County of Berwick
| Berwickshire | |
|---|---|
| Historic county | |
 |
|
| Country | Scotland |
| County town |
Berwick (historical) Greenlaw (1596–1890) Duns (modern) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 457 sq mi (1,184 km2) |
| Ranked 20th of 34 | |
| Chapman code | BEW |
Berwickshire is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Scottish Borders. It takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was part of Scotland at the time of the county's formation, but became part of England in 1482.
Formerly the county was often called "the Merse", from Old English mǣres, "border". From 1596 to 1890 the county town was Greenlaw. However, this was changed to Duns by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, the act which established the system of county councils in Scotland.
The county borders Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire to the west, East Lothian and Midlothian to the north, the North Sea to the east and a portion of the Anglo-Scottish border with Northumberland to the south.
Prior to 1975 Berwickshire contained four burghs and three districts:
The districts of:
Berwickshire County Council was abolished by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and the county was instead governed by the Borders Regional Council.
The region was divided into four districts, one of which was named Berwickshire District; however its area was not congruent with the county's, with the burgh of Lauder and most of the county's West District included in the Ettrick and Lauderdale District and the parish of Nenthorn included in the Roxburgh District. Berwickshire District Council remained based in Duns, the old county town.
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