Scotland > 1882-1915 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland > 1903, Part 1 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland ... (Royal National Directory of Scotland.) With ... map, etc

ROXBURGHSHIRE.
THIS county, lying on the south-eastern border of Scotland, is
bounded on the north-east, east and south-east by the county of
Northumberland and by a small corner of Cumberland, south and
south-west by Dumfries-shire, west by Selkirk and Edinburgh-
shire and north by Berwickshire ; the shape of the county is
extremely irregular, and it measures from its extreme point on
the south to that part which is inserted between the counties of
Berwick and Edinburgh upwards of 40 miles; and from east to
â– west, near the centre, about 30 miles. The area of the shire con-
tains 665.7 square miles, or 426, 0G0 acres of land, about one
half of which is brought into cultivation, and 2,437 of water.
'The county is divided by its waters into several districts, of
which the chief and largest is Teviotdale, being that division
•drained by the Teviot and its tributary streams; this district
â– comprehends about 500 square miles. Liddesdale, which forma
the south-west corner of the county, comprehends the Alpine
territory, which is drained by the Liddle and its tributaries,
-and contains 120 square miles. The third division lies between
the Gala and Leader streams, measuring 26 square miles; and
the fourth, which is situate north of the Tweed, is included
in ''the Merse," and comprehends 27 square miles. The
^population in 1891 was 53,741, and in 1901, 22,349 males and
26,455 females; total, 48,804. The inhabited houses in 1891
were 10,906, and in 1901, 10,845. In size Roxburgh is the
twelfth, and in population the sixteenth of the counties of
Scotland.
Early History &c. — The earlier traditions assign this part of
Caledonia to the Gadeni and Ottaddnii, and after being occupied
toy the Romans, as remains of forts, camps and roads show, from
A.D. 79 to 410, it fell into the joint possession of the Strath-
•clyde Britons, on the west, and thef Bernicians on the east, to
whom succeeded in 573 the kings of Northumbria, then embrac-
ing the country between the Forth and Humber and across from
the German Ocean to the Wigtownshire coast; to this period
belongs St. Boisil, the head of the monastery at Old Melrose,
^after whom the town of St. Bo-swells is named. This county shared
the shifting fate of the Northumbrian kingdom up to 954, when
it was reduced to an earldom, and in the next century Malcolm
â– Ceaunmor got back the present border counties for Scotland, and
in or about 1157, under Malcolm IV. the border line was definitely
•settled, and from that time forward this border county had to
hear the burden of the various disputes between the sovereigns
â– of the two kingdoms. In 1215 John burnt Roxburgh, and in 1292
the English court of King's Bench sat at Roxburgh, and early in
the 13th century, Edward II. held court in the same town and a
(little later the English burnt Dryburgh abbey; in 1460 Roxburgh,
which had been held by the English for 50 years, was re-
captured by the Scots and dismantled. In 1566 Queen
Mary held a court at Jedburgh and rode thence to Hermitage
Castle to see her favourite, Earl Both well. In 1715 the Highlanders
held Kelso for a few days on their way into England, and in 1745
Prince Charles stayed a night at Kelso. The district is intersected
by Roman roads in various directions, and another class of
antiquities belonging to the county are towers or castles ; among
'them the castle of Jedburgh, that of Roxburgh and Hermitage
â– Castle (in Liddesdale). The district was likewise famed for its
religious edifices, which included the abbeys of Jedburgh, Mel-
rose and Kelso.
Surface, Soil, Produce, Manufactures &c— The southern part
of Roxburghshire is very mountainous, and throughout the whole
territory there is little land absolutely flat. The following are the
.principal hills, with their respective altitudes above the level of
the sea:— Cheviot, 2,682 feet; Auchopecairn, 2,382; Chill Hill,
Millenwood Fells and Windhead Fells, each 2,000; Tudhope Fell,
1,830; Carter Fell, 1,602; Meggs Hill, 1,430; Ruberslaw, 1,392;
Eildon Hills, 1,330; Dunnian, 1,021; Minto Hills, 858; and
Minto Craigs, 649. The soil of the county is various, and much
-of it exceedingly fertile; in some part3 a rich loam, in others,
gravel and clay; the heavy clayey soil occupying the higher
.grounds, while loam occurs near the beds of rivers and rivulets.
In Liddesdale there is much mossy land. It has been ascertained
that so early as the 12th century the district produced great quan-
tities of corn, and the amount of barley then ground at the mills
exhibited the progress made in this branch of commerce Under
the intelligent monks the agriculture of the county arrived at
considerable perfection; and they introduced the knowledge of
"horti culture. Apples and pears are now extensively cultivated in
•the orchards of Melrose, Jedburgh and Kelso. Excellent crops of
wheat, barley and oats are now grown, as are also potatoes, peas,
/beans and turnips, the latter serving as food for the great num-
bers of sheep and cattle that are reared, and for the disposal of
which large stock sales are held at Hawick, Kelso and Newtown
St. Boswells.
The chief crops in 1902, as appears from the " Agricultural
Returns for Great Britain," are: oats, 28,392 acres; barley or
bere, 12,240; wheat, 539; the total corn crops being 41,592
acres; turnips and swedes, 21,066 acres; potatoes, 1,200; cab-
bage &c. 661; total green crops, 23,278; hay, 14,693 acres;
clover, sainfoin and grasses, not for hay, 43,467 acres; per-
manent pasture, 59,007 acres. The total area of land is 426,060
acres ; heath and mountain land (used for grazing), 216,506
acres; woods and plantations, 16,285.
The live stock comprised: 3,595 horses used solely for agri-
culture and brood mares ; unbroken horses, 462 ; cows and
heifers in milk or in calf, 4,695; other cattle, 13,910; ewes
kept for breeding, 209,380; other sheep, 325,542; sows kept
for breeding, 497; other pigs, 2,217.
The mineralogy is neither valuable nor varied. Between
the years 1700 and 1770 coal was discovered in the hill called
Carter Fell, in this county, near the borders of Northumberland,
but though wrought for some time it was ultimately abandoned ;
another seam was subsequently found near the south-eastern por-
tion of Liddesdale, from which little benefit has been derived
beyond that detached district. Various attempts have been made
to "find coal in different places in the county, but the inhabitants
are still supplied from Dumfries-shire, Edinburghshire, or North-
umberland- The onlv minerals, raised 1901, were igneous rocks
(10,644 tons) and sandstone (993 tons). The manufactures of
Roxburghshire do not vary much. The staple of the county
is the woollen trade, the seats of which are at Hawick, Jed-
burgh and Kelso, where flannels, blankets, tartans, woollen
cloth, lambs' wool yarn, and hosiery are extensively produced.
The salmon fisheries of the Tweed are of consequence, and yield
handsome rents.
Rivers and Railwavs.— The principal streams of Roxburghshire
are as follows: — the Tweed, which enters the county near the
influx of the Ettrick and winds through the vales of Melrose and
Kelso, and in a course of 30 miles receives the Gala, the Allan,
the Leader, the Teviot, and the Eden. The Teviot, which falls
into the Tweed nearly opposite to Kelso, after passing through a
vale to which it gives name, and in a course of from 30 to 40
miles receives the Borthwick, the Ale, the Slitterick, the Rule,
the Jed, the Oxnam, and the Kealie waters, with many subsidiary
streamlets. The Liddle rises in and runs through the parish of
Castletown; it gives the name of Liddesdale to a division of the
county, and for a distance of 4 or 5 miles forms the boundary
with England. The streams tributary to the Liddle are the Her-
mitage, the Tweeden, the Tennis, the Kershope, and the Black-
burn. The Tyne and Coquet rivers rise in thiB county, and enter-
ing England, fall into the sea at Tynemouth and Coquet Isle.
The lochs are small and few in number, the principal being Yet-
holm Loch, which is about a mile and a half in circumference.
The railway system is in the hands of the North British company,
and comprises a line from Carlisle, which entering the county at
Kershopefoot station, passes through Hawick and St. Boswells
Junction, and leaves the county at Bowland station, a little
south-west of Lauder, on the Waverley route to Edinburgh;
this has branches from Riccarton Junction to Saughtree, and
thence to Hexham and Newcastle; from St. Boswells to Kelso,
via Roxburgh, from which place a branch goes to Jedburgh;
a second branch goes from St. Boswells to Earlston, Duns and
Berwick, and a line from Melrose to Falkirk; and the North-
Eastern railway has a branch from Berwick-on-Tweed, via Cold-
stream, to join the North British at Kelso.
Division, Representation &c The county comprises 30 civil
parishes, and has 35 ecclesiastical parishes and parts of 2 others,
all contained in the synod of Merse and Teviotdale and presby-
teries of Kelso, Jedburgh, Earlston and Selkirk, except Castleton,
which is in Langholm presbytery synod of Dumfries; it contains
only one royal burgh— Jedburgh — which, previous to the passing
of the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, joined with Haddington,
Dunbar, North Berwick and Lauder in returning a member to
Parliament, but was then merged in the county. The parlia-
mentarv constituency fcr 1903 numbered (including Jedburgh)
7,863. 'The valuation of the county for 1902-3 was £378,667.
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE COUNTY.
The Earl of Dalkeith D.L. Eildon hall, St. Boswells; & Cirlton
club, 94 Pall mall, London S W
ROXBURGH COUNTY COUNCIL.
Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889.
â– Convener, Lord Polwarth, Mertonn house, St. Boswells
Vice-Convener, James Brunton, Broomlands, Kelso
COUNCILLORS.
Electoral Divisions with Names & Addresses.
Ancrum, Percy George Ogilvie, Chesters, Ancrum, Jedburgh
Bedrule & Minto, John Alex. Robson Scott, Hinslaws, Jedburgh
Bowden, George Ballingall. Clarilaw, St. Boswells
Castleton, John Fleming, Roan, Newcastleton
Cavers & Kirkton, Captain Palmer Douglas, Cavers, Hawick
Crailinz, Major Paton, Crailing, Jedburgh
Eokford, Athol Stanhope Hay, Marlefield, Roxburgh
Ednam & Stichill, Sir Richard John Waldie Griffith bart. Hen-
dersyde park, Kelso
Hobkirk, George Tancred, Weens, Hawick
Jedburgh (Burgh), Provost Oliver Hilson, Jedburgh
Tedhureh (Burgh), Bailie Alexander Scott Young, Jedburgh
Jedburgh (Burgh), Bailie James Yeitch, Jedburgh