Kelso Scottish Borders

Kelso (known locally as Kelsae) is a market town in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, located where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence. The town has a population of just over 6,000; it is regarded as one of the most charming and quaint towns in the area with its cobbled streets, elegant Georgian buildings and French style cobbled market square. Kelso's other main tourist attractions are the ruined Kelso Abbey and Floors Castle, a William Adam designed house completed in 1726. The bridge at Kelso was designed by John Rennie who later built London Bridge.The town of Kelso came into being as a direct result of the creation of Kelso Abbey in 1128. The town's name stems from the fact that the earliest settlement stood on a chalky outcrop, and the town was known as Calkou in those early days.Standing on the opposite bank of the river Tweed from the now-vanished royal burgh of Roxburgh, Kelso and its sister hamlet of Wester Kelso were linked to the burgh by a ferry at Wester Kelso. A small hamlet existed before the completion of the Abbey in 1128 but the settlement started to flourish with the arrival of the monks. Many were skilled craftsmen, and they helped the local population as the village expanded. The Abbey controlled much of life in Kelso-area burgh of barony, called Holydean, until the Reformation in the sixteenth century. After that, the power and wealth of the Abbey declined. The Ker family of Cessford took over the barony and many of the Abbey’s properties around the town. By the 1600s, they virtually owned Kelso........To read the information in its original content please visit the Wiki