Berwick-upon-Tweed's position on the north bank of the River Tweed, long held to be the nominal border between the two countries, led to the town changing hands no fewer than 14 times in the two centuries up to 1482.
Since then it's remained English, so why include it in Undiscovered Scotland? In part because it played such an important part is Scottish history; in part because Berwick Rangers football club plays in the Scottish rather than the English league; in part because it's such a magnificent place to visit; and in part because it nicely rounds off the south eastern corner of our coverage.
Even Edward IV's final capture of the town in 1482 didn't entirely simplify matters. Under the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Henry VII of England and James IV of Scotland in 1502 (just 11 years before the Scottish army and nobility was destroyed by the English at the Battle of Flodden) Berwick was given a special status as being "of" the Kingdom of England but not "in" it. As a result the town thereafter needed special mention in royal proclamations.
This had one odd effect. When Queen Victoria signed the declaration of war on Russia in 1853, she did so in the name of "Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, Berwick-upon-Tweed and the British Dominions beyond the sea." But Berwick was not mentioned in the Treaty of Paris that concluded the Crimean War in 1856, leaving the town technically still at war with Russia.
Click on "Show on map" button to see location of the castle
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