 Jedburgh Abbey |
Roxburgh was a district council area which existed from 1975 to 1996. It was one of four district councils that delivered a range of local level services within the wider area of the region of Scottish Borders, which over this period was one of the 12 regions into which Scotland was divided.
Roxburgh inherited most of the area of the traditional county of Roxburghshire, though it lost Melrose and the surrounding area to Ettrick & Lauderdale. The main settlements in Roxburgh were Kelso, Jedburgh and Hawick. The county town was Jedburgh.
A notable absentee from the list of settlements in Roxburghshire is Roxburgh itself. Today, Roxburgh is a small village about three miles south-west of Kelso. In 1400 Roxburgh was one of the most important royal burghs in Scotland, but the frequent conflict between England and Scotland weakened it, and the permanent capture of Berwick-upon-Tweed by the English in 1482 was the final nail in the coffin. Roxburgh was largely abandoned and today little remains beyond traces of the ramparts of its once magnificent castle.
When regions and districts disappeared from the scene in the 1996 reorganisation, the area of the district of Roxburgh became part of the unitary council area of Scottish Borders. For administrative purposes, Scottish Borders is divided by the council into five area committee areas, which are partly based on the district council areas that preceded them. The area covered by Roxburgh District Council was spilt between two area committee areas: Cheviot and Teviot & Liddesdale.
