Sir David
Steel, the last leader of the Liberal Party, restored Aikwood, sometimes spelled Oakwood,
between 1990 and 1992. Artefacts of the Border writer James Hogg are on display and
include first editions, his spectacles, seal, fiddle, and a letter to his wife regarding
his possible knighthood.
James V granted the lands of
Aikwood to Michael Scott in 1517, though the tower may not have been erected until around
1535. A datestone commemorates the marriage of Robert Scott in 1602. The tower passed to
the Murrays and then back to the Scotts, and remained in their hands until purchased by
the Duke of Buccleuch in the 1940s. The tower had long been abandoned, however, and was
converted for agricultural use.
Externally the tower is very
fine, with sheer walls rising to an ornate corbel course, decorated with saltires. The
tower rises to four storeys plus an attic, the corner cap houses being distinctive
roofline features. |
