Dryburgh Abbey - Borderland Partition

Borderland Partition

David II's liberation from hostage in 1357 did not come without conditions, one of which was that Edward would hold on to the lands in the southeast of the country; this ensured that Dryburgh and the other border abbeys stayed in English held territory. David allowed the abbeys to keep their Scottish possessions and did not interfere with the canons and monks from receiving the income from those. Dryburgh's records had all been lost at this time and it is only from what is known at Melrose that Dryburgh's position can be traced. The wool export trade and the resultant customs duty was important to David and so the Border abbeys who produced large amounts of wool were encouraged to use the Scottish ports and at the expense of Edward's Berwick. The 1360s and 1370s saw the English hold over the Border areas diminish until it was basically the castles at Berwick, Jedburgh and Roxburgh with the county of Berwick and the eastern part of the county of Roxburgh still in their grip. Pressure on these bastions intensified during 1384 and 1385 and Scottish raiding parties moved deep into England forcing Richard II to launch his army on a hugely damaging incursion through the Borders to Edinburgh which he burned. On the way he ordered the sacking of Dryburgh, Melrose and Newbattle. It was while Richard was in Newbattle Wood in August 1385 that he took reprisals against all those in Teviotdale who had returned to the Scottish cause.