Lammas Towers

Until about the middle of the eighteenth century the cowherds of Lothian kept Lammas with towers. Each band of herds built a tower of sods, sometimes of stone, in a conspicuous place, starting about a month before and leaving a hole at the top for a flag staff, and practised all summer on their tooting horns. On Lammas morning they marched out with a captain and colours made from a borrowed table napkin trimmed with ribbons, breakfasted together, and often ended with a foot race for a small prize. Rival bands tried to knock down each other’s towers, which led to fights in which blood was sometimes spilt.