Editing Berwick-upon-Tweed (section)

== Culture ==

=== Berwick's identity ===

Berwick is famous for its hesitation over whether it is part of Scotland or England.<ref>{{cite web |last=Woolley |first=Alexander |date=11 September 2014 |title=The Scottish referendum means Berwick-upon-Tweed faces an uncertain future |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/2014/09/scottish-referendum-means-berwick-upon-tweed-faces-uncertain-future |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122033448/https://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/2014/09/scottish-referendum-means-berwick-upon-tweed-faces-uncertain-future |archive-date=22 January 2021 |access-date=20 January 2021 |website=www.newstatesman.com }}</ref> Some people are adamant they are English and their loyalty lies with Northumberland, while others feel an affinity with Scotland.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/jan/13/scotland-independence-berwick-upon-tweed |work=The Guardian |date=13 January 2012 |title=Border town where Scottish independence is another dividing line |access-date=2 December 2018 |archive-date=2 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202202704/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/jan/13/scotland-independence-berwick-upon-tweed |url-status=live }}</ref> Whilst it has been argued that the town's geographic and historic place between the two has led to it developing a distinctive identity of its own,<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=MacEacheran |first=Mike |date=28 September 2020 |title=The British town with a third 'nationality' |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200927-the-british-town-with-a-third-nationality |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121172640/http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200927-the-british-town-with-a-third-nationality |archive-date=21 November 2020 |access-date=20 January 2021 |website=www.bbc.com }}</ref> many people in Berwick also have mixed Anglo-Scottish families which contributes to a sense of separate identity.<ref>[http://www.visitberwick.com/what-are-we Visitberwick.com. ''What we are.''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203055624/http://www.visitberwick.com/what-are-we |date=3 December 2018 }} Retrieved 2 December 2018.</ref> Historian Derek Sharman said "The people of Berwick feel really independent. You are a Berwicker first, Scottish or English second."<ref name=":0" /> Former mayor Mike Elliot said "25% of the town consider themselves English, 25% Scottish and 50% Berwickers."<ref>{{cite news |last=Kerr |first=Rachel |date=8 October 2004 |title=A tale of one town |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/3727046.stm |url-status=live |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309184809/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/3727046.stm }}</ref> Professor Dominic Watt of the [[University of Aberdeen]] noted that: "Older people view themselves more as Scots than the younger people in Berwick, and this can be heard in their accents."<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date=26 August 2004 |title=Devolution is silencing Berwick's Scots voices |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/devolution-silencing-berwicks-scots-voices-2509649 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202175202/https://www.scotsman.com/news/devolution-silencing-berwicks-scots-voices-2509649 |archive-date=2 February 2022 |access-date=20 January 2021 |website=www.scotsman.com }}</ref>

In 2008, [[Scottish National Party|SNP]] [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) [[Christine Grahame]] made calls in the [[Scottish Parliament]] for Berwick to become part of Scotland again.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7237802.stm |title='Return to fold' call for Berwick |access-date=17 July 2008 |work=BBC News |date=10 February 2008 |archive-date=13 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213182608/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7237802.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Liberal Democrat MSP [[Jeremy Purvis]], who was born and brought up in Berwick, asked for the border to be moved twenty miles south, stating: "There's a strong feeling that Berwick should be in Scotland. Until recently, I had a gran in Berwick and another in [[Kelso, Scottish Borders|Kelso]], and they could see that there were better public services in Scotland."<ref>'{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Sunday Post]] |date=10 February 2008 |title=Scots plan to capture 20 miles of England}}</ref> However, [[Alan Beith]], the former MP for Berwick, said the move would require a massive legal upheaval and is not realistic.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hamilton |first=Alan |date=13 February 2008 |title=Berwick thinks it's time to change sides... again |newspaper=[[The Times]] |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3359670.ece |access-date=14 February 2008}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Beith's successor as MP, [[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]], said: "Voters in Berwick-upon-Tweed do not believe it is whether they are in England or Scotland that is important."<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Dawson |first=Katie |date=1 May 2010 |title=Berwick-upon-Tweed: English or Scottish? |work= |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/england/8640148.stm |url-status=live |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=27 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227141730/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/england/8640148.stm }}</ref>

=== Berwick dialect ===

The local speech of Berwick-upon-Tweed shares many characteristics with both other rural [[Northumberland]] dialects and East [[Central Scots]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dsl.ac.uk/INTRO/intro2.php?num=16 |title=Phonetic Description of Scottish Language and Dialects |work=Dictionary of the Scots Language |page=16 |access-date=9 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612121445/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/INTRO/intro2.php?num=16 |archive-date=12 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dsl.ac.uk/INTRO/map.php?num=2 |title=Sound Map 2 |work=Dictionary of the Scots Language |access-date=9 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416181355/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/INTRO/map.php?num=2 |archive-date=16 April 2014}}</ref> In 1892, [[Linguistics|linguist]] [[Richard Oliver Heslop]] divided the county of Northumberland into four dialect zones and placed the Berwick dialect in the "north-Northumbrian" region, an area extending from Berwick down to the [[River Coquet]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Simmelbauer |first=Andrea |year=2000 |title=The Dialect of Northumberland: A Lexical Investigation |publisher=Carl Winter |isbn=978-3-8253-0934-3 |page=17}}</ref> Likewise, Charles Jones (1997) classes the dialect as "predominantly North-Northumbrian" with "a few features shared with [[Scots language|Scots]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Charles |year=1997 |title=The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-0754-9 |page=512}}</ref>

Features of this dialect include the "[[Northumbrian burr]]", a distinct pronunciation of the letter [[R]] historically common to many dialects of [[North East England]]; and predominant [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|non-rhoticity]]: older speakers tend to be slightly rhotic, while younger speakers are universally non-rhotic.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Stockwell |editor1-first=Peter |editor2-last=Mullany |editor2-first=Louise |editor3-last=Llamas |editor3-first=Carmen |year=2006 |title=The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics |url=https://archive.org/details/routledgecompani00llam_704 |url-access=limited |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415338509 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/routledgecompani00llam_704/page/n27 7]–8 |quote=Non-rhoticity appears to be (near-)categorical for all speakers. Even the eldest speaker uses non-rhotic pronunciations almost 90 per cent of the time. These data suggest, then, that Berwick English is now effectively established as a non-rhotic variety and has thereby converged on mainstream [[English English]].}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/ss17/contributions/abstract.php?paperID=560 |last1=Llamas |first1=Carmen |last2=Watt |first2=Dominic |title=Rhoticity in four Scottish/English border localities |date=3 April 2008 |access-date=23 October 2008 |quote="[it] could be argued based on the data in Watt (2006) that Berwick English is increasingly convergent with other non-rhotic English varieties in northern England, and increasingly divergent from Scottish varieties with which it has traditionally shared numerous properties. |archive-date=26 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126140705/http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/ss17/contributions/abstract.php?paperID=560 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A sociological study of the [[Anglo-Scottish border]] region conducted in 2000 found that locals of [[Alnwick]], {{cvt|30|mi|km|-1|abbr=off}} south of Berwick, associated the Berwick accent with Scottish influence. Conversely, those from [[Eyemouth]], Scotland, {{cvt|9|mi|km}} north of Berwick, firmly classed Berwick speech as English, identifying it as "Northumbrian or [[Geordie]]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Llamas |first1=Carmen |last2=Watt |first2=Dominic |year=2010 |title=Language and Identities |url=https://archive.org/details/languageidentiti00llam |url-access=limited |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-3577-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/languageidentiti00llam/page/n244 230]}}</ref>

=== Sport ===

[[Berwick Rangers F.C.|Berwick Rangers Football Club]] were formed in the town in 1881.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cox |first=Richard |year=2002 |title=Encyclopedia of British Football |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7146-5249-8 |page=342}}</ref> The club plays in the [[Scottish football league system]]. The home stadium of Berwick Rangers is [[Shielfield Park]], and the club currently plays in the [[Lowland Football League|Lowland League]], the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system.<ref name=":1" /> The town also has a [[rugby union]] side, [[Berwick RFC]], who play in [[Scottish Rugby Union]]'s East Regional League Division 1. Before 2016, the two teams were unique in being English teams that play in Scottish leagues.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Duke |first1=Vic |title=Football, Nationality, and the State |last2=Crolley |first2=Liz |date=January 1996 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-29306-9 |location=London |page=63}}</ref><ref name="New Club in East of Scotland">{{cite web |title=New Club in East of Scotland |url=http://www.eosfl.com/news.asp |access-date=29 May 2016 |publisher=eosfl.com |archive-date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222184900/http://eosfl.com/news.asp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Club joins East of Scotland League">{{cite web |title=Club joins East of Scotland League |url=https://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/tweedmouth.html |access-date=29 May 2016 |publisher=nonleaguescotland.org.uk |archive-date=12 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812082237/http://nonleaguescotland.org.uk/tweedmouth.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

A newer team in the town [[Tweedmouth Rangers F.C.|Tweedmouth Rangers Football Club]] has played in the [[East of Scotland Football League]] since 2016. Before this, they were members of the [[North Northumberland Football League|North Northumberland League]].<ref name="New Club in East of Scotland"/><ref name="Club joins East of Scotland League"/> Their home ground is Old Shielfield Park, which the club uses under an agreement with Berwick Rangers Football Club.

[[Motorcycle speedway|Speedway]] has taken place in Berwick in two separate eras. The sport was introduced to Shielfield Park in May 1968. A dispute between the speedway club and the stadium owners ended the first spell. The sport returned to Shielfield Park in the mid-1990s. The lack of a venue in the town saw the team move to a rural location called Berrington Lough. The team, known as the [[Berwick Bandits|Bandits]], have raced at all levels from First Division to Conference League (first to third levels).

=== Media === 
Local news and television programmes is provided by [[BBC North East and Cumbria]] and [[ITV Tyne Tees]]. Television signals are received from the [[Chatton transmitting station|Chatton]] TV transmitter,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Chatton | title=Chatton (Northumberland, England) Full Freeview transmitter | date=May 2004 | accessdate = 27 August 2023}}</ref> and with its close proximity to the [[Scottish Borders]], [[BBC Scotland]] and [[ITV Border]] can also be received from the [[Selkirk transmitting station|Selkirk]] TV transmitter.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Selkirk | title=Selkirk (The Scottish Borders, Scotland) Full Freeview transmitter | date=May 2004 | accessdate = 27 August 2023 }}</ref>

The town's local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Newcastle]] on 96.0&nbsp;FM and [[Radio Borders|Greatest Hits Radio]] on 102.3&nbsp;FM.

Berwick-upon-Tweed's local newspaper is the ''Berwick Advertiser''.

=== Relations with Russia ===

There is an apocryphal story that Berwick is (or recently has been) officially at war with [[Russia]].<ref name="QI">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhtiGIuR1M4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/YhtiGIuR1M4 |archive-date=2021-11-07 |url-status=live |title=Who was the only survivor of the Crimean War? |author=QI: Quite Interesting |work=YouTube |date=9 December 2016 |access-date=28 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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. Knox said, "Please tell the Russian people through your newspaper that they can sleep peacefully in their beds." The same story, cited to the [[Associated Press]], appeared in ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' of 17 December 1966; ''[[The Washington Post]]'' of 18 December 1966; and ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' of 22 December 1966. At some point, the real events seem to have been turned into a story of a "Soviet official" having signed a "peace treaty" with Mayor Knox; Knox's remark to the ''Pravda'' correspondent was preserved in this version.<ref name="QI"/><ref name=Culture>{{cite web |last=Spicer |first=Graham |title=Myth Or Reality? Berwick Revisits Its 'War With Russia' |work=Culture 24 |date=24 July 2006 |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%2526+heritage/time/georgian+and+victorian/art38768 |access-date=1 December 2009 |archive-date=22 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022030506/http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/time/georgian+and+victorian/art38768 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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". One such was the declaration of the [[Crimean War]] against Russia in 1853, which [[Queen Victoria]] supposedly signed as "Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, Berwick-upon-Tweed and all British Dominions". When the [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Treaty of Paris]] was signed to conclude the war, "Berwick-upon-Tweed" was left out. 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 [[List of wars extended by diplomatic irregularity|extended by the lack of a peace treaty]] for over a century.<ref name=Culture/> 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.