Tannage Close is named after the tanning pools once located at the foot of the vennel. Situated between 61 and 63 High Street, it was first developed around 1800 by John and Walter Wilson, who operated the tannage business. A sketch of the close, commissioned in 1812 for Walter Scott’s ‘Border Antiquities’, is among the earliest views of the town. It was formerly called Ewen’s Court, after the skinner/tanner Andrew Ewen, who later moved his business to Slitrig Crescent in the 1820s. His old premises served as the southern boundary of the Little Haugh until 1829.
During the 19th century, Tannage Close became very crowded and played host to a range of trades and organisations – from Andrew Boyes’ shoemaking shop, Thomas Scott’s private school, to George Milligan’s cabinet making studio and joinery. George later moved to the High Street and his shop now the site of the Liberal Club building. By 1837, Ewen’s Court had become known as Moncrieff’s Close, after a prominent local resident. The 1858 Ordnance Survey map of Hawick later shows a split in the vennel, named Moncrieff’s at the top end, and Tannage Close at the bottom.
Tannage Closeis best known as the site of A. & J. Guthrie Motor Engineers and the family’s car showroom. The business was founded by Hawick motorcycling legend Jimmie Guthrie’s father, James (also Jimmie), who in 1909 became one of the first people in the Borders to own a motorcycle. After WWI, the close was refurbished and several buildings demolished to expand the garage. Jimmie went into partnership with his brother Archie and the pair established a successful company, which closed only in 1989. The 1990s brought further redevelopment, whilst a plaque commemorating the Guthrie Garage was unveiled in 2011 by Hawick Archaeological Society.
Photo: Hawick Archaeological Society
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