The most northernmost town in England is Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland. This town is right on the Tweed River and the Scottish border is just a little over two miles away, a short walk. This town is considered a historic border spot as it has changed ruler ship between England and Scotland many times, at least 13 times.
It was part of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria and was settled long before the Romans exerted control in England. Berwick was at the center of the English-Scottish border wars and there was a battle there that began the Scottish wars of Independence. This town became quite prosperous because of the customs it charged on trading as well as the raids that were conducted across the border.
The Scottish built a mint to create Scottish money and the formation of the port is quite different for other traditional towns as Berwick was first a garrison and then it evolved into a port. In order for King Richard to finance the crusades he actually sold Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Scottish. The last time the town switched hands was in 1482 though it was not officially annexed to England.
Because Berwick did not officially belong to England or Wales on paper they actually follow both laws. Berwick is considered as under the protection of the queen and it was official joined to Northumberland in 1885. The legalities of several important documents tend to be funny when referring to England and not stating anything about Berwick.
Much of the current industry is on service and there are many hotels, catering companies and shops. A few other important businesses include salmon farming, tweed manufacturing, sawmilling, stocking manufacture and shipbuilding. The town can be easily reached by taking the East coast Main Line Rail or by driving.
Much of the original town wall is still standing and you can walk the entire length of the wall, it only takes about 45 minutes. You can view an extensive artillery bastions of which construction began in 1558 and took over 20 years to complete. Because of its location along the river there are several old bridges that can be viewed, the most impressive being the Royal Border railway Viaduct which contains 28 arches.
There are many other cultural things to do in the town as you can visit the two museums the Main Guard and the Berwick Barracks. A few fun celebrations not to be missed include the Riding of the Bounds and the Border Marches.
It was part of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria and was settled long before the Romans exerted control in England. Berwick was at the center of the English-Scottish border wars and there was a battle there that began the Scottish wars of Independence. This town became quite prosperous because of the customs it charged on trading as well as the raids that were conducted across the border.
The Scottish built a mint to create Scottish money and the formation of the port is quite different for other traditional towns as Berwick was first a garrison and then it evolved into a port. In order for King Richard to finance the crusades he actually sold Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Scottish. The last time the town switched hands was in 1482 though it was not officially annexed to England.
Because Berwick did not officially belong to England or Wales on paper they actually follow both laws. Berwick is considered as under the protection of the queen and it was official joined to Northumberland in 1885. The legalities of several important documents tend to be funny when referring to England and not stating anything about Berwick.
Much of the current industry is on service and there are many hotels, catering companies and shops. A few other important businesses include salmon farming, tweed manufacturing, sawmilling, stocking manufacture and shipbuilding. The town can be easily reached by taking the East coast Main Line Rail or by driving.
Much of the original town wall is still standing and you can walk the entire length of the wall, it only takes about 45 minutes. You can view an extensive artillery bastions of which construction began in 1558 and took over 20 years to complete. Because of its location along the river there are several old bridges that can be viewed, the most impressive being the Royal Border railway Viaduct which contains 28 arches.
There are many other cultural things to do in the town as you can visit the two museums the Main Guard and the Berwick Barracks. A few fun celebrations not to be missed include the Riding of the Bounds and the Border Marches.
Source...