Hail to Priorsford
Lady Deborah Stewartby
Tuesday, 13th October 2026
Eastgate Theatre, Peebles, 7.30 p.m.
Lady Stewartby will talk about Anna Buchan, sister to the novelist John Buchan.
She lived all her life in Peebles and, with her brother Walter, Town Clerk of Peebles, contributed a huge amount to the life of the town until her death in 1947. She was no mean novelist herself and wrote eleven novels, three of which are about the town of Peebles: Priorsford (the name she used for Peebles), Penny Plain and Pink Sugar. They are written under the pseudonym O. Douglas because she did not want to be thought of as riding on her brother’s coat tails. Described by some as ‘domestic’ fiction, there is a strong understanding of life in a small town, particularly during war time.
Anna and her brother Walter were founder members of the Tweeddale Society and Lady Stewartby is delighted to be able to tell today’s Society more about this remarkable woman, still (just) remembered by some in Peebles.
Image by kind permission of The John Buchan Story
Deborah Stewartby, born a Buchan, is the granddaughter of John Buchan. For twenty five years, she lived in the farmhouse at Broughton that was the home of Anna Buchan’s mother. Following the death of her husband, Lord Stewartby, she moved South to be nearer her children.
She is Vice-President of the Tweeddale Society and is a founder trustee of The John Buchan Story in Peebles, where she is also a volunteer. Among other things, she has served as a Justice of the Peace, a member of the Childrens’ Hearings Panel, and a member of the Directors’ Circle of Scottish Ballet.
© Chrysoulla Photography
