Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Event ID 560960
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/560960
Early documents indicate that a medieval hospital once stood near Smailholm. The site of the hospital is thought to lie to the west of the modern village of Smailholm, but since no trace of the hospital has yet been identified, its exact location remains uncertain.
The medieval hospital at Smailholm was founded before 1429, when the Pope confirmed a grant of the hospital made by Archibald, Earl of Douglas and Lord Smailholm, to the Abbey of Dryburgh. As well as caring for the sick, the hospital would have provided for the old and the destitute.
A historical document lists 'Smalholm Spettal' amongst the places burned by the English during an incursion which took place in 1542. Like so many religious sites in the Borders, the hospital at Smailholm had to pay a heavy price for the hostile relations between the Scots and the English, which persisted throughout the later medieval period and beyond.
Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project
