Roxburghshire

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Roxburghshire county

Roxburghshire (pronunciation: [ ˈrɒksbrəʃə ]; Gaelic : Siorrachd Rosbroig ) is a traditional county in southeastern Scotland . It borders on Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest and Berwickshire to the north . In the south of Roxburghshire are the English counties of Northumberland and Cumberland .

Roxburghshire has an area of ​​1725 km² and includes the landscapes of Teviotdale and Liddesdale . In 2011 the county had about 48,600 residents. The country is very mountainous, especially in the south , due to the branches of the Cheviot Hills , the main line of which forms the border with England. Low-lying areas can only be found in the valleys of the larger rivers and in the north of the county. From the peaks of the Cheviot Hills, the Peel Fell (602 m high) and Catcleuch Shin (530 m) can be found in the territory of Roxburghshire. The highest elevations in the mountains that form the watershed between Teviotdale and Liddledale are Cauldcleuch Head (619 m), Greatmoor (599 m), Pennygant (550 m), Din Fell (529 m), Windburgh (494 m) and Arnton Fell (446 m). In the west rises the Crib Law (417 m) and in the north near Melrose the distinctive triple peak of Eildon Hill (422 m). The county is irrigated by the Tweed , Teviot , Liddel and Jed rivers and has several land lakes. The romantic valleys of the Tweed and Teviot and their tributaries were the classic soil for Scottish songs and sagas . The climate is harsh but healthy, and the soil is generally fertile and gracious. The county is named after the medieval market town of Roxburgh . Other major cities in Roxburghshire include Kelso , Melrose , Newtown St Boswells , Hawick , Jedburgh and Teviothead .

history

The numerous archaeological remains of Roxburghshire include prehistoric ramparts as well as military camps built later in Roman times . After the Romans withdrew from Britain at the beginning of the 5th century, the region first belonged to the Kingdom of Strathclyde , then for four centuries to Northumbria and from 1018 to Scotland. King David I raised it to a shire . The eponymous main town of Roxburgh was abandoned after its castle was destroyed in 1460, whereupon Kelso developed into the new center. As a border area (Border), Roxburghshire was the scene of devastating wars; various towns in the county were repeatedly devastated during the Anglo-Scottish Wars in the late Middle Ages . Dryburgh , Jedburgh , Kelso and Melrose Abbeys were destroyed during the Earl of Hertford's campaign in 1544-45. After the union of the Scottish with the English crowns, quieter times began for the county, but these were interrupted during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Jacobite Revolts.

In the 19th century, the region was particularly glorified by Walter Scott , who built his last residence here in Abbotsford . In addition to traditional cattle breeding , which was far more prevalent than agriculture , the wool industry came in the 18th and 19th centuries and revitalized the county's economy. In 1975 Roxburghshire became a district of the Borders region . The Borders region and its districts were dissolved in 1996 and transformed into the Scottish Borders Unitary Authority .

Remarks

  1. ^ Roxburghshire , Encyclopædia Britannica , 11th edition, 1910-11, Vol. 23, p. 789.
  2. ^ Roxburghshire . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 13, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 1017.
  3. ^ A b Roxburghshire , in Encyclopædia Britannica online.
  4. ^ Roxburghshire , Encyclopædia Britannica , 11th Edition, 1910-11, Vol. 23, pp. 790 f.