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Morebattle

This little village sits on the St Cuthbert’s Way, close to the Kale Water. Its name comes from the botl, or dwelling, beside the mere, which was a small loch. In the 19th century, the loch was drained to provide more agricultural land. The surrounding area was once a hiding place for Covenanters fleeing the persecution of Charles II’s troops in the 17th century.

To the north of the village is Linton Church, which has Norman details, a fine Norman font and a belfry dated 1697. One Norman survival is the tympanum above the door, which commemorates the killing of the Linton Worm by John Somerville in the 13th century. The Linton Worm was 12 feet long, and lived in a cave below the church. It terrorised the district, and the local people were powerless against it. John noticed that when it saw anything it wanted to eat, it opened its mouth wide. So he made a special spear that had inflammable materials instead of a point, and when he approached the worm on horseback with the spear blazing, it duly opened its mouth to devour him. John stuck the spear down the worm’s throat, and the worm was killed. For this act the king granted him the lands of Linton.

The church sits on a low mound of fine sand, which is almost certainly a natural feature. However, a local legend tells a different story. It seems that a young man was once condemned to death for murdering a priest. His two sisters pleaded for his life, saying they would carry out a specific task to atone for his crime. They would sieve tons of sand, removing all large grains, and from the small grains build a mound on which a church building could stand. The church authorities agreed to this, and the women set to work. Eventually, after many years, a mound of sand was created, and a church was indeed built on it.

  The ruins of the L-shaped Cessford Castle, which surrendered to the English in 1545, lie two miles to the southwest. It was built by the Kerrs in about 1450, and was once one of the most important castles in the Borders.