BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, b6eik.- (short ened from Abcrwick, from Celt. aber, confluence of waters + Tent. wich, Scand. wick, dwelling, village). A seaport town in Northumberland, England, at the mouth of the Tweed, 53 miles south-southeast of Edinburgh (Slap: England, E 1). It is the frontier town of England and Scotland, and with its liberties comprising an area of about 8 miles, forms an independent bor ough and county, known since the Re form Act of 1335 as the "county of the borough and town of Berwick-upon-T•eed." For election purposes it, is considered a part of Northumber land, and as such sends one member to Parlia ment. The town has an antiquated and some what picturesque appearance. It is girded with old fortifications and has large barracks. Among its notable public buildings are the town-hall, dating from 1760, with a spire 150 feet high, and the Corn Exchange, built in 1858. Tweedmouth and Spittal (the latter a favorite watering place), on the south side of the Tweed, both within the municipality of Berwick, are readied by an old stone bridge and a magnificent viaduct of 23 arches spans the river. Its principal ex ports are agricultural produce, ale, wool, whisky, and fish, especially salmon. Its principal im
ports are timber, iron, staves, flax, tallow, oil, and hemp. Coal-mines are worked near the town. The town contains an iron-foundry, in which mill machinery and steam-engines are manufactured. For the manufacture of agricultural implements, Berwick-upon-Tweed stands high, and in Spittal there are several largo artificial-manure works. Population, in 1891, 13,377; in 1901, 13,437.
The history of Berw ick-upon-T•eed is full of interest, especially in regard to the Border Wars. Its authentic records begin in the reign of Alexander I., in the Twelfth Century, when it the principal seaport of Scotland. In 1296 Edward 1. captured the town, and massa cred 8000 of the inhabitants. It was retaken in 1297 by the Scots, but the English soon re gained it and it remained in their hands through out Edward's reign. It was captured by Bruce in 1318, but was reoccupied by Edward I II. after a siege in 1333. For over a century it suffered occasional attacks from the Scots, who held it for brief intervals, but in 1482 it passed finally into the possession of England.