On this day in 1296, Edward I of England sacked the Scottish town of Berwick.

The English army destroyed the town and decimated the population of around 15,000. This act was retaliation for the widespread carnage perpetrated in the north of England, and what Edward considered to be the treacherous stab in the back of the Scottish-French alliance. Berwick was rebuilt by Northumbrians, and the Scottish-English border forever after remained north of this town.

On 30 March 1783, William Hunter, the eminent physician and obstetrician, died. Hunter made several important studies of the pregnant human uterus. His work, The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus, Established in Figures, is considered an anatomical classic. His collection of books and manuscripts form the Hunterian Collection at Glasgow University.

Today's recipe: how to turn the humble tattie into a decadent dish. Lobster baked potato.