Scottish Love Stories: Wedderlie House

As soon as Alexander mentioned the name Wedderlie I wondered if it could possibly be the same place I knew well as a child as home to the Campbell family, and yes it was, just along the road from the ScotlandShop HQ near the village of Westruther. At the foot of the sunny side of the Lammermuirs stands this stunning mansion house consisting of a fortified tower, or “fortalice”, thought to date from the late 16th century, to which a larger house was added in 1680. So many original features remain and you can even still see this date carved on a window lintel on the north side of the house, but who knows if the ghost of the Green Lady is still there? Also remaining is the old stone seat upon which it is said the Edgars sat, armed and ready to defend themselves from cattle marauders. As always there is a gory story from Scottish history and visitors to Wedderlie can also stand under the tree where those found guilty of cattle theft were hanged.

The Polwarth family were the proud owners of Wedderlie until King Robert Bruce awarded the Wedderlie Estate to Sir Richard Edgar in 1327, where it remained in the family for over 400 years. The Edgar's were a notable bunch and held many a position of power doing well for themselves in the 17th century and adding to the original Tower House making it what it is today. In 1640 Edward Edgar was Member of Parliament for Edinburgh, while in 1684 John Edgar sat for Berwickshire and between 1696-1707 Alexander Edgar represented Haddington. There remain two Edgar monuments in churchyard in the nearby Westruther village (originally “Wolfsruther”, the swamp of the wolves), and the Church at Bassendean where the family used to attend is still in existence but now privately owned. Sadly the family fell on hard times and were forced to sell Wedderlie to Lord Blantyre in 1733, leaving under cover of darkness the story goes:

the auld Laird and leddy drove out in their carriage and four houses at midday: but the young laird was broken-hearted at the thoct o’ leaving the auld place, and he waited till the dark-ening; for he said the sun should na shine when he left his hame” and “it was a dark nicht when the last Edgar rode out of Wedderlie.

The Blantyres of Lennoxlove inhabited Wedderlie followed by their descendants, the Bairds, until 1942, when the estate and it's famed herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle was purchased by Captain Thomas Elliot, O.B.E who remained there until he died, leaving his widow who passed it on to their daughter Jenny Campbell. Wedderlie House was ruined by the later part of the 19th century, however since then it has been extensively restored with the current owners Jamie and Connie Raine-Fraiser adding the final finishing works since they bought the house in 2019. And now for the very first time in it's long history you can rent out the original old tower and Rennaissance House complete with 50 beautiful acres for weddings and special occasions. Each room is named after one of the family's that have lived or owned Wedderlie at some time so you can choose to be in Polwarth, Baird or Campbell among others.

Imagine having exclusive use of all this history and Scottish Borders countryside to enjoy with your guests for a weekend. Drive up the tree lined avenue, park up and look back over uninterrupted views of green fields, have a marquee put up to host your wedding breakfast, party in the old restored barn, with exposed beams and rich red sandstone walls, and enjoy the bar created from an old horse stall. History is all around you!

New owners Jamie and Connie were inspired to create their own dream wedding destination when they were planning their own wedding and faced all sorts of different rules and packages, so they decided to create a venue with structure and space while retaining the flexibility for couples to make it truly personal and fit their own style, allowing them to use it as they wanted to. "We never want to become a wedding factory. We want to have time to prepare from one event to another and we will never have one group of guests arriving to see the other ones leave" was my favourite quote from this hard working pair. Makes me feel like getting married all over again!

What really strikes you when you visit Wedderlie is that it is a true family affair and Connie summed it up nicely:

Of course it is not all about weddings and Wedderlie is also be a great place for family reunions, special celebrations and much more. The house looks grand, but it is much more intimate inside, so if you had a big family birthday, you would never feel like you were having it in a wedding venue. Although it is only 45 minutes from Edinburgh the estate has that super quiet, private aura to it and you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere, even though you are only a few minutes from a main road. Jamie and Connie have ambitious plans for summer camps and much more so keep an eye on their instagram for updates.

There is lots to do in the area and if you are staying at the estate don't miss out on a walk up the Twin Law Cairns, a favourite of mine especially in June when the cotton grass is out. Originally built as memorials to two Saxon twins killed in battle fighting Old Edgar and his men, the stone cairns were used for target practice for tanks and artillery during the Second World War however they have since been restored and the old border ballad tells the tale: