County Dossier
Berwickshire
A Borders county of markets, marches and conflict.
Berwickshire is a lowland shire along the border of England and Scotland. The county can be divided into three distinctive areas.
At a glance
Berwickshire at a glance
A Borders county of markets, marches and conflict.
- England/Scotland borders
- Sheriff recorded c.1110–1130
- Seige of Berwick (1333)
- Area: 457 sq miles / 1,184 km²
- Population: 26,458
- County top: Meikle Says Law shoulder 1,746 ft / 532 m
County Geography
Berwickshire meets East Lothian, Midlothian, Roxburghshire, and Northumberland. Its boundaries are shaped by the Tweed to the south, the Lammermuir Hills and their watershed to the north and west, and the North Sea to the east.
The Merse, Lauderdale, the Lammermuir fringe, and the sea coast give Berwickshire a strong county frame. Its farms, towns, crossings, and harbours make sense within that pattern.
Map Reference
View Berwickshire on the map
Berwickshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Duns, Greenlaw, Chirnside, and Eyemouth show the county from county town and Merse settlements to coastal port, with Coldstream marking the southern river boundary on the Tweed. They explain Berwickshire through its central places, river crossings, and coast.
Connections
Berwickshire’s movement follows the Leader and Whiteadder valleys, crosses the Merse, and runs to the Tweed crossings and the coast. Hill fringe, lowland plain, and harbour settlements are tied together by those routes.
Names
- Berwickshire
- County of Berwick
- Berwicks
- Siorrachd Bhearaig
Siorrachd Bhearaig is the Gaelic form of Berwickshire. Berwickshire is the settled county name, while County of Berwick is the formal historical style and Berwicks is only a shortened form.
The shire took its name from Berwick, though after 1482 the county’s working centre shifted inland and Duns became the lasting county town. By the twelfth century the county was established as a sheriffdom, and its Merse, coast, and hill-fringe geography still form a recognisable historic county.