BERWICK-ON-TWEED BERWICKSHIRE 587 for convenience it is often reckoned as being in Northumberland. It extends with its liberties, including the suburbs Tweedmouth (an impor- tant railway station) and Spittal (a fishing vil- lage and watering place) 3J m. along the coast and nearly 3 m. westward. In ancient deeds tlie town is called South Berwick, to distinguish it from North Berwick on the frith of Forth, 34 m. N. E., near Tantallon castle. Berwick-on- Tveed is mostly built on the castle hill. The castle, prominent in the border wars, is now a shapeless ruin, with only a tower and part of the wall remaining. The new royal border bridge or aqueduct, connecting the North Brit- ish with the Newcastle and Berwick railway, one of the celebrated works of Robert Stephen- son, spans the Tweed from the castle hill to the Tweedmouth side. It was opened in 1850, is 134 ft. high, 2,000 ft. long, and lias 28 semi- circular arches. There is also an old stone bridge. The town is well built, with spacious streets, but the general appearance is dilapida- ted. A thorough system of drainage has recent- ly been introduced. There are many places of worship ; the parish church was enlarged and embellished in 1855, and a fine new Gothic church opened in 1859. The guildhall belongs to the burgesses, and is a fine building with a tall spire. There are numerous schools (including a corporation academy) and charitable institu- tions, and the Berwickshire naturalists' club meets here. The corn exchange was opened in 1848, and a new cemetery in 1857. Once the chief seaport of Scotland, the town still retains much commercial importance. About 700 vessels, with a tonnage of over 40,000, enter and leave the port annually. The chief exports are salmon, coal, wool, ale, and whis- Bervrick-on-Tweed. key; the chief imports, timber, staves, iron, tallow, and hemp. The town has a ship-build- ing yard, breweries, an extensive iron foun- dery, and manufactories of steam engines and machinery, cotton hosiery, and carpets; and near it are coal mines. The authentic his- tory of Berwick begins with Alexander I. of Scotland in the 12th century. It was most prosperous in the 13th under Alexander III. Edward I. held the English parliament here which decided for Balliol and against Bruce for the throne of Scotland; and here the limbs of Wallace were exposed, after his execution. Berwick was prominent in the border wars, and was often taken and retaken by the Scotch and the English from early in the 14th till late in the 15th century, when it finally reverted to England. James I. granted to the citizens the seigniory of the town. This charter, somewhat modified by the municipal reform act, is still in force. The town is governed by a corporation of 6 aldermen and 18 councillors, one of whom is the mayor, and the borough returns two members of parliament. BERWICKSHIRE, a maritime and border county forming the S. E. extremity of Scotland, on the German ocean, separated S. E. by the Tweed from Northumberland, England, and bounded N. by Haddingtonshire, W. by Edin- burghshire, and S. by Roxburghshire; area, 472 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 36,475. It is divided into the districts of Lammermoor, Lauderdale, and the Merse. Some of the famous Lammer- moor hills are over 1,500 feet high. About 200,000 acres are under cultivation, and the production is steadily increasing from improved systems of culture. Though smaller than many other Scotch counties, it produces more wheat
