Editing Innerleithen (section)

==History==
The area occupied by the town has been inhabited since pre-Roman times. The remains of an Iron Age palisaded settlement, with seven circular houses are visible on the summit of Caerlee Hill. This is a scheduled Ancient Monument.<ref>Peebleshire vol.1 item 214 by RCAHMS</ref> Ditchworks are also visible on the hill of Windy Knowe and, whilst there is some local speculation that these belong to an unusual round Roman hill fort, they are in fact typical of an indigenous [[Iron Age]] hill fort. Crop marks from aerial photographs of the 1950s suggest the existence of a semi-permanent Roman marching camp on the flood plain by the [[river Tweed]] at Toll Wood (near Traquair) and at nearby Eshiels.

The town is said to have been founded by an itinerant pilgrim monk called [[St. Ronan]] in A.D.737, who came to Innerleithen via the River Tweed in a [[coracle]]. Monks would certainly have travelled the natural route of the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] and Tweed valleys on their way between the religious centres of [[Iona]] and [[Lindisfarne|Holy Island]]. A Celtic stone carved with cup and rings/channels, known as the Runic Cross (although there are neither runes on it, nor any evidence that it was a cross shaft) was found on the slopes of the Leithen valley suggesting that a church existed during the [[Middle Ages|Early Middle Ages]]. The stone can be viewed in the courtyard of the parish church on Leithen Road.
[[File:Saint Ronan's Wells, Innerleithen.JPG|thumb|200px|left|Saint Ronan's Wells.]]
In the local legend of the town's founding "St. Ronan Cleik't the Deil by the hind leg and banished him", possibly a metaphor for the monks bringing Christian learning back into these regions.

The legend was actually formalised by [[Walter Scott|Sir Walter Scott]] and was later instigated in a town festival called "The [[Cleikum]] Ceremonies" in 1901. This was seen as a way to prevent the legends and folktales of the region from dying out. Scott wrote about the town in his 1824 novel ''[[St. Ronan's Well]]''.

The Ceremonies continue to this day as part of St. Ronans [[Borders Games]], also known as 'Games Week' (although, in reality, this is a 10-day-long festival). The Border Games date from 1827 and are the oldest organised sports meeting in Scotland. These happen in the first and second week in July and draw significant local and tourist participation.

Accounts of Innerleithen date from the 12th century, when it was recorded as "Inverlethane". It is said that a son of King [[Malcolm IV of Scotland]] (who was staying at [[Traquair House]] on a hunting trip), drowned accidentally in a deep pool at the confluence of the rivers Leithen and Tweed. The body was recovered by locals and taken to the church, in recognition of which the King bestowed the right of sanctuary to the land. The pool where the drowning is alleged to have taken place is still known locally as "The Droont Pool". However, it should be borne in mind that Malcolm IV is reported to have died childless at the age of twenty five, so the tale is questionable.

Later written accounts of the town date from the 15th century when it is referred to as "Henderleithen", and at this point it is recorded as a hamlet within the Parish of Traquair, which with its major baronial house was centre of the Parish.

The industrial revolution and wool milling saw Innerleithen outgrow Traquair and become the larger village.  Innerleithen's population rose from 1130 (1861 census) to its current level of over 2500. At one point it had five significant wool mills (or [[Hosiery|hosieries]]). Of these, only one, Caerlee Mills remained with a reduced workforce of 33 after its owners JJ & HB Cashmere went into administration in 2010, finally closing in April 2013.

The industries which have supplanted the wool industry and allowed the town to keep growing have been primarily tourism, of which Mountain Biking plays a huge part, and secondly, timber and forestry. Additionally, a significant proportion of the population now commutes to work, including to [[Edinburgh]] some 30 miles north.
The town has a football team, [[Vale of Leithen F.C.|Vale of Leithen]], who were established in 1891 and play in the [[East of Scotland Football League]]. They play their games at the town's Victoria Park.