POLMOOD
This estate, which includes the farm of Patervan (1695 acres), lies
along the north side of the Polmood burn, which runs to the Tweed down a
deep narrow glen, and is bounded on the north by Stanhope, on the south
by Hearthstane (Tweedsmuir), and on the west by Kingledoors.
Tradition records that King Malcolm Canmore, in or about 1057, gave to
Norman Hunter the lands of Polmood, and in proof of this the fantastic
rhyming charter so well known in connection with the origin of this
family is quoted
'I, Malcolm Kenmure,
King, the first of my reign, gives to thee, Norman Hunter of Powmood,
the Hope, up and down, above the earth to heaven, and below the earth
to hell, as free to thee and thine as ever God gave it to me and mine,
and that for a bow and a broad arrow, when I come to hunt in Yarrow;
and for the mair suith I byte the white wax with my tooth, before thir
witnesses three, May, Maud and Marjorie.'
This is as Pennecuik (1715) gives it, who had
it from the proprietor as the original charter of the lands, and says
'The broad arrow is still in the house, and the bow has been seen by
several persons.' A copy of a similar charter, with variations, is
reproduced. It belongs to Miss Mitchell Thomson, and is said to have
been made in 1790 by Thomas Hunter, but who he was or from what document
the copy was made, there is no record to show. On
the face of it the charter is an absurdity, and manufactured to uphold a
family tradition. Yet there is no reason to throw aside the
tradition itself, as it is quite a probability that Polmood may have
been given by one of the early Scottish kings for some signal service to
one of his hunters called Norman. The difficulty is that the lands in
that case would be a Crown gift, and the transmissions would appear in
the Register of the Great Seal, whereas there are no such records, and
the earliest reference to Polmood shows that in the fifteenth century it
was part of the barony of Oliver Castle, and held of the Flemings and
afterwards of the Hays of Yester as superiors. Before the Flemings that
barony was a possession of the Frasers of Oliver from the twelfth
century. How it was acquired is not known, but it is not impossible that
when the grant was made, the Hunters were in possession of Polmood, and
in consequence became vassals of the Frasers. Certain it is that the
Hunters are the only known possessors in early history.
The earliest notice occurs in 1439, when, on 14th August, WALTER HUNTER
OF 'POLEMOOD' was a witness at Mossfennan to a charter, and the next is
in 1470 when Robert, Lord Fleming, made over his superiority of Polmood,
with other lands, by way of excambion to Sir David Hay, father of John,
first Lord Hay of Yester. Of these, Sir David Hay had a Crown charter on
12th July, 1470 . There is an attestation in writing on 15th May, 1474,
on the occasion of the service of James Hunter to the lands of 'Polmude,'
by Robert, Lord Fleming, as he was unable to be personally present, that
Walter Hunter of Polmood up to the time of his decease held his lands of
Polmood of the Baron of Oliver Castle, ward and relief, and that the
said lands had been in the hands of 'Fleming's gransser and fader' from
the decease of the father till the entry of the said Walter.
EDWARD 'HOWNTER DE POLMO' served on the jury at Peebles on 22nd
December, 1479, for the retour of John Govan of Easter Hopkailzie. There
is an entry in the Acta Auditorum for December, 1475, showing that
Edward Hunter of Polmood had summoned both Sir David Hay of Yester and
his son John the Hay of Oliver Castle to determine which was chief baron
of Oliver Castle, but he did not appear to prosecute his claim. This
Edward Hunter was killed about 1502 by Gilbert Tweedie.
He was succeeded by WALTER HUNTER, who gave his bond of manrent to John,
first Lord Hay of Yester and Baron of Oliver Castle, his overlord, on
6th April, 1502, following upon which and a resignation of his lands he
was infeft in them on 26th April of that year on a precept from Lord
Hay; and when the second lord fell at Flodden, he sat on the jury in
Peebles on 11th May, 1519, which served his son as heir to him in some
Temple lands. Walter Hunter had a wadset from Patrick Dickson about 1523
of the lands of Quarter and part of Glencotho, but he assigned his right
to Malcolm, Lord Fleming, who redeemed them. He was among the friends
and dependants who were taken under the royal protection in 1536 when
Lord Fleming was sent on embassage to France in connection with the
marriage of King James V. He married Janet Lauder, who as his widow in
1551 had as part of her terce certain soums of the lands of Glenumphard
or Badlieu, which was also a possession of the Hunters at this time, and
of which the Tweedies of Drumelzier were the superiors.
On 17th March, 1549, ROBERT HUNTER OF POLMOOD, called son and heir of
Walter Hunter, younger of Polmood, was infeft in the 4 merk land of
Glenumphard on a precept by James Tweedie of Drumelzier, under
reservation of the liferent of Janet Dalmahoy, which shows that the
first-mentioned Walter had a son of the same name, whose wife this Janet
Dalmahoy may have been, and a grandson Robert, who had succeeded to
Polmood. This Robert in July, 1552, had a gift from John, Lord Hay of
Yester, of the fines due by James Tweedie of Drumelzier for absenting
himself from the sheriff courts, but under reservation to the granter of
half of the composition received, and to the other members of court of
what was due to them. How much he obtained, if anything, does not
appear, but it is on record that on 12th July he went to James Tweedie,
when they were both at Neidpath, and required of him the fulfilment of
an agreement between their deceased predecessors, to which he had only
the reply that time and place were not convenient. In July, 1555, he
married Katherine Hay (probably of the Smithfield family), for which he
had a dispensation from John, Archbishop of St. Andrews, and in view of
this marriage made resignation of Polmood at the Castle of Neidpath in
the hands of his superior, receiving a new infeftment thereof to himself
and his spouse. Similarly he dealt with the lands of Glenumphard; and on
5th March, 1555-6, Thomas Hay of Smithfield and Janet Scott, his mother,
acknowledged that the terms of the marriage contract had been fulfilled.
In May, 1558, Sir John Allan took out lawburrows against Robert Hunter,
who in January, 1559-60, also came into collision with the burgh bailies, John Dickson, younger of Winkston, and Ronald Scott; he refused
them as judges, and on St. Thomas's Day last, used disorderly language
to Dickson in the execution of his office, and for this he was tried by
an assize and fined. He had also a litigation with the tenants of
Glenumphard from December, 1565, until April, 1566, regarding certain 'dawarkis'
(day services) claimed by him from them, which also seem to have been
claimed by Drumelzier. Hunter took the case to the bailies of Peebles,
and Drumelzier demanded that the tenants be repledged to his baron
court, but Hunter declared that William Tweedie of Drumelzier had
threatened his life if he appeared there. Replegiation was refused, and
after parole evidence had been heard, the decision as to the rents and
carriages due to Robert Hunter was referred to John Hay, Tutor of
Smithfield, and William Veitch of Kingside.
Robert Hunter had also dealings with the Hunters of Duddingflat in the
parish of Broughton, who seem to have been related. In November, 1557,
Matthew Hunter, grandson of the deceased John Hunter of Duddingflat, was
infeft in Duddingflat as his grandfather's heir, and he then resigned it
in favour of his cousin William, to whom thereupon sasine was given,
under a deed of reversion. To this reversion Matthew gave an assignation
in the following June to Robert Hunter of Polmood, but in November of
1558 he went through the same process as in 1557, William Hunter being
described as 'in Langlandhill.' Robert Hunter, who acted as a witness on
both these occasions, in 1561, on receipt of a sum of money, resigned
his right to the reversion, and Matthew and William then appear to have
changed lands, for William is styled 'of Duddingflat,' while Matthew is
designed 'in Langlandhill.' William Hunter may have been the son of John
Hunter in Scrogs.
Robert Hunter died in 1587. He had a brother John, and at least three
sons and one daughter.
1. Michael, who succeeded to Polmood.
2. George, who died without issue, his testament being given up in
August, 1594, by his brothers, Michael and James, and mention is made in
it of his sister Isabel.
3. James, who was in Hearthstane in 1611, and who had a son Walter,
described as in Polmood in 1632.
4. Isabel, mentioned as above.
MICHAEL HUNTER, son of Robert Hunter of Polmood, was witness to a sasine
at Easter Happrew on 4th November, 1586, and was served heir to his
father in Polmood on 18th January, 1587-8. He married Helen Scott, and
had two sons and two daughters.
1. Norman and 2. Robert, both of whom were lairds of Polmood.
3. Elspeth, who married Robert Veitch, second son of William Veitch of
Dawyck (contract dated 4th, 15th May, 1442).
4. Margaret, who married (contract dated 3rd, 12th, 16th September,
1632) Thomas Naesmyth, son of James Naesmyth of Posso.
NORMAN HUNTER OF POLMOOD was a witness to sasines in August, 1627, and
April, 1628, and was a consenting party to the marriage contract of his
sister Margaret in 1632, but he must have died very soon afterwards.
ROBERT HUNTER OF POLMOOD, his brother, succeeded, and as laird was
admitted a burgess of Peebles on 23rd September, 1633. He was infeft in
Polmood on 27th June, 1635. In 1645 he is mentioned as collector for the
shire of Peebles, and as an elder in the church of Drumelzier. He had a
wadset in 1574 from David Tweedie of his lands of Chapel Kingledoors for
4000 merks, which he assigned to Alexander Williamson, provost of
Peebles. He does not appear to have married, but had a natural son,
George, born in 1650, to whom on 10th June, 1676, he disponed the lands
of Polmood, with remainder to the lawful heirs male of his body. On 7th,
March, 1683, he denuded himself of his half of the lands of Glenumphard
or Badlieu for a regrant in his favour in liferent, and in favour of the
said George, in fee, and sasine at once followed. Robert Hunter died in
1689.
GEORGE HUNTER OF POLMOOD was made a burgess of Peebles on 3rd May, 1677,
and succeeded to Polmood on his father's death. He obtained letters of
legitimation, married (his wife's name not known), and had two sons,
Robert and Archibald, who succeeded in turn to Polmood.
ROBERT HUNTER, as younger of Polmood, was a witness in April, 1718, to
the marriage contract of Alexander Murray of Cringletie. He married
Veronica Murray, daughter of Sir David Murray of Stanhope, and inherited
Polmood in 1721. On 25th January, 1729, he appears as laird of Polmood,
witnessing a disposition by William, Earl of March, at Broughton. He
lived till 1744, and died without issue, being succeeded by his brother.
ARCHIBALD HUNTER OF POLMOOD, who is styled second son of George Hunter
of Polmood, was the subject of a charge of horning by James Burnet of
Barns for a debt on 13th December, 1721. He was served heir to his
brother Robert on 26th January, 1747, and 1st March, 1748. He married
(the name of his wife has not been ascertained) and died in 1752 leaving
one son Thomas who was nine years old.
THOMAS HUNTER OF POLMOOD, the last of the old line, was left by his
father under the charge of three tutors, 'Lady Polmood' (Veronica
Murray, widow of Robert Hunter of Polmood), Alexander Hunter, merchant
in Edinburgh, and his son James. These two, Alexander and James, were
creditors on the estate; they were not related, in any degree, to the
Hunters of Polmood, and in view of their appointment Lady Polmood
declined to act. In 1758, Thomas Hunter was served heir to his father
Archibald, and the same year he chose as his curators the above-named
Alexander Hunter, and a writer in Edinburgh named Deuchars. Shortly
thereafter he granted a deed, with consent of his curators, conveying
the estates, failing heirs of his own, to the said James Hunter, the son
of Alexander. From this deed the signature of Thomas was afterwards
torn, whether by accident or design is not known; but when he came of
age in 1764 he executed a memorandum (5th December) in which he
confirmed the provisions of the deed, and stated that the tearing of his
signature was accidental. Thomas Hunter was bred to the law, and
apprenticed to a Writer to the Signet. But he was in bad health, and
contracted a serious illness, and on 28th January, 1765, executed
another deed bequeathing his property to James Hunter and his heirs,
whom failing to Alexander (the father of James) and his heirs. Of this
illness he died on 20th March, 1765, within sixty days of the granting
of the deed. He was predeceased by James Hunter, and the property
accordingly passed to Alexander. This state of matters undoubtedly
excited the interest of the countryside, and fifteen years afterwards
the famous Hunter lawsuit began of which an account will follow.
ALEXANDER HUNTER OF POLMOOD died on 22nd January, 1786, succeeded by his
nephew, Walter, the son of William Hunter, a farmer and brewer at
Straiton near Edinburgh. He was served heir to his uncle on 8th March,
1787, this service including the lands of Wrae in Glenholm, and again on
6th September, 1787, on which date he was a surgeon in the artillery at
Guadeloupe. He married Lady Caroline Mackenzie, fourth daughter of
George, Earl of Cromartie, and dying on 15th January, 1796, left Polmood, etc., and also Crailing in
Roxburghshire, to his eldest
daughter, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH HUNTER was born on 9th May, 1775, and married in 1792, at
Crailing House, James Ochoncar, eighteenth Lord Forbes, and died on 11th
October, 1830, succeeded by her eldest son, James.
JAMES, MASTER OF FORBES, born in 1796, was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the
Coldstream Guards at Bayonne and Waterloo, and died with out issue in
1835, succeeded by his brother Walter.
WALTER HUNTER, nineteenth Lord Forbes, born 1798, entered the navy, but
subsequently joined the Coldstream Guards, and served at Waterloo in
command of a company of that regiment in the defence of Hougomont. He
was served as heir to his brother on 5th August, 1835, and on 1st
September had a precept of clare constat from the Earl of Wemyss, the
superior of Polmood. In 1847 he sold his Peeblesshire lands - Wrae to
Thomas Tweedie of Quarter, and Polmood, which included Badlieu and
Tweedhopefoot, for £6600 to Houston Mitchell, formerly of Maitland, New
South Wales, and then of Trinity Lodge, Edinburgh.
THE HUNTER CASE
In 1780 Adam Hunter, tenant of Altarstone - with the assistance of
friends, for he was himself poor-took out a brieve to serve himself as
heir of line and provision to Thomas Hunter of Polmood, the last of the
old line He led evidence which satisfied the jury, and in 1781 he
brought an action to reduce the deed by Thomas to Alexander Hunter, on
the ground that it had been granted on deathbed. That action failed
(22nd November, 1781), because it was held that his own service was bad.
Adam, thereupon, applied for another brieve to serve himself as heir of
Robert Hunter, the father of George (illegitimate), using the same
links. Alexander Hunter opposed, and showed that the pedigree was wrong,
as Adam claimed to be descended from William Hunter, a brother of
Robert, whereas Robert had no such brother. That brieve was accordingly
abandoned, but the case was not at an end. In 1802 Adam Hunter appeared
on the scene again; he had left Altarstone, and was then residing at
Slateford near Edinburgh, and he had been spending the interval in going
carefully into his family history. The Kirk Session records, the Sheriff
Court books of Peebles, the public registers, and the rental books of
the Tweedsmuir estates, had all been laboriously searched; and the
result was that he now came forward, claiming on a different and a more
elaborate pedigree.
He had ascertained that his great-grandfather was not William, but John,
and he now claimed to be the son of William, who was the second son of
James (Old Shank), who was the son of John, who was the son of Walter,
who was the son of James, who was the son of Robert of Polmood and
brother of Michael of Polmood, which Michael was the father of Robert of
Polmood, who was the father of the illegitimate George. Proof in this
service was taken before a jury at Peebles, and it was granted. There
was no opposition. Again Adam Hunter raised an action of reduction, this
time against Lady Forbes (Elizabeth Hunter) and her husband, who replied
with a counter action for reduction of the service. And again (14th May,
1805) the service was held to be bad, this time, however, on purely
technical grounds that the evidence had not been properly placed before
the jury, and the Lord Ordinary indicated that a new service might be
advocated before the macers. And so, for the third time, Adam failed.
Next year (1806) a new claimant appears - John Taylor, residing at
Wanlockhead. He died shortly afterwards, and for a few years no further
steps were taken.
In 1810 Adam Hunter, acting on the hint given by the Lord Ordinary in
the previous action, took out a new service. He claimed as before, but
his claim was now a three-fold one as the pedigree shows (1) that Robert
Hunter (father of the illegitimate George) was a son of the brother of
the claimant's great-grandfather's grandfather; (2) that Robert Hunter
was a son of the brother of the claimant's grandmother's
great-grandfather; and (3) that Robert Hunter was a brother of the
claimant's great-grandmother.
ADAM HUNTER'S DESCENT
[Pedigree included in book]
But John Taylor's son, Robert, tenant at Castle of Sanquhar, also put
forward a claim, and his pedigree is also reproduced.
ROBERT TAYLOR'S DESCENT
[Pedigree included in book]
These two claims were heard together, and elaborate and tiresome
pleadings were lodged, extending to over 300 quarto pages of print.
In Adam Hunter's pedigree interest centred chiefly in his grandfather
James, who was known as Old Shank. It was said that he had previously
been tenant of Fingland, that he was a Cameronian and attended the field
meetings, that during the persecution he had to leave Tweedsmuir, that
he then lived in a place called Shank, and afterwards returned to
Tweedsmuir, where he built himself a house between Carterhope and Fruid
and died in 1721. Old Shank had four sons:
1. James, a packman, who it was said was mentally weak 'Daft Jamie
Hunter' he was called: his favourite expression was 'Come awa', Polmood,' and he called himself laird of Kilbucho and other estates,
because 'it was as good to him as if it really were so.'
2. William, the father of the claimant, who had been a herd at Polmood.
3. Walter, who was also a herd in Tweedsmuir.
4. George, known as the Squire. He, it was said, had also the 'family
failing,' and attempted to go to Edinburgh to the funeral of Thomas
Hunter, as chief mourner, to the horror of Mr. Mushet, the minister of
Tweedsmuir.
Taylor claimed through an Isobel Hunter, a child of Robert Hunter -
known as Uncle Robert - who was said to be a great-great-grandson of
Robert Hunter of Polmood (who died in 1587). Uncle Robert was born in
1651, and married Mary, daughter of Mr. Patrick Fleming, minister of
Stobo; he was tenant of Craig Kingledoors and Hearthstanes, but was
turned out of these places because he refused to conform to prelacy.
Afterwards in Stanhope for a time, he went to Abington, and spent his
later years at Polmood and Hearthstane. His sister Margaret married
David Tweedie of Chapel Kingledoors; and another of his sisters, Marion,
married David Tweedie's brother Alexander. His niece Margaret Tweedie
occupied Hearthstane - the 'gudewife o' Herstanes' - and looked after
him in his declining years; she was twice married, to a Murray and then
to a Welsh.
Uncle Robert, it was claimed, was on intimate relations with the Polmood
family. It was said that he prevented by force the laird from joining
the Jacobite rising of 1715, and that on his death Lady Polmood 'made
and helped on his dead clothes.' A wonderful dog belonged to him, called
Algiers, who ran errands for his master even to Edinburgh and back, swam
the Tweed and brought back tobacco from the Crook, and, when his master
was at Woodend, went to Lamington, three miles away, for snuff, with the
money tied in a napkin round his neck. From this remarkable animal a
fleece was cut every year, sufficient to make a pair of stockings. Uncle
Robert died at Hearthstane in 1733. His daughter Isobel married John
Taylor, a miner - 'Old John' he was called, for it was said that he was
130 when he died.
To the proceedings for the service of Adam Hunter and Robert Taylor,
Lady Forbes objected, but unsuccessfully, because she did not and could
not make any claim herself to be heir at law of Robert Hunter. The
assessors to the service were Lords Meadowbank, Newton and Robertson,
and of the jury of fifteen appointed to consider the evidence, seven
were nominated by Hunter, seven by Taylor, and one by the assessors. The
jury were composed of seven advocates and eight writers to the signet.
After hearing evidence, the claim put forward by Taylor was rejected,
and with regard to Hunter's three-fold claim, the first was sustained by
12 to 3, the second by 11 to 4, and the third was rejected by 9 to 6.
And then, for the third time, Adam Hunter, now over eighty years of age,
brought an action in 1811 to reduce the title to Polmood by which Lady
Forbes held, claiming on the law of deathbed, and also on the clause of
return in the entail by Robert Hunter to the illegitimate George. But
that claim was never investigated by the Court, for Lady Forbes again
brought a counter action that his service was not valid, as the proof of
the different links, although it had satisfied the jury, was not
sufficient; and she contended that her action must be dealt with before
the question of reduction of title was discussed. This contention was
upheld on 8th July, 1812, when the Second Division of the Court of
Session decided by a majority (Lord Roberson dissenting) :
'that the discussion of Lady Forbes' process of reduction of Adam
Hunter's service is preliminary to his challenge of Lady Forbes' title
under which she is in possession.'
Possession in this case was truly nine parts of the law. Again elaborate
pleadings were lodged by Adam Hunter in defence of his service, and
these were replied to at great length by Lady Forbes. There is no doubt
that the information which had previously been prepared by Robert Taylor
in support of his own pedigree and in criticism of Hunter's was a
material advantage to Lady Forbes in preparing her own case. Hunter's
weak link was Old Shank: it was suggested that he was illegitimate, or
at any rate that although John Hunter had undoubtedly a son James, who
was in Fingland, it had not been proved that he was Old Shank; and what
told rather heavily against Hunter was that in his first brieve for
service he had claimed that Old Shank's father was William, and not
John, a claim which had been supported by the sworn testimony of
half-a-dozen witnesses.
On 18th January, 1814, the Court reduced the service. Hunter appealed to
the Second Division, and they on 5th July adhered, and by a majority
refused the appeal. Lord Bannatyne was in Hunter's favour, but he was
the only one; Lord Robertson was against; the Lord Justice Clerk,
although he had doubts, thought that James Hunter, the son of John, had
not been identified as Old Shank; and Lord Meadowbank was plainly
influenced by Hunter's first service. That was the end of the story.
Lady Forbes remained in possession on a title, which was undoubtedly
questionable, but which by that time had been fortified by prescription.
No other claimant, after Adam Hunter, could come forward.
MITCHELL OF POLMOOD
As we have seen Houston Mitchell purchased Polmood (along with Badlieu
and Tweedhopefoot) in 1847. He erected a new dwelling-house at Polmood,
and in 1873 acquired the lands of Glenbreck. In 1877 he executed a
disposition and deed of entail to Livingstone Frederick Mann, his
grand-nephew, and others, but by a codicil made the following year he
appointed his nephew, Richard Blunt Mitchell, as institute of entail.
Richard Blunt Mitchell disentailed the lands in 1883, and in 1887
acquired from James Tweedie of Quarter a small part of the lands of
Kingledoors (.313 acres) to serve as an access to Polmood House from the
highroad. Glenbreck, Badlieu and Tweedhopefoot he sold in 1889, and in
1894 he sold Polmood itself to Mitchell Thomson, afterwards Sir Mitchell
Thomson, Baronet, Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
In 1917 Sir Mitchell Thomson sold Polmood to the present proprietor, Sir
William Milligan, an eminent surgeon in Manchester.
The present rental is £361 15s. 6d.
This information is reproduced from A History of Peeblesshire by J. W.
Buchan and Rev. H. Paton, published in three volumes between 1925-7 by
Jackson, Wylie and Co. of Glasgow. The original book includes many
refences to the sources of the information, pedigrees and plates.
Information on this site is subject to copyright
but may be reproduced for personal use. It may not be sold under any
circumstances.
Information published by Andrew and Pauline
Tweedie
Summerhill, Prixford, Barnstaple, EX31 4DW, UK
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