The hamlet of Hume (Home) sits just below the ruins of Clan Home's one time seat
In the south eastern corner of the old Scottish county of Berwickshire, adjacent to the (now) English town of Berwick on Tweed, there is another ambiguity to be found, and that is the family name of Home. The name was first used by the clan in the 1200s and since then has encompassed many notable figures. Sir Alec Douglas-Home, British Prime Minister in the 1960s, and 14th Earl of Home, kept the traditional spelling but used the pronunciation of Hume, Sir Alex's stately home was the Hirsel (photos below) on the outskirts of Coldstream. The 19th century civil servant, Allan Octavian Hume, who founded the India National Congress Party was famous for his promotion of Indian independence, and retained the new spelling which the most illustrious of the clan had adopted. That person was David Hume, the Enlightenment philosopher, whose family lived in Ninewells House by Chirnside which has been replaced by a more recent building. While in their area, this page also offers photographs of a once famous suspension bridge. The Union Chain Bridge was opened in 1820, when it was the longest wrought iron suspension bridge in the world, and the first of its type to take vehicles in Britain.
A gate and crest remain in the ruins
Hume castle was founded in the 13th century and sits on a striking, but unnamed, outcrop of rocks
just to the north of Kelso
The large sign by the ruins introduces the Clan Hume
to the visitor
Looking down from the ramparts of the castle onto the hamlet of Hume
The Hirsel, where the Earls of Home have lived since the early 1600s, stands in extensive grounds with woodlands and a lake, the whole estate is adjacent to the town of Coldstream
Main entrance to The Hirsel stables
General view of The Hirsel stables
The artificial 'Hirsel Lake' extends to 27 acres, it is an SSSI (and one of the very few waters in Scotland called a lake)
Entrance to the Hirsel's walled garden which dates from the 18th century
This stump sits on the banks of the Tweed, about 10 miles downriver from Coldstream...
...and just beside it is the Union Chain Bridge which crosses the Tweed four miles upstream from
Berwick-on-Tweed
Looking across the bridge to England
When it was opened in 1820 it just clipped the Menai Suspension bridge to the post of being the first of its type in the world. It is now the oldest iron suspension bridge in Scotland still carrying traffic
Looking east down the river, the southern (English) pier is hidden amongst the trees
This group of photos show the environment that David Hume enjoyed as a child. The River Whiteadder (about to join the Blackadder) bounded the Ninewells Estate's ground. That house has long gone, the photos show a peek at the replacement, now well secluded in very private grounds.
Fields at the front entrance of Ninewells
Below are the panels of that information board
The main entrance to (a completely out of sight) Ninewells House as it is today
Trailers...
The next Picture Posting page
takes you to Kelso on the River Tweed.
The next page
of the Mosaic Section is headed 'Work v. Life'.
Or go to the contents Go to the contents of the Mosaic Section. of the Mosaic Section.
The previous page of this section had photos from Scotland's Berwickshire coast
A page on Scotland's most famous suspension bridge which opened in 1964
...guide to this site