Old Photographs Selkirk Scotland

Old photograph of High Street, Selkirk, Scottish Borders, Scotland. Selkirk owed its expansion in the mid nineteenth century to its mills and the workforce they required, but this period of industrial fervour lasted only a century. Selkirk men fought with William Wallace at Stirling Brig and Falkirk, and also with Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn. Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Marquess of Montrose and the Outlaw Murray all had connections with the town. Common Riding is an annual event celebrated in Scottish Border towns as well as in other locations. Common Riding is meant to commemorate the times of the past when local men risked their lives in order to protect their town and people. The Selkirk Common Riding is a celebration of the history and traditions of the Royal and Ancient Burgh. Held on the second Friday after the first Monday in June, the ceremony is one of the oldest in the area, with 300 to 400 riders, Selkirk boasts one of the largest cavalcades of horses and riders in Europe. Selkirk still owns common land to the north and south of the town, but only the northern boundary of Linglie is ridden on the day. Selkirk Common Riding commemorates how, after the disastrous Battle of Flodden in 1513, from the eighty men that left the town, only one, Fletcher - returned bearing a captured English flag. Legend has it that he cast the flag about his head to indicate that all the other men of Selkirk had been cut down. At the climax of the day the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer and Crafts and Associations Standard Bearers cast their colours in Selkirk's ancient Market Place. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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