In this chapter Sir Robert Carey’s Middle March Wardenship of 1598-1603 will be examined, in an attempt to assess the effectiveness of his rule. This will be achieved by looking at the main events which occurred during his time as Warden, and then relating Carey’s actions to the laws covered in the previous chapter. When […]

The geography of the Borders between England and Scotland is dominated by the bleak rolling hills of the Cheviots. The immediate surrounding area is varied though often no less bleak in its appearance. Consisting of salt marshes, flowing rivers, such as the Tyne, and rocky outcrops, to the flat planes of Solway Moss. It is a land that under normal circumstances would produce a hard resilient people. From the thirteenth through to the early seventeenth century, this geography may have hardened the people, but the politics of the two countries honed this toughness to a fine edge.