[2] In July 1544, during the war now known as the Rough Wooing, Bedrule and 15 or 16 other steads or farms were burnt by Master Clefforth and English soldiers with men from Tynedale and Redesdale.

The raiding party took 300 cattle and 600 sheep from the Rule valley and captured three field cannon called "basses" from the Laird of Ferniehirst.

Lord Hertford reported that "I sent forth a good band to the number of 1500 light horsemen in the leading of me [and] Sir Robert Bowes, with from 5 a.m. till 3 p.m., forayed along the waters of Tyvyote and Rowle, 6 or 7 miles beyond Jedburgh, and burnt 14 or 15 towns and a great quantity of all kinds of corn".

[9] Elizabeth I and her ministers claimed that this invasion was not an intervention of behalf of the infant James VI against Mary, Queen of Scots, but only a raid to punish and capture English border outlaws and fugitives and those who received them.

[13] Soon after, the Turnbulls ransacked the house of Robert Ker of Woodhead at Ancrum and carried off his household goods, clothes, and farmstock.

[15] Andrew Turnbull of Bedrule was involved in the Raid of the Redeswire in 1575, and Hunsdon requested he be sent into England as a pledge or hostage for the English prisoners held by Regent Morton at Dalkeith Palace.

[16] During the struggle at Redeswire, his companion, Robert Shafto, an English follower of the rebel Earl of Northumberland, was shot dead.

[19] Bedrule Castle was built atop a partially artificial mound, which provided it an advantageous defensive position with a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside.

[19] When the castle was built in the 13th century by the Comyn family, it was likely surrounded by an oval-shaped curtain wall, which would have also contained houses and smaller enclosures.

The excavations were undertaken to improve understanding of the English raid that took place in 1545 following the defeat at the Battle of Ancrum and its aftermath.

The location and shape of the feature are consistent with the eastern portion of Castle's enclosure earthwork, but there is no clear indication of the potential/predicted northeastern tower.

It is possible that this resistance is a result of rubble spreads or structural remains, but it is uncertain if these would have been contemporary to the Castle or part of an earlier earthwork.

In the southern part of the survey area a series of linear trends were detected, possibly indicating the presence of drainage features or trackways.

These excavations were undertaken as part of the Twelve Towers of Rule project, which has been ongoing since 2020 through Archaeology Scotland's Adopt-a-Momument scheme.

Excavations in Trench 1 revealed a series of linear arrangements of stones in the northeast and northwest, which are possibly the remains of tumbled walls.

Trench 2 was excavated in 2021 and focused on the southwest corner of a square shaped earthwork feature, which archaeologist generally interpret as being the remains of the Castle's keep.

A rough cobbled surface overlaid by a layer of gravel clay was uncovered, which may be the remains of the entryway into a large tower.