Tweeddale (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Srath Thuaidh/Tuaidhdail'') is a committee area and lieutenancy area 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 Lot ...

council area in south-eastern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It had also been a

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 out ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. From 1975 to 1996 it was a local government district. Its boundaries correspond to the historic county of

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and ...

Geography

The area had an estimated population of 20,848 in 2015. It is one of the five committee areas in the Scottish Borders. Major settlements in the area include Peebles, Innerleithen and West Linton. It is the traditional name for the

dale Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia * Dale (woreda), district ;Norway * ...

(the area drained) by the upper reaches of the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the R ...

. This area was considered to end before the Yarrow Water flowed into the Tweed, so the area was bounded to the south and east by the Yarrow/Tweed

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

, and to the north and east by the Gala Water/Tweed watershed. 12,770 ha of upper Tweedale between Broughton and Peebles is designated as the Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.

History

A new map of Scotland with the roads (8643653080)

Tweeddale was a historic district or

in the

, bordering Teviotdale and

the Marches Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to th ...

to the east, Liddesdale and Annandale to the south, Clydesdale to the west and Lothian to the north. From the twelfth century the area was divided into sheriffdoms. The southern part of Tweeddale became the sheriffdom of Selkirkshire, also known as Ettrick Forest, whilst the northern part of Tweeddale was initially divided into two sheriffdoms, based at Peebles and Traquair, before those two were united as the single shire of Peebles, or

, around 1304. From then on the shires gradually became the more important areas for administration; the old provinces were not abolished as such, but their importance diminished.

Tweeddale District

Local government reorganisation in 1975 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 ...

introduced a two-tier structure of local government across Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Peeblesshire County Council was abolished and the area became part of the Borders region. The region was divided into four districts, one of which was called Tweeddale, covering the same area as pre-1975 Peeblesshire. The new Tweeddale district took over the functions of the six former

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of Peeblesshire, which were all abolished at the same time: * Broughton District * Innerleithen

Burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Bur ...

*Innerleithen District *

Linton Linton may refer to: Places Australia * Linton, Victoria Canada * Linton, Ontario * Linton, Quebec United Kingdom England * Linton, Cambridgeshire * Linton, Derbyshire * Linton (near Bromyard), Herefordshire * Linton (near Ross-on-Wye), Her ...

District * Peebles

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 ...

*Peebles District For

lieutenancy 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 ...

purposes, the last lord-lieutenant of the county of Peeblesshire was made the first

Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale. The office replaced the Lord Lieutenant of Peeblesshire in 1975. *''Scott had been Lord Lieutenant of Peeblesshire'' * Sir Robert Scott 1975–1980 *Lt-Col. Aidan Spro ...

when the reforms came into effect in 1975. The Borders region and its four districts, including Tweeddale, were abolished in 1996, merging to form the present

council area. The area of the pre-1996 Tweeddale district continues to be used as a lieutenancy area.

Political control

The first election to Tweeddale 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 were held by independents:

Premises

The council was based at the Council Offices on Rosetta Road in Peebles. The building had originally been built in 1856 as a workhouse, but had been extensively rebuilt and extended in 1935 to become the headquarters of Peeblesshire County Council. After the 1996 reforms the building became an area office for Scottish Borders Council and a police station.

References

External links

Historic map showing "Tweddale, alias, The Shire of Peebles"Historic map showing Tweeddale in ScotlandHistoric map showing Tweeddale in ScotlandHistoric map showing Tweeddale in ScotlandTweeddale whisky
{{authority control Lieutenancy areas of Scotland * River Tweed Clan Fraser Politics of the Scottish Borders