For nearly 350 years a 50-square-mile no-man’s land existed
between the borders of Scotland and England – the result of a medieval
sovereignty dispute between the two Kingdoms. The ‘Debatable Land’ became a lawless home to cattle rustlers and cross-border
raiders.
Gilnockie Tower, from an original drawing by G. Cattermole (1840) (1840) by G Carrermole and Kim TraynorDurham University
For more than 300 years (from about 1400–1700) large stretches of the borderlands between Scotland and England were largely lawless territory. Resident clans raided farms and settlements, rustled cattle, and pillaged far beyond their bases in the so-called 'Debatable Land'.
The Armstongs of Gilnockie Tower were amongst the most notorious of the so-called 'border Reivers'.
Edward VI (1537–1553), When Duke of Cornwall Edward VI (1537–1553), When Duke of Cornwall (ca. 1545; reworked 1547 or later) by Hans Holbein the YoungerThe Metropolitan Museum of Art
During the reign of King Edward VI (1537-1553), England's tolerance of the border clans (and the Debatable Land that protected them) finally ran out.
Edward's Council declared in 1551: "All Englishmen and Scottishmen...are and shall be free to rob, burn, spoil, slay, murder and destroy all and every such persons, their bodies, buildings, goods and cattle as do remain or shall inhabit upon any part of the said Debatable Land without any redress to be made for the same.”
The Plan of the Debatable Plan between England and Scotland (1552) by Henry BullockDurham University
In 1552, Henry Bullock produced the only surviving map of the Debatable Land.
The map recorded a wild land of hills, moors, forests, bogs and mosses, as well as buildings and defensive tower houses built by prominent Reiver families such as the Armstrongs.
Bullock’s map was of great strategic importance.
By mapping its ‘assets’ and accurately recording the size, scale and landforms of the territory, Bullock cartographically constructed the Debatable Land as a knowable place for the first time – and in a form that could be ‘read’ in Edinburgh and in London.
By mapping the Debatable Land, Bullock helped to bring about its disappearance.
The lines shown in the centre of the map reveal proposals to divide the Debatable Land between England and Scotland.
England proposed the right-most line; Scotland the parallel line to the left. The French Ambassador, who was brought in as a third-party arbitrator, proposed the diagonal line between the Scots and English lines.
The “last and fynale line” adopted on 24 September 1552, marked with Maltese crosses, divided the Debatable Land and became, in theory, the new border between Scotland and England.
In reality, the Debatable Land proved harder to divide and conquer. It remained a largely lawless frontier for another 100 years.
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The Debatable Land was marked with engraved stones and a raised earthwork that became known as 'Scots Dike', sections of which are still visible.
The 1552 line continues to mark the border between Scotland and England to this day - a lasting legacy of a late-medieval negotiated resolution to the challenge of no-man's land.
Author: Alasdair Pinkerton
