Hawick: A History from Earliest Times

By Alistair Moffat

As Hawick celebrates the 500th anniversary of the fight at Hornshole, the first stirrings of the defining traditions of the common riding, Alistair Moffat takes the narrative much further back into the mists of prehistory to the time of the Romans, the coming of the Angles, and the Normans. He recounts how Hawick got its name, where the old village stood, and who the early barons of Hawick were. He then charts the amazing rise of the textile trade, bringing the story right up to the present day. The book shows that Hawick has changed radically over the many centuries since people began to live between the Slitrig and the Teviot. Full of anecdotes and history, this book celebrates one of the Borders' most vibrant communities and acknowledges that Hawick's greatest invention is her people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Birlinn
• Release date: Oct 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781495651694

Alistair Moffat

Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television, he now runs the burgeoning Borders Book Festival as well as a production company based near Selkirk. He has written twelve books, including Kelsae, The Reivers, The Sea Kingdoms, The Borders and The Wall, all of which are published by Birlinn.