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Tweedmouth

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This article is about the place in England. For other uses, see Tweedmouth (disambiguation).
Tweedmouth War Memorial with the River Tweed in the background.

Tweedmouth is part of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, England. It is located on the south bank of the River Tweed and is connected to Berwick town centre, on the north bank, by two road bridges and a railway bridge.[1]Tweedmouth has historically always been part of England, in contrast to the walled town of Berwick which came under Scottish control for several periods in the Middle Ages.[2] The local nickname for people from Tweedmouth is "Twempies".[3]

Governance

Tweedmouth is part of Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council, which also includes neighbouring Spittal.[4] It is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The unitary authority for the area is Northumberland County Council. It was historically part of the parish of Islandshire, which was an exclave of County Durham, before becoming a hundred of Northumberland in 1844.[5]

Attractions

The Old Bridge.

In an annual ceremony dating back to 1292, Tweedmouth schools elect a Salmon Queen to mark the start of Salmon Week, a traditional celebration which dates to medieval times. The event is a reminder that Tweedmouth has a long history as a centre for salmon fishing on the river.[6] There is a procession from Berwick town hall across the Old Bridge to Tweedmouth where the incoming Salmon Queen is crowned.[7]

The parish church of St Bartholomew dates to the late 18th century. It stands on the site of an earlier church built in 1145, which was in turn on the site of an earlier 7th century church.[6] The church's weather-vane is in the form of a salmon.[8]

The most obvious historic landmark is the 15-arched Old Bridge, built of local sandstone in 1610. The bridge was built by order of James VI and I, and formed part of the Great North Road between London and Edinburgh. The Old Bridge still carries traffic across the River Tweed.[6] The Royal Tweed Bridge and Royal Border Railway Bridge also span the river at Tweedmouth, the latter being opened by Queen Victoria in 1850.[9]

The Tweed Dock

The Tweed Dock officially opened in October 1876, replacing the older port on the north bank of the river which had become inadequate. Following improvement works in 1993 vessels with a maximum beam of 16 metres are now able to enter the dock. Due to its geographical location the port primarily handles cargoes linked to the agricultural industry, with fertilisers, malting barley, feed barley and oilseed rape the principal commodities.[10]

Sport and Recreation

Berwick Rangers football club plays at Shielfield Park in Tweedmouth. The stadium also hosts motorcycle speedway, in the form of Berwick Bandits. The neighbouring ground of Old Shielfield Park is home to Tweedmouth Rangers F.C., who play in the East of Scotland Football League. The Swan Leisure Centre is a multi-purpose leisure facility with a swimming pool, gym, sports hall and all-weather outdoor pitch.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Tweedmouth on Google maps.
  2. ^ Information Britain. A Guide to Tweedmouth.
  3. ^ Mirror.co.uk. Visiting Flodden.
  4. ^ Berwick-upon-Tweed Town Council
  5. ^ Genuki.org.uk. National Gazetteer (1868) - Tweedmouth
  6. ^ a b c Britain Express. Tweedmouth.
  7. ^ BBC History. Tweedmouth Festival
  8. ^ Potss.co.uk. Tweedmouth Parish Church.
  9. ^ Engineering Timelines. Royal Border Bridge
  10. ^ Port of Berwick. History
  11. ^ Visitberwick.com. The Swan Leisure Centre
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