Junction of Roxburgh Street

About Junction of Roxburgh Street

This was at one time the link between the historic burghs of Easter and Wester Kelso. The Burgh of Wester Kelso was inhabited until 1684 when it was destroyed by fire. The Mercat Cross survived until the late 18th century as the only reminder of the Burgh. In 1715, James Francis Stuart (son of King James VII and father of Prince Charles Edward Stuart) was proclaimed King by his followers at the Cross. The proclamation was met with cries from the locals of “No Union, no malt tax, no salt tax" in direct reference to the 1707 Treaty of Union between Scotland and England. Under the terms of Union, punitive taxes were imposed on malts and salt which had been tax free in Scotland.