Smailholm Tower belonged to the Scott family, and lay derelict at the end of the 18th century. Sir Walter Scott used to stay at the nearby Sandyknowe Farm, owned by his uncle, as a child. Later, he persuaded his patron the Duke of Buccleuch to restore the tower. The price he paid was a poem, The Eve of St John, set with Smailholm as its location. It is a ghostly and dramatic tale in the Gothic tradition which Scott loved. Today, the Tower houses an exhibit devoted to the ballads and legends of the Borders.
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