Not every historic structure was built to dominate the landscape. Some were built to belong to it. High above the working farmyard at Shepherds’ Draw, a small detached building rests on elevated ground overlooking the Yarrow Valley.
Prospective site — not yet procured
The Yarrow Valley has long been shaped by agriculture. For centuries, its rolling hills, open grazing grounds, and scattered farmsteads supported a way of life built around livestock, seasonal rhythms, and careful stewardship of the land. Shepherds’ Draw formed part of that landscape long before modern farming practices emerged.
The history of Shepherds’ Draw extends beyond farming alone. Above the farm once stood the old Tower of Catslack, a structure now lost to time but preserved in local memory and historical accounts.
By the mid-nineteenth century, Shepherds’ Draw had become a substantial agricultural operation. Census records from 1861 describe a farm of approximately seven hundred acres employing multiple workers and supporting significant agricultural production. The property operated within the larger Buccleuch estate system, where tenant farming relationships often extended across generations.
