King's Own Scottish Borderers Regimental Museum

Berwick Barracks stands beside the River Tweed in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Built between 1717 and 1721, the two parallel blocks were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor to protect the town during the Jacobite risings. Captain Thomas Phillips supervised the work. A third block was added between 1739 and 1741. After the Napoleonic Wars the barracks were abandoned, then brought back into use in the 1850s. In 1881 the King’s Own Scottish Borderers arrived as the regiment’s depot. The museum inside shows the life of the British infantryman in an exhibition called ‘By Beat of Drum’. It holds the last colours of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers before the regiment merged into the Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006. The entrance gateway and guardhouse on the Parade are Grade I listed. The West Barracks, East Barracks and Clock House are also Grade I listed. English Heritage now maintains the site. Visitors walk through the historic parade ground to reach the museum. The three barracks blocks frame the space with their 18th-century architecture. The guardhouse and gateway show fine stonework from Hawksmoor’s time. Inside the museum, displays tell the story of the regiment’s campaigns and daily life. The colours are kept in a quiet room, a final reminder of the regiment’s history.