TWEEDSMUIR PARISH HISTORY.
The Source of the River Tweed. Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise out of the same Hillside.
The Scottish Chronicler Hector Boece (1465-1536) wrote that "the water of Clyde rises out of same mountain within the Wood of Calidone from which rises the Annan"(1). Although Boece dos not mention the Tweed he does importantly mention the Wood of Calidon. The annotated OS map of the Devil's Beeftub area just north of Moffat(8) above indicates where the sources of the three rivers, highlighted in green, were deemed to be for many centuries see also maps below. .
From an old Borders Poem came the couplet "Annan, Tweed and Clyde Rise a' oot o' ae hillside."(3)(4)(5).
Merlin at his sanctury on Hart Fell - just off map on the right - would have known about the three great rivers. Indeed sunworshipper for centuries before him would have seen them despite the area being cloaked by trees of the Wood of Calidon.
The site at Tweedswell at Tweedshaws is considered as the present day source of the river. This can be seen faintly on the above map just to the north of Tweeds Cross. The buildings of Tweedshaws farm are beside the main road. Tweedswell is the centre of many interesting associations. Here flourished the ancient Forest of Caledon with its thousand birks and hazel. through its wilds have wandered such dimly-historic figures as Merlin.(4)
The first map to show the source of the Tweed at Tweedswell near Tweedshaws is that by William Edgar in 1741. This was confirmed in due course by the Ordnance Survey. see page Tweedswell Source of the River Tweed. There is a modern monument at the site with information panels - one of which has a bit about Merlin.
Crichton deftly describes Merlin's final departure from the area en route to Stobo. "Merlin headed a few miles north following the ancient trackway over the hilltops into neutral territory. There is a huge reserve of natural energy in these hills where the three great rivers break the surface. The Clyde flows north, the Tweed runs east and the Annan to the south. Perhaps the world seemed brighter and there was a spring in his step....The Chiefdom of Caddeau (The Land of Trees) covered an area around the Upper Tweed"(7) The ancient trackway mentioned above would be the route discussed on page Pilgrims Way.
It would appear unlikely that the rivers would have been named at this earlier time. However, the following from a Merlin poem(6) "To the eagle of Tywi and Teiwi" - which has been read as Tweed and Teviot.
For more about this see pages Merlin Caledonius, Wood of Calidon, also Crown of Scotland, the latter just off top of map above source of Tweed and Tweeds Cross near the source of Clyde. (Ed. These pages Will have to be combined into one page in due course)
The Moffat-Devil's Beeftub section of the Annandale Way passes through Corehead Farm in the Devils Beeftub - www.annandaleway.org/. The following from that site - "On the coll between Chalk Rig Edge and Spout Craig, you'll squelch across the watershed between the sources of the tributaries that feed the Annan and Tweed. This is the official start or finish of the Annandale Way. After you have celebrated, turn south into the valley here, following the rapidly growing waters in a gully that will spit you out below Corehead Farm".
The marshy section at the head of the watershed feeding the Tweed mentioned above is the present day head of the Cor Water. This burn passes just to the west of Earlshaugh and the pathway shown on the above map leading from the Farm House to the cusp of the Beeftub follows the route of the Car Water and hence what was originally deemed the source of the Tweed and ultimately gave its name to the Parish of Tweedsmuir.
There are still ruins of the outbuildings of the farm at Earlshaugh but there is no sign of the stone built farmhouse that was the home of a branch of the Welsh family that farmed Earlshaugh and also Tweedshaws. There are several brass wall plaques in Tweedsmuir Kirk that commemorate this family.
The above map by Robert & James Gordon c1636-1652 of the Devil's Beeftub area shows the three rivers Clyd top left, Tweed centre top and Annan from the south on left/ centering on Airicksstain Hill.
Above is a portion of Blaeu's map of Lanarkshire slightly later in 1662 that continues the notion of a mutual source for all three rivers.
At bottom of image towards the right can be seen Tweeds head and Annand head close together at the county boundary. Just to the left of this can be seen a river starting at Airikstone (Ericstane) this is the present source of the River Annan.
Just to the north of Airikstane can be seen the source of a river named Little Clyd. This river is a tributary of the large south/north river that is named as the Clyd.
Hence ,from the maps it does look as if the Clyde indeed rises in the same mountain as Annan and Tweed. The ediface shown by the Little Clyd as Clydheadsheels must be Tweeds Cross? This confirms that Tweeds Cross was at the source of the Clyde. However the word shiels would appear to indicate more than just a cross.
It is apparent that in those days the longest tributary of the river was deemed its source.
What is shown on the maps is that the source of the Tweed is the present day Cor Water and was not the source of the river presently beside the A701 just north of the county boundary. See Page Tweedswell Source of the River Tweed.
Tweedhopefoot is where there is a cluster of buildings near the confluence of the Tweed and Cor Water. This location was so named as it was at the foot of the Tweed Hope - a narrow valley. What was then the Tweed Hope now has the Cor Water as its waterway! There is another valley named Tweedhope in the eastern section of Devil's Beeftub. This is part of the Scotways No 17 path and also the Annandale way and the name here indicates that the Tweed must have been closer to the Devil.s Beeftub than it is now.
What was the River Clyd in the above map is now the Elvan Water and the tributary the Little Clyd is now the Crossburn. On the map above, at top centre/left, a tributary of the Clyd is named Poutrail Water and this is now the River Clyde formed by the confluence of the Daer and Potrail waters at Watermeetings. This spot is about 10 kms from the sources of the Tweed and Annan at the Devil's Beeftub.
Although Water Meetings is not all that far away the saying that Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise out of the hillside no longer holds true. But, what is certain is that a local shower of rain at the head of the Beeftub could end up in the North Sea, Solway Firth or the Firth of Clyde.
Mostyn Armstrong writing in 1775 about Tweed's Cross(2) noted "From this eminence , it is vulgarly understood, the Rivers Clyde, Annan and Tweed issues; nay, modern, as well as ancient geographers, have derived a fort of credit, from exploring sources unknown to them, and delineating the heads of these three Rivers to be with-in half a mile of each other, certain, however, it is, that there is no branch of Clyde within two miles of Tweed's Cross, or Errickstane brae."
References.
1) Clarkson, Tim; Scotland's Merlin A Medieval Legend and its Dark Age Origins, Birlinn, Edinburgh, 2016. p60-61
2) Armstrong, Mostyn, John; A Companion to the map of the County of Peebles or Tweedale, W Creech, Edinburgh, 1775. p108-109,
3) Buchan, J.W. and Paton, H. Rev; History of Peeblesshire, Jackson Wylie, Glasgow, 1927. Vol III p363.
4) Crockett, W.S. Rev; The Scott Country, A&C Black, London, 1930. 6th Edition, p106 amd 107.
5) Pococke, Richard and Keys, Daniel, William; Tours in Scotland 1747, 1750, 1760, Edinburgh University Press, 1887, p40.
6) Veitch, Professor; History and Poetry of the Scottish Border, William Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1893, Vol I, p233.
7) Crichton, Robin; On the Trail of Merlin in a Dark Age, Edinburgh Film Productions, 2017. p65
8) Ordnance Survey, Landranger No 78, Nithsdale & Annandale area.