If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Selkirk town centre, tolbooth and Sir Walter Scott statue. Selkirk bannock 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.

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. 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. 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 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.

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 it 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. The remains of the “forest kirk”, referred to in ancient times as the church of St Mary of the Forest, still stand in the old churchyard.

It is also the final resting place of several maternal ancestors of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the US. Just to the south of the town is The Haining, the late 18th-century residence of the Pringle family. In 2009 the last owner died, and left the house and grounds “for the benefit of the community of Selkirkshire and the wider public. A charitable trust is now planning to restore the building as an art gallery. Although attributed to Robert Burns, the Selkirk Grace was already known in the 17th century, as the “Galloway Grace” or the “Covenanters’ Grace”.

In Scots Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it, But we hae meat and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit. Rugby union plays its role in Selkirk culture and society. Selkirk RFC play in their home games at Philiphaugh, competing in the Scottish Premiership and the Border League. The town cricket club was formed in 1851 and still plays in the Border League.

The cricket ground at Philiphaugh is the site of the Battle of Philiphaugh. The town also has a footballing tradition, having produced some players of note in the Scottish game including Bobby Johnstone of Hibernian. Scotland international rugby player, played for Selkirk R. Like the rest of the British Isles, Selkirk has a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. However the area appears to have one of the widest absolute temperature ranges in the United Kingdom. Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Selkirk.

Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland”. The Mother Town: Civic Ritual, Symbol, and Experience in the Borders of Scotland. A Dictionary of British Place-Names, David Mills, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011, ISBN 019960908X, 9780199609086. Selkirk – Ordnance Survey large scale Scottish town plans, 1847-1895 – National Library of Scotland”. Study uncovers potential Kirk of the Forest site where William Wallace was made Guardian of Scotland”.