. Two strong iron bars built into the brickwork of the kiln
supported the fire-bars, which projected into the ashpit. A fire
was kindled with a bundle of gorse on the fire-bars and wood
and coal were dropped from the platform surrounding the kiln-
top. Once the fire was blazing the kiln was loaded, from the top,
with a layer of broken limestone, followed by a layer of coal. When
this reached red heat alternate layers of stone and fuel were laid
to the top. The kiln was kept blazing for 36 to 48 hours to ensure
that the limestone was reduced to a good quality ash-free lime.
The flames that shot from kiln-tops resulted in the name flare
kilns. Once cool one or two of the fire-bars were removed and
the lime fell into the ashpit. This was drawn to the front and carted
away. The top of a flare kiln had no protection from rain which
normally evaporated without affecting the blazing mass.8 Flare
kilns were ideally suited to provide a farmer with enough lime
j to meet his own needs.

Continuous, or running or draw, kilns were bigger than the flare
I version. Siting these massive masonry structures was important
1 and they too tended to be built into a hill- or cliff-side. Within
they consisted of a brick pot, that was egg-shaped, upwards of
1 30 feet in height and had a diameter that varied from six feet at
, the base to the open top of about 12 feet. The space between the
j masonry and pot could be sand-filled with layers of sand and lime
i that drained rain water to 'weeps' or holes in the outer masonry.

' At the base there were arched openings to provide draughts into

116 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

the kiln and for drawing the lime. Those with three arches were
called triple-draw kilns.

Limestone was normally brought from nearby quarries and
conveyed up the inclines on either side for feeding into the kiln.
The process of laying, firing and loading a continuous kiln was
the same as with the smaller type. But, as the name of the bigger
variety implies, the process was continuous. It could be a difficult
and slow task to kindle a kiln, so once alight it was kept running
as long as possible. In a continuous kiln there were three zones
in the pot: the filling zone at the top, the burning zone in the
middle and the drawing zone at the bottom. The layers of
limestone added were about four feet thick and in north
Northumberland, with the Lower Carboniferous limestones and
Scremerston Group coals available, approximately 27 cwts of coal
were needed for every seven tons of limestone converted. In the
early 20th century the use of coke in some kilns improved
efficiency and provided a whiter and purer lime.9

Lime burners

As implied, lime kilns were imprecise structures. But it was known
from experience that conditions in the conversion area of the pot
determined the quality of lime that would be drawn. Here, actions
and reactions, chemical and mechanical, occurred in a great mass
of fire which prevented close observation. Lime burners did,
however, build on past experiences. If, for example, at the moment
a piece of lime was made, the incandescence and gaseous
conditions of the kiln were unsuitable, recombination occurred,
and the lime became 'dead burnt' or fused. Thence they had burnt
lime. Also, the amount of smoke issuing from the mouth of a kiln,
when excessive, was an indication of a waste of combustibles.10
The work of a lime burner may have seemed simple; this was not
so.

The amount of lime drawn from a flare kiln depended on the
quality of the materials used, the efficiency of the kiln and the
expertise of the workmen. When pieces fell before they were
sufficiently burnt these went back into the kiln and doubtlessly
some would re-emerge as burnt lime. After drawing was
completed the fire-bars were replaced and the flare kiln left until
the next day. The ash was then removed.

The fillers or calciners on continuous kilns were enveloped in
smoke and fumes as they worked on the kilnhead shovelling in
stone and fuel. The job, dusty and unpleasant, could even be
dangerous, especially when the men took unnecessary risks as,
for instance, on 5th July 1827: 11

Two men were burnt to death at Morton lime kilns, near Staindrop.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

117

They had attended the kilns for several years, and on this day, as
the kiln did not sink after they had added some fresh stones to
it, they incautiously went upon it to make it do so, and,
unfortunately, they both slipped in; one of them to the waist, and
the other nearly overhead.

Accidents also occurred, like that of 30th May 1832: 12

A man named Robson, a workman at Heaton lime kiln, near
Newcastle, incautiously ventured on top of the kiln, which gave
way, and he sunk down into the burning lime. Several men
immediately proceeded to the spot, and lost no time in rendering
every assistance, but the unfortunate man was dead before they
could get him out. He had been married only three days.

The wages that Northumbrian lime burners received at any time
have not been traced. But in East Lothian at the beginning of the
19th century calciners were paid 8s. to 9s. a week while limestone
quarry men received 11s. weekly. A century later fillers obtained
; a piece rate of 3d. a ton when loading a kiln and quarry workers
2%d. a ton.'5

Lime

, During the agricultural revolution of the second half of the 18th
century in north Northumberland, the Borders and East Lothian,

; lime replaced marl as the usual means of improving the land.

! Some farmers were soon spending 10s. per annum per acre on
! lime, a sum not less than many farm rents.14 It was quickly
1 appreciated that most crops needed lime and some could not grow
■ without it. Soil acidity and alkalinity are expressed as a pH value
with pH7 being about neutral. If a soil was left to its own devices
its acidity gradually increased. Lime was an effective and valuable
neutraliser.

When limestone or chalk, CaC03, is broken down by heat in
i the kiln, carbon dioxide, C02, is driven off to escape from the
kiln-top and the lime, CaO, is drawn off from the base. The lime
! is caustic and for most of the uses to which it was put it had to
! be slaked with water to produce slaked lime, Ca(OH)2.
Agriculturally, this was normally done by leaving piles of lime in
the fields and once slaked by atmospheric moisture it was spread
; by raking. Today, soil testing provides a means of knowing how
often land should be limed: to keep the pH to 6.5 for arable and
6 for grassland. 15 Many agriculturalists however believe the figures
to be 7 and 6.5 respectively.16 But there are, and were, questions
of balance and timing to be considered. Liming can of course be
! overdone for some crops and as lime is slow acting, it needs to
( be applied well ahead of plant demand.

118 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Prior to the development of cement, builders' mortar was
obtained by sprinkling water over lime which swelled and released
heat. Mortar, a lasting bonding material, was known to have been
made by the Romans in north Britain.17

15th century lym kylnes

The earliest use of north Northumbrian lime that has been traced
was for building mortar and not for agricultural purposes. Raine
provided several examples, from the Norham rolls, of local lime
being obtained for building work at Norham castle. These were:

1408 In this year the West-gate of the Castle was rebuilt . . . the
work lasted from 16 February 1408 to the 8 December
following . . . costs included . . . Lime. For 60 chaldrons
of lime bought, 100s.; for leave to win stone and fuel to
burn lime (to Thomas Presfen), 6s. 8d

1422-3 To Robert Fekenham, mason, for hewing stone for the new
tower within the Castle ... to Robert Watson for carting
. . . buying, and burning lime. . . .

1429-30 In this year was commenced 'quaedam nova latrina',
appended to the great tower on the west . . . and other
works ... 38 chaldrons of hot lime (calcis vivi), at 2s., 76s.;
to the forester of Barmoore for 10 loads of timber for burning
40 chaldrons of hot lime, 3s. 4d.; to John Bukton for 6
chaldrons of sea coal, 8s.; to Thomas Williamson for
carrying the said lime from Shorswood to the Castle, 13s.
4d.; expenses in winning a coal pit at Bukton, 45s. 3d.

1431-2 The latrinae not yet finished . . . lime, 2s. per chaldron;
wood for burning lime, 4d. per load; coals, 16d. per chald.

1510 Bought this week to burn a lym kylne with, at Twedmothe
colpyt, 5myls from Norham, 10 chaldre cols, pr. le chaldre
16d. And payd for the caroag to Norham 2s. 8d. per chaldre,
sum 40s. . . . Bought this week, at Furd colpyt, 5 chaldre
cols, et . . . to beyt the lym kyln with, 16d. per ch.; caragg,

2s. 8d. per ch. . . . Payd this week for a man dispachinge,
a lym kylne the spaic of 6 dayes, from morne to night,
everie day, 12 d., 6s

Norham Castle's demands for mortar were considerable and this
documentary evidence points to local coal, sea coal and wood
being used to fuel 15th century kilns at Shoreswood, Tweedmouth
colliery, Todalls and Norham.18

17th and 18th century lime kilnes

An order of guild, of the burgesses of the Corporation of Berwick
upon Tweed, made on 20th July 1683 read:19

Mr Mayor haveing Acquainted the Guild that the Deputy Governor

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

119

Capt. Raph Widdrington has told William Robisons widdow late
Farmor of the Townes lime kilne scituate below the Kings Mount
on the outside of the walls and Fortifications of this Borough, that
if she will not Remove the said Kilne from the said walls which
is noysome to him in his passing by it that he will cause pull it
downe, uppon due Consideration whereof had and taken by this
Guild and for that the Towne is willing to doe the Governor any
civillitye that they lawfully may It is ordered that she shall Remove
the same att her own Charge to the pear end where the former
lime kilns Antiently stood.

When the above, drawn from the original Guild book entry, was
repeated by Samuel Wilson20 he added a contemporary footnote
that The dainty sqeamish Capt. goeing out of Towne a little after
the lime kilne still stands in its wonted place'.

The 1683 order pointed to a kiln, below King's Mount, that was
presumably situated in the hillside near the start of the present
Pier Road with the earlier site having been built near the end of
Queen Elizabeth's Pier. This is likely to have been near the end
of Pier Road, behind the Pier House or below the Pier Field.
Eighty-four years later a reference to the Maudlin Fields limekilns
was made at a sitting of Berwick's court of quarter sessions on
27th April 1767:21

At this Sessions Watson Carr Agent to the Right honourable Lord
Viscount Lisburne made his Appeal for the Limekilns in the
Maudlin Fields the property of the said Lord Lisburne being over-
rated to the Poor of this Parish and the said Watson Carr alleged
that the said Limekilns should not be charged for Poor Rate The
Court do hereby confirm the Rate charged as to the said Limekilns.

In May 1966 when workmen were blasting a dangerous
overhang on Berwick's seafront near the Greenses Harbour they
exposed the remains of an extensive lime kiln built into the cliff
face.22 This was the site of a Maudlin, or Magdalene, fields lime
kiln and it may have been the one referred to at the quarter
sessions of 1767.

The 1683 reference mentioned, as already noted, the ancient site
of lime kilns to have been at 'the pear end'. This may have been
| a long established lime burning point for the town. But it is certain
that Berwick, more so than Norham, would seek the considerable
I quantities of lime that were required, for the fortifications alone,

I from a number of local sources.

19th century kilns
Cocklawburn

’ The most intensive limestone burning areas of the district last
l| century were Scremerston, or Cocklawburn, Holy Island and

120

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Figure 3. Cocklawburn: former industries.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

121

Lowick. The highly industrialised coastal strip of Cocklawburn
stretched from Cargie's Kiln, north of Seahouse, to Scremerston
Limeworks. Here, where the remains of former limestone quarries
and kilns abound, there are other relics that belonged to an
industrial past that spanned several centuries. These include the
site of a former salt pan;23 the foundations of Scremerstonmill that
housed a Norse wheel24 designed by John Smeaton; fishery and
icehouse reminders; a sand pit site; a windmill site; and clay pits
that provided the raw material for a brick kiln alongside
Scremerston Limeworks. But it is the limestone burning remains
that dominate. As well as the kilns of the Scremerston Lime-
works,25 at the southern end of the coastal strip, there were others
east and west of Saltpan How. There were also two horse-drawn
light railways that operated into the present century. The eastern
mineral line, called by the workmen the 'Northside', ran from the
kiln-top of the Scremerston Limeworks to quarries before and
beyond the main Newcastle-Berwick railway line. The second
miniature railway, the 'Southside' ran from the same works, closer
to the beach, to quarries near Saltpan How. The trucks of
limestone were hauled to the kiln-mouth, up the incline, by an
engine sited on the kiln-top. There was a rail link from the works
to the main line nearby, that swung close to the track to Town
Farm before joining the North-eastern line at a signal box south
of Scremerston Station, where there was a lime depot.

At Scremerston Limeworks there were stables, a weighbridge,
blacksmith's shop and grinder. Working on the kilns could, as
noted, be a dusty unpleasant occupation but the worst job of all
was to man the grinder, that turned the lime into a fine powder.
The final phase of Cocklawburn lime burning had a workforce
led by Alex Richardson, the 'gaffer' who lived in a detached
cottage close to the main works. Charlie Blythe 'rode the trucks'
and the two enginemen were Messrs Brown and Purvis. Other
well known names among the workmen were Gardener, Ford,
Barnett, Spratt, Mowit and Cowe, some of whom lived in rows
of cottages at Saltpan How, Philadelphia and south of Scremerston
Limeworks.26 Seahouse, appropriately named, was the home of
the Carr family who were responsible for much of the district's
industry. John Carr (1830-94), for example, the proprietor of
Scremerston & Shoreswood Coal & Lime Company, utilised fully
the Sandbanks Limestone and Scremerston coals that he had at
his disposal.27 Nor did the Carr family restrict themselves to local
ventures. Their company, for example, leased the Catcraig Kilns,
near Dunbar.28

122

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Plate 1. Former kiln of Scremerston Lime Works, 1980, before demolition in 1981 .

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

123

124

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Holy Island

Quarrying limestone on Lindisfarne, for building purposes, is
known to have been carried on at the Snook and Coves in the
first half of the 14th century by Benedictine monks. Members of
this order also burned seaweed to produce kelp in pits at the Lower
Kennedy and on the beach by Sheldrake Pool. Rich in soda-ash,
kelp was for centuries used to make soap. Kelp burning survived
on the Island until 1791. Lime kilns, at the Old Snook and Lower
Kennedy, seem to have used local coal though it has been
suggested that it was shipped in to a jetty below the Tripping
Chare. A waggonway to supply the Lower Kennedy Kiln was
constructed in the 1840s and a decade later the largest of the
Island's industrial complexes was developed by a Dundee
company. The Coves quarries, fine new kilns, below Beblowe Crag,
and an adjacent jetty were linked by mineral lines. To the west
of the kilns were sidings for waggons and to the east a slaking
pit. Business was good and the company normally had five ships
plying between Lindisfarne and Dundee, loading lime at the
Castle Jetty and on their return discharging coal to fuel the kilns.
This arrangement was well tested but mishaps occurred, like that
reported on 31st August 1868. The Customs House authorities at
Berwick received a communication from Holy Island:

. . . at 12.10 a. m. on 31st instant the sloop Curlew caught fire and

sunk. Crew, two men, saved by their own boat.

The Berwick sloop had taken on lime for Dundee and an
assumption must be that the lime was loaded too hot, and ignited
with the loss of the Curlew. The Dundee firm had added to their
local workforce of some thirty Islanders by bringing in Irish labour.
These in-comers, who tended to live beyond the village, brought
new demands to the Island's ten inns. Rowdiness and fighting
became common occurrences and the maintenance of order was
not easy.29 It was part of the chapter of industrial development
that was far removed from the Lindisfarne of pre- and post-19th
century.

Lowick

Numerous kiln remains in and around four major quarry
developments north of Lowick reveal this to have been the most
important limestone burning district of north Northumberland.
The limestones were tapped in the quarries of Eelwell, Acres,
Dryburn and Berrington. This is the order of the outcrops as just
over a mile of the Wooler to Berwick road cuts through each of
the former workings. The run of these quarries was east-west and
the remains, some flooded, can be clearly seen on either side of
the B6525 road.

Plate 3. Lindisfarne: remains of the Castle Jetty, 1964.

KELP PIT 1 A IRONSTONE NODULES

126 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

2

Figure 4. Lindisfarne: former industries.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

Figure 5. Lowick district: former quarries.

128

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Other smaller scale, and yet significant, developments occurred
at the former Oxford Quarries, and especially the Linkhamdean
Kiln, north of the Cat Inn and west of the Al;30 Ancroft Lime
Works, west of Ancroft Mill; and Hoppen Lime Works, north-east
of Lucker Station. Examples of individual kilns, working or
abandoned, shown on the 1st Edition of the Ordnance Survey's
6-inch sheets were those north of Cragmill, north of Easington-
grange Mill, west of Mousen, west of Middleton Tile Works, at
Hetton Quarry, Hetton Coal Houses and Buddie Bay's Kiln Point.

It was the Lowick and Cocklawburn kilns that provided much
of the agricultural and building lime in the 19th century. When,
for example, the Royal Border bridge was built in mid-century the
mortar was derived from these two sources.31 An unlikely
secondary reminder of north Northumberland's manufacturing
industries, including lime production, in the last decade of the
19th century are two buildings at the northern end of the Ladykirk
& Norham bridge, of 1885-7. These, a horse-keeper's cottage and
stable, were built to provide fresh horses to assist heavily laden
carts up the steep hill from the river Tweed to Ladykirk road end
and the Border country beyond. How thankful the carters must
have been, who led lime from Lowick or coal from Ford Moss and
other Northumbrian collieries, to have the fresh Norham bridge
horses hitched to theirs when they already had upwards of ten
miles behind them. Norham bridge itself is also an example of
its time; only 14 feet wide between the parapets it was suited to
an age of the horse.

. . . not always observed

Having restricted the geographical area of the present study to
the former North Durham and to the borough of Berwick upon
Tweed it may be acceptable to draw a concluding example from
the area of north Durham proper or, more precisely, from
Wearside.

Joseph Wilson Swan's contribution to the development of a
successful electric filament lamp and to the development of
photography are well known.32 Swan had been highly inquisitive
from his earliest years and when his natural curiosity, aided by
a fertile imagination, was later directed towards technological
innovation the results, and benefits to society, were immense. Less
well known is the rich and stimulating industrial environment on
Wearside of his earliest years that this highly distinguished
scientist was, later in life, to recognise:33

. . . there was a great range of lime kilns that bordered the near
side of the river bank and used up the produce of the quarry. There
were also glass works near-by which I was taken to see. Lime-
burning and glass bottle-making were, therefore, the first
manufacturing processes I had the opportunity of seeing. . . .

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

129

Plate 4. Ladykirk & Norham bridge.

130 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Plate 5. Norham bridge: former horse-keeper's cottage and stable.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

131

Plate 6. Catcraig lime kiln, near Dunbar, restored.

132 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Plate 7. Frosterley, Weardale, 1969: some of the last continuous lime kilns at work in northern England.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

133

Plate 8. Frosterley lime kilns, 1969: the limestone piled high on the kiln-top, became hot to the touch, before it gradually
sank into the kiln.

134

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

I can remember, from the time I was four years, how lime was
made. . . .

The Wear, with all its sights and sounds, was always fascinating.
Always beautiful'34 Swan's reference to the lime kilns of the early
1830s is of note, if not surprising. His father, as well as being an
anchorsmith was also manager of the Pallion lime kilns. The young
Joseph Wilson Swan had gained an insight into common, but not
always observed, everyday forms of handicrafts35 and industry.
Unplanned and unstructured, his childhood was to kindle the
understanding and imagination of one who was destined to
contribute much to mankind. Limestone burning has played its
part.

Plate 9. Place-name associations: an example from the Borders.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

135

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer wishes to express gratitude to Geoffrey McCreath, for renewing his
interest in limestone burning, and to Francis Cowe, for drawing his attention to
the Samuel Wilson reference of 1693.

SOURCES AND NOTES

1. Compiled from:

Stevenson, David (1878) Life of Robert Stevenson Civil Engineer. Edinburgh: A.
& C. Black, 55-56.

The Times , 25 December 1810, 3.

The Isle of May coal-fired warning light had been established in 1635 and the
old coal chauffer continued in use until the 1st February 1816. It was replaced
by a light from oil with reflectors.

2. Niall, Ian (1981) Country Life, 6 August, 485.

3. Illustrated London News (1874), 65, 482.

4. Fordyce, T. (1867) Local Records. Newcastle upon Tyne: T. Fordyce, 42.

5. Fowler, A. (1926) The geology of Berwick-on-Tweed, Norham and Scremerston.
London: HMSO (Memoirs of the Geological Survey, England), 18-29.

Parts of the geological consideration are based upon material compiled by
the writer, from various sources over many years, when working with groups
of teachers engaged in field studies at Ford Castle.

6. Since the final closures in the early 20th century a quarry has occasionally
reopened. Such an example occurred in January 1951 when W. R. Sitwell,
of Barmoor Castle Estate, re-commenced operating a quarry, between Barmoor
and Lowick, that had last been worked in 1393. Most of the limestone obtained,
from this 1950s venture, was crushed to make fertiliser. — The Berwick Advertiser,
13 March 1952, 5.

7. Greig, D. C., et al. (1971) British regional geology: the South of Scotland. Edinburgh:
HMSO, 83.

8. Bainbridge, J. (1978) Processes. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 18-19.

9. Continuous Kilns: compiled from information provided by Blue Circle Cement
in 1977, that related to the restored Catcraig lime kiln, near Dunbar ( The Times,
4 September 1969, 3).

10. Anon. (1905) 'The Hindlow limeworks' The quarry. X, 443-6 at 445-6.

11. Sykes, John (1833) Local records. Newcastle upon Tyne, printed: John Sykes, 206.

12. Ibid. 360.

13. Blue Circle, op cit. (ref. 9).

14. Ibid.

There is also a series of lime ledgers, from a local kiln in the Berwick Record
Office (BRO). These illustrate the considerable sums being spent on lime, from
1754 onwards, by customers mainly in Berwickshire. These are available as:
BRO 139/18-27 1754-1775.

I 15. Bell, Peter (1978) 'Lime: a fundamental need'. Country Life, 7 December, 2031-2.
I 16. Annis, Brian E. (1979) The answer lies in the soil'. Ibid. 22 February, 479.

| 17. Johnson, Stephen (1989) Hadrian's wall. London: Batsford for English Heritage,
39 & 41.

| 18. Raine, James (1852) The history and antiquities of north Durham. London: John
Bowyer Nichols, 287-290.
j 19. BRO Bl/13, 20 July 1683, 17-18.

3| 20. Wilson, Samuel (Compil.) A Book of the Constitution of Barwick uppon Tweede
and some orders of Guilde that I have collected and putt togither. . . . Unpubl. hand
written copy in BRO, 1 January 1683/4.

136

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

This reference is No. 442 in the sequence of guild orders listed, in the second
part of the work.

21. BRO C8/4, 27 April 1767.

22. The Berwick Advertiser ; 19 May 1966, 1.

23. Site of a former salt pan: this is likely to have been a relic of Cocklawbum's
earliest industry. Salt was made by heating seawater in large pans, initially
of lead but later of iron. There are records of salt pans having been established
on the north-east coast as early as the 11th century while one on the Forth,
at Prestonpans (its name being derived from the process carried on there),
survived until 1959.

The Ordnance Survey's 1st edition of the 6-inch series pinpoints the site of
the former salt pan at the start of the rocks at the northern end of Cocklawbum
beach. The precision may stem from mid-19th century information being
available which served as a reminder that the salt pan had operated in living
memory. Whether the pan had existed for centuries before that, and supplied
Berwick and district with salt, is unknown. Happily, the 'salt pan' placename
has not been lost.

24. Norse wheel: the foundations of Scremerstonmill still exist just to the north
of Seahouse. This was a unique mill in the district, not for possessing what
might have been termed its own harbour, but for having been powered by
a Norse wheel that was designed by none other than John Smeaton (1724-92),
the engineer of his age. The Norse wheel was a vertical-shafted waterwheel
that was turned by water flowing down a steep wooden chute. The water
entered carefully carved buckets on the rim of the wheel and caused it to
turn more easily than earlier Norse wheels that had only flat wooden boards
mounted on the wheel edge. The shaft was projected upwards through the
eye of the lower mill stone, which remained stationary, to drive the upper
mill stone without gearing. The gap between the stones was adjusted by raising
or lowering the waterwheel and shaft. Some of Smeaton's engineering
masterpieces were set in Northumberland but it is doubtful if he would have
included Scremerstonmill as such. The Norse wheel's efficiency was improved
between the 16th and 19th centuries and it is a fair assumption that Smeaton's
would be a splendid appliance. But it could never, no matter how efficient
it was, seriously rival the more common horizontal-shafted waterwheels,
whether undershot, breast, overshot or pitchback. It may be that the Norse
wheel, without gearing, was more simple than the horizontal-shafted mills
to operate and maintain. This could have been the reasoning behind the design
of Scremerstonmill which was built at some point between 1765 and 1792.

25. In 1981 Northumberland Planning Committee decided that the main kilns
of the former Scremerston Lime Works were unsafe and these were
demolished, at a cost of £1,500. — The Berwick Advertiser, 12 February 1981, 3.
The kilns were situated below a Second World War gun position and, today,
the only kiln on the site stands a little to the south on the edge of the dunes,
above the beach.

26. Compiled from information provided by Tom Brown, 77 Newbiggin Road,
Ashington, in November 1980. Mr Brown, aged 80 years, had been bom at
Philadelphia and his father was one of the enginemen referred to in the text.

27. Bainbridge, J. (1980) 'Cockleybum's industrial past'. Berwick Bulletin, 27 August,

6.

28. Blue Circle op cit. (ref. 9).

29. Bainbridge, J. (1980) 'Lindisfame's industrial past'. Berwick Bulletin, 26 March,

6.

30. In the late-1980s and early-1990s Northumberland County Council used the
Linkhamdean Quarry for refuse disposal and they were virtually filled-in.
A former kiln is, however, retained on the site.

LIME KILNS OF NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND

137

31. Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. (1850-51), X, 288.

32. Several concise publications were produced in 1979 to mark the centenary
of Joseph Wilson Swan's lecture on the newly developed incandescent electric
lamp to the Literary & Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne. This
was the first known occasion on which a significant number of electric lamps
had been demonstrated to a public gathering. The booklets produced were:
Chirnside, R. C. (1979) Sir Joseph Wilson Swan , FRS. Newcastle upon Tyne:
Literary & Philosophical Society.

Clough, Diane (1979) Joseph Swan 1828-1914. Gateshead: Metropolitan
Borough Council.

Corfe, Tom (1979) Swan in Sunderland. Sunderland: Polytechnic with Tyne
& Wear County Council.

33. Swan, Mary E. & Kenneth R. (1929) Sir Joseph Wilson Swan FRS. London:
Ernest Benn, 13-19.

34. Ibid. 13.

35. Swan as a young boy also knew the tailor's and cobbler's arts 'so far as these
can be known by early and careful observation' . . . coming from school he
watched the chandler dipping the balanced frame, from which the wicks
hung, into the melted, bad smelling fat . . . he and his elder brother John
paid clandestine visits to copperas works, to brickfields where draggled
women carried the bricks from the moulding table ... he made an early
acquaintance with boilers, steam engines, rope-, nail-, com- and gas-making.
Ibid. 16-17.

FURTHER READING

Skinner, B. C. (1969) The lime industry in the Lothians. Edinburgh: University
(Department of Adult Education and Extra-Mural Studies).

Carruthers, R. G. (1927) et al. The geology ofBelford, Holy Island and the Fame Islands.
London: HMSO (Memoirs of the Geological Survey, England and Wales, 2nd
edition).

Gunn, W., and Clough, C. T. (1895) The geology of part of Northumberland, including
the country between Wooler and Coldstream. London: HMSO (Memoirs of the
Geological Survey, England and Wales).

Publicity leaflets on the Dunbar Works from Blue Circle Industries PLC, Dunbar
Works, Dunbar, East Lothian EH42 1SL.

138

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

irtoNy of The British Architectural Libr

THE WILLOW CATHEDRAL

Patricia Payne

Whitehall, Old Cleeve, Minehead, Somerset TA24 6HU

Signposts to Withy Way and Willow Trail direct West Country
visitors through the willow-growing levels to the cottage industry
of basket making.

Not only baskets of all types, but chairs large and small, tables,
hurdles and rose arches; a minute part of what was formerly made
from willow.

Wicker sails once turned on the windmill as grain arrived in
wicker-sided cart and pack pannier.

Green willow made ships' fenders, fish-baskets, eel-traps and
kiddels, lobster- and crab-pots.

In the fourteenth century willow hurdles were part of the
scaffolding round the great churches and cathedrals but no wicker
structure was ever so remarkable as that known as "The Willow
Cathedral".

This unique masterpiece of craftsmanship was made in
Berwickshire, Scotland, an area not noted for wickerwork though
the fisherman had his crab-pot and the fisherwife her creel.

Sir James Hall of Dunglass, an original and eccentric member
of a gifted family, had a theory that Gothic Architecture derived
from early buildings of wattle.

He employed an un- named craftsman on his estate of Dunglass,
some twelve miles south of Dunbar, in constructing an edifice
that was at once an architectural experiment, a rustic folly and
an object of so much comment in Society, travellers on the Great
North Road made a half-mile detour to view the marvel.

Some, like Miss Eliza Grant of Rothiemurcus, recorded their
impressions and the Scottish artist Alexander Carse made a series
of watercolours between 1794 and 1797, now in the British
Architectural Library.

The Willow Cathedral stands in a glade backed by half-grown
trees, a cathedral of nave, transepts and central crossing tower,
the end of the nave being an open arch to allow visitors to enter.

The nave is three bays long, each bay in the form of a Gothic
arch of wickerwork, the lower part a closely woven wall of about
three feet high. Above that, the tracery of a Gothic window in
willow rods; the nave topped with a thatched roof finished off
with willow hoops as a decorative ridge-line.

139

140

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

The central tower has a crown or lantern top, possibly suggested
by St Giles, Edinburgh.

Close under the transept gable, a workman sits on a stool with
a bundle of willow rods on his knee. He is in the prime of life
and respectably dressed in the Scots fashion of the time.

Supposing the seated man is drawn to scale, then the transepts
were eight feet high, the nave ten to twelve feet and the tower
perhaps as much as twenty to the end of the finial.

On closer examination of the watercolour published in the
National Galleries of Scotland Scottishmaster Series, No. 2, Plate
1, it is clear the workman is filling in the base of a nave bay, the
skeleton of the Cathedral based on very long willow rods stuck
in the ground, for some of the rods have taken root and budded
out.

No two windows are alike and the Willow Cathedral is flanked
by a tapering structure covered in leaves and about thirty feet
tall, suggesting the first experiment was in the form of a spire
completed before the Cathedral was begun.

Also included in the watercolour is a mysterious object, a tree
stump or perhaps an earthenware chimney pot. There is a ring
with branches threaded through it, out of which rises a miniature
spire or pinnacle topped with the suggestion of a cross.

Is this Sir James Hall's latest idea for embellishing the
Cathedral?

Let Miss Eliza Grant have the last word:

"Sir James had lately published a truly ingenious work, an
attempt to deduce Gothic architecture from the original wigwams
made of reeds ... a fanciful theory yet with some show of reason
in it."

REFERENCES

Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurcus, Memoirs of a Highland Lady, Albemarle Library
edition, John Murray. 1967, 237-8.

Illustration by Alexander Carse, No. 6356, copyright British Architectural Library,
R.I.B.A.

TWEEDBANK - A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE?

Andrew T. Bramhall
Scottish College of Textiles
and

Christopher O. Badenoch
Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland
(now Scottish Natural Heritage)

The Club visited Tweedbank on the 8th of June 1989. This account has
been prepared by the Leaders of that afternoon excursion , memorable for
the adept Chairmanship of the late Sir W. B. Swan.

There has been much debate by many people over the short
history of the Tweedbank development. Although the scheme
has not yet reached its full potential as a housing or industrial
area, there have been many critics of its presence and value.
Virtually no attention, however, has been paid to its natural
history, yet consciously or not, the planners have created an area
full of varied habitats, with a wide range of plants and the insects
and other invertebrates dependant upon them. A wide variety
of birds and mammals is attracted to the development. All these
afford both resident and visitor alike, the chance to have easy
access to see wildlife on the urban doorstep without undue
pressure on the human or wildlife environment.

Tweedbank is a new-town ' Village" development, within the
District of Ettrick and Lauderdale, situated halfway between the
town of Galashiels and Melrose on the south bank of the Tweed.
Before Local Government reorganisation, Tweedbank lay in the
County of Roxburghshire, within the Parish of Melrose. It
consisted mostly of rolling farmland, to the south of the estate,
with the hedged, relatively moderate field sizes, and arable and
stock-rearing, typical of the Melrose-Gattonside valley.

In the mid-1960s, an unofficial Plan for the Central Borders,
written by Professor Percy Johnston-Marshall of Edinburgh
[University and submitted to the Scottish Development Depart-
ment, was adopted, in part, by Roxburgh County Council.
Development opportunities were considered by a working party
consisting of the County Council, the Scottish Estates
Corporation, Scottish Special Housing Association, and the
Scottish Development Department. The Plan considered that
Population and industrial growth in the Borders could usefully
ae focused in the Central (Tweed Valley) area.

I At last, two farms — Tweedbank and Lowood Mains — were

141

142

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

settled upon as having the desired characteristics, and these were
acquired together with the trackbed of the former 'Waverley'
(Edinburgh-Carlisle) railway line at the point where it traversed
those farms after crossing the Tweed below Langlee.

Tweedbank thus became a development area in the early 1970s,
after prolonged negotiations, two Public Inquiries — one on the
Plan; the second on the land acquisition — and a decision which
went all the way to the House of Lords. It is sad that such a bitter
struggle had to presage the actual development and indeed some
say that the acrimony of the debate had a wide effect on the
success of the development itself.

The original idea was to stem the drift of the young, working
population away from the Central Borders, by the provision of
new housing and opportunity for open, light industrial develop-
ment and 'greenfield' sites. Originally this took place round the
spine of a new road network. Access was originally from the
Abbotsford-Melrose B6380 road, but within Tweedbank that was
replaced by a new service loop, Tweedbank Drive, which served
both housing and industrial estates, leading to Galashiels by the
Bottle Brig in the early days. Later, the completion of the imposing
new Tweed Bridge, in early 1976, provided a more direct route.

Development was not haphazard. While landscaping detail
round housing was undertaken by the Scottish Special Housing
Association, the landscaping of more open areas, including a park
and pond, were worked on by the late Dr David Skinner, adviser
to the Scottish Development Department and lecturer at the
Edinburgh College of Art. An initial, complete site survey was
carried out, with boundaries, elevations and levels, roads, hedges
and even individual trees marked.

Initially great attention was given to the route and line of the
roads. Slopes were much more varied than was normal engin-
eering practice at that time, and cut material was used to add to
and create existing slopes, as well as to bring land often flooded
by the Tweed, to an acceptable height. Likewise, housing levels
were varied. An early decision was made to screen the new
Melrose 'by-pass' to Galashiels extension by raising a huge ridge
of soil along most of the length. Contractors and road lines had
to work with existing topography, as far as possible, and there
was even a penalty clause for every tree that was felled or
damaged unnecessarily! The loch was lined, to continue the
wetland habitat of Lowood — of which a tiny portion is still
present in the southern plantings — and arrangements made for
augmentation of the pond level by water pumped from the river.
A Badger route from sett to feeding area and the slopes below
Kaeside, was considered and an underpass provided for the

TWEEDBANK - A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE?

143

animals, beneath the main road. Quite a feat before there was
even any statutory protection afforded to these animals!

All this took a lot of careful design, discussion and planning.
It was also labour intensive in parts, with Manpower Services
Commission, Scottish Development Agency, and the later
Borders Regional Council all involved. Extreme care was taken
to plant trees correctly and carefully, with a high proportion of
native species and retention of existing old estate stands towards
the river and on knolls. 'Saturation' planting and generous
bulking of shrubs round housing and the parkland, gave
screening and sudden vistas, getting away from the rather sterile,
open planting of semi-mature trees in the compressed soils of flat,
uninspiring grassland which characterised so many of the 'sixties
new-town developments.

Tweedbank is the lie to the often-held idea that such new
developments denude the landscape, and create an unattractive
environment. Careful attention to the architectural detail and scale
and its relationship to the immediate topography and locale has
produced a scheme which does not sit uneasily in its rural setting.
Although utterly different from the original farmed land, it
nonetheless avoids the awful excesses of 'sixties housing estates.
Cumbernauld, Livingstone, Glenrothes, East Kilbride and others
are widely acclaimed, yet often not by their residents, and
certainly not by visiting biologists! The success of Tweedbank is
largely unsung. Retention of existing riparian, grassland and
marginal agricultural and roadside habitats and their slopes,
together with creation of new habitats, exposure of unweathered
glacial mounds, and woodland planting to connect Abbotsford
to Melrose, Galashiels and the river to the hill, have all contributed
to a new working and living environment, which gives a sense
of space or enclosure; open vista and closed variety; formal park
and pond with unstructured wood and river. This is rarely
equalled, even fifteen years on.

During the past fourteen years there has been a slow but steady
growth in the community. Today (1989) there are some 350
S.S.H.A.-built homes (many now in private ownership), a
privately developed housing estate, a small industrial estate,
school, community centre (created out of Tweedbank farm
steading) and some craft and small workshop units. The
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland established
their local headquarters in the estate, with the Ministry of
Agriculture veterinary inspectorate. An indoor bowling club,
running track and playing fields, provide much-needed sports
facilities — these being on the site of the former Melrose rubbish
tip!

144 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

The value of Tweedbank for wildlife has been shown by
biological recording over the past fourteen years. Sadly, no
baseline ecological information was collected; but ecologists are
agreed that the variety of habitats, both formal and 'wild', provide
a more diverse series of species and communities than could have
existed on the site in its farmed condition. There is probably an
overall increase in wildlife species; there is certainly an increase
in human enjoyment. There will be some loss as disturbed
habitats settle down, and exposed surfaces heal and it is important
to recognise that its present habitat and wildlife success, will not
necessarily continue. Steps have to be taken to ensure future good
development, and proper, continuous management planning
preferably in accordance with defined, written prescription and
record of detail.

Some of the main records for the area are given in the attached
lists.

APPENDIX I

Tweedbank Plants

The plant list reflects the variety of habitats present at the site,
and the changes which have taken place as the development
proceeds (see text). Obvious amongst these are the riverine and
riparian species; those of old woodland and open scrub edges;
hedgerow and roadside verge; long, unmown grassland and tall
herbs; shorter infrequently mown grassland, both damp and dry;
finally mown amenity grass; dry knoll and colonising banks;
garden ground shrubbery, plantation and agricultural fields. The
range of new habitats, and the creation of garden and formal
ground has led to the introduction of many species over and
above those introduced casually or by estate management in the
past. The hard edge to the pond and its lining prevent the full
complement of pond plants to be present, although some small
wetland areas occur. The more outstanding plants are noted
below:—

Riverine /Riparian Algae, Liverworts and Mosses

Nostoc parmelioides
Heribaudiella fluviatilis
Cladophora glomerata
Collemo fluviatile
Verrucaria praetermissa
Marchantia polymorpha
Brachythecium rutabulum

Chiloscyphus polyanthos
Conocephalum conicum
Eurhynchium praelongum
Fontinalis antipyretica
Grimmia alpicola
Leptodictyum riparium
Mnium hornum

TWEEDBANK - A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE?

145

Tortula mutica
Rhytidiadelphus scjuarrosus
Hildenbrandia rivularis
Vaucheria spp.

Spyrogyra s pp.
Dermatocarpon fluviatile
Other Verrucaria spp.
Bryum pseudotriquetrum

Cinclidotus fontinaloides
Cratoneuron filicinum
Eurhynchium riparioides
Funaria hygrometrica
Hygroamblestegium fluviatile
Orthotricum rivulare
Mnium longirostrum
Thuidium tamarascinum

(Collected by N. T. Holmes, D. Ellis, C. O. Badenoch, 1972-1982;
but by no means a full list.)

Fungi:

Piptoporus betulinus
Clitocybe nebularis
Russula mairei
Lactarius cf. rufus
Hypholoma fasciculare
Cortinarius (several species)

— Birch Polyporus

— Cloudy Funnel-cap

— Beech Russula

— Rufous Milk-cap

Laccaria laccata
Lepiota procera

The Deceiver
Shaggy Parasol

Hygrocybe cf. coccineus — Orange Wax-cap

Boletus badius
Entoloma spp.
?Inonotus dryadeus
Lepista nuda
Lycophyllum fumosum

— Bay coloured Boletus

Wood Blewit

(All taken during a brief survey by Nick Stewart in November
1982.)

APPENDIX II

Tweedbank Higher Plants

Plants are the bottom of the food chain. They trap sunlight
| energy and make the basic carbohydrates and primitive protein,

I for food as well as providing cover, breeding sites and shelter
I upon which ultimately all our insects, other invertebrates,
amphibians, birds, and mammals depend.

The flora of Tweedbank Estate reflects not only the main
habitats left (almost) intact by the development — parkland, estate
plantings, long-established riparian woodland, river and river
'fringe, marshy wetland, railway embankment, verge and
hedgerow — but also the interaction of all these with the relict

146

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

seed and propagule population in abandoned agricultural soils,
in the opening of relatively unweathered glacial and superficial
mineral materials, the localised importation of filling soils, rubble
and road material from round about, and in the mixing of all these
in cut-and-fill engineering and landscaping techniques. The
variety of wet and dry soils, on a wide range of aspects and slopes,
and the confinement of too much 'sterile' grass-and-clover
monocultural seeding of new roads and banks, has given reign
to over three hundred species of flowering plant.

Undoubtedly some of these will disappear as the development
scars grow over, and building proceeds; others will arrive. The
whole is indicative of the success, both economically and
biologically, of a more careful and caring approach to our planned
environments. A few of the more obvious are grouped by their
habitats below. (* Denotes introduction to UK, many with
astonishing powers of colonisation here at the expense of our own
flora.)

Tweedbank Woodland and Woodland Edge:

Adoxa moschatelina

— Moschatel

Agropyron caninum

— Bearded Couch

* Allium paradoxum

— Few Flowered Leek

Anemone nemorosa

— Wood Anemone (also in some

open areas of former woodland)

Brachypodium sylvaticum

— False Brome

Bromus ramosus

— Hairy Wood Brome

Cardamine flexuosa

— Wavy Bitter Cress

Corylus avellana

- Hazel

*Doronicum pardalianches

— Leopard's Bane

Dryopteris austriaca

— Broad Buckler Fern

Dryopteris filix-mas

— Male Fern

Endymion non-scriptus

— Wild Hyacinth/English Bluebell

Festuca gigantea

— Giant Fescue

*Galanthus nivalis

— Snowdrop

Geranium sylvaticum

— Wood Cranesbill

Glechoma hederacea

— Ground Ivy

Lonicera periclymenum

— Honeysuckle

Mercurialis perennis

— Dog's Mercury

Moehringia trinervia

— Three-nerved sandwort

Oxalis acetosella

— Wood Sorrel

Rumex sanguineus

— Bloody Wood Docken

Sarothamnus scoparius

— Broom

Saxifraga granulata

— Meadow Saxifrage

Scrophularia nodosa

— Figwort

TWEEDBANK - A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE?

147

Tweedbank Tall Herb, Riparian strip and Verge:

Barbarea vulgaris
Calystegia sepium
Campanula latifolium
Centaurea cyanus
*Chicorium intybus
Chrysanthemum

leucanthemum

Chrysanthemum parthenium
Geranium pratense
Geum x intermedium
Geum rivale

*Heracleum mantegazzianum
Hypericum perforatum
Hypericum tetrapterum

*lmpatiens glandulifera
* Narcissus species
Omithogallum umbellatum
Papaver dubium
Silene alba
Silene vulgaris
Sinapis arvensis
St achy s sylvatica
Stellaria nemoreum
Symphitum tuberosum
Symphitum x uplandicum
Torilis japonica
Valeriana officinalis
*Valeriana pyrenaica
Verbascum thapsus
Vida angustifolia
Vida hirsuta

weedbank Drier, More Open

Allium vineale
Aphanes arvensis
Arabidopsis thaliana
Arabis hirsuta
Campanula rotundi folia
Cardamine hirsuta
Carex ovalis
Conopodium majus
Crepis capillaris

— Winter Cress

— Hedge Bindweed

— Giant Bellflower

— Cornflower

— Chicory

— Ox-eye Daisy

— Feverfew

— Meadow Cranesbill

— Hybrid Avens

— Water Avens

— Giant Hogweed

— Perforate St John's Wort

— Square-stemmed St John's
Wort

— Himalayan Balsam

— Daffodil (unspecified)

— Star of Bethlehem

— Long-headed Poppy

— White Campion

— Bladder Campion

— Charlock

— Hedge Woundwort

— Wood Stitchwort

— Tuberous Comfrey

— Russian Comfrey

— Upright Hedge Parsley

— Common Valerian

— Pyrennean Valerian

— Greater Mullein

— Narrow-leaved Vetch

— Hairy Tare (especially on
railway)

Grassland and Banks:

— Crow Garlic

— Parsley Piert

— Thale Cress

— Hairy Rock Cress

— Bluebell/Harebell

— Hairy Bitter Cress

— Oval Sedge

— Pignut/Earthnut

— Smooth Hawksbeard

148

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Erophila verna
Euphrasia officinalis
Festuca rubra
Galium verum
Geranium dissectum
Geranium molle
Geranium pusillum
Hieracia pilosella
Hypericum pulchrum
Hypochoeris radicata
Leontodon autumnalis
Leontodon hispidus
Lepidium campestre
Lepidium heterophyllum
Linaria vulgaris
Medicago lupulina
Myosotis ramossissima
Pimpinella saxifraga
Tragopogon pratensis
Trifolium campestre
Trifolium dubium
Trifolium medium
Trisetum flavescens
Veronica arvensis
Viola tricolor

Heathy areas also have:—
Deschampsia flexuosa
Festuca ovina
Galium saxatile
Luzula multiflora
Vaccinium myrtillus
Veronica officinalis

Tweedbank: Marshy Wetland

Achillea ptarmica
Alisma plantago-aquatica
Alopecurus geniculatus
Callitriche autumnalis
Caltha palustris
Cardamine pratensis
Carex nigra
Carex paniculata
Carex rostrata
Crepis palludosa

— Whitlow Grass

— Eyebright

— Red Fescue

— Lady's Bedstraw

— Cut-leaved Geranium

— Dove's Foot Cranesbill

— Small-flowered Cranesbill

— Mouse-ear Hawkweed

— Slender St John's Wort

— Cat's Ear

— Autumnal Hawkbit

— Hairy Hawkbit

— Field Pepperwort

— Smith's Cress

— Common Toadflax

— Black Medick

— Early Forget-me-not

— Burnett Saxifrage

— Goatsbeard

— Hop Trefoil

— Lesser Yellow Trefoil

— Zig-zag Clover

— Yellow Oat Grass

— Wall Speedwell

— Field Pansy

— Wavy Hair Grass

— Sheep's Fescue

— Heath Bedstraw

— Heath Wood-rush

— Blaeberry

— Heath Speedwell

and Open Water:

— Sneezewort

— Water Plantain

— Marsh Foxtail

— Autumnal Starwort

— Marsh Marigold

— Cuckoo Flower

— Common Sedge

— Carnation Sedge

— Bottle Sedge

— Marsh Hawksbeard

TWEEDBANK - A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE?

149

Epilobium palustre
Filipendula vulgaris

Glyceria fluitans
Juncus acutiflorus
Juncus articulatus
Juncus bufonius
Juncus inflexus
Lotus uliginosus
Lysimachia nemoreum
*Lysimachia vulgaris
Mentha x verticillata

Mimulus guttatus
Myosotis scorpioides
Ranunculus sceleratus
Rorippa islandica
Rorippa sylvestris
Sparganium erectum
Stacnys palustris
Stellaria alsine
Veronica beccabunga

— Marsh Willow Herb

— Meadow Sweet/Queen of
the Meadow

— Sweet Float Grass

— Sharp-flowered Rush

— Jointed Rush

— Toad Rush

— Hard Rush

— Greater Bird'sfoot Trefoil

— Yellow Pimpernel

— Yellow Loosestrife

— Corn Mint x Water Mint
(hybrid)

— Monkeyflower

— Water Forget-me-not

— Celery Leaved Crowfoot

— Marsh Yellow Cress

— Creeping Yellow Cress

— Branched Burr-reed

— Marsh Woundwort

— Bog Stitchwort

— Brooklime

Tweedbank, Trees and Shrubs

Of over thirty species of woody plants recorded from the new
town, almost two-thirds are introductions, as might be expected
in an area of partly estate policy woodland, with roads and a
railway. The list includes the Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus
1 oxycanthoides which was probably introduced as a hedging plant
I during the agricultural enclosures. Barbery, Berberis vulgaris, is
another hedging plant, but one which was native to the area,
although, before fungicides, one which was ruthlessly weeded-
out as it was an alternate host of Wheat-rust. Another hedgerow
plant which has taken advantage of the less-frequent use along
the old Abbotsford to Melrose road and seeds widely is the Burnet
Rose of Jacobite fame. As with some other Tweedbank plants it
is more at home in a less acid soil.

(All the lists given are of the more interesting plants — only a
j part of the total for the habitats.)

APPENDIX III

Tweedbank Lepidoptera

Recording of the moths and butterflies of Tweedbank began
in detail in 1979 when it was noticed that a number of species
occurred. The butterflies were comparatively easy to identify and
the thirteen or so represent the range of butterfly habitats to

150

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

be found, and are widespread as residents or migrants in the
Eastern Borders.

The moths are a little more involved. The main methods of
collection were by netting in the early morning and in the evening,
and by use of a fishing rod during the day. The latter use is novel
but effective. The moths often rest on the lamp-posts and on the
harled walls, which, themselves, often had street lights attached.
The rod was used to knock down those moths out of reach and
these were then collected in specimen tubes and released after
identification, later. A complete list is given since this area has
not been the subject of intensive recording for nearly a century.

Butterflies:—

Small White
Large White
Green- veined White
Orange Tip
Small Tortoiseshell
Red Admiral
Painted Lady

Peacock
Small Copper
Small Heath
Common Blue
Ringlet

Meadow Burn

Moths:—

Ghost Moth —

Gold Swift —

Orange Swift —

Map wing Swift —

Common Swift —

December Moth —

Large Emerald —

March Moth —

Small Fan-footed Wave —

Riband Wave —

Garden Carpet —

Silver Ground Carpet —

Shaded Broad Bar —

Yellow Shell —

The Streamer —

Water Carpet —

Chevron —

The Spinach —

Barred Straw —

Small Phoenix —

Autumn Green Carpet —

Dark Marbled Carpet —

Common Marbled Carpet —
Barred Yellow —

Hepialus humuli
H. hecta
H. sylvina
H. fusconebulosa

H. lupulinus
Poecilocampa populi
Geometra papilionaria
Alsophila aescularia
Idaea biselata

I. aversata

Xanthorhoe fluctuata
X. montanata montanata
Scotopteryx chenopodiata
Camptogramma bilineata
Anticlea derivata
Lampropteryx suffumata
Eulithis testata
E. mellinata
E. pyraliata
Eciptoptera silaceata
Chloroclysta miata
Chloroclysta citrata
C. truncata
Cidaria fulvata

TWEEDBANK - A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE?

151

Grey Pine Carpet

Spruce Carpet

Green Carpet

Broken-barred Carpet

May Highflyer

July Highflyer

Scarce Tissue

Twin Spot Carpet

Sandy Carpet

Small Rivulet

Tawny Pug

Brindled Pug

Currant Pug

Scorched Wing

Brimstone

The V-moth

Latticed Heath

Scalloped Oak

Feathered Thorn

Swallow Tail

Canary Shouldered Thorn

Early Thorn

Common White Wave

Scalloped Hazel

Peppered Moth

Pale Brindled Beauty

Light Emerald

Engrailed

Mottled Beauty

Barred Red

Poplar Hawk

Elephant Hawk

Puss Moth

Sallow Kitten

Swallow Prominent

Lesser Swallow Prominent

Coxcomb Prominent

Pale Prominent

Buff Tip

Lunar Marbled Brown
Garden Tiger
Ruby Tiger
White Ermine
Heart & Dart
Purple Clay

— Thera obeliscata

— T. britannica

— Colostygia pectinataria

— Electrophaes corylata

— Hydriomena impluviata

— II. fur cat a

— Rheumaptera cervinalis

— Perizoma didymata
--- P. flavofasciata

— P. alchemillata

— Eupithecia icterata

— E. abbreviata

— E. assimilata

— Plagodis dolbraria

— Opisthograptis luteolata

— Semiothisa wauaria

— S. clathrata

— Crocallis elinguaria

— Colotois pennaria

— Ourapteryx sambucaria

— Ennomos alniaria

— Selenia dentaria

— Cabera pusaria

— Odonoptera bidentata

— Biston betulara

— Apocheima pilosaria

— Campaea marginata

— Ectropis bistortata

— Aids repandata

— Hylaea fasciaria

— Laothoe populi

— Deilephila elpenor

— Centra vinula

— Furcula furcula

— Pheosia tremula

— P. gnoma

— Ptilodon capucina

— Pterostoma palpina

— Phalera bucephala

— Drymonia ruficomis

— Arctia caja

— Phragmatobia fuliginosa

— Spilosoma lubricipeda

— Agrotis exclamationis

— Diarsia brunnea

152

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Flame Shoulder

— Ochropleura plecta

Plain Clay

— Eugnorisma depuncta

Large Yellow Underwing
Small Broad Border Yellow

— Noctua pronuba

Underwing

— N. janthina

Lunar Yellow Underwing

— N. orbona

Autumnal Rustic

— Paradiarsia glareosa

Pearly Underwing

— Peridroma saucia

Ingrailed Clay

— D. mendica

Setaceous Hebrew Character

— Xestia c-nigram

Double Square Spot

— X. triangulum

Square Spot Rustic

— X. xanthographa

Dotted Clay

— X. baja

Green Arches

— Anaplectiodes prasina

The Shears

— Hada nana

Pale Shouldered Brocade

— Lacanobia thalassina

Cabbage Moth

— Mamestra brassicae

Broad Barred White

— Hecatera bicolorata

Broom Moth

— Ceramica pisi

Glaucous Shears

— Papestra biren

Campion

— Hadena perplexa

Marbled Coronet

— H. confusa

Antler Moth

— Cerapteryx graminis

Pine Beauty

— Panolis flammea

Common Quaker

— Orthosia stabilis

Hebrew Character

— O. gothica

Common Wainscot

— Mythimna pallens

The Shark

— Cucullia umbratica

Minor Shoulder Knot

— Brachylomia viminalis

Deep Brown Dart

— Aporophyla lutulenta

Black Rustic

— A. nigra

Red Sword Grass

— Xylena vetusta

Green Brindled Crescent

— Allophyes oxycanthae

Merveille du Jour

— Dichonia aprilina

Grey Chi

— Antitype chi

Satellite

— Eupsilia transversa

Brick

— Agrochola circellaris

Brown Spot Pinon

— A. litura

Pink Barred Sallow

— Xanthia togata

Dusky Lemon Sallow

— X. gilvago

Centre Barred Sallow

— Atethmia centrago

Lunar Underwing

— Omphaloscelis lunosa

The Miller

— Achronicta leporina

Grey Dagger

— A. psi

Knot Grass

— A. rumicis

TWEEDBANK - A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE?

153

The Mouse
Old Lady
Brown Rustic
Angle Shades
The Saxon
Dun Bar
Dark Arches
Light Arches

Clouded-bordered Brindle

Confused

Dusky Brocade

Rustic Shoulder Knot

Common Rustic

Marbled Minor

Dusky Sallow

Flounced Rustic

Small Mottled Willow

Vine's Rustic

Rosy Rustic

Frosted Orange

Large Wainscot

Green Silver Lines

Nut Tree Tussock

Burnished Brass

Gold Spot

Gold Spangle

Plain Golden Y

Beautiful Golden Y

Silvery Y

The Spectacle

The Herald

The Snout

— Amphipyra tragopoginis

— Mormo maura

— Rusina ferruginea

— Plogophora meticulosa

— Hyppa rectilinea

— Cosmia trapezina

— Apamea monoglypha

— A. lithoxylaea

— A. crenata

— A. furva britannica

— A. remissa

— A. sordens

— Mesapamaea secalis

— Oligia strigilis

— Eremobia ochroleuca

— Luperina testacea

— Spodoptera exigua

— Hoplodrina ambigua

— Hydraecia micacea

— Gortyna flavago

— Rhizedra lutosa

— Pseudoips fagena britannica

— Colocasia coryli

— Diachrysia chrysitis

— Plusia festucae

— Autographa bractea

— A. jota

— A. pulchrina

— A. gama

— Abrostola triplasia

— Scoliopteryx libatrix

— Hypena proboscidalis

APPENDIX IV

Tweedbank Birds:

Due to the variety of habitats a similar variety of birds has been
! recorded in Tweedbank. Some are resident, breeding in the area.
Others winter, and yet a third group are merely present on
passage, spending only a few moments in the area.

During the winter of 1980/81, a group of four Whooper Swans
stayed on the Gunknowe Loch for almost two months. In March
1981 a large flock of geese became Tost' in fog and low cloud in
the valley. At about eleven at night, at tree-top height and

154

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

mysteriously illuminated by reflected street lights, a lone Snow
Goose appeared amongst the Greylag and Pinkfeet, its features
clearly visible. Wintering Mute Swans on the loch are part of a
special study and have included a bird ringed at Montrose Basin,
while other records include a family party ringed at one of the
Lammermuir Reservoirs. The corpse of a dead Common Tern was
found one October in the loch. Within gardens and shrubbery
on the estate elusive Waxwings have spent part of the winter,
especially in 1981-82. Nine species of wader alone make this a
remarkable place, by Border standards.

The total list for the development area is well over one hundred
species. Only those of note are given here.

Little Grebe

Sand Martin

Great Crested Grebe

Jay

Cormorant

Marsh Tit

Grey Heron

Long-tailed Tit

Teal

Tree Creeper

Wigeon

Dipper

Goldeneye

Fieldfare

Goosander

Redwing

Shelduck

Stonechat

Greylag Goose

Whinchat

Pinkfooted Goose

Grasshopper Warbler

Canada Goose

Sedge Warbler

Snow Goose

Garden Warbler

Whooper Swan

Wood Warbler

Buzzard

Goldcrest

Sparrowhawk

Spotted Flycatcher

Merlin

Pied Flycatcher

Golden Pheasant

Goldfinch

Ringed Plover

Siskin

Snipe

Linnet

Curlew

Redpoll

Woodcock

Bullfinch

Common Sandpiper

Crossbill

Redshank

Brambling

Greenshank

Reed Bunting

Common Gull

Tree Sparrow

Common Tern

Cuckoo

Barn Owl

Kingfisher

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

TWEEDBANK - A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE?

155

APPENDIX 5

Tweedbank Amphibians, Reptiles and Mammals:

Like birds, the 'animal' list as it stands at present for Tweedbank
is very full for such an area of the Central Borders. As has been
already stated. Badgers survived the upheaval of the development
and have a sett in a quiet corner. Another legally scheduled
species, the Red Squirrel, may still be seen, although the area
has been invaded in recent years by the alien Grey, which may
be better able to exploit the mixed woodland. In spring 1981, the
freshly cast skin of an Adder was found on the disused railway,
and at least three species of Bats — also protected now — have
been seen, while others could easily be present.

The following is an initial list of those actually recorded.

Amphibians/Reptiles:

Palmate Newt

Frog

Toad

Viviparous (Common) Lizard
Adder

Mammals:

Common Shrew
Hedgehog
Bank Vole

Short-tailed Field Vole
Wood Mouse

* Rabbit
Brown Hare

Red Squirrel
*Grey Squirrel

Fox

Badger

Weasel

Stoat

*American Mink
Polecat/Ferret (escaped)

Roe Deer

Pipistrelle Bat
Daubenton's Bat
Brown Long-Eared Bat

LANGLEE

156 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

TWEEDBANK 1988

A NOTE ON DR F. G. HARDY'S PAPERS

C. O. Badenoch

The two papers in this journal on the inshore, sublittoral and
littoral interest of the Berwickshire Coast represent an important
contribution to what has become an internationally recognised
resource of wild plants and animals. It is too early to say which
of the British inter-tidal and marine habitats will be subject to
particular highlighting by the European Community Habitat
Directive, but in East Coast terms, the Berwickshire coast has
escaped the chemical, thermal and particulate pollution of the
Forth, and that of the southern North Sea basin, starting at the
Northumberland-Durham coalfield. The species range here is
immense with south-western Lusitanian elements mixing with
j those from Arctic waters and those typical of the North Sea itself.
A wide range of exposed and protected underwater habitats are
represented and while not as clean as those of the north west
| coast, nor perhaps as spectaclar as equatorial waters, there is
’ nevertheless here a largely untapped resource which is the basis
I of our inshore fishing community.

The present papers do not pretend to cover fully the wide
range of terrestrial, intertidal and inshore survey work which has
I been done in the last twenty years along the entire coastline,

| carried out and sponsored in the main by the Botanical Society
of the British Isles, The Marine (Underwater) Conservation
1 Society, The Scottish Ornithologists' Club, our own Club and staff
! and contractors of the former Nature Conservancy Council, of
whom Dr Hardy is one.

Terrestrial botany has been recorded over a large part of the
area to quarter 1-kilometre squares, and intertidal and sub-littoral
species have been collected and catalogued, enabling the gaps
in recording to be identified and to aim survey work more
precisely. In June and July of 1992 the "North East Team" of the
Joint Nature Conservancy Council Committee Marine Conserva-
tion Review will try to complete these gaps for the littoral and
, sub-littoral zones between North Berwick and Flamborough. Their
final report — amalgamating all their own data with (reliable)
previous data, including Dr Hardy and Mr Wheeler's, on to
computer mapping and storage, with parallel analyses to
incorporate all the Berwickshire data into a definable
"communities" list for North West Europe — should be available
within two years.

157

158

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Dr Hardy's listings have been compared with such data as is
available regionally — prior to the main literature review — and
the outstanding records are noted below:

Porifera:

Leucosolenia complicata (Montague, 1810) New

Suberites domuncula (Olivi, 1792) New

Cnidaria:

Haliclystus auricula (Rathke, 1806)
Cuanea capillata (Linn., 1756)

Ctenophora:

Pleurobrachia pileus (Muller, 1776)
Bolinopsis infundibulum (Muller, 1776)
Beroe cucumis (Fabricius, 1780)

New

Very few records, see
Smith & Gault in
Hardy & Wheeler, P.
110 above.

All new species

Annelids:

Eulalia viridus (Linn., 1767)
Amphitritides gracilis (Grube, 1860)
Spirorbis spirorbis (Linn., 1758)

Crustacea:

Praunus flexuosus (Muller, 1776)

Molluscs (Nudibranchs.):

Jorunna tomentosa (Cuvier, 1804)

Very few records
Ditto.

Not recorded south
of Bummouth before.

Probably overlooked;
very few records.

Very few records.

Bryozoa:

Flustra foliacia (Linn., 1758) Very few records.

Tunicata:

Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766) Very few records.

The table below gives a summary of post-1960 records currently
available to the Borders Office of Scottish Natural Heritage. These
include those of Hardy and Wheeler. The work of the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee Marine Conservation Review staff, will
undoubtedly expand this list, clarify the synonymy of earlier
records and group the species into communities as the basis of
a North West European classification, thus enabling the true
significance of the Berwickshire Coast to be realised.

A NOTE ON DR F. G. HARDY'S PAPERS

159

BERWICKSHIRE COAST: INCLUDING MARINE CONSULTATION AREA
AND VOLUNTARY MARINE RESERVE
(Lothian-Northumberland Border)

SUMMARY OF SPECIES RECORDED (SINCE 1960) TO TUNE 1992

LICHENS 9

ALGAE

ZM

Rhodophycota 'reds'

84

ZR

Chromophycota (Phaeophyta)

'browns'

36

ZS

Chlorophycota 'greens'

29

Chrysophyta

+

c

Porifera

20

D

Cnidaria

35

E

Ctenophora

3

F

Platyhelminthes

0

G

Nemertea

5

7

Priapula

0

I K

Entoprocta

0

M

Pognophora

0

N

Sipuncula

1

I 0

Echiura

0

! p

Polychaeta

49

Annelida Oligochaeta

0

Annelida Hirudinea

0

Q

Cheilicerata

4

R

Crustacea (lower):—

Brachiopoda

0

Maxillopoda

4

Ostracoda

25

s

Crustacea (higher):—

Malacostraca

0

Fumalacostraca

54

1 vv

Mollusca

Caudeofauvata

0

Solenogastres

0

Polyplacophora

7

Gastropoda

108

No full survey available.

(+ unspecified encrusting calcareous
and non-calcareous reds)

(+ unspecified encrusting 'dark
browns')

(+ unspecified)

(unspecified 'diatom' fuzz)

(+ unspecified)

160

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Mollusca — continued
Scaphopoda
Pelecypoda
Cephalopoda

X Brachiopoda
Y Bryozoa
ZA Phoronida

ZB Echinodermata:

Crinoidea

Asteroidea

Ophiuroidea

Echinoidea

Holothuroidea

ZC Hemichordata
ZD Tunicata
ZE Pisces Agnatha
ZF Pisces Chondrichthys
ZG Pisces Osteichthyes

ZJ Aves

Extinct

Breed

Sea watch/feed/passage
ZK Mammalia

? record cards but no records!

Not fully recorded
Not fully recorded

1

62

5

0

29

0

2 '

6

6

4

1

0

15 +

2

2

43

2

38

109

5 +

HAREHEUGH CRAIGS

C. O. Badenoch

Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland
38 Gala Park, Galashiels TD1 1EU

(Hareheugh Craigs , Hume , was visited by the Club during the afternoon
of June 6th 1991. The Secretary asked for a brief note on the geological
and wildlife interest of the site.)

Hareheugh Craigs is considered the best example in South East
Scotland, of what may be called a 'composite intrusion', that is
a volcanic, igneous body of rock formed of more than one sort
of magma. Such intrusions offer the geologist clear evidence for
the co-existence of two magmas of differing composition, and
further give insight into the process which took place — far below
ground level! — in the magma chambers. It also helps to elucidate
the sequences and availability of lavas at different times and the
mechanisms by which intrusion took place, and how the intruded
rock cooled. Interestingly, the affinities of Hareheugh are with
the North Northumberland Basin rather than the Midland Valley
of Scotland. Obviously the crags are therefore of some note in
geological education and research, as geologists try to unravel
the relative structures of the past and their formation.

Hareheugh Craigs is often described as a 'volcanic plug' — a
mass of magma which has solidified in the channel which fed
it to the surface volcanic vent. Later erosion has removed all
remains of any sedimentary, softer rocks above and around the
plug, and also the main volcano of which this vent was a part
— about 300 million years ago!

In the past it was assumed that this plug was a conduit which
fed the adjacent olivene-basaltic lava field round about. This slab
of lavas, 'the Kelso Traps', lies in a great horseshoe shape, from
Whiteadder Water in the north, westwards through Smailholm
and Makerstoun, and round to the south of the Tweed at Redden
and Nottylees. These lavas were erupted at the close of the Upper
Old Red Sandstone era, and appear to lie at the bottom of the
Cementstone series of the Lower Carboniferous age. In fact
research has shown that plugs like that at Hareheugh have been
intruded into these lavas and over them in places. The
relationship is apparent to geologists and adds to the interest of
the site.

161

162

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

The rocks vary in composition, but are typically a dark grey-
black with a variety of porphyry grain sizes and hardness. One
of the coarser types has been suggested by Professor Tomkieff
to be possibly an olivene dolerite, rather than basalt (Tomkieff,
1945). Later he described the general type as Markle basic
intrusion (Tomkieff, 1954). The hardness of the intrusion lends
itself to quarry material, unlike much of the soft sedimentary rocks
elsewhere in the Region, and Hareheugh was used in the 1930s
by Kelso Town Council, and later is reputed to have been used
by the Royal Engineers for the construction of the war aerodromes
at Charterhall and Winfield.

The plants growing at Hareheugh, and the animals dependant
on them, reflect to a large extent the physical features of variable
low-acidity, hard rocks (relatively high pH) with thinly developed
soils for the most part. The eastern flowing ice-sheets of the last
glaciation led to rather typical crag-and-tail formation on a lot of
these intrusions. The steep western, ice-plucked crag and its
longer tapering tail is perhaps most clearly seen at Sweethope
hill, immediately to the south. Scraped by the ice, and with
downwash of finer material, the soils of the rocky heights are thin,
with deeper bands in hollows, and between the ridges. Typically,
although neutral or mildly basic in reaction, they are otherwise
quite nutrient-poor. Being thin and rocky, their moisture retention
is small and they often dry out at the height of the growing season
in May-July. These are the factors which primarily keep them
open for thriving colonies of small lichens, mosses and herbs, and
which stop the grasses growing too lush and swamping the tiny
plants.

Because of their drought and steepness, such intrusive lumps
in our arable countryside have to a large extent escaped the
plough, and more recently the effects of fertiliser and herbicide
which would spoil the botanical variety. More recently, the advent
of the fertiliser barrow and herbicide tank on the hydraulic linkage
has enabled tractors to get into places where trailed implements
could not go. Pressure on agricultural output has meant increas-
ing stocking rates, and winter feeding often on these hard knolls,
and so the wild grasslands have retreated right across Britain. There
is an insidious effect too of grazing stock bringing nutrients from
agriculturally improved land, and reducing the botanical diversity
as a result of increased fertility from dung and urine. The removal
of the boundary at the north edge of the site shows this quite
clearly, but largely the area has been well managed by fairly low
levels of sympathetic grazing at the right levels.

The botany at Hareheugh has been a source of delight for many
groups over the years and, despite its thin soils, over 100 species

HAREHEUGH CRAIGS

163

of flowering plant have been recorded, with about 116 lichens,
at least 63 mosses and 16 liverworts. National rarities include the
lichen Ramalina polymorpha, which is on the Red Data Book list,
although it has two other known Border sites. Also nationally rare
are the moss Grimmia affinis and the tiny, but spectacular. Maiden
Pink, Dianthus deltoides, which is known from about 24 Border
localities making this Region a British stronghold for the species,
since it is known to occur in only fifty-eight of the ten-kilometre
squares of the National Grid, and is therefore classified as
nationally 'Scarce'.

With all the plants, many occur in recognisable groups or
communities, and each group has its own preferred niche. To the
north, on the steeper more acid and shaded slopes where there
are sections of columnar basalt — almost like the Giant's
! Causeway or Sampson's Ribs! — are the vestiges of old woodland,
but only a few Honeysuckle, Rowan and Hazel remain of the
trees. But the 'woodland' ground flora remains. Here is
Goldilocks, Ranunculus auricomus, Moschatel, Adoxa maschatellina
and patches of Lady Fern, Athyrium felix-foemina, and Male Fern,

: Dryopteris felix-mas, Bugle, Ajuga reptans, Wood Cranesbill,

| Geranium sylvaticum and no less than twelve species of 'woodland'
mosses and lichens. On deeper soils to the north-east is a patch
| of Whin, Ulex europaeus, close by the Badger sett, while in a tiny
flush and rill there is Ivy-leaved Crowfoot, Ranunculus hederaceus,
j and the locally rare Water Whorl Grass, Catabrosa aquatica. Beside
I the mediaeval farm and its enclosures there is Squirrel-tail Fescue,

| Vulpia bromoides, Little Mouse-ear Chickweed, Cerastium
semidecandrum, and Dark Green Mouse-ear Chickweed, C.
diffusum.

But by far the most productive, herb-rich hunting-grounds for
the botanist are the dry, south-facing rocky slopes and the
grasslands surrounding them. On the thinner grass areas grow
the Meadow saxifrage, Saxifraga granulata, Doves-foot Cranesbill,
Geranium molle and Yellow Mountain Pansy, Viola lutea. On the
i rocks are colonies of the Maiden Pink, with Small Cudweed, Filago
| minima, Prickly Sedge, Carex muricata (subspecies lamprocarpa). Lop
! grass, Bromus hordaceus, Thyme-leaved Sandwort, Arenaria
I serpyllifolia, and occasional plants of the tiny Moonwort,
Botrychium lunaria, and Lesser Chickweed, Stellaria pallida. Here
too the Early Forget-me-not, Myosotis ramosissima, Parsley Piert,
Aphanes arvensis, and some of the small winter-flowering annuals
on open patches, often with Sheep's Fescue, Red Fescue, and
the tiny Flair grasses. High on the crags, and out of reach of the
most heavy grazing, are small patches of grassy heath with Bell
Heather, Erica cinerea, Heather, Calluna vulgaris, Wild thyme.

164 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Thymus druceii, and in among the fescues and Meadow Oat Grass,
Avenula pratensis, swaths of Rockrose, Helianthemum nummularium
and its dependant butterfly — now partly protected by law — The
Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxerxes. A lonely, stunted Scots
Pine has found its way here, too, and some scrubby Burnett Rose,
Rosa pimpinelli folia.

Curiously, when one compares these flowery communities with
similar groups elsewhere in the country, the characteristic species
— Carline Thistle, Carlina vulgaris, is absent! It is also apparent
that some of the bryophyte species in particular represent
Berwickshire species which are locally rare and upland species
'isolated' in a lowland sea. Whether this is because the species
were once common in the lowlands, and are now rare because
of encroaching farmed land, or because they prefer open, dry and
exposed rocky habitats is not clear.

The site also supports at least ten other species of butterfly in
recent years, but moths have not been adequately recorded. The
silky black Chimney Sweeper, Odezia atrata, occurs, along with
other Geometrids, some of the Tortrix moths, and those of the
Pyralid group. At least two kinds of grasshopper are present, and
these require closer attention.

One might expect Slow-worm here, but there are no records,
and the only record for the Common Lizard is unconfirmed, from
a fleeting glimpse.

REFERENCES

Tomkieff, S. I. (1945). Petrology of the Carboniferous Igneous Rocks of the
Tweed Basin. Trans. Edinb. Geol. Soc. 14, 53-75.

Tomkieff, S. I. (1953). The Carboniferous Igneous Rocks of the Kelso District.
Proc. Univ. Durham Phil Soc. 11, 95-101.

CIST GRAVE, WEST LONGRIDGE, 1945

In 1945 when West Longridge was in the ownership of Mr James
Hume, Snr, ploughing revealed that what had been thought to
be a rocky outcrop was a slab of rock about one metre square.
Some Italian prisoners of war who were working on the farm
decided to Took for gold' and shattered the slab with a sledge
hammer to expose a foursquare, stone-sided cist with human
skeletal remains which had been buried in the crouched lateral
position. Nothing else was found and after further years of
ploughing, there are no remaining signs.

The location was about 250 metres due south of West Longridge
farmhouse (NT 954493) overlooking Murton Dene. This is about
1,000 metres due west of the site of a Bronze Age cist grave found
in 19661&2 and about 900 metres south-south-west of the Chapel
of Longridge Towers where a short cist was found by workmen
in 1968. 1

Dr George Johnston, the Club's founder, recorded the finding
of two funerary urns on Murton farm but did not note the exact
site.3 Evidence of a further probable Bronze Age burial was found
in 1983 during excavation of two enclosures on Murton High
Crags.4 No local evidence of Bronze Age dwellings has been found
nearby.

REFERENCES

j 1. Anon. (1968). Finds 1967/68, History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, 38, 60.

I 2. Jobey, G. (1968). Some Food Vessels from North Northumberland. Transac-
tions of the Architectural & Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland.
New series, 103-5.

3. Johnston, Dr G. (1834). Notice of some Roman urns recently discovered near
Berwick upon Tweed. History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1, 53-5.

4. Jobey, J., and Jobey, G. (1987). Prehistoric, Romano-British and later remains
on Murton High Crags, Northumberland. Archaeologia Aeliana, 15, 151-98.

165

FIELD NOTES AND RECORDS - 1991

BOTANICAL RECORDS
D. G. Long

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh EH3 5LR

Bryophytes

All records for Berwickshire vc 81 by D. G. Long during 1991.
Nomenclature follows Corley & Hill, Distribution of Bryophytes in
the British Isles (1981). All records are supported by a voucher
specimen in the Edinburgh herbarium.

Mosses

Acaulon muticum. On ant-hill on turfy sea bank, Hilton Bay,
NT9659, 3 February; on silty soil on upturned tree roots by Tweed
near Lochton, NT7738, 3 March. First Berwickshire records since
c 1930 of a nationally declining species.

Campylium elodes. Boggy ground, Lamberton Moor, NT9558, 27
February. Confirmation of only Berwickshire locality of this local
fen species, last seen in 1950.

Grimmia montana. On low basaltic rock outcrop, Hareheugh
Craigs, NT6839, 6 June, det. T. L. Blockeel. New to vc 81; a rare
and declining species nationally.

Plagiothecium laetum. Base of Salix, Long Belt, Lamberton Moor,
NT9557, 19 August. Second Berwickshire record.

Pseudobryum cinclidioides. Wet boggy ground, foot of Rotten
Cleugh, NT5660, 19 May. On both sides of county boundary; new
to East Lothian and second Berwickshire record.

Scleropodium tourettii. In turf on cliff-top, Siccar Point, NT8170,
17 February. New to vc 81; fourth Scottish record of this
Mediterranean species.

Tortula virescens. On open dry rock face. Little Thairn, Eden
Water, NT6637, 6 June. Second Berwickshire record for this local
species.

Weissia longifolia var. longifolia. In old pasture, top of Witches
Cleugh, Edrington NT9454, 20 January. New to vc 81; third record
for Scotland.

Zygodon rupestris (Z. baumgartneri) . Basic rock face under trees,
Little Thairn, Eden Water, NT6637, 6 June. New to vc 81.

Liverworts

Barbilophozia barbata. In turf overlying basaltic rocks, Hareheugh
Craigs, NT6839, 20 June. Second Berwickshire record.

166

FIELD NOTES AND RECORDS - 1991

167

Calypogeia neesiana. Peaty gully, head of Long Grain, NT5560,
5 May; peaty bank under Calluna, foot of Rotten Cleugh, NT5660,
19 May. First found in vc 81 in 1989; now known from four
Lammermuir sites.

C. trichomanis. Peaty bank under Calluna , foot of Rotten Cleugh,
NT5660, 19 May. New to Berwickshire.

Kurzia pauciflora. Raised bog. Drone Moss, NT8466, 24 March.
Second recent record for Berwickshire of a local raised bog species.

K. trichoclados. Peaty bank under Calluna , foot of Rotten Cleugh,
NT5660, 19 May. New to Berwickshire.

Leiocolea bantriensis. Rich flush, valley below Lamberton Moor,
NT9557, 19 August. Second Berwickshire locality.

Mylia taylorii. Peaty bank under Calluna, foot of Rotten Cleugh,
NT5660, 19 May. New to Berwickshire; an oceanic species rare in
eastern counties.

Ptilidium pulcherrimum. On log, Feuars Bog, Gordon Moss SWT
Reserve, NT6342, 9 May. Fourth recent Berwickshire record.

Tritomaria exsectiformis. On large sandstone boulder, N end of
Lamberton Beach, NT9658, 3 February. Confirmation of one of two
Berwickshire records; last seen in 1931.

Vascular Plants

All are field records made during 1991 except where otherwise
indicated; * refers to an introduction.

Anagallis tenella, BOG PIMPERNEL. Flush in heather moor.
Wheel Burn, NT5651, 1 September, M. E. Braithwaite. Superb
colony at 300m of a most attractive plant common on the west
coast in wet places near the sea but rare in the east. Formerly
known, in the last century, at Springhill in Berwickshire and
Rubers Law in Roxburghshire; still present on the coast in the Holy
Island area and around Aberlady. First record for the Southern
Uplands.

Botrychium lunaria, MOONWORT. Basaltic outcrop, Hareheugh
Craigs, NT6840, 20 June, D. G. Long. Second extant record for vc
81 for a fern now very scarce in the Borders.

*Cardamine corymbosa Hook.f. (C. uniflora (Hook.f.)Allan), NEW
ZEALAND BITTERCRESS. Garden weed especially flowerpots.
Silver wells NT8066, Reston NT8862, April, A. R. Jermyn, det. D.
R. McKean & T. G. Rich. Known at Silverwells since c. 1988.
Similar to C. hirsuta but distinguished from that species by its
failure to give in decently and pull out of the ground when weeded
and by the larger flowers that are usually single. Apparently
introduced accidentally from New Zealand to the Royal Botanic
Garden, Edinburgh, 1975 or earlier, and thence to Silverwells.

168 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Cochlearia scotica, SCOTTISH SCURVYGRASS. St Abbs Head
NT9169, 24 April 1884, A. Craig-Christie, det. P. S. Wyse-Jackson.
This old herbarium specimen in Edinburgh has been re-
determined to provide the first definite record for the Borders,
though A. G. Long had a probable record from Siccar Point in
1948. The precise status of this taxon is still debated.

Eriophorum latifolium, BROAD-LEAVED COTTONGRASS.
Calcareous flush, Lamberton Moor, NT9558, 10 August, M. E.
& P. F. Braithwaite. Second extant locality for vc 81.

Montia fontana subsp. chondrosperma, BLINKS. Basaltic outcrop,
Hareheugh Craigs, NT6839, 24 April, R. W. M. Corner. Second
record for vc 81 of the scarce subspecies, favouring rocks or sand,
of a species more commonly found in springs.

*Rubus procerus P. J. Mueller, HIMALAYAN GIANT BRAMBLE.
Rough banking, Coldingham NT9066, Autumn, D. P. Earl. Escape
from cultivation of a favoured garden bramble; first record for
vc 81.

Schoenus nigricans , BLACK BOG-RUSH. Calcareous flush,
Lamberton Moor, NT9558, 10 August, M. E. & P. F. Braithwaite.
A superb colony of a west-coast plant thought to have been
reduced in the Borders to a few tufts on the coast, following the
recent loss of other parts of Lamberton Moor to the plough.

Stellaria pallida , LESSER CHICKWEED. Basaltic outcrop,
Hareheugh Craigs, NT6840, 24 April, R. W. M. Corner. Second
record for vc 81 of an inconspicuous annual now known to be
scattered over a number of rocky hilltops across the Borders.

*Valerianella carinata, KEELED-FRUITED CORNSALAD. Rock
outcrop, Muckle Thairn, Girrick, NT6637, 6 June, M. E. Braith-
waite, det. D. R. McKean. First record for vc 81 of a species
generally considered an introduction in Scotland but here
amongst native species in a natural habitat.

Viola lutea x V. tricolor , hybrid MOUNTAIN PANSY and WILD
PANSY. Basaltic outcrop, Hareheugh Craigs, NT6840, 6 June, M.
E. Braithwaite, det. D. R. McKean & H. J. Noltie. R. W. M. Corner
first drew attention to this interesting population earlier in the
season but formed a different opinion as to its parentage, which
remains debateable.

Macro-Lepidoptera in Tweedmouth in 1991

A. G. Long

Being 'confined to barracks' by a stroke and cared for by kind
people at Tweedmouth House, near the south end of the old

FIELD NOTES AND RECORDS - 1991

169

road bridge over the River Tweed, I have tried, as occupational
therapy, to enlist the help of nurses and auxiliaries to note the
species of moths over the year, mostly coming through lighted
windows at night. The records are arranged in chronological
order.

Biston marginaria Fabr. DOTTED BORDER. March.

Apamea monoglypha Hufn. DARK ARCHES. July.

Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S. WILLOW BEAUTY. July.
Mamestra brassicae Linn. CABBAGE MOTH. July- August.
Cryphia domestica Hufn. MARBLED BEAUTY. July.

Lacanobia oleracea Linn. BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE. July.
Apamea lithoxylaea D. & S. LIGHT ARCHES. July.

Hepialus lupulinus Linn. COMMON SWIFT. July-August.
Cerapteryx graminis Linn. ANTLER MOTH. August.

Crocallis elinguaria Linn. SCALLOPED OAK. August.

Idaea aversata Linn. RIBAND WAVE. August.

Idaea seriata Schr. SMALL DUSTY WAVE. August.

I Noctua pronuba Linn. LARGE YELLOW UNDER WING. August.
Apamea remissa Hb. DUSKY BROCADE. August.

! Mesapamea secalis Linn. COMMON RUSTIC. August,
j Mythimna pallens Linn. COMMON WAINSCOT. August.

’ Phlogophora meticulosa Linn. ANGLE SHADES. August.

Mormo maura Linn. OLD LADY. August.

I Ourapteryx sambucaria Linn. SWALLOWTAIL MOTH. August.
Apamea unanimis Hb. SMALL CLOUDED BRINDLE. August.

I Eulithis prunata Linn. SMALL PHOENIX. 14 August.

Xestia xanthographa D. & S. SQUARE SPOT RUSTIC. 19 August.
Hydraecia micacea Esp. ROSY RUSTIC. 24 August.

1 Amphipyra tragopoginis Cl. MOUSE. From Eyemouth, 26 August.
Noctua orbona Hufn. LUNAR YELLOW UNDERWING. 28
August.

Eulithis testata Linn. CHEVRON. 29 August.

Euperina testacea D. & S. FLOUNCED RUSTIC. 30 August.

| Xanthorhoe fluctuata Linn. GARDEN CARPET. 31 August.
Antitype chi Linn. GREY CHI. 6 September.

Diarsia mendica Fabr. INGRAILED CLAY. 14 September.
Autographa gamma Linn. SILVER Y. New Road, 15 September,
H. F. Church.

Agrochola litura Linn. BROWN-SPOT PINION. 17 September.
Celaena leucostigma Hb. CRESCENT. 17 September.
Omphalosecelis lunosa Haw. LUNAR UNDERWING. 17 & 18
September.

Aglais urticae Linn. TORTOISESHELL. 21 September.

Vanessa cardui Linn. PAINTED LADY. Behind pier, 20 September,
H. F. Church.

170 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSKRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Vanessa atalanta Linn. RED ADMIRAL. Spittal, 9 October, H. F.
Church.

The St Abbs Head National Nature Reserve
Bird Log — 1991

K. J. Rideout

The full report lists 142 species observed over the year on or from
the Reserve. A selection of the more interesting records is
presented here.

Gavia stellata RED-THROATED DIVER. Total of 66, Sept. -Nov.
Gavia arctica BLACK-THROATED DIVER. Total of 8, Sept. -Nov.
Gavia immer GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. Total of 9, Sept. -Dec.
Fulmarus glacialis FULMAR. 362 nests (292 in 1990).

Puffinus griseus SOOTY SHEARWATER. Total of 22, Oct.-Nov.
Puffinus puffinus MANX SHEARWATER. Low totals of 52 and 75
in Aug. & Sept.

Phalacrocorax aristotelis SHAG. 463 nests (338 in 1990).

Branta leucopsis BARNACLE GOOSE. 3 flocks of 16, 7 and 38 in
early October.

Anas strepera GADWALL. One on 31 Aug.

Somateria spectabilis KING EIDER. Young male for 3 weeks in June.
Clangula hyemalis LONG-TAILED DUCK. 1-2 at sea on a few dates
Sept. -Oct.

Melanitta fusca VELVET SCOTER. One, July; total of 13, Oct. -Dec.
Pandion haliaetus OSPREY. Single birds on 8 June and 29 Aug.
Falco columbarius MERLIN. One, October.

Rallus aquaticus WATER RAIL. 1-2 in Jan., up to 4 Oct.-Nov.
Pluvialis squatarola GREY PLOVER. 6 flying over in Sept.
Lymnocryptes minimus JACK SNIPE. Single birds in Jan. and Oct.
Limosa lapponica BAR-TAILED GODWIT. 3 in Sept.

Numenius phaeopus WHIMBREL. 1 in May; 54 between July and
Sept.

Tringa nebularia GREENSHANK. One at Mire Loch, 5-9 Aug.
Stercorarius pomarinus POMARINE SKUA. Only 6 birds, 7 Sept. -9
Oct.

Stercorarius parasiticus ARCTIC SKUA. Only 7 birds, July-Aug.; 192
in Sept, including 110 on 10th.

Stercorarius longicaudus LONG-TAILED SKUA. 3 on 8 Sept., 1 on
10 Sept.

Stercorarius skua GREAT SKUA. 1 in May; 20 between July-Sept.

FIELD NOTES AND RECORDS - 1991

171

Rissa tridactyla KITTIWAKE. 16,183 pairs bred (17,642 in 1990),
but fairly poor breeding success.

Chlidonias niger BLACK TERN. Two single birds in Sept.

Uria aalge GUILLEMOT. Estimated total 32,000 breeding pairs.

Alca torda RAZORBILL. Estimated total 1,900 breeding pairs.

Cepphus grylle BLACK GUILLEMOT. Single birds in Aug. and
Sept.

Alle alle LITTLE AUK. 14 in Jan.; 1 in Oct.

Fratercula arctica PUFFIN. Highest count 58 April-July.

Anthus petrosus ROCK PIPIT. 11 pairs bred.

Phoenicurus ochruros BLACK REDSTART. One on 31 May; 2 on
10 Oct.

Saxicola torcjuata maura/stejnegeri SIBERIAN STONECHAT. One
26-30 Oct.

Turdus iliacus REDWING. Massive Tali' in thick fog on 10 Oct.
with possibly up to 10,000 birds.

Acrocephalus scirpaceus REED WARBLER. One, 29 Sept.

Sylvia curruca LESSER WHITETHROAT. Occasional birds from
24 May to 12 Oct.

Phylloscopus inomatus YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER. 1-2 on 7
days between 10 and 30 Oct.

Ficedula parva RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. One, 29 Sept.

Pica pica MAGPIE. Single bird in April.

Corvus corax RAVEN. 1-2 seen Jan., June, Sept., Oct.

Fringilla montifringilla BRAMBLING. 100 on 10 Oct.

Carduelis flavirostris TWITE. 3 on 4 Oct.

Loxia curvirostra CROSSBILL. 3 on 16 June.

Plectrophenax nivalis SNOW BUNTING. Total of 11 between 14
Sept, and 5 Nov.

FIELD SECRETARY'S REPORT - SEASON 1991

Following the retirement of Mr and Mrs Mackenzie Robertson
as Field Secretaries, a small sub-committee was set up to arrange
field meetings. In 1991 this consisted of the President, Mr J. L.
McDougal, Mr and Mrs B. Cato, Mr G. B. Millican and Mr G.
C. McCreath, with Dr G. A. C. Binnie as co-ordinator.

16th May. Thursday. JAMES HOGG, THE ETTRICK
SHEPHERD: THE VALLEYS OF ETTRICK AND YARROW.

About 110 members and friends visited the valleys of Ettrick and
Yarrow treading loosely in the steps of James Hogg under the
guidance of Mr Walter Elliot of Ettrick and Lauderdale Museum
Service who spoke at each stopping place. With the permission
of the minister of both valleys, the Rev. Bruce Lawrie, who
unfortunately was on General Assembly duty, the Club met at
Kirkhope Church and were able to admire Kirkhope Linn where
it is crossed by Ettrick Bridge. The Club moved up the valley to
Ettrick Church on the way passing the monument on the site of
James Hogg's birthplace and the Boston Memorial Hall —
unfortunately Thomas Boston's descendant. Club member Miss
Boston, was not with us on this occasion. Thomas Boston's church
was in the hands of the builders, but his grave and those of James
Hogg and Tibbie Shiel were pointed out.

Our path was retraced to Tushielaw Inn. We took the beautiful
drive over the moorland ridge to the Yarrow Valley past Achrevie
which Hogg farmed unsuccessfully. A picnic lunch was enjoyed
near Tibbie Shiels Inn and by St Mary's Loch. The statue of James
Hogg was inspected and some anecdotes of his career passed on
by Mr Elliot, including the statement that it was impossible for
anyone called Hogg to claim descent from James Hogg, supported
it may be added by what seemed incontrovertible facts. The last
visit of the day was to Yarrow Kirk where Hogg had been an elder
for many years.

The day ended with tea at Woodburn House Hotel, Selkirk.

G.A.C.B.

19 June. Wednesday. HOWICK HALL and PRESTON TOWER.

In the morning at Howick Hall the Head Gardener, Mr Robert
Jamieson, conducted members round the Silver Woodland
Garden planted in 1931 to commemorate the Silver Wedding of

172

FIELD SECRETARY'S REPORT - 1991

173

Earl and Countess Grey. He described how a shelter belt of
conifers was added to the native Howick woodland and
underplanted with rhododendrons, azaleas and many rare and
tender plants. Mr Brian Cato described the architecture of the Hall
and traced the four centuries of the branch of the Grey family
who occupied it with special emphasis on Earl Grey of the Reform
Bill. Mrs Barbara Cato described the creation of the New Pond
and the planting which surrounds it and took members into the
Church where she described the architecture. In the afternoon,
after a welcome from Major Baker-Cress well, Mr Brian Cato
showed members round the 14th century Preston Tower playing
a recorded commentary to each of the numerous small groups
made necessary by the limited space in the Tower. Mrs Barbara
Cato spoke about the history and linking of the Baker and
I Cresswell families. Mrs Baker-Cresswell showed members the
; Doll's House which is a replica of the 19th century house.

1 Members were able to walk the woodland paths. Although rain
clouds threatened in the morning they cleared and the meeting
ended in sunshine. Tea was taken at the Eat Again on the A1
near Warenford.

B.C. & B.C.

i July 18th. Thursday. SOUTRA AISLE and CHANNELKIRK.

j About 100 members met at Soutra Aisle, the site of a long-term
I project which was visited by the Club in 1989. Dr Brian Moffat
of the Soutra Aisle project spoke about the history of the site from
Roman times onwards and its growth between the 12th and 17th
I centuries. He pointed out the features of the small area already
excavated and the large potential areas for further investigation
revealed on aerial photographs. More information about
mediaeval medicine had already been found than from any other
British site.

The Club moved on to Channelkirk Church and was addressed
by the Rt. Hon. Henry Borthwick on the history of the church,
which was on the site of one of the earliest Borders churches,
and it was pointed out that the churchyard contained stones
which were very much older than the present church. The
| connections of the Borthwick family with the parish were pointed
out. Mr John Dent, Borders Regional Archaeologist, spoke to the
| Club in the churchyard and pointed out some of the interesting
j historical features of Lauderdale.

Tea was taken at Carfraemill Hotel.

J. L. McD.

174 HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS7 CLUB

21st August. Wednesday. DUNS LAW, POLWARTH CHURCH
and MARCHMONT HOUSE.

At Duns Law the Rev. Hugh Mackay, minister of Duns Parish
Church addressed about 120 members, explaining that the name
Duns was probably taken from 'Doune', a hill fort. Mr Mackay
described the double earthwork near the summit which points
to a defensive position from about 1,000 B.C. The Covenanter's
Stone on the site is where Sir Alexander Leslie raised the banner
with the inscription "For Christ's Crown and Covenant".

At Polwarth members were welcomed to the Church by the
Minister, the Rev. Alex Slorach. A translation of the Latin
inscription on a sandstone slab above the south door indicates
the existence of a church at Polwarth before the year 900.

The present Church was rebuilt in 1703 with the shrine in the
form of a vault augmented by a bell tower but the exterior has
remained virtually unaltered through the years. The connections
with Holland where Sir Patrick Hume lived for some years
following his escape from the vault at Polwarth Church are the
Orange and the Crown in the apex of the gable at the east end
of the Church, and the peculiar finial at the top of the tower. The
armorial bearings of the Hume family are on the tower while in
the churchyard is the original tub-shaped Norman font. On
display were the funeral bell of 1775 used to frighten away the
evil spirits, the collection ladles, and the famous Laudian rails,
a reminder of Archbishop Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury in
1643, and claimed to be the only altar rails left north of the Tweed.
The Laird's Loft in the tower has a unique "Bole Hole" in the
wall and a wooden shutter which closed when the laird wished.

At Marchmont House members were welcomed by Brigid Lady
McEwen. While it was widely believed that Marchmont was an
Adam designed house, all available records point to Thomas
Gibson as the architect. The house completed in 1754, faces the
impressive avenue of beech trees planted by the second Earl in
1740. Mr Robert Finnie McEwen employed Sir Robert Lorimer
to enlarge the house, in the second decade of this century.

Bought in 1985 by the Sue Ryder Foundation, Marchmont
House has been converted to accommodate up to forty severely
neurologically disabled people.

G.B.M.

September 19th. Thursday. TORNESS, SKATERAW HARBOUR,
DUNGLASS COLLEGIATE CHURCH, DOON HILL and
COCKBURNSPATH CHURCH

Torness was visited in 1981 while in the course of construction
and now the completed power station had been opened to visitors

FIELD SECRETARY'S REPORT - 1991

175

for the last four months with conducted tours of the plant in
groups of 11 or 12. Because the visitor centre at Torness could
only cope with a maximum of 60 visitors at a time, three pro-
grammes were available. Skateraw Harbour and Cockburnspath
Church were common to all three, with the choice of two out of
Doon Hill, Dunglass or Torness to complete each programme.

Mr Christopher Tabraham, Assistant Inspector of Ancient
Monuments spoke to Club members at Dunglass Collegiate
Church and pointed out interesting decorative features which
have only recently been revealed. He also spoke at the Anglian
site on Doon Hill and enlarged upon the various other peoples
who had lived there. A brisk breeze blew and it was difficult to
imagine a period in mediaeval times when corn was harvested
not only at this height but well up the slope of what are now
inhospitable hillsides.

Many members had picnic lunches at Skateraw Harbour and
enjoyed its tranquility. Some were able to appreciate the Torness
walkway which goes round the seaward side of the Power
Station, and a few inspected the memorial to the Rev. Selby
Wright of the Kirk of the Canongate. The restored lime kiln
showed some of the geological features of the bay and Dr D. R.
C. Kempe found a crinoid which was later displayed at
Cockburnspath Church. Here Mr Edward Hay, Club member and
Church Elder, told the history of the church as well as allowing
us to view the church's treasures.

The afternoon finished with tea at Cockburnspath Hotel.

G.A.C.B.

Extra Meetings

6th June. Thursday. HAREHEUGH CRAIG, HUME.

Hareheugh has a three-fold interest. It has recently been
designated a site of special scientific interest because of its
geological features which in the past resulted in it having been
a quarry and now put it in danger of being removed altogether
by further quarrying. An Iron Age fort is situated on the summit
ridge of the craig and there is a mediaeval homestead to the east
within the boundary wall. Finally, it has botanical interest with
plants found at few other sites in Berwickshire.

About 45 members and friends had the geological features
described by Mr C. O. Badenoch of the Nature Conservancy and
on the summit of the craig the archaeological features were
pointed out by Mrs Logan, wife of the farmer and owner of the
land but not of the mineral rights. Mr Michael Braithwaite and

176

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS' CLUB

Mr David G. Long introduced us to the important plants on the
craig, those flowering for the Club's benefit being Mountain Pansy
(Viola lutea), Common Rock Rose (Helianthemum chamaecistus) and
Meadow Saxifrage ( Saxifraga granulata ) but the Marren Pink
( Dianthus deltoides) was not so easily seen as it was not in flower.

A pleasant bonus was the opportunity to visit Hume Castle
under the guidance of Sir John Swinton in his guise as Chairman
of Berwickshire Civic Trust and also with Mr David Mylne,
architect in charge of the restoration project.

Our thanks are due to Mr C. O. Badenoch for organising the
meeting and to those who pointed out the salient features, as well
as to Mr and Mrs John Logan of Humebyres who gladly made
us welcome and share our concern regarding this important site
which seems at such high risk of commercial development and
the site's eventual destruction.

G.A.C.B.

15th October. Tuesday. SCREMERSTON

On the morning of the A.G.M. Geoffrey McCreath gave a talk
to the Club on the lime kilns at Scremerston. He talked from the
top of Sandbanks East Kiln. This enabled the members present
to obtain a view of the whole area, which had been so busy 100
years ago. He explained that lime was vital in the building trade
to manufacture mortar, and later in agriculture to neutralise the
acid soil.

Into each kiln limestone (Ca C03) and coal were placed. This
was fired to produce shell lime (Ca CO). This was transported
by road, rail or water to different areas. Hundreds of people had
been employed in the area, not only producing lime, but sand,
gravel, coal, bricks, tiles and salt. From the sea nearby came
salmon and shellfish. It had also been a highly productive farming
area.

G. C. McC.

LIBRARIAN'S REPORT - 1991

Histories were donated to the library by Mrs E. B. Millard, Mrs
J. E. T. Fairfield and by Mrs F. Robson — the last named giving
several early issues. Miss D. Macari gave a large collection of
leaflets which have been sorted but await a more suitable storage
place in the new library.

Interesting references in publications received by the library
included the following:

Ferrell, Gill (1990). A Reassessment of the Pre-historic Pottery
from the 1952-62 Excavations at Yeavering. Archaeol. Aeliana,
18, 29-49.

Smith, Christopher (1990). A Barbed and Tanged Arrowhead from
Corby's Crags, Edlingham. Archaeol. Aeliana, 18, 229.
Hawkey, Peter (1991). The Birds of the Fame Islands. Transactions
of the Natural History Society of Northumbria, 55, 155-192.
Robson, D. A. (1991). A Magnetometer Survey of the Eastern
Margin of the Cheviot Granite. Transactions of the Natural
History Society of Northumbria, 55, 200-204.

Davis, P. S. (1991). Records of Rare Fishes from the Northum-
berland Coast. Transactions of the Natural History Society
of Northumbria, 55, 205-6.

Scull, C. J., and Harding, A. F. (1990). Two Early Mediaeval
Cemeteries at Milfield, Northumberland. Durham Archaeo-
logical Journal, 6, 1-29.

Wood, George O. (1987). The Norman Church at Minto. Hawick
Archaeological Society Transactions 1987, 9-32.

De Prato, G. R. D. The Breeding Birds of some Built-up areas in
S.E. Scotland. Scottish Birds, 15, 4, 170-177.

Books purchased this year included:

Robertson, Anne S. (1990). The Antonine Wall.

Murray, Robert (1913, republished 1991). Hawick Characters.
Borders Family History Society (1991). Roxburghshire monu-
mental Inscriptions: Hounam and Linton.

Baldwin, John R. (1985). Exploring Scotland's Heritage; Lothian
and the Borders.

Received by exchange from Glasgow Natural History Society
was:

Lee, John R. (1933). The Flora of the Clyde Area.

177

178

HISTORY OF THE BERWICKSHIRE NATURALISTS7 CLUB

LIBRARIAN'S FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR
ENDED 25th OCTOBER, 1991:

INCOME

£

EXPENDITURE

£

Opening balance

. 310.73

Postage

11.88

Receipts

. 119.64

Books

28.24

Interest

. 11.34

Book Binding

47.50

Closing balance

£ 87.62
354.09

£441.71

£441.71

FINANCIAL STATEMENT - 1991

179

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21 October , 1991. I have examined the books of The Berwickshire Naturalists' Club and from the vouchers and information
provided have found them to be correct and in order.

(Sgd) E. J. Kellie
Royal Bank of Scotland, Ay ton.

I

ADVICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

The History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club has now run
continuously for 160 years. It has recorded a huge amount of
information about every aspect of life in the Borders: archaeology,
genealogy, history, sociology, topography, and all branches of
natural history. It is an invaluable repository for such primary
information.

Many people with special knowledge of Border affairs and
happenings may, perhaps, be inhibited from contributing to the
History by being unfamiliar with how to put an article together. The
I following notes are designed to assist, reassure and encourage such
| people; but also to be a general guide to all contributors. The
j requirements are simple; but the more closely the notes are followed,

1 the speedier will be publication, the easier the lot of the Editing
| Secretary; and the greater the likelihood that the Club will be able
I to attract Editing Secretaries in the future !

Manuscripts are best typed, double-spaced, and two copies sent;
but even handwritten documents, if clearly legible, can be
i considered. References in the text to other publications are most
simply done by author name(s) and date and then listed in
, alphabetical/chronological order at the end of the manuscript, giving
the title of the document and, for papers in journals, the volume
land page number, for books, the place of publication and the
I publisher. In this style:

Baxter, E. V., Rintoul, L. J. (1953). The birds of Scotland, Edinburgh: Oliver and
Boyd.

' Boyd, H., Ogilvie, M. (1969) Changes in the British wintering population of the
pinkfooted goose from 1950-1975. Wildfowl, 20, 33-46.
i Taylor, G. (1937) List of fungi observed in the neighbourhood of Cockbumspath. History
of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, 29, 303-313.

J Titles of periodicals should be written in full, as above, not
abbreviated.

Sometimes text references to other publications, documents, etc.,
j in the text are more conveniently done by superscript numbers, e.g.:
f "the house of Netherbyres5"

and then related to a numbered entry in a list of references/
| notes at the end of the paper, as e.g.:

• ”5. Scottish Record Office TD 78/7.”

When other publications have been consulted but are not

• specifically cited, it may still be useful to guide readers following up
the subject, to give a "Bibliography", citing the publications in the
same way as for references above.

| Illustrations should be numbered consecutively and provided with
short descriptive legends.

Contributions may be sent direct to the Editing Secretary, or
handed to any Council Member.

Copyright. The copyright of papers published in the History will
normally be understood to pass to the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club,
as a permanently accessible institution, but authors may reserve
copyright to themselves, if they so wish, by a written request to the
Editing Secretary.

HISTORY

OF THE

BERWICKSHIRE

NATURALISTS' CLUB

Additional copies available.

The Centenary Volume, published 1933, provides an index to
the History from Volumes 1 to 27, (1831-1931)

Price £20.00

The Sesquicentenary Volume, published 1987, provides an
index to the History from Volumes 28 to 41, (1932-1980)

Price £15.00

For purchase apply to:

The Librarian, Berwickshire Naturalists' Club,
Borough Museum, The Barracks,
Berwick upon Tweed TD15 1BT, U.K.

PRINTED FOR THE CLUB BY

HOW & BLACKHALL, 77 MARYGATE, BERWICK UPON TWEED.

1992

ISSN 0960-4170

G a

HISTORY

OF THE

BERWICKSHIRE

NATURALISTS' CLUB

INSTITUTED SEPTEMBER 22, 1831

"MARE ET TELLUS, ET, QUOD TEGIT OMNIA, CCELUM"

1 BRITISH

I (NATURAL HISTORY) j

| - 1 NOV 1993 j

PURCHASED I
j GENERAL LIBRARY (

VOL. 45.
PART 3, 1992