View from Smailholm Tower 1450
Smailholm Tower built on a rocky outcrop by the Pringle family in 1450. It is a 'peel' tower or small fortified tower house. It was one of a line of such towers across the Tweed valley which served as defence and part of a beacon warning system. The tower resisted most attacks by English raiders throughout the 1540's until the Laird of the time agreed not to mount sorties into England when hostilities ceased. It saw action in 1640 during the Civil war. It was sold to the Scott family in 1645 who built a new house nearby - it was in that house in sight of Smailholm that the famous Sir Walter Scott recovered from childhood illness in the 1770s. Smailholm provides a setting for some of Scotts work. The landscape painter Turner visited with Scott and the Tower appeared in early photography work by Fox Talbot. Note the turf roof reinstated in 2006 when found to be the most suitable damp proofing.
Size: 3267px × 4900px
Location: Smailholm, Kelso, Scottish Borders, Scotland, United Kingdom, TD5 7PG
Photo credit: © wyrdlight / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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