SHRUMPTON’S CAVE

When the authors of ‘Second to None: A History of Coldstream’ were researching the book, they came across an article in the ‘Berwickshire Advertiser’ referring to the Shrumpton’s Cave, perceived to be at the foot of the Braeheads and under the cement and stone walls. The following text can be found in the book, about the risk of the Braeheads collapsing: Problems arose again in 1896 when the Braeheads were deemed to be in a dangerous condition and the path along the Nuns’’ Walk was barricaded at both ends. Problems seem to have persisted on a regular basis and the records of 1928 show similar subsidence. The Burgh Surveyor’s time (John Elliot) was tied up in finding a solution and one part of the landslide was at the mouth of the cave, known locally as ‘Shrumpton’s Cave’. The authors have been asking around about this cave and nobody seems to have known about which led to doubts about the newspaper article. However, a list of occupants of Duke Street sometime in the 1800s, but possibly the early part of the 1900s, has revealed a Shrimpton family of James, Ellen, James, Helen and Georgina Brown. The Shrimpton’s are not listed in Coldstream street plan of 1862, they cannot be found yet in censuses and are not buried in Lennel Cemetery. We will try and identify which year the list is about. Meantime, if anybody knows about the Shrimptons, then please let us know. Apologies are made to the newspaper for doubting their article on Shrumpton’s Cave.