Monument to James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd

Introduction

The photograph on this page of Monument to James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd by Eileen Henderson as part of the Geograph project.

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Monument to James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd

Image: © Eileen Henderson Taken: 8 Sep 2007

The base of the statue bears the date 1898 and the following inscription: "Erected on the site of the cottage in which James Hogg the Ettrick Shepherd was born 1770 - died 1835" James Hogg received almost no formal education, for when his father was made bankrupt he began work, at the age of only seven, as a cowherd, later becoming a shepherd. He taught himself to read and write and began writing songs and poems. His friendship with Sir Walter Scott came about as a result of an introduction by Hogg's employer, and Hogg assisted with research for Scott's "The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border". James Hogg is best remembered for his novel, "The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner". He was greatly admired as a writer during his lifetime, and was offered a knighthood by George IV, but he refused the honour. He is less widely read nowadays, but he is said to have influenced Robert Louis Stevenson and, more recently, Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin.

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