Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and

registration county A registration county was, in Great Britain and Ireland, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census information. In Scotland registration counties are used for land registration purpose ...

in the

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands () are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the others being the Central Lowlands and the Highlands). The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to col ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It borders

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

to the west,

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. It de ...

and

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, 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 council ar ...

to the northwest, and

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

to the north. To the southwest it borders

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and to the southeast

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, both in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was named after the

Royal Burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

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 lea ...

, a town which declined markedly in the 15th century and is no longer in existence. Latterly, the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

of Roxburghshire was

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

. The county has much the same area as Teviotdale, the basin drained by the

River Teviot The River Teviot (; ), or Teviot Water, is a river of the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, and is the largest tributary of the River Tweed by catchment area. The Teviot is an important river for wildlife, especially the Atlantic salmon, but ...

and tributaries, together with the adjacent stretch of the Tweed into which it flows. The term is often treated as synonymous with Roxburghshire, but may omit

Liddesdale Liddesdale is a district in the Roxburghshire, County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland. It includes the area of the valley of the Liddel Water that extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, Dumfries and ...

Liddel Water Liddel Water is a river running through southern Scotland and northern England, for much of its course forming the Anglo-Scottish border, border between the two countries, and was formerly one of the boundaries of the Debatable Lands. Liddel ...

drains to the west coast.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by, Francis Groome, publ. 2nd edition 1896. Article on Roxburghshire

History

The county appears to have originated in the 12th century with the creation of the sheriffdom of Roxburgh. The first known sheriff is

Gospatric (sheriff of Roxburgh) Gospatric is the first known sheriff of Roxburgh, a burgh in Teviotdale. His father is thought to have been Uhtred son of Ulfkill. A ''Cospatricio vicecomite'' ("Gospatric the Sheriff") is mentioned in the foundation charter of Selkirk Abbey. The ...

. The hereditary sheriffship of Roxburghshire was possessed by the family of Douglas until the abolition of heritable jurisdictions in the 18th century.New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol III Roxburgh, Peebles, Selkirk, publ.William Blackwood, 1845, p.430 The county was constantly fought over in the Middle Ages as part of the

Anglo-Scottish Wars The Anglo-Scottish Wars comprise the various battles which continued to be fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland from the time of the Wars of Independence in the early 14th century through to the latter years of the ...

, before the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

settled into roughly its modern form with the

Treaty of York The Treaty of York was an agreement between the kings Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland, signed at York on 25 September 1237, which affirmed that Northumberland (which at the time also encompassed County Durham), Cumberland, and ...

in 1237. The violence and lawlessness of these times gave rise to the

Border Reivers Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...

. The ancient royal burgh of Roxburgh, from which the county had taken its name, fell into decay by the fifteenth century. After the demise of the town of Roxburgh, the county administration was based in

, the county town. County Buildings were erected near the market place in 1812, in which the different courts met and the county officials transacted their business. In 1855 Alexander Jeffrey published his book ''The history and antiquities of Roxburghshire and adjacent districts, from the most remote period to the present time''. It ran to four volumes.

Geography

Roxburghshire is a predominantly rural county, consisting of low hills rising to the

Cheviot Hills The Cheviot Hills (), or sometimes The Cheviots, are a range of uplands straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The English section is within the Northumberland National Park. The range includes ...

along the border with England. Just to the south of Melrose can be found Eildon Hill, a prominent local landmark. There are a few scattered lochs, though none of any significant size.

Transport

Other than terminus of the recently re-opened

Borders Railway The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland a ...

, of which two stations (

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders 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 in ...

and

Tweedbank Tweedbank is a large village south-east of Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. It is part of the county of Roxburghshire. It is an outer suburb of Galashiels, on the other (eastern) side of the River Tweed. The population of Tweedbank at the la ...

) lie within the county, there are no railways in Roxburghshire. There were formerly a number of lines serving the county, however these closed as a result of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

Demographics

The county has a population of 48,639 (in 2011),Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usual Resident Population, published by

National Records of Scotland National Records of Scotland () is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government. It is responsible for civil registration, the census in Scotland, demography and statistics, family history, as well as the national archives and hist ...

. Area type: Civil Parish 1930; calculated total for all Roxburghshire parishes which is 43% of the population of the Scottish Borders area.Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usual Resident Population, published by National Records of Scotland. Area type: Council Area Today, the main towns in the county are (population in 2011): *

— 4,030 *

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

— 14,294 * Kelso — 5,639 *

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...

— 2,307 Hawick is now by far the largest town, with 29% of the county's population. More than half the population live in the two parishes of Hawick and Melrose.

Administration

Today, Roxburghshire is within the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

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 Ac ...

for local government purposes and contains the

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the area, the small town of

Newtown St Boswells Newtown St Boswells (; ) is a village in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area, in south-east Scotland. The village lies south of the Eildon Hills on the Sprouston and Newtown burn (topography), burns, approximately sout ...

. It retains official status as a

, and falls within the

Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale (''Rosbrog, Eadaraig agus Srath Labhdair'' in Scottish Gaelic) is a lieutenancy area of Scotland. The lieutenancy area was created on 1 April 1996, when local government was reorganised across Scotland under the ...

lieutenancy area Lieutenancy areas (), officially counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, are the separate areas of the United Kingdom that are appointed to a lord-lieutenant – a representative of the British monarch. In many cases they have s ...

for ceremonial purposes.

County

Until 1975, Roxburghshire was used for local government. The original county town of

was abandoned following the destruction of

Roxburgh Castle Roxburgh Castle is a ruined royal castle that overlooks the junction of the rivers Tweed and Teviot, in the Borders region of Scotland. The town and castle developed into the royal burgh of Roxburgh, which the Scots destroyed along with ...

in 1460 during the

then became the county town, serving as the location for the

sheriff court A sheriff court () is the principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland, with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary value up to , and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason, murder, and ra ...

and meeting place of the

Commissioners of Supply Commissioners of Supply were local administrative bodies in Scotland from 1667 to 1930. Originally established in each sheriffdom to collect tax, they later took on much of the responsibility for the local government of the counties of Scotland. ...

, which were established in 1667 as the county's main administrative body. The County Buildings on Castlegate in Jedburgh were built in 1812 to hold the sheriff court and be the meeting place for the commissioners. The

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

was created in 1890, taking most of the commissioners' functions. From 1890 until 1930 the council met at the County Buildings in Jedburgh. In 1930 the council moved its meeting place and headquarters to

. The council already had a branch office on Bowden Road in Newtown St Boswells, which it had built in 1896, and in 1930 the council inherited an adjoining building which had been built in 1928 for the short-lived Roxburghshire Education Authority. The complex became known as the County Offices. A large new building designed by

Peter Womersley Peter Womersley (24 June 1923 – 1993) was a British architect, best known for his work in the modern architecture, modernist style. He lived in the Scottish Borders, where a number of his buildings are located, although he worked on projects th ...

was added to the site in 1968. Roxburghshire County Council was abolished in 1975, when local government in Scotland was reorganised into upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Roxburghshire 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. The County Offices at Newtown St Boswells became the headquarters for the new Borders Regional Council. The

Duke of Buccleuch Duke of Buccleuch ( ), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and second ''suo jure'' for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Countess of ...

and the

Duke of Roxburghe The Duke of Roxburghe () is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles ''Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford'', ''Earl of Kelso'' and ''Viscount Broxmouth''. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder ...

between them had held the convenership of Roxburgh County Council for 43 years between 1900 and 1975. At the time of the county council's abolition in 1975, the county contained four

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

s and four districts (the districts generally covering the rural areas surrounding the town after which they were named): *

Burgh *

* Kelso Burgh *

Burgh *Hawick District *Jedburgh District *Kelso District *Melrose District

District

The

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government of Scotland, local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The act followed and largely impleme ...

abolished the county council and incorporated its area into the Borders Region. Borders was divided into four districts, one of which was named Roxburgh. Roxburgh District's borders broadly resembled those of the historic county, but included 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 parishe ...

from

, and excluded the parishes of

Bowden Bowden may refer to: Places Australia * Bowden Island, one of the Family Islands in Queensland * Bowden, South Australia, northwestern suburb of Adelaide * Bowden railway station Canada * Bowden, Alberta, town in central Alberta England * Bowd ...

Lilliesleaf Lilliesleaf is a small village and civil parish south east of Selkirk in the Roxburghshire area of Scottish Borders of Scotland. Other places nearby include Ancrum, Ashkirk, Belses, Hassendean, Midlem, Minto House, Old Belses, St Bos ...

, Maxton,

, and

St Boswells St Boswells (; ) is a village on the south side of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, about southeast of Newtown St Boswells on the A68 road. It lies within the boundaries of the historic county of Roxburghshire. It has a hotel, pos ...

, which went instead to the new

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 as well as a lieutenancy area from 1975 to 1996. History The district was created on 16 ...

District. For

lieutenancy Lieutenancy may refer to: United Kingdom Places * Lieutenancy area, a separate area appointed a lord-lieutenant, including: **Ceremonial counties of England, formally known as "counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies" **Lieutenancy areas of ...

purposes, the last

lord-lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

of the county of Roxburghshire was made lord-lieutenant for the district of Roxburgh when the reforms came into effect in 1975. Roxburgh District Council was based at Hawick Town Hall which had been built in 1886 for the former Hawick Town Council. The region and four district councils were abolished in 1996, merging to form the present

council area. A new lieutenancy area was created at the same time, called

, covering the combined area of the abolished districts of Roxburgh and neighbouring Ettrick and Lauderdale.

Political control

The first election to the 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. Political control of the council from 1975 until its abolition in 1996 was as follows:

Coat of arms

The County of Roxburgh was the first Scottish county to receive a grant of arms. This was made by

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

on 9 July 1798. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

seems to have been granted for the use of the volunteer and militia units then being organised under the authority of the county's

lord lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

. When the county council was formed in 1890, the arms passed to them. The shield depicted a unicorn, a national symbol of Scotland. At the top of the shield was a hunting horn between two helmets: probably a reference to the border

reiver Border Reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scottish and English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "England, Scotland and Europe: The ...

s, one of whom featured in the arms of the royal burgh of Jedburgh. The crest above the shield was an armoured arm brandishing a scimitar. The

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

motto was ''Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audentior Ito'' or ''Yield not to misfortunes (evil things) but go on more boldly against them.'', it was a quotation from

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

6, 95. On 6 May 1975 the coat of arms was regranted to Roxburgh District Council, without the crest. When the district council was abolished in 1996, the arms reverted to

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. Coat of Arms of Roxburghshire County Council 1890-1962.svg, Coat of arms of Roxburghshire County Council 1890–1962. Coat of Arms of Roxburghshire County Council 1962-1975.svg, Coat of arms of Roxburghshire County Council 1962–1975. Coat of Arms of Roxburghshire District Council 1975-1996.svg, Coat of arms of Roxburghshire District Council 1975–1996.

Civil parishes

Following the boundary changes carried out 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 fol ...

, the county of Roxburgh contained 30 civil parishes: *

Ancrum Ancrum () is a village in the Borders area of Scotland, northwest of Jedburgh. The village — which currently has a population of around 300 — is situated just off the A68 trunk road on the B6400, which runs through Ancrum. Lilliesleaf ...

(No.12 on map) *

Bedrule Bedrule () is a hamlet and civil parish in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The hamlet lies on the east side of the Rule Water, which gave the village its name, about 4 miles west of Jedburgh. It ...

(22) *

(6) * Castleton aka Liddesdale (31) *

Cavers Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific st ...

(28) *

Crailing Crailing is a village on the A698, in Teviotdale, 4m east of Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of ...

(15) * Eckford (16) *

Ednam Ednam is a small village near Kelso in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Places nearby include Stichill, Sprouston, Nenthorn, Eccles, Gordon, Greenlaw as well as Floors Castle. The village was formerly in Roxburghshire. Its name i ...

(5) *

(19) *

Hobkirk Hobkirk () is a village and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, by the Rule Water, south-west of Jedburgh and south-east of Hawick. Other places nearby include Abbotrule, Bonchester Bridge, Camptown, Hallrule, Bedrule, ...

(29) *

Hownam Hownam or HounamHounam
National Library of Scotland is a small village and

(25) *

(23) * Kelso (9) *

(11) * Linton (17) *

Makerstoun Makerstoun is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, as well as the historic county of Roxburghshire, south-west of Kelso.Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles, publ. J.G. Bartholomew, 1904, p. 535 The parish is bordered to the sou ...

(8) * Maxton (13) *

(1) *

Minto Minto may refer to: Places Antarctica *Mount Minto (Antarctica) Australia *Minto, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Minto railway station * Minto County, Western Australia * Parish of Minto, New South Wales Canada * Minto City, British ...

(20) *

Morebattle Morebattle is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the B6401, seven miles south of Kelso, Scottish Borders, beside the Kale Water, a tributary of the River Teviot. The St. Cuthbert's Way long distance footpath passes through t ...

(26) *

Oxnam Oxnam () is a village near Jedburgh, in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is a primarily residential village. The placename Oxnam is from Old English ''oxa'' ( genitive ''oxan'') " oxen" and ''ham'' "village", the meanin ...

(24) * Roberton (18) *

(14) *

Smailholm Smailholm () is a small village in the historic county of Roxburghshire in south-east Scotland. It is at and straddles the B6397 Gordon to Kelso road. The village is almost equidistant from both, standing northwest of the abbey town of Kels ...

(3) *

Southdean Southdean is a hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the A6088, by the Jed Water and in the Wauchope Forest area. Other settlements nearby include Abbotrule, Bedrule, Bonchester Bridge, Denholm, Hallrule, Hobkirk and the Swinnie ...

(30) *

Sprouston Sprouston is a village, parish and former feudal barony in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, as well as the historic county of Roxburghshire, located 2 miles north-east of Kelso.Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles, publ. J.G. Bartholo ...

(10) * St. Boswells (7) * Stichill (4) *

Teviothead Teviothead () is a small village and civil parish in Teviotdale in the Scottish Borders, known locally as ''Teviotheid''. It is located south of the River Teviot. The Border hero Johnnie Armstrong and his men were taken prisoner and executed ...

(27) * Yetholm (21)

Defunct parishes and amalgamations

In medieval times there were 47 parishes, making the area the most densely parished in Scotland. * Abbotrule: divided between Bedrule and Southdean in 1806. * Ettleton and Wheelkirk: absorbed into Castleton *Hassendean: divided between Minto, Roberton and Wilton, 17th century. * Jedworth, Old Jedworth and Upper Crailing: united to form the parish of Jedburgh. * Kirkton or Cavers Parva: absorbed into Cavers in 1895.Edinburgh Gazette (official journal of the government), 5/3/1895 p. 295; and 18/12/1894 pp. 1449-1450 * Lempitlaw: absorbed into Sprouston at the Reformation. * Longnewtown: absorbed into Ancrum in 1684. * Maxwell, Roxburgh Holy Sepulchre and Roxburgh St James: absorbed into Kelso (aka Kelso St Mary's), date unknown. * Mow: absorbed into Morebattle in 1672. *Nisbet and Spital: absorbed into Crailing 1606. * Rutherford: absorbed into Maxton. * Wilton: absorbed into Hawick post-1900.

Settlements

Hawick from the top of the Motte - geograph

Melrose Town Centre from Quarry Hill - geograph

Abbotrule Abbotrule is a hamlet south of the B6357 road, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on Rule Burn, east of the Rule Water. Places nearby include Bedrule, Hallrule, Spittal-on-Rule, Ruletownhead, Bonchester Bridge, Denholm, Southdean, ...

Appletreehall Appletreehall is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, north-east of Hawick, in the historic county of Roxburghshire. Nearby are Branxholme, Broadhaugh, Roberton, Scottish Borders, Roberton, Wilton, Scottish Borders, Wilton and W ...

Ashkirk Ashkirk is a small village on the Ale Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is located just off the A7 road, approximately each way between Selkirk to the north and Hawick to the south. Other places nearby include the Alemoor ...

Bairnkine Bairnkine is a hamlet on the Jed Water in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the A68, south of Jedburgh. Other places nearby include Abbotrule, Bedrule, Camptown, Chesters, Langlee, Mervinslaw and Oxnam. See also *List of place ...

Bonchester Bridge Bonchester Bridge ( Scots ''Binster Brig'') is a village in Roxburghshire, within the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, lying on the Rule Water, six miles away from the market town of Hawick. History The name of the town is said to be Roma ...

Branxholme Branxholme is a hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, overlooking the River Teviot, southwest of Hawick, on the A7 road to Langholm. Nearby are Ale Water, Alemoor Loch, Burnfoot, Borthwick Water, Colterscleugh Monument, Robert ...

Broadhaugh Broadhaugh is a hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the parish of Teviothead, in former Roxburghshire. See also *List of places in the Scottish Borders *List of places in Scotland This list of places in Scotland is a complete ...

* Burnfoot * Camptown *

Crailinghall Crailinghall is a village near Oxnam in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire. Crailinghall is on the route of the St. Cuthbert's Way and the Roman Heritage Way. See also *List of places in the Scottish Borders *Lis ...

Darnick Darnick is a village near Melrose in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire. The name was first recorded in 1124, and has changed from Dernewic, Dernwick and Darnwick to the present Darnick. was built in c. 1425, ...

Denholm Denholm is a small village located between Jedburgh and Hawick in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, UK. The estimated population of Denholm is 600. There is a village green in the centre. It lies in the valley of the River Teviot. Denho ...

* Eckford * Edgerston *

Eildon Eildon is the largest committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, with a population of 34,892 at the census in 2001. It also contains the three Eildon Hills, tallest in the Scottish Borders. Places in Eildon References See also * Subd ...

(''shared with Selkirkshire'') *

Gattonside Gattonside is a small village in the Scottish Borders. It is located north of Melrose, Scottish Borders, Melrose, on the north side of the River Tweed. In 1143, the lands of Gattonside were granted to the monks of Melrose Abbey by David I of S ...

Hallrule Hallrule is a hamlet on the B6357 road, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the Rule Water, near Abbotrule, Bedrule Bonchester Bridge, Denholm, Hobkirk, Ruletownhead and to the south, the Wauchope Forest. The village's name in 1502 ...

* Heiton *

Hownam Hownam or HounamHounam
National Library of Scotland is a small village and

* Kelso * Kirkton *

Kirk Yetholm Kirk Yetholm ('kirk yet-ham') is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, southeast of Kelso, Scotland, Kelso and less than west of the Anglo-Scottish Border, border. The first mention is of its church in the 13th century. Its ...

Lempitlaw Lempitlaw is a hamlet, former parish and former feudal barony in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, as well as the historic county of Roxburghshire. History The parish was joined with Sprouston in the 16th century. The former parish for ...

Lindean Lindean is a village north of Selkirk and the Ettrick Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. In 1590 the parishioners of Lindean had permission to rebuild their church on the north side of the Tweed, at the west end of Boleside, ...

* Linton * Longnewton, Roxburghshire * Maxton *

* Midlem *

Newcastleton Newcastleton, also called Copshaw Holm, is a village in Liddesdale, the Scottish Borders, a few miles from the border with England, on the Liddel Water. It is within the Counties of Scotland, county of Roxburghshire. It is the site of Hermitag ...

* Newstead *

* Nisbet *

Spittal-on-Rule Spittal-on-Rule is a farm in the council area of Scottish Borders in Scotland. As the name suggests it is situated on the river Rule Water, and the Spittal-on-Rule bridge crosses the Rule. More specifically, it lies where Rule Water meets the Ri ...

* Stichill *

Town Yetholm Town Yetholm ('town yet-ham') is a small village in the Scottish Borders in the valley of the Bowmont Water opposite Kirk Yetholm. The town colours are green and yellow. The centre of the small village is made up of the village green surro ...

* Wilton *

Wilton Dean Wilton Dean is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the Cala Burn, and close to the River Teviot. Along with Stirches and Burnfoot, Scottish Borders, Wilton Dean is now often considered to be a suburb of Hawick w ...

Notable residents

Robert Livingston the Elder Robert Livingston the Elder (13 December 1654 – 1728) was a Scottish-born merchant and government official in the Province of New York. He was granted a patent to 160,000 acres (650 km2/ 250 sq mi) of land along the Hudson River, becomin ...

, (1654–1728), born in Ancrum, was the Secretary for Indian affairs of the New York Province and the first lord of

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. Located between the Hudson River and the Massachusetts border, the Livingston Manor was locate ...

. *

Thomas Pringle Thomas Pringle (5 January 1789 – 5 December 1834) was a Scottish writer, poet and abolitionist. Known as the father of South African poetry, he was the first successful English language poet and author to describe South Africa's scenery, nati ...

the nineteenth century Scottish writer, poet and abolitionist was born at Blakelaw, a farmstead four miles (6 km) to the south of the town of Kelso where his father was the tenant. *

Henry Scott Riddell Henry Scott Riddell (23 September 1798 – 30 July 1870) was a Scottish poet and songwriter. In the ''Scottish Orpheus'', a collection of songs of Scotland by Adam Hamilton, he is credited with writing ''Scotland Yet'' and ''The Dowie Dens O' ...

(1798–1870), the poet, was buried at Teviothead and is commemorated by a monument on a nearby hill. * "Chief" Robert Riddell (1820–1921), brother of the poet, born in Teviotdale, was a Scottish-Canadian pioneer and veteran of the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

. He is noted for having pioneered the township of Beverly in Ontario. * Thomas B. Scott (1829–1886), President Pro Tem of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

References

Edina.ac.uk
, A Vision of Britain Through Time: Descriptive gazetteer entries for Roxburghshire

External links

Map of Roxburghshire
on Wikishire {{Coord, 55, 30, N, 2, 30, W, region:GB_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Counties of Scotland Districts of Scotland Roxburgh Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922) Politics of the Scottish Borders