Adam Scott of Tushielaw: The Prince of Thieves of the Scottish Borders

Tushielaw Tower: Ruins of Power

The ruins of Tushielaw Tower still cling to the hillside, half-consumed by nature but echoing with violent memories. Among the trees and toppled stonework lie signs of outbuildings and the faint outlines of a once-thriving (if lawless) compound.

Local legend tells us that Adam Scott hung his enemies from a single great tree beside the tower. Today, the trees around the ruins are too young to match that tale — but a large hollow in the ground may mark where the legendary gallows tree once stood.

And if that’s true… hundreds of men may have died on this very spot.

Enter: King James V

In 1530, the teenage King James V of Scotland, weary of lawlessness in the Borders, took matters into his own hands. With an army of over 8,000 men, he marched into the south, determined to crush the Reivers who challenged royal authority.

On his hit list? Adam Scott of Tushielaw.

The Execution

There are two versions of what happened next:

1. The Local Legend
   James caught Adam Scott at Tushielaw and had him hanged from his own tree as a warning to the Borders.

2. The Official Record
   More likely, Adam Scott was arrested and taken to Edinburgh, where he was beheaded in the Market Square, his execution recorded in official documents.

Either way, the result was the same — the reign of the Prince of Thieves came to a bloody end.

Ghosts in the Valley

Even on a bright summer day, there’s something chilling about Tushielaw. The silence here is heavy — as though the ghosts of Adam Scott and his countless victims still linger among the stones.

From this lonely tower, he ruled with fear. But in the end, he died by the same sword he had so often drawn.

A Chapter in the King’s Bloody Campaign

Adam Scott wasn’t the only victim of James V’s 1530 campaign. The king’s march also claimed the life of Johnny Armstrong of Gilnockie, the so-called King of the Border Reivers, in a now-infamous act of royal treachery.