The Callant statue

Heritage listing

Category A Date Added 16/03/1971 Local Authority Scottish Borders Planning Authority Scottish Borders Burgh Hawick NGR NT 50428 14790 Coordinates 350428, 614790 — William Francis Beattie, 1914, completed by his father, Thomas Beattie, 1921. Prominently sited bronze equestrian statue of mounted standard bearer, situated on oval-plan stone pedestal and positioned at critical junction in town centre. Statue of standard bearer sitting astride horse, holding unfurled flag aloft in right hand. Horse with right foreleg raised and head bowed. Pedestal with deep plinth; base course, cornice. Inscription to front (S) TERIBUS YE TERIODIN with date 1514 above and town coat-of-arms plaque above. Other inscriptions to sides (see Notes). — Prominently positioned in the centre of the town, this well-detailed sculpture celebrates one of the most famous events in the town's history and is one of its major landmarks. Also known as the 1514 Memorial, it was erected in 1914 to celebrate the 1514 defeat of Lord Dacre's English Army at Hornshole, two miles away, by a party of local youths. The youths then brought a flag back from the battle site. A replica of this flag is carried each year around the boundaries of the common lands, borne by the standard bearer or 'Cornet' and accompanied by other riders. Known as the Common Riding, this is the major festival for the town, and The Horse has become a focus of the festivities, being decked with blue and gold ribbons by each year's Cornet since 1923. The inscription to the side of the pedestal reads: 'ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE THE RETURN OF THE HAWICK CALLANTS FROM HORNSHOLE IN 1514, WHEN AFTER THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN THEY ROUTED THE ENGLISH MARAUDERS AND CAPTURED THEIR FLAG.' The inscription at the opposite side commemorates the unveiling in 1914. Th

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.