Remember Flodden? The Bore Stone Plaque whispers of Scotland’s past. It stands here on Morningside Road. The Bore Stone Plaque marks a spot of legend. This brownish-red stone might appear ordinary. But it holds a disputed story.
King James IV may have gathered his army here in 1513. They were preparing for the Battle of Flodden. The plaque says the Royal Standard was pitched into this very stone. This happened when the Scottish army assembled. After that, the stone simply lay in a field.
In 1852, Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes placed the rock here. He put it on a pedestal. But the stone’s history is not certain. Some say King James IV left for battle before the standards were ready. Other records suggest the army gathered elsewhere. An analysis in 1942 even proposed it was a cist cover. A cist is a small stone coffin.
Despite doubts, the Bore Stone is a local landmark. It is also a war memorial. In 2013, people raised money to restore the plaque. The Bore Stone stands less than five feet tall. It marks history and mystery. The plaque below tells a tale. It speaks of the Royal Standard. It mentions the Battle of Flodden. The stone was built into a wall. It was near this spot. Sir John Stuart Forbes placed it here in 1852.
The inscription includes lines from Marmion. “Highest and midmost was descried. The Royal Banner floating wide”. The staff was a pine tree. It was strong and straight. It pitched deeply in a massive stone. The stone is still in memory shown. Yet it bent beneath the standard’s weight.
The Bore Stone is a slab of coarse red freestone. Its surfaces are badly weathered. Some think its cup-shaped hollows are not artificial. The Royal Standard was last pitched here. This was for the muster of the Scottish army. It happened before the Battle of Flodden in 1513.
However, this identification may be incorrect. Accounts show James IV set out before the standards were ready. The rendezvous was Ellem in the Lammermoors. It was not the Burgh Muir of Edinburgh.
Standing before the Bore Stone Plaque, we see a reminder. History is complex. Legends endure. The stone remains. It sits at the end of a wall. It divides Chalmers Church and a residence. It is easily visible on Morningside Road. The Bore Stone Plaque connects us to a past. It is a past filled with battles and questions.