Stow of Wedale, or more often Stow, is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland (historically in Midlothian), 7 mi north of Galashiels. In the 2011 Census the population was 718. It is served by Stow railway station.

The name

The name Stow is an Old English word stōw meaning 'holy place' or 'meeting place', whilst Wedale is probably derived from the words wēoh (or wīg) meaning 'shrine' and dæl meaning 'valley'.

History

There has been a church at Stow since the 7th century, but the earliest example still visible today was built in the late 15th century on the site of the Church of St Mary which was consecrated on 3 November 1242. The church used today, St Mary of Wedale, was built in 1876 and features a 140-foot-high clock tower. A mile or so north of Stow lies the clachan of Torquhan, likely in the 13th century to have been one of the last places where the Brittonic language Cumbric was finally replaced by English. Our Lady's Well is situated 1 mi south of the village and was rebuilt in 2000. A rare example of a packhorse bridge, built in the 1650s, can be found in Stow. Stow of Wedale Town Hall was completed in 1857. In 1870, James Thin purchased a plot of land in the village and had a house built which was completed in 1873 and was named Ashlea. This house is still a private residence but is not owned by the Thin family.

Famous residents

Gallery

Sources