Henry Scott Riddell Monument


(Colterscleuch Monument)

An unusual conical monument located on the rolling summit of Dryden Knowes a mile (1.5 km) north northeast of Teviothead in the SW Scottish Borders, the distinctive Henry Scott Riddell Monument is clearly visible from the A7 Trunk Road, which passes a half-mile (0.5 km) to the southeast. The 13-m (43-foot) high monument is dedicated to the memory of poet and songwriter Henry Scott Riddell (1798 - 1870), who served as parish minister at Teviothead. It is also known as the Colterscleuch Monument, probably erroneously due to misinterpretation of the Ordnance Survey Landranger map. A plaque records that the structure was erected in 1874 and repaired in 1998 to mark the bi-centenary of Riddell's birth.

An inscription above the entrance door reads:

Henry Scott Riddell
Born 1798
Died 1870
Sleep on gentle bard for, though silent forever,
thy harp in the hall of the Chieftain is hung.
No time from the memory of Mankind shall sever
the tales that it told and the strains that it sung.


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