Description

William Francis Beattie, 1914, completed by his father, Thomas Beattie, 1921. Prominently sited bronze equestrian statue of mounted standard bearer, situated on oval-plan stone pedestal and positioned at critical junction in town centre.

Statue of standard bearer sitting astride horse, holding unfurled flag aloft in right hand. Horse with right foreleg raised and head bowed.

Pedestal with deep plinth; base course, cornice. Inscription to front (S) TERIBUS YE TERIODIN with date 1514 above and town coat-of-arms plaque above. Other inscriptions to sides (see Notes).

Statement of Interest

Prominently positioned in the centre of the town, this well-detailed sculpture celebrates one of the most famous events in the town's history and is one of its major landmarks. Also known as the 1514 Memorial, it was erected in 1914 to celebrate the 1514 defeat of Lord Dacre's English Army at Hornshole, two miles away, by a party of local youths. The youths then brought a flag back from the battle site. A replica of this flag is carried each year around the boundaries of the common lands, borne by the standard bearer or 'Cornet' and accompanied by other riders. Known as the Common Riding, this is the major festival for the town, and The Horse has become a focus of the festivities, being decked with blue and gold ribbons by each year's Cornet since 1923.

The inscription to the side of the pedestal reads: 'ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE THE RETURN OF THE HAWICK CALLANTS FROM HORNSHOLE IN 1514, WHEN AFTER THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN THEY ROUTED THE ENGLISH MARAUDERS AND CAPTURED THEIR FLAG.' The inscription at the opposite side commemorates the unveiling in 1914. The face of the rider was reputedly modelled on that of the 1888 Cornet, A H Drummond.

Public subscriptions for the statue reached £1,440 (not the £1,514 hoped for) and the statue was unveiled by Lady Sybil Scott, younger daughter of the Earl of Dalkeith. It was moved slightly, amid great controversy, during re-routing of the roadways in 2003.

William Francis Beattie (1886-1918) was born in Hawick and based in Edinburgh. He served in the First World War as a major with the 73rd Battery of the 5th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery and was killed in action on 3 October 1918. This sculpture was completed by his father Thomas. List description revised following resurvey (2008).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17571529

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  For the Record