Wallace Statue

The William Wallace Statue near the grounds of the Bemersyde estate was commissioned by David Stuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan. The statue was made of red sandstone by John Smith of Darnick and was erected in 1814. It stands 31 feet high and depicts Wallace looking over the River Tweed. In 1991, the William Wallace Trust, which owns the statue and surrounding land and car park, raised funds for a renovation which was carried out by Bob Heath and Graciella Glenn Ainsworth.

Bemersyde was home of Earl Haig, who in 1921 noticed some French widows selling silk poppies to raise funds for disabled ex-servicemen. The Remembrance Sunday poppy tradition arose from this, which was inspired by Lt Col John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Field”.