Roxburgh

Coordinates: 55°35′47″N 2°27′22″W / 55.5965°N 2.4562°W / 55.5965; -2.4562

Roxburgh /ˈrɒksbərə/, also known as Rosbroch, is a civil parish and now-destroyed royal burgh, in its eponymous historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at least as much importance as Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, or Berwick-upon-Tweed, for a time acting as de facto capital (as royal residence of David I).

History

Its significance lay in its position in the centre of some of Lowland Scotland's most agriculturally fertile areas, and its position upon the River Tweed, which allowed river transport of goods via the main seaport of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Its position also acted as a barrier to English invasion.

The town stood on a defensible peninsula between the rivers Tweed and Teviot, with Roxburgh Castle guarding the narrow neck of the peninsula. Nothing remains of the town except some ruined segments of castle ramparts. Its site lies to the south of modern Kelso and Floors Castle, which lie on the other side of the Tweed. The Duke of Roxburghe owns the site.

Roxburgh (surname)

Roxburgh is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Roxburghshire

Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a historic county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire to the north-west, and Berwickshire to the north. To the south-east it borders 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. Today, the main towns in the county are Jedburgh, Hawick, Kelso and Melrose.

Today, Roxburghshire is within the Scottish Borders council area for local government purposes and contains the administrative centre of the area, the small town of Newtown St Boswells. It retains official status as a registration county, and falls within the Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale lieutenancy area for ceremonial purposes. The term Teviotdale was used in the past to define an area which was drained by the River Teviot, the River Tweed and their tributaries, and its boundary is similar to Roxburghshire.