A definitive local history, where street corners and even individual cobblestones rate a mention, Kelsae is a comprehensive yet affectionate history of this fascinating Border town. Beginning with the foundation of Scotland’s greatest medieval abbey in 1128, it goes on to reconstruct from documents the lost burgh of Scotland, Roxburgh. Once as important as Edinburgh and Dunfermline in medieval Scotland, now nothing whatsoever remains of the old town. After the Reformation and destruction of the Abbey, Kelso became uninvolved in national politics and settled into the beautiful market town it is today.
Alistair Moffat brilliantly uses anecdote, illustration and oral history to bring the modern period to life. At its heart Kelsae is exactly what local history should be. Every detail of the town’s history, from its involvement in international politics to the correct spelling of the name of a close that disappeared in 1805, has been painstakingly researched, providing the reader with a vibrant and vigorous account. |
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