Reivers - Rising of the North

Two English Earls Sought Refuge With Thieves of Southern Scotland

May 4, 2009 Thomas William Moss

In late1569 the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland rebelled against the Protestant religion. It was a short-lived affair, doomed to failure. They fled to Liddesdale.

In October 1569 Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland and Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland raised their standards in rebellion against the protestant monarchy of Elizabeth l. One had an ardent desire to re-institute Catholicism as the religion of the nation, the other, Northumberland, had a more earthly motive. He sought justice and fairness from a government that wished his downfall but his pleas had fallen on deaf ears. The rebellion was known as the 'Rising of the North'. By December the Rising had failed ignominiously and after seeking succour at the hands of Leonard Dacre of Naworth in Cumbria, an erstwhile confederate who had defected from the Cause, the Earls, accompanied by their ladies fled to Liddesdale in the Scottish Borders.

Refuge with the Border Reivers

The Border Reivers of Liddesdale accepted the fugitive Lords with open arms. Any man on the run from the Law, it has been said, whatever his nationality, was granted asylum within the valleys of Liddesdale, then the most dangerous place in Europe. It was a brave man who moved north into the valley of the river Liddell. Lady Percy stayed with Jock of the Side in a hovel 'not fit for a dog kennel in England' it was said later ,whilst her husband Thomas was taken in by Hector of Harelaw.

The Westmorlands were sheltered by yet another of theArmstrong clan, the Laird's Jock , at Puddingburn Tower, a secluded site below the magnificent Tinnis Hill.

The Treachery of Hector Armstrong of Harelaw

When news reached the Earls that the English were preparing to chance their arm and invade Liddesdale, Westmorland fled north to Hume castle where he was granted refuge before fleeing abroad. Northumberland was enticed from Harelaw Tower on the pretext of discussing some important news in total privacy and walked into an ambush orchestrated by his host, Hector Armstrong. He had come to an agreement whereby he would give up the illustrious Lord in exchange for money down. Percy was taken with little effort and eventually warded in the castle of Lochleven, a place where Mary, Queen of Scots had previously been confined. Even today there is a saying in the Scottish Borders, 'to take Hector's cloak', meaning to betray a friend.

AftermathWestmorland would spend the rest of his life abroad and die in penury whilst his wife, who had previously thrown herself on the mercy of the English monarchy would live in comparative comfort for the rest of her days.

Lady Anne Percy was taken in by the Kerrs of Ferniehurst and treated with kindness even though the Kerrs and Percys did not see eye to eye and had often been at feud. Eventually she moved on to Europe where she spent the next two years petitioning for her husband's release. Percy would be duped yet again when,in 1572, he was told to travel under escort to London where he would make his peace with his queen. When he reached York he was told that he should be prepared to die. Next day he was beheaded in a street in York known as the Pavement.

The Rising of the North was to result in misery for most of the families concerned. The Percys and the Nevilles, two of the great families of Northern England, with a pedigree going back to the the time of William the Conqueror would suffer for the Catholic religion. Percy would pay the ultimate price in hisdeath.

The legacy of the Rising would have a more telling effect on the commoners who hurried to its cause.

The villages and towns of northern England would witness hanging after hanging. This was Elizabeth l's way of demonstrating that she ruled, she was the power. Needless to say there were many who died at the end of a rope who did not deserve it.

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