1216

January

King John attacked Berwick and forced the Scots to leave. He also raided the lowlands.

1292

November 17

At Berwick Edward I declared John Balliol to be the new Scottish King. ¹

1296

March 30

King Edward ordered his army to attack the badly fortified town of Berwick. Many Scots were killed in the two days of the attack and possibly somewhere between 7000 and 17000 men, women and children were slaughtered.

1296

April

In March of 1296 Edward I had attacked and sacked Berwick. Balliol renounced homage to England. ¹

1310

September

Supported by Earls of Gloucester, Warwick and Cornwall, Edward took an army into Scotland. Edward directed the assaults from Berwick. The campaign was fruitless even though Gaveston managed to reach as far north as Perth. ¹

1313

December 23

King Edward II called upon the earls to provide men and arms and to meet at Berwick on the 10th of June 1314 to attack the Scots. ¹

1314

June 17

Edward II and his army left Berwick to march to Stirling Castle which they had to reach before midsummer's day if the castle were to be saved from falling back into the hands of the Scots. ¹

1319

June

The last Scottish town to be held in English hands had been captured by Robert the Bruce. The loss of Berwick brought Edward and Lancaster together. Their common goal was to recapture the town and together with the Earl of Pembroke and Surrey they marched north. ¹

1322

July

The two year truce that had been agreed after the failed siege by the English at Berwick expired and Robert the Bruce invaded the north of England. ¹

1333

July 19

King Edward had positioned his army on Halidon Hill overlooking Berwick which he had under siege. He choose the location because it allowed him to look out for the Scots who may try and relieve the Scottish who were besieged with the town. A Scottish force tried to get to Berwick put were defeated by Edward's army. Edward III's attacks on Scotland and victory at Halidon Hill put Edward Balliol back on the Scottish throne for four more years. Robert (II), the future King of the Scots, was one of the Scottish commanders at the battle of Halidon Hill. ¹

1333

July 20

After the defeat of their relief force at Halidon Hill the day before, the Scots holding out in Berwick had no option but surrender to the English and Edward III.

1357

October 3

The Treaty of Berwick, signed between King Edward III of England and David II of Scotland, allowed David to go free from prison where he had been kept for the previous 11 years. A ransom of 100,000 marks was the price of his freedom.

1378

...

With just forty men, Alexander Ramsay approached Berwick Castle and finding no guards on the walls raised ladders and gained entry to the keep. There they killed the castle's commander and took control, The residents of Berwick reacted by destoying the drawbridge to the castle to prevent the Scots from leaving. A larger Scottish army was north of Berwick and Ramsay decided to wait for their arrival, but the Earl of Northumberland with 10,000 men arrived first. They laid siege to the castle and quickly recaptured it, killing all the Scots apart from Ramsay who surrendered.

1639

June 18

The army Charles had put together was no match for the Scottish army under the command of Leslie and so the King signed the Treaty of Berwick. While the Scots returned home happy that they could deal with their own church affairs, Charles had no intensions of abiding by the terms of the treaty and used the treaty as a means of gaining time to plan his next move. This ended the first Bishops' War. ¹

1645

August 18

Montrose entered Glasgow and a new Parliament was convened in the name of King Charles I. The Convenanting leaders escaped to Berwick. ¹