It’s halfway through February already and I find myself in the beautiful Scottish Borders. I could not believe my luck, last year, when I received an email from Executive Director Lucy Brown, inviting me to spend a whole month at Marchmont Studios to work on my latest project. I am very grateful to all at the Hugo Burge Foundation (learn more about the Foundation’s transformative work HERE) for inviting me to soak up the atmosphere here and become part of the landscape for this precious time!
The beautiful and historic Marchmont House lies a short walk away from the studios
Nothing like writing in a tower!
The novel I’m working on at the moment is a work of folk horror entitled THE BACK OF BEYOND. The title is no reflection on these environs (!) but the place is certainly brimming with qualities and stories that will certainly feed into the narrative. Thanks so much to my fellow resident, artist Anna King, who has loaned me a couple of wonderful old books about the history and stories of the area. Thanks too to Emma, who shared the story of Lady Polwarth, who hid her husband, Sir Patrick, in the crypt of Polwarth Kirk for a month as he was being hunted down by government soldiers after an alleged plot. The couple’s eldest daughter, Grisell, would creep out of Redbraes Castle at night (the ruins can still be seen) armed only with a lantern, and cross the fields with food for her father.
One of many stirring tales connected with the historic Marchmont House and estate.
The remains of Redbraes Castle. Did some Border Reiver take an axe to that door?!
I visited the Kirk on a dreich day and it was easy to imagine how creepy it might have been back then, and what danger might have awaited Lady Grisell, if she had been caught.
I was also fascinated by the story of the Polwarth Thorn, which lies just a mile or two away from the Kirk, in the village of Polwarth. The ‘Thorn’ is actually a pair of very twisted and gnarly trees, said to have sprung from the original, which must have been ancient, as the original Kirk dates from before 1300 (some accounts say there was a church there in the 10th century). It was the custom for newly weds to dance around the thorn tree for good luck and fertility.
I describe my folk horror book as The Wicker Man With Water, and no spoilers to say there might be a Roman goddess in it and one or two sacrifices… I’m now on the look-out for a holy well and some Roman remains…!
The Polwarth Thorn. Another brilliant local tale tells of two sisters, heiresses, who had their sights set on the handsome Wedderburn brothers. Politics and intrigue meant the girls were stolen away by a third party and confined to barracks. The steadfast brothers turned up at their door with horses and men and won the day! A double wedding was performed at the Kirk, and the couples, as tradition decreed, danced around the thorn tree.
We began our stay with a wander round the grounds, beneath Scots pine and willow, through drifts of bluebells. We passed the 18th c. ice house, and climbed ancient stone steps that lead to nowhere. Afterwards, we relaxed in the parlour and wrote, fuelled by endless coffee (the family who run the hotel are SO understanding!) and, I admit, a bottle of wine. After a delicious meal – served in the parlour, no cooking, no washing up!- we wrote some more, shared some ideas and climbed the amazing Gothic staircase to bed.
Sandra Ireland 