Roxburgh Siorrachd Rosbroig | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Scotland |
| County town | Jedburgh |
| Area | |
• Total | 666 sq mi (1,725 km2) |
| Ranked 12th of 34 | |
| Chapman code | ROX |
Roxburghshire or theCounty of Roxburgh (Scottish Gaelic:Siorrachd Rosbroig) is ahistoric county andregistration county in theSouthern Uplands ofScotland. It bordersDumfriesshire to the west,Selkirkshire andMidlothian to the northwest, andBerwickshire to the north. To the southwest it bordersCumberland and to the southeastNorthumberland, both inEngland.
It was named after theRoyal Burgh ofRoxburgh, a town which declined markedly in the 15th century and is no longer in existence. Latterly, thecounty town of Roxburghshire wasJedburgh.
The county has much the same area asTeviotdale, the basin drained by theRiver Teviot 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 omitLiddesdale asLiddel Water drains to the west coast.[1]
The county appears to have originated in the 12th century with the creation of the sheriffdom of Roxburgh. The first known sheriff isGospatric (sheriff of Roxburgh). The hereditary sheriffship of Roxburghshire was possessed by the family of Douglas until theabolition of heritable jurisdictions in the 18th century.[2]
The county was constantly fought over in the Middle Ages as part of theAnglo-Scottish Wars, before theborder settled into roughly its modern form with theTreaty of York in 1237.[3] The violence and lawlessness of these times gave rise to theBorder 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 inJedburgh, 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.[4]
In 1855 Alexander Jeffrey published his bookThe history and antiquities of Roxburghshire and adjacent districts, from the most remote period to the present time. It ran to four volumes.[5]
Roxburghshire is a predominantly rural county, consisting of low hills rising to theCheviot Hills along the border with England. Just to the south of Melrose can be foundEildon Hill, a prominent local landmark. There are a few scattered lochs, though none of any significant size.
Other than terminus of the recently re-openedBorders Railway, of which two stations (Galashiels andTweedbank) 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 theBeeching cuts.
The county has a population of 48,639 (in 2011),[6] which is 43% of the population of the Scottish Borders area.[7]
Today, the main towns in the county are (population in 2011):
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.[6]
Today, Roxburghshire is within theScottish Borderscouncil area for local government purposes and contains theadministrative centre of the area, the small town ofNewtown St Boswells. It retains official status as aregistration county, and falls within theRoxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdalelieutenancy area for ceremonial purposes.
Until 1975, Roxburghshire was used for local government. The original county town ofRoxburgh was abandoned following the destruction ofRoxburgh Castle in 1460 during theAnglo-Scottish Wars.Jedburgh then became the county town, serving as the location for thesheriff court and meeting place of theCommissioners of Supply, which were established in 1667 as the county's main administrative body. TheCounty Buildings on Castlegate in Jedburgh were built in 1812 to hold the sheriff court and be the meeting place for the commissioners.[8]
Thecounty council 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 toNewtown 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.[9] The complex became known as theCounty Offices. A large new building designed byPeter Womersley was added to the site in 1968.[10][11]
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 theBorders region. The County Offices at Newtown St Boswells became the headquarters for the new Borders Regional Council.[12] TheDuke of Buccleuch and theDuke of Roxburghe between them had held the convenership of Roxburgh County Council for 43 years between 1900 and 1975.[13]
At the time of the county council's abolition in 1975, the county contained fourburghs and four districts (the districts generally covering the rural areas surrounding the town after which they were named):[14]
| Roxburgh | |
|---|---|
| District | |
 | |
| History | |
| • Created | 16 May 1975 |
| • Abolished | 31 March 1996 |
| • Succeeded by | Scottish Borders |
| • HQ | Hawick |
| Contained within | |
| • Region | Borders |
TheLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973 abolished the county council and incorporated its area into theBorders 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 ofNenthorn fromBerwickshire, and excluded the parishes ofBowden,Lilliesleaf,Maxton,Melrose, andSt Boswells, which went instead to the newEttrick and Lauderdale District.[14] Forlieutenancy purposes, the lastlord-lieutenant of the county of Roxburghshire was made lord-lieutenant for the district of Roxburgh when the reforms came into effect in 1975.[15]
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Roxburgh District Council was based atHawick Town Hall which had been built in 1886 for the former Hawick Town Council.[16][17]
The region and four district councils were abolished in 1996, merging to form the presentScottish Borders council area.[18] A new lieutenancy area was created at the same time, calledRoxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale, covering the combined area of the abolished districts of Roxburgh and neighbouring Ettrick and Lauderdale.[19]
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:[20]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Independent | 1975–1984 | |
| No overall control | 1984–1988 | |
| Independent | 1988–1992 | |
| No overall control | 1992–1996 | |
The County of Roxburgh was the first Scottish county to receive a grant of arms. This was made byLord Lyon King of Arms on 9 July 1798.[21] Thecoat of arms seems to have been granted for the use of the volunteer and militia units then being organised under the authority of the county'slord 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 borderreivers, 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. TheLatin motto wasNe Cede Malis Sed Contra Audentior Ito orYield not to misfortunes (evil things) but go on more boldly against them., it was a quotation fromVirgil'sAeneid 6, 95.[22]
On 6 May 1975 the coat of arms was regranted to Roxburgh District Council, without the crest.[23] When the district council was abolished in 1996, the arms reverted toThe Crown.
Following the boundary changes carried out under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889, the county of Roxburgh contained 30 civil parishes:
In medieval times there were 47 parishes, making the area the most densely parished in Scotland.
Local government areas ofScotland, in use 1975 to 1996 | ||
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| Borders |  | |
| Central | ||
| Dumfries and Galloway | ||
| Fife | ||
| Grampian | ||
| Highland | ||
| Lothian | ||
| Strathclyde | ||
| Tayside | ||
| Island areas1 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
