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Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a registration county
Registration county

A registration county was, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a statistical unit used for the output of census information. Registration counties were formed by grouping together the registration districts wholly or partly within a county....
 of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It borders Peebles
Peeblesshire

Peeblesshire , the County of Peebles or Tweeddale was a Counties of Scotland 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....
 to the west, Midlothian
Midlothian

Midlothian is one of the 32 Council areas of Scotland of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
 to the north, Berwick
Berwickshire

Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland of Scotland, on the border with England....
 to the north-east, Roxburgh
Roxburghshire

Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire to the north-west, and Berwickshire to the north....
 to the east, and Dumfries
Dumfriesshire

Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The Lieutenancy areas of Scotland of Dumfries has similar boundaries....
 to the south.

Until 1975 it was a county
Counties of Scotland

The counties of Scotland were the principal subdivisions of Scotland of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and registration counties are largely based on them....
, 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....
 formed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889

The Local Government Act 1889 is an Act of Parliament 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 Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government of Scotland in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....
 the county was abolished, with its area becoming part of the Ettrick and Lauderdale
Ettrick and Lauderdale

Ettrick and Lauderdale was one of four local government districts in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996.The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1973 from:...
 district of the Borders Region
Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders , often referred to simply as the Borders, is one of 32 local government Council areas of Scotland 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 Metropolitan and non-metropolit...
. The county town
County town

A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or the Republic of 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....
 was 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
Selkirk

Selkirk, a royal burgh in the heart of the Scotland Scottish Borders, lies on the River Ettrick, a tributary of the River Tweed. At the time of the 2008 census, Selkirk's population was 17,839....
. The county contained one other burgh
Burgh

A Burgh is an Wiktionary:Autonomy corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. This type of administrative division has existed since the 12th century, when David I of Scotland created the first Royal burghs....
, Galashiels
Galashiels

Galashiels is a burgh in the Scottish Borders, on the Gala Water river. The name is often abbreviated colloquially as "Gala".Galashiels is a major commercial centre and central communication point for the Scottish Borders....
.

he 1st Century AD Selkirk formed part of the lands of the Gadeni who hunted it rather than settled there.






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Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a registration county
Registration county

A registration county was, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a statistical unit used for the output of census information. Registration counties were formed by grouping together the registration districts wholly or partly within a county....
 of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It borders Peebles
Peeblesshire

Peeblesshire , the County of Peebles or Tweeddale was a Counties of Scotland 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....
 to the west, Midlothian
Midlothian

Midlothian is one of the 32 Council areas of Scotland of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
 to the north, Berwick
Berwickshire

Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland of Scotland, on the border with England....
 to the north-east, Roxburgh
Roxburghshire

Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire to the north-west, and Berwickshire to the north....
 to the east, and Dumfries
Dumfriesshire

Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The Lieutenancy areas of Scotland of Dumfries has similar boundaries....
 to the south.

Until 1975 it was a county
Counties of Scotland

The counties of Scotland were the principal subdivisions of Scotland of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and registration counties are largely based on them....
, 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....
 formed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889

The Local Government Act 1889 is an Act of Parliament 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 Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government of Scotland in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....
 the county was abolished, with its area becoming part of the Ettrick and Lauderdale
Ettrick and Lauderdale

Ettrick and Lauderdale was one of four local government districts in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996.The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1973 from:...
 district of the Borders Region
Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders , often referred to simply as the Borders, is one of 32 local government Council areas of Scotland 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 Metropolitan and non-metropolit...
. The county town
County town

A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or the Republic of 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....
 was 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
Selkirk

Selkirk, a royal burgh in the heart of the Scotland Scottish Borders, lies on the River Ettrick, a tributary of the River Tweed. At the time of the 2008 census, Selkirk's population was 17,839....
. The county contained one other burgh
Burgh

A Burgh is an Wiktionary:Autonomy corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. This type of administrative division has existed since the 12th century, when David I of Scotland created the first Royal burghs....
, Galashiels
Galashiels

Galashiels is a burgh in the Scottish Borders, on the Gala Water river. The name is often abbreviated colloquially as "Gala".Galashiels is a major commercial centre and central communication point for the Scottish Borders....
.

History

In the 1st Century AD 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 Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Angles
Angles

The Angles is a modern English language word for a Germanic languages people who took their name from the cultural ancestral region of Angeln, a modern district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
, or the Saxons
Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic peoples. Their modern-day descendants in Saxony are considered ethnic Germans; those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch people; those in north eastern Belgium are considered to be ethnic Flemish people; and those in southern England ethnic English people ....
 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
Edward I of England

Edward I , popularly known as Longshanks, the English Justinian, and the Hammer of the Scots , was a House of Plantagenet King of England who achieved historical fame by conquering large parts of Wales and almost succeeding in doing the same to Scotland....
, 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 Peerage of England. A mythical earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester....
. Later, the Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke

The Earldom of Pembroke, associated with Pembroke Castle in Wales, was created by King Stephen of England. Several times the line has become extinct, and the Earldom has been re-created, starting the count over again with a new first Earl....
 assumed the hereditary sheriffdom. Under and after King Robert the Bruce
Robert I of Scotland

Robert I, King of the Scots usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce was King of the Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329....
, 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 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 Kingdom of England, thus uniting Scotland and England under one monarch....
.

Folk ballads written of the county commemorate the Battle of Philiphaugh
Battle of Philiphaugh

The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on September 13 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Cavalier army of the James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of David Leslie , restoring the power of the Committee of Estates....
 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....
 and Tibbie Shiels at St Mary's Loch
St Mary's Loch

St Mary's Loch is the largest natural loch in the Scotland Scottish Borders and is situated about 72 km south of Edinburgh on the A708 road between Selkirk and Moffat in the valley of the Yarrow....
.

Population

The population as returned at the census
Census

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....
 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)
  • Selkirkshire from 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (Love to Know)
  • 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)