Berwickshire

Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is today a, a of the , and a  of , on the  with.

County
Berwickshire was formerly one of the, but was abolished in 1975 during local government reorganisation. Its, after which it is named, had been , but the changed hands in 1482, subsequently becoming part of the county of , in England. Thereafter the county's administration was conducted at or  until  became the county town in 1596. When a county council was established in 1890 the county town once more became Duns, where the former county's Sheriff Court still sits, and where the Scottish Borders Council still maintains a principal set of offices. Accordingly, Berwickshire was sometimes unofficially called Duns-shire.

At the time of the county's abolition it contained four s and three districts:
 * The of
 * The burghs of, and
 * The county of Berwick East, Middle and West districts

District
The that abolished the county incorporated its area into the. The region existed from 1975 until 1996, and was divided into four, one of which was named Berwickshire. The District of Berwickshire was not identical with the former county however: the burgh of Lauder and most of the county's West District were included in, while the parish of was made part of Roxburgh District. Berwickshire District Council's headquarters remained in Duns.

Coat of arms
The County Council of Berwick was formed in by the, and applied for a grant of arms the same year. The grant, by was made on. The arms showed a bear chained to a wych-elm tree, which formed part of the insignia of the borough of, and was an heraldic pun on the town and county's name.

On, , the arms were regranted to Berwickshire District Council. On the abolition of the district council in 1996, the arms reverted to the Crown.

Legacy
The Berwickshire News is still published weekly, and numerous organisations and groups have retained Berwickshire in their titles (i.e: the Berwickshire Housing Association, Berwickshire Sports Council). The Berwickshire Civic Society is currently (2007) campaigning for road signs at the entrances to the old county to have notices added saying 'You are now entering the ancient county of Berwickshire', and they hold an annual Keep Berwickshire Tidy Campaign, judged each April.

Places in Berwickshire include, , , , , , ,  (former seat of the county Commissariot),, , and.