Roxburgh (county)
| Roxburgh | |
|---|---|
| Historic county | |
 |
|
| Country | Scotland |
| County town | Jedburgh |
| Area | |
| • Total | 666 sq mi (1,725 km2) |
| Ranked 12th of 34 | |
| Chapman code | ROX |
Until 1975 Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh was a county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It bordered Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire to the north-west, and Berwickshire to the north. To the south it bordered Cumberland and Northumberland in England.
It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh, a town which declined markedly in the 15th century and is no longer in existence. Latterly, the county town of Roxburghshire was Jedburgh.
The county had much the same area as Teviotdale, the basin drained by the River Teviot and tributaries together with the adjacent stretch of the Tweed into which it flows. The term is often treated as synonymous with Roxburghshire, but may omit Liddesdale as Liddel Water drains to the west coast.
The county appears to have originated in the 12th century with the creation of the sheriffdom of Roxburgh. The first known sheriff is Gospatric (sheriff of Roxburgh). The hereditary sheriffship of Roxburghshire was possessed by the family of Douglas until the abolition of heritable jurisdictions in the 18th century.
The ancient royal burgh of Roxburgh, from which the county had taken its name, fell into decay by the fifteenth century. After the demise of the town of Roxburgh, the county administration was based in Jedburgh, the county town. County Buildings were erected near the market place in 1812, in which the different courts met and the county officials transacted their business.
The county has a population of 48639 (in 2011), which is 43% of the population of the Scottish Borders area.
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Wikipedia