Drumelzier

Drumelzier, is a village and civil parish on the B712 in the Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders.The area of the village is extensive and includes the settlements of Wrae, Stanhope, Mossfennan and Kingledoors. To the north is Broughton and to the south the road passes Crook Inn to Tweedsmuir.The Drumelzier or Powsail Burn runs by here, and is a tributary of the River Tweed. Stobo Castle hotel and health spa are in the area, as is Dawyck Botanic Garden, one of three "Regional Gardens" of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.HistoryToponymyThe name is recorded as Dunmedler ; Dumelliare ; Drummeiller ; Drummelzare and Drummelzier . The name may derive from the Gaelic for 'bare hill'.Drumelzier is pronounced /drəˈmɛljər/. This is due to the original Scots spelling, Drumelȝier, containing the letter yogh, which was later erroneously confused with the tailed z.The castlesDrumelzierThe village takes its name from Drumelzier Castle, located hard by the River Tweed not far from the village centre. It was the ancient seat of the Tweedie family, first chartered to Roger de Twydyn about 1320. It was also part of a chain of peel towers along the Tweed Valley. The ruins of the old house are now in the midst of modern farm buildings, which have been built largely of stone salvaged from it. The fortunes of the Tweedie family declined, and in 1633 the last Tweedie of Drummelzier was forced to sell the Barony of Drummelzier to Lord Hay of Yester. The present Laird of Drumelzier is Alexander Hay of Duns and Drumelzier, he resides at Duns Castle, Berwickshire.