The society was founded in 1909/1910 and arranged lectures, field days and occasional archaeological digs. The lectures and field days were cancelled during the war but a dig went ahead in 1915.
The dig was an excavation near Gilnockie Tower, five miles from Langholm, to see if any evidence could be found for an earlier tower that had been used by Johnnie Armstrong, a notorious border reiver (raider).
It was undertaken by William Hyslop, a contractor, who found some stones from a building but they were thought to be too modern to have belonged to Johnnie Armstrong’s tower which was constructed in around 1510 and was known as Hollows Tower. It was burned down in 1528 by Sir Christopher Dacre, Warden of the English West Marches, and was subsequently rebuilt twice.
A field day in June 1913 included visits to Wauchope churchyard and some ancient remains at Caulfield, near Becks farm. The society had recently constructed some railings to enclose some artefacts from the pre-Reformation church at Wauchope. The Caulfied visit was followed by a tea provided by Becks farmers John and Margaret Fleming.
Lectures from the April 1913 – March 1914 year are listed below, given in the Eskdale Temperance Hotel hall and accompanied by limelight presentations:
| Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|
| The Ruthwell Cross | Rev John Dinwiddie, Ruthwell parish minister |
| The Spacious Times of Queen Elizabeth | William Elliot, Carlisle, Education Committee for the County of Cumberland |
| The Ancient Town of Whitby and its Roman Remains | Rev John Seaton, Episcopal Chapel |
| A Week in the Shakespeare Country | John Sewell, President of the Carlisle Literary and Scientific Society |
In 1914, the society also had two projects which were put on hold due to financial constraints:
- A memorial to Thomas Telford (1757-1834), engineer. This was not completed until 1928, with financial assistance from the Institution of Civil Engineers, of which Telford was the first president. The memorial was unveiled by the 7th Duke of Buccleuch (on the left in the photo below), the ICE president Ernest Trench and the former ICE president Frederick Palmer. It was constructed by David Beattie, Carlisle.
- Renovation of a memorial for Andrew Hislop (1668-1685). Hislop was a covenanter who was shot near Langholm at the age of 17 during ‘the Killing Time‘. The Archaeological Society commissioned its renovation in the late 1920s, implemented by David Beattie, Carlisle.
The society had a substantial number of officers and trustees, including various of the town’s prominent people:
- Patron: John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch; he succeeded his late father who died in November 1914.
- Honorary president: Arthur Bell, woollen mill manufacturer.
- Honorary vice-presidents:
- Rev David Maxwell, Broomholm, landowner.
- Rev James Buchanan, Church of Scotland minister.
- John Milne Home, the Duke of Buccleuch’s factor (land agent).
- Clement Armstrong, FSA (Scot)*, coal merchant.
- President: Clement Armstrong.
- Vice-president: Robert Hamilton, school rector.
- Secretary: Rev George Orr, minister of North UF Church.
- Treasurer: Arthur Laidlaw, tweed designer.
- Committee: seven members.
- Trustees: Arthur Bell; Robert Hamilton; Robert Paisley, tanner; William Hyslop, builder; Rev James Macdonald, minister of South UF Church.
* FSAScot: Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland