Pages 546-567
A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1846.
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In this section
Todhills
TODHILLS, a small hamlet, in the parish of Tealing, county of Forfar; containing 50 inhabitants.
Tollcross
TOLLCROSS, a village, in the late quoad sacra parish of Shettleston, parish of Barony, suburbs of the city of Glasgow, and county of Lanark, 2 miles (E. by S.) from Glasgow; containing 1767 inhabitants. This populous and prosperous village owes its origin to the establishment of the Clyde iron-works, in the immediate vicinity, at which, and also in the neighbouring collieries, its population, for the most part, is employed; but some of the inhabitants are engaged in the manufactures of the district, principally hand-loom weaving. The road from Holytown to Glasgow passes through. Tollcross House, the property of the Misses Dunlop, is a handsome mansion, built about the middle of the 17th century, and subsequently enlarged and improved.
Tomachar
TOMACHAR, a small hamlet, in the parish of Port of Monteith, county of Perth; containing 20 inhabitants.
Tombreck
TOMBRECK, a small hamlet, in the parish of Weem, county of Perth; containing 21 inhabitants.
Tomintoul
TOMINTOUL, a village, and lately a quoad sacra parish, in the parish of Kirkmichael, county of Banff; containing 919 inhabitants, of whom 530 are in the village. This place is supposed to have derived its name, signifying the "Barn Hillock," from the situation of the barn belonging to a farm that originally occupied the site of the village. The village, which was commenced in 1750, stands on a tract of table-land overlooking the river Aven, and consists chiefly of one long street, in the centre whereof is a spacious square. The houses, with few exceptions, are one story high, neatly built, and roofed with slate; and attached to each are about two acres of land, in the cultivation of which the inhabitants are partly employed. No manufactures are carried on here, nor is there any trade, except the handicrafts requisite for the wants of the neighbourhood; there are a few shops for the sale of various articles of merchandise for the supply of the inhabitants, and a circulating library containing nearly 200 volumes of religious and historical works. A post-office has been established, which has a daily delivery; and there are four good inns. A small lock-up house has been erected for the temporary confinement of offenders against the peace; but there is no resident magistrate. Fairs, chiefly for cattle and sheep, and for the hiring of servants, are held on the last Friday in May, the last Friday in July, O. S., the third Wednesday in August, O. S., the Friday after the second Tuesday in September, O. S., and the second Friday in November, O. S. The great military road from Perth to Inverness passes through the village; and the district affords ample means, which might easily be made available to greater facilities of communication.
The district was separated for ecclesiastical purposes from the parish of Kirkmichael, and erected into a quoad sacra parish, by act of the General Assembly in 1833; it comprises by computation 30,000 acres, of which by far the greater portion is moorland pasture. The surface is hilly and mountainous, and the scenery, from the want of plantations, bleak and comparatively uninteresting; the river Aven flows through the district in its course to the Spey, and there are numerous springs, of which some possess mineral properties, though they are not used medicinally. The soil in some parts is a rich marl, and the arable lands are under good cultivation, producing favourable crops of grain; the hills, also, afford pasturage for sheep and black-cattle, of which considerable numbers are reared, and sent to the southern markets. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the super. intendence of the presbytery of Abernethy and synod of Moray. The church was erected in 1827, at a cost of £750, by the commissioners under the act for building additional places of worship in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland; it is situated about five miles from the parish church, and is a neat substantial structure containing 336 sittings, to which 200 may be added by the erection of a gallery, for which the plan of the building is well adapted. The minister has a stipend of £120, paid from the exchequer, with a manse, built by government at an expense of £738, and a glebe valued at £2 per annum; patron, the Crown. A Roman Catholic chapel was built in 1838; and there is a school in connexion with the Established Church, of which the master receives £17. 3. 3. as a gratuity from the Duke of Richmond, in addition to the fees. There is also a school in the village, of which the master has a salary of £26, arising from an endowment by the late Mr. Donaldson, of Aberdeen.
Tongland
TONGLAND, a parish, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, 2 miles (N. N. E.) from Kirkcudbright; containing 826 inhabitants, of whom 31 are in the village. This parish, the name of which is of very doubtful origin, is bounded on the east by the river Dee, separating it from the parish of Kelton; and on the west by the river Tarff, dividing it from the parish of Twynholm. From the confluence of these rivers at its southern extremity, the parish extends for nearly eight miles towards the north, gradually increasing from less than half a mile to about three miles in breadth, and comprising an area of about 6138 acres; 1346 are arable, 2792 meadow and pasture, and the remainder, with the exception of a few acres of woodland and plantations, moor and waste. The surface is divided in the southern and central portions by a narrow and uneven ridge, which gradually increases in height from the junction of the two rivers; in the northern portion it expands into broken moorlands, interspersed with irregular tracts of partially cultivated land, and with rugged valleys whose acclivities are partly clothed with wood. The Tarff has its source in the Loch Whinyion, in the adjoining parish of Twynholm, and, after winding through the western district of this parish in a beautifully limpid stream, runs into the Dee at Compston Castle; it abounds with yellow trout and herling, and occasionally with salmon. In its course it forms several romantic cascades, of which the principal is the Linn of Lairdmannoch, where its water falls from a height of nearly sixty feet into a dark and deep pool. The scenery of the Dee is remarkably picturesque, along the whole of the four miles for which it forms the boundary of the parish; its banks are planted with oak, birch, ash, elm, alder, and hazel, and in many places it forces its way with great impetuosity between rugged and precipitous rocks rising to the height of seventy or eighty feet.
The soil varies greatly in different parts, but is mostly fertile, and in some parts exuberantly rich; the crops are, oats, barley, potatoes, and turnips, which last are cultivated to a great extent, and in every variety. The system of agriculture is improved; the farms are usually of moderate extent, averaging from 300 to 500 acres; the principal manure is lime, and the rotation system of husbandry is generally practised. The farmbuildings are commodiously arranged. The cattle are of the Galloway breed, except on some of the dairyfarms for which the Ayrshire breed is preferred; the sheep on the arable farms are the Leicestershire, and on the moorlands mostly the Cheviot and the black-faced. The substrata are chiefly porphyry and clay-slate, of which the rocks principally consist; the bed of the Dee is entirely slate. An attempt was made some time since in search of coal, but without the least success: lime, coal, and bone-dust for manure, are supplied from the landing-place at Tongland bridge. The plantations consist of oak, ash, lime, larch, and Scotch spruce and silver firs; and around the church are some fine plane and beech trees, of more than one hundred years' growth. The rateable annual value of the parish is £6283. The principal mansions are, Argrennan, the seat of Robert Ker, Esq., a handsome modern house, beautifully situated; and Barcaple, Valleyfield, and Dunjop, which are also modern residences. There is no village of any importance; neither is there any trade or manufacture carried on, the population being wholly agricultural. Communication is afforded by the turnpike-road from Carlisle to Portpatrick, which passes through the centre of the parish, and by other roads in excellent repair. There are three bridges over the Tarff; and the river Dee, which is navigable for vessels of forty tons to Tongland bridge, affords means of conveyance for supplies of coal and lime from Cumberland, and of bone-dust for manure from Ireland and Liverpool, and also facility for the export of grain, potatoes, and other agricultural produce, for which there is a commodious wharf. The bridge is a handsome structure of one arch, 110 feet in span, erected under the superintendence of Mr. Telford, engineer, at a cost of £7700.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Kirkcudbright and synod of Galloway. The minister's stipend is £158. 17. 7., of which about one-tenth is paid from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £40 per annum: patron, the Crown. The church, situated on the Dee, at the southern extremity of the parish, was erected in 1813; it is in the early English style of architecture, with a square embattled tower, and contains 420 sittings. The parochial school is attended by about ninety children; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, in addition to the fees. There is a school for females, of which the mistress receives a salary of £10, raised by subscription; and a Sunday school is taught by the same person. The only remains of the abbey of Tongland, founded in the 12th century by Fergus, Lord of Galloway, for Præmonstratensian canons, are a small low arch forming part of the northern wall of the old church: in digging in the vicinity for a garden, on the farm of Kirkconnel, part of an ancient cemetery was explored, in which was found a gold ring, but without either name or date. There are some remains of a Druidical circle, of eleven upright stones, with one in the centre; the tops are very little above the surface of the moor on which they are situated. At a short distance to the west is a large cairn.
Tongue
TONGUE, a parish, in the county of Sutherland, 250 miles (N. by W.) from Edinburgh; containing, with the island of Roan, and the villages of Tongue, Skianid, and Torrisdale, 2041 inhabitants, of whom 1558 are in the rural districts. This place anciently formed part of the parishes of Durness and Eddrachillis, from which it was severed in 1724, by act of the General Assembly. It derived its original name, Kintail, signifying in the Gaelic language the "Head of the Sea," from its situation at the head of an inlet from the North Sea, by which it is bounded on the north. The parish, on its separation, took its present name from a narrow neck of land projecting far into the inlet above noticed: from this neck there is a ferry to the opposite shore, and from it, in all probability, the arm of the sea, also, is called the Kyle of Tongue. This part of Sutherlandshire was for many generations the residence of the family of the Mackays, from whom the surrounding district, to a large extent, obtained the appellation of Lord Reay's country; it is now the property of the Duke of Sutherland, who is sole proprietor of the parish. Few transactions of historical importance are recorded in connexion with the place. Some tumuli, however, at a place called Druim-na-Coup, point out the spot where a battle was fought between the Mackays and the Sutherlands, and where, also, in more recent times, a party landing from a vessel bringing a supply of gold from France for the Young Pretender, were seized and stripped of their treasure, by the inhabitants.
The parish is about twenty miles in extreme length, and nearly eight miles in average breadth, comprising an area of 140 square miles, of which not more than 1000 acres are arable; 500 are in natural woods, about 250 in plantations, and the remainder, of which probably a few acres might be reclaimed, mountain pasture, water, and waste. The surface is boldly diversified. Two continuous ridges of mountainous elevation, rising abruptly from the sea, and stretching towards the south, intersect the parish in nearly parallel directions, and, terminating in a similar range of heights which extends from east to west, form a semicircular chain of hills inclosing a spacious vale. In the western range, the highest hill is Ben-Hutig, on the north, elevated 1345 feet above the level of the sea, which for several miles is the average height of the ridge, till it terminates on the south in the lofty mountain of Ben-Hope, rising to the height of 3061 feet. The eastern range, which is greatly inferior in elevation, consists of a series of hills of conical form, in some places ascending precipitously from the shores of the Kyle, but mostly of gradual ascent, and of which the lower acclivities, to a considerable distance from their base, are under profitable cultivation. The inland or southern ridge abounds with features of picturesque and romantic character. The principal mountain in this range is Ben-Laoghal; it rises from a base two miles in breadth to the height of 2508 feet, and the summit is divided into four massive and lofty peaks, of which the highest is by far the most prominent. When partially covered with mist, the hill presents a most fantastic appearance. In the valley inclosed by these mountain ranges, the Kyle of Tongue forms a chief feature, resembling, from the number of islands at its mouth, which in some points of view hide its communication with the sea, a spacious inland lake, apparently divided into two lakes by the tongue of land: from the south-eastern shore rises the bold promontory of Varrich, crowned with the ruins of an ancient castle.
The lands are interspersed with numerous lakes, of which more than a hundred may be seen at one time from some of the eminences, and of which those most deserving of notice are the following. Loch Maedie, in the southern extremity of the parish, is about six miles in circumference; it is indented with many points of land projecting from its shores, and forming small bays, and is studded with islands, on which are trees of ancient growth. Loch Diru is situated at the base of a rock of that name, branching off from the west side of the mountain of Ben-Laoghal; it is two miles in length, and is accessible to persons travelling on foot. The shore on one side is the rock, which towers precipitously to the height of 200 feet, but whose rugged aspect is at intervals softened by a few trees of birch and mountain-ash. Loch Laoghal, the largest of a series of four lochs on the east and south sides of the mountain, is five miles in length and more than a mile in breadth; its margin on the west is ornamented with a few trees, and that on the east with a wood of thriving birch, at the base of a considerable hill clothed with verdure to its summit. There are two islands in this lake, the resort of numerous wild-fowl. The other lakes in the chain are Lochs Cullisaid, Craggy, and Slam, which communicate with each other, and with Loch Laoghal, by small rivulets, and of which Loch Craggy, commanding a fine view of Ben-Laoghal, is the most interesting. The principal rivers are, the Borgie, the Rhians, and the Kinloch. The Borgie, which is the largest, and is sometimes called the Torrisdale, has its source in Loch Slam, and, flowing in a north-eastern direction, and forming a boundary between this parish and that of Farr, falls into the bay of Torrisdale. The Rhians and the Kinloch, after very short courses, flow into the Kyle of Tongue near Castle-Varrich; and the smaller streams of Tongue and Skerray both run through straths to which they respectively give name, the former into the Kyle, and the latter into the sea. There are also many perennial springs in the parish, and several sulphureous and chalybeate around the mountain of Ben-Laoghal, which are strongly impregnated, but have not hitherto been accurately analyzed.
The coast is more than ten miles in extent, generally elevated and rocky, and, around the promontory of Whiten Head, extremely bold and romantic; it is indented with some fine bays and numerous creeks, affording shelter to vessels of considerable burthen, and to various small craft. The Kyle of Tongue, nearly in the centre of the coast, is about nine miles in length, and more than a mile and a half in breadth; of no great depth; from the numerous islands at the entrance, difficult of access; and from the shifting nature of the sand-banks, of dangerous navigation. At the mouth of the Kyle is good anchorage for ships of the largest size, which may ride there in safety, being protected from the adverse winds of almost every quarter; and on the western shore are fine roadsteads for vessels, near Portvasgo, and in the small bay of Talmine, which has a good bottom and a smooth sandy beach, and is one of the principal fishing-stations on the coast. On the eastern side of the Kyle, and nearly opposite to the bay of Talmine, is the small creek of Sculomy, now affording shelter only for a few fishing-boats, but which, at no very great expense, might be rendered a safe station for vessels of greater burthen. The bay of Torrisdale, to the east of the entrance of the Kyle, is wide and spacious, but gives little shelter to vessels, being open and exposed to all winds, which are here frequently violent and tempestuous. The only headland of any importance on the coast is Whiten Head, which is partly in Durness parish, and of which the rocks are perforated by the action of the waves into various caverns of romantic appearance; the cavern of Fraisgill has a naturally-formed arch at the entrance, fifty feet high and twenty feet wide, and penetrates for nearly half a mile into the rock, gradually contracting its dimensions both in breadth and height.
The principal islands are, Eilean-nan-Naomh, or "the Saints' Island;" Eilean-nan-Ron, or "the Island of Seals;" and the Rabbit islands. Eilean-nan-Naomh, situated near the eastern extremity of the coast, had anciently a chapel with a burying-ground, of which traces may still be discovered. On the south side of this island is a circular fissure in the rock, through which the sea, after forcing its way along a narrow channel, ascends in a perpendicular column to the height of thirty feet, accompanied, within a few seconds, by a violent rushing of water from the eastern side of the island, with a noise resembling the discharge of a cannon. Eilean-nan-Ron, to the west of the former, has at high-water the appearance of two islands, and is partly under cultivation by a few tenants who, from a hollow in the form of a basin, containing land of great fertility, raise some fine crops of grain. The rocks, which rise precipitously to a great height, are on the north side divided by numerous fissures, through which the wind rushes with great force, carrying with it great quantities of saline spray, and thus affording the means of curing fish without the use of salt. On the same side of the island is a naturally-formed arch, of lofty dimensions, and of such symmetry and elegance as to rival the work of art. Nearly in the centre of the isle, the surface has subsided into a spacious chasm of circular form and great depth, which is supposed to communicate by a cavern with the sea. The Rabbit islands, which are more within the mouth of the Kyle of Tongue than Eilean-nan-Ron, are three in number, of no great elevation, and only covered with verdure affording pasture to rabbits. The ancient name of these islands, "Eileanna-Gaeil," or "the Island of Strangers," is supposed to have been derived from their occupation by the Danes, who are said to have landed on them, and retained possession for a time. The fish taken off the coast of the parish are chiefly cod, ling, haddock, whiting, skate, and flounders; in September, coal-fish are found in great quantities, near the rocks; and turbot and tusk are occasionally taken. The shores in the upper part of the Kyle abound with shell-fish, including muscles and spout-fish of excellent quality, and cockles, of which vast numbers are used during the summer months for food. Salmon, grilse, trout, and char are found in some of the lakes and rivers; and at the salmon-fishery on the Borgie, about 2000 are annually taken, on an average. The herring-fishery, which was formerly carried on to a great extent, and was very lucrative, has within the last few years been rapidly decreasing.
From the small proportion of land under cultivation, the agricultural economy of the parish is scarcely an object deserving notice; the soil of the arable land is a rich black loam, producing grain of all kinds, but the only remunerating crop is that of potatoes, which are raised in large quantities. The lands are chiefly in pasture; but from being overstocked, the sheep and cattle are often stinted in their growth. The sheep on the larger farms are generally of the Cheviot breed, and are sent to the southern markets, where they are in much estimation and obtain high prices; the sheep reared by the smaller tenants are either of the black-faced breed or a cross between that and the Cheviot. Great quantities of wool are forwarded to Inverness, and also to the Liverpool market. The cattle are of the Highland blackbreed, and are usually sent for sale to the Aultnaharrow market, in the adjoining parish of Farr, or to the Kyle market near Bonar Bridge, but frequently are purchased by drovers who travel through the country to collect them. The natural wood, which for some time had been neglected, and for want of regular thinning was beginning to decay, has within the last few years been carefully managed, and is now in a thriving state. The most extensive of the more recent plantations are those around the House of Tongue; they display some fine specimens of beech, ash, elm, and lime, with firs of various kinds, of which the spruce thrives better than the Scotch fir. The rocks in the parish are principally gneiss, in some places intersected by veins of quartz and granite; the mountain of Ben-Hope is composed chiefly of mica-slate, and that of Ben-Laoghal of sienite. The substratum of the lower lands is chiefly sandstone. Black manganese ore has been found in Ben-Laoghal, and bog-iron ore occurs in many places; slate and flag quarries are wrought at Talmine and Portvasgo, on the lands of Melness, on the western shore of the Kyle of Tongue, but the return is inconsiderable. The rateable annual value of the parish is £3417. The only seat is the House of Tongue, the property and occasional residence of the Duke of Sutherland. This mansion, which is of ancient date, and irregular in its style of architecture, is situated in grounds tastefully laid out, and comprehending much beautiful scenery; and the surrounding demesne is richly planted, and embellished with timber of stately growth. The villages of Skianid and Torrisdale are both described under their respective heads. In Tongue is a post-office, which has a delivery three times in the week from Thurso, and twice from Golspie; a subscription library and a public reading-room, both recently established, are supported by subscription, and rapidly improving; and there is a good inn. Facility of communication is maintained by excellent roads, of which nearly forty miles pass through the parish, the greater number parliamentary and county roads; and by the ferry across the Kyle of Tongue, which, from the shallowness of the water, and the abundance of materials for the purpose in the immediate vicinity, might perhaps be converted into a public road.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Tongue and synod of Sutherland and Caithness. The minister's stipend, including an allowance for communion elements, is £158. 6. 8., of which sum more than two-thirds are paid from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £35 per annum; patron, the Crown. The church, erected in 1680, was nearly rebuilt in 1731, at the expense of Lord Reay, and substantially repaired in 1779; it is a neat substantial structure, conveniently situated, and containing 520 sittings, all of which are free. A missionary station is established at Melness, in the western district of the parish; and a church containing 500 sittings, and a manse, were erected there by the late Duchess-Countess of Sutherland: the missionary has a stipend of £50, paid by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship. The parochial school affords instruction to about sixty children; the master receives a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £10 annually. There are also two schools supported by the education committee of the General Assembly; one is at Melness, the other at Skerray. Among the interesting monuments of antiquity, the remains of the castle of Varrich are the most conspicuous. These ruins, which occupy the summit of the promontory of the same name, consist chiefly of the massive walls of a square tower two stories in height; the lower story had a roof of vaulted stone, and the upper a ceiling of timber frame-work: but nothing of the original founder, or of its early history, is known. Extending from the coast into the interior, are remains of several circular towers which, from their being within sight of each other, are supposed to have formed a chain of signal stations, for the communication of intelligence in times of danger. Subterraneous caverns, some of them evidently of artificial construction, are found in various places, and appear to have been places of retreat of the inhabitants from the pursuit of their enemies.
Torbolton
TORBOLTON, county of Ayr.—See Tarbolton.
Torbrex
TORBREX, a village, in the parish of St. Ninian's, county of Stirling, 1 mile (S.) from Stirling; containing 141 inhabitants. This is a small place in the suburbs of the town of Stirling, and a short distance west of the high road thence to the village of St. Ninian's. It is one of the smallest of several villages in the parish.
Torogay
TOROGAY, an isle, in the parish of Harris, county of Inverness. It is a very small uninhabited isle, lying in the sound of Harris, a short distance from the most northern point of the main land of North Uist, and equidistant, southward, from the island of Bernera.
Torosay
TOROSAY, a parish, in the district of Mull, county of Argyll, 18 miles (W. by N.) from Oban; containing, with the late quoad sacra parish of Kinlochspelve, and part of that of Salen, 1616 inhabitants, of whom 679 are in Torosay Proper. This place derives its name, signifying in the Gaelic language "the country of hills and water," from the mountainous character of its surface, and the numerous indentations of its shores by arms of the sea. Originally it formed part of the territories of the Macdonalds, lords of the Isles, whose principal residence was at Aros, in the neighbouring parish of Kilninian. In the earlier part of the 14th century, the lands were granted by the Macdonalds to two brothers of the family of the Mc Leans, who, during a visit which they paid to the chieftain Macdonald, had become his sons-in-law; the one fixed his residence at Duart, in the north-eastern, and the other at the head of Loch Buy, in the south-western, extremity of the parish. In a succeeding age, after the death of a Maclaine of Lochbuy, whose son was then an infant, Mc Lean of Duart took forcible possession of his estates, which he annexed to his own, failing, however, to obtain the person of the infant, who was conveyed in safety to Ireland, and placed under the protection of his maternal uncle, ancestor of the present Earl of Antrim. The heir of Lochbuy, on attaining the age of manhood, embarked with a few resolute attendants to recover his paternal estates, and, landing near Lochbuy, was recognised by the tenantry, who reinstated him in his inheritance, which is now mostly the property of his descendant, Murdoch Maclaine, Esq., the principal landowner in the parish. The lands of Mc Lean of Duart afterwards became forfeited to the crown, and were granted, in reward of their eminent services, to the Argyll family, of whom the present Duke sold the lands of Torosay Proper to the late Colonel Macquarrie, of Ulva, from whom they were purchased by Colonel Campbell, of Possil. The other landholders in the parish are, the Macquarrie family, of Glenforsa, the Duke of Argyll, and Duncan Mc Intyre, Esq. There are still considerable remains of the ancient castles of Duart and Lochbuy. The former, situated on the promontory of Duart, consists of a quadrangular range of buildings, with a strong tower of two stories on the north: the walls of the tower are from ten to fourteen feet in thickness, and of more ancient date than the other buildings, on one of the doors of which is the crest of the Mc Leans, with the date 1663. The castle of Lochbuy, situated on a low rock near the head of a lake, consists of a square tower of three stories, of which the two lower have roofs of stone, richly groined: though apparently of equal antiquity to that of Duart, it is in much better preservation. On the east it was defended by a semicircular fosse, which may still be traced; and the entrance was by an embattled gateway, with a portcullis and drawbridge.
The parish is about twenty miles in extreme length, and nearly twelve in extreme breadth, comprising an area of 160 square miles. Not more than 7500 acres are arable and in cultivation, to which, however, 8000 might be added; the large remainder, with the exception of a few acres of plantations, is moorland-pasture and waste incapable of tillage. The surface is hilly and mountainous, and in some parts diversified with glens of considerable extent. The principal mountains are Ben-More and Bentealluidh, rising, the former to an elevation of 3000, and the latter to the height of 2800, feet above the level of the sea, commanding extensive prospects, and forming magnificent features in the landscape as seen from Loch-na-Gaul and the sound of Mull; especially Bentealluidh, which, being of conical form, and clothed with verdure to its summit, combines beauty with grandeur. In addition to these, a chain of mountains of inferior elevation, having one common base, extends through the whole length of the parish; and in a transverse direction, and nearly parallel with each other, are several ranges, the summits of which are peaked. At the head of Lochbuy is the mountain of Ben-Maigh, ascending from an extensive plain to a height nearly equal to that of Bentealluidh. The chief valleys are, Glenmore, Glenforsa, and Glencainail. Glenmore is about ten miles in length, constituting a narrow defile between mountains, and extending from the western to the eastern extremity of the parish; Glenforsa is about five miles in length and three-quarters of a mile in width, reaching from the coast, near Salen, to the base of Bentealluidh, in Glenmore. Glencainail, to the west of Glenforsa, with which it is nearly parallel, is about three miles in length and three-quarters of a mile in breadth, and bounded by a mountain range that separates it from Glenforsa, and by the base of Benmore, near which it terminates; the principal feature of this glen is a fresh-water lake of considerable extent, at the lower extremity.
Among the rivers are, the Lussa, the Forsa, and the Ba. The Lussa has its source in some lakes near Glenmore, from which it flows in a north-eastern direction for nearly two miles, when it deviates towards the south-east: after a rapid course of six miles, it runs into the sea at Loch Spelve. The Forsa takes its rise near the base of the mountain Bentealluidh, and, flowing northward, falls after a course of about four miles, in which it has received the waters from the heights of the glen to which it gives name, into the sound of Mull near Pennygowan. The Ba issues from the lake of that name, in the western portion of the parish, and, passing in a north-western direction, after a course of two miles joins Loch-na-Gaul. There are many inland lakes; the most conspicuous are Loch Ba and Loch Uisge. Loch Ba, which is near the western extremity of the parish, is about seven miles in circumference: Loch Uisge, romantically situated near the head of Loch Buy, an arm of the sea, is five miles in circumference; and owing to the precipitous elevation of its banks, every feature in the surrounding scenery is distinctly reflected on its surface. None of the smaller lakes are remarkable for their extent or any peculiarity of character. The rivers abound with salmon, grilse, and sea-trout; trout of small size are found in all the fresh-water lakes; and in such of them as have communication by rivers with the sea, the fish that ascend the streams frequently remain till the end of spring. The coast is indented with numerous bays, of which the principal are, Loch Buy, on the south; Loch Spelve and Loch Don, on the east; and the bays of Duart, Craignuire, Mac Alister, and Corinachencher, on the north. Loch Buy is about three miles in length and two in width. Loch Spelve is six miles long and about a mile and a half in breadth, communicating with the sea by a lateral opening nearly in the centre of the eastern side, which is supposed to have been produced by some violent convulsion, thus changing the loch from its original character as a fresh-water lake into an arm of the sea. Loch Don is four miles in length, and half a mile in breadth at its entrance, beyond which it contracts itself to a few yards, but again expands into an irregular surface of considerable width. The bay of Mac Alister is two miles wide, and each of the others about a mile. These several bays abound with cod, ling, whiting, plaice, flounders, skate, and lythe; herrings, mackerel, and gurnet, are also taken during the seasons. Oysters and muscles are abundant on the shores of Loch Spelve, especially the former; and in the bays of Duart and Craignuire, shell-fish of circular form, of the size of an oyster, and of little less depth than the cockle, are found in great quantities at low-water. The soil is various; on some of the arable lands, tolerably fertile; near the shores, a deep loam alternated with sand and gravel; and in other parts, clayey: on the higher lands are extensive tracts of peat. The chief crops are oats and bear, with potatoes, turnips, and the usual grasses. The system of husbandry is improved, and considerable breadths of waste land have been reclaimed and brought under cultivation; but the principal reliance of the farmers is upon the rearing of sheep and cattle, for which the hills afford good pasture. The farms are of various extent, and there are many small crofters. The buildings on the larger farms are generally substantial and commodious, and many of the houses are of recent erection; but the cottages of the crofters are of a very inferior order, and few inclosures have been made except on the immediate lands of proprietors. The Laird of Lochbuy is making extensive improvements. The sheep are mostly the black-faced, and much attention is paid to their breed by the importation of "tups" from the southern districts, and of ewe lambs from the mainland of Argyll; the cattle are all of the West Highland black-breed, and under the patronage of an association of gentlemen for their improvement, much benefit is anticipated. The Mull ponies, of small stature, but strong and hardy, and equal to arduous labour, have here, of late, been improved in size; but what they have gained in that respect, is more than counterbalanced by what they have lost in spirit, and in their capability of enduring fatigue. There are some remains of the ancient woods with which, from the discovery of large trunks of trees in all the peat bogs, it seems evident that the parish must have abounded; these consist of copses of oak, ash, mountain-ash, hazel, birch, and holly. The plantations are of recent formation, and consist of larch, and spruce, Scotch, and silver firs, interspersed with elm, alder, beech, and plane, of which the last is found to flourish in some of the most unfavourable situations both with respect to soil and climate. At Fishinish, on the Lochbuy estate, are some large planes in a very thriving condition, while there is scarcely a tree of any kind, or even a shrub, in the neighbourhood. The principal substrata are, trap, sandstone, and coarse limestone, of which the hills are generally composed; granite, in large boulders, occurs near the shore; and rock-crystals, and calc and fluor spars, are found in the rocks. The limestone abounds with fossil remains, chiefly of the testaceous kind. The ateable annual value of the parish is £5008. The principal seats are, Lochbuy House, a handsome manion, erected by the grandfather of the proprietor, at he head of Loch Buy, and at a small distance from the ancient tower, commanding a fine view of the loch, and of the island of Colonsay, in the Atlantic; Achnacroish House, the seat of Colonel Campbell, of Possil, to which considerable additions have been made by the present proprietor; and Glenforsa, the seat of the late Captain Macquarrie. The only village of importance is Salen. Fairs for black-cattle and sheep are held annually, on The lands of Fishinish, on the Tuesday before the last Wednesday in May and October; and a fair for horses on the first Friday after the 20th of August. The postoffice, at Auchnacraig, has three deliveries weekly; and facility of communication is afforded by the district road from the ferry at Auchnacraig to Tobermory, which passes for seventeen miles through the parish, and by the road to Kilfinichen, which intersects the southern portion of the parish for eighteen miles. Steamers ply almost daily in the sound of Mull; the bays are all frequented by trading vessels, and there are ferries to Morvern, Nether Lorn, and Kerrara.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Mull and synod of Argyll. The minister's stipend is £172. 18. 4., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £11 per annum; patron, the Duke of Argyll. The church, erected in 1783, and repaired in 1832, is conveniently situated, and contains 280 sittings, all of which are free; there are also parliamentary churches at Kinlochspelve and Salen. Torosay has three parochial schools; the masters receive salaries of £15 each, with a house and garden, and the fees average about £5 each annually. There are also schools supported from the funds of the General Assembly and the Gaelic Auxiliary Society, of which the masters have salaries of £20 each. At the extremity of Laggan Point, on the south side of Loch Buy, is an excavation in the rock, 300 feet in length, about twenty feet in width at the mouth, and forty feet high: these dimensions it retains for about one-third of its extent, when it expands into a breadth of forty-five feet, and reaches 120 feet in height, which elevation it preserves to its extremity. From the point where it begins to expand, branches off, at an angle of thirty degrees, another cave, 150 feet long, twelve feet broad, and twenty-four feet in height, and which appears to have had an entrance from the sea that is now closed. The whole bears the appellation of din's Cave, which it probably received from the Danes when they had possession of the Hebrides. At Killean, and also at Laggan, are the ruins of ancient chapels of which the history is unknown; and in the buryinggrounds adjacent to them are some richly-sculptured tombstones, supposed to have been removed from the island of Iona. Stone coffins, containing human bones and ashes, have been found in various places, while excavating the ground for the formation of roads; and also some silver coins, among which were a Spanish dollar, a shilling of Queen Elizabeth, and a small coin of Charles II.
Torphichen
TORPHICHEN, a parish, in the county of Linlithgow; containing, with the village of Blackridge, 417 inhabitants, of whom 397 are in the village of Torphichen, 2¾ miles (N. by W.) from Bathgate. This place, which is supposed to have derived its name from its hills, was anciently the seat of a commandery of the Knights of Malta and St. John of Jerusalem, founded in the year 1153 by King Malcolm IV., and more largely endowed by his successors, Alexander II. and III. The establishment received additional grants of land, and various immunities, from succeeding sovereigns till the time of James IV., by whom the privileges were confirmed; and the possessions of the commandery were ultimately erected into a lordship, designated the Lordship of St. John and Commandery of Torphichen. In 1298, Sir William Wallace made the place his head-quarters for some time previously to the battle of Falkirk, in which Alexander de Wells, then commander of Torphichen, was killed. Many of the commanders were distinguished for the important offices they filled in the state, and as members of the council and of parliament; the last, Sir James Sandilands, took an active part in promoting the Reformation. Sir James was succeeded in the lordship of Torphichen by his nephew, Sandilands, of Calder, who made Calder House, which had long been the patrimonial residence of the family, the seat of the lordship. The commandery was now abandoned, and soon fell into decay; the only remains are the choir, which, however, is almost perfect, and is about sixty-six feet in length and twenty feet in breadth within the walls, which are of great thickness. The interior contains many interesting architectural details in the richer Norman style; and at each end is a beautiful window enriched with tracery, beneath one of which is an arched and canopied recess, where the remains of the commanders were placed, during the performance of the funereal rites previously to their interment. In the cemetery is a low square pillar of stone, with a Maltese cross rudely sculptured: from this were measured the limits of the sanctuary of Torphichen, marked by stones similarly sculptured, and within which all persons charged with offences not capital were safe.
The parish is about ten miles in extreme length from east to west, and varies from a mile and a half to about two miles and a half in breadth, comprising an area of 10,430 acres, of which the greater portion is arable, and the rest composed of extensive tracts of hilly moorland, pasture, and plantations. The surface is diversified with ranges of hills, the highest, called Cairn-Naple, having an elevation of 1498 feet. Towards the north are Cockleroi and Bowden hills, from the summits of which are interesting views extending from North Berwick Law to Ben-Lomond, and embracing the city and castle of Edinburgh with Salisbury Craigs and Arthur's Seat, the Frith of Forth, the Fifeshire coast, the Ochils, the ancient town of Stirling, and the Grampians. The ridge of hills immediately above the village forms a continuation of bold circular eminences, and on the western side gradually diminishes into gentle undulations, among which are seen, with beautifully picturesque effect, the village, the church, and the venerable remains of the commandery. The small river Avon flows along the northern boundary of the parish, dividing it from that of Muiravonside; and the Loggie burn, a still smaller stream, for several miles separates the parish from that of Bathgate, and flows into the Avon near Craw Hill. About a mile to the north-east of the village is Loch Cote, a sheet of water about twentytwo acres in extent, surrounded by the hills of Bowden, Cockleroi, and Kipps, and which, after having been drained, has been restored by the present proprietor.
The soil around the village is extremely fertile; and that in other parts, though wet, is well adapted to the growth of timber of every kind. The lands have been mostly inclosed, and improved by draining, and produce favourable crops of grain; the farms are generally small, but the farm-buildings are nevertheless substantial and commodious. Those parts not in cultivation afford good pasturage for the sheep and cattle, which are usually of the common breeds: of the latter, several of the Ayrshire kind have been recently introduced. There are quarries of limestone in the Hilderston and Bowden hills, the latter of which is worked by an adit from the side of the hill; and on Hilderston, and in the hollow between the Kipps hills and the Torphichen range, are coal-mines. At the former of these the coal crops out at the surface, which has an elevation of 800 feet above the level of the sea. There is also a mine on the lands of Bridgecastle; but the coal, though of good quality, is thin, and the mine not now in operation. In the parish are two quarries of granite, and one of sandstone; and on the banks of the Avon is a mine of ironstone, which, however, has not been wrought for many years. In the limestone quarry on Hilderston hill, silver-ore was formerly found, but not of any purity, or in quantity adequate to the expense of extracting it. The rateable annual value of the parish is £6644. The seats are, Wallhouse, Cathlaw, and Lochcote, the last a modern mansion, which, when completed, will be an elegant structure. Bridgecastle, formerly the seat of the earls of Linlithgow, still retains vestiges of its ancient character, and some of the venerable trees by which it was surrounded are in good preservation. Behind the old mansion-house of Craw Hill, on the banks of the Avon, is a chasm called Wallace's cave; and in some clefts in the rock are fine specimens of mosses, of several rare varieties. About two miles to the south-west of Bridgecastle are the foundations of the castle of Ogilface, the ancient seat of the family of De Boscos, barons of Ogilface, and which was a place of considerable strength. There are some vestiges of the castle of Bedlormie, comprising a square tower with a vaulted roof; also remains of the castle of Kipps, of similar character, but smaller dimensions.
The village of Torphichen, consisting of scattered clusters of houses, is pleasantly situated. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in agricultural pursuits and in the quarries; there are likewise two corn-mills, two flax-mills, and two mills for the spinning of wool, part of which is manufactured into shawls. Blackridge is in the western portion of the parish, near the river Avon; it is noticed under its own head. Facility of communication with Linlithgow and the other towns in the neighbourhood is maintained by good roads; the Linlithgow and Glasgow, and the Edinburgh and Glasgow, turnpike-roads passing through the parish. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Linlithgow and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale. The minister's stipend is £163. 13. 7., of which £25. 7. are paid from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £12 per annum: patron, Lord Torphichen. The church, which is adjacent to the ancient commandery, near the eastern extremity of the parish, is a neat building erected in 1756, and containing 550 sittings, of which all are free. A church has been erected in the village of Blackridge, and the members of the Free Church have a place of worship. There are parochial schools at Torphichen and Blackridge; the master of the former has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and his fees average about £14. There are also parochial libraries in both villages. Several stone coffins of rude construction have been found on the high grounds above the Logie burn.
Torrance
TORRANCE, a village, in the parish of Campsie, county of Stirling, 2 miles (W.) from Kirkintilloch; containing 473 inhabitants. This village is situated in the southern extremity of the parish, and on the northern boundary of the parish of Cadder, or Calder, in Lanarkshire. The estate of Torrance once belonged to the Hamiltons, cadets of the illustrious family of that name; it was afterwards sold to the Stuarts, of Castlemilk. The village is on the high road from Lennoxtown to Calder, and a large portion of the population is engaged in the various branches of manufacture connected with the district. One of the parochial schools is situated here; and in the schoolroom divine service is performed on Sunday evenings, owing to the church of Campsie being about five miles distant. The present population in the village, and around it, is stated to be about eight hundred.
Torrisdale
TORRISDALE, a village, in the parish of Tongue, county of Sutherland, 6 miles (N. E. by E.) from the church of Tongue; containing 106 inhabitants. This village is situated on the north coast of the county, at the head of a small bay of its own name, and is the seat of a valuable salmon-fishery. The water of Borgie, also called Torrisdale, issues from Loch Laoghal, and pursuing a northern course, and separating the parish from that of Farr, falls into the sea at the village. At the east side of the bay is a small indentation called the bay of Farr.
Torry
TORRY, or Newmills, a village, in the parish of Torryburn, district of Dunfermline, county of Fife, 1½ mile (E.) of Culross, and ½ a mile (W.) from Torryburn village; containing 411 inhabitants. This village, which was formerly in a flourishing state, has greatly declined in importance since the discontinuance of the extensive salt-works, and of several collieries, in the vicinity. The inhabitants are partly engaged in agricultural pursuits, and partly at the remaining colliery; and from its situation on the Frith of Forth, it participates in the exportation of coal, which is the only trade carried on here.
Torry
TORRY, a village, in the parish of Nigg, county of Kincardine, 1 mile (S. by E.) from Aberdeen; containing 295 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the south shore of the river Dee and harbour of Aberdeen, is inhabited by persons employed in the fisheries, and by a few others engaged in various handicraft trades. The fish taken here are, salmon, with which the river abounds, and cod, haddocks, ling, turbot, and different kinds of shell-fish, all which are found off the coast. The salmon are packed in ice, and sent to the London market, and the white-fish chiefly to the market of Aberdeen. Three boats also, of fourteen tons' burthen, with crews of six men, belonging to this place, go during the season to the herring-fishery on the north coast. There is a pier, at which vessels occasionally land supplies of various articles; but since the breaking up of a Greenland company, which had a boiling-establishment here, it has not been much frequented. A school in the village is supported by the fees.
Torryburn
TORRYBURN, a parish, in the district of Dunfermline, county of Fife; containing, with the villages of Torryburn, Torry, and Crombie-Point, 1435 inhabitants, of whom 602 are in the village of Torryburn, 4 miles (W. by S.) from Dunfermline. This place takes its name from the situation of the church and principal village on the burn of Torry, and comprises the ancient parish of Crombie, which, after its church had fallen into decay, was annexed to Torryburn about the year 1620. The parish is bounded on the south by the Frith of Forth; it is situated at the south-western extremity of the county, and is about five miles in length and from one to two miles in breadth, comprising an area of 3520 acres. The surface is beautifully varied; and the higher grounds command fine views of the Frith and the opposite coasts, with the castle, and part of the city, of Edinburgh. The lower grounds are watered by the Torry, which flows into the Frith; and two small streams form part of the boundaries of the parish on the east and west. The lands off the shore are dry at low-water, and a considerable portion of rich soil might be recovered from the sea, by embankment, at a very moderate expense. The soil of the parish is various, but generally fertile, producing crops of wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and turnips. The system of agriculture is in an improved state; the farm-buildings are substantial and well arranged; the land has been well drained and inclosed, and all the more recent improvements in implements of husbandry have been adopted. The substratum is chiefly coal, of which many mines were formerly in operation; at present, one only is wrought, affording employment to sixty men. There is a seam of fine parrot coal, of excellent quality for gas, and of which 2500 tons are annually raised; and from another seam, of rough splint coal, about 6000 tons are produced. The rateable annual value of the parish amounts to £5978. Torrie House, the seat of Capt. James Erskine Wemyss, is a handsome mansion finely situated, and once contained a valuable collection of paintings, which were bequeathed by the late Sir John Erskine to the university of Edinburgh. There are also the houses of Craigflower, Inzievar, and Oakley, all pleasant residences.
The village of Torryburn is on the road from Dunfermline to Alloa, and was formerly a town of considerable trade; but since the discontinuance of the saltworks here, which were very extensive, and the abandonment of many of the collieries, it has greatly declined. About 6000 tons of coal, however, are still shipped annually from the pier (which is in a very indifferent state of repair); and at present there are seven vessels, of 320 tons' aggregate burthen, used in what remains of its extensive trade in coal. The inhabitants of the parish are now chiefly employed in agriculture, and in the weaving of damask, and of cotton goods for the houses of Glasgow, in which branches of manufacture about sixty persons are engaged; and many of the females are occupied in tambour work and the flowering of muslin. A fair, chiefly for pleasure and toys, and which generally terminates in a horse-race, is held annually on the village green, on the second Wednesday in July. Facilities of communication are afforded by the turnpike-road from Dunfermline, which passes for four miles through the parish; and by means of a boat from Crombie-Point, access is obtained to the steamers in the Frith of Forth, that ply between Stirling and Edinburgh. The hamlet of Crombie-Point contains 54 inhabitants, who are partly employed in agriculture, and partly in the collieries. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dunfermline and synod of Fife. The minister's stipend is £179. 4. 4., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £10. 13. 4.; patrons, the representatives of the late Rev. Dr. Erskine, of Carnock. The church, which is situated at the east end of the village, was rebuilt in 1800, and is a neat plain structure in good repair, containing 502 sittings, nearly the whole free. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship. The parochial school is attended by about eighty children; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £36 per annum. There are other schools, two of which are chiefly for teaching girls to read and sew. Some remains exist of the ancient church of Crombie, situated on an eminence overlooking the Frith of Forth; and there are some upright stones in the parish, supposed to have been erected in commemoration of a battle which had taken place near the spot, but of which there is no distinct record.
Torsay
TORSAY, an island, in the parish of Kilbrandon and Kilchattan, district of Lorn, county of Argyll. This small isle lies in a sound encompassed by the islands of Seil, Luing, and Shuna, and on the west by the main land of Nether Lorn: it has a quarry of excellent slate, and is inhabited. There is an ancient tower here, which at one period belonged to the great Macdonald, who made it his half-way hunting-seat in his progress from Cantyre to his northern isles; and hence it was called Dog Castle. Macdonald invariably resided in the tower until he had expended the whole of the revenue collected by him in the neighbourhood.
Torthorwald
TORTHORWALD, a parish, in the county of Dumfries; containing, with the villages of Collin and Roucan, 1346 inhabitants, of whom 178 are in the village of Torthorwald, 4¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Dumfries. This place derives its name, signifying in the Saxon language the "Tower of Thor in the wood," from the ruins of an ancient castle nearly in the centre of the parish, which is said to have been originally surrounded by an extensive forest. Of this tower, which, from the remains, appears to have been erected during the Saxon heptarchy, little of the earlier history has been preserved, though probably it was raised in honour of Thor, the chief of the Saxon deities; it was subsequently the residence of the Torthorwald family, of whom David de Torthorwald swore fealty to Edward I. of England, at Berwick, in 1291. The castle and the lands were afterwards the property of Sir William Carlyle, Knt., who married the sister of Robert Bruce, and whose son obtained from that monarch a grant of the whole barony of Torthorwald, which in the reign of James III. was confirmed to his descendant, Sir John Carlyle, who was elevated to the peerage by the title of Lord Carlyle. After the decease of Michael, Lord Carlyle, without issue male, the estate passed to his grand-daughter, Elizabeth, who conveyed it, with the title, to Sir James Douglas, on the death of whose son, in 1638, the title became extinct, and the estate went into the possession of William, the first earl of Queensberry, whose descendant, the marquess, is now the principal proprietor of Torthorwald.
The parish is bounded by the river Lochar, separating it from the parish of Dumfries, and is about six miles and a half in extreme length, varying greatly in breadth, and comprising 5500 acres; 2600 are arable, 1050 meadow and pasture, and the remainder, of which but little is capable of being reclaimed, moss and waste. The surface in the west, along the river, is low, forming a portion of the tract called Lochar Moss; but towards the east it rises into a ridge of hills of considerable elevation, of which one, the Beacon, commands an extensive view over the surrounding country, embracing the southern portion of Dumfriesshire, the eastern parts of Galloway, the coast of Cumberland, Solway Frith, and the Irish Channel. The river, which for more than seven miles forms the western boundary of the parish, flows in a gently winding course southward, through the centre of Lochar Moss, and, deviating towards the east, falls into the Solway Frith. This river, from the level nature of the ground, has scarcely any perceptible current; it abounds with pike, perch, trout, and eels, and the adjacent moss is frequented by numbers of wild-ducks, teal, plovers, and moor-fowl of various kinds.
The soil is various; for some breadth to the east of the moss, light and sandy, and well adapted for turnips, potatoes, and barley; for some distance up the sides of the ridge, of stronger quality, and equally fertile, producing excellent crops of wheat; and thence to the summit of the ridge, of an inferior description, cold, and resting on a substratum of retentive till. The crops are, oats, barley, wheat, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual grasses. The system of husbandry has been gradually improving; and the lands have mostly been inclosed, partly with stone dykes, which, however, soon fall into decay from the perishable nature of the stone, and partly with hedges of thorn, which, with moderate attention, are kept in good order. The lands in general are better adapted for tillage than for pasture; but owing to the introduction of turnip-husbandry, 2000 sheep are upon the average annually fed on the turnips, and sent to distant markets. Considerable attention is also paid to the management of the dairy-farms, on which about 360 cows are pastured; and large quantities of milk, butter, eggs, and poultry are forwarded to Dumfries. The cattle, of which about 500 are reared yearly, are of the Galloway breed; and 400 swine are annually fattened. There are scarcely any plantations, and no remains of ancient wood, though the numbers of trunks of trees dug up in the mosses afford sufficient evidence that the parish was originally thickly wooded; oak, fir, birch, and hazel trees, several of them of great size, are met with in a sound state, and used by carpenters for various purposes. The substrata are chiefly greywacke and transition rock, of which the ridge is chiefly composed; stones found on the surface of the lands are employed for constructing dykes for inclosures on some of the farms, but there are neither quarries nor mines. The rateable annual value of the parish is £4960.
The village of Torthorwald is situated on the acclivity of the ridge, about half way from its base, and on the road from Lockerbie to Dumfries; it consists chiefly of clusters of cottages, irregularly built, and inhabited by persons employed in agriculture, and in the various handicraft trades requisite for the neighbourhood. Letters are delivered regularly every day from the postoffice at Dumfries; and facility of communication is afforded by turnpike-roads, which pass for more than seven miles through the parish, and by roads kept in repair by statute labour. The villages of Collin and Roucan are described under their respective heads. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery and synod of Dumfries; the minister's stipend is £220. 15. 10., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum; patron, the Marquess of Queensberry. The church, conveniently situated nearly in the centre of the parish, is a neat substantial structure, erected in 1782, and containing 500 sittings, all of which are free. There are two parochial schools; one is near the church, and the other in the village of Collin. The master of the former has a salary of £31. 6. 6., with a house and garden; and the fees average about £28, in addition to which he receives the interest of a bequest of £160. The master of the school at Collin has a salary of £20, with a house, and three-quarters of an acre of land reclaimed from the moss; and the school fees average £20. The number of children attending these schools is 150, on the average. The remains of the ancient castle are situated on rising ground near the church, and form an interesting and picturesque feature in the scenery of the parish; the building appears to have been strongly fortified; and the walls, of extraordinary thickness, seem likely, from their solidity, to bid defiance to the ravages of time. On the west, and also on the east, of the castle, are the remains of a British camp, thirty yards in diameter, and surrounded in some parts with two, and in others with three, strong intrenchments. The parish was the burying-place of the family of the first lord Douglas of Dornock, who was proprietor of the castle, and on whose decease it was suffered to fall into ruin.
Torwood
TORWOOD, a village, in the parish of Dunipace, county of Stirling, 4 miles (N. W.) from Falkirk; containing 151 inhabitants. This village, which is chiefly inhabited by persons engaged in agriculture, is beautifully situated near what remains of the Caledonian forest, and is distinguished for the venerable ruins of Torwood Castle, the ancient residence of the lords Forrester. By marriage with the daughter of the second lord, it became the property of the Baillie family, from whom it was purchased by the grandfather of Colonel Dundas, the present proprietor. The high road from Falkirk to Stirling passes through the village. The remains of the castle are surrounded by a richly-wooded demesne, in which was once an oak twelve feet in diameter, wherein it is said the celebrated Sir William Wallace concealed himself after the battle of Falkirk. Near the site of this oak, Donald Cargill pronounced sentence of excommunication against Charles II., the Duke of York, and others, in Sept., 1680; but this act was never publicly ratified by Presbyterians.
Tough
TOUGH, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 5 miles (S. E. by E.) from Alford; containing 762 inhabitants. This place is situated partly in the northern and western portions of the Corrennie range, or "Red hill," and partly in the vale of the river Don, occupying that extension of it called the Vale of Alford, though in no part does it reach to the bank of the river. Its figure is altogether irregular; its length from south-west to north-east is between five and six miles, and its breadth varies from half a mile to upwards of three miles, the whole comprising, exclusively of a large tract of hills bounding the parish on the south, 5650 acres, of which 2300 are in tillage, 1100 in plantations, and 2250 uncultivated. The rugged and unequal nature of the surface, which consists of valleys and mountains, and its general elevation of 420 feet above the level of the sea, produce much diversity in the scenery, climate, and soil; the district is exposed to many vicissitudes of weather, and in the early part of the winter the low grounds, which are damp and marshy, often suffer from sharp frosts. The Corrennie hill, rising to the height of 1578 feet, forms a protection for the subjacent vales, and affords commanding views from its summit of all the local scenery, which, however, though well watered with rivulets and good springs, is destitute of any considerable stream. The prevailing soil is a light reddish mould, shallow, and rather sharp, but of good quality; the best lands are those stretched along the bases, or on the lower acclivities, of the hills. Oats and bear are the grain here raised; and the green crops consist principally of turnips and potatoes, of which the former are by far the most extensively cultivated, the latter being grown only for domestic consumption. The grounds receive large supplies of bonemanure, which is often mixed with dung. The cattle here are a very superior stock, being in general the old Aberdeenshire, crossed with the West Highland and other sorts, and not unfrequently with the Teeswater; the sheep are mostly the black-faced, but are comparatively few in number, and kept by the farmers who dwell near the hill. About 1000 head of cattle are usually kept on the pastures, the farmers making the fattening of them a leading object; they are fed during the winter on oat-straw and turnips, and sent to market when about three years old. The annual average value of the agricultural produce is £7400, of which £4000 are returned for grain alone. The rotation system is followed, and various other improvements have been introduced, among which the most important are, the adoption of the new plough, the cultivation of turnips, the growth of different grasses, the free use of lime for manure, and the cleaning and draining of the grounds. These have placed the husbandry of the parish upon an entirely new and superior footing; and in addition to the direct cultivation of the soil, the subsidiary aids to good farming have met with much attention, especially the erection of threshing-mills, of which there are about twenty, mostly turned by water, the construction of stone dykes for fences, and the building of good farm houses and offices.
The predominant rock is red granite, and mica-slate interlaid with granitic veins; magnesian limestone is found, and also boulders of blue granite in various places, with red slate, clay-stone, and very beautiful felspar-porphyry supplying excellent stones for building. The red granite is frequently dug out of beds, and used for repairing roads. A clay-stone and porphyry-dyke of a reddish hue, and of very compact texture, traverses the eastern side of the parish, and continues for several miles. The plantations, in the midst of the most luxuriant of which is inclosed the garden of Tonley, an exquisitely beautiful spot in a picturesque dell, cover most of the higher grounds, and, among many varieties, contain Scotch fir, larch, and spruce, all of large bulk and height, and yielding excellent timber. Tonley, the seat of the late eminent antiquary, James Byres, Esq., is a handsome modern mansion erected on the site of a former house, part of which is included in it; and is surrounded by beautifully laid-out grounds, ornamented with many fine old trees. The mansion of Whitehouse, also in the midst of flourishing plantations, occupies the south-west portion of a hill, and commands fine prospects of the fertile vale of Alford, and the adjacent mountains. The turnpike-road from Aberdeen to Strathdon passes through the northern quarter, and that from the same place to Tarland touches on the south; there is also a good road to Kintore, about thirteen miles distant. Thither the produce of Tough is occasionally sent, being conveyed thence by canal to Aberdeen; but the direct route to Aberdeen by the road is generally preferred. Many black-cattle from this place are shipped for the London market; and butter, cheese, and large quantities of eggs, are also taken for sale to Aberdeen, the last amounting to about 6000 dozens yearly. About 3000 pairs of good worsted stockings, also, are annually knitted by females here, for a manufacturing establishment at the same place. The rateable annual value of the parish is £2450.
The parish is ecclesiastically in the presbytery of Alford, synod of Aberdeen, and in the patronage of Sir John Forbes, Bart. The minister's stipend is £159, of which above a fifth is paid by the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe of six acres valued at £7. 10. per annum. The church, containing 550 sittings, is a handsome edifice, built in 1838, and conveniently situated for the larger part of the people. By a decree of the Court of Teinds within the present century, this parish was annexed to that of Keig; and on account of the saving thus made of £57. 17. paid to the two ministers previously, from the exchequer, under the Small-stipend act, the government agreed to advance £1200 towards the erection of a bridge at Keig, over the river Don. This annexation, however, after having been effected upon the death of one of the incumbents, in 1832, according to the decree, was found so inconvenient and unsatisfactory that it was dissolved, and the parishes now remain in their former state. The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches; the master has a salary of £25. 13. 4., a house, an allowance from the Dick bequest, and £5 fees. A school, also, for girls, under the direction of the Kirk Session, receives an auxiliary sum annually from the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge. The interest of £200, left by the late Peter Mc Combie, is annually distributed among the poor. There is a subscription library containing between 400 and 500 volumes. Many Druidical circles are to be seen; the largest is called the Auld Kirk of Tough, and is surrounded by tumuli. On the hill above Whitehouse is a monumental stone more than twelve feet high, called Luath's stone, from a son of Macbeth, who, according to tradition, in his flight from Lumphanan, where his father had been slain, fell here. Two stone collars, of the shape of those used for horses, but only of a size to fit a pony, are preserved as curiosities, among many others, at the mansion-house of Tonley, the late proprietor of which, Mr. Byres, who died here at an advanced age, was celebrated for his profound acquaintance with architectural antiquities and the fine arts, and delivered public lectures on these subjects at Rome, where he long resided.
Towie
TOWIE, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 4½ miles (S. W.) from Kildrummy; containing 748 inhabitants. This place, of which the former name was Kilbartha, from a cell or church dedicated to St. Bertha, and subsequently Kinbattoch, from its situation at the head of a grove, is supposed to have derived its present appellation, signifying in the Gaelic language "the North Country," from its relative position in respect of other localities in the county. After the Reformation it appears to have formed part of the possessions of the family of the Forbes's, of whose manorial residence, Towie Castle, there are still some portions remaining, and whose descendants, the Honourable Lord Forbes, and Sir Charles Forbes, Bart., still retain land in the parish. The first occurrence worthy of notice was in the reign of Edward I. of England, when a party of English, under the command of Lord Atholl, marching through Towie to besiege the castle of Kildrummy, at that time almost the only fortress in the hands of Robert Bruce, was repulsed by the people of the district with great slaughter. Few other historical events of importance are recorded in connexion with the place, till the 16th century, when a party of unreformed Gordons set fire to the mansion of the family of Forbes, which had been just erected, and the whole of the unfortunate inmates perished. The metrical legend, however, that records this catastrophe, confounds the circumstances with others of a like nature which are unconnected with it; and consequently, the exact names of the parties engaged or suffering on the occasion cannot now be learned.
The parish is nearly four miles in length, and about three miles and a half in breadth; it is of pretty regular form, but its superficial contents have not been correctly ascertained. Nearly 3000 acres of the land, however, are arable; and the remainder, with the exception of a moderate extent of woodland and plantations, is hill pasture, moor, and waste. The surface is abruptly diversified, and almost surrounded with hills of considerable height, the Soccoch hills, on the south-east, attaining an elevation of 2000 feet above the level of the sea; the hills in the interior are mostly of undulating form, and covered with heath. The aspect of the district towards the south, is bleak and rather destitute of interest. The river Don traverses the parish from west to east, dividing it into two nearly equal portions, and making in its course several graceful windings: from the rapidity of its current through a narrow gravelly channel, it frequently overflows its banks, and lays waste the low lands on either side. The water of Deskry bounds the parish for almost a mile on the west, and taking a north-western course, flows into the Don; the burn of Kindie runs along the north-western boundary of the parish into the same river, which also receives several smaller streams that have their rise in the south and south-east of Towie. The Don abounds with trout of large size and of very superior quality, and formerly salmon were taken in great numbers; but since the use of stake-nets at the mouth, and cruives in the lower parts of the stream, few salmon have ascended so high up the river. The moors are the resort of grouse, partridges, snipes, woodcocks, and wild-ducks, affording ample recreation for sportsmen; many hares are to be found, and considerable numbers of roe-deer are seen in several parts.
The soil is generally a light friable loam, of no great depth, resting on a gravelly bottom; but in some few places clay, with a hard retentive subsoil. The chief crops are oats and barley, with potatoes, some flax, and the various grasses; and within the last few years, the cultivation of vegetables of most kinds has been gradually increasing. The system of husbandry has been greatly improved; much waste land has been reclaimed; and the steep acclivities of the hills, previously considered as inaccessible to the plough, are now under good cultivation to a considerable height above their base. The lands have been drained and partly inclosed; the farm houses and offices, with very few exceptions, are substantial and commodious; a due regard is paid to a regular rotation of crops, and most of the more recent improvements in the construction of agricultural implements have been adopted. The hills afford good pasture for sheep and black-cattle, of which numbers are reared, and much attention is paid to the improvement of the breeds; the sheep, when fattened, are sent chiefly to the Aberdeen market, and the black-cattle sold, when young, to dealers for the supply of the English markets. There are considerable remains of ancient wood in the north-western part of the parish, and the plantations have for some time been increasing. The rocks are mainly of the trap, magnesian, and primitive limestone formations. The limestone was formerly wrought for agricultural purposes; but owing to its inferior quality, and the difficulty of obtaining fuel, the working of it has been discontinued; and though there are pretty certain indications of freestone, yet from the wet and low situation in which the material occurs, it has not been thought advisable to open any quarries. The rateable annual value of the parish is returned at £2383.
There are no villages. The St. Andrew Masonic lodge, here, was instituted in 1814, and a spacious hall erected in 1821; the buildings comprise also an excellent and well-frequented inn. A public library, which contains more than 500 volumes of standard works on theology, history, and general literature, was established in 1827, and is well supported by subscription. Fairs, chiefly for cattle, are held annually near the Masonic lodge, at Glenkindie, on the first Monday after Trinity Muir fair in April, and the first Saturday after that of Keith in September; there are also fairs for hiring servants on the days after Whitsuntide and Martinmas. Facility of comunication is afforded by the Aberdeen turnpike-road, which passes through the north of the parish; by the old road from that city, which intersects it on the south; by tolerable roads kept in repair by statute labour, and bridges over the river Don. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Alford and synod of Aberdeen. The minister's stipend is £159. 6. 1., of which about onesixth part is paid from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe valued at £10 per annum: patron, Sir Alexander Leith, K. C. B. The church, situated nearly in the centre of the parish, is a plain substantial structure with a small campanile turret. The parochial school affords instruction to about ninety children: the master has a salary of £28, with a house and garden, and the fees average £20; he has also a portion of the Dick bequest. Of the ancient castle of Towie, one square tower is remaining, but in a very ruinous state. There are ruins of ancient chapels at Nether Towie, Kinbattoch, Belnaboth, Ley, and Sinnahard; and on the farm of Kinbattoch are several tumuli in which, on being opened in 1750, were found some kistvaens containing urns, human bones, trinkets, and some Roman medals. On the Glaschul, or "grey moor," are also tumuli, which appear to have been raised in commemoration of the defeat of Lord Atholl and his party; and at Fechley is a mound sixty feet in height, 200 feet in length, and 127 feet in breadth, surrounded at the base by a broad fosse, and on the summit of which are the remains of a vitrified fort.
Tradeston
TRADESTON, a suburb of the city of Glasgow, in the parish of Gorbals, county of Lanark. This flourishing place, which is situated on the south bank of the river Clyde, and forms one of the most interesting of the suburbs, was founded in 1790, for which purpose lands were purchased from the Trades' House and corporation of the city. It consists of several spacious and well-formed streets, intersecting each other at right angles, and of which the principal are in a direction nearly parallel with the river. The houses are generally three and four stories in height, handsomely built of stone, and roofed with slate; and attached to each is a court-yard or garden: the streets are lighted with gas, and the inhabitants amply supplied with water. Facility of communication with the city is afforded by the Jamaica-street bridge, from which, on this side of the river, a spacious quay extends towards the west for nearly 700 yards, in front of the Clyde-buildings, an elegant range of houses, beautifully situated in Clyde-street, which, with Carlton-place, forms an extensive and delightful promenade on the margin of the river. The inhabitants include many of the most opulent merchants and manufacturers of the city, and others connected with the trade of the port; and some of the population are employed in the various branches of manufacture carried on in the vicinity. A factory for the weaving of silk veils, satin, velvet, and other articles, affords employment to fifty persons; the bleaching and printing of cotton and calico are also on a considerable scale.
Trailflat
TRAILFLAT, a hamlet, in the parish of Tinwald, county of Dumfries, 3 miles (N. W. by W.) from Lochmaben; containing 44 inhabitants. This is a very small place, lying in the eastern part of the parish, and watered by the river Ae. The lands around it formed an ancient parish, now united to Tinwald, which see.
Tranent
TRANENT, a parish, in the county of Haddington; containing, with the villages of Cockenzie, Elphinstone, Meadowmill, and Portseaton, 3887 inhabitants, of whom 2000 are in the town of Tranent, 7 miles (W.) from Haddington, and 10 (E.) from Edinburgh. The name of this place is of uncertain derivation, though it is generally supposed to be of Gaelic origin, and descriptive of the position of the ancient village at the head of a deep ravine watered by a small rivulet. Tranent has been the residence of some of the most distinguished families of antiquity, and was the frequent resort of many of the earlier Scottish monarchs, and, in subsequent times, the scene of many events of historical importance. On the invasion of Scotland by the Earl of Hertford, in 1544, the parish church was plundered, and almost destroyed, by the English soldiers under his command, who defaced and burnt the timber-work of the interior, and carried away the bells and every thing of value. During the invasion of the country by the English under the Protector, the Duke of Somerset, in 1547, an engagement took place here between the English and Scottish cavalry, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of 1300 men. After this defeat, many of the Scots, having taken refuge in the coal-pits in the parish, were pursued by the English, who, unable to dislodge them from their retreat, stopped up all the avenues that admitted air to the mine, and kindled large fires at the entrances, with a view either of forcing them to surrender or of suffocating them. The battle of Pinkie occurred on the following day, September 10, in which, according to some historians, 14,000 of the Scots were slain by the English. In 1745, the battle of Preston was fought within less than a mile from the parish church, on the 21st of September, when the royal forces, consisting of nearly 3000 men, were defeated by the Scottish adherents to the fortunes of the Pretender. After the engagement, the military chest belonging to the royal army was found at Cockenzie. In this battle, Colonel Gardiner was killed while endeavouring to rally a body of infantry near the present village of Meadowmill; he was buried in the parish church, and the bodies of others who were slain were interred on the farm of Thorntree-Mains, where, towards the close of the century, some of the bodies were discovered by workmen employed in making a drain, their clothes being in such preservation as to distinguish the royalists from their opponents.
The parish is about five miles in length from north-east to south-west, and three miles in breadth; it is bounded on the north by the Frith of Forth, and comprises 5464 acres, of which, with the exception of 100 in woodland and plantations, and about fifty along the sea-shore, the whole are arable. The surface rises in gentle undulations from the Frith towards the south, attaining at its greatest height an elevation of 300 feet above the level of the sea; the sea-shore is flat and sandy, and the coast, which extends for about two miles, is a regular range of greenstone rock. The scenery is not strikingly varied, but is generally pleasing, and in some parts enriched with wood; and the views from the higher grounds embrace many interesting and romantic features. The lands are watered by a few small rivulets, which are concentrated in the coal-field, and thence conveyed to the sea in one united stream, thus rendered powerful enough to give motion to several mills in its progress. The soil towards the coast is light and sandy, though of late considerably improved; in some parts, an unproductive moor, of which a portion has been reclaimed by draining; in others, a deep, rich, and fertile loam, occasionally intermixed with clay. The crops are, wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and turnips. The system of agriculture is in a highly improved state; the lands are inclosed with hedges of thorn, kept in good order; tile-draining has been carried on to a very great extent, and rape and bone-dust manures have been introduced: the farm-buildings are substantial. The woods consist of oak, elm, and plane; and the plantations, which are chiefly on the grounds of St. Germain's, of every variety of forest-trees, for all which the soil is favourable with the exception of fir, which is not found to thrive well.
The substratum of the parish generally is of the coal formation, intersected in some places with dykes of trap; and towards the coast, greenstone and whinstone are found. The coal has been wrought from a remote period: the upper seam is from six to nine inches in thickness, of very good quality, and found at about 220 feet below the surface. The second seam, at a depth varying from fifty to eighty feet below the first, is about five feet thick; and at a further depth of from thirty to fifty feet is a third seam, three feet in thickness. About 100 feet lower is a seam of four feet, and there is another of five feet, which has not been wrought. In addition to these, a thin seam of cannel coal has been found on the lands of Falside. The mines were extensively wrought by the Seaton family, afterwards earls of Wintoun, who obtained a grant of the lands from Robert Bruce, and were formerly cleared from water by levels cut through the rocks, though now chiefly by steam-engines: the produce was generally conveyed to the port on the backs of horses. After the forfeiture of the estates by the Earl of Wintoun, the works were sold to the York Building Company, of London, who, in 1722, laid down a tram-road of wood, which continued till 1815, when an iron railroad was constructed by the Messrs. Cadell, who had obtained possession of the mines in this parish, and who still work them. About 400 persons are employed in the collieries; and the produce, averaging 60,000 tons annually, is shipped from Cockenzie. Freestone is extensively quarried for building, and whinstone for mending the roads; some faint indications of ironstone have been observed; and in the sandstone quarries, various fossils of trees, and specimens of fern, are found. The rateable annual value of the parish is £15,081. The chief mansion-house is St. Germain's, the residence of David Anderson, Esq., an ancient structure originally a preceptory of the Knights Templars, conferred, on the suppression of their order, by James IV. on the principal and fellows of King's College, Aberdeen; it is pleasantly situated in grounds richly planted, and containing many stately trees of luxuriant growth. The village, or town, is mostly inhabited by persons connected with, and working in, the coal-mines; and several of the people are employed in the salt-works carried on here, which were introduced by the Earl of Wintoun in 1630. Facility of intercourse with the market-towns of Haddington and Dalkeith is afforded by good roads, which pass through the parish; and there is a daily post to Haddington and Edinburgh.
The parish was anciently of much greater extent than at present, including the whole of the parish of Prestonpans, which was severed from it in 1606, and also parts of the parishes of Gladsmuir and Pencaitland. It is in the presbytery of Haddington, synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and patronage of the Crown; the minister's stipend is £295. 13. 5., with a manse, and the glebe is valued at £20 per annum. The church, erected in 1801, is a neat substantial structure adapted for a congregation of 912 persons, and containing twenty free sittings. A church was erected in the village of Cockenzie in 1838, by subscription, aided by grants from the General Assembly and the East Lothian Church Extension Society, and £150 raised by the Rev. A. Forman, of Innerwick; it is a neat edifice containing 452 sittings, from the rents of which is derived the minister's income. There are in the village of Tranent places of worship for members of the Free Church and United Secession. The parochial school affords a liberal course of instruction to about 100 children; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with £40 fees, and a house and garden. In the village of Tranent are three schools supported by subscription; and a subscription library is also maintained, which has a useful collection of volumes. An hospital was founded near the village of Meadowmill by the late Mr. George Stiell, of Edinburgh, who endowed it with property producing an income of £900 per annum, for the maintenance and education of a limited number of boys and girls, and for the support of a free day-school. This institution, for which a handsome building has been erected, at an expense of £3000, is under the direction of governors, consisting of the Lord Justice Clerk, the sheriff of the county, and others; the boys' school is under the care of two masters, of whom the first has a salary of £40, and the second of £30 per annum, with board and lodging, and the girls' under a mistress who has a salary of £18. There are no longer any remains of the old palace of Seaton, which was frequently the resort of the ancient monarchs of Scotland while in possession of the Seaton family; the few remains that formerly existed were removed to make room, and afford materials, for a modern house, by the late proprietor of the estate. When James VI. was on his way to England after his accession to the throne, the funeral of the first earl of Wintoun was proceeding from the palace; and the king, out of respect to this friend of his family, ordered his retinue to halt, and remained in the garden till the procession had passed. The ancient church of Seaton, to which considerable additions were made by the Seaton family, was a beautiful structure in the decorated English style of architecture; and the remains are carefully preserved by the Earl of Wemyss, the present proprietor of the estate. The castle of Falside, which offered resistance to the progress of the Duke of Somerset, was burnt on the morning of the battle of Pinkie; but from the great strength of its walls, a considerable portion is still remaining, to which some additions have been made.
Traquair
TRAQUAIR, a parish, in the county of Peebles, 8 miles (S. E.) from Peebles; containing 682 inhabitants. This place, of which the name is supposed to be a modification of Strath-Quair, or "the Valley of the river Quair," is not distinguished by many incidents of historical importance: the Marquess of Montrose, however, is said to have rested here, at the house of the Earl of Traquair, on the night after the battle of Philiphaugh. In 1674, the greater portion of the ancient parish of Kailzie, which was at that time suppressed, was united to this parish, and the remainder to the parish of Innerleithen. Traquair is situated in the eastern portion of the county, and bounded on the north by the river Tweed; it is about eight miles in length from east to west, and five miles in breadth, and comprises 17,600 acres, of which 3000 are arable, 600 woodland and plantations, and the remainder hilly moorland and sheep pastures. The surface is very hilly, with some tracts of valley on the banks of the Tweed and the Quair. The hills in some parts attain a mountainous elevation; the highest are, Minchmoor, nearly 2300 feet above the level of the sea, situated in the eastern part of the parish, and Gumscleugh, in the west, which is about 2500 feet high, and was selected as one of the stations for carrying on the trigonometrical survey of Great Britain. The other hills, though rather steep, are not of very great height, and afford good pasturage for sheep. Among the hills, near Gumscleugh, are the banks of Glendean, forming a strikingly romantic chasm between rocks of nearly perpendicular elevation, which extend for more than half a mile on both sides. The lands are intersected by numerous streams, of which the Quair is the principal; it has its source within the parish, through which it flows for five or six miles, receiving in its devious course many streamlets and burns, whereof the Glengaber and the Glenlude are the most considerable. Other burns fall into the Tweed near the eastern extremity of the parish. This river contains abundance of salmon at certain seasons, but, from so long a run, they are seldom of good quality; trout, however, of excellent quality abound both in the river and in the Quair, and also in the several burns that flow into them.
The soil is generally light and thin, and on some grounds appears to be much exhausted; the crops are, oats, barley, wheat, potatoes, and turnips. The system of agriculture is improved, and the lands are mostly well drained and inclosed; but the distance from limeworks and collieries, which is not less than twenty miles, and the acclivity of the farm roads for conveying manure, greatly retard advancement. The farm-houses are substantial and commodious, and the various improvements in the construction of agricultural implements have been adopted. Much attention is paid to the breed of live-stock. The cattle are the Teeswater or short-horned, with an occasional cross of the Ayrshire; the number reared is not very great, but considerable numbers are bought, and fed for the market. The sheep are almost entirely of the Cheviot breed, and about 7000 are annually pastured on the hills; of these, 1200 are fed off chiefly on turnips; and about 2300 lambs are generally disposed of in the autumn. The woods include ash, beech, elm, and plane, which seem best adapted to the soil, though forest-trees of every kind have been planted, and thrive well: there is little very ancient timber remaining. The plantations are mostly Scotch fir, spruce, and larch, of which fine specimens are found in the demesnes of the resident heritors. The substrata are mainly whinstone of various qualities, with some slate, but of inferior quality, and not much used, one small quarry of it only having been wrought. A vein of porphyry is found in the hills; but there are no mineral ores of any note. Traquair House, the seat of the Earl of Traquair, is an extensive mansion, of which part is of very great antiquity, though the precise time of its erection is not known. The mansions of Cardrona, Kailzie, and the Glen, are also elegant residences, situated in well-planted demesnes commanding much interesting scenery. The parish has facility of communication with the neighbouring places by good roads, of which the turnpike-road to Edinburgh passes near. The rateable annual value of Traquair is £5565. It is in the presbytery of Peebles, synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and patronage of the Crown: the minister's stipend is £216. 3., with a manse, and the glebe is valued at £20 per annum. The church, built in 1778, and improved in 1840, is situated nearly in the centre of the parish, but at a remote distance from those portions of it which are most thickly inhabited; it is adapted for a congregation of 350 persons. At Traquair House is a private Roman Catholic chapel for the family; but there are no other places of worship in the parish. The parochial school affords a useful course of instruction to the children of the parish; the master has a salary of £34. 4., with £25 fees, and a good house and garden. A handsome and commodious parochial school-house was recently erected by the heritors. A friendly society has been established in the vicinity, but has tended little to diminish the number of applications to the poor's fund. Near the house of Cardrona are remains of a British camp. An urn of Roman bronze, and a small battle-axe, were found in making a drain on the lands of Kailzie; and several sepulchral urns containing ashes have been found at various times. On the outside wall of the church is a tablet to Mr. Brodie, a native of this place, who, as an iron-master in the county of Salop, in England, accumulated property to the amount of nearly half a million sterling. The Earl of Traquair takes his title from this place.
Treishnish
TREISHNISH, isles, in the parish of Kilninian, county of Inverness. These are a cluster of small islands, lying about four leagues westward of the Island of Mull, and in the vicinity of Staffa. One of the principal, Cairn-burgh-more, was formerly considered by the natives as a place of great strength, and its castle was generally occupied by a small party; it is a high rock, of considerable extent, and inaccessible on all sides except by one narrow pass. Another, Cairn-burghbeg, is a smaller rock near it, separated by a narrow sound, and to which the same description in every respect applies. These rocks are said to have been the boundary of the two governments into which the Hebrides were divided when subject to the crown of Denmark. In 1249, Cairn-burgh-more was summoned to surrender to Alexander III., who meditated the conquest of these islands. The Macleans possessed it in 1715, and during the rebellion of that year it was taken and retaken by each of the contending parties.
Trinity-Gask
TRINITY-GASK, Perthshire.—See Gask, Trinity.
Trinity-Muir
TRINITY-MUIR, a hamlet, in the parish of Brechin, county of Forfar; containing 34 inhabitants.
Troda
TRODA, an isle, in the parish of Kilmuir, county of Inverness. It is a small isle of the Hebrides, appropriated to the pasturage of sheep.
Trondray
TRONDRAY, an isle, in the parish of Tingwall, Whiteness, and Weesdale, county of Shetland; containing 8 inhabitants. This island lies in the sound of Cliff, south of Scalloway, and opposite to that village. It is about four miles in length and two in breadth, with a very indented coast; and is distant west-south-west from the town of Lerwick about four miles.
Troon
TROON, a flourishing town, and lately a quoad sacra parish, in the parish of Dundonald, district of Kyle, county of Ayr; containing, with the village of Loans, 2306 inhabitants, of whom 1409 are in the town, 9 miles (S. W. by W.) from Kilmarnock. This place, which is situated on the shore, about five miles to the south of the port of Irvine, of which it is considered a creek, has within the present century risen into great importance under the auspices of the Duke of Portland. A charter for the construction of a harbour was obtained in the reign of Queen Anne, by William Fullarton, Esq., proprietor of the lands of Fullarton, in the parish; but no measures were taken for carrying that design into effect. The advantages of its situation for the purposes of a harbour, also, induced the merchants and citizens of Glasgow to make advantageous proposals to the proprietor for granting them a lease of the adjacent lands, in order that they might accomplish this desirable object; but their offers were rejected. In this state things remained till the year 1808; when the Duke of Portland, who had lately purchased the estate of Fullarton, embarked in the undertaking, which after great perseverance was finally completed, at a cost of more than £100,000. Since that period the town has been progressively increasing in extent, and in importance as a place of maritime trade; and the facilities for sea-bathing which it affords, have, by rendering it the resort of numerous visiters during the season, materially contributed to its prosperity.
The town is romantically situated on a promontory projecting in a semicircular curve for about a mile and a quarter into the Frith of Clyde, and is neatly built, containing many substantial houses, several handsome cottages for summer residences, and numerous respectable inns and lodging-houses for the accommodation of visiters. A public library is supported by subscription. The post-office has a regular delivery by a messenger from the head office of Kilmarnock; two branch banks have been established here, and there is every facility of internal communication. On a site commanding a fine view of the Frith and the adjacent country, was once an octagonal building called the Temple, erected by Mr. Fullarton for the entertainment of his friends. The principal trade of the port is the exportation of coal from the mines belonging to the duke and others in the parish and vicinity of Kilmarnock, and the importation of timber. The coal is conveyed from the various works by the Kilmarnock and Troon railway, and on an average about 150,000 tons are annually shipped: the quantity of timber imported exceeds 5000 tons. The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port is fifteen, of the aggregate burthen of 3800 tons; and the number annually entering and leaving the harbour is 1070, of 108,000 tons' aggregate burthen. The harbour, which is easy of access, affords safe anchorage for vessels requiring sixteen feet depth at low-water; and at the pier, at right angles with the rock, constructed by the duke, and which is 800 feet in length, is a depth of nineteen feet at low-water. A spacious wet-dock has been formed, in which vessels of the greatest size may ride in safety from all storms; there are also two drydocks, of which the larger is 300 feet in length, and of proportionate width. A lighthouse has been erected, which is maintained from the funds of the harbour; and on Lady Isle, to the south-west of the port, two lofty pillars have been raised as a guide to the entrance. There are an extensive yard for building and repairing vessels, a large sail manufactory, and various other works connected with the trade of the port.
The district of Troon was separated from the parish of Dundonald for ecclesiastical purposes, by an act of the General Assembly, in 1836; and is about four miles in length, and nearly two miles in average breadth. Two-thirds of the land are arable and under good cultivation; and the remainder, with the exception of sixty acres of plantations, is rough pasture and waste. Fullarton House, the property of the Duke of Portland, is a handsome mansion built by the late proprietor, William Fullarton, Esq., and pleasantly situated, commanding a fine view of the Ayrshire coast: in 1801 it was for some time the residence of Louis-Philippe, now King of the French. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Ayr and synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The church, a handsome and substantial structure, was erected in 1837, by subscription, at a moderate expense, and contains 1000 sittings: the minister, who is appointed by the male communicants, has a stipend of £150, of which £20 are paid by the Duke of Portland, and the remainder derived from seatrents and contributions. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church and United Secession. A school for the accommodation of 230 children has been erected at a cost of £335, of which sum one-half was paid by government, and the remainder raised by subscription. The village of Loans is described under its own head. There are some remains of the ancient church of Crosbie, of which the burial-ground is still used as a place of interment by the inhabitants. David, the brother of James Hamilton who shot the Regent Murray, was buried there; and the castle of Crosbie, now a shapeless ruin, was for some time the residence of Sir William Wallace.
Troqueer
TROQUEER, a parish, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, ¾ of a mile (S.) from Dumfries; including the burgh of Maxwelltown, and containing 4351 inhabitants, of whom 3230 are in the burgh. This place is supposed to have derived its name from its forming one of the three ancient seminaries in the district, the other two being Lincluden and Newabbey. The parish is bounded on the east by the river Nith, and is about seven miles and a half in length, and four miles and a half in extreme breadth, comprising an area of almost 6000 acres, of which from 500 to 600 are woodland and plantations, and the remainder arable, meadow, and pasture. The surface is intersected by three nearly equidistant and parallel ranges of heights, the first of which, rising gradually from the river, has been long in a high state of cultivation, and contains several nursery grounds and gardens of great fertility. The valley between it and the second ridge is also fruitful, and is watered by the Cargen, which flows into the Nith. The second ridge, of greater elevation, produces excellent crops of turnips and potatoes, with wheat, barley, and oats; and the interval between it and the third ridge is partly good meadow land, but chiefly moss, which might at a moderate expense be brought into tillage. The third ridge, and the highest, extends through the whole length of the parish; it is arable on the acclivities nearly to the summit, and though less fertile than the others, yields remunerating crops. The Nith, of which the water is beautifully limpid, abounds with salmon, grilse, and herlings, even beyond what is necessary for the supply of the surrounding district. The plantations consist of oak, ash, elm, and other foresttrees, with fir and larch; they are carefully managed, and in a flourishing condition. The substrata are principally mica-slate passing into sienite, with occasional masses of granite; there is neither limestone nor coal, nor any mineral of importance. The rateable annual value of Troqueer is £11,906.
There are numerous handsome mansion-houses, with grounds tastefully laid out, and embellished with stately timber; and also various pleasing villas, scattered through the parish, of which the north-eastern portion forms a suburb of Maxwelltown. That village, anciently called Bridge-End, from its situation at the extremity of a bridge over the Nith, connecting it with the town of Dumfries, has been erected into a burgh of barony in favour of the proprietor, Mr. Maxwell; and is described in a separate article. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery and synod of Dumfries, and the patronage is in the Crown; the minister's stipend is £350. 7. 2., with a manse, and a glebe of ten acres of good land. The church is an ancient and handsome structure in good repair, and contains 840 sittings. A chapel of ease was erected some few years since in the burgh of Maxwelltown, containing 1600 sittings; the minister has a stipend of £150, but neither manse nor glebe. The parochial school is well attended; the master has a salary of £30. 16., with a house and garden, and £2. 10., the proceeds of a bequest for teaching gratuitously the poor children on the estate of Dalscairth. A school is supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, who pay the master a salary of £15; he has also an allowance of £9. 12. from the heritors for the keep of a cow, with a dwelling-house and garden rent-free. There is a third school, on the estate of Cargen, supported by the tenants; the master lives by turns with the parents of his scholars. These schools together are attended by about 180 children; and there are also schools at Maxwelltown, of which one is endowed. The principal remains of antiquity in the parish are the traces of a circular mound of considerable elevation, the site of the ancient castle of the Cummins.
Trows, New
TROWS, NEW, a village, in the parish of Lesmahago, Upper ward of the county of Lanark, 1 mile (S. by W.) from the village of Lesmahago; containing 61 inhabitants. This small hamlet lies on the west side of the Nethan water, on the banks of which river, in its neighbourhood, are several handsome mansions.
Trumisgarry
TRUMISGARRY, a quoad sacra parish, in the parish and island of North Uist, county of Inverness, 30 miles (N. W. by W.) from Dunvegan; containing 1495 inhabitants. This place, which occupies the eastern portion of the island, was separated for ecclesiastical purposes from the parish of North Uist, and erected into a quoad sacra parish, by act of the General Assembly, in 1838. The district is bounded on the north by the sound of Harris, and on the east by the Little Minch; and is nearly seventeen miles in extreme length and about twelve in extreme breadth, comprising an area of 140 square miles, of which one tenth part is arable, and the remainder hill-pasture, moss, and waste. The surface is diversified with ranges of hills, varying in elevation from 300 to 700 feet, and intersected by numerous inlets from the sea, and by inland lakes, in some of which are found salmon and various kinds of trout of excellent flavour. The coast is bold and elevated, and deeply indented with bays, whereof Loch Maddy, the most important and extensive, forms a harbour for vessels of the largest burthen, to which it is easily accessible, and is sufficiently capacious to afford accommodation to any number of ships, which, protected by the high grounds on either side from all adverse winds, may ride at anchor in perfect safety. The fish caught here are, cod, ling, sythe, eels, and other kinds, of which the inhabitants near Loch Maddy take enough for their own subsistence; and several sorts of shell-fish are found on the sands; but there are no regular fisheries established.
The principal crops are bear and potatoes; the system of agriculture is improved, and considerable tracts of land have been reclaimed and brought into cultivation. The cattle are all of the Highland black-breed; and large numbers are reared in the pastures, and sold at the fairs held annually near Loch Maddy, in July and September. There are no villages; and the only manufacture carried on is that of kelp, in which some families are employed during the months of June, July, and August, under the proprietor, who sends the produce to the south, where it is sold on his account. A post-office has been established at Loch Maddy, under the office at Dunvegan; and there is a good inn. A packet of sixty tons' burthen sails twice in the week from this port to Dunvegan, when the weather permits; and facility of internal communication is maintained by good roads, which within the last few years have been greatly improved. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Uist and synod of Glenelg. The minister's stipend is £120, paid from the exchequer, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £4 per annum; patron the Crown. The church, erected by government in 1829, at a cost of £750, is a neat substantial structure containing 326 sittings, and conveniently situated for the accommodation of the district. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship, and a school is supported by the General Assembly: there is also a parochial school.
Tulliallan
TULLIALLAN, a parish, in the county of Perth, ½ a mile (N. by E.) from Kincardine; containing, with the sea-port town of Kincardine, 3196 inhabitants, of whom 321 are in the rural districts. This place derives its name, signifying in the Gaelic language, the "Beautiful Hill," from its situation on a gently sloping eminence at the south-western extremity of the county. It was anciently the property of the Blackadder family, of whose baronial residence, Tulliallan Castle, there are still some portions remaining. Previously to the Reformation, and for some time after, the parish consisted only of the barony of Tulliallan; but in 1673, the barony of Kincardine, with the lands of Lurg, Sands, and Kellywood, was separated from the parish of Culross, and annexed to this parish, by the Earl of Kincardine, at the recommendation of the presbytery. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Forth, and is about three miles and a half in extreme length and nearly two miles and a half in breadth, comprising 3850 acres, of which about 3000 are arable, 500 woodland and plantations, and the remainder rough pasture and waste. The surface is varied, rising by a gradual ascent from the shore of the Forth towards the north, and commanding some fine views of the river and the country adjacent; and the prevailing scenery, enriched with wood, and embracing many interesting features, is in some places beautifully picturesque. The soil is various; in some parts clayey, in others a deep rich loam alternated with sand; and on the lands recently reclaimed from the sea, an alluvial deposit of great fertility. The crops are, wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual grasses. The system of husbandry has been greatly improved, and considerable quantities of land have been reclaimed from the sea by embankments on the east and west of the town of Kincardine, of which one was commenced by the late Viscount Keith in 1821, and completed in 1823, at an expense of £6000; the other was commenced in 1829 by his trustees, and completed in 1838, at a cost of nearly £14000. The farm-buildings are generally substantial and well arranged; the lands have been inclosed partly with stone dykes, and partly with hedges of thorn, which are kept in excellent order. The facility of obtaining manure from the town of Kincardine in some degree counterbalances the expense of bringing lime from distant quarries; and the farms are all under excellent cultivation, producing abundant crops. The plantations, which are in a thriving state, consist of firs, interspersed with various kinds of forest-trees; and in the hedge-rows on the public roads are fine specimens of oak, ash, beech, elm, plane, and hornbeam, of stately growth. The principal substrata are, freestone, coal, and ironstone. The freestone is excellent for building, of very compact texture, and of a beautiful white colour; the quarry at Longannat, in the eastern portion of the parish, has been long in operation, and the produce in high repute. This quarry was formerly wrought by a company from Holland, who raised from it the materials for the erection of the Stadt House; and in addition to the Royal Exchange, the Infirmary, and the Register Office, of Edinburgh, and one of the churches in Aberdeen, it has supplied materials for most of the principal mansion-houses in the neighbourhood. The rateable annual value of the parish is £4880. Tulliallan House, one of the seats of Lady Keith, is a handsome modern mansion, beautifully situated on a rising ground about half a mile from the Forth, in a richly-planted and tastefully-embellished demesne. The town of Kincardine is described under its own head. At Longannat is a small hamlet, inhabited by persons employed in the quarry, and where are some slight remains of a pier which is said to have been constructed by the Dutch company who rented the quarry.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dumblane and synod of Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £259. 3. 9., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £44. 10. per annum; patron, Lady Keith. The church is a handsome and substantial structure, erected in 1833 by the heritors, at an expense of £3500, and contains 1176 sittings. There are also places of worship for members of the Free Church and United Secession. The parochial school affords instruction to 180 children; the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average about £60 per annum, out of which he pays £40 to an assistant. A schoolroom has recently been built by aid of government; and the school, in which about 100 children are taught, is supported by the parents. The remains of the castle of Tulliallan, situated on a rising ground to the west of the town, consist of a portion of the walls, of great thickness, and three rooms on the lower story, of which the groined roofs are sustained on a pillar in the centre; the castle appears to have been originally a place of great strength, and was surrounded with a moat communicating with the Forth. There are also vestiges of the ancient church at Overtown, formerly the buryingplace of the Keith family, and in which are several tombstones of great antiquity. Near the site have been found gold, silver, and copper coins of the reign of Edward I. of England; and on the farm of Damend, in the north of the parish, Roman urns partly filled with ashes were dug up in 1830.
Tullibody
TULLIBODY, a village and ancient parish, in the parish of Alloa, county of Clackmannan, 2 miles (W.) from the town of Alloa; containing 600 inhabitants. This parish was united to Alloa about the time of the Reformation. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the tanning of leather, for which there is a large establishment in the village; and in the manufacture of glass, for which there are extensive works belonging to the same proprietors. The ancient church has been restored, and adapted for the accommodation of this remote part of the parish; and the members of the Free Church have a place of worship. A school is supported by Lord Abercromby, who provides the master with a dwelling-house and garden, and an acre of land, and pays him a regular salary in addition to the school fees.
Tullich
TULLICH, a village, in the parish of Glenmuick, Tullich, and Glengairn, district of Kincardine O'Neil, county of Aberdeen, 7 miles (S. W. by W.) from Tarland; containing 74 inhabitants. The lands of Tullich, situated on the north side of the river Dee, and now united to Glenmuick and Glengairn, anciently formed a distinct parish, and are more populous and extensive than either of the other portions of the present united parish, being eighteen miles in length from east to west. Tullich appears to have belonged in whole or in part to the Knights Templars, who had a residence within it; and on the largest of several small islands in a beautiful lake about three miles in circumference, called Loch Cannor, formerly stood a small fortress, said to have been built, and occasionally occupied as a hunting-seat, by Malcolm Canmore. In this fortress, many of the Cummings, in 1335, took shelter after their defeat in the famous battle of Culblean, fought between them and the forces of King David Bruce. Soon after the Revolution, an encounter took place here between the soldiers of King William under the command of General Mackay, and some gentlemen of the country, with their dependants; but the latter made such a precipitous retreat, that in derision it was called "the race of Tullich." The village is situated on the high road from Tarland to Ballater, from which latter place it is distant north-eastward about two miles.
Tulliebole
TULLIEBOLE, in the county of Kinross.—See Fossoway and Tulliebole.
Tulloch
TULLOCH, a village, in the East parish of the city and county of Perth; containing about 216 inhabitants.
Tullynessle and Forbes
TULLYNESSLE and FORBES, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 2½ miles (N. by E.) from Alford; containing 846 inhabitants. The former of these ancient parishes, which were united by act of the General Assembly in 1808, derives its name, in some records Tullynesset, from the Gaelic, signifying either a dwelling on a sloping bank, or a dwelling upon the river Esset, from the situation of its church and manse. The latter parish was named from its proprietors, the ancient family of Forbes. The only transaction of historical importance connected with the district, is the encampment of General Baillie in the immediate vicinity, near the river Don, on the night previous to the battle of Alford, in which he was defeated by the forces under the Marquess of Montrose, in 1645. The parish is washed on the south by the Don, and is nearly seven miles in extreme length and four miles in breadth, comprising about 10,000 acres, of which 3500 are arable, 1100 meadow and pasture, 1300 woodland and plantations, and the remainder moorland pasture and waste. The surface is intersected with hilly ridges, interspersed with glens, and extending towards the south-east from a chain of lofty hills which surround the parish on the north and west, and of which the highest have an elevation of more than 1300 feet above the level of the sea. The glens are watered by burns descending from the northern and western hills, the most copious being the Esset, which in its course of little more than two miles gives motion to three meal-mills, one flax-mill, and six threshing-machines, previously to its influx into the Don. There are also numerous springs of excellent water, and a few more or less impregnated with iron. The Don abounds with trout of superior quality, of which some are of very large size; but since the use of stake-nets near the mouth, few salmon are met with in this part of its stream. Par, and trout of smaller size, are found in great numbers in the Esset burn.
The soil of the arable lands is mostly fertile, and even on the acclivities of some of the heights, of very considerable depth; on other rising grounds, thin and stony, but dry, producing favourable returns. The crops are, oats, barley, bear, occasionally a little wheat, potatoes, turnips, and flax, with the usual grasses. The system of husbandry is good, and a regular rotation of crops is duly observed; bone-dust has been introduced as manure; and under the auspices of the Alford Agricultural Association, of which Lord Forbes is president, the lands have been greatly improved. The farm-buildings are generally substantially built, roofed with slate, and well adapted to the extent of the several farms; the cottages of the smaller tenants, also, are comfortable and commodious. Threshing-machines have been erected on most of the farms, and all the more recent improvements in the construction of implements have been adopted. The cattle reared in the pastures are usually of a cross between the Aberdeenshire and Teeswater breeds; considerable attention is paid to their improvement, and owing to the facility of conveyance by steam navigation, great numbers are fattened and sent to the London market. The plantations, which are very extensive, consist chiefly of larch, and Scotch and spruce firs; on the lower parts of the hills, of oak, ash, elm, Spanish chesnut, plane, and gean; and along the banks of the Don, of alder and birch: all are under good management, and in a thriving state. The rocks are generally composed of granite, gneiss, and mica-slate, and the substrata are sandstone, limestone, and slate. The limestone, neither in quality nor in quantity, has been thought sufficient to warrant a continuance of the mines formerly in operatian: but there are two slate-quarries, producing slabs for the pavement of halls and kitchens. From the quarry at Coreen, slabs of very large size are raised, of which some are used as sides for the porches of the farm-houses; and a few years since, attempts were made to open a quarry of roofing-slate, but discontinued on account of the expense. Iron-ore is also found in a vein of silicious sandstone, but is not wrought. The rateable annual value of the parish is returned at the sum of £3629.
Whitehaugh, the seat of J. F. Leith, Esq., is a spacious and elegant mansion, consisting of a centre of ancient architecture, the original seat of his ancestors, and two wings of corresponding character, added by the late proprietor; it is pleasantly situated on the bank of the Don, near the south-eastern extremity of the parish, in a demesne tastefully laid out, and embellished with thriving plantations. The mansion house of Little Wood Park, the property of the second son of Lord Forbes, is also on the river, in grounds surrounded with plantations; it is at present rented by the tenant who farms the neighbouring lands. There are no villages; the whole of the population is agricultural, with the exception of a few who are engaged in the various handicraft trades requisite for the wants of the parish. During the winter and spring months there are monthly markets for grain and fat-cattle at Alford, where also are two annual fairs; but the produce of the parish is chiefly sent to Aberdeen. Facility of communication is afforded by the roads from Huntly to Kincardine and from Aberdeen to Strathdon: these intersect each other at the bridge over the Don, which is substantially built of stone, and near which is a spacious and well-conducted inn, as well as a post-office where letters are received daily by a mail coach from Aberdeen. There are also good roads kept in repair by statute labour, and near the mansion of Little Wood Park was till lately a bridge of wood over the Don. The inn has been recently enlarged for the accommodation of numerous visiters who frequent this part of the country on fishing excursions. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Alford and synod of Aberdeen: the minister's stipend is £222. 3. 6., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £10 per annum; patron, the Earl of Fife. The church is a neat and substantial structure, affording ample accommodation for the parishioners. The parochial school is attended by about one hundred children: the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £25 per annum; he receives also a share of the Dick bequest. A juvenile library has been established for the use of the scholars. There were formerly numerous remains of Druidical circles, all of which, except one, have been removed in the progress of cultivation.
Tundergarth
TUNDERGARTH, a parish, in the county of Dumfries, 3 miles (E. by S.) from Lockerbie; containing 524 inhabitants. This place is supposed to have derived its name, signifying in the British language the "Inclosure at the Oak hill," from the circumstance of its having formerly abounded with wood. It was one of the principal seats of the Johnstones, Marquesses of Annandale, of whose ancient castle there are some very slight vestiges remaining, and between whom and the Johnstones of Lockerbie there were frequent and inveterate feuds for many years. The parish is bounded by the river Milk, and is nearly thirteen miles in length and from a mile and a half to two miles in breadth, comprising about 10,800 acres, of which 3000 are arable, 160 woodland and plantations, and the remainder hill-pasture, moor, and waste. The surface is generally undulating, and in some parts abruptly precipitous; but the only hills of any considerable elevation are those of Grange Fell and Crieve, which rise to the height of about 900 feet above the level of the sea. The river, which skirts the parish on the north and west, is beautifully picturesque throughout the whole of its winding course; it receives numerous rivulets rising in the higher grounds, and flowing through the deep valleys with which the parish is intersected. The soil is various, but mostly fertile in the valleys; towards the hills, thin and cold, resting on a subsoil of till and gravel; and in other parts, rocky, and alternated with indurated clay. There are some extensive peat-mosses in the upper districts, and the hills afford good pasturage for sheep. The crops are, grain of all kinds, potatoes, turnips, and the various grasses; the system of husbandry is improved, and the arable lands are under good cultivation. The farms are from 100 to 200 acres in extent, with some of smaller size; they have been well drained, and inclosed partly with stone dykes, and partly with hedges of thorn. The sheep are generally of the Cheviot breed, but on some farms is a cross with the Leicestershire, which is found to be well adapted for the English market; much attention is paid to their improvement, and large numbers are reared in the sheep-walks, which occupy nearly half of the parish. The cattle, of which considerable numbers are also reared, are of the Galloway black-breed; and the greatest care is shown in the selection of the finest bulls in the county for the improvement of the stock. The sheep and cattle are sent to Lockerbie and Dumfries, whence they are forwarded to England. There are some remains of ancient woods, chiefly on the lands of Whitstone Hill, consisting of ash of venerable growth; but the parish generally is destitute of old timber. Plantations, however, have been formed in various parts, all of which are in a thriving state; and on the estate of Grange, especially, are some extensive plantations of trees of every kind, which have attained a luxuriant growth, and add much to the beauty of the scenery. The substrata are, transition slate and clay-slate, greywacke, and occasionally greenstone, of which the rocks are principally composed. Repeated attempts have been made to discover lead-ore, but without success; some fine specimens of antimony have been found; and coal is supposed to exist in some places, but none has yet been actually discovered. There are several handsome houses belonging to landed proprietors, the principal of which are Whitstone Hill, Pierceby Hall, Gibsontown, and Grange, beautifully situated, and surrounded with plantations. There is no village; the inhabitants are all engaged either in agricultural or pastoral pursuits, except a few who are employed in the handicraft trades requisite for the accommodation of the immediate neighbourhood. The nearest market-town is Lockerbie, with which facility of communication is maintained by a road extending for more than eight miles through the parish, and kept in good repair, but inconveniently hilly. An excellent road might be constructed near the banks of the Milk, which would be level, and pass through the most interesting part of the district. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Lochmaben and synod of Dumfries. The minister's stipend is £156. 15., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £10 per annum; patron, the Earl of Mansfield. The church, erected about the year 1775, is a neat plain structure conveniently situated. The parochial school affords instruction to about seventy children: the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £20 per annum; he has also the interest of a bequest of £100 for the gratuitous instruction of poor children. Some traces of a Roman road leading from the camp on Burnswark Hill were lately discovered, formed of broad flat stones, and about eight feet in width; it had been covered with earth about nine inches in depth. There are also numerous British camps on eminences, each surrounded by a strong vallum and fosse, and inclosing an area of about an acre; they are supposed to have been places of safety during the border warfare. In some of them urns have been found containing human bones and ashes. On the farm of Whiteholm are the remains of a Druidical circle consisting of seven upright stones; and about a mile distant were two large cairns, and also one on the lands of Grange, on the removal of which for building dykes, were found human skeletons in rudely-formed coffins of square slabs of stone.
Turriff
TURRIFF, a burgh of barony, a parish, and the seat of a presbytery, in the district of Turriff, county of Aberdeen; containing 3146 inhabitants, of whom 1309 are in the burgh, 11 miles (S. by E.) from Banff, and 34 (N. N. W.) from Aberdeen. This place derives its name, signifying in the Gaelic language "heights" or "towers," either from the hills surrounding the parish, or from its numerous ancient castles, of which, till towards the close of the last century, the ruins of several were remaining. The gateway and vaults of Castle-Rainy are only just removed. Of the original foundation of the town, which is of remote antiquity, little is accurately known; but it appears evidently to have been a place of importance at a very early period, and is generally supposed to have been the residence of one of the Pictish monarchs. An hospital here seems to have belonged to the Knights Templars. On the north side of the town are some lands retaining the appellation of Temple-Brae; and a house called Temple-Feu is still in existence, of which the original proprietors held their lands under Lord Torphichen, to whom many of the possessions of the order of Templars were at the time of its dissolution granted by the crown. Another hospital was founded here in 1272 by Alexander Cumyn, Earl of Buchan, with the consent of Hugo de Benham, Bishop of Aberdeen, for a warden, six chaplains, and thirteen poor brethren of Buchan, and was dedicated to St. Congan; it had also, to a limited extent, the privileges of a sanctuary, the warden being bound to deliver up only notorious malefactors for public trial. This hospital was in 1329 endowed with lands in the parish of Fyvie, by King Robert Bruce, for the maintenance of a chaplain to say mass for the soul of his brother, Nigel, who in 1306 had been taken prisoner, and put to death, by the English who besieged and made themselves masters of the castle of Kildrummy, in which he at that time resided. In 1412, Greenlaw, Bishop of Aberdeen, raised the wardenship of the hospital into a prebend of the cathedral church; and William Hay, the warden, who thus became prebendary of Turriff, built in the Chanonry of Aberdeen a house for the residence of himself and his successors, which is now the property of the corporation of Old Aberdeen. In 1511, James IV. granted to Thomas Dickson, then prebendary, a charter, erecting the town into a free burgh of barony, of which he was to be the superior, and granting to the burgesses power to choose annually bailies and other officers for the government of the burgh, with the privilege of holding weekly markets and annual fairs, and receiving all the tolls, customs, and dues. In 1589, James VI., in the course of his progress through the country, passed one night in the town, which, with the exception of some slight skirmishes between parties of loyalists and Covenanters in 1639, does not appear to have been subsequently distinguished by any event of historical importance.
The town is pleasantly situated on the bank of a rivulet to which it gives name, about two furlongs from its influx into the Doveran; and comprises one principal street of moderate extent, and several others of inferior order, to which have been lately added two that are spacious and regularly formed. The houses are substantial and neatly built, and to most of them are attached small gardens tastefully laid out, which give to the town a cheerful and lively aspect; the streets are lighted with gas from works established by a joint-stock company in 1839, and the inhabitants are well supplied with water. A public library, in which are about 600 volumes of standard works, is supported by subscription; and the reading-rooms are furnished with most of the daily journals and periodical publications. There are several respectable inns. In the principal street is an ancient cross twenty feet in height, raised on a building of circular form. The environs abound with pleasing scenery. The spinning of linen yarn, and bleaching, are carried on here, but not to so great an extent as formerly; and the weaving of linen and woollen cloth by hand-loom, and the dyeing of woollens and silks, are also pursued, upon a moderate scale. There are numerous shops for the supply of the district with groceries, haberdashery, and hardware; and the inhabitants display a general spirit of enterprise in various branches of mercantile speculation: the handicraft trades are carried on with skill, and the articles produced by the artificers are equal in quality to those of the principal towns. Here are branches of the Commercial Bank of Scotland, and the North of Scotland and Aberdeen Banking Companies; and agencies for the different insurance companies. The nearest ports with which the town has intercourse are Banff and Macduff, to which the grain and other agricultural produce of the parish are sent, and from which supplies of coal, lime, bone-dust, &c., for manure, and the various kinds of merchandise, are brought for the consumption of the neighbourhood. A customary market is well supplied with butchers' meat, and other provisions. Fairs, chiefly for cattle, horses, sheep, and merchandise, are held on the Wednesdays after the 5th of February, April, and August; the Wednesdays after the 12th of October and December; the Friday after the 7th of May; the Saturday before Trinity Muir fair in June; and the Thursday after the 27th of October; all O. S. Fairs for hiring servants are also held at Whitsuntide and Martinmas, O. S. A post-office under that of Aberdeen has two deliveries daily from the north and south; and facility of communication is afforded by the turnpike-road from Aberdeen to Banff, which passes through the whole length of the parish; by good roads kept in repair by statute labour, which intersect the parish in different directions; and by bridges over the Doveran and the burn of Turriff. The sheriff-substitute holds a quarterly court in the burgh for the recovery of debts not exceeding £8. 6. 8., and from the number of causes brought before him for decision, it appears to be highly serviceable; justice-of-peace courts, and courts of lieutenancy for the district, are also held when requisite. The only place of confinement is a small lock-up house containing two apartments, in which offenders are lodged previously to their committal to the county gaol.
The parish is bounded on the north-west by the river Doveran, separating it from the parishes of Forglen and Marnoch; and is rather more than six miles in length and five miles in breadth, comprising 21,300 acres, of which 13,555 are arable, 3000 woodland and plantations, and the remainder moorland pasture and waste. The surface is beautifully varied, rising gradually from the banks of the Doveran towards the south, and terminating in gently-undulating and richly-cultivated hills, of which the highest, Darra, attains only a moderate degree of elevation. The hills of Vrae on the north, Cotburn on the east, and Armiddle on the west, are also only of moderate height; but they all command from their summits extensive prospects over a richly diversified country, abounding with interesting features, and with varied scenery, in many parts beautifully picturesque. The Doveran has its rise on the confines of the county of Banff, and flows in graceful windings along the northern boundary of the parish to the mill of Turriff, where it changes its course abruptly to the north; it falls into the Moray Frith at Banff. The only other stream of any importance is the burn of Turriff, which has its source in the parish of Aberdour, and, after a course of about two miles and a half through this parish, in which it gives motion to several mills and the machinery of a bleachfield, flows into the Doveran below the mill of Turriff. There are numerous smaller streams, and also several springs of excellent water, with a few mineral wells, of which, however, none have obtained much celebrity. The Doveran abounds with trout and other varieties of fish, and salmon are also found in moderate quantities; the salmon-fishery was formerly very valuable, but from the use of stakenets near the mouth of the river, it has ceased to be advantageous. The burn of Turriff also contains trout, and affords good sport to the angler.
The soil, on the banks of the river, and on most of the level lands, is an alluvial deposit, alternated with clay; on the higher grounds, and in other parts, sharp, light, and gravelly, generally early, and of great fertility. The crops are, oats, barley, bear, potatoes, turnips, and occasionally a few tares, with the various grasses. The system of husbandry has been greatly improved; and by a judicious use of lime, also, and the introduction of bone-dust as a manure for turnips, the soil has been rendered more productive: due regard is paid to a regular rotation of crops; and much of the waste land has been reclaimed, and brought in cultivation by draining. The farm-houses are in general substantially built of stone, and roofed with slate, and are commodious and well arranged; but the cottages are very inferior. On most of the farms are threshing-mills, many of which are driven by water-power; much of the land is inclosed with dry stone dykes, palings of wood, and hedges of thorn; and all the more recent improvements in the construction of agricultural implements have been adopted. Under the auspices of the Turriff Agricultural Association, of which the Earl of Fife is patron, and which holds two annual meetings for awarding premiums to the successful competitors in husbandry, and also a cattle-show annually, much emulation has been excited, both in the cultivation of the lands and the improvement of live-stock. The cattle are mostly of the Aberdeenshire breed; but recently, a cross between those and the Teeswater has been introduced: great numbers are conveyed by steam to the London market. The breed of horses has been also improved, and, under the encouragement of the Highland Society, many of those reared in the parish are equal to the Clydesdale: a considerable number, however, of the old small-sized kind are still bred, and are remarkable for their strength and agility. Few sheep are reared in the parish, and those are chiefly Cheviots; but during winter, numbers of the black-faced breed are brought by the Highland shepherds to pasture on the hills. Many pigs, mostly of the Chinese breed, are fed on the different farms, and sold to the curers, one of whom sends pork to the London market, frequently to the value of £3000 in the year. Little cheese is made; but large quantities of butter of excellent quality are produced, for the supply of the families in the neighbouring towns, and for dealers who salt it for distant markets.
The old woodlands and the plantations are very extensive; of the latter, more than 700 acres are of comparatively recent formation. The former consist chiefly of beech, oak, ash, and elm; and around the principal houses are some plane and horse-chesnut trees of stately and luxuriant growth. The plantations consist of larch, spruce and Scotch firs, and alder, interspersed with various kinds of forest-trees; they are all under excellent management, regularly thinned, and in a very thriving state. The rocks are mainly composed of greywacke and clay-slate, in which are imbedded veins of quartz and felspar; the substrata are mostly red sandstone and clay-slate. The sandstone is quarried for building purposes; and considerable quantities of coping-stone, and ashlar for mill-courses, are raised for the supply of adjacent parishes. Several attempts have been made to work a quarry for roofing-slates, which have been met with of good quality; but from the great labour and expense attending the undertaking, no quarries are wrought. The rateable annual value of the parish is £10,422. Delgaty Castle, once the residence of the earls of Errol, is now the seat of General the Honourable Sir Alexander Duff: the ancient structure, in the castellated style, and of great strength, forms the central range of the present mansion, there having been recently added two wings of corresponding character, connected by corridors. The house is situated in a demesne embellished with stately timber and thriving plantations; it contains many spacious apartments, with some paintings by the old masters, and portraits of the late Earl of Fife and his second son, Sir Alexander. In the grounds is a lake, with a small island in the centre, to which access is afforded by a rustic bridge of pleasing design. Hatton Castle, the seat of Garden Duff, Esq., is a handsome castellated mansion with turrets at the angles, situated in an ample and richly-wooded demesne, to which are approaches by two neat lodges. The lawn in front of the house is interspersed with clumps of trees, and the gardens and shrubberies are tastefully laid out: in the grounds are also some artificial lakes, on which swans are to be seen, and the whole of the scenery is picturesque. The other mansions are, Muiresk House, a pleasant residence on the south bank of the Doveran; Scobbach House, a building of recent erection, in the ancient style; Gask, a sporting lodge belonging to the Earl of Fife, but at present let, with the adjacent lands, to a farmer; and Towie-Barclay, an ancient mansion in the Elizabethan style of architecture.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Turriff and synod of Aberdeen. The minister's stipend is £232. 4., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £15 per annum; patron, the Earl of Fife. The church, erected in 1794, and enlarged in 1830 by the addition of an aisle, is a neat plain structure, conveniently situated. There are an Episcopal chapel, a Free church, and a place of worship for Independents. The parochial school is attended by more than 100 scholars: the master has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £45; he has also a share of Dick's bequest, but pays an assistant £28 per annum. There are four Sabbath schools in the town, and four in the rural districts of the parish; and several private schools, of which the teachers are solely supported by the fees. The late Dr. Hall, in 1829, bequeathed £200 towards a fund for the supply of coal to the poor, to which £50 were added in 1834 by Mr. Johnstone, of Aberdeen; this fund is under the management of the Kirk Session, and is assisted by annual collections made at the church, and other contributions. There are some remains of the ancient church, supposed to have been founded by Malcolm Canmore, consisting of the choir and the belfry, in which latter is a bell with the date 1557. In the churchyard are some very old monuments with Latin inscriptions, to proprietors of the parish. On the lands of Laithers were, till lately, some remains of a chapel dedicated to St. Carnac; and on the hill of Ardmiddle and other high grounds tumuli and cairns, supposed to have been raised over the remains of those who fell in battle with the Danes, by whom this part of the country was much infested. On the burn side near Delgaty, urns have been found, containing ashes and calcined bones; and arrow-heads of flint, fragments of ancient weapons, and silver and copper coins of great antiquity, have been dug up at various times.