Johnnie Gilnockie's Grave *

Region: Lothian & Scottish Borders

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A reiver trail information board cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Walter Baxter - geograph.org.uk/p/1005292

Description:

Mass grave of Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie and his men. James V saw Johnnie and his ‘reivers’ as a challenge to his authority and set off with an army to confront them. Heavily outnumbered Johnny surrendered to the King and was hanged on the spot without trial. In 1897, a memorial tablet was installed by a wall at Carlenrig and the gravesite is now owned and maintained by the Armstrong Clan Trust. Some years ago, a farmer working the field opposite Carlenrig Chapel overturned a large stone. An Archaeologist found a mass grave, which contained a large number of bodies, and it is generally accepted that it was the grave of Armstrong and his men.