The name of the parish (Bedrule) as well as that of the stream near which it is situated, appears to be of Gaelic origin. From the modern spelling, one might be led to suppose that the village is so called, from its being in the hollow or what once formed the channel of the river. But neither the position of the village, nor the old spelling, will warrant this conclusion. It was formerly written Bedderull, Bedderoull, and Badroull, and the inhabitants still (1837) pronounce it as if written Betherule.
Rule, or more properly Roull, is composed of two Gaelic words, and has not reference to or connection with St. Regulus – Ruchd-Thuil, pronounced as if written Ruch-oul, contracted into Roull, signifying the rumbling-noised river, - meaning very description of the stream, which, especially near the village, and till near its confluence with the Teviot, runs with a hoarse sound, over a very rough rocky channel composed of boulders and fragments of freestone rock, loosened by the action of the stream, through a long course of ages. Bad in Gaelic signifies a tuft of threes of ordinary extent, separated from a large neighbouring wood, or a collection of houses in a spot distinguished by its aptitude for building, compared with the surrounding localities, a meaning peculiarly applicable to the situation both of the old and new villages.
Thus the whole word will be Bad-Ruchail pronounced by a true Celt very nearly as the vulgar Betherull. The true orthography then seems to be Badroull, as it is found in the ancient distich,
“And Auld Badroull had on his Jack,
Wi’ a’ the Turnbulls at his back.”
And the name of the village in Gaelic means the village by the roaring stream. - Rev. Archibald Craig, parish minister 1837
Download Rev. Archibald Craig's complete 1837 report about Bedrule Parish (Bedrule_1837.pdf 3.8Mb)