Everything about Melrose Scotland totally explained
Melrose is a small, historic town on the
Scottish Borders. The town's name is recorded in its earliest form as
Mailros, 'the bare peninsula' (
Old Welsh or
Brythonic), referring to the original site of the monastery, recorded by the
Venerable Bede, in a bend of the river
Tweed. In the late Middle Ages, when the monastery had been refounded in its present position, its name was symbolically represented by the visual pun of a
mell (mason's hammer) and a rose (symbolising the
Virgin Mary, to whom all
Cistercian abbeys were dedicated). It is in the
Eildon committee area, and was in the former
county of
Roxburghshire.
Melrose is the location of
Melrose Abbey, refounded for the
Cistercian order by
David I in the early
12th century, one of the most beautiful monastic ruins in
Great Britain. It is the site of the burial of the heart of
Scottish king Robert the Bruce. An excavation was led to find a sealed casket, but it wasn't opened, and it was actually discovered by high school students involved in the dig. The casket was placed in a sealed lead cylinder, and was then re-buried in the abbey back at its proper resting place. The remains of the Abbey are cared for by
Historic Scotland (open all year; entrance charge).
Nearby is the
Roman fort of
Trimontium, and
Dryburgh Abbey. Melrose is surrounded by the small villages of Darnick, Gattonside,
Newstead, and Bowden.
King Arthur is supposedly buried in the
Eildon Hills, which overlook the town. A few miles west of the town lies
Abbotsford House, the home of novelist Sir
Walter Scott.
Melrose is the birthplace of
Rugby Sevens, the town's
rugby union team is one of the strongest in the
Borders, an area where rugby union has always been the most popular sport.
Melrose also has
Melrose golf club which is a nine hole golf course situated on the edge of the town at the foot of the Eildon Hills.
Every year in June Melrose has a festival week known as the Melrose Festival. This involves appointing a Melrosian who has lived in the town for most of his life. Also a queen and her court are appointed from the local primary school, Melrose Grammar School.
Melrose is now host to the annual
Borders Book Festival
which also takes place during June. The 2005 festival hosted guests including Michael Palin and Germaine Greer; Ian Rankin and Rory Bremner appeared in 2006.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Melrose Scotland'.
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