Selkirkshire , also Called Selkirk , historic southeast county Scotland , occupies a hilly, highland region bisected by the valleys of the Ettrick and Yarrow waters (rivers), the in the east with the River Tweed merge . Selkirkshire is entirely within the area Scottish Borders Council.
Archaeological evidence indicates that Selkirkshire was inhabited by the Neolithic . The Romans established military camps in Ettrick Valley and Newstead. The history of the area for six centuries after the Roman retreat is that of all of south-east Scotland. The county was part of the Celtic British Kingdom Strathclyde and then the Anglo-Saxon kingdom Northumbria and was eventually annexed to Scotland around 1020. The region later suffered from centuries of border wars between the Scots and the English to the south. Up until the 16th century the area was called Ettrick Forest and was a hunting ground for the Scottish kings. The Writer Sir Walter Scott was Sheriff of Selkirkshire from 1799 until his death. Selkirkshire was created by the industrial revolution largely bypassed and is essentially rural in character, although reflected in Galashiels and in the City Selkirk a wool textile manufacture . Galashiels is the largest town in the county and Selkirk was the historic county seat.