Selkirkshire
Encyclopedia
Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a registration county
of Scotland
. It borders Peeblesshire
to the west, Midlothian
to the north, Berwickshire
to the north-east, Roxburghshire
to the east, and Dumfriesshire
to the south. It derives its name from its county town
, the Royal burgh
of Selkirk.
Until 1975 it was an one of the thirty three administrative counties of Scotland
, with a county council
formed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
. Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
the use of counties as local government areas was abolished across Scotland, with its area becoming part of the Ettrick and Lauderdale
district of the Borders Region
. Unlike many counties, Selkirkshire has not continued to exist as a lieutenancy areas
, but has become part of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale
for these purposes.
Selkirk formed part of the lands of the Gadeni who hunted it rather than settled there. Neither the Romans
, Angles
, or the Saxons
cleared much of the forestry there and for centuries Selkirk was known for its forest coverage. Indeed an alternative name for the county was Ettrick Forest
. Under the Scottish kings the forest was regarded as Royal. Despite this it was not until the reign of James V that sheriffs were appointed to administer the county on the Crown's behalf. Under Edward I of England
, the forest was granted to the Earl of Gloucester
. Later, the Earl of Pembroke
assumed the hereditary sheriffdom. Under and after King Robert the Bruce
, the Earls of Douglas
, and later Earls of Angus administered the county on behalf of the Crown, until the Union of the Crowns
.
Folk ballads written of the county commemorate the Battle of Philiphaugh
in 1645, the 'Dowie Dens' at Yarrow
and Tibbie Shiels at St Mary's Loch
.
was as follows:
There is also a History of Selkirkshire by T. Craig Brown, published in 1886.
Registration county
A registration county was, in Great Britain and Ireland, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census information. In Scotland registration counties are used for land registration purposes....
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It borders Peeblesshire
Peeblesshire
Peeblesshire , the County of Peebles or Tweeddale was a county of Scotland. Its main town was Peebles, and it bordered Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire to the west.After the local government reorganisation of 1975 the use of the name...
to the west, Midlothian
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
to the north, Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
to the north-east, Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
to the east, and Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
to the south. It derives its name from its county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
, the Royal burgh
Royal burgh
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
of Selkirk.
Until 1975 it was an one of the thirty three administrative counties of Scotland
Counties of Scotland
The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....
, with a county council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
formed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
The Local Government Act 1889 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the Act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland...
. Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....
the use of counties as local government areas was abolished across Scotland, with its area becoming part of the Ettrick and Lauderdale
Ettrick and Lauderdale
Ettrick & Lauderdale 1975-96Ettrick and Lauderdale was one of four local government districts in the Borders region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996....
district of the Borders Region
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
. Unlike many counties, Selkirkshire has not continued to exist as a lieutenancy areas
Lieutenancy areas of Scotland
The lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch's representatives, in Scotland. They are different from the local government council areas, the committee areas, the sheriffdoms, the registration counties, the former regions and districts, the...
, but has become part of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale
Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale
Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale is a lieutenancy area of Scotland. It consists of the committee areas of Eildon, Cheviot and Teviot and Liddesdale within the Scottish Borders council area...
for these purposes.
History
In the 1st Century ADAnno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
Selkirk formed part of the lands of the Gadeni who hunted it rather than settled there. Neither the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
, or the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
cleared much of the forestry there and for centuries Selkirk was known for its forest coverage. Indeed an alternative name for the county was Ettrick Forest
Ettrick Forest
Ettrick Forest is a former royal forest in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland.It is a large area of moorland, south of Peebles, stretching from Dollar Law to Selkirk.-See also:*James Hogg*Craik Forest*Wauchope Forest...
. Under the Scottish kings the forest was regarded as Royal. Despite this it was not until the reign of James V that sheriffs were appointed to administer the county on the Crown's behalf. Under Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, the forest was granted to the Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...
. Later, the Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
assumed the hereditary sheriffdom. Under and after King Robert the Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
, the Earls of Douglas
Earl of Douglas
This page is concerned with the holders of the extinct title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland...
, and later Earls of Angus administered the county on behalf of the Crown, until the Union of the Crowns
Union of the Crowns
The Union of the Crowns was the accession of James VI, King of Scots, to the throne of England, and the consequential unification of Scotland and England under one monarch. The Union of Crowns followed the death of James' unmarried and childless first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I of...
.
Folk ballads written of the county commemorate the Battle of Philiphaugh
Battle of Philiphaugh
The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquess of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, restoring the power of the Committee of Estates.-Prelude:When...
in 1645, the 'Dowie Dens' at Yarrow
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium or yarrow is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called plumajillo, or "little feather", for the shape of the leaves. In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in...
and Tibbie Shiels at St Mary's Loch
St Mary's Loch
St Mary's Loch is the largest natural loch in the Scottish Borders, and is situated on the A708 road between Selkirk and Moffat, about south of Edinburgh. It is long and wide, and was created by glacial action during the last ice age...
.
Population
The population as returned at the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
was as follows:
- 1801: 5,889
- 1811: 6,637
- 1821: 6,833
- 1841: 7,990
- 1851: 9,809
- 1861: 10,449
- 1871: 19,651
- 1881: 26,346
- 1891: 28,068
- 1901: 23,356
- 1911: 24,601
- 1921: 22,607
- 1931: 22,711
- 1951: 21,729
Further reading
The archeology and historic buildings of the county were documented in 1957 by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments in Scotland.There is also a History of Selkirkshire by T. Craig Brown, published in 1886.
External links
- "Selkirkshire" from A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland by Samuel Lewis, 1846 (British History Online) http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43478#s47
- Selkirkshire from 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (Love to Know) http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Selkirkshire
- Entries on Selkirkshire from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland by Frances Groome(1882-4) and the Gazetteer of the British Isles by John Bartholomew (1887)(Vision of Britain) http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/gaztext_page.jsp?u_id=10210884&c_id=10107260