Reivers Moon - Northumberland Border Reiver Print

Sony A350 – Macro The one indisputable fact concerning the Border Reivers was their supreme ability in the art of theft and guerrilla warfare. A lifestyle which required specialist equipment. The fully equipped Reiver represented an elite light cavalryman, capable of navigating rough terrain at night with practiced stealth, and when required implementing deadly force. In Elizabethan times the Anglo-Scottish Border counties, including Northumberland, were the home to the notorious Border Reivers, the lawless clans of the border valleys, where a lifestyle of raiding and marauding was the only way to survive. The life of the Border Reiver was not necessarily ruled by his allegiance to the English or Scottish Crowns, but more likely by his allegiance to a family surname. Feuds were often fought and raids were made, not in the name of England or Scotland, but in the names of Armstrong, Robson, Charlton, Elliott or Dodd, or in the names of other Border surnames, that are still common in the region today. Indeed it was a common occurrence for English families to side with Scottish families in border feuds, especially as some of the reiver surnames, like Armstrong, Hall and Graham were to be found on both sides of the border. Border Reivers : The Hall Clan The Hall family settled in the Scottish valleys of Teviotdale, Liddesdale and Redesdale in Northumberland. The Halls were a relatively powerful family living alongside the Milburns, Potts, Storeys, Reeds and Hedleys in Redesdale. The Reeds were at feud with the Crozier clan from Liddesdale. Parcy Reed, the leader of the Reed clan was appointed as the Keeper of Redesdale, which aroused the jealousy of the Halls who cunningly invited Parcy to join them on a hunt, knowing that a Crozier raid was imminent. The Halls welcomed Parcy to their home but sabotaged his weapons so they wouldn’t work. The next day, whilst on the hunt they stumbled across the Crozier clan. Parcy felt obliged to stand up to the Scottish raiders when the Halls refused to assist. The bloody event is portrayed in the ‘Ballad of Parcy Reed’ where it is claimed that Parcy received 33 wounds and his hands and feet severed. This act of treachery ensured that the Hall clan were despised for centuries later throughout the Borders. Today the family name is most often found in Northumberland and Yorkshire.