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Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the
Scottish Borders 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 Lothi ...
with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile industry. Galashiels is the location of
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
's School of Textiles and Design.


Location

Galashiels is south of Edinburgh and north of
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
on the
A7 road A7, A.7, A 7, A07 or A-7 may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * A7, the A dominant seventh chord used in many rock songs, see dominant seventh chord * A (musical note) * ''A7'' (mixtape), by SCH, 2015 * Avenged Sevenfold, a hard rock/met ...
. Gala lies on the border between the historic counties of
Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...
and Selkirkshire, on the Gala Water river.


History

To the west of the town there is an ancient earthwork known as the Picts' Work Ditch or
Catrail The Catrail is a linear earthwork in Roxburghshire, southern Scotland. It runs from Robert's Linn (), a burn (stream) flowing into the Slitrig Water, westward and north-westward to the head of the Dean Burn (), a tributary of the Borthwick Water ...
. It extends many miles south and its height and width vary. There is no agreement about the purpose of the earthwork. There is another ancient site on the north-western edge of the town, at Torwoodlee, an Iron Age hill fort, with a later
broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy. Origin ...
known as Torwoodlee Broch built in the western quarter of the hill fort, and overlapping some of the defensive ditches of the original fort. The Romans destroyed the broch in 140 CE, soon after it was completed. The town's coat of arms shows two foxes reaching up to eat plums from a tree, and the motto is ''Sour Plums'' pronounced in Scots as soor plooms. This is a reference to an incident in 1337 when a raiding party of English soldiers were picking wild plums close to the town and were caught by Scots who came across them by chance and slaughtered them all. On a hillside to the north of the town,
Buckholm Buckholm is a farm near to the A7, in the Scottish Borders, Galashiels area of Scotland. Places nearby include Abbotsford, the Bow Castle Broch, Clovenfords, Darnick, Eildon, the Gala Water, the Lugate Water, and Stow. Buckholm Tower was b ...
Tower is a prominent structure that dates back to 1582 and replaced an earlier tower built on the same site but destroyed around 1570. In 1599 Galashiels received its Burgh Charter, an event celebrated every summer since the 1930s by the "Braw Lads’ Gathering", with riders on horseback parading through the town. Galashiels Burgh Chambers were designed in the Scottish Renaissance style and completed in 1867. The Paton Street drill hall was completed in the late 19th century. Galashiels' population grew fast through the textile trade with several mills. A connection with the town's mill history, the Mill Lade, still links the town from near the site of mills at Wheatlands Road, to Netherdale, via Wilderhaugh, Bank Street, the Fountain and next to the Tesco/retail development Street.


Governance

Local government services for Galashiels are provided by Scottish Borders Council. There is also a community council covering the town. Galashiels was designated a
burgh of barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town (burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...
in 1599 and later became a
police burgh A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975. The 1833 act The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Wm IV c.46). This ...
by 1868. Galashiels Burgh Chambers on Albert Place was built in 1867. When elected county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, burghs which met certain criteria were excluded from the area under the control of the county councils. There was disagreement between Galashiels and Selkirkshire County Council as to whether these criteria applied to Galashiels. The case went to court, and the
Scottish Supreme Court The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, a ...
found that Galashiels was entirely responsible for its own affairs and should neither be represented on nor taxed by Selkirkshire County Council. Further local government reform in 1930 brought the burgh of Galashiels within the area controlled by the county council, with the town being reclassified as a
small burgh Small burghs were units of local government in Scotland created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 in 1930. The Act reclassified existing burghs into two classes, large and small burghs. While large burghs became largely independent of th ...
, ceding most of its functions to the county council. In 1975 local government across Scotland was reformed under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...
. The burghs and counties were abolished as administrative areas, replaced with a two-tier system of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Galashiels therefore became part of the Ettrick and Lauderdale district within the Borders region. Ettrick and Lauderdale District Council used Galashiels Burgh Chambers as its headquarters. Further local government reform in 1996 abolished the regions and districts, since when Galashiels has been administered by Scottish Borders Council.


In culture

Robert Burns wrote two poems about Galashiels, "Sae Fair Her Hair" and "Braw Lads". The latter is sung by some of the townsfolk each year at the Braw Lads Gathering. Sir Walter Scott built his home, Abbotsford, just across the River Tweed from Galashiels. The Sir Walter Scott Way, a long-distance path from Moffat to
Cockburnspath Cockburnspath ( ; sco, Co’path) is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It lies near the North Sea coast between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh. It is at the eastern extremity of the Southern Upland Way a long-distance footpa ...
, passes through Galashiels. There is some largely good-hearted rivalry between some of the Galashiels townsfolk and those of other border towns, particularly Hawick, the next largest town in the Scottish Borders. Galashiels' citizens often refer to their rival as ''dirty Hawick'' while the 'Teries' retort that Galashiels's residents are ''pail merks'', supposedly because their town was the last to be plumbed into the mains water system and so residents had to rely on buckets as toilets. Galashiels was also home to the author of the famous Scottish song, "
Coulters Candy "Coulter's Candy", also known as "Ally Bally" or "Ally Bally Bee, is a Scots folk song. It was written by a former Galashiels weaver, Robert Coltart (1832–1880). The song was an advertising jingle for the aniseed-flavoured confectionery tha ...
". Robert Coltart was a weaver in the town, but also made confectionery in nearby Melrose. The song was created as an advertisement, and hence was renamed as "Sugar Candy" when played by the BBC. The song is possibly better known by the first line of its chorus - "Ally, bally, ally bally bee". Coltart died in 1890. A statue of Coltart now stands in the Market Square. The 1985
Marillion Marillion are a British rock music, rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becomin ...
hit single
Kayleigh "Kayleigh" is a song by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It was released as the first single from the concept album '' Misplaced Childhood''. It was the band's most successful single in the UK, where it peaked at number-two an ...
was partially inspired by events that took place in Galashiels as the band's lead singer Fish spent some time in the town in his earlier years. In 2012 the Scottish Borders Council undertook work to revamp the Market Square with lyrics of the song inscribed into the paving slabs. Fish officially reopened the square on completion later that year. A new £6.7m
Great Tapestry of Scotland The Great Tapestry of Scotland is one of the world's largest community arts projects, hand stitched by 1,000 people from across Scotland. It is made up of 160 linen panels and 300 miles of wool – enough to stretch the entire length of Scotland ...
Centre opened in Galashiels on 21 August 2021 to house one of the world’s largest tapestries and community arts projects. The Great Tapestry of Scotland was hand stitched by over 1,000 people across Scotland and had been taken for display around the country throughout its six-years' creation, the original brainchild of Edinburgh-born author Alexander McCall Smith, whose vision it was to create a tapestry telling the history of Scotland. The new purpose-built gallery, visitor centre, café and workshop space has been created and, on the opening day, saw the 160th and final tapestry panel revealed by chief stitcher Dorie Wilkie, accompanied by McCall Smith himself. The Pavilion Cinema in Market Street opened in 1922 as a cinema, dance hall and theatre, originally named the Playhouse. The auditorium was converted to a bingo hall in the 1960s. The building was refurbished in the early 1990s, with its original art-deco façade being restored. It is now a four-screen cinema.


Transport

In 1969, the historic Waverley Line which connected the Scottish Borders to the national rail network was closed as part of a wider series of cuts to British Railways. The closure led to a campaign for a return of rail to the region that never diminished. Following years of campaigning, in 2006, the Waverley Railway (Scotland) Act was passed by the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
, which authorised a partial restoration of the service. The new Borders Railway, which links Galashiels with Edinburgh, saw four new stations built in
Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...
and three in the
Scottish Borders 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 Lothi ...
. For most of the route the original line was followed with of new railway line built. The project is estimated to have cost £294 million and was completed in September 2015, with the formal opening on 9 September by the Queen. Trains from
Galashiels railway station Galashiels is a railway station on the Borders Railway, which runs between and . The station, situated south-east of Edinburgh Waverley, serves the town of Galashiels in Scottish Borders, Scotland. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by ...
run every half-hour going down to hourly in the evening and on Sundays. Journey times between Tweedbank and Edinburgh take less than one hour. The town also has a recently-opened Interchange building which replaces the old bus station, and is also situated next to the railway station. It has a café, and upstairs has office space that has been leased to businesses and organizations. It also has toilet and baby-changing facilities, and a travel helpdesk.


Education

The following are listed by Scottish Borders Council as being in the Galashiels area and are catchment schools for
Galashiels Academy Galashiels Academy is the high school in Galashiels, Scotland, that serves the surrounding area including Stow. Refounded in 1938, the school's history goes back as far as 1696. The current building was built in 1964. Notable former pupils * Jo ...
. Primary schools * Balmoral Primary * Burgh Primary * Clovenfords Primary (moved from Caddonfoot in 2012) * Fountainhall Primary, Midlothian * Glendinning Terrace Primary * Heriot Primary, Midlothian * Langlee Primary * Stow Primary * St Margaret's Roman Catholic Primary * St Peter's Primary * Tweedbank Primary Secondary schools *
Galashiels Academy Galashiels Academy is the high school in Galashiels, Scotland, that serves the surrounding area including Stow. Refounded in 1938, the school's history goes back as far as 1696. The current building was built in 1964. Notable former pupils * Jo ...
Further and Higher education Netherdale in Galashiels is home to
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
's School of Textiles and Design, which is also a shared campus of
Borders College Borders College is a further education institution in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. Its main campus is located in Galashiels. Additionally, the college maintains secondary campuses at Hawick, Tweedbank and Newtown St. Boswells. The college w ...
.


Redevelopment

Despite the town's relatively low population, the early 2000s saw many new developments, including Asda, Boots pharmacy, Halfords, Marks & Spencer, Matalan, McDonald's, Next,
Subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
fast-food outlet and Tesco Extra. Most of these are on former mill and industrial estate sites, while other disused mills have been converted to living accommodation.


Unusual landmarks or local features

The town is home to the Glasite church, in danger of being lost, but still standing sandwiched between mills and shop buildings on High Street, Botany Lane and Roxburgh Street. Netherdale is home to Gala RFC and Gala Fairydean Rovers, with the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
stadiums adjoining each other at one end. The football club's main stand was built in 1963 to designs by Peter Womersley, based in nearby Gattonside. The cantilevered concrete structure, in the
Brutalist style Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...
, is now protected as a Category A listed building.


Sport

The following sports clubs are based in Galashiels: * Gala Cricket Club * Gala Fairydean Rovers (association football) * Gala RFC (rugby union) *
Galashiels Golf Club Galashiels Golf Club is a golf course to the north of Galashiels, Scotland. The course was reduced from 18 holes to 9 holes in 2008. History Founded in 1884, the nine-hole course was laid out around Appletreeleaves House and alongside the Ladho ...


Notable people

*
Dugald Butler Dugald Butler (1862–1926) was a 19th/20th century Scottish minister, remembered as a prolific author on a variety of subjects, but mainly historical, most of which are still in print. He was minister of several important churches including th ...
(1862-1926) parish minister and historical author *
Craig Chalmers Craig Minto Chalmers (born 15 October 1968) is a former Scotland international rugby union player and coach. He represented Scotland, the British Lions and the Barbarians at international level. He made 60 international appearances as a player ...
(born 1968), rugby player *
Thomas J Clapperton Thomas John Clapperton FRBS (14 October 1879 – 15 February 1962) was a Scottish sculptor, famous for the statue of Robert the Bruce at the entrance of Edinburgh Castle erected in 1929. Biography Clapperton was born on 14 October 1879 in Galas ...
(1879-1962), sculptor * Archie Cochrane (1909-1988), epidemiologist *
John Collins John Collins may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Collins (poet) (1742–1808), English orator, singer, and poet * John Churton Collins (1848–1908), English literary critic * John H. Collins (director) (1889–1918), American director an ...
(born 1968), footballer *
Jimmy Curran James Michael Curran (January 7, 1880 – February 7, 1963) was an athletics coach, best known for training five Olympic gold medallists. From 1900-1902 he fought with the Highland Light Infantry in the Second Boer War, serving much of that time u ...
(1880-1963), athlete and athletics coach *
Johnny Davidson Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...
MBE (born 1971), Tourette syndrome campaigner, subject of QED documentary ''
John's Not Mad ''John's Not Mad'' is a British television documentary made as an episode of the BBC's ''Q.E.D. Q.E.D. or QED is an initialism of the Latin phrase , meaning "which was to be demonstrated". Literally it states "what was to be shown". Traditiona ...
''. *
James Donald James Donald (18 May 1917 – 3 August 1993) was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he specialised in playing authority figures, particularly military doctors. Early life Donald was born in Aberdeen, the fourth son of a Scottish Presbyterian m ...
(1917-1993), actor *
Scilla Elworthy Priscilla "Scilla" Elworthy (born 3 June 1943) is a peace builder, and the founder of the Oxford Research Group, a non-governmental organisation she set up in 1982 to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide an ...
(born 1943), Peace activist and founder of the Oxford Research Group *
Russell Fairgrieve Sir Thomas Russell Fairgrieve CBE (3 May 1924 – 17 February 1999) was a Scottish Conservative and Unionist politician. He was educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose, Sedbergh School, and the Scottish College of Textiles. He served as a Major i ...
(1924-1999), politician * Douglas Ford (1918-1943), army officer *
Danny Galbraith Daniel William Galbraith (born 19 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Bo'ness United. Galbraith was a youth player with Heart of Midlothian and then signed for Manchester United, but injury problems ...
(born 1990), footballer *Rev Paton James Gloag (1823-1906) parish minister, Moderator in 1889 *
Andrew John Herbertson Andrew John Herbertson FRSE FRGS FRMS (11 October 1865 – 15 July 1915) was a Scottish geographer. Life He was born in Galashiels, Selkirkshire to parents Andrew Hunter Herbertson and Janet Matthewson. He went to school locally at Galas ...
(1865–1915), geographer and Oxford don * Ross Kelly (born 1961), Television presenter *
Arthur Lapworth Arthur Lapworth FRS (10 October 1872 – 5 April 1941) was a Scottish chemist. He was born in Galashiels, Scotland, the son of geologist Charles Lapworth, and educated at St Andrew's and King Edward's School, Birmingham. He graduated in chemist ...
(1872–1941), Scottish chemist *
Ryan Mania Ryan Mania (born 23 December 1989) is a Scottish National Hunt jockey from Galashiels, most famous for winning the 2013 Grand National on the Sue Smith-trained Auroras Encore, at starting odds of 66/1. Early life and career Mania was born in 198 ...
(born 1989), winner of the
2013 Grand National The 2013 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 166th annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase, which ...
* Mary Monica Maxwell-Scott (1852-1920), author *
Sandy McDade Sandra Isobel McDade (born in February 1964), professionally known as Sandy McDade, is a Scottish actress, known for her part as Margaret Brown (née Ellison) in the television series ''Lark Rise to Candleford'', Miss Scatcherd in the 2011 film ' ...
(born 1964), actress * Judith Miller (born 1951), antiques expert *
Andrew Murdison Andrew Murdison (16 May 1898 – 1968) was a Scottish rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Scottish Borders, and at club level for Galashiels RFC (capt ...
(1898-1968), rugby player *
Thomas Paterson Noble Prof Thomas Paterson Noble FRCSE FRSE OWE (3 March 1887 – 16 December 1959) was a Scottish surgeon who served Prajadhipok, the King of Siam Life He was born in Galashiels on 3 March 1887 the son of Margaret Paterson and her husband Alexander N ...
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
, (1887-1959), surgeon * Chris Paterson (born 1978), rugby player *Rev
K. M. Phin Kenneth Macleay Phin (1816–1888) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1877. He ran the Church of Scotland’s Home Mission Scheme. As a church campaigner and pamphleteer he was ...
(1816-1888) parish minister, Moderator in 1877 * Anne Redpath (1895-1965), artist *
Bryan Redpath Bryan William Redpath (born 2 July 1971 in Galashiels) is a former Scotland international rugby union player and former rugby union coach. He is currently the Director of Rugby at London Scottish. Early life and family Redpath attended Kel ...
(born 1971), rugby player *
Brian Shillinglaw Robert Brian Shillinglaw (1 July 1939 – 17 October 2007), also known by the nickname of "Shill", was a Scottish rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played representative level rugby union ...
(1939-2007), rugby player * Gregor Townsend (born 1973), rugby player


Climate

Galashiels has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
. However, due to its elevated position and distance from the sea, it has colder winters and slightly warmer summers than coastal places such as Edinburgh, Dunbar and
Eyemouth Eyemouth ( sco, Heymooth) is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north–south A1 road and north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town's name comes from its location at th ...
. Snow is also much more common in winter, and covers the ground for an average of 38 days a year in an average winter.


See also

* List of places in Scotland * List of places in the Scottish Borders *
Shieling A shieling is a hut or collection of huts on a seasonal pasture high in the hills, once common in wild or sparsely populated places in Scotland. Usually rectangular with a doorway on the south side and few or no windows, they were often cons ...


References

* * *


External links

*
Galashiels Town Website

GALASHIELS HISTORICAL PEACE PAGEANT (1919)GALASHIELS WAR MEMORIAL (1925)
(archive films from the National Library of Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive) {{Authority control Towns in the Scottish Borders Populated places on the River Tweed Eildon