Tweedmouth (St. Bartholomew)

TWEEDMOUTH (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Islandshire, N. division of Northumberland; adjoining Berwick, and containing, with the townships of Ord and Spittle, 5202 inhabitants, of whom 2574 are in the township of Tweedmouth. In 1203, King John made an attempt to fortify the town of Tweedmouth, but his progress was twice interrupted by the Scots, and during the occupation of Berwick by William the Lion, the works were entirely demolished. The town or village, which is situated on the south bank of the river Tweed, forms a handsome suburb to the borough of Berwick, with which it is connected by an elegant bridge. The inhabitants of the parish are chiefly employed in agriculture and fishing; in the town are two extensive foundries, a yard for boatbuilding, a brewery, a millwright's establishment, and a mill for crushing bones for manure. The Edinburgh and Newcastle railway, completing the communication with London, passes through the village; and from the abundance of coal, limestone, and stone for building, in the neighbourhood, with facilities of conveyance, and the command of a good harbour, there is every prospect of a great increase in the manufacturing and commercial importance of the place. A part of the parish is included within the boundaries of Berwick; petty-sessions for this portion of Tweedmouth are held every Friday, and for that part of it within the county on the first Wednesday in every month. The parish comprises 4520 acres, chiefly arable. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The church, formerly a chapel of ease to Holy Island, was rebuilt in 1783. There are two places of worship for Presbyterians; and a national school, erected in 1825. An ancient hospital existed here, near the site of which is a slightly impregnated mineral spring; and in the neighbourhood of Ord are vestiges of a British intrenchment, close to which fragments of military weapons have been found.