The Mercat Cross in Cockburnspath’s market place was erected in 1503 by James IV of Scotland, on the occasion of his marriage to Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII. James gave the lands around Cockburnspath to Margaret as a dowry, to symbolise a new peace between Scotland and England. This peace was shattered ten years later by the Battle of Flodden, in which James IV was killed. The village of Cockburnspath grew around the market place and now has the distinction of being the starting point for the Southern Upland Way.
