A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1846.
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LADHOPE, lately a quoad sacra parish, in the parish and district of Melrose, county of Roxburgh; containing, with the villages of Buckholmside, Comely-Bank, and Darlingshaugh, 2367 inhabitants. This district is situated in the western part of the parish of Melrose, on the borders of the Gala water. Its populous villages, of which those of Buckholmside and Darlingshaugh are beautifully seated on the bank of the river, are chiefly appendant on Galashiels, in the manufactures of which town the inhabitants are largely engaged: the firstnamed village is immediately connected with Galashiels by a stone bridge. Besides the church of the district, there is a place of worship for members of the Free Church; also several schools.—See Melrose, and Galashiels.
LADY, an isle, in the parish of Dundonald, county of Ayr, 5 miles (S. S. W.) from Irvine, and 5 (N. W. by N.) from Ayr. This island is situated in the Frith of Clyde, about two miles and a half from Troon, the nearest point of the main land of the county; and is of an oval figure, and half a mile in length. On the eastern side is good anchorage ground; and two towers or pillars, which may be easily seen at a distance, have been erected on the north-west part of the isle, for the guidance of vessels in the Frith, the coast in this part being flat and dangerous.
LADY, a parish, in the island of Sanda, North Isles of the county of Orkney, 25 miles (N. E. by N.) from Kirkwall; containing 909 inhabitants. This parish, which includes the eastern portion of the island, is about nine miles in length, from south to north, and one mile in average breadth; it is bounded on the west by the parish of Cross and the bay of Otterswick, and on all other points surrounded by the sea. It is of singularly-irregular form, stretching out into the sea by numerous narrow headlands of considerable length, of which that called the Start projects from the shore of the main land for more than two miles, in a direction duly eastward. The surface is generally flat, having little elevation above the sea, and is subdivided into many small districts; the principal are, Elsness, Overbister, Tressness, Coligarth, Newark, Silibister, and Northwall. At Elsness is an inlet of the sea, about 125 acres in extent, which is dry at low water; and at Tressness is another, of more than twice the dimensions: both might be easily converted into good harbours. On the extremity of the Start, a lighthouse was erected in 1802; it is 100 feet in height to the lantern, and displays a revolving light, which may be distinctly seen at a distance of eighteen nautical miles. In the northern part of the parish are four considerable lakes, of which those of Northwall and Westair are separated from each other, and also from the sea, only by a narrow slip of intervening land, and, with the others, less in extent, and more widely detached, occupy by far the greater portion of the north-eastern part of the island. The soil is generally sand, in some parts intermixed with clay; about two-thirds of the parish are under cultivation, and the remainder heath and waste. The exact number of acres has not been ascertained: of the land in cultivation, 2000 acres are arable, and the remainder good pasture. The crops are, oats, bear, potatoes, and turnips, and in the two latter the drill system of husbandry is prevalent; the principal manure is sea-weed, which is found to answer well. The breed of blackcattle, since the introduction of turnips, has been much improved. Garamount House, erected by the late John Traill Urquhart, Esq., of Elsness, is a handsome modern mansion, finely situated. There is no village; the population are chiefly agricultural, and employed in the manufacture of kelp and in the fisheries. The manufacture of kelp, though formerly much more extensive, still affords employment to a considerable number of persons during the months of June and July; and the produce is sent to Newcastle. Cod, turbot, skate, and herrings abound in the surrounding sea, and small quantities of dried cod are occasionally exported; but there is no regular station for curing, and few more are taken than are required for the supply of the inhabitants.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of North Isles and the synod of Orkney. The minister's stipend is £158. 6. 8., including an allowance of £8. 6. 8. for communion elements; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £4. 8. per annum: patron, the Earl of Zetland. The church, rebuilt in 1814, is a neat and spacious structure containing ample accommodation for all the parishioners. There is a place of worship for members of the United Secession. The parochial school is common to the three parishes of the island, and is well attended; the master has a salary of £46. 10., with a dwelling-house. A school for the more immediate use of this parish is supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, who pay the master a salary of £15 per annum; he has also a house, with fuel, and an allowance for the keep of a cow from the heritors. There are numerous vestiges of ancient chapels of very diminutive structure, few of them exceeding twelve feet in length; but the names of St. Peter's and St. Magdalene's only have been preserved. At Newark were lately discovered the remains of a circular building of flat stones, fitted together without cement; the walls were about six feet thick, and in some parts surrounded by an outer wall, with an interval of three feet between. The diameter of the inner wall was about twelve feet, and the interior filled with stones, gravel, and a layer of red ashes, interspersed with bones of cattle, sheep, swine, rabbits, geese, and various kinds of shell-fish. There are several tumuli in the parish; and at Coliness, numerous graves were discovered lined with flag-stones, in which were many skeletons nearly entire, one with a wound in the upper part of the skull. In one of the graves was found a gold ring, and on one of the flag-stones was a rudely-sculptured cross.
LADYBANK, a village, in the parish of Collessie, district of Cupar, county of Fife; containing 102 inhabitants.
LADYKIRK, a parish, in the county of Berwick, 6 miles (N. E. by N.) from Coldstream; containing, with the villages of Horndean and Upsetlington, 504 inhabitants. This place originally consisted only of the parish of Upsetlington, of which the name is of very uncertain derivation. It appears to have acquired a considerable degree of importance at an early period; and during the disputed succession to the crown of Scotland, towards the close of the thirteenth century, a meeting took place here between eight of the competitors, attended by several of the Scottish prelates and nobility, and Edward I. of England, for the purpose of investigating their several claims, and more especially for settling the feuds of Bruce and Baliol. In 1500, a new church was erected by James IV., and dedicated to the Virgin Mary; the parish then took the name of Ladykirk, and its former appellation has since been confined to the village that had risen up around its ancient church. Soon after the treaty of Cateau Cambresis, a supplementary treaty was concluded here by the English and Scottish commissioners, for which purpose they met in the church of St. Mary; and on the same day the duplicates were interchanged at Norham Castle. The present parish, which includes the suppressed parish of Horndean, annexed to it at the time of the Reformation, is four miles in length and one and a half in average breadth; and is bounded on the north by the parish of Whitsome, on the east by that of Hutton, on the south by the river Tweed, and on the west by the parish of Swinton. The surface is generally level, diversified only by a few eminences which attain no considerable elevation, and in some parts sloping gently towards the banks of the Tweed.
The soil is various, but fertile; the whole number of acres is estimated at 3100, of which about three-fourths are arable, fifty acres in plantations, and the remainder in meadow and pasture. The crops are, grain of all kinds, potatoes, and turnips; the system of husbandry is advanced, the farm houses and offices well built and commodious, and all the more recent improvements in agricultural implements in use. Great attention is paid to live stock, for which the pastures are peculiarly favourable. The cattle are mostly the short-horned, and have been much improved by the introduction of some of the finest specimens of the Durham breed: of the cattle reared here several have been sold for very high prices, and one bull for 1000 guineas. The sheep are all of the Leicestershire breed, and are in high estimation for their quality and the fineness of their wool. The woods consist chiefly of oak and plane, which appear to be best adapted to the soil; and the plantations of Scotch and spruce firs, intermixed with various kinds of forest-trees. The substrata are, on the banks of the river, compact micaceous sandstone alternated with schistose, marl, and limestone of inferior quality; and in other portions of the parish, sandstone of the old red formation. No quarries, however, have been opened hitherto. The rateable annual value of the parish is £4430. The only mansion in the parish is Ladykirk House, a handsome modern residence. A salmon-fishery on the Tweed is carried on at three several stations; but it is not so lucrative as formerly, and the whole rental does not exceed £100 per annum. An annual fair is held on the 5th of April, for the sale of linen and lintseed; and facility of communication with Coldstream, Berwick, and other places, is maintained by good roads. A post between this place and Berwick has a delivery daily.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Chirnside and synod of Merse and Teviotdale; patron, the Crown. The stipend of the incumbent is £171: the manse, recently repaired and enlarged, is a very convenient and comfortable residence; the glebe comprises eleven acres and a half of profitable land, valued at £33 per annum. The church is a handsome cruciform structure in the decorated English style of architecture, but has been greatly disfigured by injudicious alterations and additions; and the general effect of the interior, originally of lofty proportion and elegant design, has been destroyed by the partitioning off a portion of it for a schoolroom. It is adapted for a congregation of 300 persons. There is a place of worship for Burghers. The parochial school is well attended; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £25 per annum. There are some very slight vestiges of an ancient monastery on the bank of the Tweed, below the village of Upsetlington, in a place still called the Chapel Park; and near them are three springs of excellent water, called respectively the Nuns', the Monks', and St. Mary's well. Numbers of cannon balls have been found in a field opposite to Norham Castle, a celebrated fortress situated on the south side of the river, in England.
LADYKIRK, county of Orkney.—See Stronsay.
LADYLOAN, lately a quoad sacra parish, consisting of part of the parishes of Arbroath and St. Vigean's, in the county of Forfar; and containing 2116 inhabitants.—See Arbroath.
LAGGAN, a parish, in the county of Inverness, 10½ miles (W. S. W.) from Kingussie; containing 1201 inhabitants. This parish, the name of which is derived from the Gaelic word Lag, signifying "a small round hollow or plain," is situated on the river Spey, and is twenty-two miles in length, from north to south, and of about the same breadth, from east to west, comprising 256,000 acres, of which 25,660 are under wood, 1700 under cultivation, and the remainder mountain and hill pasture and waste. The elevation of the district is nearly the highest in Scotland, and the surface is marked by the greatest possible diversity of features. There are several chains of very lofty eminences, enbosoming level and fertile tracts ornamented richly with wood and water; and in some places is a display of picturesque and romantic scenery almost unrivalled. The locality takes its principal character from the wild and imposing aspect of these mountains, of which, at a distance, it appears entirely to consist; but, upon a nearer approach, the interesting vale of the Spey is seen, dressed in verdure, stretching east and west for about twenty miles, and measuring between one and two miles in breadth. This vale is bounded on the north by the Monadlia, an immense ridge rising 3000 feet above the level of the sea, in some parts thirty miles broad, and reaching to the east for more than eighty miles. To the south is the interesting chain called the Benalder mountain, of equal height with the former, and once the resort of numerous herds of deer, which receded before the flocks of sheep that were till the year 1843 pastured upon its surface: it is now again a deer forest.
These majestic elevations are relieved by the water of Loch Laggan, eight miles long and one broad, from which views are obtained of the peaks and forms of the different members and masses of the Benalder range especially. The hills of Drummond separate the vale of the Spey from that of this loch. The principal loch, however, in the parish is Loch Ericht, upwards of twenty miles in length, and nearly two in breadth, extending southward from Dalwhinnie, and dividing the ancient forest of Drumochtor, on the east, from that of Benalder, on the west: about one-third of it is in the parish of Fortingal. The Pretender, in 1746, was concealed for the space of two weeks near the banks of this sheet of water, with some of his companions, after their defeat at Culloden; and from this spot he set out for the ship which conveyed him to France. The mountain springs and rivulets are very numerous, and occasionally pour down their torrents with prodigious rapidity, swelling the burns and rivers below, to the destruction of crops, bridges, and tenements. The streams in general contain good trout, and with the lochs, in which there are pike, afford fine sport to anglers. Salmon come up to spawn as far as Loch Spey, where the river of that name rises, in the western part of the parish.
The soil in the valleys is alluvial, in some places ten or twelve feet in depth, and, when the season is propitious, producing heavy crops of bear, oats, and potatoes, as well as sown and natural grasses. The climate, however, is highly unfavourable to agriculture; frost, snow, and rain often delaying the timely sowing, and destroying the fruits of the ground before they are ripe. No regular system of husbandry is followed; the short leases, and the precarious nature of the in-gathering, discourage the expenditure of capital and the labours of industry; and for the same reasons, the ordinary methods of improving land and recovering waste ground are neglected for the appropriation of the farms to pasture, which is found to be more profitable. About 40,000 sheep are usually kept, mostly the black-faced; blackcattle are also reared, and in general sold, when young, to the south-country dealers. The late Duke of Gordon possessed two-thirds of the lands, but this portion passed by sale to other proprietors. The rents are determined by the number of sheep pastured; the tenants generally expect the wool to pay the landlord, and they hold their farms either as tenants at will, or on leases for a few years only. The rocks in the parish comprise gneiss, an inferior kind of slate, and excellent limestone, a bed of the last running through the centre: peat is supplied by the mosses, and is the ordinary fuel of the inhabitants. Most of the wood is natural, consisting of alder, birch, hazel, and willow; the plantations are of Scotch fir, birch, and several hard-woods, and chiefly in the vicinity of Cluny Castle. This mansion, beautifully situated on the north side of the Spey, was erected at the beginning of the present century, on the site of the ancient castle burnt to the ground by the king's troops in 1746, soon after the battle of Culloden, Cluny Macpherson. the owner, having espoused the cause of Prince Charles Edward. The present proprietor is the chief of the Macphersons, and has in his possession, among many other relies of antiquity, several pieces of armour worn by the prince. The other mansions are, a splendid shooting-seat belonging to the Marquess of Abercorn, situated at Ardveirge, on the border of Loch Laggan, in the midst of richly-diversified scenery; Glentruim House, a modern structure; and a residence on the verge of a loch at Glenshirra. The rateable annual value of Laggan is £6951. The Highland mail passes and repasses every day through one extremity of the parish: there is also regular communication, by carriers, with Perth, Kingussie, Fort-William, and Inverness, to the two last of which places the marketable produce is sent. The roads have been much improved since 1820; and the parliamentary road from FortWilliam, meeting the Highland road at the bridge of Spey, near Kingussie, was made about that time. There is a good road from Dalwhinnie to Fort-Augustus. Near the church is a handsome wooden bridge over the Spey; there is a stone bridge on the line of the military road at Garvamore, and two or three others cross the smaller streams.
The parish is in the presbytery of Abertarff and synod of Glenelg, and in the patronage of the Duke of Richmond. The minister's stipend is £158, of which nearly half is paid by the exchequer; he has a manse, of very recent erection, and a glebe of twenty-four acres of very inferior land, to which is attached the privilege of pasturage on the adjoining hills. The church was built in 1843, and contains about 600 sittings, all free. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship; and there is a chapel for Roman Catholics. The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches; the master has a salary of £34, with a house, and £20 fees. At Ardveirge, or "the Height of Fergus," near the side of Loch Laggan, tradition reports that one or more of the kings Fergus were buried. They used to resort hither, as well as many others of the ancient kings, for the purpose of hunting; and it is said that the dogs were kept on an island in the loch, called Eilean nan con, or "Dogs' island," near which, in the same loch, is another isle called Eilean an Righ, or "Kings' island." A silver coin of the reign of Henry II. has been found in the vicinity. In the middle of the parish is a very lofty perpendicular rock, with the remains of a fortification on its summit; and at the east end of Loch Laggan, the ruins of the old church are still to be seen. Lachlan Macpherson, Esq., one of the coadjutors of James Macpherson in collecting the poems of Ossian, and also himself a very superior Gaelic poet, was born and buried in the parish. Mrs. Grant, the poetess, resided for some time in the place, with her husband, the Rev. James Grant, formerly parochial minister. She was one of the last survivors of those who met Dr. Johnson, in 1773, while on his tour, being at that time a resident at FortAugustus, and in her eighteenth year; and she frequently described to her friends the strong impression made on her mind by the bulky stature and singular appearance of the great moralist.
LAIRG, a parish, in the county of Sutherland, 19 miles (W. by N.) from Golspie; containing 913 inhabitants, of whom 69 are in the village. The name of Lairg is generally supposed to be derived from the Gaelic word Lorg, signifying "a footpath," and to be descriptive of the situation of the parish, which lies in the direct line from the northern to the southern part of the county, and the way through which was only a footpath till the present high road was constructed. Some, however, derive the name from the compound La-ri-Leig, "bordering on the lake," in allusion to the extensive and beautiful sheet of water called Loch Shin. The parish is not remarkable for any events of historical importance; but there are still remaining several cairns, concerning the origin of which very little is known, the people of the country, when questioned upon the subject, merely repeating the tradition that they were built by the Fingalians. At a place called Cnoek a chath, "the hill of the fight," also, a number of tumuli are visible, which are reported to be the graves of those who fell in an encounter between the Sutherlands and Mackays.
The parish is thirty miles in its greatest length, from east to west, and about ten miles in breadth, from north to south, containing 40,000 acres. It is twenty miles distant from the sea, and is bounded on the north by the parish of Farr; on the south by Criech; on the east by Rogart; and on the west by Assynt and Eddrachillis. The surface throughout is hilly, and by far the larger part of it covered with heath: the hills vary in height in different parts, but are generally lofty, and on the northern boundary stands Ben-Chlibrig, the highest mountain in the county. The whole site of the parish, indeed, is very considerably elevated, and the air in winter is bleak and piercing, the cold being often accompanied with heavy falls of rain and snow; the climate, however, is healthy, and the inhabitants hardy and long-lived. The lakes are about twenty in number: the principal is Loch Shin, extending nearly the whole length of the parish; it is twenty-four miles long, and its average breadth is about one mile, the depth varying from twenty to thirty fathoms. There are five rivers, four of which fall, and some with great impetuosity, into this loch. From the east end of it issues the river Shin, which, after a rapid course of three miles, precipitates itself over a rock twenty feet high, forming a fine cascade, and at last loses itself in the waters of the Kyle of Sutherland. Trout are found in many of the lakes; in Loch Craggy they abound, and are considered to be of as fine quality as any in the kingdom.
The common alluvial deposit in the parish is peat, resting upon a subsoil of gravel; in a few places the earth is loamy and very fertile. The mossy ground, which is of great extent, is wet and spongy, and in every part imbedded with large quantities of fir, the certain indications of a once well-wooded district, though at present scarcely a tree is to be seen, except some birch growing along the lake. The agricultural character of the parish stands very low; the larger part of it is moorland, and the whole, with the exception of the lots occupied by the small tenants, has been turned into large sheep-walks. The population has consequently considerably decreased; and the old tenantry have gradually passed away, and settled either on the coast, or near grounds more susceptible of cultivation. There is no great corn farm in the parish; but the lotters raise enough of grain for domestic use. The breed of sheep is the Cheviot, and usually makes a very fine show, much attention having been paid to the rearing of them for some years past: they are sent to the markets of the Kyle and Kincardine, in Autumn and November. The rocks of the parish are chiefly coarse granite and trap, in addition to which, at the side of the lake, is a large bed of limestone: this, however, though much wanted for agricultural purposes, the inhabitants have no means of working. The rateable annual value of Lairg is returned at £1913. There are about forty miles of road, in very good condition, and affording every facility of communication: the Tongue line from south-east to north-west, and, branching from it, the Strathfleet county road, pass through the parish. A post-gig carrying passengers arrives twice in the week. The ecclesiastical affairs are subject to the presbytery of Dornoch and synod of Sutherland and Caithness; patron, the Duke of Sutherland. The stipend of the minister is £184, with a manse, built in 1795, and a glebe of ten acres valued at £9 per annum. The church, though distant from the western extremity of the parish about twenty miles, is conveniently situated, as the greater portion of the people reside in its neighbourhood; it was built in 1794, and is a very plain structure, now ruinous, but accommodating 500 persons with sittings, all of which are free. A new church and manse are in course of erection. There is only one school, the parochial, in which all the ordinary branches of education are taught, with Latin and Gaelic, the latter being the vernacular tongue: the master's salary is £34, with a house, and about £8. 10. fees. The poor have the interest of £500, bequeathed by Capt. Hugh M'Kay, son of a late minister of Lairg. Capt. William M'Kay, author of the narrative of the ship Juno, from which, Moore states, Byron drew his description of a shipwreck, was a native of the parish, and brother of Capt. Hugh M'Kay.
LAMBA, an isle, in the parish of Northmavine, county of Shetland. This is a small uninhabited isle of the Shetland group, situated on the north-east coast of the Mainland of Shetland, about a mile and a half westward of Bigga island.
LAMBHOLM, an isle, in the parish of Holm and Paplay, Isles of Orkney; containing 12 inhabitants. It is a small islet, almost circular, and about three miles in circumference, situated in Holm sound, near to the west entrance of that bay. Between it and the main land is a pretty secure harbour for vessels of 200 tons' burthen.
LAMLASH, an island, in the parish of Kilbride, Isle of Arran, county of Bute; containing 271 inhabitants. This island is two miles and a half in length and half a mile in breadth, rising in a conical shape to the height of 1000 feet; it is situated eastward of the main land of Arran, and serves as a shelter to a spacious bay of the same name. Buchanan gives the island the Latin name of Molas, from its having been the retreat of St. Maol Ios; and, for the same reason, it is also called the Holy Island: anciently a monastery of friars, founded by one of the lords of the Isles, existed here. Lamlash bay, an excellent harbour, in the form of a semicircle, on the south-east side of Arran, is landlocked by the island, at the extremities of which, on the north and south, are convenient entrances. At the head of the bay is the village of Lamlash, or Kilbride, a favourite resort for sea-bathing, and having several good inns for the accommodation of visiters.—See Kilbride.
LAMMINGTOUNE, a village, in the parish of Wandell and Lammingtoune, Upper ward of the county of Lanark, 6½ miles (S. W.) from Biggar; containing 122 inhabitants. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Clyde, and on the road from Biggar to Roberton. The place was formerly a market-town, a charter having been obtained from Charles I. to hold a weekly market here every Thursday, and two annual fairs, one on the 15th of June, and the other on the 22nd of October; but they have all been discontinued. The Lammingtoune burn, a tributary to the Clyde, flows on the south-west side of the village. In the vicinity is a fine old tower, built by a laird of Lammingtoune of the ancient family of Baillie; it is of considerable height, and the walls are of great thickness.
LANARK, a burgh, market-town, and parish, in the Upper ward of the county of Lanark; containing, with the villages of Cartland and New Lanark. 7679 inhabitants, of whom 4831 are within the burgh, 25 miles (S. E.) from Glasgow, and 32 (S. W. by W.) from Edinburgh. This place, the name of which is of uncertain derivation, is of very remote antiquity, and from the traces of a Roman road leading to the site of its ancient castle, is supposed to have been a Roman station. By some writers, indeed, it is identified with the Colænia of Ptolemy. It appears to have attained to great importance at an early period; and Kenneth II. is said to have assembled here, in 978, the first parliament of which there is any record in the history of the country. It is referred to as a royal burgh in one of the charters of Malcolm IV., by which a portion of its lands was granted to the monks of Dryburgh; and a charter bestowed by William the Lion upon the inhabitants of the town of Ayr, in 1197, is dated from a royal castle at this place, the foundation of which is attributed to David I. The town was burned to the ground in 1244, the houses being chiefly built of wood; but it was soon restored, and not long afterwards it became the scene of a battle between Sir William Wallace and Sir William Heslerigg, the English sheriff, in which the latter, with the forces under his command, was defeated, and driven from the town. The castle of Lanark, with all its dependencies, was given as security for the dower of the niece of Philip, of France, in the treaty negotiating for her marriage to the son of John Baliol, in 1298. It seems to have been garrisoned by the English in 1310, when it was, together with Dumfries, Ayr, and the Isle of Bute, surrendered to Robert Bruce, King of Scotland.
The town is beautifully situated on a gentle acclivity rising to the height of nearly 300 feet above the level of the river Clyde, and consists of five principal streets, with a few others of less note; most of the houses have been rebuilt, and many of them in a handsome style, by which the appearance of the town has been greatly improved. It is paved, lighted, and amply supplied with water at the expense of the corporation; and though there is no regular police establishment, it is watched by constables appointed by the magistrates of the burgh. There are two bridges over the Clyde, affording facility of access to the town. Of these, one, about a mile below Lanark, was erected in the middle of the seventeenth century, and displays no features of architectural importance; the other, two miles from the town, is remarkable for the elegance of its structure. The inhabitants are partly occupied in weaving for the manufacturers of Glasgow and Paisley at their own homes, not only in the town, but in several other parts of the parish: more than 1000 persons, of whom nearly 900 are in the town, derive support from this work, the wages, however, being now greatly reduced. The manufacture of shoes is also carried on to a considerable extent, giving occupation to about 100 persons: the making of lace employs 120 females; there are three breweries upon a moderate scale, and several flourmills. The principal manufacture of the parish, however, is cotton-spinning and weaving, introduced at New Lanark, a handsome village on the side of the river, by Mr. Dale, who, in 1784, erected mills on a very extensive scale, which, till 1827, were conducted with great success by Robert Owen, and are now the property of Messrs. Walker and Company. In these extensive and flourishing works, nearly 1200 persons are regularly engaged. A branch of the Commercial Bank of Scotland is established here, for which a handsome house has been built of freestone. There is also a branch of the Western Bank; and a spacious and commodious inn has been opened for the accommodation of the visiters who resort to this place during the season for visiting the falls of the Clyde, which are much frequented for the beauty and grandeur of the scenery that the river displays in this part of its course. Elegant assembly-rooms have been added to the hotel within the last few years, at an expense of £2400. The markets are on Tuesday and Saturday; the former, which is the chief, is abundantly supplied and numerously attended. Fairs are held on the last Wednesday in May, O. S., for black-cattle; the last Wednesday in July, for horses and lambs; and the last Wednesday in October, and the Friday after Falkirk tryst, for black-cattle and horses. There are also three fairs for the sale of various goods, the hiring of servants, and for pleasure.
Lanark, by charter of Alexander I., was constituted a royal burgh; and the inhabitants, at various times, received charters from his successors, conferring different privileges, down to the reign of Charles I. of England. An act of parliament of 1617 records that, from a very early date, the standards of weights and measures had been preserved here, for the adjustment of all the weights and measures in the kingdom; and these continued to be used till, by the act of 1826, they were superseded by the introduction of the imperial standard. The government of the burgh is vested in a provost, three bailies, a treasurer, and fourteen councillors, assisted by a town-clerk and other officers; they are chosen under the authority, and are subject to the provisions, of the act of the 3rd and 4th of William IV. There are six incorporated trades, the smiths, wrights and masons, tailors, shoemakers, weavers, and dyers, who are under the direction of a dean of guild, appointed by the deacons of the several trades: none but burgesses are eligible as members. The freedom of the burgh is inherited by birth, acquired by servitude, or obtained by purchase or gift of the corporation; the only privilege, however, now enjoyed by the burgesses is that of pasturing cattle on the common lands. The provost and bailies are magistrates within the limits of the burgh, and exercise jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters; but their power is chiefly limited to holding a bailies' court, for the determination of civil pleas, and to the summary punishment of petty offences against the peace, the townclerk acting as assessor in the bailies' court. All cases of importance are referred to the sessions for the county, which are held here as being the county town. The election of a member for the shire is held here, and Lanark is one of the Falkirk district of burghs: the right of election for the burgh member, previously vested in the burgesses, is, under the Reform act, restricted to the resident freemen, and extended to the occupiers of houses of the value of £10 per annum. The number of registered voters is 160, of whom eightyeight are burgesses, and seventy-two are £10 householders. The county-hall, to which a prison is attached, was erected in 1834; it is well adapted to the purpose, containing good accommodation for holding the courts, and for transacting the business of the county and the burgh.
The parish, which is nearly in the centre of the county, extends from six to seven miles in length, along the bank of the Clyde, and from three to five miles in breadth; it is bounded on the north by the parish of Carluke, on the south by Pettinain and Carmichael, on the east by Carstairs, and on the west by Lesmahago. The surface, though generally elevated, is almost uniformly flat, scarcely rising into hills, though in some parts sloping and undulated. It is intersected by the valley of the Mouss, in a direction from east to west, between the two level tracts of Lee moor on the north and Lanark moor on the south, both of which are nearly 700 feet above the sea. Along this valley the river Mouss flows with a very devious course; and within about a mile of its union with the Clyde, it seems to have worn for itself a channel through the hill of Cartlane, forming a deep ravine about half a mile in length, composed of cragged and lofty masses of precipitous rock, rising on the one side to the height of 300, and on the other of 400, feet above the bed of the river. The Mouss has its source in the northern portion of Carnwath moor, and, though it receives numerous tributary streams in its progress, is but very inconsiderable till, after issuing from the Cleghorn rocks, it spreads into a wide channel between banks which on one side are precipitously lofty, and on the other more gently acclivous, and both crowned with wood. Passing through the Cartlane Craigs, it falls into the river Clyde opposite to the village of Kirkfield Bank. The Craigs abound with prominent features of romantic beauty and majestic grandeur; and the chasm, which in itself is of sufficiently impressive appearance, derives additional interest when regarded as having afforded security, as a place of refuge, to Sir William Wallace in his unwearied efforts to maintain the integrity of his country. Near the lower extremity, an elegant bridge of three arches has been thrown over the chasm, harmonizing with the prevailing character of the spot, and adding much to the beauty of the scenery.
The river Clyde washes the parish on the south and west. Entering from the east, it flows with silent course through a rich and fertile tract of level land, which it occasionally overflows; and deflecting slightly to the south and south-west, it becomes narrower in its channel, and more rapid in its progress, passing over a rocky and irregular bed, between rugged and precipitous banks, till it reaches the bridge of Hyndford. Beyond this it is greatly increased by the influx of the Douglas water, and, proceeding northward, and dividing its stream at Bonnington, is precipitated over a ledge of rocks about thirty feet high, forming a picturesque cascade. After continuing its progress for half a mile, between rocks nearly 100 feet in height, it exhibits another beautiful scene at Corehouse, where its waters descend in a perpendicular fall of eighty-four feet; and advancing with greater tranquillity through the low land at the base, for about a quarter of a mile, it presents a small but picturesque cascade called Dundaf Lin. From this point, the river flows between gently-sloping banks, richly wooded, and in some parts cultivated to the margin of the stream, and for three or four miles pursues an equable and noiseless course to Stonebyres. Here, passing through a ridge of rocks, its waters descend in three successive falls, from a height of eighty feet, into the plain below, along which, for the remainder of its course in the parish, it flows in a tranquil stream, amid lands highly cultivated, and between banks pleasingly embellished with natural wood and luxuriant plantations. Among the chief points of attraction to persons visiting the falls of the Clyde, is the Bonnington fall, about two miles distant from the town, and to which the approach is, for the greater part of the way, through the grounds of Bonnington House: these grounds are tastefully laid out in walks, with seats at all the points from which the finest views of the scenery are to be had, and are open to the public on every day in the week except Sunday. A bridge has been thrown across the northern branch of the stream by the proprietor of the mansion, whence the best prospect of the fall is obtained, with the richly-varied scenery by which it is surrounded. But the Corra Lin or Corehouse fall is the most interesting of the whole. Till lately it was difficult to gain anything like a good view of it; but a flight of steps has been excavated along the face of the opposite rock, leading to a spacious amphitheatre on a level with the bottom of the fall, from which it is seen in all its beauty, combining every characteristic of sublimity and grandeur. The fall at Stonebyres closely resembles that of Corra Lin in all its leading features.
The soil in the western portion of the parish is a stiff clay; along the banks of the rivers, light and gravelly; in some parts, wet and clayey; and in the moors of Cartlane and Lanark, of a hard tilly nature, with some tracts of moss. The whole number of acres has not been ascertained; about 6500 Scotch acres are arable, 600 in common belonging to the burgh, 600 in woods and plantations, 1200 in pasture and waste land, and about forty or fifty in orchards. The crops are, oats, wheat, barley, potatoes, and turnips: the system of agriculture is improved; much of the land has been drained, and irrigation has been practised to some extent. The farm-buildings, however, are indifferent, and the lands but very partially inclosed. Considerable attention is paid to the dairy and the improvement of the cattle, to which the distribution of premiums by the various agricultural societies has greatly contributed; the cows are all of the Ayrshire breed. Horses, chiefly for draught, are reared for the use of the parish and neighbouring districts. The woods consist of oak, ash, birch, hazel, mountain-ash, alder, and hawthorn; the plantations are of Scotch fir, larch, and spruce fir. On the lands of Lee is a fine old oak of extraordinary size, supposed to be a relic of the ancient Caledonian forest; also a larch of very stately growth, thought to have been one of the first trees of that kind introduced into the country. The substratum is chiefly the old red sandstone, traversed in some parts with whinstone. On the lands of Jerviswood, a vein of quartz alternated with small seams of iron-ore has been found, but not in sufficient quantity to encourage any attempt to render it available. Carboniferous limestone, also, in which petrified shells are found, occurs in some places, and is extensively quarried at Craigend hill: freestone was wrought formerly, but the works have been abandoned. The rateable annual value of the parish is £17,780. Lee, the seat of Sir Norman Macdonald Lockhart, is a handsome castellated mansion, situated in a well-planted demense containing some stately timber; Bonnington House is a modern mansion, also in a highly-picturesque demesne. Smyllum and Cleghorn are spacious antique mansions, and Sunnyside Lodge an elegant villa on the steep bank of the Clyde, about a mile and a half from the town.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Lanark and synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The stipend of the incumbent is £315; the manse is a comfortable residence, and the glebe comprises about four acres, valued at £16 per annum. The church, situated in the centre of the town, was built in 1777, and has been thoroughly repaired within the last ten years; it is a neat and substantial edifice, and is adapted for a congregation of 2300 persons. There are places of worship in the town for members of the Free Church, the Relief, Independents, and Burghers. The grammar school is supported by the corporation, who appoint the master, to whom they pay a salary of £40, and to an assistant £20 per annum. Connected with this school are twenty-eight bursaries, of which nine were endowed in 1648 by Mr. Carmichael, commissary of Lanark, and the others by one of the earls of Hyndford, by the Mauldslie family, and by Chamberlain Thompson; they are of different values, and, after the payment of the school fees, leave a remainder of £2 or £3 to the holders. A free school in the town was founded by Mrs. Wilson, who endowed it with £1200, for the instruction of fifty children. There is a school supported by subscription; and at Nemphlar and Cartlane are schools of which the masters receive £5 per annum from the heritors, in addition to the school fees. A school at New Lanark is supported by the proprietors of the cotton-works, and attended by about 500 children. The poor have the rents of hospital lands producing £70 annually: Mr. Wilson bequeathed property yielding £32 a year, and the late Mr. Howison, of Hyndford, £700, of which the interest is distributed among the poor not receiving parochial relief. There are several benevolent and friendly societies in the parish, and a savings' bank in the town. The Castle hill near the town, is supposed to have been the site of a Roman fort or station, and a silver Faustina is said to have been found there; but nothing remains either of the Roman fort, or of the royal castle which formerly existed. The site has been ploughed up, and converted into a bowlinggreen. There are some remains of two Roman camps in the vicinity, of which the larger, near Cleghorn House, including an area 600 yards in length and 420 in breadth, is said to have been constructed by Agricola; the smaller, situated on Lanark moor, is still more distinctly to be traced. The Roman road from Carlisle to the wall of Antoninus passed through the area of this camp. Upon an eminence on the bank of the river Mouss are the remains of a lofty tower, of which nothing, however, is known; it gives title to the Lockharts, of Cambusnethan. On a prominent part of the Cartland Craigs are the small vestiges of an ancient stronghold called Castle Quaw; but nothing of the history is recorded. About a quarter of a mile from the town are the venerable remains of the old parish church, displaying traces of an elegant structure, of which a series of six arches that separated the aisle from the nave is in good preservation. The cemetery, also, is still used as the parish churchyard; but the effect of these fine ruins, which had been suffered for a long time to fall into dilapidation, has been destroyed by the erection of an unsightly square tower in the centre, for the purpose of watching the graves. The area has, however, been surrounded with a wall to prevent further dilapidation; and some steps have been taken to restore part of the ruins. Lanark gives the title of Earl to the Duke of Hamilton.
LANARK, NEW, a populous manufacturing village, in the parish, and Upper ward of the county, of Lanark, 1 mile (S. by W.) from the town of Lanark; containing 1642 inhabitants. This place owes its rise to the introduction of the cotton manufacture by Mr. David Dale, who, in 1784, erected extensive mills for spinning and weaving cotton. The village is situated near the river Clyde, and is surrounded by steep and richly-wooded hills, which give it an air of seclusion and retirement; it is regularly and handsomely built, and is inhabited chiefly by persons employed in the cotton-works, which ever since their introduction, have been carried on with increasing success. The first of the mills erected was 154 feet in length, twenty-seven feet in width, and sixty feet in height; and a tunnel nearly 100 yards in length was cut through a rocky hill, to form a passage for the water of the Clyde, by which it was propelled: in 1788 a second mill of the same dimensions, and two others subsequently, were built. The mill first erected was totally destroyed by an accidental fire in the same year, 1788, but was rebuilt in the year following. The works were afterwards carried on with great success by Robert Owen, son-in-law of Mr. Dale, till 1827, since which time they have been conducted by the firm of Messrs. Walker and Company. The machinery employed is of the most improved construction. About 1200 persons are employed in these works, of whom nearly sixty are mechanics and labourers engaged in keeping the machinery in repair: many are children, for whose comfort the company have made every requisite provision. A school has been established in the village, by the proprietors of the works, for the instruction of the children of the factory, of whom a large number attend at stated hours, and receive a course of instruction adapted to their improvement in knowledge and in morals. A benefit society, for the support of its members in cases of sickness, is maintained by small weekly payments; and there are also two funeral societies in the village.
LANARKSHIRE, an extensive inland county, in the south of Scotland, bounded on the north by the counties of Dumbarton and Stirling; on the east, by the counties of Linlithgow, Edinburgh, and Peebles; on the south, by Dumfriesshire; and on the west, by the counties of Renfrew, Ayr, and Dumfries. It lies between 55° 14' 42" and 55° 56' 10" (N. Lat.) and 3° 22' 51" and 4° 22' 51" (W. Long.), and is about fiftytwo miles in length, and thirty-three miles in extreme breadth, comprising an area of 926 square miles, or 592,640 acres; 85,326 houses, of which 3868 are uninhabited; and containing a population of 426,972, of whom 208,312 are males, and 218,660 females. This county, called also Clydesdale, from the valley of the Clyde, which forms its central portion, was at the time of the Roman invasion inhabited by the Damnii, and under the Roman yoke formed part of the province of Valentia. After the departure of the Romans, the original inhabitants appear to have extended their ancient limits, which they called Ystrad Cluyd, in the British language, signifying "the warm vale;" and to have acquired the sovereignty over Liddesdale, Teviotdale, Dumfriesshire, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, part of Peebles, the western part of Stirling, and the greater part of Dumbartonshire. This ample territory formed a kind of independent kingdom, including nearly all that portion of Scotland to the south of the Forth. It was peopled with subordinate British tribes, among whom were the Selgovæ, Attacotti, and others, who had frequent wars with the Picts and Saxons, but resolutely maintained their independence till, on the union of those people, their power began to decline, and their metropolis, Dumbarton, was taken about the middle of the eighth century.
After the subjugation of the Picts by Kenneth II., every exercise of independent power gradually gave way to the authority of the Scottish monarchs; and the various British tribes of Strath-Cluyd, by degrees, intermingled with the Saxons, Normans, Gaelic Scots, and Irish from Cantyre, by whom successive encroachments were made. The descendants of the Damnii alone, when they could no longer retain their independence, rather than yield to the power by which their territories were assailed, resolved to emigrate, and, crossing the Solway and the Mersey, found a retreat in the mountains of Wales. In the twelfth century, numerous Flemish families settled in the Strath of Cluyd, of whom many obtained grants of land from the Abbot of Kelso; and with the exception of a few brief intervals, the county progressively advanced in prosperity till after the death of Alexander III., when the wars which arose on the disputed succession to the Scottish throne, involved it, in common with other parts of the kingdom, in frequent calamities. It was here that the celebrated hero, Wallace, performed his first exploit, in expelling the English from the town of Lanark. In the reign of James I., a portion of Strath-Cluyd was separated from the county of Lanark, and formed into the county of Renfrew. James II., exasperated by the turbulent ambition of the Douglas family, marched into Lanarkshire, and destroyed the castle, and all the lands of Douglas, including Douglasdale and Avondale, with those of the first lord Hamilton. During the war in the reign of Charles I., and the attempts to re-establish episcopacy during that of Charles II., this part of the country suffered materially; but, since the Revolution, it has continued to make steady progress in agricultural improvement, and in manufacturing and commercial prosperity.
Prior to the Reformation, the county was included in the diocese of Glasgow; it is at present in the synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and comprises several presbyteries, and fifty parishes. For civil purposes, the county is divided into the Upper, Middle, and Lower wards, under the jurisdiction of three sheriffs-substitute, who reside respectively at Lanark, Hamilton, and Glasgow. It comprises the royal burghs of Glasgow, Rutherglen, and Lanark; the towns of Hamilton, Douglas, Biggar, Strathaven, Carnwath, Bothwell, Airdrie, and Lesmahago; and numerous villages. Under the act of the 2nd of William IV., the county returns one member to the imperial parliament. The surface is greatly varied; in the Upper ward, which is the largest division of the county, it is principally mountainous, rising to the greatest height towards the confines of Dumfriesshire. The summit of one of the Lowther hills is 2450 feet above the level of the sea; the Culter Fell has nearly the same height; and the hill of Tinto, the loftiest on the northern boundary of the mountain district, has an elevation of 2236 feet. The land in the Middle ward may be averaged at only 300 feet above the level of the sea; but throughout that district the surface is every where diversified with undulations, leaving little level ground except in the valleys of the river Clyde. The principal river is the Clyde, which has its source in numerous small rills issuing from the wastes and mountains that separate Lanarkshire from the counties of Peebles and Dumfries. It takes a northern course, receiving various tributaries in its progress, and making a curve towards Biggar, after which, being augmented by other streams in its approach to Lanark, its course is obstructed by projecting rocks and precipices. Here it makes several picturesque and beautifully-romantic cascades; the principal of these celebrated falls are Bonnington, Corra, and Stonebyres. The Clyde afterwards flows in gentle meanderings through a fertile vale, pleasingly embellished with woodlands, plantations, orchards, seats, and numerous interesting features, to Glasgow, and, running thence to Greenock, after a course of 100 miles disappears in the Frith of Clyde. The principal tributaries of the Clyde are, the Douglas water, the Mouss, the Nethan, the Aven, the Calder, the North Calder, and the Kelvin. There are numerous lakes in the county, but none of them are of sufficient extent or importance to require particular notice; they all contain trout, pike, and perch.
The soil, varying in different parts of the county, is in many places exuberantly fertile, and even in the higher lands light, dry, and productive. In some of the uplands are tracts of spongy moor; in others, pastures richer than are found in some of the lower lands. The soil of the Middle ward generally, both in the arable and meadow lands, is luxuriantly fertile, but a very considerable portion of it is moss: this district abounds with orchards, gardens, and plantations, and is throughout in the highest state of cultivation, constituting the chief agricultural district and the greater portion of the vale of the Clyde. The crops of all kinds are abundant, the system of agriculture being in the most advanced state; the lands have been well drained and inclosed; the farm-buildings are substantial and commodious, and all the more recent improvements in the implements of husbandry have been adopted. The cattle are usually of the Ayrshire breed, and particular attention is paid to the rearing of cows for the dairy, of which about 30,000 are pastured; the sheep, of which 120,000 are fed on the hills, are of the black-faced breed, with a few other varieties. The substrata are, freestone, limestone, and whinstone, of which last the hills generally consist. Under the freestone are seams of coal, which prevail throughout Clydesdale, and are extensively wrought; there are also quarries of limestone, both for agricultural and building purposes. Between the several beds of coal, ironstone is found in detached masses, and occasionally in continuous seams; and near the southern extremity of the county are extensive mines of lead. A vein of copper-ore was discovered in the same part of Lanarkshire, but has not been wrought with any profitable success; antimony has also been found in the immediate neighbourhood. The ancient forests have long since disappeared; but there are numerous coppices, and some flourishing plantations, together occupying nearly 10,000 acres, the greater portion of which has been formed within the last thirty years. The seats are, Hamilton Palace, Douglas and Bothwell Castles, Carstairs House, Bonnington House, Corehouse, Stonebyres, Lee House, Mauldslie Castle, Milton-Lockhart, Dalziel House, Cambusnethan Priory, Allanton House, Airdrie House, Newton House, Monkland House, Castlemilk, and numerous other elegant mansions.
The principal manufactures are, the cotton, the linen, the woollen, and the iron manufactures. The cotton manufacture, which is by far the most extensive, and of which the principal seat is Glasgow, gives employment to great numbers of people throughout the county, who work for the houses of Glasgow, at their own dwellings; and the linen and woollen manufactures, though vastly inferior in extent, still afford occupation to a considerable number. The Clyde and other iron-works are very important, and embrace every department of that manufacture; and the lead-works at the village of Leadhills, to which they have given rise, are also extensive. The New Lanark mills for the spinning of cotton are conducted on a very extended scale, as are similar mills at Blantyre. The rateable annual value of real property in the county is £1,834,999, of which £902,992 are returned for houses, £341,122 for lands, £140,213 for railways, £129,827 for iron-works, £66,098 for canals, £58,303 for mines, £9193 for quarries, and the remainder for other kinds of property not comprised in the foregoing. Facility of communication is afforded by good roads in almost every direction. Of these the most important are, the great road to England by Carlisle, a new line between Edinburgh and Ayr intersecting the county from Cambusnethan to Strathaven, and new lines of road from Glasgow to Dumfries by Lanark, and from Edinburgh by Biggar and Chesterhall. A railway from Glasgow to Carlisle has been for some time under contemplation: those railroads already completed are noticed in other articles. There are several remains of Roman roads, of which that from Carlisle to the wall of Antoninus is the most conspicuous; and on Lanark moor, and near Cleghorn House, are vestiges of Roman camps, of which the latter is 600 yards in length and 420 in breadth, and the other, of less dimensions, is still more distinct. Roman vases, coins, and other relics have been found in the vicinity. There are also remains of British camps, numerous ruins of ancient castles, cairns, tumuli, Druidical circles, and remains of abbeys, priories, and other religious establishments.
LANGHOLM, a burgh of barony and a parish, in the county of Dumfries; containing, with the village of New Langholm, 2820 inhabitants, of whom 1305 are in the burgh, 18 miles (N. E. by N.) from Annan, and 20½ (N.) from Carlisle. This place derives its name from the level lands, or holms, here, on the river Esk; and appears to have been indebted for its origin to the erection of an ancient border fortress by the powerful family of the Armstrongs, of which fortress the ruins are still in tolerable preservation. The town is situated on the east bank of the Esk, in a beautifully-wooded portion of the dale through which the stream flows, and on the road from Carlisle to Edinburgh. It consists principally of one spacious street of well-built houses, roofed with slate obtained in the quarries of the vicinity; and is connected with the village of New Langholm, on the west side of the river, by a handsome bridge of three arches. The streets are lighted with gas, and the inhabitants amply supplied with water. A public subscription library was established in 1800, and is well supported; it contains a valuable collection of standard volumes and periodical works, and claims to receive a disputed bequest of £1000 by the late Mr. Telford, civil engineer, who was a native of this place. There is also a library for tradesmen, called the New Langholm Library, established in 1815. The woollen manufacture is carried on to a considerable extent, in two factories, one near the town, and the other at New Langholm, both belonging to the same company, and together affording employment to about 120 persons. The cotton manufacture was established at New Langholm about the year 1800, and is still continued: about ninety persons are occupied in this and in the linen trade, working by hand-looms for the houses of Glasgow and Carlisle. There are also a distillery and a brewery.
Langholm was erected into a burgh of barony by charter granted in 1643; and the Duke of Buccleuch, who is the superior of the burgh, appoints a baron-bailie. Courts are sometimes held for the trial of assaults and petty offences, punishable by fine or imprisonment; but the number of cases is very inconsiderable. The town-hall and gaol, situated in the market-place, were erected in 1811; they form a handsome structure surmounted with a spire. The post-office has a good delivery; and there are two branch banks established here. A customary market is held weekly on Wednesday, for provisions: fairs take place annually on April 16th, for seeds; the last Tuesday in May, O.S., for cattle; the Wednesday before Whitsunday, for hiring servants; the 26th of July, for lambs and wool, which is numerously attended; the 5th of November, for cattle; and the Wednesday before Martinmas, O.S., for hiring servants. At all these fairs, shoes, earthenware, haberdashery, and jewellery articles are also exposed for sale. Facility of communication is afforded by roads and bridges kept in excellent repair; the road from Carlisle to Edinburgh passes through the town, and roads to Annan, Lockerbie, Lochmaben, and Dumfries, through other parts of the parish.
The parish, to which, for ecclesiastical purposes, that of Halfmorton was formerly annexed, was erected in 1703; and the burgh was made the seat of a presbytery in 1743. It comprises about 14,320 acres, of which 12,800 are the property of the Duke of Buccleuch; the remainder mostly belongs to George Maxwell, Esq., of Broomholm; and of the whole, 1900 acres are arable, 420 woodland and plantations, and the rest meadow and pasture. The surface along the banks of the rivers is level, and in other parts diversified with numerous hills of no great elevation, which are in general clothed with verdure to their summits, affording excellent pasturage for sheep. The river Esk has its source in the mountainous districts to the north, and flows through the parish in a southern direction, receiving in its course the waters of the Black Esk, the Megget, the Ewes, and the Wauchope, and falling into the Solway Frith. The soil in the lower lands is a light and fertile loam, and on the hills of a gravelly quality: on the south-west of the town is some fine orchard-ground, producing fruits of various kinds in great perfection. The system of husbandry is in an advanced state, all the more recent improvements having been adopted; the lands have been mostly drained and inclosed; the fences are well kept, and the farm-buildings are substantial and commodious. Considerable attention is paid to the rearing of live stock: the sheep, of which the average number pastured on the hills is 9000, are principally of the Cheviot breed. The cattle are generally of the Galloway breed, and thrive well; they are eagerly bought up by the Galloway dealers, and, after being kept for a year on the pastures of that district, are sent, with others, to the English markets. Horses of the Clydesdale breed are also reared, and many of them sell for £35 and £40 each; very large numbers of swine are fed here, and when cured forwarded to Newcastle, Carlisle, and Longtown. The plantations are, oak, ash, beech, plane, and forest trees of every kind, of which there are many stately specimens. The principal substrata are, greywacke, greywacke-slate, limestone, greenstone, and coal; lead-ore has been found on the lands of the Duke of Buccleuch, and also on those of Broomholm. The rateable annual value of the parish, according to official returns, is £6026.
Langholm Lodge, one of the seats of the duke, is a spacious mansion of white freestone, beautifully situated on the banks of the Esk, about half a mile from the burgh, in a demesne enriched with ornamental plantations, and containing a great variety of picturesque scenery. It is embellished by a handsome cast-iron bridge of one arch 100 feet in span. Broomholm House is an ancient mansion on the south-east bank of the Esk, two miles from the town, and also finely situated amidst richly-varied scenery; and about a mile to the south, near the confluence of the Esk and Taras water, is Irvine House, occupied by the chamberlain of the Duke of Buccleuch. The ecclesiastical affairs of the parish are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Langholm and synod of Dumfries. The minister's stipend is £222, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £27.10. per annum; patrons, the Crown, and the Duke of Buccleuch. The church, erected in 1703, has been twice rebuilt, the last time in 1779; it is a plain structure containing 800 sittings, but is in bad repair, and difficult of access. A more spacious edifice, on a more eligible site, is now in progress of erection. In the cemetery of the decayed church of Staplegorton, is a handsome mausoleum, erected by the late Capt. George Maxwell, of Broomholm, at an expense of £1000. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, Burghers, and the Relief. The parochial school, situated at New Langholm, is well conducted; the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees average about £40 per annum. The Broomholm free school is endowed with the interest of £600, principally by Capt. Maxwell, for the gratuitous instruction of twenty-six children; and there are various other schools in the parish, of which some of the teachers have a house rent free or a small annual donation.
In the western portion of the parish are two mineral springs, of which one is chalybeate, and one sulphureous. The castle of Barntalloch, near Staplegorton, was once the head of a barony; and around it rose an ancient burgh, where a large fair was annually held for many years, but at length transferred to Langholm. There are no remains of this castle; but some lands in the vicinity still bear the appellation of the Borough-roods of Staplegorton. Wauchope Castle, of which the site was afterwards occupied by the old manse, was the baronial residence of the Lindsays, adherents of Malcolm Canmore in the twelfth century; the small remains are situated on an abrupt precipice overhanging the river Wauchope. The remains of the old castle of Broomholm were removed about the year 1745: near the site may still clearly be traced a Roman road. About the year 1790, six golden denarii, three being of the reign of Nero, two of Vespasian, and one of Domitian, were found, in good preservation, on the farm of Broomholm; and a few years after, two denarii, and a coin of the reign of Otho, were discovered near Wauchope bridge. Among the distinguished characters connected with the parish have been, John Maxwell, Esq., great-grandfather of the present proprietor of Broomholm, the ingenious author of an Essay on Time; Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, who distinguished himself under Earl Howe, in the defeat of the French fleet, on the first of June, 1794; General Pasley, of the Royal Artillery; William Julius Mickle, translator of Camoens' Lusiad; Capt. George Maxwell, R.N., already mentioned, who signalized himself in an action with the Dutch fleet off the Dogger Bank, in 1781; and David Irving, LL.D., author of the Life of George Buchanan, all of whom were born at Langholm. A pillar 100 feet in height has been erected on a hill to the east of the town to the memory of Sir John Malcolm; and there is a monument in the market-place, opposite the town-hall, to his brother, Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm. The latter resided for many years in the parish, and was deservedly honoured and esteemed.
LANGHOLM, NEW, a village, in the parish of Langholm, county of Dumfries, a little west from the town of Langholm; containing 1057 inhabitants. This village, delightfully situated on the west side of the river Esk, near its confluence with the Wauchope, was erected on ground leased by the Duke of Buccleuch, in 1778. It consists of about 140 houses, constructed on a regular plan, and to each of which is attached a portion of land, varying in quantity according to the extent of the building, and held at low rents on lease for fourteen years; the streets are lighted with gas, and the inhabitants amply supplied with water. A subscription library has been established. Facility of intercourse with the burgh of Langholm, to which the village forms a kind of suburb, is maintained by a handsome bridge of three arches over the Esk. The trade of the place is closely connected with that of Langholm; the cotton and linen manufactures are largely carried on here, and the principal articles are, stockings, stuffs, serges, and black and white plaids.—See Langholm.
LANGLOAN, a village, in the parish of Old Monkland, Middle ward of the county of Lanark, 2½ miles (W. by S.) from Airdrie; containing 1111 inhabitants. This is one of the principal villages of the many in this great mining and manufacturing parish: it is situated on the road from Airdrie to Glasgow, and has of late years increased exceedingly in extent and population. In the vicinity is a considerable red-sandstone quarry.
LANGRIGG, a village, in the parish of Whitburn, county of Linlithgow, 1½ mile (S. by E.) from Whitburn; containing 225 inhabitants. It lies on the high road from Wilsontown to Linlithgow. Between this village and that of Fauldhouse is a valuable field of blackband ironstone, called the Crofthead, and lately discovered; it has led to great enterprise and industry in the district, of which the aspect has, in consequence, remarkably improved. In the neighbourhood of the village is a good stone-quarry. One of two libraries in the parish is at Langrigg.
LANGSIDE, a village, in the parish of Cathcart, Upper ward of the county of Renfrew, 2½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Glasgow; containing 125 inhabitants. This village, ever memorable for the battle which took place in its immediate vicinity, between the forces of the regent Murray and those of Mary, Queen of Scots, and which decided the fate of that unfortunate sovereign, is situated on the road from Glasgow to Ayr. The particulars of this battle are shortly these. The Earl of Murray, learning the resolution of Mary to march from Hamilton to Dumbarton, immediately drew up his army on the moor beside Glasgow, with a view to watch her movements, and if possible bring her troops to an engagement. The moment he became aware that the queen's forces kept the south side of the Clyde, he gave orders that his horsemen should ford that river, while the rest crossed it by aneighbouring bridge; and these movements were scarcely completed when Mary's vanguard appeared and the battle commenced. For a time the conflict was doubtful; but at length the queen's ranks were broken by Murray's chief leaders, and irretrievably thrown into confusion. Murray himself, who had hitherto stood with a part of his troops on the defensive, contenting himself with repulsing the enemy's cavalry, which was far superior in numbers and equipment to his own, now seized the moment to charge with the main division; and the flight became general. This decisive engagement lasted but three-quarters of an hour: on the queen's side there were about 300 slain, or, according to some accounts, only half that number; while on the regent's, merely a single soldier fell. Previous to the conflict, Mary had taken her station upon an eminence half a mile distant, which commanded a view of the field; and here, surrounded by a small suite, she watched the vicissitudes of the fight. At last, when Murray's charge took place, she fled with great precipitation, and at full speed, in the direction of Dumfries, nor did she venture to delay in her progress until she found herself in the abbey of Dundrennan, sixty miles from the field. Though formerly of much greater extent, the village now consists only of a few scattered houses; the neighbourhood is enriched with wood, and the surrounding scenery, which is naturally picturesque, derives a peculiar degree of interest from the recollection of events with which it is associated.
LANGTON, a parish, in the county of Berwick, 2½ miles (W. S. W.) from Dunse; containing, with the village of Gavinton, 479 inhabitants. This place derives its name from the ancient town, which was remarkable for its length of straggling houses, extending from the manor-house to the eastern extremity of the parish. From its situation on the confines, it was continually exposed to all the accidents of border warfare, and was frequently plundered by the English, and in 1558 burnt by the forces under the command of Sir Henry Percy and Sir George Bowes. In the reign of David I., the manor belonged to Roger de Ow, a Northumbrian, who granted the church, with its appendages, to the abbey of Kelso, to which establishment it was confirmed by William de Vipont, a subsequent proprietor of the lands. On the death of Sir William Vipont, who fell in the battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, the estates passed, by marriage with his daughter and heiress, to the family of Cockburn, of whom Alexander Cockburn, of Langton, was keeper of the great seal in the reigns of Robert II. and III., which office was annexed to the barony of Langton by charter of James IV. in 1504. In 1627, William Cockburn was created a baronet by Charles I.: his descendant, Sir Alexander Cockburn, was killed in the battle of Fontenoy. The lands continued in the family till the year 1758, when they were sold to David Gavin, Esq., who, finding the old town an obstacle to the improvements of his estate, granted the inhabitants a more eligible site, upon very advantageous terms: here they erected the present village, which they called after his name; and in a few years every vestige of the former town disappeared. With a trifling exception, the lands are now the property of the Dowager Marchioness of Breadalbane.
The parish is above four miles and a half in length and three miles in breadth. The surface is extremely hilly, forming a portion of the Lammermoor range of heights, which in this district are called Langton Edge, and have an elevation of nearly 1000 feet above the level of the sea. The scenery, in numerous parts barren and rugged, is relieved by many features of natural beauty, and in some places enriched with wood; and several small streams run through the parish, of which the principal is Langton burn, a rivulet that rises in the hilly grounds, and flows into the Blackadder. A smaller stream passes near Langton Lees, between precipitous banks crowned with foliage, and in its course through Langton wood displays much beautiful and picturesque scenery. The soil in the higher parts is light, and unfit for cultivation; in the lower lands, richer, and of greater fertility. The whole number of acres is estimated at 7000, of which about 4000, lying chiefly in the Lammermoor hills, are appropriated to the pasture of sheep; 2600 are arable, and 400 acres woods and plantations. The system of agriculture is advanced, and generally the five-shift course is practised; the crops are, wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips. The lands are well drained and inclosed; the farm-houses and offices are substantial and commodious, and all the more recent improvements in implements of husbandry are in use. The sheep are of the Leicestershire and Cheviot breeds, with a few of the black-faced; the cattle are almost all of the short-horned or Teeswater breed. The woods are chiefly oak, ash, elm, beech, and plane; and the plantations, larch, and Scotch and spruce firs, intermixed with various kinds of forest-trees, all carefully managed, and in a very thriving state. Langton House, the property and occasional residence of the dowager marchioness, is a handsome seat, the grounds of which are tastefully laid out, and have recently been greatly improved. The village of Gavinton is neatly built, and pleasantly situated: facility of communication with Dunse, the nearest market-town, and with other places in the vicinity, is maintained by roads kept in excellent order. The rateable annual value of the parish is £5980.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dunse and synod of Merse and Teviotdale: patroness, the Dowager Marchioness of Breadalbane. The stipend of the incumbent is £215; the manse, erected in 1767, and repaired and enlarged by the late marquess in 1819, is a comfortable residence, and the glebe comprises ten acres of profitable land, valued at £24 per annum. The ancient church, of which the date is not distinctly known, was situated near Langton House, and was in use till the year 1798, when the present church was erected in the village of Gavinton; it is a neat edifice in good repair, and adapted for a congregation of 250 persons. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship. The parochial school, also in the village of Gavinton, is well conducted; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £20 per annum. A parochial library is supported by subscription; it contains a good collection of works on divinity, history, and biography. A friendly society, also, has been for some years established, which has tended to diminish the number of the poor on the parish list; and the liberal assistance afforded by the marchioness to industrious families in times of difficulty has greatly contributed to preserve a spirit of independence among the labouring classes. On the hill near Raecleugh Head are traces of a Danish camp, of which the ditches are still tolerably entire; and at a place called Camp Muir near Choice Lee, where a regiment was stationed after the rebellion in 1715, are traces of the military works thrown up on that occasion. Upon Crumstane hill was a large cairn, on the removal of which, in 1792, were found several urns of different dimensions, containing human bones, but without any inscription; various stone coffins were also discovered on the lands of Middlefield and Crease. In 1813 was found, in a small streamlet flowing through a spot called the Battle-Muir, a bracelet of gold, nine inches in circumference, and which weighed nearly ten ounces.
LANTON, a village, in the parish and district of Jedburgh, county of Roxburgh, 1½ mile (N. W. by W.) from Jedburgh; containing 175 inhabitants. The village is chiefly distinguished for its tower, which is still entire, and almost the only one remaining of the numerous fortifications raised in various parts of the parish for the defence of the surrounding district. The land is of good quality, and the system of agriculture greatly improved.
LARBERT, a parish, ecclesiastically united to the parish of Dunipace, in the county of Stirling; containing, with the villages of West Carron, Kinnaird, Stenhouse-Muir, and part of the village of Carronshore, 4404 inhabitants, of whom 487 are in the village of Larbert, 2 miles (N. W.) from Falkirk. This parish is bounded on the south by the river Carron, and is about three miles in length and two and a half in breadth, comprising an area of 3400 acres, of which, with the exception of 200 acres of woodland and plantations, the whole is arable, meadow, and pasture. The surface rises gradually from the south-west to the northeast, where it attains an elevation of nearly 100 feet; and though not commanding an extensive prospect, yet it embraces numerous interesting and impressive features. The river formerly abounded with salmon; but, since the establishment of the Carron iron-works, they have almost disappeared. A small stream called the Chapel burn rises in the adjoining parish of Dunipace, and, after a course of about three miles, in which it turns a couple of mills, falls into the Carron near the village of Carronshore. The soil is generally fertile, and near the confines of Falkirk is a considerable tract of rich carse land; the crops are, wheat, oats, barley, beans, and hay. The system of agriculture within the last few years has been greatly improved; the lands have been drained and inclosed, and the farm-buildings are commodious. The plantations are chiefly confined to the grounds of the principal landholders, and consist of oak, ash, beech, sycamore, Huntingdon willow, and firs. In the grounds of Kinnaird are some fine oaks, and an avenue of lime-trees, and there are also some stately trees at Carron Hall; but in general the soil is unfavourable to the growth of timber. The main substrata are sandstone, coal, and ironstone, all of which are wrought to a great extent; the coal on the lands of Carron Hall and Kinnaird are worked by the Carron Company, who employ about 150 men in the collieries. The rateable annual value of Larbert is £26,246.
The village of Larbert is situated in the south-western portion of the parish, on the road from Stirling to Falkirk, with which latter town it has a communication by a bridge over the Carron; the inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the iron-works. A post-office has been established here; and the Falkirk trysts are held upon a heath near it, the property of Sir Michael Bruce, on the second Tuesday in August, September, and October, chiefly for black-cattle and horses. The number of cattle sold at the first of these trysts seldom exceeds 4000, and of horses 400; at the second, 17,000 cattle and 700 horses; and at the October tryst, 20,000 cattle and nearly 1000 horses. For the accommodation of the persons attending these meetings, there are numerous inns. Facility of intercourse with Edinburgh and Glasgow is maintained by good turnpike-roads which pass through the parish. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Stirling and synod of Perth and Stirling: the minister's stipend is £272, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £26. 10. per annum; patron, the Crown. The church, situated at the western extremity of the parish, is a handsome structure in the later English style of architecture, erected in 1819, after a design by Mr. Hamilton, of Glasgow, and containing 1200 sittings. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship. The parochial school is well attended; the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees average £60 per annum. Among the relics of antiquity formerly existing, was a conical building of stone called Arthur's Oven, supposed to have been of Roman origin, and which was demolished in 1743 for the sake of the materials. The interior, twenty feet in diameter, was surrounded with two stone shelves near the base, and was open towards the vertex; the entrance was arched, and over it was a kind of window of square form, tapering towards the summit. Roman mill-stones and fragments of pottery were found within 300 yards of the site, by some labourers draining a peat-moss, in the year 1800; and in other parts of the parish are some remains of ancient square towers, thought to have been the residences of old chieftains. The most distinguished person connected with the parish was James Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller, who died at Kinnaird in 1794.— See Carron, Dunipace, &c.
LARGO, a parish, in the district of St. Andrew's, county of Fife; containing, with the villages of Drumochy, New Gilston, Kirkton, Lundinmill, Temple, and Woodside, 2751 inhabitants, of whom 423 are in the village of Largo, 3 miles (E. N. E.) from Leven. This barony was given by James III. to Sir Andrew Wood, a distinguished naval officer, in recompense for his eminent services; and the grant was confirmed by James IV. It afterwards became the property of the family of the Gibsons, of Durie, from whom it was purchased, in 1663, by Sir Alexander Durham, lyon king-at-arms, whose descendant is the present proprietor. The estate of Lundin, which formerly included the greater part of the parish, belonged to the Lundins from the time of David I. till the reign of William the Lion, King of of Lundin, which formerly included the greater part of Scotland, when it passed, by marriage with the heiress of that family, into the possession of Robert, son of the monarch. Subsequently, by marriage with another heiress, it became the property of John Drummond, second son of the Earl of Perth; and on the attainder of that family in 1745, it came to Lady Willoughby D'Eresby, from whom it passed to the family of the Erskines, and thence to Capt. Erskine Wemyss, of Wemyss Castle, its present owner. The parish, which is situated on the bay of Largo, is about six miles in length, from north to south, and three miles in breadth; and is bounded on the north by the parish of Ceres, on the south by the bay, on the east by the parish of Newburn, and on the west by Scoonie. The surface is agreeably diversified with hills and undulating valleys. The principal hill, named Largo Law, rises in a conical form to an elevation of nearly 1000 feet above the level of the sea, terminating in a double apex, and sloping gradually on the eastern side: to the west of its base is a deep valley, extending two miles in length, and called Keil's Glen. Towards the shore the surface is flat; but the scenery generally, which is enriched by plantations, abounds with interesting and romantic features.
The soil is various, but fertile, consisting in the northern parts of a rich black loam, and in the southern of loam, intermixed with lighter lands, and in some places with a friable clay. The whole number of acres is 6820, of which 6000 are arable, nearly 300 in pasture, and 500 in woods and plantations. The system of agriculture is in an improved state, and the crops are favourable and abundant; considerable attention has been paid to draining and inclosing the lands, and nearly all the waste has been brought into a state of profitable cultivation. The farm-buildings are generally substantial and commodious, and roofed either with slate or tiles. The cattle are of the Fifeshire breed, with sometimes a cross of the Teeswater; the rearing of horses, also, principally for agricultural purposes, is much attended to, and several from Yorkshire have been introduced with a view to the improvement of the breed. A few sheep are fed for home use, of the Leicestershire breed; and great numbers of hogs, chiefly the Chinese, are fattened for the neighbouring markets, where they find a ready sale. The plantations consist mainly of Scotch fir and larch, which thrive well; in those of more recent formation are, oak, ash, elm, beech, and plane. The oak attains to a luxuriant growth, and in the grounds of Lundin House, is a fine grove of limetrees of very stately size; the planes in the demesne of Largo House are of singular beauty, and many of the elms are of large dimensions. The substratum is chiefly limestone, and sandstone of a reddish colour; the limestone is of a grey colour, and is found in strata fifteen feet in thickness, and quarried for building purposes and for burning into lime. Freestone of good quality, but lying at a great depth, is quarried, though not extensively, as the expense of working it is scarcely remunerated by the produce. Coal is also found in the parish, and is chiefly worked for the lime-kilns; it occurs in seams about eighty feet thick, but is very sparingly used, as coal of a much better quality is obtained from Wemyss at only a moderate increase of price. The rateable annual value of the parish is £10,815. Among the principal seats is Largo. The ancient mansion, of which a circular tower is still remaining, was inhabited by Sir Andrew Wood: the present structure, erected in 1750, is spacious and in handsome style, situated in grounds embellished with lofty plantations, and commanding an extensive and diversified prospect over the surrounding country. Lundin, the property of Capt. Erskine Wemyss, is a modern edifice, from the centre of which rises a square tower of great antiquity, the only existing portion of the residence of the family of Lundin; it is beautifully situated, and the demesne comprises some venerable and stately timber. There are a few other handsome houses of proprietors of land in the parish, which, from their situation and the plantations around them, contribute to enrich the general scenery.
The salmon-fishery in Largo bay was, after being carried on for some years with very indifferent success, producing not more than £130 per annum, totally discontinued; but it has been revived, under better management, and is now pursued to advantage. The spinning of flax is carried on in the parish, affording employment to nearly 100 persons, for which purpose there are two mills driven by water, and one of them also by steam. The port or harbour of Largo has a limited coasting trade, and three small vessels belong to it; a steam-boat sails twice in the day during summer, and once during winter, between this place and Newhaven. The harbour, which is formed at the influx of the river Kiel into the Frith of Forth, is incommodious; but its improvement might be effected at a comparatively trifling expense, and would contribute greatly to restore the trade of the place, which was formerly far from being inconsiderable in the exportation of coal, salt, iron, and the produce of the quarries, to Holland, and the importation of timber from Norway. A subscription library contains more than 500 volumes, and is well supported; and a savings' bank has been opened, in which the various sums deposited, chiefly by labourers, amount to a large sum. Facility of intercourse with the neighbouring market-towns is maintained by turnpike-roads kept in excellent repair, and the parish generally is improving. A post-office is established under Leven. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of St. Andrew's and synod of Fife. The stipend of the incumbent is £253: the manse, built in 1770, and in 1823 greatly enlarged and improved, is a handsome and comfortable residence; and the glebe comprises five acres of good land, valued at £20 per annum, to which may be added £11 paid in lieu of "foggage." The church was erected near the site of a more ancient structure in 1817, and enlarged in 1826; it is a neat edifice with a spire, and is adapted for 836 persons. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the Relief, and Baptists; the ministers are supported by the voluntary contributions of their respective congregations. The parochial school is well conducted; the master has a salary of £34, with a house, and the fees average about £30 per annum, including £7. 15., the bequest of the late James Kettle, Esq., for teaching four children. There are three other schools in the parish, of which the masters of two receive, in addition to the fees, a salary of £5, paid by the heritors.
An hospital was founded by John Wood, Esq., a descendant of Sir Andrew Wood, who bequeathed £68,418 Scots in trust for its erection and endowment, for thirteen indigent persons of the name of Wood, a chaplain, porter, and gardener; the chaplain to have a stipend of £17 sterling per annum. The building was erected in 1667, and rebuilt in 1830 in a handsome and substantial style, at an expense of £2000: it contains two apartments each for sixteen inmates, who receive £15 per annum paid monthly, and a supply of vegetables; and there is a large hall in which they assemble for prayer morning and evening. Above the hall is a room where the patrons of the hospital meet for the transaction of business connected with the institution. The hospital is under the patronage of the Earl of Wemyss, the lairds of Largo, Lundin, and Balfour, with the minister of the parish, and the members of the Kirk Session for the time being. There are also under the management of the Kirk Session, the interest of £100 bequeathed by Mrs. Wood for the benefit of orphans; of £600 bequeathed by Mr. Kettle, one half for the instruction of four poor children, and the remainder to be given in sums of £2 each to persons not on the parish list; and the interest of £500 for distribution among widows of the name of Jameson who have children under sixteen years of age, in sums of £5 per annum each. This last fund, for want of applicants, has accumulated to £1100. On the banks of the river Kiel are the venerable ruins of the ancient castle of Balcruvie, the residence of the family of Crawford; and to the south and east of Lundin House, are three stones of rude triangular form, supposed to be either of Roman origin, or the gravestones of some Danish chiefs who fell here in battle with the forces of Banquo and Macbeth. Two pieces of similar stone were discovered on the Largo estate, at the distance of a mile from each other, which, when united, formed an antique carved cross. On an eminence to the north were found silver coins of the earlier Roman emperors; and at Balhousie were discovered three urns containing ashes, and near them some stone coffins, and the bones of an infant. The late Sir John Leslie, professor of mathematics in the university of Edinburgh, and author of The Progress of Mathematics in the Eighteenth Century, was a native of this parish.
LARGO, LOWER, a village, in the parish of Largo, county of Fife, 4 miles (N. E. by E.) from Leven; containing, with the hamlets of Temple and Drumochy, 567 inhabitants. This village is pleasantly situated, and well inhabited: there are places of worship for members of the Relief Church and Baptists. Alexander Selkirk, whose adventures on a desolate island are, under the name of Robinson Crusoe, narrated by De Foe, was a native of this village, in which he was born in 1676. Embracing a sea-faring life, he was, in 1703, left on the island of Juan Fernandez, where he remained for more than four years in perfect solitude: he was brought to England by Capt. Woode Rogers, but, after nine months residence on shore, he returned to sea, and was not heard of afterwards.
LARGS, a parish, in the district of Cunninghame, county of Ayr; containing, with the late quoad sacra district of Fairlie, 4044 inhabitants, of whom 3523 are in the town and suburbs of Largs, 13½ miles (N. N. W.) from Saltcoats, and 79½ (W. by S.) from Edinburgh. The name of this place is supposed to be derived from the term Learg, signifying "a plain;" but this etymology, the only probable one assigned, is not clearly established, as there is no considerable portion of ground in the locality answering to that distinctive appellation. The ancient records connected with Largs refer chiefly to the history of its church, which was dedicated to St. Columba, the abbot of Iona, and was a rectory, the patronage belonging to the lordship. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, Walter the Stewart, "for the safety of his own soul and that of his late spouse, Marjory Bruce," granted the church, "in pure and perpetual alms," to the monastery of Paisley, with all the tithes. The church continued in the possession of the monastery till the Reformation, when Lord Claud Hamilton, the commendator of Paisley, obtained the patronage and tithes of Largs, with the other revenues and lands of the monks, the whole of which were made a temporal lordship for himself and his heirs, with the title of Lord Paisley. In 1621, he was succeeded by his grandson, James, Earl of Abercorn, from whom, in the reign of Charles I., the patronage and tithes of the church of Largs passed to Sir Robert Montgomerie, of Skelmorlie, from which family they have descended to the present proprietor, the thirteenth Earl of Eglinton. A celebrated battle took place here on the 3rd of October, 1263, between the Norwegians and Scots. The former, under their king, Haco, were at first victorious; but, fearing that subsequent reinforcements might enable the Scots finally to triumph, they retreated, and Haco not long afterwards died at Kirkwall, on his return to Norway. His son and successor, Eric, however, married one of King Alexander's daughters; and thus all future hostilities were prevented.
The town was formerly but a small village clustering round the church, and has attained its present populous and thriving condition by degrees, chiefly from its situation on the shore of the Frith of Clyde, from its superior facilities for sea-bathing, the salubrity of the climate, and the beauties of the surrounding scenery. Some parts of the vicinity are marked with features of a bold character. The hills on the east, which form a barrier against the violence of the winds, rise to a great elevation as they approach the town, and comprise the eminences called the Hill of Stake, and, more southerly, Irishlaw and Knockside hill, reaching respectively the height of 1691 feet, 1576, and 1419 feet above the level of the sea. From the summits of these heights, and from their abrupt declivities bordering on the town, views of the most diversified and picturesque scenery may be obtained. Among the other objects of interest is the Gogo river, which, rising in the south-eastern quarter, receives, besides numerous smaller tributaries, the water of the Greeto about the middle of its course, and falls into the sea at the town. The Noddle rises in the north-east, and, after traversing the vale of Brisbane, empties itself into the sea about a mile higher up, towards the north. Largs has been celebrated for a considerable period as an agreeable and healthy summer resort; and from the month of May till about the middle of October, the population derives an increase, owing to the influx of visiters, varying from 300 or 400 to 1000. The plain on which the town stands consists of a fine gravel, quickly absorbing the moisture after rain; the whole coast is perfectly safe, and the beech affords good opportunities of bathing at all times of the tide, by its gentle slope. The town has been completely remodelled and enlarged since the beginning of the present century, and lighted with gas since the year 1839. The environs, also, have been richly studded with elegant villas; but the only public building is that of the baths, which, in addition to accommodations for hot and cold bathing, contains a spacious billiard and reading room. Two circulating libraries have been established. About three miles south of Largs, and also on the coast, is the pleasing little village of Fairlie, inhabited by above 300 persons, and, on account of its retired and attractive character, and the handsome villas lately erected there, preferred by many persons to the town.—See Fairlie.
About 240 or 250 hands in the parish are employed in the manufacture of shawls and shawl borders, the work being obtained chiefly from Paisley; there are two branches of the Western Bank of Scotland, and a general post-office. The public road from Ayr and Irvine runs along the coast; and a road has been formed, and made turnpike, across the moor, which passes in a south-eastern direction to Kilbirnie and Dalry, and is of great benefit to the neighbourhood, for the conveyance of lime and coal. A parish road, also, has been constructed through the vale of Brisbane to the boundary of the parish, near Loch Thom; it joins the Greenock parish road, and shortens the distance between that place and Largs about two miles. The boundaries of the harbour extend from Haylie to Noddleburn, and there is a considerable traffic by means of steam-boats. Till lately the accommodation for them was indifferent; but, on application to Sir Thomas Macdougal Brisbane, Bart., he agreed to give some ground for a pier, receiving its value in shares: a subscription was commenced, and, an act of parliament being obtained in 1832, the foundation-stone was laid on the 10th of January, 1833, and the pier opened on the 1st of December, 1834. Great advantage has been experienced in the landing and shipping of passengers and goods by this pier, the cost of which was £4275; the shareholders are thirty-one in number, and the shares, of £50 each, return about six per cent. The produce of the parish is generally sent for sale to Greenock, Glasgow, and Paisley; but a considerable portion is appropriated to domestic use. A fair, called vulgarly Comb's-day, from St. Columba, is held on the second Tuesday in June, O. S., for pigs, horses, and especially young cattle, large numbers of which last are brought from the Highlands. The town has a baron-bailie appointed by the superior; but he rarely interferes in judicial matters, the justices holding a monthly court, where cases of small debt and breaches of the peace are tried.
The parish stretches along the coast of the Frith for nine miles, and measures in breadth a little more than four miles, comprising 19,143 acres, of which 8598 are heath and moorland pasture, and the remainder comprehends 1145 acres in tillage, 3300 pasture and meadow, 5500 green pasture, and 600 woodland and gardens. The usual kinds of grain and green crops are raised, with the exception of wheat, which is but little cultivated; and the four and six shift courses of husbandry are each in operation. About 600 cows, of the pure Ayrshire breed, are kept for the dairy; the farmers near the town mostly sell the milk, or make butter, while those in the rural district convert the produce into cheese. The number of young cows yearly reared is about 300; nearly 500 head of cattle are fattened, and 4600 sheep are kept on the high lands, besides a few English sheep on the lower grounds; with a considerable number of swine. Improvements of various descriptions are gradually advancing, especially the draining and recovering of waste land; and some new plantations have been recently formed. Red and white sandstone are the principal sorts of rock, and are extensively quarried for building houses in the neighbourhood: the substrata of the higher grounds consist mainly of secondary trap. The rateable annual value of the parish is £13,743. Among the seats is the old mansion of Kelburn Castle, which was originally a square tower, but was enlarged by David, Earl of Glasgow, and is the seat of the present earl, having been the property of the family from a very remote period; it is situated two miles south of the town, and embraces beautiful views of the Frith and the surrounding scenery. The house of Brisbane, the seat of Sir Thomas Macdougal Brisbane, who is of a family long located here, and the chief of their name, is two miles north of the town, in the beautiful glen of Brisbane. Skelmurly Castle, a seat of the Earl of Eglinton, is an ancient structure, having been built in the year 1502; and is pleasantly situated on a commanding eminence upon the coast, four miles north of Largs. In addition to these, there are numerous elegant residences and villas, among which is that of Hawkhill, on the Gogo, near the town, in the neighbourhood of which, salmon, and the usual white-fish caught in the adjacent seas, are plentiful.
Largs is in the presbytery of Greenock and synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and in the patronage of the Earl of Eglinton; the minister's stipend is £246, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £36. 8. per annum. The parish belonged to the presbytery of Irvine until 1834, when it was transferred to that of Greenock, newly formed. The church was built in 1812, and enlarged in 1833; it contains 1268 sittings. A chapel in connexion with the Establishment, containing 300 sittings, was erected at Fairlie in 1833, by private subscription, and made the church of a quoad sacra parish in 1835; but it has now no ecclesiastical district attached. There are a place of worship for members of the Free Church, one for the United Associate Synod, and another for the Relief persuasion. The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches: the master has a salary of £25. 13., with a house, and about £2 fees; also the interest of £175 bequeathed for his use. A school, likewise, has been recently founded by Sir Thomas M. Brisbane, and premises erected, with a house for a master, at a cost of £350: the nomination of the teacher, who has a salary of £30, and the management of the institution, are vested in the family of Brisbane, and the minister and Kirk Session of Largs. On the south of the parish, and situated within the ancient barony of Fairlie, is the ruin of the old castle, which belonged for more than 400 years to a family of that name, and at the beginning of the 18th century was sold to David, Earl of Glasgow, with whose descendants it still remains. The ruins of the house of Knock are also yet standing: the Frazer family possessed the estate for about 250 years till 1650, when the property passed into other hands. Kelburn confers the title of Viscount on the Earl of Glasgow, David, Lord Boyle, having been created Viscount Kelburn and Earl of Glasgow, April 12, 1703.
LARKHALL, lately a quoad sacra district, in the parishes of Dalserf and Hamilton, Middle ward of the county of Lanark; containing, with the village of Millheugh, 2453 inhabitants, of whom 1609 are in the village of Larkhall, 3½ miles (S. E.) from Hamilton. The district comprised the lands of Broomhill, West Machan, and Meadowhill; a portion of Dalserf lying between those lands and the river Avon; and considerable strips of the parish of Hamilton to the north and west. The village of Larkhall, which is situated in the Dalserf portion of the district, and on the great road from Glasgow to Carlisle, is of modern erection, built on a regular plan, and has latterly very much extended, and increased in population. It is now the largest village in Dalserf parish, and mostly inhabited by weavers. In its vicinity are several hamlets, rows of houses, and other dwellings, the whole so approximating with it as to be considered parts of one town. Within the last ten years a post-office, subordinate to Hamilton and Glasgow, has been established; and other facilities are fast tending to the improvement and importance of the place. A small fair, once accompanied by a horse-race, is held here in the month of June. The river Clyde flows at a distance of two miles north-eastward. The ecclesiastical affairs are directed by the presbytery of Hamilton and synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and the patronage is vested in the male communicants: the stipend of the minister is £80, derived from seat-rents. The church, built by subscription, aided by the General Assembly's extension fund, was opened for divine service in January, 1836, and contains 720 sittings, of which thirty are free. There is a place of worship for the Relief, very recently enlarged; also a parochial school, in which, besides the usual branches of education, Latin is taught: the master has an annual salary of £5, with a house, schoolroom and garden, and the fees. A library, instituted in the year 1809, contains upwards of 500 volumes.
LASSWADE, a parish, in the county of Edinburgh; containing, with the village of Loanhead, and the late quoad sacra district of Roslin, 5025 inhabitants, of whom 539 are in the village of Lasswade, 2½ miles (W. S. W.) from Dalkeith. This parish is supposed to have derived its name from the situation of the church and village in a well-watered pastoral district. It was anciently much less extensive, now including the parishes of Pentland and Melville, which were suppressed at the Reformation. On the north are the parishes of Colinton and Liberton; on the east, Dalkeith, Newbattle, Cockpen, and Carrington; on the south, the parish of Penicuick; and on the west, Colinton, Glencross, and Penicuick. The parish is about eight miles in length and five miles in breadth, and of extremely irregular form, comprising an area of ten square miles. The surface, with the exception of the Pentland district, is chiefly a level tract of arable and pasture land in a high state of cultivation, abounding with scenery of unrivalled beauty, and with features strikingly romantic. The loftiest of the Pentland hills within the parish is Allermuir, which exceeds 1600 feet in height above the level of the sea. The North Esk river flows through the parish, between precipitous and richly-wooded banks, and is remarkable for the picturesque character of the vale along which it pursues its course; it winds round the ruins of the ancient castle of Roslin, and near the mansion of Hawthornden, and, intersecting the village of Lasswade and the pleasuregrounds of Dalkeith, runs into the South Esk about a mile below the Palace. That portion of the parish which was till lately annexed to the church of Roslin is described in the article on that place.
The soil is luxuriantly rich; and the tracts of moor and wet moss that abounded in the southern parts have been reclaimed, and brought into a good state of cultivation. The lands are principally arable, producing excellent crops of grain: the oatmeal of this place has long been noted for its superior quality. The dairyfarms are under careful management, and the produce forwarded chiefly to the Edinburgh market; much land, also, is laid out in nurseries and gardens, yielding abundant supplies of vegetables and fruits of all kinds for the use of the city, to which great quantities of strawberries, particularly, are sent daily in the season. The Pentland hills are covered partly with heath, and in other parts with fine grass affording good pasture; the meadows and low-land pastures are exceedingly fertile. The substrata in the parish are coal and limestone, with red sandstone, freestone, and whinstone, the last an excellent material for the roads; the coal is extensively wrought in the vicinity of Loanhead, and not less than 30,000 tons are sent from the mines annually to Edinburgh. The rateable annual value of Lasswade is £21,833.
The principal seat is Melville Castle, the residence of Lord Viscount Melville, an elegant and spacious structure in the castellated style, with circular towers, erected about the close of the last century, on the site of an ancient house said to have belonged to David Rizzio, secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots. It is situated on the bank of the North Esk, in an ample and richlywooded demesne, and is a conspicuous and highlyinteresting object. George IV., when visiting Scotland in 1822, was hospitably entertained in this noble mansion. Hawthornden, the romantic seat of Sir James Walker Drummond, built by the poet Drummond, and incorporated with the remains of the baronial castle of that ancient family, stands on a precipitous rock below Roslin, on the south bank of the North Esk; and is remarkable for the numerous artificial caverns beneath the mansion, and in various parts of the rock. These, during the war with England in the reign of Edward I., afforded secure shelter to the adherents of Bruce, of whom Sir Alexander Ramsay, with his followers, concealing himself in these almost inaccessible retreats, frequently sallied forth upon the enemies of his country, whom he surprised and defeated with great slaughter. The principal of the caverns are, the king's gallery, the king's bedchamber, and others; and in one of them, detached from the rest, and of smaller dimensions, called the Cypress Grotto, Drummond is said to have composed many of his poems. In the court-yard is a deep dry well, from which a narrow opening leads to a long subterraneous passage, on both sides whereof are various small apartments, and below them some of larger dimensions, the entry to which is lighted from a fissure in the rock. The house is adorned with numerous ancient relics, and family and other portraits, among which is a portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots; and the pleasure-grounds attached to it abound with interesting features, and with picturesque and romantic scenery. Mavisbank House is a handsome mansion in the style of an Italian villa, and is beautifully situated on the right bank of the North Esk, in a demesne of highly-pleasing character. Springfield House is also a good mansion; and on the same bank of the river are Dryden and Rosebank: on the left bank are Polton, Glenesk, and Gorton.
The village of Lasswade is seated in the deeplysequestered and well-wooded dell watered by the North Esk. The houses are irregularly scattered along both the banks of the river, and are surrounded with gardens and plantations, which, combining with the sylvan aspect of the vale generally, render this one of the most attractive villages in Scotland. The beauty of the scenery, and the mildness of the climate from its sheltered situation, have rendered it a favourite place of resort for the citizens of Edinburgh; and numerous handsome villas have been erected in the immediate vicinity, as residences during the summer months. The principal manufactures carried on here are those of paper and carpets. There are three extensive papermills, in which several hundreds of persons are employed, and in one of which the paper made annually pays a duty to government of £5500. The carpet manufactory at St. Anne's was established in the year 1834, by Messrs. Richard Whytock and Co., for the production of Tournay and Axminster carpets of all sizes and shapes, without seam; and a new kind of Brussels carpet, of great beauty, resembling tapestry, with various fabrics in velvet pile, has recently been invented by the proprietors, and is in much request in London and other places. In this establishment more than 100 persons are constantly employed; there are also an iron and brass foundry, and several corn and oatmeal mills. Within the parish are likewise the villages of Loanhead and Pentland, and two post-offices connected with Edinburgh and Dalkeith, each of which has a couple of deliveries daily. Facility of communication is afforded by parish-roads kept in excellent order, and by the turnpike-roads to Edinburgh and other places.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the synod of Lothian and Tweeddale and the presbytery of Dalkeith. The minister's stipend is £180, with a manse on an eminence near the church, and a glebe of eight acres, valued at £40 per annum; patron, Sir George Clerk, Bart. The present church, erected in 1793, and substantially repaired and improved within the last few years, is a neat structure adapted for a congregation of 1000 persons: the remains of the ancient church, within the churchyard, consist chiefly of one of the aisles, which has been converted into a sepulchral chapel for the Dundas family. There are places of worship for members of the Reformed Presbyterian and United Secession churches. The parochial school is well conducted, including in its course of studies the Latin, Greek, and French languages, and the mathematics; and is numerously attended: the master has a salary of £34, and the fees average about £150 annually. There are also schools at Hawthornden and Pentland, of which the masters have salaries and rent-free houses; and in the villages of Lasswade and Loanhead are good subscription libraries. Upon the river North Esk, half a mile above Hawthornden, is Wallace's cave, an artificial excavation in the rock, in the form of a cross, and capable of containing about seventy persons; and on the north side of the Bilston burn, about a mile from its confluence with the North Esk, is Wallace's camp, in the shape of a semicircle, eighty-four feet in circuit, and defended by a broad and deep ditch. At Springfield, near a ford on the Esk, is a narrow road supposed to have been part of a Roman way between two camps; and not far from Mavisbank House is a circular mound of earth, near which have been found several ancient weapons and various other relics of antiquity. The poet Drummond was a native of this parish; and the late Mr. John Clerk, author of a Treatise on Naval Tactics, resided on the estate of Eldin.
LATHERON, a parish, in the county of Caithness, 17 miles (S. W.) from Wick; containing, with the late quoad sacra districts of Berriedale and Lybster, and the villages of Dunbeath and Swiney, 7637 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the south-eastern coast of Caithness, is supposed with great probability to have derived its name, signifying in the Gaelic language "the resort of seals," from the vast multitudes of those animals by which its shores were formerly frequented, and of which considerable numbers are still found in the caverns near the sea. From the numerous remains of castles and fortresses, extending along the coast from the Ord of Caithness to Bruan, it would appear to have been the scene of ancient warfare; but the only authentic record of its early history preserved, is that of the last invasion of the country by the Danes. On the landing of a large body of troops under the command of the young Prince of Denmark, near the town of Thurso, the inhabitants of that district, unable to meet them in the field, retreated before the invaders to the hill of Ben-a-gheil, in this parish, where, having taken up a favourable position, they resolved to give the enemy battle. The Danes pursued them to this post, and attempted to dislodge them; but the Scots, having in the retreat considerably increased their numbers, bore down upon them in one compact body, broke their line, and, killing their leader, put them completely to the rout.
The parish is bounded on the south-east by the North Sea, and on the west by the county of Sutherland. It extends along the coast for nearly twenty-seven miles, and varies from ten to fifteen miles in breadth, comprising an area of about 140,000 acres, of which 10,000 are arable, 800 woodland and plantations, and the remainder meadow, pasture, and waste. The surface in general is boldly marked with hills and valleys; and towards the west are numerous mountains of various height and aspect, between which are deep and precipitous ravines of dangerous access. The most intricate of these ravines are, Brenahegleish, Benachielt, and one at the Ord of Caithness; the most conspicuous of the mountains are, Morven, Scaraben, and the Pap. Morven has an elevation of nearly 4000 feet above the level of the sea, and is a fine landmark for mariners; near the summit is a spring of excellent water. The prospects obtained from most of these mountains comprehend more than twelve counties. There are also numerous straths of great beauty and fertility, of which the principal are watered by the rivers of Langwell, Berriedale, and Dunbeath; the steep banks of these vales were formerly covered with wood, and there is still sufficient remaining to add greatly to the richness of the scenery. The three rivers have their rise on the western confines of the parish, and, after courses of from twelve to sixteen miles through the straths to which they give name, fall into the sea on the east; they are but small streams in the summer, but are much swollen in winter, and they all abound with trout and salmon. The only lakes of importance are those of Rangag and Stempster, in both of which are found trout and eels. The line of coast is defended by a chain of rocks, rising precipitously to heights varying from 100 to 300 feet, and in many places perforated with deep caverns, some of which extend sixty feet in length, and are, as already stated, frequented by seals, whereof great numbers are annually taken. The principal headlands are, the Ord of Caithness, on the south; Berriedale head; and Clyth Ness, to the north. There are also numerous small bays, the outlets of the several rivers which intersect the parish, affording shelter for boats employed in the fisheries off the coast.
The soil, though generally shallow, is easily cultivated, and well adapted to all kinds of grain; on the lands of Langwell and Dunbeath it is of a sharp gravelly quality, and on the lands of Clyth a dry loam. The crops are, grain, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual grasses; considerable improvement has been made in the system of husbandry, and much waste land has been reclaimed and brought into cultivation. Many of the farm-buildings, also, are vastly improved; but there are still some of very inferior order. Great attention is paid to the rearing of live stock, for the conveyance of which to the best markets facilities are afforded by steam navigation. The sheep on the lands of Langwell and Dunbeath are mostly of the Cheviot breed, and frequently obtain prizes at the Inverness shows; on the other farms they are chiefly a cross between the Cheviot and the Leicestershire: 12,000 are fed on the whole. The cattle, of which about 4000 are pastured, are principally a mixture of the Teeswater and Highland breeds, and fetch good prices in the Edinburgh market. The substrata are mainly clay-flagstone, red sandstone, and mica-slate; and the rocks are partly conglomerate and granite, the latter prevailing towards the Ord. The plantations of more recent growth are chiefly around the residences of the landed proprietors, many of which, though not of modern erection, have been improved and tastefully embellished within the last few years. The only village of any importance is Lybster, which is noticed under its own head; the others are small fishing hamlets on the coast. The rateable annual value of the parish is £10,967.
The principal dependence of the population is upon the fisheries, of which there are four distinct branches carried on with lucrative success, the herring, the cod, the salmon, and the lobster fisheries. The herringfishery is prosecuted with great assiduity and enterprise, affording during the season occupation to about 3200 persons, and employing during the winter and spring from 1500 to 2000 in the making of nets; the season commences in July, and ends in September. The stations along the coast in this parish, and to which are attached convenient harbours, are Dunbeath, containing seventysix boats; Latheron-Wheel, thirty-five; Forse, thirtytwo; Swiney, ten; Lybster, 101; Clyth, fifty-three; and East Clyth, eighteen boats; in the aggregate, 325 boats, each having a crew of four men, and from twenty to thirty-eight nets. The number of barrels cured at these stations annually is 40,000, to which may be added 3000 cured by the fishermen at their own dwellings; and about 1000 barrels are generally sold in a fresh state to strangers from different parts of the country. The average price of the cured fish is £1 per barrel; and of fresh nine shillings. The cod-fishery is not carried on to so great an extent, being generally abandoned when the herrings appear in sufficient numbers, for that more lucrative employment; the number of cod cured during the season averages 10,000, and they are sold at sixpence each. The salmon-fishery is pursued at Berriedale and at Dunbeath: the former, belonging to Mr. Horne, of Langwell, is rented at £275 per annum; and the latter, the property of Mr. Sinclair, of Freswick, at £27 per annum only, the number of fish being greatly diminished. The fish at both are of excellent quality, the salmon selling for one shilling, and the grilse for sixpence per pound: few are sold on the spot, they being chiefly packed in kits, and sent to London. The lobsterfishery is but little attended to, though great numbers are sometimes taken. A small pier has been erected at Clyth, for the loading of vessels in moderate weather; and there is also a harbour at Lybster; but, from the rocky nature of the coast, and the want of shelter for vessels of any considerable burthen, the navigation is attended with great danger; and applications have been consequently made to government, for the construction of commodious harbours, which would materially promote the prosperity of the district. The nearest markettown is Wick. Fairs are held at Dunbeath and at Lybster twice during the year; there are also post-offices there. Facility of communication is afforded by good roads, of which the great north road along the coast passes through the whole length of the parish to Wick, whence there is conveyance by steam to Leith and Aberdeen.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Caithness and the synod of Sutherland and Caithness. The minister's stipend is £219, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £15 per annum; patron, Sir James Colquhoun, Bart. The parish church, situated near the coast, was erected in 1734, and enlarged and new roofed in 1822; it is a neat plain structure containing 870 sittings. Churches were erected in Berriedale in 1826, and at Lybster in 1836. There is also a missionary station connected with the Established Church, founded by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, at Bruan, the eastern extremity of the parish, bordering on Wick. Attached is a comfortable manse, erected by subscription, at an expense of £232; and a glebe of four acres of excellent land was granted to the minister by the late Sir John Sinclair, Bart., whose estates were chiefly benefited. The church contains 600 sittings; and the missionary has a stipend of £25, granted by the society, and augmented to £100 by seat-rents. Four catechists are appointed by the Kirk Session, and paid by the families whom they visit. Attempts have been made to establish a congregation of members of the United Secession, but hitherto without any permanent success. The parochial school is well conducted; the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees average £30. Two schools are supported by the General Assembly, and one by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge; the masters have salaries of £20 each. The poor have the interest of various bequests producing about £18 per annum. Sir John Sinclair, compiler of the Statistical Account of Scotland, resided for many years at Langwell, now the property of Donald Horne, Esq.
LAUDER, a royal burgh, a parish, and the seat of a presbytery, in the county of Berwick, 25 miles (S. E.) from Edinburgh, and 35 (W.by S.) from Berwick; containing 2198 inhabitants, of whom 1050 are in the town. This place, of which the name, in the Celticlanguage, is descriptive of its situation in the valley of the Leader, was granted in the early part of the 12th century, by David I., to Hugh de Moreville, constable of Scotland. De Moreville gave the lands of Thirlstane, in the parish, to one of his kinsmen, whose grand-daughter conveyed them by marriage to Sir Richard Maitland, ancestor of the present Earl of Lauderdale, now the principal proprietor of the parish. The chief historical events connected with the place are, the erection of Lauder Castle by Edward I., King of England, during his invasion in the time of Bruce; and the meeting here of the nobles of Scotland, who, when James III. encamped with his army near Lauder in 1482, assembled in the church, and, after a conference, resolved upon the death of six of that monarch's favourites, whom they hanged on a bridge over the Leader. There was formerly a royal mint here. The town, which is delightfully situated in the centre of the vale, upon gently-rising ground between the river Leader on the north and the South burn of Lauder, consists principally of one wide clean street, lighted by gas, on the road from Edinburgh to Kelso; and nearly in the middle, where the street expands into greater breadth, is a row of houses, at the western extremity of which is the town-house. The air is extremely pure. The houses are irregularly built, and of mean appearance, but well supplied with water, and inhabited chiefly by retail shop-keepers, persons employed in handicraft trades, and agricultural and other labourers. The approaches have been much improved within the last few years. A subscription library is supported by a company of shareholders, and there is also one for mechanics. Fairs are held in the early part of March, for seed-corn and the hiring of farm servants; in April and October, for the hiring of household servants; in June, for cattle, chiefly milch-cows; and in July, for the sale of lambs. The post-office has a good delivery; and facility of communication is afforded by turnpikeroads, of which one, on the east of the river Leader, to Greenlaw, Dunse, Berwick, Coldstream, and Kelso, passes for six miles, and another, on the west, to Melrose and Jedburgh, passes for eight miles, through the parish.
Lauder is supposed to have been erected into a royal burgh by charter of William the Lion, in the beginning of the 13th century; and after the loss of the original documents during the border warfare, the inhabitants received a new charter from James IV. in 1502, which was confirmed in 1533. The government is vested in two bailies and fifteen councillors. The burgesses possess a common of 1695 acres, divided among them in proportion to their number, and are entitled to freedom of trading, exemption from customs, and other privileges. The magistrates exercise but little either of civil or criminal jurisdiction; of the former, there are scarcely any cases of importance on record, and the latter extends only to trifling misdemeanors. The gaol, indeed, is not adapted for permanent confinement. In front of the town-hall was an ancient cross, the site of which is marked by a radiated pavement. The burgh is associated with those of Haddington, Dunbar, North Berwick, and Jedburgh, in returning a member to the imperial parliament: the number of persons within the royalty who rent houses of £10 and upwards is fortythree, of whom twenty-five are burgesses; and of those whose rent is above £5, but below £10, twenty, of whom one only is a burgess.
The parish, which is one of the most extensive in the county, is about thirteen miles in extreme length, from north to south, and from eight to nine miles in extreme breadth; but, being divided by an intervening portion of the parish of Melrose, its length is in fact only eleven and a half miles. It comprises an area of nearly fiftyeight square miles, and the number of acres is estimated at 37,500, of which 12,000 are arable, 600 woodland and plantations, and the remainder chiefly hill pasture and waste. The surface is diversified with hills, of which the Lammermoor range forms the northern boundary of Lauder; and within the limits of the parish the highest of that range is the Lammerlaw, 1500 feet above the level of the sea. The valley of the Leader, the richest portion of the lands, is from one to two miles in breadth; and on each side of the river, towards the south-east, are ranges of hills of moderate height, cultivated to their summits. The Leader has its source in the union of two streams issuing from the Lammermoors about four miles above the town, and, after a winding course of nine or ten miles through the beautiful valley to which it gives name, falls into the Tweed at Drygrange; it abounds with trout, and is much frequented by anglers. There are springs of excellent water in different parts.
The soil is various; in the valley, deep, rich, and fertile; in the higher grounds, of lighter quality. The crops are, grain of all kinds, with turnips and potatoes, and the several grasses; the system of agriculture is in a very advanced state, and great improvements have taken place under the auspices of the Lauderdale Agricultural Society, of which the Earl of Lauderdale is patron. The lands have been mostly drained and inclosed, and the least productive have been much benefited by a plentiful use of lime. The farm-buildings are substantial and well arranged; several of them are of superior order, and on some of the farms are threshing-mills driven by steam. The hilly districts afford good pasturage for sheep and cattle, of which considerable numbers are reared: the sheep are mostly of the Cheviot breed; but on two or three of the higher farms the black-faced kind are pastured, and on others, in the low lands, are some of the Leicestershire. The cattle are generally of the short-horned or Teeswater breed; but such of the farmers as do not rear a sufficient number to eat off their turnips, purchase young stock of the Angus and West-Highland breeds. The plantations are, oak, ash, beech, elm, birch, poplar, willow, larch, and Scotch and spruce firs, all in a thriving condition. The substratum here is principally greywacke, of which the rocks are composed; it is of good quality, and large quantities are raised both for building purposes and for mending the roads. The rateable annual value of the parish is £12,596.
Thirlstane Castle, the seat of the Earl of Lauderdale, is beautifully situated to the north of the town, on the banks of the river: the original building, Lauder Fort, erected by Edward I., was rebuilt by Chancellor Maitland, and enlarged and improved by the Duke of Lauderdale and the present earl. The mansion is a spacious and handsome structure, containing many stately apartments, and a large collection of paintings and family portraits; and is surrounded by a park tastefully laid out. Allanbank, to the west of the town, is a good residence, of modern date, with grounds of considerable extent, embellished with plantations. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Lauder and synod of Merse and Teviotdale. The minister's stipend is £272, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £18 per annum; patron, the Earl. The church, erected in 1673, on the south-west side of the town, by the Duke of Lauderdale, to replace the original church, which he removed when he enlarged Thirlstane Castle, is a plain cruciform structure, containing 773 sittings. A massive service of communion plate was, in 1677, presented to the church by the Lauderdale family. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, and the United-Associate and Relief synods. The parochial school is well attended: the master has a salary of £30, with a good house and garden; he also receives £5 from the corporation for the gratuitous instruction of poor children, and the fees average £70. There are three schools dependent solely on the fees, of which two are for females; and the number of children in all is about 300. Vestiges of a Roman road running through the parish towards Channelkirk may be still traced: near it are the remains of a military station; and on an eminence about two miles to the north are vestiges of a round camp, having an entrance on the east and on the west, and fortified by a double intrenchment. A similar camp is found at Tullius' or Tollis hill, on the northern extremity of the parish. Ancient coins have been found, among which were some inscribed with the names of Julius Cæsar, Lucius Flaminius, and others. There are also numerous tumuli, near which have been discovered fragments of military weapons.