Birgham Village Community

This web site has been put together to help the Birgham Village Community become more aware of events, activities and initiatives in the immediate area. It is designed to enhance, but not replace, existing methods of local communications, such as our Newsletter, etc. It provides information for newcomers to the immediate area and also may be of use to visitors from further afield.

The village of Birgham is located in the Scottish Borders, on the A698 between Coldstream to the east (3.5 miles) and Kelso to the west (5.5 miles). The village looks out over the River Tweed towards the Cheviot hills in the south and towards the Lammermuir hills in the north. The community also encompasses the smaller hamlets of Lochton, Homebank and Eccles Newton.

The village and surrounding community comprises approximately 200 people. This close knit community takes great pride in creating a pleasant and healthy living environment and creating opportunities for social interaction and friendly support where it is needed. As with many small villages, the local facilities and services, such as Post Office, shop, Church and School have been gradually lost over the years. Though we can do little to stop this or replace the services, we try to provide and promote specific local activities that enhance the general feeling of community in the area.

A number of activities are run on a regular basis (see the Village Hall and Forthcoming Events pages for further information). Some of these are based at the Village Hall whilst others, such as the annual 'Birgham Rideout', Open Gardens and Fete are held outside. The Birgham Rideout is part of Coldstream's Civic week, run in early August and sees horse riders from Coldstream and Kelso converging on Birgham for refreshments and presentations.

There are plenty of opportunities for other outdoor activities in the area, for example:

• Local walks
• Horse riding and stabling
• Cycling on quiet roads. Birgham is also just off 'Sustrans' National Cycle Route 1 which leads from the north of England to Edinburgh and beyond.
• Fishing for trout, salmon and grayling in the River Tweed.
• Viewing wildlife - deer, otters, birds of prey, river wildlife, etc.

See the Local info. and Links page for further details of some of the above. We hope you enjoy using this web site.

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Origins of the village name 

The name Birgham originated around the 7th century and means "bridge settlement" in Anglo-Saxon. The ancient bridge was the lowest dry crossing of the Tweed for centuries, and its continued existence is implied by the battle fought on the opposite bank at Carham in 1018. King Malcolm II's victory over Earl Uchtred of Northumbria at this battle effectively set the Tweed as the border with England. King William the Lion held a council here in 1188, and envoys of Edward I of England met Scots nobles to negotiate the Treaty of Birgham in 1290. The bridge may have been deliberately destroyed during the wars of the 14th century and never replaced.

The Treaty of Birgham - our claim to fame?

The Treaty of Birgham comprised two treaties intended to secure the independence of Scotland after Alexander III died without issue in 1286. Guaranteed by Edward, Prince of Wales, the purpose of the treaty was to put to rest the competing claims of the House of Balliol and the House of Bruce. The treaties were drawn up in Salisbury in 1289 and Birgham, Berwickshire in 1290. Under the condition that the heiress of Scotland Margaret, the Maid of Norway, would marry Edward, Scotland was to remain "separate and divided from England according to its rightful boundaries, free in itself and without subjection."  

The treaty proved ineffectual, both because Margaret died en route to Scotland in 1290, and because English negotiators had included enough reservations to render the independence clauses useless. Edward styled himself Overlord of Scotland and challenged claimants to the Scottish throne to recognize himself as a feudal superior.

The signing of The Treaty was undertaken in The Treaty Field, now believed to be the local park. The ground where the park is situated was donated to the village by Colonel Marjoribanks Egerton to commemmorate the signing of The Treaty - a photograph of the plaque commemorating the donation of the land can be found in the photo album page.

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More history

Carham, just across the river from Birgham, was the site of a major battle in 1018 between the Scots and the Northumbrians. The battle, won by Malcolm Canmore (King Malcolm II of Scotland), helped determine the border of the then newly formed Scotland. Until this time Northumbria's boundaries had extended beyond the River Tweed towards Edinburgh and the Lothians. We are still reminded of this fact by a predominance of Anglo-Saxon place names in Scotland between the Tweed and the Forth.

In 1188, The Bishop of Durham, on the order of Henry II, met with Scottish Nobles and Earles at Birgham to collect taxes from Scotland for the Crusades. It appears that no taxes were collected at this point - the Scots were obviously 'tight' even in those days.