During our recent week's visit to south-east Scotland we called in at Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is just over the English border. Berwick is a traditional market town and also has some notable architectural features, in particular its medieval town walls, its Elizabethan ramparts and these early 18th century barracks.
Built between 1717 and 1721 to the design of the distinguished architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, the barracks were designed to protect the town during the Jacobite risings. The work involved two parallel blocks of military accommodation. An additional block was added between 1739 and 1741. After the Napoleonic Wars the barracks were abandoned but put back into use in the 1850s.
The barracks eventually became the depot of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, who arrived from Fulford Barracks in July 1881. The regiment moved out of these barracks in 1963 and they are now maintained by English Heritage.
Berwick-upon-Tweed is the northernmost town in England and is located a couple of miles south of the Scottish border at the mouth of the River Tweed on the east coast. Berwick was founded as an Anglo-Saxon settlement during the time of the Kingdom of Northumbria, which was annexed by England in the 10th century. The area was for more than 400 years central to historic border wars between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and several times possession of Berwick changed hands between the two kingdoms. The last time it changed hands was when England retook it in 1482.
Loading contexts...