Braw Lads Gathering, Ceremonial
Galashiels, UK. 29 June 2019.
Braw Lads Gathering, Ceremonial
Ceremonial Day, sees Braw Lad Robbie Lowrie and Braw Lass Nicola Laing along with the four supporting principals Bearer of the Sod Greg Kelly, Bearer of the Red Roses Alex Mundell, Bearer of the Stone Greg Robertson, Bearer of the White Roses Amy Thomson. Undertake the Ceremonial ride out .
Instituted in 1930, the Braw Lads Gathering is in many ways a revival of the Midsummer Fair. The ceremonies are based on the events in the history of Galashiels. 1. The dispersal in 1337 of a band of marauding Englishmen at a spot known as the Englishmen’s Syke near where the Raid Stane is now positioned.
2. The granting by King James IV as a gift to his bride-to-be in 1503 of the lands of Ettrick Forest, then in the possession of the Crown, preliminary to his marriage to Princess Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, which marriage led to the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England one hundred years later, an event symbolised by the handing over of earth and stone of the Forest - the Act of Sasine - which took place near the tower and manor of Galashiels.
3. The granting of a Charter as Burgh of Barony to the people of Galashiels by Sir James Pringle of Gala in 1599, thereby enabling the holding of an annual Fair and establishing the identity of the town as an independent unit.
4. The Act of Homage at the War Memorial in recognition of the Sacrifices of the peoples of Galashiels in the Great War of 1914-18 and in deepest respect for the fallen.
The ceremonies have changed little over the years, an indication as to how well the foundations of the gathering were laid in 1930.
(Credit: Rob Gray / Alamy Live News )