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Carter Fell Quarry Cave

Meadow Cleugh, Southdean, Hawick, Roxburghshire, Roxburghshire.

A low wide chamber below a sandstone bed on the line of the original stream bed adjacent to Meadow Cleugh Limeworks. The floor of the cave is strewn with middling sized boulders with rounded edges. A stream [Limekiln Burn] has been diverted away from quarry possibly due to a pollution incident. The way on is blocked by boulders. [Southern Uplands Mining Heritage]

Between Wheelrig Head and Carter Fell there are several outcrops of algal limestone, with a good section at the top of Meadow Cleuch. Fell Sandstone consists of sandstones with thin intercalations of red and green marly clays and occasional cementstones. The sandstones are siliceous and mostly fine-grained. Near Carter Fell marine shells are also found on several levels and grey clays crowded with ostracods, brachiopods and cephalopods occur near the base of the sandstones at the Old Limekiln in Meadow Cleuch. [The Soils Round Jedburgh and Morbattle]

The 1841 census, lists four households at Carter Quarry:

At the first house, the Armstong and Jerdon families were living and working at Meadow Cleugh/Carter Quarry. John Armstrong, 48 was a Lime Contractor and Agnes Armstrong, 53 is most likely his wife. James Armstrong, 45, was a road labourer (probably breaking up and grading limestone for road stone). He may or may not have been a close relative (brother?) of John Armstrong. Another James Armstrong, 20, (another possible relative?) was a coal miner. James Jerdon, 46 and James Jerdon, 25 were both Limestone miners while William Jerdon, 15 was a coal miner (presumably a father and his two sons). William Little, 20 (presumably unrelated to the Armstrongs or Jerdons) was also a coal miner. Martin Hall, 36, William Elliot, 30 and John Black, 30, were road labourers. John Brown, 40, was a lime burner. David Jackson, 20 was a labourer and Thomas Carter, 20, was an agricultural labourer. Euphemia Simpson, 21, is listed as a Female Servant.

It is possible/probable that Thomas Carter was related to the owners of Carterhouse and may have been a tenant at Carter Quarry to reduce travel time when looking after the outer reaches of that farm.

William Elliot may have been the brother of Isabella Prentice nee Elliot.

"I [Isabella Prentice, nee Elliot] was born in the year 1824 at the small village of Rochester, Northumberland. My father, whose name was Elliott, lived near the Carter Fell , and was in partnership with Mr. Robinson, the Provost of Jedburgh, and Mr. Grainger, steward of the Marquis of Lothian, in carrying on some lime works on that hill. As they employed a great many men, and these were continually on the premises" ... "My parents continued to live at the lime-works for about 12 years, but as Mr. Grainger, a few years previously, had given up his share in them, and a year or two afterwards Mr. Robinson, the Provost of Jedburgh, had absconded to America, taking with him all the money he could lay hands on, all the debts fell upon my father, and he was disabled from carrying on the works any longer." [The Life And Testimony Of Isabella Prentice]

The second property at Carter Quarry was the home of Lewis Proudlock, 20, Isabella Proudlock, 20 (husband and wife), John Armstrong, 35 (possibly son of John and Agnes Armstrong), James Scoone, 25, and George Young, 15, all miners. Lewis (and Isabella?) Proudlock and George Young extracting coal. John Armstrong and John Scoone extracting Limestone.

The third household was Hugh Walker, 35, coal miner with his family Christina Walker, 20, William Walker, 3 and Margaret Walker 10 months. Isabella Bowe, 15, was afemale servant. William Little, 20 was a limestone miner (so not the same person mentioned at the first house listed twice).

The fourth household was smaller consisting only of John Ferguson, 40, Limestone miner and (his son?) John Ferguson, 10, coal miner.

Nearby was another small quarry at Dun Tae but this was accessed fro Southdean in the next valley to the west.

Alternative Names: Carter Quarry Cave, Limekiln Burn Cave, Meadow Cleugh Quarry Cave

Notes: Just north of the border into England, 4 km SW of Carter Bar. Access from A6088 off A68 near Carter's Bar. Track to quarry (marked on various OS maps) runs up through trees from west of Fellside and Carter House. Cave dimensions (estimated from photo) are probably inaccurate.

The Carter Fell is a high hill, part of the range of the Cheviot Hills, on the border between England and Scotland. "Fell" means in Scotch a high hill or range of hills, fit only for pasturage and never ploughed. [Joseph Philpot]

Carter Fell, mountain, 1815 feet high, one of the Cheviots, on mutual border of Roxburghshire and England, 9 1/2 miles south - south - east of Jedburgh. The famous skirmish of 1575, sung as the 'Raid of the Red Swire,' was fought on it. [Gazetteer of Scotland]. Claimed to be the lasty 'major' battle between the English and the Scots (the Scots won as they were armed with firearms while the English only had bows and arrows ). Also called Redeswire Fray or the Battle of Carter's Bar, a border skirmish between England and Scotland on 7 July 1575. [Sir Walter Scott]

Limestone was quarried on the sides of Carter Fell. [N.J. Winch]

At Carter Fell, which forms the southern boundary of the parish, there is great plenty of excellent limestone. [OSA]

Hydrographic Feeds: Previously Limekiln Burn, Meadow Cleugh

Hydrographic Resurgences: Previously Limekiln Burn, Meadow Cleugh