The Scotts of Harden

Aikwood then passed first to Walter Murray of Elibank and then to his brother in law William Scott of Harden: he who, according to legend married "Muckle-mou'd Meg" of Elibank to avoid her father's gallows after an unsuccessful cattle raid. From this union was descended Sir Walter Scott, through their third son. It was however William Scott's eldest son, (another William) a supporter of the covenanting side during the civil wars that ravaged Scotland in the 17th Century, who inherited Aikwood. It remained the property of the Scotts of Harden (the family of the present Lord Polwarth) for three hundred years. At the time the name "Oakwood" began to be used in preference to the older "Aikwood". The barony of Oakwood comprised almost all the lands of the Ettrick Valley.

When the tower was abandoned as a dwelling house is not clear. The earliest graffiti is dated 1766. A plan of 1814 shows proposed alterations to a beautiful little farmhouse on the site of what became the byres: in it the tower is referred to as "the auld tower" and use of the vaults as milkhouse and pantry are annotated. James Hogg and Walter Scott, writing in the same period, refer to its dereliction. In 1835 substantial repair work was carried out.

Since the nineteenth century the tower was used mainly for agricultural purposes: the brick archway that now forms the kitchen window dates from this period, as does the hatch between the kitchen and the Hall. About a hundred years ago, Simon Linton, the tenant farmer, restored one room in an attempt to live in the tower, but dampness drove him out after one winter.

See also: 20th Century Aikwood