33-703: Westruther is a village on the B6465, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland , on the lower slopes of the Lammermuir Hills , in the former Berwickshire . The largest town nearby is Gordon . Places nearby include Duns , Greenlaw , the Lammermuir Hills , Longformacus and the Watch Water Reservoir . The ruined kirk dates from 1649 and contains the tombs of the Spottiswoode family. A prominent member of
66-414: A Gaelic-speaking elite in the area, the main languages in the area since the 5th century appear to have been Brythonic (in the west) and Old English (in the east), the latter of which developed into its modern forms of English and Scots . Border ballads occupied a distinctive place in literature. Many of them were rescued from oblivion by Walter Scott , who gathered materials for his Minstrelsy of
99-742: A buffer zone. On each side of the Anglo-Scottish border there was the West March, the Middle March and the East March. These regions nearly mirrored each other but there was some overlap between the Scottish and English regions. In the late 13th century Edward I of England appointed the first Lord Warden of the Marches , who was tasked with overseeing these regions and keeping their monarch's domain secure; when it
132-555: A wider use, referring to all of the counties adjoining the English border, also including Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire , as well as Northumberland , Cumberland and Westmorland in England. Roxburghshire and Berwickshire historically bore the brunt of the conflicts with England, both during declared wars such as the Wars of Scottish Independence , and armed raids which took place in
165-530: Is Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale and is represented by SNP Christine Grahame . The council area is divided into 11 wards that elect 34 councilors: Largest settlements by population: 15,490 13,620 9,000 6,870 4,540 3,860 3,580 3,180 2,820 2,500 Scottish Marches Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the Late Middle Ages and
198-463: 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 west, and the English ceremonial counties of Cumbria and Northumberland to the south. The largest settlement is Galashiels , and the administrative centre is Newtown St Boswells . The term Borders sometimes has
231-543: Is represented by John Lamont of the Conservatives. The western Tweeddale area is included in the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale constituency and is represented by David Mundell of the Conservatives. At Scottish Parliament level, there are also two seats. The eastern constituency is Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire , which is currently represented by Conservative Rachael Hamilton . The western constituency
264-507: The Covenanters ' time, when the marquess of Montrose was defeated at the Battle of Philiphaugh in 1645. Partly for defence and partly to overawe the freebooters and moss-troopers who were a perpetual threat until they were suppressed later in the 17th century, castles were erected at various points on both sides of the border. From early on, the two sovereigns agreed on the duty to regulate
297-454: The Early Modern era , characterised by violence and cross-border raids. The Scottish Marches era came to an end during the first decade of the 17th century following the union of the crowns of England and Scotland . The Marches were first conceived in a treaty between Henry III of England and Alexander III of Scotland in 1249 as an attempt to control the Anglo-Scottish border by providing
330-504: The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw the area's four districts and the regional council abolished, with a new unitary authority created covering the same area as the former Borders Region. The 1994 Act called the new council area "The Borders", but the shadow council elected in 1995 to oversee the transition changed the name to "Scottish Borders" prior to the changes coming into effect in 1996. The Scottish Borders are in
363-590: The Borders Regional Council between 1975 and 1996. Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under the single transferable vote system, introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 . Election results since 1995 have been as follows: There are two British Parliamentary constituencies in the Scottish Borders; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk covers most of the region and
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#1732852819300396-624: The First and Second World War. This Scottish Borders location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( Scots : the Mairches , lit. 'the Marches '; Scottish Gaelic : Crìochan na h-Alba ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland . The council area occupies approximately the same area as the historic shires of Berwickshire , Peeblesshire , Roxburghshire , and Selkirkshire . It
429-580: The Scottish Border , which appeared in 1802 and 1803. Border traditions and folklore, and the picturesque incidents of which the country was so often the scene, appealed strongly to James Hogg ("the Ettrick Shepherd"), John Wilson , writing as "Christopher North", and John Mackay Wilson , whose Tales of the Borders , published in 1835, enjoyed popular favour throughout the 1800s. Until September 2015,
462-475: The area as well as to Berwick-upon Tweed in Northumberland . The area is served by the main local newspapers: Southern Reporter and The Border Telegraph . The council has been under no overall control since 1999. Since the 2022 election the council has been run by an administration of the Conservatives and three of the independent councillors. The first election to the Borders Regional Council
495-674: The border clans would switch allegiance between the Scottish and English thrones depending on what was most favourable for the members of the clan. For a time, powerful local clans dominated a region on the border between England and Scotland, known as the Debatable Lands , where neither monarch's writ was heeded. During this era, the Border Reivers were raiders that attacked local residents. There were both English and Scottish clans in these groups, and they would attack regardless of nationality. Local farmers would often need to make payments to
528-509: The border with England for the last twenty miles or so of its length. The term Central Borders refers to the area in which the majority of the main towns and villages of Galashiels , Selkirk , Hawick , Jedburgh , Earlston , Kelso , Newtown St Boswells , St Boswells , Peebles , Melrose and Tweedbank are located. Two of Scotland's 40 national scenic areas (defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure their protection from inappropriate development) lie within
561-508: The borders. The Scottish Marches system was set up, under the control of three wardens from each side, who generally kept the peace through several centuries until being replaced by the Middle Shires under James VI/I . Prior to 1975 the area that is now Scottish Borders was administered as the four separate counties of Berwickshire , Peeblesshire , Roxburghshire , and Selkirkshire , plus part of Midlothian . An elected county council
594-537: The council following the 1996 reforms was Drew Tulley, who had been the last leader of the former Ettrick and Lauderdale District Council. The leaders since 1996 have been: Scottish Borders Council is based at the Council Headquarters in Newtown St Boswells. The building had been the headquarters of Roxburghshire County Council prior to 1975, and subsequently served as the served as the main office of
627-683: The eastern part of the Southern Uplands . The region is hilly and largely rural, with the River Tweed flowing west to east through it. The highest hill in the region is Broad Law in the Manor Hills . In the east of the region, the area that borders the River Tweed is flat and is known as 'The Merse'. The Tweed and its tributaries drain the entire region with the river flowing into the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland , and forming
660-513: The family was Alicia Ann Spottiswoode a.k.a. Lady John Scott of " Annie Laurie " fame. There is a stained glass window in her honour in the "new" kirk dating from 1834. Very Rev William Wilson (1808-1888) Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1866 was born and raised in the village. Westruther was the name of the Spottiswoode family home, taken down between
693-467: The old reiver country—the peel tower , a defensive structure found on many great houses (and indeed on Carlisle Cathedral ). It has also produced a great deal of romantic literature, most famously the works of Sir Walter Scott . Berwick-upon-Tweed , a strategic town on the north bank of the River Tweed (the traditional border in the East March), is slightly closer to Edinburgh than to Newcastle . It
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#1732852819300726-563: The region are: In terms of television, the area is cover by BBC Scotland broadcasting from Glasgow and ITV Border which broadcast from Gateshead . Television signals are received from the Selkirk TV transmitter. Radio stations are provided by BBC Radio Scotland which broadcast the local opt-out from its studios in Selkirk . The commercial radio station, Radio Borders broadcasts from Edinburgh but still broadcast local news bulletins to
759-636: The region had no working railway stations. Although the area was well connected to the Victorian railway system , the branch lines that supplied it were closed in the decades following the Second World War . A bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament to extend the Waverley Line , which aimed to re-introduce a commuter service from Edinburgh to Stow , Galashiels and Tweedbank . This section of
792-585: The region: At the census held on 27 March 2011, the population of the region was 113,870 (final total), an increase of 6.66% from the 106,764 enumerated at the previous (2001) census. The Census of 20 March 2022 produced a population of 116,821. Although there is evidence of some Scottish Gaelic in the origins of place names such as Innerleithen ("confluence of the Leithen "), Kilbucho and Longformacus , which contain identifiably Goidelic rather than Brythonic Celtic elements and are an indication of at least
825-539: The route re-opened on 6 September 2015, under the Borders Railway branding. The other railway route running through the region is the East Coast Main Line , with Edinburgh Waverley , Dunbar and Berwick being the nearest stations on that line, all of which are outwith the Borders. Since 2022, after much discussion a railway station was re-opened at Reston which is within the region and serves Eyemouth . To
858-475: The situation. The wardens of the Marches on either side of the border were entrusted with the difficult task of keeping the peace and punishing wrongdoers; the Scottish and English wardens would meet to co-ordinate their efforts against free-lance reivers at "days of march" (or "days of truce"), when they implemented March law , a kind of customary law agreed upon by the two realms during times of peace. The reiver period produced one unique architectural feature in
891-419: The times of the Border Reivers . During this period, at the western end of the border there was a strip of country, called the "Debatable Land", because the possession of it was a constant source of contention between England and Scotland until its boundaries were adjusted in 1552. Thus, across the region are to be seen the ruins of many castles, abbeys and even towns. The only other important conflict belongs to
924-416: The various clans as a form of protection money to ensure they were not attacked. These agreements were called black mal , from an Old Norse word mal meaning 'agreement'. The word blackmail entered the English language in 1530 as a result. The fluid nature of the border, and the frequent wars between Scotland and England, made the Marches fertile ground for many bandits and reivers who exploited
957-489: The west, Carlisle , Carstairs and Lockerbie are the nearest stations on the West Coast Main Line . The area is served by buses which connect the main population centres. Express bus services link the main towns with rail stations at Edinburgh and Carlisle. The region also has no commercial airports; the nearest are Edinburgh and Newcastle , both of which are international airports. The main roads to and from
990-516: Was established for each county in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 . The county councils were abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which established a two-tier structure of local government comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. A region called Borders was created covering the area. The region contained four districts, called Berwickshire, Ettrick and Lauderdale , Roxburgh , and Tweeddale . Further local government reform in 1996 under
1023-414: Was fought over many times: between 1147 and 1482, the town changed hands between the two nations more than 13 times. As late as the reign of Elizabeth I of England , the English considered it worth spending a fortune on the latest style of fortifications ( trace italienne ) to secure the town against Scottish attack. The Scottish Marches era came to an end during the first decade of the 17th century with
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1056-399: Was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A shadow authority was again elected in 1995 ahead of the reforms which came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1975 has been as follows: Borders Regional Council Scottish Borders Council The first leader of
1089-540: Was in their interests, they would encourage cross-border raiding, or even full-scale war. Especially in the Tudor period, some inhabitants of the Marches on either side of the border exhibited mixed national allegiances, and parts of the region were home to Riding Surnames or clans . Before the two kingdoms were united in March 1603 , under the personal union of Scotland and England under James VI of Scotland (James I of England),
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