Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county,

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 ...

and

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 ...

in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, its original

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 ...

, 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 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 census, the parish had a population of ...

both served as county town at different periods. 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 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. Berwickshire district was abolished in 1996, when all the districts in the Borders region merged to become 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 ...

. 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 The Lammermuirs are a range of hills in southern Scotland, forming a natural boundary between East Lothian and the Scottish Borders, Borders. The name ''Lammermuir'' comes from the Old English , meaning "moorland of the lambs". Geology The L ...

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 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 west,

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

to the north, the

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

to the east, and

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

and the English county of

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 ...

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 The Lammermuirs are a range of hills in southern Scotland, forming a natural boundary between East Lothian and the Borders. The name ''Lammermuir'' comes from the Old English , meaning "moorland of the lambs". Geology The Lammermuir Hills a ...

traverse the border with East Lothian; it is here that

Meikle Says Law The Lammermuirs are a range of hills in southern Scotland, forming a natural boundary between East Lothian and the Scottish Borders, Borders. The name ''Lammermuir'' comes from the Old English , meaning "moorland of the lambs". Geology The L ...

, the highest point in the county at , can be found. The

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, 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 River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers ...

forms 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 ...

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 Eye Water is a river in the Scottish Borders, it flows in a general southeasterly direction from its source in the Lammermuir Hills to its estuary at Eyemouth on the east coast of Scotland, having a length of approximately .''"Ordnance Survey Exp ...

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 The Dye Water () is a river in the Lammermuir Hills in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It rises in the Hope Hills, continues along the East Lothian boundary, a mile north east of Seenes Law, then east to Longformacus. The Dye Water join ...

Watch Water The Watch Water is a river in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It rises in the Lammermuir Hills, around west of Longformacus, and flows generally eastward to its confluence with the Dye Water, around west of Longformacus. The Dye Water f ...

Eden Water Eden Water is a tributary of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders of Scotland. "Water" is the Lowland Scots term for a small river. The Eden Burn rises to the east of Lauder at Corsbie Moor on Boon Farm. The Eden Water passes Bassendean vi ...

and

Blackadder Water Blackadder Water () is a river in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, forming part of the River Tweed system. It reached 2.84m at Mouthbridge, which was its highest level ever recorded on Tuesday 22 October 2002 at 2:45pm. Ety ...

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 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 ...

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 Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

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 an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, 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 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 ...

) were initially shared between Duns and

Lauder The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, ) 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. Etymology Alt ...

, until 1596 when

was declared the county town by

James VI James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

. In 1661 the county town was moved to Duns, but in 1696 it was moved back to Greenlaw.

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. ...

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, the ( 16 & 17 Vict. c. 27) 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 fol ...

, 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

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 three

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 ...

: *

Coldstream Coldstream () is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream was where the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, originated. Description Coldstream li ...

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 ...

* Duns Burgh *East District *

Eyemouth Eyemouth is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north–south A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road and north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town's name ...

Burgh *

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 ...

*Middle District *West District

District Council

Berwickshire County Council was abolished in 1975 under 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 ...

, which reorganised local government across Scotland into upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Berwickshire was incorporated into the Borders Region. 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, 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 lea ...

district, and the parishes of Channelkirk,

Earlston Earlston () 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 historically called ''Arcioldun'' or ''Prospect Fort'', ...

Legerwood Legerwood is a village by the Eden Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, near Lauder, near the Southern Upland Way. Legerwood Kirk is outside the village and has been there since at least 1127. Places nearby include Boon Farm, Gordo ...

, and Mertoun, which went to Ettrick and Lauderdale 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

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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

Coat of arms

The county council of Berwickshire was formed in 1890 by the

, and applied for a grant of arms from the

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

the same year. The grant was made on 10 October. The coat of arms, which closely resembles the arms of Berwick-upon-Tweed, shows a bear chained to a wych tree, forming a pun on the name. Upon the abolition of Berwickshire County Council, the arms were regranted to Berwickshire District Council.

Transport

British Railways sign at the Anglo-Scottish Border

The

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

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 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 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 Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

and

. 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, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. The A68 and A697 serve the towns of western Berwickshire.

Civil parishes

Abbey St Bathans Abbey St Bathans () is a parish in the Lammermuir district of Berwickshire, in the eastern part of the Scottish Borders. Unique in its topography, it is situated in a long winding steep wooded valley that follows the Whiteadder Water. The pari ...

* Ayton * Buncle (Bonkyl) *

Cockburnspath Cockburnspath ( ) is a village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It lies near the North Sea coast between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar. Cockburnspath is the eastern terminus of the Southern Upland Way as well as the northern terminus of ...

Coldingham Coldingham is a village and parish in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It lies a short distance inland from Coldingham Bay, three miles northeast of the fishing village of Eyemouth. Parish The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir ...

Chirnside Chirnside is a hillside village in Berwickshire, Scotland, west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and east of Duns, Scottish Borders, Duns. Church The parish church at Chirnside dates from the 12th century. It was substantially rebuilt in 1878 and ...

* Cranshaws * Channelkirk * Duns *

Edrom Edrom is a parish and small village in the pre-1975 ancient county of Berwickshire, now an administrative area of the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. The rural parish of Edrom is in east central Berwickshire being bounded on the north b ...

* Eccles *

* Foulden * Fogo *

* Gordon * Hutton * Hume * Longformacus * Langton * Ladykirk * Liberties of Berwick *

(former seat of the county Commissariat) *

* Mordington * Mertoun * Nenthorn *Part of

Oldhamstocks Oldhamstocks is a civil parish and small village in the east of East Lothian, Scotland, adjacent to the Scottish Borders and overlooking the North Sea. It is located south-east of Dunbar and has a population of 193. The church was consecrated ...

, since 1891 in

Prior to 1891 Oldhamstocks was partly in Berwickshire and had a detached portion at Butterdean of . The detached portion was transferred to

, 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

* Allanton *

Auchencrow Auchencrow () is a small village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, by the Lammermuir range of hills, and near Reston. Etymology Around 1210, the village was referred to as Aldenegraue. It had become Aldencraw by the end of the 13th ...

* Ayton * Birgham *

Burnmouth Burnmouth is a small fishing village located adjacent to the A1 road on the east coast of Scotland. It is the first village in Scotland on the A1, after crossing the border with England. Burnmouth is located in the Parish of Ayton, in the ...

* Clappers * Clintmains *

Cove A cove is a small bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creek (tidal), creeks, or recesses in a coast ...

* Cranshaws * Dryburgh * Duns *

* Eccles *

* Fogo * Foulden * Gavinton * Gordon * Grantshouse *

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

* Leitholm * Lennel * Longformacus * Nenthorn * 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