[7] Berwick's name is of the same origin as the word berewick,[8] denoting a portion of farmland which was detached from a manor and reserved for a lord's own use.

[3] Between the late 10th and early 11th centuries, the land between the rivers Forth and Tweed came under Scottish control, either through conquest by Scotland or through cession by England.

"[citation needed] Berwick's strategic position on the Anglo-Scottish border during centuries of war between the two nations and its relatively great wealth led to a succession of raids, sieges and takeovers.

[23] The Treaty of Falaise was annulled in 1189 when William paid Richard I of England 10,000 marks sterling to contribute towards the latter's crusade.

According to William Edington, a bishop and chancellor of England, Berwick was "so populous and of such commercial importance that it might rightly be called another Alexandria, whose riches were the sea and the water its walls".

[25] In 1291–92, Berwick was the site of Edward I of England's arbitration in the contest for the Scottish crown between John Balliol and Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale.

[28] Edward I went again to Berwick in August 1296 to receive formal homage from some 2,000 Scottish nobles, after defeating the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar in April and forcing John Balliol to abdicate at Kincardine Castle the following July.

At this time, work began on building the town walls (and rebuilding the earlier Castle); these fortifications were complete by 1318 and subsequently improved under Scottish rule.

In 1314, Edward II of England mustered 25,000 men at Berwick, who later fought in the crushing defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn.

Between 1315 and 1318, Scottish armies, sometimes with the help of Flemish and German privateers, besieged and blockaded the town, finally capturing it in April 1318.

In 1461, Berwick was ceded back to Scotland by Margaret of Anjou on behalf of her husband, Henry VI, in return for help against the Yorkists during the Wars of the Roses.

On 3 February 1478, Robert Lauder of the Bass and Edrington was again appointed Keeper of the castle, a position that he held until the final year of Scottish control, when Patrick Hepburn, 1st Lord Hailes, had possession.

The Scots did not accept this conquest evidenced by innumerable charters for at least two centuries after this date, but never regained control of the town.

[15] Sir Richard Lee designed some of the Elizabethan works,[38] and the Italian military engineer Giovanni Portinari was also involved in the project.

[40] In December 1603, the Crown ordered the dissolution of the garrison of Berwick and the number of soldiers was reduced to 100 men and pensioners.

[44] It is the most northerly parish church in England and was built under special licence from Oliver Cromwell during the Commonwealth period.

By that time, Tweedmouth on the south side of the river had grown to a sizeable population, effectively as a suburb of the town but outside the borough boundaries.

Thus at various points in the Middle Ages and from 1482 (when Berwick became administered by England), Berwickshire had the unique distinction of being the only county in the British Isles to be named after a town in another country.

Some current and recent Berwick economic activities include salmon fishing, shipbuilding, engineering, sawmilling, fertilizer production, malting and the manufacture of tweed and hosiery.

Berwick town centre comprises the Mary Gate and High Street where many local shops and some retail chains exist.

A Morrisons supermarket with a petrol station, alongside a branch of McDonald's, a Travelodge UK and an Aldi all exist on Loaning Meadows close to the outskirts of the town near the current A1.

The Aldi outlet moved its operations to a new location in the newly constructed Loaning Meadows Retail Park which also hosts KFC and Costa Coffee drive-throughs, A Food Warehouse wholesale store, Greggs and a Home Bargains supermarket.

[65] Bus services are mostly operated by Borders Buses (part of West Coast Motors) and Arriva providing both local and longer links.

"[70] The local speech of Berwick-upon-Tweed shares many characteristics with both other rural Northumberland dialects and East Central Scots.

Local news and television programmes is provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees.

[89] According to a story by George Hawthorne in The Guardian of 28 December 1966, the London correspondent of Pravda visited the Mayor of Berwick, Councillor Robert Knox, and the two made a mutual declaration of peace.

[89][90] The basis for such status was the claim that Berwick had changed hands several times, was traditionally regarded as a special, separate entity, and some proclamations referred to "England, Scotland and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed".

This meant that, supposedly, one of Britain's smallest towns was officially at war with one of the world's largest powers – and the conflict extended by the lack of a peace treaty for over a century.

[90] In reality, Berwick-upon-Tweed was not mentioned in either the declaration of war or the final peace treaty and was legally part of the United Kingdom for both.

Because of its far northern position in England coupled with considerable North Sea influence, the area has very cool summers for an English location, with a subdued July (1981–2010) high of 17.9 °C (64.2 °F), more resembling a Scottish climate.