If ever there was a town that can safely be said to be a victim of its own success.... Berwick-upon-Tweed is by far a strong contender for that particular title. Located in extremely close proximity to the Scottish border, (less than 3 miles to be precise) this seemingly trivial aspect of the town has played an integral role in its history and the abuse it has had to endure throughout the duration of its history.

Berwick-upon-Tweed has always been a wealthy and highly affluent town and this is fact that did not go unnoticed by the Scottish nobility who saw a golden goose ready to be slaughtered, picked and feathered. Who can blame them? With such close proximity to their own home land, this meant that Scots raiding parties could descend upon the town, quickly overwhelm it with a surprise attack and then proceed to retreat back home with their plunder to hand. And that dear reader, is precisely what they did.

The English for their part, were not prepared to sit idly by and allow such an important strategic asset be lost to marauding Scots and so swift and violent reprisals were exercised against the Scots responsible. What followed was a series of bloody, violent tit for tat skirmishes and clannish feuds with plenty of violence punctuating the proceedings. In fact, during the battle for supremacy, between the years of 1147 and 1482 the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed was swapped no fewer than 13 times in total. 1482 was a landmark year for in that year the English finally managed to end the toing and froing of the town and finally exerted their dominance once and for all.

Part of the problem with Berwick-upon-Tweed is that it was always a bastard town...never fish nor fowl as the expression goes and whilst the English claimed it as their own there was no formal or legal standing for this claim. An end to the bloodshed was finally achieved in 1707 when the Act of Union was passed which combined England and Scotland together. Even to this day, the issue of ownership remains a contentious issue.

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