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39-607: The society was initiated and promoted by three brothers from Berwickshire . John Baird, the oldest brother, was the first president of the society and at the inaugural meeting on 14 January 1823 he made a statement of the proposed plan and objectives of the society. He drew up an elaborate code of laws for the society, in eighteen chapters. The original members included James Hardie and J. Grant Malcomson, who later became geologists in India , and John Coldstream . The Regius Professor of Natural History, Robert Jameson , had previously established

78-532: A bear chained to a wych tree, forming a pun on the name of the original county town of Berwick. Upon the abolition of Berwickshire County Council, the arms were regranted to Berwickshire District Council. When the district council was abolished the arms reverted to the Crown. The East Coast Main Line railway line passes through the county, running roughly parallel with the coast. From the railway's opening in 1846 there were

117-746: A discovery new to science when he observed cilia moving the microscopic larvae of a species of the bryozoan Flustra , and discovered that black spores often found in oyster shells were the eggs of a skate leech . He was disappointed when Grant announced these finds to the Wernerian on 24 March 1827, and Darwin presented both discoveries at the Plinian Society on 27 March, his first public presentation. Grant then gave an authoritative talk on sea-mats , followed by Browne who argued that mind and consciousness were simply aspects of brain activity, rather than evidence of "souls" or spiritual entities separate from

156-441: A great deal of procedure, with votes on motions and resolutions, and an annual reassessment of the elaborate rules. At that time each meeting was attended by around 25 members, including the five joint presidents, secretary, treasurer, "museum curator" and five members of the council. Around 150 past and present members were on the books. Most were medical undergraduates, with three or four who had graduated being referred to as "Dr" in

195-454: A member of the Plinian on 28 November 1826, along with another student of his own age, William Rathbone Greg , who immediately announced plans for a talk showing that "the lower animals possess every faculty & propensity of the human mind." Greg would later become a noted writer on Victorian social problems, including prostitution, and on female sexual desire. On 5 December Darwin was elected to

234-494: 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

273-690: A reference book was greeted with indignation and a sarcastic student newspaper report that "This is the first time, says our correspondent, we remember to have seen one of our Professors in the Plinian Society." " I forget whether you attended Edinburgh [University] as a student, but in my time, there was a knot of men who were far from being the indifferent and dull listeners which you expect..." Charles Darwin to J.D. Hooker, 10th February 1845. "One day, when we were walking together, [Grant] burst forth in high admiration of Lamarck and his views on evolution. I listened in silent astonishment, and as far as I can judge, without any effect on my mind. I had previously read

312-580: A rugby team under the name of Berwickshire schools. The Berwickshire Coastal Path runs from Cockburnspath to Berwick-upon-Tweed (28 miles; 45 km). Wernerian Natural History Society The Wernerian Natural History Society (12 January 1808 – 16 April 1858), commonly abbreviated as the Wernerian Society , was a learned society interested in the broad field of natural history , and saw papers presented on various topics such as mineralogy , plants, insects, and scholarly expeditions. The Society

351-495: A violent storm in 1948. The nearest open stations are in Dunbar and Berwick-upon-Tweed . 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 . The A68 and A697 serve the towns of western Berwickshire. The Berwickshire News is published weekly, and numerous organisations and groups have Berwickshire in their titles (i.e.:

390-569: The Berwickshire Courts Act 1853 ( 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. Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , taking over most of

429-941: The University of Edinburgh , was the founder and life president of the Society. In 1800, he spent a year at the mining academy in Freiberg , Saxony , where he studied under Werner. The Society was founded on 12 January 1808, and the first meeting of the Society occurred on 2 March 1808. Between 1811 and 1839 eight volumes of Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society appeared. More than twelve of Jameson's papers on geology and mineralogy were published in these volumes, and he also contributed some on zoology and botany. Proceedings after 1839 were published in Jameson's Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal . The Society hosted many of

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468-492: The Wernerian Natural History Society for graduates and professors. He was given the title of Senior Honorary Member by the students, but never attended the Plinian and was not its founder. From Darwin's description, the Plinian "consisted of students and met in an underground room in the university for the sake of reading papers on natural science and discussing them." Activities also included excursions to

507-738: The Zoonomia of my grandfather, in which similar views are maintained...." Charles Darwin (1876) Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character. Dr Robert Edmond Grant had graduated in 1814, and then studied anatomy with Georges Cuvier and embryology with Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in Paris. On returning in 1824 he was appointed lecturer in invertebrate animals at the private anatomy school set up by John Barclay and run by Robert Knox from 1826. His lectures there promoted Geoffroy's "philosophical anatomy" based on unity of plan compatible with

546-517: The minutes . Several were legal students or humanities students, and a fair number of students from England reflected the numbers of nonconformists who were barred from attending the universities in England which required Anglicanism , and instead went to university in Scotland. Professors did not attend, and a December 1826 visit by Andrew Duncan secundus who intended to donate his latest publication as

585-541: The transmutation of species , implying ideas of progressive improvement and hence radical support for democracy. He was secretary of the Plinian, then in 1826 gave up that post to join the Council of the Wernerian Natural History Society . Plinian members helped with his pioneering work on marine invertebrates from the Firth of Forth , with Coldstream assisting him in 1825–1826. William A. F. Browne - an atheistic phrenologist -

624-532: The 1829–1830 session they returned to Berwickshire, with two of them becoming ministers of local parishes . The society collapsed in 1841. Berwickshire Berwickshire ( / ˈ b ɛ r ɪ k ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪər / ; Scottish Gaelic : Siorrachd Bhearaig ) is a historic county , registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed , its original county town , which

663-543: 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

702-541: The Society's council. At the same meeting Browne presented an attack on Bell's claims that the Creator had endowed humans with unique muscles lacking in animals to express emotions showing mankind's superior moral nature, and denied that there was any essential difference. Darwin went on to attend eighteen of nineteen meetings that he could have attended during that academic year, and became a zealous assistant to Grant, learning to collect and dissect seashore creatures. Darwin made

741-642: The body. A furious debate ensued, and subsequently someone took the extraordinary step of deleting the minutes of this heretical part of the discussion. John Hutton Balfour joined the Plinian in 1827 and Hugh Falconer in 1828. Balfour took up the Chair of Botany at Edinburgh in 1845 and was, for many years, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine; his sister, Magdalene Balfour, married William A.F. Browne and bore him eight children, including James Crichton-Browne . The Baird brothers made occasional appearances after graduation, then in

780-600: The border with East Lothian; it is here that Meikle Says Law , the highest point in the county at 535 m (1,755 ft), can be found. The River Tweed forms the border 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 , Whiteadder Water , Dye Water , Watch Water , Eden Water and Blackadder Water . Between

819-466: The countryside around Edinburgh . Meetings appear to have been weekly, until at the society's request, Jameson put their case to the university for a room in his museum for their meetings and their own small "museum", but the outcome was that the rent on their old room was raised and they eventually agreed to rent the Speculative Society's room for meetings on alternate Tuesdays. Papers presented by

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858-482: The county as a whole. Inhabitants are called "Merse-men". Berwickshire borders Midlothian to the west, East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, and Roxburghshire and the English county of Northumberland to the south. 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 traverse

897-600: 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

936-618: The habits of the cuckoo , the aurora borealis , and ghosts (which he believed in). Browne went on to a distinguished career as an asylum reformer at Sunnyside Royal Hospital in Montrose (1834–1838) and, famously, at the Crichton Royal , Dumfries (1838–1857); his son, James Crichton-Browne , collaborated with Darwin in the preparation of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). In

975-666: The historic county becoming part of the lower-tier Berwickshire district . Berwickshire district was abolished in 1996, when all the districts in the Borders region merged to become the Scottish Borders council area . The low-lying part of Berwickshire between the Tweed and the Lammermuirs is known as " the Merse ", from an old Scots word for a floodplain, and this name is sometimes extended to

1014-426: The late tenth and early eleventh centuries, the land between the rivers Forth and Tweed came under Scottish control. The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed was made a royal burgh by David I (reigned 1124–1153), and it would appear that the shire 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

1053-489: The medieval province 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 ) were initially shared between Duns and Lauder , until 1596 when Greenlaw was declared the county town by James VI . In 1661 the county town was moved to Duns, but in 1696 it was moved back to Greenlaw. Commissioners of Supply were established for each Scottish shire in 1667. County Hall

1092-463: The notable scientists of its day. There were no meetings from 1850–1856, which coincided with the decline of Jameson himself. It was eventually decided to close the Society down and dispose of its assets, and it finally closed on 16 April 1858. Members of the Wernerian Society were entitled to use the abbreviation M.W.S. after their name. "Corresponding members", based outside Edinburgh, used

1131-413: 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 : The county council of Berwickshire was formed in 1890 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , and applied for a grant of arms the same year. The grant, by Lord Lyon King of Arms was made on 10 October. The coat of arms shows

1170-576: The parishes of Channelkirk , Earlston , Lauder , Legerwood , and Mertoun , which went to Ettrick and Lauderdale district. The Berwickshire lieutenancy area 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

1209-404: The present Scottish Borders 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. The first election to Berwickshire District Council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside

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1248-409: The second year of Charles Darwin's education at Edinburgh he took an increased interest in natural history. Browne, Coldstream and George Fife as three of the five joint presidents proposed Darwin for membership, and he petitioned to join the Plinian on 21 November 1826, at a meeting when Browne announced his intention to refute Charles Bell 's Anatomy and Philosophy of Expression . Darwin was elected

1287-437: The students were often of high quality, inspired by their lecturers. Commonly, papers took the form of a critique of the work of established experts, together with the student's own thoughts. They covered a wide range of subjects including the circulation of ocean currents , identification of plants found in the nearby countryside, the anatomy of sea animals they had collected and principles of classification . Meetings included

1326-508: Was abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , 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 district, and

1365-476: 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 burghs and three districts : Berwickshire County Council

1404-577: Was an offshoot of the Royal Society of Edinburgh , and from its beginnings it was a rather elite organization. The Society was named after Abraham Gottlob Werner , a German geologist who was a creator of Neptunism , a theory of superposition based on a receding primordial ocean that had deposited all the rocks in the crust. At this time all rocks, including basalt , and crystalline substances were thought by some to be precipitated from solution. Robert Jameson , Regius Professor of Natural History at

1443-448: 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 ,

1482-467: 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 both served as county town at different periods. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of the Borders region, with most of

1521-551: Was proposed for membership by John Coldstream despite Coldstream's religious inclinations. Coldstream later made a considerable contribution to the psychiatry of learning disability . Browne was a proponent of Lamarckian "developmental" theories of the mind and at the Edinburgh Phrenological Society , George Combe toasted him for his success in proselytising other medical students. Browne also presented papers on various subjects, including plants he had collected,

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