Upsettlington
| Upsettlington | |
| Berwickshire | |
|---|---|
 Upsettlington | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NT885463 |
| Location: | 55°42’38"N, 2°11’3"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Ladykirk |
| Postcode: | TD15 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Scottish Borders |
Upsettlington is a very well presented, stone-built hamlet in Berwickshire, in the parish of Ladykirk in the south of the county. The main farm here is Ladykirk Home Farm, with Ladykirk House to the south, and many of the cottages and buildings are associated with the farm and house. The village was once a parish in its own right.
Ladykirk village itself is just under a mile to the north, as the crow flies.
Upsettlington is at a bend in the River Tweed, across which lies West Newbiggin in Northumberland.
History
The land here opposite Northumberland's Norham Castle is known as Upsettlington Green and as Holywell Haugh. It was used for meetings during the wars of England and Scotland in the Middle Ages: Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale, the father of Robert the Bruce, and the Competitors for the Crown of Scotland convened at Holywell Haugh on 2 June, 1291, and met Robert Burnell the Bishop of Bath and Wells. On the following day John Balliol acknowledged Edward I as his feudal superior.[1]
At the beginning of a brief campaign, King James IV established his headquarters at Upsettlington on 5 August 1497 for an attack on Norham Castle, and it is recorded that the King played cards here with the Spanish ambassador Pedro de Ayala. However by 21 August 1497 peace was negotiated.[2] Soon after, King James built a new church called Our Lady Kirk of Steill at Upsettlington, to serve the two parishes of Horndene and Upsettlington.