The Romans.
There is no record of the Romans ever entering the Upper Tweed Valley. Even though there are two sites with the name Chester in the valley. However a couple of miles south of the Parish boundary in Dumfriesshire there is evidence of their passing that way. There are remains of roman roads, a signal station at White Type and a fortlet at Redheugh also a marching camp at Little Clyde. These were to monitor the movement of the Roman army as they proceeded north up the Clyde valley west of Tweedsmuir.
In the eighteenth century a damaged, slightly more than life size, marble head was found near Hawkshaws in the Fruid valley. The head is that of a Roman emperor or general and probably came to Hawkshaws as booty from some Roman site elsewhere. It is now nicely displayed in the Royal Museum in Edinburgh in the Early Peoples section not far from the 4000BC longbow mentioned in the prehistory Chapter. Picture in the Picture Gallery.