Common Riding

Common Riding (plural Common Ridings)

1. Alternative form of common riding
   • 1913, Andrew Lang, John Lang, Highways and Byways in the Border, page 270:

     The great day of the whole year in Selkirk is that of the Common Riding, the Riding of the Marches of the town's property.

   • 2007, Michael Lynch, The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, page 507:

     There are four genuine or 'real' Common Ridings in the Borders: Selkirk Common Riding, with its 'Casting the Colours' ceremony, dates from the early 16th century; Harwick Common Riding was first recorded in 1640; Langholm Common Riding, which Hugh MacDiarmid loved to attend, dates from 1816, although the Langholm marches were perambulated before then; finally, Lauder Common Riding, like many other traditional customs, lapsed in the 19th century but was revived in 1911 to commemorate the coronation of George V.

   • 2014, Peter Ross, Daunderlust: Dispatches from Unreported Scotland:

     It is the duty of the band to waken Hawick and to alert its folk, known as Teries, that today is the Common Riding, the loudest, proudest day in the town's calendar.