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steers that will fatten well at two years old. Another fair is 

 held at Dunse on the 26th of August, or the Tuesday after 

 in case it should fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, 

 but it is much inferior to the first. The third fair is held 

 on the 17th of November, or the Tuesday after in the same 

 way, but is not of much importance. There are four sheep 

 markets in the year at Dunse, which have not been esta- 

 blished many years, but which improve yearly ; they are 

 held on the fourth Wednesday in March, third Wednesday 

 in May, second Wednesday in July, and fourth Wednesday 

 in September. The July market is also a great wool 

 market, where a great deal of business is done, wool being 

 a very considerable part of the farmers' produce. 



The Berwick fairs are held three times in the year, on the 

 second Friday after Whit-Sunday, or. the Wednesday before 

 the 28th of August, and on the first \Vednesday of November. 

 These fairs are next in importance to those of Dunse. 



The fairs or markets at Lauder were formerly well fre- 

 quented, but since the establishment of several others have 

 much declined ; they are held the sixth Tuesday after the 

 first Tuesday in March, the third Friday in June, the 

 fourth Tuesday in July, and the fourth Friday in October. 

 There are also sheep and cattle shows at Lauder established 

 a few years ago by the Lauderdale Agricultural Society, at 

 which some remarkably fine animals are annually exhibited : 

 the oxen chiefly short horns, and the sheep Leicesters, 

 Cheviot, and black-faced. The fairs at Coldstream are 

 monthly, established about twelve years ago, and are now 

 held on the last Thursday of every month. 



Greenlaw is the county town of Berwick, but its fairs, held 

 on the 22d of May and on the last Thursday in October, 

 are not very considerable. An attempt was made in 

 May, 1834, to establish another fair for hiring servants and 

 for the sale of stock, which may probably succeed when its 

 character shall have been established. The fairs at Old- 

 hamstock in the Lammermoor hills are not of much note, 

 except for the immediate neighbourhood. The first is held 

 on the first Tuesday in July, the second on the first 

 Tuesday in November. There are various other fairs, but 

 more for the amusement of the inhabitants than for the 

 purpose of business. 



Divisions, Towns, $c. Berwickshire contains thirty-one 

 parishes and parts of two others ; Home annexed to Stitchel 

 in Roxburghshire, and part of the parish of Oldhamstocks 

 ill East Lothian. 



The parishes of Berwickshire are distributed into three 

 presbyteries, Dunse, Chirnside, and Lauder ; the last con- 

 tains two parishes not within the county, and two parishes 

 within the county are in other presbyteries. The whole of 

 the parishes of Berwickshire belong to the synod of Merse 

 and Tiviotdale except Cockburnspath, which is in the synod 

 of Lothian and Tweedale. 



The county is divided for the monthly sessions of the 

 justice-of-the-peace court and the militia ballots into small 

 districts consisting of three or four parishes. 



The towns are few and small. Berwick, from which it 

 has its name, is no part of the county ; it is, however, the 

 principal place for exports. Dunse is the largest in size 

 and population. Greenlaw is the county town ; Eyemouth 

 is the only shipping port ; the other towns of any note are 

 Lauder and Coldstream. 



The salmon fishery on the Tweed is most valuable within 

 the township of Berwick. There are paper-mills at Broom- 

 house, Ayton, and Allanbank, which gives employment to 

 from 120 to 150 people. 



Population. The population of the county, as enumerated 

 in the years 1801, 1811, 1821, and 1831, is as follows: 1801, 

 pop. 30,621; 1811, pop. 30,779; 1821, pop. 33,385 ; 1831, 

 pop. 34,048. In 1821, the number of houses inhabited was 

 5803, and in 1831 it was 6159; the number of families in 

 1821 was 7165, and in 1831 it was 7385 ; the number of 

 houses building in 1821 was 42, and in 1831 it was 13; the 

 number of houses uninhabited in 1821 was 276, and in 1831 

 it was 267 ; the number of families employed in agriculture 

 in 1821 was 3334, and in 1831 it was 2921 ; the number of 

 families employed in trade, manufactures, and handicraft in 

 1821 was 1923, and in 1831 it was 1915 ; the number of all 

 other families not comprised in the two preceding classes in 

 1821 was 1908, and in 1831 it was 2549. In 1821 the num- 

 ber of males was 15,976, and the number of females was 

 17,409, and in 1831 it was males, 16,239 ; females, 17,809. 

 Of late years the migration from Berwickshire has been con- 

 ilile, 



Civil History. At the time of the Roman invasion Ber- 

 wickshire appears to have been occupied by the Otadini. 

 (See Ptolemy II. 3.) It was afterwards invaded and peopled 

 by bands of Saxons about the middle of the fifth century. 

 This district was part of the kingdom of Northumberland 

 until the year 1020, when it was ceded to Malcolm II. by 

 the earl of Northumberland. About the eleventh century 

 several Anglo-Saxon and Norman families settled in Ber- 

 wickshire. Berwick then began to rise into importance, 

 and became for centuries after a point of contention between 

 the Scotch and the English. [See BERWICK.] Greenlaw 

 was made the county town by James VI. in Nov. 1600. 



Antiquities. The antiquities of Berwickshire, as might 

 be expected from its position as a border county, the scene of 

 much predatory warfare, are interesting. There are tumuli, 

 cairns, military stations, and ruined castles in almost every 

 parish ; and also the remains of some religious houses. The 

 nunnery of Coldingham is said to have been the oldest nun- 

 nery in Scotland; it is mentioned as early as 661, when Abbe 

 or Ebba, sister toOswy.king of Northumberland, was abbess. 

 It was several times burnt and rebuilt. The English seized 

 it in 1544, and fortified the church and steeple, and the 

 earl of Arran, governor of Scotland, attacked it in vain. 

 Upon the forfeiture of the earl of Bothwell's estates the 

 lordship of Coldingham was given to Lord Hume, in whose 

 family it remains. Of this priory the only remains are the 

 single aisle of the church. The windows at the east end 

 are circular. Inside the south wall are two stories of 

 pointed arches ; several ruined arches are at the east and 

 west end. Dry burgh Abbey was founded in 1150 by 

 Hugh de Morville, lord of Lauderdale. There are re- 

 mains of the convent, the refectory, several vaults and 

 other offices, part of the cloister walls, and a fine radiated 

 window of stone work. The area of the abbey is used as 

 burying aisles, and contains the remains of the late Earl 

 of Buchan and of Sir Walter Scott. The Peath's Bridge 

 (or Pees), near the coast, a few miles distant from St. Abb's 

 Head, crosses a wooded chasm moro than 160 feet deep, 

 at the bottom of which there is a rivulet ; the banks are re- 

 markably steep and precipitous, and hence the place became 

 one of the strong passes of Scotland. The present bridge 

 was finished in 1786, and consists of four unequal arches, 

 with cast-iron rails. It is only sixteen feet bioad, and lias 

 from its vast height the appearance of an ancient aqueduct. 

 It is best seen at some distance down the bank. About 

 two miles north-west of the Peath Bridge stands Cockburn's 

 Path Tower, overlooking a deep woody glen, through which 

 runs a small stream. It consists of a small, strong, square 

 tower of rough, stone, with a circular staircase in its sot!> j 



