‘Border Reiver’ families sought
Hundreds of years after they spilled their blood in a series of vicious raids and reprisals, the Border Reiver clans are being asked to do it all again.
University researchers are seeking people with ‘Border Reiver’ surnames, like Armstrong, Fenwick, Burn or Robson, to donate blood samples for a groundbreaking project which aims to find out if your surname signals your genetic makeup.
The term Border Reivers describes a number of English and Scottish families who fought a seemingly endless series of bloody confrontations from the 13th Century to the mid 17th Century.
Now researchers from the Institute of Human Genetics are aiming to find the descendants of these notorious families for the Northern England element of a national project called People of the British Isles (PoBI).
They hope to collect up to 600 blood samples in total for scientific analysis and will be looking for common genetic patterns and the presence of certain genes, such as those that determine hair colour.
Potential volunteers are being asked to attend the Northumberland and Border History Fair in Hexham on December 2 to donate blood samples*.
Volunteers should be able to trace all four of their grandparents to the same geographical area in Northumberland, Northern Cumbria, County Durham and the Scottish Borders. All volunteers who fit these criteria can participate, however, the study team will be particularly interested to hear from people who have a 'Border Reiver' surname by birth or a parent with the surname.
One person who has already donated blood is Professor John Burn (pictured) head of the Institute of Genetics, who comes from a long line of tenant farmers in County Durham.
Project leader, Dr Caroline Relton, said: “We believe there are fascinating stories to be told about the Border Reivers’ genetic legacy and we hope to make many discoveries using thorough scientific analysis that has never been done before. “
Some early findings of the People of the British Isles project will be featured in a TV series to be shown on Channel Four in the New Year.
* Potential volunteers welcome to attend the Northumberland and Border History Fair from 10am-4pm at the Wentworth Leisure Centre in Hexham on Saturday, December 2. More information from Dr Alix Groom, 0191 241 8837 or email alix.groom@ncl.ac.uk
Web link to further information:
published on: 28th November 2006