Old Photograph Fair Helen's Bower Eaglesfield Scotland

Old photograph of Fair Helen's Bower in Eaglesfield near Annan in South East Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. An old ballad tells the story of Helen Irvine of Kirkconnel. Kirkconnel Lee was a small hamlet close to the village of Eaglesfield in Dumfriesshire. The bower in which Helen lived was within the grounds of Springkell Estate. She had two suitors, one of whom shot at his rival, but Helen, thrusting herself in front of her lover, Adam Fleming, received the fatal wound instead. Fleming killed the assailant on the spot, but fled the country to avoid the legal process, and enlisted in the Spanish Army. Years later, he returned to Kirkconnel and died by Helen's grave. He was interred alongside her. This tragic event took place in the 16th century.



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