Morebattle

Coordinates: 55°31′04″N 2°21′48″W / 55.51776°N 2.36343°W / 55.51776; -2.36343

Morebattle is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the B6401, seven miles south of Kelso, Scottish Borders, beside the Kale Water, a tributary of the River Teviot. The St. Cuthbert's Way long distance footpath passes through the village.

Surrounding villages include Cessford and Eckford to the west; Linton to the north; Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm to the east; and Hownam and Mowhaugh to the south.

History

The place-name comes from the Anglian mere-bōðl - "dwelling place by the lake" (Linton Loch). No evidence of any battles (the simplistic origin) exists.

Morebattle parish church is noted as being in the diocese of Glasgow from approximately 1116. It stands on a prominence overlooking the Kale Water. The building was engulfed by fire in 1544 and rebuilt. The present structure dates mostly from the 1750s with extensions being erected in 1899 and 1903 by Hardy & Wight.

The village has a "Teapot Street" which according to local legend (unlikely to be true) was named by Sir Walter Scott, who, passing through the village one day, noticed the wives in the street carrying teapots to the nearby Kale Water to picnic, and remarked, "that must be Teapot Street."