MELROSE Parish Church
Historical and Archaeological Association
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 14 at 7.30pm in Marmions @ the Wynd, off Buccleuch Street, Melrose. There will be a short AGM followed by our guest speaker, Lindsay AllasonJones, who will present an illustrated lecture – ‘The People of Roman Scotland’. All welcome. Free to Members, £4 to visitors.
The Resurrection Season continued with the story of the healing by Peter of the lame man who begged daily outside one of the gates of the Temple. The healer, who goes down in history as the betrayer of Jesus, is suddenly a man of courage, an ordinary unschooled fisherman but able to hold his own in front of religious leaders who have no means of stopping his message. History has been full of individuals who have used their circumstances to create movements that have changed society up to our day. Desmond Tutu’s visit to Edinburgh, a call to everyone to join the cause, has never been forgotten. Doreen Lawrence, mother of the murdered Stephen, became an anti-racist heroine, with a day to his name, a remarkable woman whose untutored individualism drove her power. The people who set up Earth Day, the people whose warnings about plastic which leaves its traces in the environment and inside our bodies, were enthused individuals who have shown their courage in speaking out, if we would only listen
News: Open Door each Thursday morning; Bowden Cafe, May 15; Abbey Consort Concert, Wilton Church, Saturday, April 27, 7pm; Sunday, April 28, 3pm, John Kitchen organist celebrates completion of organ.work in honour of the late Jim Marshall, Melrose Parish Church; Tuesday, May 7, 1.30pm, Old Melrose Walk; Messy Church, Sunday, May 12, 3pm; Tuesday, May 14, 2pm, visit to St John’s; Gala foodbank, usual pickups and www.justgving.com/ galashielsfoodbank.
Borders and see what was being found. We do not know if that ever came about but a BM assistant, a Mr Oldland, was sent up to Melrose one summer to label and put Curle’s Scandinavian collection of bronze figurines in order. The BM seem to have played a waiting game and eventually bought them from Curle for display in the Museum in London.
18 May, 1908: “Dear Smith You spoke of coming down here to see the Newstead collection.. I wonder if there is any chance of your doing so in the near future. I shall be at home, off and on, till about the 17th June, when I think we shall go off to Germany, Homburg vor der hohe to begin with. [This is a spa town near to the Saalburg fort, where Curle had stayed before.] If you could come in the first fortnight of June I would be very glad to see you. You could study what I have here and we could spend a day in Edinburgh, or more if you like, as I believe there are some good things in the Loan Collection at the Edinburgh Exhibition. [The Scottish National Exhibition in Saughton Park, Edinburgh, was opened on 1 May 1908, by Arthur, Prince of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria. It was attended by three and a half million people over six months of, it is reported , ‘glorious weather’. Happy days.]
“I think it would be a good thing, now that I know a little more of Newstead, to revisit some of the German Collections -Wiesbaden and perhaps Bonn. Are there any good things to be seen South of Frankfurt in the German towns?
“I was very glad that ‘Dr’ Read was elected President of the London Antiquaries. [He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by St Andrews University about this time.]
“I told you that I thought the flat pans of black ware were of the second century, but I now believe this is incorrect. We have been digging out lately the second period ditch but the Samian seems indistinguishable from that of the first period. Below the fragments of bowl 29 we found one of these black pans.
“It is rather an important point that we seem to have established viz the enlargement of the fort in the 2nd century.
“Can you refer me to an article on bridle bits
of the Roman time – to help me determine a recent find? Believe me, Yours sincerely, James Curle.”