The Bield
Mike Williams
travels to Moffat, with the help of Dumfriesshire library service -
man, they're good!
Mike
Barry Earsman
I think I'm a bit vague of what "the Bield" actually is. Is it an area within Whamphray? A road?
Barry
Mike Williams
hostelry Jean Wilson ran. It is now an area on the old coach road from
Edinburgh to Carlisle at a point just south of Wamphray where it joins
another road which leads from Newton Wamphray, built after the
original village of Wamphray was apparently burned down by cross-
border raiders. You can see the meeting of the roads in the postcard.
I have also just uploaded to the files section an old map of the area
which is poor quality I'm afraid, but shows the position of the Bield.
Nothing much is left of the pub these days, but when I was there, an
old guy who was out walking his dog told me that a few stones at the
edge of the road was where the Bield had stood. [When I've had a
chance to sort out the photos I took I'll post one of the stones ...]
The cottage on the old postcard is also long gone, but the site of the
pub is just down the hill you can see on the right of the photo.
Mike
Mike Williams
for me was part of an 'essay' written by women of the Wamphray Women's
Institute as part of a competition to mark the Golden Jubilee of the
WI federation, titled 'Our District History':
"Transport.
The Roman Road already mentioned which passed through Wamphray was
looked on favourably by the engineers who planned the coach road from
Carlisle to Edinburgh and according to John Paterson in his history of
Wamphray:
- 'The track of the Roman Road was pretty much adhered to. The coach
began to run in 1788. Then came livelier times for those of the
district. In the Summer and Autumn the great and the wealthy travelled
on this road in their private carriages and there were travellers on
horseback and wayfarers on foot - a never ceasing flow, day and
daily.' -
This road was also used for the general traffic of the country by
carriers' carts. We are told the service of carriers to Dumfries was
good and by 1834 a carrier made a fortnightly trip to Edinburgh. This
extra traffic on the main road of our district increased the ale-
houses and now there were four - all run by women. The husbands had
their own avocations and left the public-house concern to their
spouses, who according to the fashion of the time retained their
maiden surname. These houses were at the Bield (now completely
demolished); Annanholm (now a fully modernised cottage); Gateside
(modernised farm cottage) and New Bigging (now the shepherd's cottage
at Stenries-hill and also modernised). These "Guid Wives" brewed the
"maut yill" they sold and vied with each other as to whose product was
most wholesome. Of these ale-houses Jean O' the Bield's seems to have
been the favourite and the carriers forgathered there in great
numbers, men and horses feeding and drinking ere they took to the
brae. Tradition tells us of one toper, who when he was refused another
drink by Jean, sang:-
"The Auld Wife o' the Bield may repent till she dee,
For mony a braw penny has been spent there by me."
Jean's tombstone in Wamphray Kirkyard says "aged 93" so Jean had time
to repent had she so desired."