Dabie's Tower (site of)

Dabie’s Tower was a tower house in Jedburgh which may have belonged to the abbot of Jedburgh Abbey although no trace of it now remains.

The tower stood near the entrance to the Abbey, at the junction of Abbot’s Close (now Abbey Close) and Castlegate. The name may derive from the Abbey itself, the spelling “D’Abbie’s Tower” sometimes being used, although the word “dabbie” is said to mean “holy”. Another possibility is that it is a corruption of Davie’s Tower, possibly named for David Panter who was bishop of Jedburgh in 1552.

Exactly when the tower was built is not known however it has been suggested that it may have been constructed in the 15th century during an upgrade of Jedburgh’s defences following the destruction of Jedburgh Castle in 1409.

It was one of the “six good towers” in Jedburgh described by Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Surrey, who attacked the town in 1523. Jedburgh was attacked again by Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, in 1544 and was occupied by the English before the Battle of Ancrum in 1545 and before the Battle of Pinkie in 1547.

In the mid-17th century the tower was demolished and by the mid-19th century the site was described as being occupied by a “modern mansion” belonging to the Marquess of Lothian, possibly the same three storey 19th century house which stands there today.