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In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Galashiels like this:
Galashiels, parl. burgh, manufacturing town, and par.-- par., partly in Roxburghshire but chiefly in Selkirkshire, 8440 ac., pop. 9742; town, Galashiels and Melrose pars., Selkirkshire, on Gala Water, 1 mile above its confluence with the Tweed, 33½ miles SE. of Edinburgh by rail -- parl. ...
and mun. burgh, pop. 15,330 (parliamentary limits extended 1885); 5 Banks, 2 newspapers. Market-day, Tuesday. Galashiels was originally, according to tradition, a hunting-seat of the Scottish kings; modern Galashiels dates from the close of the 18th century. It is the chief seat of the woollen mfr. in Scotland, the principal fabric being tweeds. Galashiels was one of the first towns in Scotland to adopt the Free Libraries Act. Along with Hawick and Selkirk it returns 1 member to Parliament.
Galashiels is now part of SCOTTISH BORDERS Council. Click here for graphs and data of how SCOTTISH BORDERS has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Galashiels itself, go to Statistics.
How to reference this page:
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Galashiels, in Scottish Borders and Selkirkshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/16430
Date accessed: 08th April 2026
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Galashiels".
