Review of Hawick Through Time by Alastair Redpath

Hawick Through Time book

96 pp. Illus. ISBN 978-1-4456-3915-4. Amberley Publishing,  2014. £14.99 plus post and packing. Available from Amberley Publishing, The Hill, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4EP, England.

The book has nicely illustrated card covers. It begins with an introduction to the history of Hawick of almost 2 pages. The following 93 pages comprise clear 'then and now' photographs accompanied by explanatory text, mainly of places in Hawick. There are 8 pages to do with the station and the railway with a fine photograph of the steam engine, Lanarkshire, on its way to Edinburgh in 1959. There are a few pages covering sites outside Hawick, for example Minto House, Denholm, Cavers, and Stobs Camp, the army training ground in both World Wars and a camp for German prisoners-of-war in World War I.

I wouldn't claim to know much about Hawick but I've learnt a lot about Hawick, its buildings and the surrounding countryside from reading the book.

The only drawback is that the author, Alastair Redpath, hasn't included a map of Hawick, so unless you know Hawick well, it will be difficult to understand the lie of the land. I think the book would sell much better with a map and appeal to a much larger audience.

Even so, I thoroughly recommend it and it's suitable for young and old alike. I think it should especially appeal to parents who wish to encourage their children to read. It would make a nice Christmas gift, too.

If you're not from Hawick, or you haven't been there for a long time, you can see useful maps of Hawick on the National Library's website, for example, John Wood's map of Hawick, 1824, or the 1857-58 Large Scale Town Plan of Hawick. For a scrollable Ordnance Survey map of Hawick and the surrounding countryside, see our Hawick parish page.

Hawick Through Time is currently on offer through the publisher at £13.49 including UK post and packing.