The Debateable Land was a tract of Border country about 12 miles long and 3 wide. It was bounded on the west by the river Sark which flows into the Solway Firth below Gretna, to the north by the Tarras burn and Tinnis Hill and to the east and south by the river Esk. It was only at the original forming of the Border Line in the time of William II (William Rufus) that the land became debateable.
The Border LineIn 1092 William Rufus forced the Scots out of Cumbria by driving them north. He ruled that the river Esk would be the Border between the two countries. The early Plantagenet kings always consolidated their territories through the creation of Baronies, areas of land let to notable Norman knights or favourites in return for control of the people and service to the king in time of war. Rufus was to create a major problem when he created the English Barony of Liddel as it encompassed land north of the river Esk and in particular the village of Canonbie, land that he had previously dictated would be Scots.
The Debateable Land
Long after Rufus was killed in the New Forest argument raged on who ruled in the Debateable Land. Was it England or Scotland? Agreement was never reached and the area quickly became a haven for 'Broken Men', members of the Border Reivers who had committed so much crime that even their own clans disowned them. English and Scots infested the Debateable and lived in relative harmony. The Debateable Land was a common springboard from which they could still carry on their nefarious activities. Often neither English nor Scottish authority in the form of the March Wardens had the nerve to attack and oust the dwellers in the Debateable. It became an embarrassment to both countries.
Debateable Land AgreedIn 1552, following hundreds of years of turmoil created by the Border Reivers who inhabited the Debateable Land, it was decided that the land should be divided and become part Scots and part English. Accordingly a French Ambassador was chosen to arbitrate and the land was partitioned after much argument and hostility. An earthen 'dyke' was constructed to show the line of demarcation, the dividing line between England and Scotland, by the simple expedient of digging out the soil on each side of the defined line and throwing it between to form an eight foot earthern barrier between the two countries. Remnants of it can still be seen today although much has been eroded by the planting of forestry. The line is still known as the'Scots Dyke' or the 'Marche Dyke' and is still the Border between the two countries to this day.
The 'Scots Dyke' is Border
The Scots and English warred with each other for many hundreds of years. From the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 to the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 the two countries either vied for supremacy as was the English stance, or endeavoured, in the case of the Scots, to maintain their independence. Treaties might be agreed and formulated, truces signed and honoured but the two countries were never comfortable in their relationship. By the middle of the 16th century there was a dawning of realisation that the conflict could not go on interminably. There was to be no winner in the English\Scottish confrontation. Men began to think at a different level to animosity and constant upheaval. The time was right to sort out the differences.
The creation of the 'Scots Dyke' was a move in the right direction. It would, however, mean nothing to the Border Reivers who were to ignore the 'Dyke' and carry on as if it did not exist for another fifty years.
SourcesThe Border Line by James Logan Mack.
The Debateable Lands by J. R. Cole
Thomas William Moss - What is a trained, highly qualified and experienced textile technologist doing writing articles about Irish\UK history? Surely technology ...
