Description

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: scheduled monument SM90103.

The tomb of Sir Walter Scott (died 1832) and family members is at NT 59162 31713 and is located within the remains of the north transept of Dryburgh Abbey, which is a scheduled monument and is excluded from the listing. The tomb of Scott and his wife (died 1816) is a plain, double chest-tomb of polished red granite inscribed with names and dates on the top. To the south is a slab stone memorial to Scott's son, also Walter (died 1847) and his wife. To the east is the tomb of Scott's son-in-law and biographer, John Gibson Lockhart (died 1854), with a bronze cameo portrait.

The King James obelisk, dated 1794, is at NT 59102 31632 to the south of the abbey near the gatehouse. Two sides of this 'needle' type obelisk have inset figurative carvings of King James I and King James II. On the third side is a relief of the abbey's founder, Hugh de Moreville. The fourth side is inscribed 'Erected by the right Hon David Steuart Erskine the Earl of Buchan to the honour of his ancestors 1794. The figures were cut by George Burnet in Newstead and the lettering by D. Forson in Dryburgh by order of Sir David Erskine.'

The headstone of Lord Earl Haig (died 1928) is at NT 59151 31717 in an enclosure formed by the surviving base course of the abbey transept. This simple rectangular memorial stone has regimental insignia insets, cross and inscriptions. Haig's wife is buried beside him and has a similar stone. Further members of the Haig family are also interred within the enclosure.

The burial ground at NT 59142 31732 to the north of the abbey includes a small collection of 17th or 18th century headstones with carved figures holding books. There are further 18th, 19th and 20th century memorial stones including a number of military graves. The Cross of Sacrifice memorial, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield in 1918, was erected in 1929 following Earl Haig's burial at the Abbey in 1928. It has a stylised stone cross with longsword inset. The inscription on the octagonal plinth reads 'This cross of sacrifice is identical with those which stand above the dead of Lord Haig's armies in France and Flanders'.

Statement of Interest

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: Scheduled Monument No. 90103.

The internationally celebrated Scottish novelist and antiquarian Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) spent much of his working and private life in the Scottish Borders. He began building Abbotsford House (LB15104) at nearby Tweedbank in 1812, before deciding that Dryburgh Abbey should be his final resting place.

Field Marshall Earl Haig was a descendent of the Halliburtons whose family estate of Bemersyde is to the north of Dryburgh. Haig was commander-in-chief of the British forces during the First World War and oversaw a number of decisive battles. He was made an Earl in 1919 and founded the British Legion in 1921.

The King James obelisk commemorates the foundation of Dryburgh Abbey by Hugh de Moreville in 1150. It is a late 18th century addition to the Dryburgh estate by its then owner, David Steuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan. He inherited Dryburgh Abbey House in 1785 and lived there until his death in 1829. Erskine was an antiquarian and patron of the arts and sciences whose additions to the Dryburgh estate included the Orchard Gate (LB15124) to the north of the abbey, the classical Temple of the Muses (LB15123) beside the River Tweed and a memorial statue to William Wallace (LB15122) on a hill at neighbouring Bemersyde.

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2017. Previously listed as 'Dryburgh Abbey'.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)