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1603 -The North Road from London to Berwick was extended to Edinburgh







                                               EDINBURGH






















                                                                                                                                                                                                                   BERWKX\



                                                                                                                                          In  1603, after his accession to the English throne,  King  James I & VI
                                                                                                                                          extended  the  Tudor post road  from  Berwick via  Cockburnspath  and
                                                                                                                                          Haddington to  Edinburgh.  The  northern terminus was the  posthouse
                                                                                                                                          at the foot of the Canongate and the first postmaster to  be appointed
                                                                                                                                          was John Kinloch.


                                                                                                                                          King  James fully  appreciated the  need  for effective  communications
                                                                                                                                          between his kingdoms and, In  1607, he famously told his government
                                                                                                                                          in England how he had chosen to rule Scotland:


                                                                                                                                           'here I sit and govern it [Scotland] with my pen,  I write and it is done'.


                                                                                                                                          In fact, between 1603 and his death in  1625, King James only visited
                                                                                                                                          his homeland on one occasion, in  1617.
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