Berwick upon Tweed

Name

The name "Berwick" is of Old English origin, and is derived from the term bere-wīc, combining bere, meaning "barley", and wīc, referring to a farm or settlement. "Berwick" thus means "barley village" or "barley farm".

Early history

In the post-Roman period, the area was inhabited by the Brythons of Bryneich. Later, the region became part of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia. Bernicia later united with the kingdom of Deira to form Northumbria, which in the mid-10th century entered the Kingdom of England under Eadred. Berwick remained part of the Earldom of Northumbria until control passed to the Scots following the Battle of Carham of 1018. The town itself was founded as an Anglo-Saxon settlement during the time of the Kingdom of Northumbria.

Scottish burgh

Between the late 10th and early 11th centuries, the land between the rivers Forth and Tweed came under Scottish control, either through conquest by Scotland or through cession by England. Berwick was made a royal burgh in the reign of David I. A mint was present in the town by 1153.

While under Scottish control, Berwick was referred to as "South Berwick" in order to differentiate it from the town of North Berwick, East Lothian, near Edinburgh.

Berwick had a mediaeval hospital for the sick and poor which was administered by the Church. A charter under the Great Seal of Scotland, confirmed by King James I of Scotland, grants the king's chaplain "Thomas Lauder of the House of God or Hospital lying in the burgh of Berwick-upon-Tweed, to be held to him for the whole time of his life with all lands, teinds, rents and profits, etc., belonging to the said hospital, as freely as is granted to any other hospital in the Kingdom of Scotland; the king also commands all those concerned to pay to the grantee all things necessary for the support of the hospital. Dated at Edinburgh June 8, in the 20th year of his reign."

Disputed territory

Berwick's strategic position on the Anglo-Scottish border during centuries of war between the two nations and its relatively great wealth led to a succession of raids, sieges and takeovers. William I of Scotland invaded and attempted to capture northern England in 1173-74. After his defeat, Berwick was ceded to Henry II of England. It was later sold back to William by Richard I of England in order to raise funds for his Crusade. Berwick had become a prosperous town by the middle of the 13th century. According to William Edington, a bishop and chancellor of Scotland, Berwick was "so populous and of such commercial importance that it might rightly be called another Alexandria, whose riches were the sea and the water its walls". In 1291–92 Berwick was the site of Edward I of England's arbitration in the contest for the Scottish crown between John Balliol and Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale. The decision in favour of Balliol was pronounced in the Great Hall of Berwick Castle on 17 November 1292.

In 1296 England went to war with France, with whom Scotland was in alliance. Balliol invaded England in response, sacking Cumberland. Edward in turn invaded Scotland and captured Berwick, destroying much of the town and massacring many of the inhabitants. Edward I went again to Berwick in August 1296 to receive formal homage from some 2,000 Scottish nobles, after defeating the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar in April and forcing John Balliol to abdicate at Kincardine Castle the following July. It was at this time that work began on building the town walls (and rebuilding the earlier Castle); these fortifications were complete by 1318 and subsequently improved under Scottish rule. An arm of William Wallace was displayed at Berwick after his execution and quartering on 23 August 1305. In 1314 Edward II of England mustered 25,000 men at Berwick, who later fought in (and lost) the Battle of Bannockburn.

Between 1315 and 1318 Scottish armies, sometimes with the help of Flemish and German privateers, besieged and blockaded the town, finally invading and capturing it in April 1318. England retook Berwick some time shortly after the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333. In October 1357 a treaty was signed at Berwick by which the Scottish estates undertook to pay 100,000 marks as a ransom for David II of Scotland, who had been taken prisoner at the Battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346.

In 1461 Berwick was ceded back to Scotland by Margaret of Anjou on behalf of her husband, Henry VI, in return for help against the Yorkists during the Wars of the Roses. Robert Lauder of Edrington was put in charge of the castle. He was succeeded in 1474 by David, Earl of Crawford. On 3 February 1478, Robert Lauder of The Bass and Edrington was again appointed Keeper of the castle, a position that he held until the final year of Scottish occupation, when Patrick Hepburn, 1st Lord Hailes, had possession.

In 1482 Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) recaptured the town. Over the course of a little more than 400 years, Berwick had changed hands more than a dozen times.

English town

In 1551 the town was made a self-governing county corporate. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, vast sums – one source reports "£128,648, the most expensive undertaking of the Elizabethan period" – were spent on its fortifications, in a new Italian style (trace italienne), designed both to withstand artillery and to facilitate its use from within the fortifications. These fortifications have been described as "the only surviving walls of their kind". Sir Richard Lee designed some of the Elizabethan works.

In 1639 the army of Charles I faced that of General Alexander Leslie at Berwick in the Bishops' Wars, which were concerned with bringing the Presbyterian Church of Scotland under Charles's control. The two sides did not fight, but negotiated a settlement, the "Pacification of Berwick".

Berwick Bridge, also known as the "Old Bridge" dates to 1611. It linked Islandshire on the south bank of the River Tweed with the county burgh of Berwick on the north bank. Holy Trinity Church was built in 1648–52. It is the most northerly parish church in England and was built under special licence from Oliver Cromwell during the Commonwealth period.

British town

In 1707, the Act of Union between England and Scotland largely ended the contention about which of the countries Berwick belonged to. Since then, Berwick remained within the laws and legal system of England and Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 (since repealed) deemed that whenever legislation referred to England it applied to Berwick. England now is officially defined as "subject to any alteration of boundaries under Part IV of the Local Government Act 1972, the area consisting of the counties established by section 1 of that Act, Greater London and the Isles of Scilly.", which thus includes Berwick.

Berwick remained a county in its own right, and was not included in Northumberland for Parliamentary purposes until 1885. In the same year, the Redistribution of Seats Act reduced the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) returned by the town from two to one.

In the reorganisation of English local government on 1 April 1974 the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed was created by the merger of the previous borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed with Belford Rural District, Glendale Rural District and Norham and Islandshires Rural District.

The Interpretation Act 1978 provides that in legislation passed between 1967 and 1974, "a reference to England includes Berwick upon Tweed and Monmouthshire".

In 2008 Scottish National Party Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) Christine Grahame made calls in the Scottish Parliament for Berwick to become part of Scotland again, saying, "Even the Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council leader, who is a Liberal Democrat, backs the idea and others see the merits of reunification with Scotland." The Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis, who was born and brought up in Berwick, also asked for the border to be moved twenty miles south (i.e., a significant distance south of the Tweed) to include Berwick borough council rather than just the town. stating: "There’s a strong feeling that Berwick should be in Scotland. Until recently, I had a gran in Berwick and another in Kelso, and they could see that there were better public services in Scotland. Berwick as a borough council is going to be abolished and it would then be run from Morpeth, more than 30 miles away." However, Alan Beith, the former MP for Berwick, said the move would require a massive legal upheaval and is not realistic. Beith's successor, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, is quoted as saying: "Voters in Berwick-upon-Tweed do not believe that it is whether they are in England or Scotland that is important."

In 2009 the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed was abolished as part of wider structural changes to local government in England. All functions previously exercised by Berwick Borough Council were transferred to Northumberland County Council, which is the unitary authority for the area.

Climate

Berwick-upon-Tweed has a typical British marine climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. Because of its far northern position in England coupled with considerable North Sea influence, the area has very cool summers for an English location, with a subdued July (1981-2010) high of 17.9 °C (64.2 °F). January in turn has a high of 6.8 °C (44.2 °F) with a low of 1.7 °C (35.1 °F) with occasional frosts averaging 38.1 times per annum. Precipitation is relatively low by British standards, with 589.2 millimetres (23.20 in) on average. Sunshine is still limited to 1508.5 hours per annum. All data is sourced from the Berwick-upon-Tweed station operated by the Met Office.

Governance

During periods of Scottish administration Berwick was the county town of Berwickshire, to which the town gave its name. Thus at various points in the Middle Ages and from 1482 (when Berwick became administered by England) Berwickshire had the unique distinction of being the only county in the British Isles to be named after a town in another country.

The town of Berwick was a county corporate for most purposes from 1482, up until 1885, when it was fully incorporated into Northumberland. Between 1885, and 1974, Berwick (north of the Tweed) was a borough council in its own right, and then on 1 April 1974 it was merged with Belford Rural District, Glendale Rural District and Norham and Islandshires Rural District.

During these periods, Berwick Borough Council and Berwickshire County Council (or District Council) existed, both named after the same town, but covering entirely different areas.

The Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed was abolished on 1 April 2009. From that date, Northumberland County Council assumed its functions, and those of the other districts in its area, to become a unitary authority.

A new Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council, a parish council, has been created covering Berwick-upon-Tweed, Tweedmouth and Spittal. It is expected to take over the former Borough's mayoralty and regalia.

Berwick-upon-Tweed is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Economy

Slightly more than 60% of the population is employed in the service sector, including shops, hotels and catering, financial services and most government activity, including health care. About 13% is in manufacturing, 10% in agriculture, and 8% in construction. Some current and recent Berwick economic activities include salmon fishing, shipbuilding, engineering, sawmilling, fertilizer production, malting and the manufacture of tweed and hosiery.

Berwick town centre comprises the Mary Gate and High Street where many local shops and some retail chains exist. There is a B&M which replaced the Co-Operative. A new office development has been built in the Walker Gate beside the library which combined spaced with the Northumberland Adult Learning Centre and Tourism centre.

There is a retail park in Tweedmouth consisting of a Home Base, Farm Foods, Marks and Spencer, Argo's, Next, Carpet Right, Curry's PC World, Halfords, and the newly opened Pound Land. Berwick Borough Council refused a proposal from Asda in 2006 to build a store near the site, but in 2008 gave Tesco planning permission for its new store in the town, which opened on 13 September 2010. Asda went on to take over the Co-op shop unit in Tweedmouth early 2010. A Morrisons supermarket with a petrol station, alongside a branch of McDonald's, a Travelodge UK and an Aldi all exist on Loaning Meadows close to the outskirts of the town near the current A1.

Transport

The old A1 road passes through Berwick. The modern A1 goes around the town to the west. The town is on the East Coast Main Line railway, and has a railway station. A small seaport at Tweedmouth facilitates the import and export of goods, but provides no passenger services. The port is protected by a long breakwater built in the 19th century, at the end of which is a red and white lighthouse. Completed in 1826, the 13 metres (43 ft) tower emits a white light every five seconds from a window overlooking the sea. Seafarers' charity, Apostleship of the Sea has a chaplain to support the needs of mariners arriving at the port.

Berwick dialect

The local speech of Berwick-upon-Tweed shares many characteristics with both other rural Northumberland dialects and East Central Scots. In 1892, linguist Richard Oliver Heslop divided the county of Northumberland into four dialect zones and placed the Berwick dialect in the "north-Northumbrian" region, an area extending from Berwick down to the River Coquet. Likewise, Charles Jones (1997) classes the dialect as "predominantly North-Northumbrian" with "a few features shared with Scots".

Features of this dialect include the "Northumbrian Burr", a distinct pronunciation of the letter R historically common to many dialects of North East England; and predominant non-rhoticity: older speakers tend to be slightly rhotic, while younger speakers are universally non-rhotic.

A sociological study of the English-Scottish border region conducted in 2000 found that locals of Alnwick, 30 miles (48 km) south of Berwick, associated the Berwick accent with Scottish influence. Conversely, those from Eyemouth, Scotland, 9 miles (14 km) north of Berwick, firmly classed Berwick speech as English, identifying it as "Northumbrian or Geordie".

Sport

Berwick Rangers Football Club were formed in the town in 1881. Despite being located in England, the club plays in the Scottish football league system. The home stadium of Berwick Rangers is Shielfield Park and the club currently plays in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system.

The town also has a rugby union side, Berwick RFC who play in Scottish Rugby Union's East Regional League Division 1.

Speedway has taken place in Berwick in two separate eras. The sport was introduced to Shielfield Park in May 1968. A dispute between the speedway club and the stadium owners ended the first spell. The sport returned to Shielfield Park in the mid-1990s. The lack of a venue in the town saw the team move to a rural location called Berrington Lough. The team, known as the Bandits, have raced at all levels from First Division to Conference League (first to third levels).

Berwick Rangers and Berwick RFC are unique in being English teams that play in Scottish leagues.

Relations with Russia

There is an apocryphal story that Berwick is (or recently was) technically at war with Russia. The story tells that since Berwick had changed hands several times, it was traditionally regarded as a special, separate entity, and some proclamations referred to "England, Scotland and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed". One such was the declaration of the Crimean War against Russia in 1853, which Queen Victoria supposedly signed as "Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, Berwick-upon-Tweed and all British Dominions". When the Treaty of Paris was signed to conclude the war, "Berwick-upon-Tweed" was left out. This meant that, supposedly, one of Britain's smallest towns was officially at war with one of the world's largest powers – and the conflict extended by the lack of a peace treaty for over a century.

The BBC programme Nationwide investigated this story in the 1970s, and found that while Berwick was not mentioned in the Treaty of Paris, it was not mentioned in the declaration of war either. The question remained as to whether Berwick had ever been at war with Russia in the first place. The true situation is that since the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 had already made it clear that all references to England included Berwick, the town had no special status at either the start or end of the war. The grain of truth in this legend could be that some important documents from the 17th century did mention Berwick separately, but this became unnecessary after 1746.

According to a story by George Hawthorne in The Guardian of 28 December 1966, the London correspondent of Pravda visited the Mayor of Berwick, Councillor Robert Knox, and the two made a mutual declaration of peace. Knox said "Please tell the Russian people through your newspaper that they can sleep peacefully in their beds." The same story, cited to the Associated Press, appeared in The Baltimore Sun of 17 December 1966; The Washington Post of 18 December 1966; and The Christian Science Monitor of 22 December 1966. At some point in turn the real events seem to have been turned into a story of a "Soviet official" having signed a "peace treaty" with Mayor Knox; Knox's remark to the Pravda correspondent was preserved in this version.

Education

As with the rest of Northumberland, schools in Berwick use the three-tier system. Pupils may also commute across the Scottish border to Eyemouth or Berwickshire to attend secondary school.

First schools

Berwick St Mary C of E

Holy Island C of E

Holy Trinity C of E

Hugh Joicey C of E

Lowick

Norham St Celwulfs C of E

Scremerston

Spittal Community School

St Cuthbert's RC

Tweedmouth Prior Park

Tweedmouth West

Middle schools

Berwick Middle School

Tweedmouth Community

High Schools

Berwick Academy

Independent schools

Longridge Towers School (co-ed, all ages)

Special schools

The Grove School

Twin towns

Berwick, Pennsylvania, United States Casey, Victoria, Australia Haan, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Sarpsborg, Østfold, Norway Trzcianka, Wielkopolskie, Poland

Landmarks

Berwick Castle was built in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 1290s. It was in disrepair by the 17th century and much of it was demolished in the 19th century to make way for the railway. However, substantial ruins remain, just outside the town's rampart walls to the west by the river.

Berwick town walls and Tudor ramparts – some of the finest remaining examples of their type in the country.

The Old Bridge, 15-span sandstone arch bridge 1,164 feet (355 m) long, built in 1610–24 for £15,000. The bridge continues to carry road traffic, but in one direction only. The bridge, part of the main route from London to Edinburgh was ordered by James VI and I.

Holy Trinity Parish Church, unusual for having been built during the Commonwealth of England. It was built in 1648–52 with stone from the 13th-century castle. It was originally a plain "preaching box", with no steeple, stained glass or other decorations. Contents include a pulpit thought to have been built for John Knox during his stay in the town. The church was much altered in 1855 with many new windows and the addition of a chancel.

Berwick Barracks, built 1717–21, the design attributed to Nicholas Hawksmoor.

The Town Hall, designed by S&J Worrell and built in 1754–60. The building is neoclassical and originally the town's prison was on the top floor. The tower above the council chamber has a ring of eight bells and a curfew bell. Lester and Pack of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the tenor, third, fourth and treble bells in 1754 and the fifth and sixth bells in 1759. Charles Carr of Smethwick cast the second and curfew bells in 1894. Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the seventh bell in 1901.

Dewars Lane Granary, built in 1769, now restored as a hotel and art gallery.

Marshall Meadows Country House Hotel, built in 1780 as a country house, is north of the town. It is the most northern hotel in England, just 275 metres from the Scottish border at Marshall Meadows Bay.

Union Bridge, 5 miles (8 km) upstream, from Berwick, was built in 1821 and is the World's oldest surviving suspension bridge.

The Kings Arms Hotel on Hide Hill was built in 1782 and rebuilt in 1845. Charles Dickens stayed there in 1861.

The Royal Border Bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson and built in 1847–50 at a cost of £253,000, is a 720-yard-long railway viaduct with 28 arches, carrying the East Coast Main Line 126 feet above the River Tweed. It was opened by Queen Victoria.

St Andrew's Church, Wallace Green was built in 1859 and is one of only eight Church of Scotland congregations in England.

The Masonic Hall was built in 1872 for the town's St David's Masonic Lodge for £1,800. The lodge still owns the hall, and is also used by other Masonic lodges and orders. It is one of very few purpose-built Masonic halls in the country and is a very rare example of Victorian Masonic architecture. It has a large pipe organ built in 1895. The Hall contains many artefacts and documents concerning Freemasonry in the town which can be traced back to 1643.

The Royal Tweed Bridge, built in 1925 to carry the A1 road across the Tweed. Its span is 361 feet (110 m), which at the time was the longest concrete span. The A1 now bypasses the town to the west. In the early 2000s the bridge was renovated, the road and pavement layout revised and new street lighting added.

Dewars Lane runs down Back Street just off Bridge Street. Like other Berwick locations it was painted by L. S. Lowry, who visited Berwick often, especially in the 1930s, when he stayed at the Castle Hotel.

Notable people

Torben Betts, award-winning playwright, lives in Berwick

James Cockburn, first speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, born in Berwick

George Frederick Cooke (1756–1811), widely called the first Romantic actor in England

Anne Hepple Dickinson (1877 – 1959), writer

George Johnston (1797 - 1855), influential naturalist in the 1800s.

Rev Prof Robert Lee DD (1804-1868), raised in Tweedmouth

Alan Martin, co-creator of the comic and movie character Tank Girl, lives in Berwick

Jeremy Purvis, Liberal Democrat MSP, and youngest person in Scottish Parliament at time of election

James Redpath American anti-slavery activist and journalist, born in Berwick

Ian Sarfas, English darts player played in the 1994 BDO World Darts Championships

Thomas Smith, soldier and writer

Trevor Steven, England and Everton footballer, born in Berwick

Joseph Stevenson, prominent English Catholic archivist and Society of Jesus priest, born in Berwick

Patrick Tonyn, born in Berwick in 1725, a military general and Governor of British East Florida

Henry Travers, grew up in Berwick (although actually born in Prudhoe), was a character actor, most famously as Clarence the angel in It's a Wonderful Life

Eric Lomax, the author of The Railway Man lived in Berwick-upon-Tweed

Lucy Bronze, footballer for Manchester City Women and England, born in Berwick-upon-Tweed

Michael Johnson (b.1954), Sculptor, born in Berwick-upon-Tweed

See also Berwick Castle for Governors of the castle and Berwick-upon-Tweed (UK Parliament constituency) for a list of former MPs.