Denholm Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland

Denholm Village Green Seen from the South

Denholm is a strikingly attractive village in Teviotdale, some five miles north-east of Hawick and six miles west of Jedburgh. The River Teviot runs immediately to the north-east of the village and is bridged here.

Denholm is built around a large village green, which reflects its origins as a planned village developed from 1664 by Sir Archibald Douglas. His aim was to attract stocking weavers from Hawick by offering more pleasant surroundings, and the village green was central to this.

It was originally used for grazing animals and held weekly and half-weekly fairs. There used to be a mercat cross here, but this was mostly removed in the early 1800s when the base was hollowed out to provide a water trough for cattle. (Continues below images...)

Sunnyside

Kirkside

Main Street

The site of the mercat cross was reused when the distinctive Leyden’s Monument was erected in 1861 in honour of Dr John Leyden. He had been born in the village in 1775, and went on to become a noted poet, indologist and folklorist. The monument was erected to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his 1811 death in Java. The cottage he was born in is now the only thatched building (of, originally, many) in the village and can be seen on Leydens Road, which leads off the north corner of The Green.

The village green and surroundings are now preserved as a conservation area and it’s good to know that what we see today in Denholm is being protected for future generations to enjoy.

One of the most striking buildings in the village stands in Main Street, opposite the southern corner of The Green. The three-storey Text House was built by John Haddon, a doctor and author, in 1910. The arts and crafts style would be distinctive anyway, but what really makes it stand out are short texts inserted in diamond-shaped surroundings on the frontage, each split into two.

One, above the first floor windows, is a reminder to take care with time before it passes: TAK TENT IN TIME… ERE TIME BE TINT. The other is below the first floor windows and reminds the occupier that there were and will be others living in the house: ALL WAS OTHERS… ALL WILL BE OTHERS.