Selkirk, Scottish Borders
Selkirk, Scottish Borders
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Selkirk, Scottish Borders

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2211467

Selkirk, Scottish Borders

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Selkirk, Scottish Borders

Selkirk is a town and historic royal burgh in the Scottish Borders council district of southeastern Scotland. It lies on the Ettrick Water, a tributary of the River Tweed. The people of the town are known as Souters, which means cobblers (shoe makers and menders). At the time of the 2011 census, Selkirk's population was 5,784.

Selkirk was formerly the county town of Selkirkshire. Selkirk is one of the oldest Royal Burghs in Scotland and is the site of the earliest settlements in what is now the Scottish Borders. The town's name means "church by the hall" from the Old English sele ("hall" or "manor") and cirice ("church").

Selkirk was the site of the first Borders abbey, a community of Tironensian monks who moved to Kelso Abbey during the reign of King David I. In 1113, King David I granted Selkirk large amounts of land. William Wallace was declared guardian of Scotland in the town at the Kirk o' the Forest in 1297.

Selkirk sent a contingent of 80 men to fight at the Battle of Flodden in 1513; however, only one man, "Fletcher", returned from the battle, bearing a blood-stained English flag belonging to the Macclesfield regiment.

During the series of conflicts that would become known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Selkirk played host to the Royalist army of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, with his cavalry installed in the burgh, whilst the Royalist infantry were camped at the plain of Philiphaugh, below the town. On the morning of 13 September 1645, a covenanting army led by Sir David Leslie attacked the royalist forces camped at Philiphaugh, and a rout ensued. Montrose arrived to find his army in disarray and had to flee the field. The surrendered Royalist troops were subsequently executed.

The novelist, Sir Walter Scott, presided, as the sheriff-depute, in the courtroom at Selkirk Town House in the early 19th century.

Selkirk grew in the mid-19th century because of its woollen industry, although that industry largely closed in the 1970s. The town is also known for bannocks, a dry fruit cake, which was first sold in the market place by a local baker, Robbie Douglas, in 1859.

The Selkirk Common Riding is a celebration of the history and traditions of the Royal and Ancient Burgh. It is held on the second Friday after the first Monday in June.

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