The Story of Langholm Mercat Cross

This article was written in 2011. It was intended to be a double page feature in the Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser. However the editor refused to print it because the story describes the sequence of events and criticises some of those involved.  Apparently council officials, councillors, members of the local establishment cannot be criticised. If I had known it would never be published I would have included  more of the research findings and gone into more details  instead of reducing it to its bare bones. 

In 1996-98 an area in the heart of Langholm’s Old Town, (Parliament Square and Jouker’s Close), was converted into a car park.   The project involved demolition of several buildings, and construction of a new road through the Library Gardens. This entailed restoring and moving the Sir Pulteney Malcolm statue and the Telford Arch in the Library Gardens.   The ancient Mercat Cross was not moved or restored, but its appearance was altered because its old stone plinth was buried under soil and turf.

Apparently nobody noticed the alteration despite the fact that this spoiled the architectural proportions of the Cross and debased its historical and social significance. The reduced height of the Cross and absence of its plinth has made the ‘interpretation’ of the Cross  more difficult.  Moreover, the underground plinth and lower section of the shaft became subject to erosion by groundwater.  Previously rainwater ran off the top of the plinth as intended by the mason who built the Cross hundreds of years ago. 

To explain the history and significance of the Cross in Langholm’s heritage research of the ancient  and recent history of Langholm and its Cross has been necessary. It has included  investigations under Freedom of Information legislation to find out exactly how it came to be so badly treated in 1996-98.  

 

The Mercat cross between 1967 and 1998

A public consultation was held for the car park project. The Scottish Civic Trust commented on the plans on view.  They objected to ‘’ the ‘Telford Arch’ and Mercat Cross being re-sited on grass. They need a solid pavement base or at least a gravel bed to fit their proper context.’’    John and Robert Hyslop’s book Langholm As It Was (1912) describes how the cross originally stood on the ‘’cobble-paved’’ surface of the Market Place.   This validates the Civic Trust  recommendation for a solid pavement for the Cross ‘’to fit its proper context’’.   The council planners seemed to agree by saying ‘’all of the concerns of the Scottish Civic Trust are valid and their advice regarding the detailed finishes of the scheme is welcome. Due account will be taken of contract method statement’’.

However whilst they DID provide cobbles at the Telford Arch they failed to do so for the Cross.  The concept of a ‘’solid base’’ for the Cross was ignored.  The entire plinth, plus part of the shaft was buried making nonsense of the Civic Trust concept. 

The planners were inconsistent and careless when they submerged   the Cross making its pillar  stick  up out of grass in 1998.  For over 13 years now the Cross has been in need of proper restoration for reasons of historical authenticity and to save it from further deterioration. 

Throughout 5 years of campaigning, and explaining the facts about what happened, officials continued to claim that the Cross’s repair and restoration is not their responsibility.  It became necessary to seek supporters in a campaign for restoration.  

John Hyslop had been the Honorary President of the Eskdale and Liddesdale Archaeological Society whose present-day constitution claims to ‘’protect and preserve the local heritage.’’  It is   disappointing that the Archaeological Society failed to do so.

The Burgh and the role of the Cross

the plinth buried in 1998

In every Scottish burgh the Mercat Cross had an important function and role.   The Burgh of Barony of Langholm was created by King James VI on 19^th September 1621 by his grant of a charter to Lord Nithsdale.  The Baron was granted various rights including: to have a public hall, erect a Market Cross, hold two free fairs with a right to the tolls, choose bailiffs and burgesses.  The erection of the Cross was necessary for any commercial transactions to take place in the new Burgh.  Before a fair or market could be held, a proclamation had to be made from the Cross.  The precise date when the Cross was erected is unknown and it might even have existed before 1621, (as suggested by Derek Bryce in his book ‘’Symbolism of the Celtic Cross’’ 1989).   In any case   the success of the ‘enterprise’ of the Burgh of Barony launched in 1621 is reflected in the fact that within a century the number of annual fairs had increased from two to at least six.  Without proclamations made from the podium of the Mercat Cross no such enterprise or economic development in Langholm would have taken place.

Many other burghs lament the loss of their ancient crosses.    Here in Langholm is the original, old Cross with a fascinating history.  According to the Hyslops it disappeared mysteriously around 1840 when the Malcolm Statue was erected in its place, but was discovered twenty five years later, buried under the Market Place.  It was then moved to the chief magistrate’s home, Greenbank.  After another 100 years, it was moved to the Library Gardens in 1967.  It is undoubtedly the oldest piece of built heritage in the town.   The Cross was a powerful symbol of the Burgh’s rights and privileges.  Architecturally it formed a focus and podium from which the Town Criers stood and made public announcements.  Significantly, when the Crier ‘’proclaimed the Langholm Fair’’ he stood on the Cross’ podium.  This is how the ‘Simmer’ Fair became intertwined with the Common 
Riding, whose annual celebration has a profound meaning for the townspeople.

Langholm Burgh of Barony and the Cross 

In 1996 the planners described the Mercat Cross as a ‘’remnant of the town cross’ but this was wrong. The original, ancient Cross was virtually intact as proved by the old photograph (daguerreotype) dating from circa 1840 (picture No 1424 at Langholm Archive website) All photographs, drawings or images in existence show that the Cross looked exactly thesame as it did in the Market Place in 1840.   There is no evidence that the Cross stood on a set of concentric steps as speculated at one point by the Hyslops and claimed in a recent tourist booklet.  It is most likely that the Cross has never changed in appearance except when buried.   Referring to it as ‘’a remnant’’ only seems to have enabled the project managers to treat the Cross carelessly.

In shape and form this Cross might be regarded as ‘crude’ if compared to some of the elaborately-designed Crosses in larger towns. However by the late 18th Ce

ntury many towns had their Crosses demolished under ‘street improvements’.   Luckily, owing to the uniquely peculiar circumstances of our Cross’s mysterious burial and resurrection, as described by the Hyslops, it has survived and should be cherished.  Regretting their loss of heritage many towns erected replicas or inauthentic versions.     Langholm’s  original authentic Cross deserves far greater respect from conservationists and townspeople. 

Social conditions in Eskdale in 1621

To understand this Cross, and the new Burgh’s cultural and historical context, it has to be appreciated that even after the Union of the Crowns, Eskdale was still undergoing ‘’pacification’’.  In founding a Burgh of Barony the King was colluding with the feudal barons  to  suppress once and for all the old reiving  families and end any remaining traces of a pre-feudal  communal society.  In the early 1600s border ‘names’ such as the Armstrongs were being summarily executed or deported.

A Cross built here could never be conventionally ‘beautiful’.  Instead it has an aesthetic reflecting the conditions in which the new Burgh emerged.  The simple, crude, Cross was in tune with Eskdale’s rough, turbulent history.  The new Burgh was small and poor.  The Cross reflects the Scottish virtue of ‘’makin’ muckle o’ sma’ means’’.   Consisting only of a plinth and pillar carved in local sandstone, surmounted by an oval granite boulder roughly engraved with a Celtic cross  it is precisely this ‘crudeness’ and absence of pretentions we should admire.  Whether sculpted and erected in the early 1600s or even earlier, this Cross exhibits an honest, defiant quality recognisable in the living tradition of the Common Riding. 

the plinth eroded by rainwater

Winning the Argument-
 

Eventually after years of denial from local councillors I presented my Freedom of Information research together with the full history of the Cross to Historic Scotland in Edinburgh and the Conservation Officer in Dumfries.  These authorities then had no alternative but to agree that the mistakes of 1998 must be rectified.   Their decision was that the minimal repairs to the Cross proposed by the community council (only grouting at top and bottom-no raising of the plinth) was inadequate.  It must be restored to its pre-1998 appearance and ‘’shall include a scheme to raise the plinth to be set as originally intended and to protect the plinth from ground moisture’’.  This decision was vital because otherwise the Cross would have been left submerged possibly forever. 

The specialist conservationist, (Graciella Ainsworth Conservation) has provided a detailed specification for ‘’raising the cross’’ which has been approved by Historic Scotland and the Conservation Officer in February 2011.

Whatever councillors or officials might say, the Mercat Cross should be classified as a Common Good, like the Kilngreen and Town Hall.  This story shows how the Burgh of Langholm was virtually founded on the Cross.  Its restoration costs should be financed together with the Town Hall. 

 
    The Mercat Cross at Greenbank ( Langholm As it Was 1912) 
Mercat Cross standing in Market Place 
(Daguerrotype) c1840

A Vision 

September 2021 will be the 400^th anniversary of the founding of the Burgh of Barony of Langholm.  Before that we should be taking steps to regenerate our High Street. This must involve taking steps against heavy freight traffic which dominates the street undermining our civic wellbeing.   The intimidating heavy lorries should be re-directed to motorway or rail, and speed limits in the High Street should be reduced to 20mph. Pavements must be widened with priority  given to pedestrians. Footfall, the great dream of the shopkeepers, is done on foot, not in a car.  Making the urban environment  more pedestrian-friendly will mean  giving more space over to people to walk about. It is pedestrians that go to shops and cafes, not cars.

The plethora of ugly road signs disfiguring the townscape should be removed and car parking restricted not just for the sake of the ‘traffic flow’, but to enhance the experience of people on foot or cycle.    All successful towns have an attractive central open public place where it is possible  walk or sit in peace and where people can chat without the roar of traffic. We need in the middle of the town a relaxing place where it’s possible to meet and where community events can take place.

A Heritage Trail is pointless without taking action to save our townscape heritage and ''place-making''  places worth being in.  If we want to become a  ‘’heritage town’’ attractive to visitors  we could alter the vehicular access in and out of Parliament Square and create a large area of the Market Place where the Mercat cross and Malcolm Statue could be relocated to their original site.  
 

Langholm’s historic drum and the Burgh Town Drummers

                            

An old drum has been stored in a cupboard in Langholm Town Hall for many years.  It is much older than two other drums whose emblazonment identifies them as belonging to the Flute Band. All three are currently in the custody of the Langholm Library Trustees.

In trying to establish the provenance (origin and history) of this ancient drum, it was shown to the oldest members of the towns’ three bands, i.e., Lennie Bell (Pipe Band), David Calvert (Town Band) and David Latimer (Flute Band).  They do not remember ever having seen this drum. It is much older than any drum used in living memory or in old photographs.

The drum has a painted emblazonment on its shell resembling a Royal Crest/Coat of arms.

 During my enquiries, several people confirmed that, around the time of 1975 local authority regionalization, many artifacts in the Town Hall and Library were dispersed one way or another, including the contents of the small museum which then existed in the Town hall.  An item in the Transactions of the Dumfries and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society of 1967 has a reference to the “breaking up”  of the museum including this remark:

It was decided to leave in Langholm the “Waterloo Drum”. Langholm Town Band claims to

be the oldest established band in the country, and was founded in 1814. One of their first

public appearances was when they played in front of the Scots Greys as they marched

through the town on their return from Waterloo. This drum is the only surviving

instrument from that occasion.

Note that this legend does not claim that the drum was played at Waterloo- a common myth about some old drums!  Also, it almost certainly did not belong to the Scots Greys. The painting of the crest is too crude and inaccurate. However a drum with this kind of crest could have inspired a local painter to try and copy the Royal Crest and overpaint it onto the Town drum. There are credible reasons explained below why such a crest could have been used for a Burgh of Barony Town Drum.

In my researches I contacted several authorities on old traditional drums and sent photos of this Langholm drum to:

1.       The Court of the Lord Lyon, the government Heraldry authority

2.       Professor Hugh Cheape formerly Curator of Scottish Collections at the National Museum of Scotland (now at the University of the Highlands and Islands)

3.       Professor Arnold Myers, Reid School of Music, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh and Chairman of the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments

Here are their observations:

The Lord Lyon

 Mr. Bruce Gorie, secretary to Lyon Office feels that the emblazonment painted on the shell of the drum was a Royal Crest intending to be the Hanoverian Arms, though “painted by someone who was perhaps a little short on heraldic knowledge”. Having compared it with some early Royal Arms, Mr. Gorie thinks this “might have been the Royal Arms used in the period from 1714 to 1801, George I to George III”.

This of course was a period during which the Burgh of Barony of Langholm employed a Town Drummer and Crier as an officer of the Burgh.  It should be appreciated that most Scottish burghs employed a Town Piper and drummer whose duties involved going round the town, morning and night, acting as watchmen and criers. While there is no record of a Langholm Town piper we know that the burgh retained a town drummer as late as 1858, the last of whom was Peter Graham, known as Pete Wheep.  His duties included intimations of business, which involved going round the town by “tuck of drum”.   The most famous Town Drummer and Crier of course was his predecessor, Archibald “Bauldy” Beattie. There would have been Town Drummers before Bauldy, but we have no record of them.   Bauldy Beattie became the Drummer and Crier from around 1760, and retired in 1814, when Peter Graham took over.  When Bauldy died in 1823, he already had legendary status. In 1829 the Common Riding Committee erected a gravestone in the Auld Kirkyard memorializing him thus:

Interred here

Archibald Beattie

Town drummer who for more than half a century kept up the ancient and annual custom of proclaiming the Langholm Fair at the cross when  riding  the common granted to the town and pointing out to the inhabitants thereof the various boundaries of those rights which descended from their ancestors to posterity.

He died in 1823 aged 90 years.

Professor Cheape

 Hugh Cheape is an authority on piping, and has written about the institution of Town Pipers and Drummers, so he is well aware of the tradition of Scottish burghs maintaining a Town Piper and/or Town Drummer.  When I sent him images of this  Langholm drum, and mentioned the well-documented tradition of the Langholm Town Drummer and Crier, especially the  legendary Bauldy Beattie, and his  role in crying the fair and safeguarding the burgh boundaries,  Professor Cheape   found the images   “rather persuasive for the wished-for provenance…… the type and proportions of the body of the drum seem right, and closer examination of the pseudo-heraldry might support a 1760-1814 date, or the latter end of it”. He feels  that “an odd survival like this must have a local or specific reason-or even ‘tradition’ behind it, and that at least it was believed, a generation after Bauldy’s day, that this must have been his drum”.

These perceptive observations from Professor Cheape encourage me to believe that this might well have been the Town Drum.  He also referred me to the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments which provides important comparative material.  

Professor Myers of the Edinburgh University Collection advised:

“Thank you for the interesting information about the old Langholm drum. The general design of the drum is traditional, and typical of drums made over a very long period of time.  So dating can depend solely on the confidently known provenance and the emblazonment, both of which you are clearly investigating.”

He warns against “unsupported myths which attach themselves all too easily.  Usually the myth is 'played at Waterloo'.”

Point taken!

Even if we can never “prove” that this drum belonged to Pete Wheep or Bauldy Beattie, it is becoming more likely that this is the drum they used. Its provenance is beginning to fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle.

 Edinburgh University’s collection has 4 old drums which are similar in design shape, size and construction to ours.  Similar Town  Drums can be found in many museums, e.g.  Hawick, Irvine, Greenock, Jedburgh, Dumfries, Peebles, etc .  This convinces me that ours is important enough to be conserved and displayed with its history explained to local people and visitors to the town.

It seems quite likely that after Bauldy or Pete Wheep died, someone with a sense of heritage (not too common in those days) would have wanted to carefully store the old Town Drum for posterity.

It might be asked why a royal crest is painted on the drum rather than the Langholm Town Arms.  Well, the familiar Langholm Town crest did not exist until after 1893, when Langholm’s first provost and town council was elected.  The crest was not designed until then and the Duke of Buccleuch, as lord-superior of the Barony of Langholm, retained power, until the coming into operation of the Burgh Police Act of 1892

Langholm’s charters from 1621 onwards were awarded to the Baron by the monarch.  All the privileges and powers of the Baron were bestowed by the Crown. So, to depict the Crown authority on the shell of a Burgh drum was not unusual.  Also, the additional decoration on the drum surrounding the crest comprising  intertwining thistles and roses, which are  beautifully and carefully painted, have a strong flavor of “Common Riding” about them.

 Hawick Wilton Lodge Museum contains drums described as Town Drums. They are of very similar size, proportions and pattern to ours.   The emblazonment also has a Royal crest.  In Hawick, up until 1797, the music for the Common Riding was performed by the Town Piper and Drummer, but in 1797 the piper was replaced by a fife-player. This developed into the Drum and Fife Band also known as the Cornet’s Band, as it has the honour of marching immediately in front of the Cornet in all ceremonial processions at the Common Riding.   Hawick, like Langholm, had legendary drummers during the last 250 years closely associated with the Common Riding. We have Bauldy Beattie and Pete Wheep.  Hawick has  Caleb Rutherford and Walter Ballantyne known as  ‘Wat the Drummer’, who is reputed to have played for 59 Common Ridings; Bauldy Beattie for over 50 years.  We do not know exactly when the Town Drummer was first joined by fife, or flute players on the Common Riding morning, but this evolved into the phenomenon of the   Flute Band, which annually materializes on the Summer Fair night and the Common Riding morning.

Custody and display of the historic drum

It is quite clear that today’s Langholm Flute band is the direct descendant, or successor, to the Town Drummer.   The ancient drum probably played by Bauldy Beattie and Pete Wheep is currently in the custody of the Langholm Library Trustees together with two more modern drums belonging to the Flute band.  A professional restorer who has dealt with similar old drums confirms that our “town drum” deserves “stabilisation” rather than wholesale restoration but will involve some costs.  A local trust has already indicated that it will help to fund this. Meanwhile the drum will be displayed in a High Street window in its present condition. The drum has been property of the Burgh of Barony of Langholm long before there was even a town council, so it is not “owned” by Dumfries and Galloway Council.  The drum is, like the Kilngreen, and Town Hall, a Common Good of the Burgh of Langholm, so it will be most appropriate for it to be displayed during the Common Riding week.