Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands ( gd, Na Monaidhean a Deas) are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the other two being the Central Lowlands and the Grampian Mountains and the Highlands, as illustrate ...

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 th ...

. It borders

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. ...

to the west, Selkirkshire and

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 Edinbur ...

to the north-west, and

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of ...

to the north. To the south-west it borders Cumberland and to the south-east

Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...

, both in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. 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 ...

of Roxburgh, a town which declined markedly in the 15th century and is no longer in existence. Latterly, the county town of Roxburghshire was

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in s ...

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

River Teviot The River Teviot (; gd, Abhainn Tìbhiot), 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 ...

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, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, a distance of . The Waverley route of the North British Railway r ...

as Liddel Water 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). 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 usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

settled into roughly its modern form with the Treaty of York in 1237. The violence and lawlessness of these times gave rise to the Border Reivers. 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 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, of which two stations (

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) 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 extensiv ...

and Tweedbank) 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.

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 , type = Non-ministerial government department , logo = National Records of Scotland logo.svg , logo_width = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = National Archives of Scotland , preceding2 = General Reg ...

. 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 — 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 Burnet ...

— 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 ( 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 for local government purposes and contains the

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

of the area, the small town of Newtown St Boswells. It retains official status as a registration county, and falls within the Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale

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

for ceremonial purposes.

County

Until 1975, Roxburghshire was used for local government. The original county town of Roxburgh was abandoned following the destruction of Roxburgh Castle in 1460 during the

then became the county town, serving as the location for the sheriff court and meeting place of the Commissioners of Supply, 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. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

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 Newtown St Boswells. 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 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 region. The County Offices at Newtown St Boswells became the headquarters for the new Borders Regional Council. The

Duke of Buccleuch Duke of Buccleuch (pronounced ), 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 Cou ...

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 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. ...

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

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 from

, and excluded the parishes of Bowden, Lilliesleaf, Maxton,

, and St Boswells, which went instead to the new Ettrick and Lauderdale 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 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 responsibilit ...

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 Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale, 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 Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gra ...

on 9 July 1798. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

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. 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 from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scottish and English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their v ...

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 branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

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 (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

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 the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

. 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 foll ...

, the county of Roxburgh contained 30 civil parishes: * Ancrum (No.12 on map) * Bedrule (22) * Bowden (6) * Castleton aka Liddesdale (31) *

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

(28) *

Crailing Crailing is a village on the A698, in Teviotdale, 4m east of Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the historic county of Roxburghshire. Places nearby include Ancrum, Crailinghall, Eckford, Hownam, Kelso, Nisbet, Roxburghshi ...

(15) * Eckford (16) * Ednam (5) * Hawick (19) * Hobkirk (29) * Hownam (25) *

(23) * Kelso (9) * Lilliesleaf (11) * Linton (17) * Makerstoun (8) * Maxton (13) *

(1) * Minto (20) * Morebattle (26) * Oxnam (24) * Roberton (18) * Roxburgh (14) * Smailholm (3) * Southdean (30) * Sprouston (10) * St. Boswells (7) * Stichill (4) *

Teviothead Teviothead ( gd, Ceann Tìbhiot) 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 pri ...

(27) *

Yetholm Yetholm is the parish that contained the villages of Kirk Yetholm and Town Yetholm in the east of the former county of Roxburghshire, nowadays in the Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìoc ...

(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 * Ancrum * Appletreehall * Ashkirk *

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 Bedrule ( gd, Ruail Bheathaig) is a hamlet and civil parish in the historic ...

* Bedrule * Bonchester Bridge * Bowden *

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

Broadhaugh Broadhaugh is a hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the parish of Teviothead, in former Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the S ...

* Burnfoot * Camptown *

* Crailinghall * Darnick * Denholm * Eckford * Edgerston * Ednam * Eildon *

(''shared with Selkirkshire'') *

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

* Hallrule * Hawick * Heiton * Hobkirk * Hownam *

* Kelso * Kirkton * Kirk Yetholm * Lempitlaw * Lilliesleaf *

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 * Minto * Morebattle * Newcastleton * Newstead * Newtown St Boswells * Nisbet * Oxnam * Roxburgh * St Boswells * Smailholm * Southdean * Spittal-on-Rule * Sprouston * 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 ...

* Tweedbank * Wilton * Wilton Dean

Notable residents

* Robert Livingston the Elder, (1654–1728), born in Ancrum, was the Secretary for Indian affairs of the New York Province and the first lord of Livingston Manor. * Thomas Pringle 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 (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. He is noted for having pioneered the township of Beverly in Ontario. *

Thomas B. Scott Thomas B. Scott (February 8, 1829 – October 7, 1886) was President Pro Tem of the Wisconsin State Senate. Biography Scott was born on February 8, 1829, in Roxburghshire, Scotland. He apparently settled in Dekorra, Wisconsin, in 1848 and what ...

(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 larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after ...

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