a seaport town of England, situated at the mouth of the river Tweed, on its northern bank. Pop. (1851) 16,008. The townships of Tweedmouth and Spittal, on the opposite bank, are included in the borough of Berwick, and, with Berwick itself, are described in all law documents as "in the county of the borough and town of Berwick-upon-Tweed." By 2d and 3d Will. IV., cap. 64, sec. 29, it was appointed one of the polling stations for the county of Northumberland. It now constitutes an integral portion of that county, and is under English law. The borough and its liberties (commonly known as "Berwick Burghs") forming one parish, occupy an area of nearly 8 square miles, and extend about 3½ miles northward along the coast, and about the same distance westward. The point on the north road at which they terminate is the village of Lamberton (in Berwickshire), a place of some celebrity as another Gretna Green. A toll-house adjoining the village of Paxton marks the western boundary; and to this place a similar interest attaches. By 7th and 8th Vict., cap. 61, that small detached portion of the county palatine of Durham called Islandshire, which lay on the south side of the river, reaching to the centre of the stream, was, on account of the inconvenience resulting from the old division, included in the district of Berwick.

The town is encircled by fortified walls, bastions, and a ditch, constructed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. These ramparts, which are under the custody of the corporation, form a delightful promenade, and might, if required, be put into a state of defence. Of the five old gates, namely, the Scotch gate, the Cow-port, the Shore-gate, the Pier-gate, and the English gate, the last has been removed. About half a mile to the north of the existing walls, the remains of the ancient fortifications are to be seen, including the Bell Tower, and a portion of Lord Souls' Tower. The castle was situated at the W.N.W. extremity of these walls, and a portion of it still remains, including the barbican (in good preservation), which faces the west, and extends to the margin of the Tweed. The old courtyard of the castle is now occupied by the station of the North British railway. A viaduct of 28 arches, 2000 feet in length, and 120 in height, crosses the Tweed here, forming a striking feature in the landscape. This bridge was opened by Queen Victoria in person in 1850. The old bridge of Berwick, which stands about a quarter of a mile further down the river, has 15 arches; it was completed in 1634. The internal appearance of the town is pleasing, and when viewed from the high ground on the south side of the river is exceedingly striking. It has scarcely any suburbs outside the fortifications, the river and the sea inclosing it on the south and east. The entrances to the town are on the W.N.W. by the Scotch gate leading into the High Street, and on the S. by the old bridge. Among the principal public buildings is the town-hall, a massive three-storied structure, with a portico supported by four Tuscan columns, and surmounted by a spire of 150 feet, with a chime of eight bells. The ground floor contains the exchange, which is used as a market-place for dairy produce. In the second story the quarter-sessions, county-court, and corporation meetings are held. The upper story, formerly used as a jail, is occupied by the superintendent of police. The new jail, opened in 1849, stands on the east side of Wallace's Green. The church of the Holy Trinity, at the N.E. angle of the town, was rebuilt in 1648. Like other structures of the Puritan period, it has no pretension to architectural elegance. The benefice is a vicarage in the patronage of the dean and chapter of Durham. The annual value of the tithes is £2300. There are two places of worship in connection with the Established Church of Scotland; four United Presbyterian, and Independent, Baptist, Methodist, and Roman Catholic chapels. At Tweedmouth there is a curacy, a Scotch Established, and a Free church. The barracks stand opposite the church, and between them and the churchyard wall is the military parade.

The educational institutions are the following:—The corporation's academy for the gratuitous education of burgesses' children, averaging 300 pupils; the grammar-school, which is also free to the children of burgesses; a charity school; a Lancasterian school; a school of industry for girls; an infant school, &c. &c. Berwick possesses a public subscription library (6000 volumes), a reading-room, a mechanics' institute, a natural history society, a dispensary, a workhouse, and assembly rooms. There are two banks, branches of the Northumberland and Durham, and of the Union Bank; and also a savings-bank. Two weekly newspapers are published here, the Berwick Warden and Berwick Advertiser.

Berwick, since the time of Henry VIII., has returned two members to parliament. Constituency 676, 880 of whom are burgesses. The burgh, including Tweedmouth and Spittal, is governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and seventeen councillors, a recorder, sheriff, &c. The only article of manufacture is iron: there are several foundries and boiler manufactories at Tweedmouth and Spittal. The chief exports are corn, wool, game, and salmon. Most of the fisheries between the sea and Norham belong to, or are rented by, the Berwick Shipping Company. The average number of boxes of red fish exported during the season (15th Feb. to 15th Oct.) is 4000. Most of the fish goes to the London market. The entrance to the harbour is rocky, and has a bar, within which there is good anchorage. It is protected by a pier, with a lighthouse and two fixed lights, in Lat. 55° 46' N., Long. 2° 0' W. Distance from London by railway, 369 miles, from Edinburgh 58, and from Newcastle 64. Corn-market every Saturday; cattle-market every alternate Monday. The fair is held on the last Friday of May; there are also four hiring-markets annually.

Of the early history of Berwick, the Scottish chartularies supply the only records. It belonged to Scotland, as part of the Lothians, in the reign of Kenneth II.; and about 870 was in possession of the Danes, from whom it was wrested by Gregory. It thereafter remained in the custody of Scotland until towards the close of the eleventh century, when Edgar in pious gratitude bestowed it on the see of Durham; but again resuming it, it became a portion of the appanage of David; after whose accession in 1124 it was constituted one of the four royal burghs, and was long the chief seaport of Scotland. On the threshold of the two kingdoms, it suffered greatly during their wars. It was acquired in 1174 by Henry II., and for a pecuniary consideration was restored to the Scots by Richard Cœur de Lion in 1189. During the reign of Alexander III., the customs of the port amounted to £2197, 8s.—about one-fourth that of all England. In 1292 Edward I. sat in Berwick Castle as umpire of the disputed claim to the crown of Scotland, declaring in favour of John Baliol. In 1296, having obtained a victory over the Scots and captured Berwick, Edward I. held a parliament there to arrange the future government of Scotland, and to receive homage. The heroic defence of the Red Hall—a strong building in the town—by thirty Flemish merchants who had received it from Alexander II., on condition of their never yielding it to the English, forms a well-known feature in the history of this siege. In 1297, Wallace—who had routed the English near Stirling—made his way into Berwick; but the castle having held out until succoured by Edward, the Scots were forced to retire. It was retaken by Bruce in 1318. Subsequently changing masters several times, it was, in 1551, made independent of both countries. In 1648 it was taken and garrisoned by Cromwell's forces. The lands held by the burgesses, and other privileges, are by charter of King James VI. (See Tytler's History of Scotland, and Redjapth's Border History.)