Walter Scott Mural

This mural of Walter Scott is part of a series of artworks in Galashiels linked to the Build a Better Gala project funded by South of Scotland Enterprise and Scottish Borders Council. Local artists and members of the community were consulted to help with the design and London based Global Street Art hand painted the vibrant mural in August 2022. It was painted onto the gable end of a building on Bank Close and is very striking, using just black and white paint.

Walter Scott had strong links with the town of Galashiels after he set up home in the borders in 1804. He was a man of many talents but was best known for being a writer, poet and historian who wrote a number of classic novels including Waverley and Rob Roy in the early 1800s. At just two years old he contracted Polio and was sent to recuperate in the Scottish Borders with his extended family. There he was introduced to stories and poems by his aunt, Jenny Scott, which inspired a life long love of words and later a love of the Scottish borders.

After studying and living in Edinburgh, Walter Scott returned to the borders where he was truly happiest and moved to a country house near Selkirk with his wife. When the lease on this house ended in 1811, he bought a farm close to Melrose and renamed it Abbotsford House which became a very grand and beautiful home for his family. The historic country house still stands today just 2 miles from Galashiels and is open to the public. Visit the website for more details: Abbotsford House. Because of the house's proximity to Galashiels, Scott became a frequent visitor to the town.

As well as enjoying a career in writing, Scott served as the Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire from 1799 until 1832, often conducting legal business and visiting local lawyers in Galashiels. Scott sat as judge in the Selkirk Courthouse and was affectionately known by locals as The Shirra. He assisted on local criminal cases, ranging from petty thefts and property disputes to poaching. One of his most famous friendships began when he spared a poacher, Tom Purdie, whom he eventually hired as his woodman and right-hand man at Abbotsford. Scott also had a very close relationship with the manufacturers and weavers of Galashiels. He famously wore Shepherd's Tartan trousers in London, which became highly fashionable and boosted the Galashiels textile mills. The tartan was a black and white check which influenced the colours on the Bank Close mural.

This is worth a quick stop if you're in the area and there is plenty to see in Galashiels and the surrounding area too. Don't forget to wear your Shepherd's Tartan.