Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and

lieutenancy area Lieutenancy areas are the separate areas of the United Kingdom appointed a lord-lieutenant – a representative of the British monarch. In many cases they have similar demarcation and naming to, but are not necessarily coterminate with, the coun ...

in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of the

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

region, with most of the historic county becoming part of the lower-tier Berwickshire district. Berwickshire district was abolished in 1996, when all the districts in the Borders region merged to become the Scottish Borders

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...

. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the time of the county's formation in the twelfth century, but became part of England in 1482 after several centuries of swapping back and forth between the two kingdoms. After the loss of Berwick, Duns and

Greenlaw Greenlaw is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish situated in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills on Blackadder Water at the junction of the A697 and the A6105 in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. At the 2001 United Kingd ...

both served as county town at different periods. The low-lying part of Berwickshire between the

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

and the Lammermuirs is known as "the Merse", from an old Scots word for a floodplain, and this name is sometimes extended to the county as a whole. Inhabitants are called "Merse-men". Berwickshire borders Midlothian to the west, East Lothian to the north, the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

to the east, and Roxburghshire and the English county of Northumberland to the south.

Geography

The terrain of Berwickshire is characterised by a series of low hills and agricultural land, with a number of small towns scattered throughout the county. The Lammermuir Hills traverse the border with East Lothian; it is here that Meikle Says Law, the highest point in the county at 535 m (1,755 ft), can be found. The River Tweed forms the border with England to the south, with the exception of a small section in the vicinity of Berwick-upon-Tweed (formerly the river formed the entirety of the border out to the North Sea); other major rivers include the Eye Water,

Whiteadder Water Whiteadder Water is a river in East Lothian and Berwickshire, Scotland. It also flows for a very short distance through Northumberland before joining the River Tweed. In common with the headwaters of the Biel Water it rises on the low hillside ...

, Dye Water, Watch Water, Eden Water and Blackadder Water.

History

Between the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, the land between the rivers Forth and

came under Scottish control. The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed was made a royal burgh by

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

(reigned 1124–1153), and it would appear that the shire of Berwick, or Berwickshire, was also created during David's reign. The shire covered the town of Berwick plus a largely rural area to the north-west of it, and corresponded to the medieval

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Merse. After the town of Berwick had finally been ceded to English control in 1482, the functions of the county town (principally holding the sheriff court) were initially shared between Duns and

Lauder The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, gd, Labhdar) is a town in the Scottish Borders in the historic county of Berwickshire. On the Southern Upland Way, the burgh lies southeast of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the Lammermuir Hills. Etymo ...

, until 1596 when

was declared the county town by

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. In 1661 the county town was moved to Duns, but in 1696 it was moved back to Greenlaw. Commissioners of Supply were established for each Scottish shire in 1667. County Hall was built at Greenlaw in 1829 to serve as the courthouse and meeting place for the commissioners, replacing an earlier building on an adjoining site. The building was paid for by William Purves-Hume-Campbell of Purves Hall, near Greenlaw, who was keen for Greenlaw to retain its position as county town. However, Greenlaw remained a very small town, and Duns was clearly the larger town by the nineteenth century. In 1853 an Act of Parliament was passed allowing the courts and commissioners' meetings to be held at Duns as well as at Greenlaw. Another courthouse, known as County Buildings, was subsequently built at 8 Newtown Street in Duns in 1856.

County Council

Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland. In this it foll ...

, taking over most of the functions of the commissioners. Berwickshire County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at County Hall in Greenlaw, when it decided by 18 votes to 12 that all subsequent meetings should be held at Duns. The county council therefore based itself at the County Buildings in Duns, sharing the premises with its continuing use as a sheriff court. The county council subsequently established additional offices in various converted houses along Newtown Street. A modern extension was added to County Buildings in 1967. Greenlaw was still considered the official county town after 1890, despite the county council meeting in Duns and courts being held at both towns. An Act of Parliament in 1903 finally revoked Greenlaw's status as county town and declared Duns to be the county town for all purposes. At the time of the county council's abolition in 1975, Berwickshire contained four burghs and three districts: *

Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...

Burgh * Duns Burgh *East District * Eyemouth Burgh *

Royal Burgh *Middle District *West District

District Council

Berwickshire County Council was abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which reorganised local government across Scotland into upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Berwickshire was incorporated into the

Borders Region The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian an ...

. Borders was divided into four districts, one of which was named Berwickshire, with borders which broadly resembled those of the historic county, but excluded the parish of

Nenthorn Nenthorn is a parish and hamlet in the south of the historic county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is included in the Floors, Makerstoun, Nenthorn and Smailholm Community Council area, which also includes the paris ...

, which went to

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...

district, and the parishes of Channelkirk,

Earlston Earlston ( sco, Yerlston; gd, Dùn Airchill) is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland. Early history Earlston was originally called ''Arc ...

, Legerwood, and Mertoun, which went to

Ettrick and Lauderdale Ettrick and Lauderdale (''Eadaraig agus Srath Labhdair'' in Scottish Gaelic) was one of four local government districts in the Borders region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. History The district was created on 16 May 1975 under the Local Govern ...

district. The Berwickshire

was adjusted from being the historic county to being the new district at the same time. Berwickshire District Council was based at the former County Buildings at 8 Newtown Street in Duns, which became known as the Council Offices. The Borders region and its four district councils, including Berwickshire, were abolished in 1996, merging to form the present Scottish Borders council area. The Berwickshire lieutenancy area continues to be defined as the area of the pre-1996 district rather than the pre-1975 county. The former council offices in Duns continue to be used for some departments of Scottish Borders Council.

Political control

The first election to Berwickshire District Council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 16 May 1975. Throughout the council's existence a majority of the seats on the council were held by

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Coat of arms

The county council of Berwickshire was formed in 1890 by the

, and applied for a grant of arms the same year. The grant, by Lord Lyon King of Arms was made on 10 October. The coat of arms shows a bear chained to a wych tree, forming a pun on the name of the original county town of Berwick. Upon the abolition of Berwickshire County Council, the arms were regranted to Berwickshire District Council. When the district council was abolished the arms reverted to the Crown.

Transport

British Railways sign at the Anglo-Scottish Border

The East Coast Main Line railway line passes through the county, running roughly parallel with the coast. From the railway's opening in 1846 there were a number of small stations within Berwickshire, but they were all closed by 1964. A rebuilt

Reston railway station Reston is a railway station in the small village of Reston that serves the wider rural parish of Coldingham and nearby small town of Eyemouth in the eastern Scottish Borders council area. The station is a minor stop on the East Coast Main Li ...

opened on this stretch of line in 2022, being the only railway station within the historic county (apart from Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station which lies within the area ceded from Berwickshire to England in 1482). The

Berwickshire Railway The Duns Branch and the Berwickshire Railway together formed a through railway route from Reston, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, to St Boswells in the Scottish Borders. The line was promoted in two stages. The first was from Reston on the Edinburgh t ...

formerly serviced the county, however this closed following damage caused by a violent storm in 1948.John Thomas revised J S Paterson, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 6, Scotland, the Lowlands and the Borders'', David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1984, The nearest open stations are in Dunbar and Berwick-upon-Tweed. The A1 road runs roughly parallel to the railway and provides access to Edinburgh in the north and to the south Berwick-upon-Tweed, continuing on to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. The A68 and

A697 The A697 is a road that can be used an alternative to the A1 for those travelling between Scotland and England via the North East. Route It connects Morpeth on the A1 to the A68 at Oxton, near Edinburgh. The road runs via Wooler and Col ...

serve the towns of western Berwickshire.

Civil parishes

Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland - Berwickshire (1854)

* Abbey St Bathans * Ayton * Buncle (Bonkyl) * Cockburnspath * Coldingham * Chirnside *

* Cranshaws * Channelkirk * Duns * Eyemouth * Edrom * Eccles *

* Foulden * Fogo *

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

* Hutton * Hume *

Longformacus Longformacus ( gd, Longphort Mhacais) is a small village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is around north-west of Duns, in the Lammermuir Hills. The Dye Water runs through the village, flowing east towards its conf ...

* Langton * Ladykirk * Liberties of Berwick *

(former seat of the county Commissariat) * Legerwood *

Mordington Mordington is an agricultural parish in the extreme south-east of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders region. It is five miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed and borders Northumberland to the east, and south (where the boundary is the Whiteadder ...

* Mertoun *

*Part of Oldhamstocks, since 1891 in East LothianPrior to 1891 Oldhamstocks was partly in Berwickshire and had a detached portion at Butterdean of . The detached portion was transferred to Coldingham, while the main part of the parish is now wholly within East Lothian. See ''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland'', by Francis Groome, 2nd Edition, 1896. Article on Oldhamstocks * Polwarth * Swinton * Whitsome * Westruther

Settlements

* Abbey St Bathans * Allanton * Auchencrow * Ayton *

Birgham Birgham is a village in Berwickshire, parish of Eccles in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, near Coldstream and the River Tweed, on the A698. Birgham is close to Ednam, Kelso, Lempitlaw, ...

* Burnmouth * Chirnside * Clappers * Clintmains * Cockburnspath * Coldingham *

Cove A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...

* Cranshaws * Dryburgh * Duns *

* Eccles * Edrom * Eyemouth * Fogo * Foulden * Gavinton *

* Grantshouse *

* Horndean * Houndwood * Hume * Hutton * Ladykirk * Lamberton *

* Legerwood * Leitholm * Lennel *

* Oxton * Paxton * Polwarth * Preston * Redpath * Reston * St Abbs * Swinton * Westruther * Whitsome File:Ayton Castle - geograph.org.uk - 813849.jpg, Ayton Castle File:Burnmouth226.jpg, Burnmouth File:Cranshaws Parish Church - geograph.org.uk - 1588604.jpg, Cranshaws File:Eyemouth Bantry Photo.jpg, Eyemouth File:Humecastle01.jpg, Hume Castle

Legacy

Blackadder Water from the Lintmill Bridge

''The Berwickshire News'' is published weekly, and numerous organisations and groups have Berwickshire in their titles (i.e.: the Berwickshire Housing Association, Berwickshire Sports Council). The Berwickshire Civic Society is campaigned for road signs at the entrances to the county to have notices added saying "You are now entering the ancient county of Berwickshire", and they hold an annual ''Keep Berwickshire Tidy Campaign'', judged each April. The high school west of Duns is named Berwickshire High School, and has been open since 1896. Together with Eyemouth High School they run a rugby team under the name of Berwickshire schools. The Berwickshire Coastal Path runs from Cockburnspath to Berwick-upon-Tweed ().

References

External links

Map of Berwickshire
on Wikishire * {{authority control Former counties of Scotland Lieutenancy areas of Scotland History of the Scottish Borders Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922) Districts of Scotland Politics of the Scottish Borders