Folklore & legend

Rhymer's Tower and the Auld Rhymer's Stone

Rhymer's Tower, Earlston

Tower possibly thirteenth century; stone moved 1736 and 1892

The ivy covered Rhymer's Tower is described as the traditional residence of Thomas Learmonth, though the surviving tower house is later than his lifetime and he probably lived in a smaller building on the site. A stone in the local church carries the line "Auld Rhymer's race lies in this place". It is said to have been set up at the old church around 1250, moved to a new kirk in 1736 and moved again to the Victorian church built in 1892.

Scott's notes give a story from the generation before his. A man named Murray, a kind of herbalist, set up home in the ruins of Learmont's Tower. His stock included a musical clock, an electrical machine and a stuffed alligator, and he was supposed to be in communication with Thomas the Rhymer. Scott says the reverence paid to the Rhymer's dwelling place rubbed off to some degree on him.

The tower stands beside a public road in Earlston; check for any signage about access to the ruin itself.
Evidence
Long-standing local tradition
Access
Access unrecorded
Location
55.636, -2.681 (Sited to the building or field)

Sources: Walter Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. 3 (Project Gutenberg) [public-domain]; Wikipedia, "Earlston" [other]

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