Horses of Anton's Hill

We've been learning about the significance of horses in the history of the Scottish Borders region this week, with a charming collection of equestrian themed watercolours by members of the Hunter family of Anton's Hill near Leitholm in rural Berwickshire. The open and rugged rural landscape meant that working horses, such as native Clydesdale and Highland ponies, were put to a variety of uses, and the historical threat of invasion in this border area meant that they played an important role in defence of the region. 'Common ridings' are a tradition in Border towns to this day, celebrating and commemorating all things equestrian.

The Hunter family of Anton's Hill had deep ancestral roots in the Scottish Borders, Berwickshire, Northumberland and Co Durham areas. Matthew Dysart Hunter (1803–1869), inherited Anton's Hill House—designed in the 1830s by the leading Scottish architect William Burns—from his mother, Jean Dickson. Matthew's daughters, Isabella and Lucy, painted these watercolours, which charmingly capture the way in which these wild and working horses also seem to be embedded in domestic family life and the Romantic imagination.

Image 6) Anton's Hill House © Records of Historic Scotland and predecessors, Edinburgh, Scotland

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