Kelso in historic gazetteers

Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887). John Bartholomew

Kelso, market town and par., NE. Roxburghshire-par., 5384 ac., pop. 5235; town, on N. side of river Tweed, 52 miles SE. of Edinburgh and 354 miles NW. of London by rail, pop. 4687; P.O., T.O., 5 Banks, 3 newspapers. Market-day, Friday. Kelso is pleasantly situated in the rich wooded vale where the Teviot meets the Tweed, which is here crossed by an elegant stone bridge of 5 semielliptical arches, each 72 ft. in span; this bridge was erected by Rennie in 1800-3, and leads to Kelso ry. sta. and the S. suburb of Maxwellheugh. Near the bridge are the interesting ruins of Kelso Abbey, founded in 1128 by David I., burned in 1545 by the English, and in 1866 placed in a state of repair by the Duke of Roxburghe, whose seat, Floors Castle, is in the vicinity. On the destruction of Roxburgh in 1460, Kelso, which had previously been a kind of suburb of that ancient burgh, became the principal place on the Eastern Border. It has important corn markets, and its trade is chiefly connected with agriculture; it has coach-building establishments, engineering shops, &c., and in the vicinity are large nursery gardens. Kelso is an angling centre. The racecourse, one of the finest in Scotland, is on the N. side of the town, and on the E. side is the public (Shedden) park. Sir William Fairbairn (1789-1874), the engineer, was a native, and at the old grammar-school Sir Walter Scott was a pupil in 1783. Kelso is a police burgh.