Laurencekirk
LAURENCEKIRK, a
burgh of barony, and also a
parish, in the southern part
of the county of Kincardine, 9 miles (N. by W.)
from Montrose, and 10 (N.
E. by N.) from Brechin; containing 1904 inhabitants, of
whom 1356 are in the burgh.
This place, anciently called
Conveth, derived its present
name from the dedication of
its original parish church to
St. Laurence. The burgh, which was previously a very
inconsiderable hamlet, owes its importance to Francis,
Lord Gardenstone, a judge of the supreme court of
session, who, about the year 1765, purchased the lands
of Johnston and Blackiemuir, in the parish, which he
greatly improved, and divided into inclosures by hedges
and plantations. He also laid out the plan of a village,
and portioned off sites for the erection of houses: these,
being leased on advantageous terms, soon attracted
tenants; and in 1772 a thriving town had arisen, which,
increasing in population, was erected in 1779 into a
burgh of barony. The town consists chiefly of one
street, about a mile in length, on the road from Perth
to Aberdeen; the houses are well built, a few of them
of handsome appearance, and to each is attached a portion of garden-ground, giving to the place a pleasinglyrural aspect. A public subscription library, originated
by Lord Gardenstone, and to which he attached a small
museum, still exists, though the number of volumes has
materially diminished. The library of the episcopal
clergy of the diocese of Brechin, founded chiefly by the
late Bishop Drummond, and containing more than 1000
volumes, is deposited in the episcopal chapel in the
town, and is accessible to persons of literary pursuits.
The chief trade is the spinning of yarn and the weaving
of linen. For the former there was once a mill at Blackiemuir, in which twenty-five women and seven men were
employed, and the quantity annually produced was valued
at £5000. The weaving of linen by hand-looms for the
manufacturers of Aberdeen, Montrose, and Brechin,
who supply the yarn, is carried on mostly in the
burgh, affording employment to a very considerable
number of persons, including many children. The
manufacture of snuff-boxes of wood, also, for which
this place has long been celebrated, is still carried on,
by the son of the original inventor, Mr. Stiven: these
boxes are remarkable for their beauty, and the peculiar
construction of the hinge, the principle of which has
recently been adopted in the binding of valuable books
or prints in wood.
Burgh Seal.
The town was erected into a free and independent
burgh of barony by royal charter, vesting the government in a bailie and four councillors elected triennially
by the burgesses, and granting the privilege of a weekly
market and an annual fair. Every resident proprietor
of a house and garden is qualified as a burgess. The
jurisdiction of the magistrates in civil cases has not
been clearly defined, and scarcely any have been brought
before them for decision; but in criminal cases their
jurisdiction is exercised in petty delinquencies subject to
small fines, though these have not in many instances been
enforced. A treasurer, and a town-officer to whom the
police is entrusted, are appointed by the magistrates,
who hold their courts in a building used also for the
purpose of a masonic lodge; and there is a gaol lately
erected, but seldom used. The establishment of a
weekly market has been attempted, but hitherto without success, except for the sale of grain, which, when
purchased for exportation, is sent to Montrose and Gourdon. Fairs are held on the third Wednesday of January,
O. S., for cattle, and for hiring servants; the last Thursday in April, for cattle; the 27th of May, or the day
after Whitsunday, O. S., for hiring servants; the Thursday after the third Tuesday of July, O. S., for cattle
and horses; the first Thursday in November, for cattle;
and the 23rd of November, or the day after Martinmas,
O. S., for hiring servants. Markets, also, for sheep,
cattle, and horses, have been recently established, commencing on the second Monday after the first November
fair, and continuing to be held on the second Monday
of each month until the April fair. The post-office has
a tolerably good delivery; and facility of communication with Montrose, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, and the
city of Edinburgh, is afforded by roads kept in excellent
repair.
The parish, which is situated in the eastern portion
of the valley of Strathmore, is about four miles in
length, and varies from less than one mile to almost
three miles in breadth, comprising an area of 5381
acres, of which 5000 are arable, 60 pasture, 220 woodland and plantations, and the remainder roads and
waste. The surface rises gradually towards the north
and south, but is not diversified with hills or striking
inequalities, the highest ground in the northern portion
attaining only an elevation of 220, and in the southern
of 450 feet. The river Luther, which intersects the
parish in a direction from north-east to south-west, has
its rise in the lower range of the Grampian hills,
and falls into the North Esk, receiving in its course
numerous burns, which flow into it both from the northwest and south-east. The soil of the district to the southeast of the Luther is a deep clay loam of great fertility;
on the banks of the river are large alluvial deposits
of clay and sand; and in the lands north-west of the
river the soil is of inferior quality, generally cold, and
comparatively sterile. The crops consist of oats, barley,
small quantities of wheat, peas, beans, potatoes, and
turnips, with the usual grasses: the system of agriculture is improved; the lands have been drained and
partly inclosed, and a wide tract of unprofitable marsh
has been reclaimed. The farm-houses, though not
large, are convenient, and generally roofed with slate.
Great attention is paid to the management of the dairyfarms, and large quantities of butter and cheese are sent
to Montrose. The cattle are chiefly of a mixed breed
between those of the Angus and Aberdeenshire; they
are partly sold when three years old for the English
markets, and some are fed in winter for Glasgow, where
they obtain high prices. The horses used for agriculture are chiefly reared in the parish, and resemble the
Lanark and Clydesdale breeds. The plantations, mostly
of recent growth, consist of larch, and spruce and
Scotch firs; and in the hedge-rows are some good specimens of ash, elm, beech, oak, birch, and sycamore, of
more ancient date. There is nothing peculiar in the
geology of the parish. Sandstone and freestone were
formerly quarried, and Johnston Lodge was erected
with stone raised from the quarries; but the working
of them has been discontinued since the opening of the
Laurieston quarries, in the adjacent parish of St. Cyrus,
from which stone of finer texture and more durable
quality is raised. The rateable annual value of Laurencekirk is £7388. Johnston Lodge is a handsome
modern mansion, commanding a fine view of the valley
of Strathmore and the Grampian hills.
The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Fordoun and synod of
Angus and Mearns. The minister's stipend is £243.9.8.,
including £10. 4. 6., the rent of some land attached to
the living from time immemorial; and there is a manse,
as well as a glebe valued at £40 per annum: patrons,
the Principal and Professors of St. Mary's College, in
the University of St. Andrew's. The church, erected in
1804, and enlarged in 1819, is a very plain structure
containing 766 sittings, a number inadequate to the
increased population. An episcopal chapel was erected,
and endowed chiefly, by Lord Gardenstone; and there
are places of worship for members of the Free Church,
and Independents, in the town. The parochial school is
attended by about seventy children; the master has a
salary of £20, with ten bolls of meal, and an allowance
of £10. 2. in lieu of house and garden. The school
fees average £30 per annum; and he also receives
£3. 6. 8., the interest of a bequest of Sir Alexander
Falconer, of Glenfarquhar, ancestor of the present Earl
of Kintore, for teaching seven children gratuitously.
The parochial library contains nearly 300 volumes,
chiefly for young people. There are few monuments of
antiquity in the parish; but coins have been found at
various times, among which was a Roman coin with
the heads of the Emperors, Aurelius on the one side,
and Antoninus on the other. About forty large silver
coins, mostly Spanish, and in good preservation, with
dates from 1616 to 1623, were found about thirty
years since on the farm of Northhill. Thomas Ruddiman, the grammarian, was master of the parochial
school of this place from 1695 till 1700; and Dr.
Beattie, author of the Minstrel, was a native of the
parish. The lands of Halkerton give the title of Baron
to the Falconer family, Earls of Kintore.
Laurieston
LAURIESTON, a village, in the parish of Balmaghie, stewartry of Kirkcudbright, 6½ miles (W.
N. W.) from Castle-Douglas; containing 275 inhabitants. This place takes its name from William Kennedy
Laurie, Esq., proprietor of the lands on which it is
built, near Lochinbren, a sheet of water abounding with
trout. It appears to owe its origin to the resort of
numerous invalids, attracted by the medicinal virtues
of a powerful chalybeate spring, and for whose accommodation a commodious inn had been erected near the
spot. The water, which is perfectly transparent, is
strongly impregnated with sulphate of iron and carbonic acid, and has been found efficacious as a tonic, and
in complaints of the stomach arising from obstruction
and debility. In cases of ague, also, and in obstinate
intermittents, it has proved a complete restorative,
when bark and other medicines have been unavailing.
The road from Kirkcudbright to New Galloway passes
through the village. The members of the Free Church
have a place of worship. The principal parochial school
is situated here, and a dwelling-house has been recently
erected for the master by the heritors.
Laurieston
LAURIESTON, lately an ecclesiastical district,
within the jurisdiction of the city of Glasgow, county
of Lanark. This district was formed out of that part
of the parish of Gorbals adjoining the suburb of Tradeston, and on the south side of the river Clyde. The
ecclesiastical affairs are under the presbytery of Glasgow
and synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and the patronage is
vested in the Church Building Society of Glasgow: the
church, which is of recent erection, is built upon a site
purchased by the commissioners in Warwick-street.
Laurieston
LAURIESTON, a village, in the parish of Falkirk,
county of Stirling, 1½ mile (E.) from Falkirk; containing 1198 inhabitants. This place, originally called
New Merchiston, from Francis, Lord Napier, Baron of
Merchiston, on whose lands it was built in 1756, received the name of Laurencetoun, of which its present
appellation is a contraction, from Sir Laurence Dundas,
afterwards proprietor of the estate, and whose descendant, the Earl of Zetland, is the existing lord. The
village is pleasantly situated on the road to Edinburgh,
and consists of a handsome square, and several wellformed streets intersecting each other at right angles;
the houses are well built, and of modern appearance,
and from its elevated site the surrounding scenery is
extensive. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in
weaving for the manufacturers of Glasgow, and in the
manufacture of nails, which is carried on to a considerable extent. There are numerous well-stored shops;
and many persons are engaged in the various trades
requisite for the accommodation of the adjacent district,
and for the large traffic which the place derives from its
position on a great public thoroughfare. A post-office
under that of Falkirk has been established here, and
there is every facility of communication with the
neighbouring towns. In the village is a place of worship for members of the Reformed Presbytery; and
there are several schools, of which one was erected by
the late Lord Dundas.
Leadhills
LEADHILLS, an ecclesiastical district, within the
parish of Crawford, Upper ward of the county of
Lanark; containing about 1200 inhabitants, of whom
950 are in the village, 18 miles (W. N. W.) from Moffat.
The village derives its name from its situation in an
interesting valley surrounded by hills that abound with
mineral produce, of which the principal is lead-ore; the
hills are generally covered with heath, and towards
the south-east form a lofty ridge, rising to an elevation
of very nearly 2500 feet above the level of the sea.
From the summit of this ridge is an imposing and
richly-diversified prospect, embracing the Solway Frith,
the Isles of Arran and Man, and the mountains of
Skiddaw, Ben-Lomond, and Helvellyn, with the whole
range of the Pentland hills. The village is of peculiar
appearance, the houses, which are chiefly inhabited by
persons employed in the mines, being placed on eminences, or a kind of terraces. The principal mansion
of importance is the Hall, a seat of the Earl of Hopetoun, whose family take their title from this place,
formerly called Hopetoun; it is an ancient structure,
and one of the wings has been converted into a chapel.
The house, also, belonging to the representative of
the Scottish Mining Company, is a handsome building in tastefully-disposed pleasure-grounds, surrounded
by thriving plantations of beech, larch, mountain and
common ash, elm, and other trees. A library established in 1741 is well supported, and has a collection
of nearly 2000 volumes. The lands near the village are
not by nature fertile; but a considerable part of them
has been brought into profitable cultivation by spade
labour, and good crops of potatoes, with hay and summer
grass, are raised by the industry of the persons working
in the mines, to whom the proprietor gives portions of
land rent-free.
The mineral district extends about three miles in
length and two miles and a half in breadth, and consists
of a substratum of greywacke and greywacke-slate combined with transition clay-slate, in which most of the
mineral ores are deposited. The chief veins of lead run
in a south and north direction, with a dip of one foot
in three, and have produced large quantities of ore.
Mines of lead are believed to have been wrought here
by the Romans, an opinion partly confirmed by the fact
of one of their principal roads having passed through
the parish, and by the remains of Roman camps, of
which several may be distinctly traced in this and the
adjoining parish. The chief mines at present in operation are those of High-Work, Meadow-Head, and Brow:
that of Susannah, after having been worked to the depth
of 140 fathoms, has been discontinued, the low price of
lead being insufficient to remunerate the expense of
sinking to a greater depth. The average produce of the
mines is 500 tons annually, valued at about £8000.
The common galena ore is that chiefly raised; but
there are several veins of green, yellow, and black ore,
sulphate and sulpho-tricarbonates of lead, and phosphate and earthy lead ores; and copper and iron
pyrites, malachites, azure copper-ore, grey manganese,
blende, and calamine are also found. In the various
veins are likewise discovered quartz, calcareous and
brown spar, and sparry ironstone; silver is found in
the lead-ore, though in very small proportions; and
gold occurs in all the streams that intersect the district.
In the 16th century several men were, by permission of
the Scottish regent, employed in searching for gold,
of which considerable quantities were collected, and
sent to Edinburgh, to be coined, or manufactured into
different ornaments. Specimens of native gold, weighing some ounces, were at times discovered; but of late
few have been found weighing more than half an ounce,
and these are now of very rare occurrence. There are
also considerable lead-works at Wanlockhead, in Dumfriesshire, not more than a mile distant from this place.
A post-office has for many years been established in the
village; the post is daily, and facility of intercourse
with the neighbouring towns is maintained by good
roads. Fairs are held on the second Friday in June,
and the last Friday in October; the principal articles
are provisions and merchandise, for the supply of the
inhabitants. The district of Leadhills was separated
from the parish for ecclesiastical purposes by an act of
the General Assembly in 1834, but has now ceased to
exist as a quoad sacra parish: the minister has a regular
stipend paid by the Earl of Hopetoun and the Mining
Company, with a house. The church is adapted for a
congregation of 850 persons. A school has been established for more than a century, and is attended by
about 100 children; the master receives a salary from
the earl and the company. Allan Ramsay was a native
of Leadhills.
Lecropt
LECROPT, a parish, partly in the county of Stirling, but chiefly in that of Perth, 4 miles (N. W.)
from Stirling, containing, with part of the village of
Bridge of Allan, 513 inhabitants. Some antiquaries
identify this place with the ancient city on the west
bank of the river Allan, about a mile above its confluence with the Forth, and which is by Ptolemy called
Alauna; and they suppose that the Roman road to Ardoch passed through the lands of Keir, in this parish.
There are still remaining here vestiges of one of a chain
of forts designated Keirs, all extending along the north
side of the vale of Monteith, and thought to have been
erected by the Caledonians, to watch the movements of
the Roman army: the sites are usually marked out by
the mounds of loose stones, now covered with grass,
on which they stood. Some of the forts, however, have
been wholly destroyed to furnish stones for building inclosures and for various other purposes. The lands of Keir,
according to records still extant, formed part of the possessions of the Princess Marjory, sister of Robert Bruce,
which she surrendered to the king in favour of William
de Monteith; and in the vicinity of the church is a hill
where the ancient barons held their courts, and near it
another called Gallow Hill, the place for the execution
of criminals.
The parish is washed on the south-west by the river
Teith, and on the east by the river Allan, both tributaries
of the Forth, by which it is bounded on the south. It
is nearly in the form of an equilateral triangle, and
comprises by measurement 3102a. 1r. 24p., of which
2553 acres are arable, 30 pasture, 451 woodland and
plantations, 18 peat-moss, and the remainder homesteads, roads, and waste. The surface is intersected by
a high bank or ridge, stretching in a direction parallel
with the north side, and which divides the parish into two
distinct portions, the lower being rich carse land, and
the more elevated of a dry light soil. From this bank is
obtained an extensive and varied prospect of the adjacent country, including, in the foreground, the waters
of the Teith, the Allan, and the Forth, flowing in one
united stream, between wooded banks, through a tract
of fine open champaign studded with well-cultivated
farms having hedge-rows interspersed with stately trees.
On the opposite side of the valley appear the castle of
Stirling, covering the summit of a precipitous rock;
the rocks of Craigforth and Abbeycraig; the tower of
Cambuskenneth Abbey; the bridge of Stirling; and the
meadows on the banks of the Forth, adorned by handsome villas and pleasure-grounds; with the hills of
Falkirk in the distance. The Ochils are seen on the east,
the mountains of Benvoirlich on the north, and Ben-Ledi
and Ben-Lomond on the west. The soil of the carse
land is extremely rich, and that of the uplands, though of
lighter quality, is fertile; the crops are, wheat, barley,
oats, peas, beans, potatoes, and turnips, with flax, ryegrass, and clover. The system of agriculture is highly improved, the farm-buildings generally substantial and
well arranged, and the woods and plantations thriving.
The substratum is a stiff clay, resting chiefly upon a bed
of hard rock; and from an experiment lately made, it
has been ascertained that coal and ironstone exist,
but in seams too thin to remunerate the trouble of
working them. The rateable annual value of Lecropt is
£2227.
Keir House, the seat of Archibald Stirling, Esq., the
principal landowner, is a spacious and handsome mansion, to which two wings have been added within the last
twenty years. It is situated nearly in the centre of the
parish, and contains numerous apartments splendidly
decorated, and a picture-gallery seventy feet in length,
having a valuable collection of paintings by the first
masters; the grounds are tastefully laid out, and the
gardens and hot-houses are extensive and productive.
Bridge of Allan, a place of fashionable resort for invalids
frequenting the mineral waters of Airthrie, is partly
within the parish, in which there is no other village. An
extensive bleaching establishment at Keirfield, conducted
upon the most scientific principles, affords employment
to nearly 100 persons, under the immediate superintendence of the proprietor. A flour-mill is in operation, as
well as a mill for grinding oats and barley, both having
machinery of the most approved kind driven by the
river Allan; and there is a fishery, chiefly for salmontrout, producing a rental of about £20 per annum. The
great road from Stirling to Perth, Aberdeen, and the
Highlands passes through the parish; the Forth is navigable to Stirling for vessels drawing six or seven feet
water, and the projected northern branch from the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway to Perth will probably intersect the parish. The ecclesiastical affairs are
under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dunblane
and synod of Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend
is £147. 13. 8., with a manse, and the glebe is valued
at £16 per annum; patron, Mr. Stirling. The church,
built in 1827, is a handsome structure in the later
English style, with a square embattled tower embellished
with sculptured figures of some of the Scottish reformers,
in high-relief, executed by Holmes, of Ayrshire. The
parochial school embraces a very complete course of
classical and commercial instruction; the master has a
salary of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees,
averaging £12 per annum. An infants' school is supported by the Stirling family; and the poor till lately
had the proceeds of several bequests, yielding £7 per
annum. Principal Haldane, of the university of St.
Andrew's, is a native of this parish.
Leeds, New
LEEDS, NEW, a village, in the parish of Strichen,
district of Deer, county of Aberdeen, 12½ miles (W.
N. W.) from Peterhead; containing 203 inhabitants.
This village lies in the eastern extremity of the parish,
and on the high road from Aberdeen to Fraserburgh.
Leetown
LEETOWN, a village, in the parish of Errol,
county of Perth; containing 112 inhabitants. It is
the largest of three small villages or hamlets in the
parish, all distant from the village of Errol: the population is chiefly agricultural.
Legerwood
LEGERWOOD, a parish, in the county of Berwick,
5½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Lauder; containing 571
inhabitants. The name of this place, signifying in the
Saxon "the light or hollow wood," is supposed to have
been derived from the situation of its church in a spot
almost surrounded by woods. Prior to the twelfth century the lands belonged to the family of the Stewarts,
to whom they were confirmed by charter of Malcolm IV.,
King of Scotland, in 1160; the greater portion of the
barony is now the property of the Marquess of Tweeddale. The parish, which is about six miles in length
and four and a half in breadth, is bounded on the west
by the river Leader, and comprises 8430 acres; 3470
are arable, 1800 meadow and pasture, 400 woodland and
plantations, and the remainder moorland and hill pasture.
The surface is generally elevated, and is traversed in
the northern part by three ridges of hills, of which the
highest is nearly 1100 feet above the level of the sea;
in the southern part is also a hill of considerable elevation, rising by a gentle acclivity from the east. The
scenery is diversified with valleys, and enriched with
woods of ancient growth, and thriving plantations. The
Eden, a rivulet which has its source in the Boon hill,
pursues a winding course through the parish, and falls
into the Tweed below Newton-Don: numerous smaller
streams, tributaries to the Leader and the Eden, rise in
the higher grounds, and in parts of their course exhibit
some highly pleasing scenery; and there are also many
springs, affording an excellent supply of water. A lake
of considerable extent, on the lands of Corsbie, has been
drained, and partly converted into meadow land.
The soil is very various in different parts of the
parish, but upon the whole is tolerably fertile, and, under
good management, produces favourable crops of oats,
barley, beans, potatoes, and turnips. The system of
agriculture is in an advanced state, and the five-shift
rotation generally practised; the lands are drained
and inclosed; the farm houses and offices are substantial
and well arranged, and all the more recent improvements
in implements have been adopted. Much attention is
paid to live stock, and considerable numbers of sheep
and cattle are annually pastured; the sheep are of the
Leicestershire and Cheviot breeds, with an occasional
cross between the two, and the cattle chiefly of the
short-horned breed. The woods are of oak, ash, alder,
birch, and hazel: the plantations are larch, and spruce
and Scotch firs, intermixed with various kinds of foresttrees; they are all well managed, and in a very flourishing state. The substrata are mainly sandstone of the
secondary formation, greywacke, and greywacke-slate;
small portions of copper-ore have been discovered on
the lands of Dods farm, supposed to have been washed
from the soil by rain, and particles of copper have been
found in various parts of the parish. The Boon hill is
composed of a species of conglomerate; and a quarry
has been opened, supplying materials for the roads, for
which use it is well adapted. The rateable annual value
of Legerwood is £4856. Facility of communication with
the nearest market-town and other places in the vicinity
is afforded by good roads, of which those from Kelso
and Hawick to Edinburgh pass, the former on the east,
and the latter on the west, side of the parish; and there
are also commodious bridges over the different streams,
all kept in excellent repair.
The parish is in the presbytery of Lauder and synod
of Merse and Teviotdale, and in the patronage of Henry
Ker Seymer, Esq.; the minister's stipend is £205. 4. 6.,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £15 per annum.
The church, an ancient edifice, repaired in 1717 and
1804, and enlarged in 1837, is a substantial and neat
building, adapted for a congregation of about 300 persons.
The parochial school affords instruction to about seventy
children; the master has a salary of £28, with £20 fees,
and a house and garden. Several children of the parish,
on account of their distance from this school, attend the
schools of Westruther and Melrose. A small library,
supported by subscription, is gradually extending its
collection; and the parish regularly contributes to
the various missionary schemes that are under the
management of the General Assembly. On a small
mount, richly wooded, and formerly surrounded by
the lake of Corsbie, which has been drained, are the
remains of an ancient castle, the residence of the lords
of the barony; there are also, at Whitslaid, similar
remains of a baronial castle. The date of their foundation is unknown; but they are thought to have been
erected in the reign of James II. Upon the summit of
Legerwood hill are traces of a camp supposed to be
Roman, and there are vestiges of another on Birkenside
hill; but they have been both much defaced by the
plough, and have nearly disappeared under the modern
improvements in cultivation. On the hill of Boon is an
upright shaft of sandstone, rising from a block of the
same material; it is called Dods Corse Stane, and is
said to be an ancient cross, pointing out the site of a
market formerly held here, or the place where a duel
was once fought.
Leith
LEITH, a burgh and
sea-port town, in the county
of Edinburgh, 1½ mile
(N. by E.) from Edinburgh,
and 392 (N. N. W.) from
London; containing, with
the parishes of North and
South Leith, 28,268 inhabitants. This place, which is of
considerable antiquity, formerly belonged to the abbey
of Holyrood, and, in a charter of David I. to the monks
of that establishment, is noticed under the designation
of Inverleith, from its position near the influx of the
river or Water of Leith into the Frith of Forth. Its
earlier history is almost identified with that of the city of
Edinburgh, of which it forms a kind of suburb, and within the jurisdiction of which, notwithstanding its charter
of incorporation, it is still in some respects essentially
included. Previously to the commencement of the
fourteenth century, though possessing every advantage
of situation, it had acquired little importance as a commercial town: in 1329, its harbour, and the mills which
had been erected, were obtained by the corporation
of Edinburgh, by grant from Robert Bruce, on the
payment of fifty-two merks annually. In 1398, Sir
Robert Logan, lord of Restalrig, and superior of the
town, resisted the claims of the corporation to the banks
of the river of Leith, which they consequently bought of
him for a very considerable sum; and in 1561 the superiority of the burgh, which had been sold by his family
to Mary, queen of James V., then regent, for 10,000
merks, was purchased from Mary, Queen of Scots, by
the town-council of Edinburgh, by whom the inhabitants of Leith were held in a state of abject vassalage.
By act of the corporation, they were restrained from
carrying on any trade, and from the building of
warehouses for the reception of merchandise landed at
the port, which, immediately on its arrival, was forwarded to Edinburgh. They were also prohibited from
keeping shops of any kind, and from opening inns or
houses of entertainment for strangers, or even for passengers arriving by the vessels; nor was it permitted
that any merchant in Edinburgh should enter into partnership with an inhabitant of Leith, under a penalty of
forty shillings and forfeiture of the freedom of the city
for one year. In 1313, and also in 1410, the town
suffered severely from the English, who burnt all the
ships in the harbour; and in 1488, after the battle of
Bannockburn, it was seized by the insurgent nobility
who had taken arms against James III., during whose
occupation of it the Frith of Forth was scoured by the
ships of Sir Andrew Wood, the firm adherent of that
monarch, with whose successor, James IV., he afterwards
held an interview at this place.
Burgh Seal.
The town was plundered in 1544 by the English
forces under the Earl of Hertford, who had landed at
Royston with an army of 10,000 men, and who, after
securing the whole of the vessels in the harbour, and
leaving 1500 of his soldiers here, advanced to Edinburgh, on his return from which, previously to the
embarkation of his troops, he set fire to Leith. The
place suffered a similar calamity in 1547, from the same
leader, then Duke of Somerset, who seized thirty-five
vessels at that time in the Frith. In 1549, the French
General D'Esse landed at Leith with a force of 6000
men, for the assistance of the queen regent against the
lords of the congregation, and strongly fortified the
town, which the lords fruitlessly endeavoured to take by
escalade, but which subsequently surrendered by capitulation. It was besieged by the English in 1560; and
two of the mounds raised by the troops on that occasion, and from which they discharged their artillery,
are still to be seen on the Links. In 1561, Mary, Queen
of Scots, upon her return from France, landed here on the
20th of August, and, after remaining for a few hours to rest
from the fatigue of the voyage, proceeded to Edinburgh,
where she was received with joyful acclamations. Not
long afterwards, the fortifications, which consisted of an
octangular rampart, defended with strong bastions at
the angles, were demolished by order of the corporation
of Edinburgh; but the town was partly fortified by
the Earl of Morton in 1571, when the regency was held
by the Earl of Lennox, who made it his residence, and
held his court here for some time, during which the
misunderstandings between him and Morton frequently
involved the inhabitants in all the calamities of civil war.
In 1590, James VI. landed here with his queen, Anne
of Denmark; he arrived in the roads on the 1st of
May, but was compelled, from want of accommodation
in the town, to remain on board till the 6th, during the
preparation of Holyrood palace for his reception.
At the commencement of the war in the reign of
Charles I., it was proposed again to fortify Leith; and
considerable progress was made in the works by numerous volunteers who gratuitously gave their assistance, persons even of the higher classes undertaking
the performance of most laborious tasks. In 1643, the
solemn league and covenant was zealously subscribed by
the inhabitants, who almost exclusively embraced the
doctrines of the reformed religion. During the continuance of the plague in 1645, not less than 2430 persons
fell victims to its ravages, and, for want of room in the
churchyards, were buried in the Links, where immense
quantities of human bones, wrapped in blankets, have
at various times been discovered. In 1650, the town
was taken possession of by the army of Cromwell, who
made it their head-quarters, and levied monthly contributions on the inhabitants. After Cromwell's return
to England, General Monk, his commander-in-chief,
built a strong fortress here called the Citadel, at an expense of £10,000; but the site of this fortress, which
was in the form of a pentagon, with bastions at the
angles, and having an entrance towards the east, is now
occupied by the buildings of the docks and the Mariners'
church, recently erected. During the residence of Monk
in the town, he induced several English families to
settle here, who contributed greatly towards the establishment of its subsequent commercial prosperity.
In 1705, Capt. Green, of the Worcester East Indiaman,
who had taken shelter in the harbour, was, by a singular
incident, recognised as having committed murder and
piracy on the crew of a Scottish vessel off the coast of
Malabar, and, together with three of his crew who had
been concerned in that transaction, was hanged within
the flood-mark, on the shore. During the enterprise of
the Pretender in 1715, Brigadier Mc Intosh of Borlane,
with a party of his adherents, took possession of the
citadel, which he occupied for some time; but, being
pursued by the Duke of Argyll, he evacuated the post
in the night, and, after plundering the custom-house,
and liberating the prisoners in the gaol, retreated over
the sands at low water. In 1779, a party of Highland
recruits who had enlisted into the 42nd and 71st regiments, refusing to embark on board the transport vessels in the harbour, a serjeant with a detachment of
soldiers was sent from Edinburgh Castle to enforce
order, when a violent conflict arose, and the serjeant
being twice severely wounded by the Highlanders, his
party fired upon the mutineers, of whom twelve were
killed, and twenty severely wounded. In the same year,
the appearance of the notorious pirate, Paul Jones,
with three armed vessels, excited some alarm; and a
battery of nine guns was erected to the west of the
citadel, to protect the town from the threatened invasion:
but a storm which arose, dispersing his vessels, delivered
the inhabitants from all further apprehension. The
town was anciently celebrated for its public games, of
which golf was the most prevalent; and it was while
he was engaged in this sport, on the Links, that
Charles I. was informed of the Irish rebellion, when he
instantly left the ground, and on the following day returned to London. Races were formerly held on the
sands, under the patronage of the corporation of Edinburgh, who annually gave a purse, and attended them
in their habits of ceremony; but in 1816, they were
transferred to the Links of Musselburgh, where they are
still held, and numerously attended. George IV., on
his visit to Scotland in 1822, arrived in the Leith roads
on the 14th of August, and on the following day landed
at the harbour, and was received by a vast concourse of
the nobility and gentry, attended by the civic functionaries, who escorted him from the town to the palace
of Holyrood House. Leith was also visited by Her
present Majesty, when making a tour through her Scottish dominions, in September, 1842; and on the 3rd
of that month the provost and magistrates presented a
loyal address to the queen, who was then entering the
burgh, from Dalmeny Park, on her way to Dalkeith. A
triumphal arch was erected on the occasion, and every
other means adopted to testify the joyous feelings of
the inhabitants.
The town, which is situated on the south side of the
Frith of Forth, at the influx of the Water of Leith, is of
considerable extent, and has within the last few years
been greatly improved by the erection of several spacious and well-formed streets, crossing each other at
right angles. The more ancient part, situated between
Kirkgate-street and the river, consists chiefly of narrow
lanes and alleys of mean houses, inhabited only by
persons of the lowest order; but that portion of the town
which is of more modern date is uniformly built, containing handsome houses; and the public buildings are
of elegant character. Kirkgate-street, in which are the
church of South Leith and the Trinity House, forms a
continuation of Leith Walk, a noble line of approach
from Edinburgh, and contains several remnants of
antiquity, among which was till lately the mansion of
the Balmerino family, now demolished, where Charles II.
slept on the night of his arrival in Scotland by invitation from the Scottish parliament, in 1650. Other
houses are said to have been the occasional residence of
the queen regent and of Oliver Cromwell. Parallel
with Kirkgate-street is Constitution-street, a handsome
and very uniform range of buildings, joined at one
extremity by St. Bernard's-street, from which Balticstreet branches off, leading into Salamander-street. Great
Junction-street, conducting to the fort, is a spacious
avenue; and there are various other regular and wellformed streets. The town is lighted with gas, and
amply supplied with water, which is carried by pipes to
the houses.
Two public subscription libraries, containing extensive
collections of interesting volumes, are well supported;
and card and dancing assemblies take place in an elegant suite of rooms in the Exchange Buildings in Constitution-street, where also are held the meetings of
the Philharmonic Society, established in 1831, concerts
being given every Wednesday evening from the commencement of October till the end of April: in the
same edifice are the library and lecture-room of the
mechanics' institution. These Exchange Buildings were
erected at an expense of £16,000, and form a spacious
structure in the Grecian style of architecture, consisting
of a projecting centre and two slightly-projecting wings.
In the centre is a stately portico of four Ionic columns,
rising from a rusticated basement to the roof, and supporting an entablature and cornice surmounted by a
triangular pediment; the wings are also embellished
with Ionic columns, between which are entrances to
other parts of the building. The interior contains the
assembly and concert room, with card, tea, and supper
rooms adjoining, a library and reading-room, the lectureroom for the mechanics' institution, already noticed,
and the post-office, in addition to the various offices and
apartments for the purposes of the exchange. On the
Links, behind Constitution-street, are the Seafield baths,
to which is attached an hotel, erected in 1803, at an
expense of £8000, by a proprietary of £50 shareholders,
and replete with every accommodation. At Leith Fort,
to the west of the custom-house, are the artillerybarracks, a spacious range. The ancient stone bridge
across the Water of Leith, erected by Robert Ballendean,
abbot of Holyrood, has been removed, and a handsome
bridge of stone erected a little above the town; there
are also two bridges of wood over the river, affording
facility of communication between the districts of
North and South Leith.
The principal manufactures carried on in the town
are those of soap, candles, ropes, cordage, sailcloth,
crown-glass, and bottles: there are several breweries,
a distillery, a large establishment for the refining of
sugar, extensive saw-mills, and cooperages; and in the
vicinity are some iron-foundries and other works.
The foreign trade of the port is chiefly with the North
of Europe and the West Indies, in addition to which it
has an important coasting-trade; the principal imports
are, wine, tobacco, timber, hemp, and tallow. The
number of vessels registered as belonging to the port, in
1843, was 263, of the aggregate burthen of 27,897 tons:
the number which in that year entered inwards, was
266 British, of 38,647 tons, and 364 foreign, of the
burthen of 33,671 tons; and the amount of customs
was £628,008. There are three companies engaged in
the trade with London, in which they collectively employ
twenty-two vessels; five vessels are employed in the
trade with Hull, four in that of Newcastle, five in that
of Aberdeen, four in the trade with Inverness, several
also with Greenock, Wick, Fife, Dundee, Stirling,
Liverpool, and other ports, and seven in the Greenland
trade. The harbour, upon the improvement of which
very considerable sums have been expended without
adequate benefit, is under the management of commissioners appointed by act of parliament in 1838. The
entrance is defended by a martello tower: at the
mouth is a lighthouse with reflecting lamps; and
another, with a revolving light, has been erected on the
small island of Inch-Keith, in the middle of the Frith,
about four miles from the shore. The present docks
were commenced in 1800, and completed in 1817, under
the superintendence of the late Sir John Rennie, civil
engineer, at a cost of £285,000, of which £265,000
were borrowed from government by the corporation of
Edinburgh. The two wet-docks are each 250 yards in
length and 100 yards in breadth; they are protected
from the sea by a strong wall, and are capable of containing 150 ships of ordinary size. On the north side
are three graving-docks, each 136 feet long and seventy
feet wide, with an entrance thirty-six feet in breadth;
and on the south side of the wet-docks is a fine range
of spacious warehouses, for the bonding of grain, foreign
wines, and other articles of merchandise. The pier has
been greatly improved at the joint expense of government and the corporation of Edinburgh: the Leith
roads afford good anchorage for vessels of any burthen;
and of the vessels employed in the coasting-trade, the
greater number lie in the harbour, and the remainder in
the wet-docks. Ship-building is carried on to a considerable extent, and there are several yards for that purpose, from which various fine steamers and other vessels
have been launched: in 1840, a government steamer
and a merchantman of very large dimensions were built
here.
The custom-house, situated on the north side of the
harbour, and at the west end of the lower drawbridge,
is a fine structure in the Grecian style of architecture,
erected in 1812, at a cost of £12,617. In the centre of
the principal front, which has a slight projection, is a
receding portico of two lofty columns, rising to the
roof, and supporting a triangular pediment, in the
tympanum of which are the royal arms: the wings also
project slightly beyond the main line of the building.
The whole edifice is crowned with a handsome entablature and cornice surmounted by a parapet panelled in
compartments, and relieved in the, intervals with an
open balustrade. The National Bank, in St. Bernard'sstreet, is an elegant building likewise in the Grecian
style, two stories in height. The centre of its main
front has a semicircular projecting portico of four Ionic
columns, sustaining an entablature and cornice continued round the building, and surmounted by a graceful
dome; and the front on each side of the portico is embellished with pilasters of corresponding character. In
the Tolbooth wynd is the market-place, which is well
arranged, provided with convenient stalls, and plentifully supplied with fish and with provisions of all kinds.
Facility of communication is maintained with Edinburgh
and the neighbourhood by roads kept in excellent
order; and a branch of the Edinburgh and Dalkeith
railway, four miles in length, has its terminus here,
contiguous to which are spacious inclosed yards belonging to the proprietors of the several collieries in the
vicinity, whence the inhabitants are chiefly supplied with
coal. In July, 1844, an act was obtained for the extension of the Edinburgh and Trinity-pier railway, now
called the Edinburgh, Leith, and Granton railway, to
Leith and to Granton-pier; these two branch lines
have been commenced, and are expected to be completed in 1846, the whole forming a junction with the
Edinburgh and Glasgow and the North-British railways.
The burgh, under a succession of charters from the
time of David I. to that of Charles II., by which king
they were recited and confirmed, was till recently subordinate to the corporation of Edinburgh; and its
government was vested in one of the magistrates of that
city, who had the title of Admiral of Leith, and in two
resident bailies chosen from the inhabitants of Leith by
the Edinburgh town-council. Under the provisions of
the Municipal act of the 3rd and 4th of William IV.,
however, the burgh affairs are entrusted to a provost,
four bailies, a treasurer, and ten councillors, appointed
according to the directions of that act, and exercising
jurisdiction independently of Edinburgh. There are
four principal chartered incorporations, viz., the Shipmasters, or the Corporation of the Trinity House, the
Merchants' Company, the Maltmen, and the Trades.
The last is subdivided into the several crafts of wrights,
coopers, hammermen, bakers, tailors, cordiners, fleshers,
barbers, and weavers, each of which sends a member to
the association of conveners, also deemed a separate
corporation. The freedom of the burgh is obtained by
entrance into one of these four bodies, for which the
fees vary extremely according to the age of the person;
in some, from £50 to £150 for strangers, about half
that sum for sons and sons-in-law of freemen, and for
apprentices from £20 to £30: in other companies the
fees are very inconsiderable. The provost is admiral,
and the bailies are deputy-admirals, of Leith; they
hold courts of admiralty, and, as magistrates of the
burgh, courts for the determination of civil pleas: there
is also a sheriff's court. The police of the town is under
the superintendence of commissioners, consisting of the
provost and magistrates of Edinburgh and Leith, the
masters of the several corporations, and others chosen
by inhabitants renting houses of £15 per annum. There
is a separate police for the docks, appointed by the
dock commissioners.
The Town Hall, erected in 1827, at about the centre of
Constitution-street, is a handsome building comprising
convenient rooms for holding the sheriff's courts, and
offices for transacting the police business of the burgh.
The Trinity House, now called the Mariners' Hospital,
situated in Kirkgate-street, was erected on the site
of the ancient building designated Trinity Hospital,
in 1817, at an expense of £2500. It is a handsome structure in the Grecian style, with a portico of
two duplicated columns of the Doric order, surmounted
by a balustrade, behind which is a Venetian window
between duplicated columns of the same order, supporting an entablature and cornice, which are continued
round the building, and are crowned in the centre by
a triangular pediment having in the tympanum the
emblems of navigation, well sculptured. On each side,
the front is ornamented with pilasters, between which
are handsome windows. In the hall where the masters
hold their meetings are some good paintings, including
portraits of the queen regent, Lord Duncan, and
others; and in another of the rooms is an ancient view
of the town. The Council Chambers, which have been
rebuilt on the site of the ancient structure, form a neat
building in the Norman style of architecture, and contain several well-aired apartments for the confinement
of prisoners, besides the burgh court-house. In conjunction with Newhaven, Portobello, and Musselburgh,
the burgh returns a member to parliament.
The parish of North Leith once belonged to the
abbey of Holyrood, from which it was separated in
1606; and in 1630, the baronies of Newhaven and
Hillhousefield were severed from the parish of St.
Cuthbert, and annexed to this parish, which now extends rather more than a mile and a half along the
shore of the Frith, and is about a quarter of a mile in
average breadth, containing a population of 8492. The
lands in the rural district are all inclosed, and, with
the exception of a few acres of arable land, are laid out
in gardens, and in pleasure-grounds and plantations
attached to the numerous villas with which the parish
abounds: towards Newhaven, the sea has made very
considerable encroachments. The ecclesiastical affairs
are under the superintendence of the presbytery of
Edinburgh and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale; patrons, the heads of families. The minister's stipend,
including the vicarage tithe on fish, is £285, with an
allowance of £60 in lieu of manse, and a glebe valued
at £394 per annum, subject to deductions for repairs.
The church, erected by the heritors, in 1815, at an expense of £9000, and situated to the south-east of the
fort, is an elegant structure in the Grecian style of
architecture, after a design by Mr. Burn, with a stately
portico of four Ionic columns, supporting a triangular
pediment. Above is a tower of three diminishing stages,
of which the first is of the Doric, the second of the
Ionic, and the third of the Corinthian order; and this
tower is surmounted by an elegant spire rising to the
height of 158 feet from the pavement. The interior of
the edifice is well arranged, and contains 1768 sittings,
of which fifty-four are free. There are also places of
worship for members of the Free Church and United
Secession. The parochial school is well conducted; the
master has a salary of £21, with a house and garden,
and the fees average about £8 per annum. There are
several other schools, of which four are supported by
subscription.
The parish of South Leith, which is much more extensive than North Leith, includes the villages of Jock'sLodge and Restalrig, the late quoad sacra district of St.
John's, and part of the late quoad sacra districts of
Glenorchy and Portobello; and contains a population of
19,776, of whom 3428 are in St. John's. It is about
three miles in length, from the harbour of Leith, on the
eastern bank of the river, to the confines of Portobello,
and is about a mile and a half in breadth, comprising
1200 acres, and including the east side of Leith Walk,
the Calton Hill, the North Back of the Canongate, and
other portions of the environs of Edinburgh. The
rural district, with the exception of the Calton Hill,
consists of rich arable land in high cultivation, and of
fertile meadows, extensive nursery-grounds, and vegetable, fruit, and flower gardens; it is thickly interspersed with stately mansions surrounded by plantations and pleasure-grounds, and with numerous villas
inhabited by opulent families. The ministerial charge
is collegiate: the stipend of the first minister, who is
appointed by the Crown, is £395. 19. 11., with an
allowance of £80 in lieu of manse, and a glebe valued
at £80 per annum; the stipend of the second minister,
appointed by the Kirk Session and Incorporations, is
£247. 1. 2., without either manse or glebe. The church,
originally the chapel of the Virgin Mary, was made
parochial in 1609, when the parish church of Restalrig
was destroyed as a monument of idolatry, by order of
the first General Assembly after the Reformation. It
is a very ancient structure, erected prior to the year
1490, and has suffered no alteration, except in 1791,
when a gallery that obstructed the light was removed;
it contains 1717 sittings, of which 150 are free. The
church dedicated to St. John was erected by subscription in 1773. A church dedicated to St. Thomas, with
a residence for the minister, was erected and endowed
in 1840, in connexion with an asylum for sick poor
and some schools, by John Gladstone, Esq., of Fasque,
a native of the town, at an expense of £10,000. The
church is a handsome structure in the later English
style; and the asylum, in which is accommodation for ten
patients, and the schools, form a neat range of buildings of a similar character; the whole after a design by
Mr. Henderson. There are five preaching stations, where
divine service is performed by the missionaries, who are
licentiates of the Established Church, and have a stipend
of £50 each. The episcopal chapel dedicated to St.
James was erected by subscription in 1805, at a cost of
£1600; it is a handsome structure in the Grecian style
of architecture, with a receding portico in the centre,
and two slightly-projecting wings ornamented in the
upper part with duplicated columns, and crowned by a
parapet divided into compartments by pedestals supporting urns. The interior is well arranged, and contains
380 sittings. There also are two places of worship for
members of the Free Church, two for the United Secession, one for the members of the Relief, two for Independents, and one for Wesleyans.
The High School, situated in the south-west part of the
Links, in the immediate vicinity of the town, is under
the direction of the magistrates of the burgh, the heads
of the various corporations, and the ministers of the
parish, to whom, as trustees, were paid over their share
of Dr. Bell's bequest for the foundation of burgh schools
on the Madras system, namely £4894. 16. 8. three per
cent. consols, and £4895. 16. 8. bank annuities. The
school is conducted principally by a classical master
and an assistant, a mathematical master, two masters
for English, and one for writing and arithmetic, who,
in addition to the fees, receive certain salaries from the
trustees. There were lately added an English master
with a salary of £50, and a writing-master with a salary
of £30, paid from Dr. Bell's endowment; and these
teach on the Madras system. The building, erected in
1805, by subscription, is a handsome structure two
stories in height, with two projecting porticos of two
columns each, rising from a rustic basement; it is surmounted by a square turret, ornamented at the angles
with columns of the Ionic order, and crowned by a
graceful dome. The hall, and the several class rooms,
are spacious and well arranged. There are various other
schools, of which one for 120 boys, another for 80
girls, and an infant school in which are 170 children
under the management of ladies, are supported by voluntary subscription. The Hospital of King James, to which
James VI. in 1612 transferred the funds of the ancient
preceptory of St. Anthony, with other endowments, has
been long under the patronage of the Kirk Session, for
the relief of poor widows, and indigent members of the
several corporations. There are also a dispensary, a
humane society, and various other religious and benevolent associations, including a Bible Society, a British
and Foreign Bible Society, a Sabbath School Society,
and a Religious Tract Society.
Leith-Lumsden
LEITH-LUMSDEN, a village, in the parish of
Auchindoir and Kearn, Alford district of the county
of Aberdeen; containing 233 inhabitants. This village
has sprung up within the last twenty-five years, and is
the only one in the parish: the population is agricultural.
Leith, St. John's
LEITH, ST. JOHN'S, lately a quoad sacra parish, in
the parish of South Leith, county of Edinburgh,
1½ mile (N. by E.) from Edinburgh; containing 3428
inhabitants. This parish was separated for ecclesiastical
purposes by act of the General Assembly in 1834; it was
about three-quarters of a mile in length, and one-quarter
of a mile in breadth, and entirely occupied by the
buildings of the town. The stipend of the minister
is £250, of which £200 are secured by bond of the
managers, on the part of the congregation, who are the
patrons, and the remainder is variable according to the
state of the funds. The church, erected by subscription
in 1773, is a neat structure containing 1000 sittings, of
which sixty are free. There is a place of worship for a
congregation denominated Separatists. A school is supported by the Kirk Session; and there are numerous
Sabbath schools, in which about 500 children receive
instruction.
Leith, Water Of
LEITH, WATER OF, a village, in that part of the
parish of St. Cuthbert, city of Edinburgh, which
formed the late quoad sacra parish of Dean, county of
Edinburgh; containing 1024 inhabitants. This place
is in the immediate vicinity of the Leith Water, whence
the name; and is a western suburb of the city of Edinburgh, which see.
Leitholm
LEITHOLM, a village, in the parish of Eccles,
county of Berwick, 5 miles (N. W.) from Coldstream;
containing 365 inhabitants. It lies in the eastern extremity of the parish, near the Leet water, the boundary
on that side, and is on the high road from Kelso to Berwick. This is the largest village in the parish, and has
a by-post to Coldstream.
Lempitlaw
LEMPITLAW, a village, in the parish of Sprouston, district of Kelso, county of Roxburgh, 2½ miles
(S. E.) from Sprouston; containing 119 inhabitants. This
place was the head of the barony of Lempitlaw, which
was formerly a distinct parish; at what particular time
it was annexed to the parish of Sprouston is not exactly
known. The village is on the road from Kelso to Coldstream, a short distance from the Tweed, which flows
westward of it, and consists chiefly of a few small farmhouses in detached situations, and about twenty-five
neatly-built cottages, inhabited by persons principally
employed in husbandry.
Lennoxtown
LENNOXTOWN, a village, in the parish of Campsie,
county of Stirling, 3 miles (N. W. by W.) from Kirkintilloch; containing 2821 inhabitants. This is a considerable place, situated in the centre of the parish,
and deriving its name from the family of Lennox, of
Woodhead, on whose property it is built. It is about
nine miles north of Glasgow, and nearly a mile south of
the base of Campsie fells; and the road from Kirkintilloch to the village of Campsie passes through it. On
account of its very centrical position, and its proximity
to large public works, it has now become the residence
of almost one-half of the population of the parish. Here
are prepared the various chemical products of the
Campsie alum-work, at the east end of the village; and
in the neighbourhood are several coal-mines and limekilns. The printing of calico is extensively carried on:
indeed, the Lennox-mill printfield is said to be the
largest establishment of the kind in Scotland, employing
upwards of 700 persons. The Kincaid and Lillyburn
printfields, and Clachan and Glenmill bleachfields,
are in the vicinity of the village, and are also very
extensive concerns, in which a great number of hands
are engaged: all these works are within the parish.
Numerous individuals are likewise employed in a variety of handicraft trades; and few places are the
scenes of greater enterprise and industry. Both sheriff's
courts and justice-of-peace courts are held in the village,
which is also the polling-place for the district. A postoffice has been established under Glasgow. Among the
most striking objects around Lennoxtown, is the elegant
and newly-built mansion of Lennox Castle, the residence
of J. L. Kincaid Lennox, Esq., the superior of the
village; this splendid edifice was commenced in 1837,
and completed in 1841, and is in the boldest style of the
old Norman architecture. The principal entrance is by
a handsome portcochere on the north front; and from
the lofty towers, which overtop the aged trees that
formerly adorned the ancient mansion-house of Woodhead, is a prospect of considerable extent and beauty.
The grounds surrounding the castle are laid out with
artistical taste, and plans for their improvement and extension are still in operation. The parochial church, a
handsome edifice, built in 1829, is situated here; and a
spacious school-house, consisting of two large rooms,
one of which is at present used as a juvenile, and the
other as an infant school, has lately been erected by
Messrs. Lennox and Dalglish, assisted by subscribers,
for the benefit of the numerous children in the locality.
A Roman Catholic priest resides in the village, for the
superintendence of the Irish population in Campsie,
amounting to between 600 and 1000 persons; and there
is a place of worship for the Relief persuasion.
Lentrathen
LENTRATHEN, Forfarshire.—See Lintrathen.
Leochel and Cushnie
LEOCHEL and CUSHNIE, a parish, in the district
of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 3½ miles (S. S. W.)
from Alford; containing 1084 inhabitants. These two
ancient parishes, the etymology of the names of which
is altogether uncertain, were united in 1618, by a decreet of the lords of Plat; but this union was dissolved
about three years subsequently, by the influence of
Bishop Patrick Forbes, a central church for the two
districts not having been built according to the conditions of the annexation. In 1793, however, a process
of annexation was commenced on the part of the heritors; and a decreet was passed by the Court of Teinds
on the 28th January, 1795, for the union, in consequence of which, two years afterwards, a central church
was built. The earls of Mar appear to have been the
first possessors of land in Leochel of whom any account
remains, Gilchrist, Earl of Mar, having, between the
years 1165 and 1170, given to the church of St. Mary,
Monymusk, and the Culdees there, the church of
Leochel, with all its tithes and offerings, and the portion
of land in which the church was situated. This gift was
confirmed and enlarged by some of his successors, and
was also ratified by a charter of Alexander II., about the
year 1234. The most ancient and the principal estates
in the district of Leochel are those of Corse, Craigievar,
Easter Fowlis or Fowlis-Mowat, Wester Fowlis, and
Lynturk; those in Cushnie are, Cushnie, and Hallhead.
The lands of Corse are locally in the adjoining parish of
Coull, but are annexed quoad sacra to this parish, a
union supposed to have taken place about 1621, when
Leochel and Cushnie were disunited by the exertions of
Bishop Forbes.
The parish is situated in the upper part of the district
of Alford, and is rendered extremely irregular in its outline by a projection on the north-west, and another on
the east, independently of which it measures about five
miles from east to west, and three and a half from north
to south. Its whole extent is 11,208 acres, of which
5455 are arable, 963 pasture, 3790 moor, and 1000
wood. The climate is somewhat cold, causing the
harvests to be in general rather later than those in the
lower part of the district; and the scenery partakes of
the variety and boldness produced by a combination of
hills, valleys, and mountains in almost uninterrupted
succession. The western boundary is marked by the
Soccoch, or hill of Cushnie, a mountain range rising
2000 feet above the level of the sea, and from the base
of which four lofty ridges stretch eastward throughout
the whole length of the parish, each accompanied by its
valley and refreshing stream. The summits of these
eminences are barren, the cultivated ground lying on the
southern and northern slopes, and in the beds of the
valleys, the lowest parts of which are only 500 feet
above the level of the sea. The prospects are extensive
and beautifully picturesque, especially from the hill of
Cushnie, comprehending in the panoramic range the
fertile vale of Cromar on the south, backed by the lofty
Grampians; Morven and Benavon on the west; the
windings of the Don along the valley of Towie, Belrinnes, the Buck of Cabrach, and the Tap of Noth, to
the north-west and north; and towards the north-east
and east, the vale of Alford, well cultivated and wooded,
with the district of Garioch, and the level tracts reaching to the Buchan coast. The locality is well watered
with rivulets usually flowing from west to east, and
falling into the principal stream, the burn of Leochel,
which, after a rather circuitous route of several miles
through the parish, falls into the Don at Alford. All
these waters abound with trout, especially the Leochel;
and frequently, by their sudden and violent floodings,
they occasion much damage to the bridges and the adjacent lands.
The soil is in some parts a rich loam, and occasionally
exhibits in the valleys, and near the streams, alluvial
deposits; but it is in general much mixed with clay, and
is incumbent on a retentive clayey subsoil. Grass and
turnips succeed best, though a considerable portion of
grain is raised, averaging annually in value £8000; and
about 500 head of black-cattle are sold yearly. These
are of the Aberdeenshire horned or polled breed, and are
the chief live-stock, very few sheep being kept. Great
improvements have been for some time going forward in
most branches of husbandry, which is here practised
sometimes by the six-shift, but most frequently according to the seven-shift, course; the farm-buildings are in
good condition, and threshing-mills have been considerably multiplied, forty-five being now in operation,
besides four meal-mills. The rocks in the parish consist principally of granite, of a red colour in some parts,
and in others inclining to grey: limestone has been also
found, though in too small quantities to repay the expense of quarrying. The rateable annual value of
Leochel and Cushnie is £3298. The plantations are
mostly of Scotch fir and larch, but the latter, after
about fifteen years' growth, generally falls to decay:
the whole of the wood has been planted since the year
1820, with the exception of some fine trees in the vicinity of the several mansions. Craigievar Castle, the
seat of Sir John Forbes, Bart., is in perfect repair, having been new-roofed in 1826, and is considered a fine
specimen of the old baronial mansion of the period of
James VI. The hall, a noble apartment, with its lofty
roof, its spacious fireplace, and venerable aspect of
feudal grandeur, is particularly admired; and the surrounding grounds, ornamented with ancient ash and
beech, render the scenery highly interesting. The house
of Cushnie and that of Hallhead are each about 150
years old, and are both dilapidated and untenanted.
The chief manufacture in the parish is that carried on
at a carding-mill, where plaids and blankets are made to
a small extent. Many aged women are engaged in knitting stockings, from worsted, for a house at Aberdeen,
and their joint labours produce an annual return of
between £70 and £100. The fuel chiefly in use was
formerly peat and turf; but these are now with great
difficulty obtained, the mosses in the parish being nearly
exhausted, and coal is frequently procured from Aberdeen. The Alford and Aberdeen turnpike-road passes
within five miles of the centre of the parish, on the
north; and that from Tarland to Aberdeen runs along
the southern border of the lands of Corse. A good
commutation road joins the Alford line at Whiteley, in
the parish of Tough; and the government road from
Donside to Deeside intersects the lower part of the
parish. The nearest post-offices are those of Alford on
the north-east, and Tarland on the south-west, each six
miles distant from the middle of the parish. The chief
communication for the sale of produce is with the market at Aberdeen. Fairs for cattle, horses, sheep, and
wool are held on a moor near Scuttrie, on the estate of
Craigievar, in April, May, July, August, and September.
Leochel and Cushnie are ecclesiastically in the presbytery of Alford and synod of Aberdeen; and Sir John
Forbes, Bart., and the Rev. Henry Thomas Lumsden,
proprietor of Cushnie, are alternate patrons of the
united parish, as respectively patrons of the two old
churches. The minister's stipend is £197, with an
allowance in addition from a proprietor, a manse, and a
glebe valued at £18 per annum. The church, containing 500 sittings, is, though built as late as 1797, in a
dilapidated state. The old churches are unroofed and
ruinous; but the grounds attached are still used as
burial-places. A small place of worship belonging to
the United Associate Synod is situated near the eastern
boundary. There are two parochial schools, affording
instruction in the ordinary branches: the masters have
each the minimum salary, with a house and garden,
from £12 to £15 fees, and an allowance of £30 from
the Dick bequest. A school is supported by the General Assembly, and two others by endowment, the one
school by a bequest of £300 from the late Peter and
Charles Ritchie, of Wester Leochel, and other persons,
and the other school by the late Peter Mc Combie, Esq.,
of Lynturk. There is a small library belonging to each
of the two districts; and considerable benefactions
have been made for the use of the poor. About the
year 1826, a gold coin of the Roman Emperor Constantius was dug up in Cushnie; and in 1839, a silver one
of James VI., struck after the union of the crowns, was
found near the manse. The chief antiquities are, several
subterraneous places called Picts' houses, some intrenchments on the hill of Corse, and the ruins of the castles
of Lynturk and Corse. Patrick Forbes, Bishop of
Aberdeen, a prelate distinguished for his learning and
piety; and his son, Dr. John Forbes, professor of
divinity in King's College, Aberdeen, were both proprietors of Corse; and the latter was buried in the
family aisle at Leochel. Dr. Matthew Lumsden, the
celebrated Orientalist, and professor of Persian and
Arabic in the college of Fort-William, Bengal, belonged
to the ancient family of Lumsden, of Cushnie. Sir John
Forbes is styled a Baronet from the property of Craigievar.
Leonard's, St.
LEONARD'S, ST., a parish, in the district of St.
Andrew's, county of Fife; containing 554 inhabitants.
This parish derives its name from the dedication of its
ancient church, and appears to have had its origin in
the frequent pilgrimages made by large numbers of
devotees to visit the relics of St. Andrew, deposited by
Regulus, a Grecian monk, in the church of St. Andrew
in the city of that name. The conventual buildings
were then wholly inadequate for the accommodation of
these pilgrims; and to remedy this deficiency, a house
was erected for their entertainment, with a church and
other requisite appendages, forming together the hospital
of St. Leonard, under the patronage of the prior and
brethren of the Augustine monastery, by whom it was
endowed, and within whose jurisdiction it was situated.
After the practice of visiting the relics of departed saints
had begun to subside, the hospital was converted into a
college, in connexion with the university of St. Andrew's;
and its original endowment was appropriated to the
maintenance of a principal, four chaplains, and twentysix scholars, of whom six, under the direction of the
principal, were to devote themselves exclusively to the
study of theology. This college was afterwards united
to that of St. Salvator; and the buildings and grounds
of the ancient hospital of St. Leonard were sold, and
the edifice subsequently converted into two separate
dwelling-houses, forming handsome residences for the
respective proprietors.
The parish is principally within the limits of the city
of St. Andrew's, to which it forms an appendage, and
with which in all civil matters it is intimately connected.
That part of it not surrounded by the city is bounded
on the north by the parish of St. Andrew's; on the east
by the parish of Kingsbarns; on the south by Crail;
and on the west by Denino. The surface of the rural
district is pleasingly diversified, and the soil generally
fertile; the whole number of acres is 981, of which about
650 are arable and in a state of profitable cultivation,
and 300 in pasture and waste land. There is very little
natural wood; and the parish contains few plantations of
any extent. The system of agriculture is in an improved
condition, and the crops are, oats, barley, wheat, potatoes,
and turnips; the lands are partially inclosed, and the
farm houses and offices in general substantially built
and commodious. The substrata are chiefly freestone
and sandstone; the former, though soft, is of good
quality, and very durable, and both are quarried for
building and other purposes. The principal landed
proprietors are, the principal and masters of the united
colleges of St. Salvator and St. Leonard, and the corporation of the city of Glasgow. The rateable annual
value of the parish is £797. The ecclesiastical affairs
are under the superintendence of the presbytery of St.
Andrew's and the synod of Fife: patron, the Crown.
The stipend of the incumbent was formerly five chalders
arising from the revenues of the priory of St. Andrew's,
and the rent of half an acre of land bequeathed about
200 years since for the support of the minister; but, by
act of parliament for the augmentation of small livings,
passed in 1810, it has been raised to £150 per annum,
of which £88 are received from the exchequer. There
was neither manse nor glebe; but, within the last few
years, a glebe of four acres, with half an acre additional
for the site of a manse, has been appropriated, and is at
present let for £18 per annum. The church, once
belonging to the hospital of St. Leonard, and for more
than two centuries the parish church, having fallen into
a state of dilapidation, the chapel of St. Salvator's College
has been since appropriated as the church of the parish.
This chapel, erected by Bishop Kennedy in the fifteenth
century, was, previously to its being mutilated at the
time of the Reformation, an elegant and spacious structure in the decorated English style of architecture;
and it still retains much of its original character, though
greatly curtailed in its dimensions, and stripped of many
of its ornaments. It is well adapted for a congregation
of nearly 500 persons. There is no school of any kind;
the children receive instruction in the various schools of
the city of St. Andrew's. The walls of the old parish
church are still in a state of good preservation, and
within the area are numerous monuments, erected to
the memory of individuals connected with the college,
but which, from the perishable nature of the stone, are
rapidly falling into decay. The tower and spire were
taken down soon after the chapel of St. Salvator's College was appropriated as the parish church.—See Andrew's, St.
Lerwick
LERWICK, a parish, sea-port, burgh, and market-town, and the county-town, in the Shetland Isles; containing 3284 inhabitants, of whom 2787 are in the
town, 95 miles (N. E.) from Kirkwall, 126 (N. E. by N.)
from Wick, 166 (N.) from Peterhead, and 272 (N. by E.)
from Edinburgh. This place, which has long been celebrated as the resort of whale-ships, Dutch herring-boats,
and numerous foreign and wind-bound vessels, originated
in the seventeenth century, in connexion with the Dutch
fishermen. Capt. Smith, however, who visited the islands
in 1633, describes the harbour, but makes no allusion
to the town, and in 1700 it contained not many more
than 200 families. It is situated on the eastern shore
of Mainland, opposite the island of Bressay, from which
it is separated by the narrowest part of Bressay sound,
otherwise called Lerwick harbour, and well known to
mariners who navigate these seas as a secure roadstead
in stormy weather. The town is built on a tract originally
covered with deep peat-moss, called the Commonty of
Sound, and consists of one principal street leading to
the harbour, from which avenues or lanes branch off at
different places. The most ancient houses are constructed
without any regularity, projecting from the line of
parallelism, and nearly meeting each other by their
abutment. Many improvements, however, have been
made within the present century; and several houses
have been erected in a more modern style, and with a
greater regard to order, by which the general appearance
of the town has been much altered. The gradual increase
of the population led to the cutting up of the peaty soil
of the surrounding land, for the purposes of fuel, in
consequence of which the ground exhibited a rocky or
stony exterior; but the aspect of the vicinity has, since
the year 1820, been rendered more attractive by the
inclosure of a common of about forty acres, encompassing the town, and by its partition into thirty-one parks,
most of which are under grass. Considerable portions,
also, of adjacent land have been brought into useful and
ornamental cultivation by resident gentlemen, at a great
expense; and neat and elegant houses and cottages
have been raised, which are surrounded by well laid-out
grounds and small but flourishing plantations. Among
these villas is that of Gremista, the occasional residence
of Sir Arthur Nicolson. A fort, said to have been erected
in Cromwell's time, is situated on an eminence at the
northern end of the town, and serves for the protection
of the harbour at its entrance in that part. It was
thoroughly repaired in 1781, when it was named FortCharlotte, after Her Majesty, the consort of George III.;
and it was garrisoned till the peace of 1783. For the
defence of the southern entrance of the sound, a government road has been formed, commencing half a mile
south from the town, and reaching to a promontory
called the Knab: by this road, the transit of artillery
or military stores can be effected at any time.
The inhabitants are occupied partly in agricultural
operations, and as shopkeepers and merchants, but
chiefly in the ling, cod, and herring fisheries, the last of
which engrosses considerable attention, though for some
years it has not been attended with very great success.
The ling-fishery, which continues from May to the middle
of August, engages a few boats from this parish; and
many sloops of small burthen are employed in the summer time in taking cod. To the herring-fishery, 174
boats were sent in 1839, chiefly from Lerwick. Independently of the fisheries, there is scarcely any traffic carried
on beyond that arising from a good general mercantile
business; and the only manufacture is that of various
articles of hosiery, such as stockings and gloves, made
by girls and women. A straw-plat manufactory formerly
existed here; but it has long been discontinued. The
making of herring-nets, however, which has been introduced into some neighbouring parishes, is considered,
on account of the demand for the article, likely to be
successful here, and is about to be commenced under
the auspices of the leading residents. The general
mercantile business transacted is very considerable;
almost the whole exported produce of Shetland passes
through the hands of the Lerwick merchants, and they
import nearly all the groceries and manufactured goods
used in the islands. The town contains a branch of
the Union Bank of Scotland. Several schooners having accommodation for passengers are engaged in the
coasting trade between Lerwick and Leith; it has
a mail-packet to Aberdeen in winter, and steam communication with the Frith of Forth during summer.
The exports are chiefly fish, butter, hides, tallow, calf
and rabbit skins, and stockings; and the imports, coal,
cloth, groceries, and grain. This being the seat of the
custom-house, all Shetland vessels are registered here:
the number belonging to Lerwick is about seventy,
and their tonnage 2016 in the aggregate. The customs
received at the port during the year 1844, amounted to
£463. Several vessels have been built here by Messrs.
Hay and Ogilvy, some of which are of 100 and 200
tons.
This is the county-town of the Shetland Isles, and the
sheriff-substitute of this division of the united sheriffdoms
of Orkney and Shetland resides, and holds his courts,
here. The foreign cod and herring fishermen assemble
at Lerwick in great numbers; and by an act of the 48th
of George III., it was made the rendezvous of the British
deep-sea herring fishermen, who are inspected here
previously to their engaging in the fishery. For the
furtherance of this object, by the establishment of a
resident magistracy, a royal charter was granted in
January, 1818, erecting the town into a burgh of barony,
by which the council is declared to consist of two bailies
and nine councillors, to be elected every three years, on
the first Thursday in September. The bailies and council,
as well as the electors, or burgesses, must be proprietors
or occupants of premises of the value of £10 per annum,
and must all reside within the burgh. At the time of the
passing of the late Municipal Corporations act, the rental
of property within the burgh was estimated at £3600; and
the number of persons resident whose rents in property
or tenancy amounted to £10 and upwards, was fortyeight, of whom forty-one were burgesses, and the rest
females or minors. The annual income of the corporation
does not exceed £5, and the expenditure is about £15,
the excess of the latter over the former being provided
for by a voluntary assessment of the inhabitants, as the
magistrates are not empowered to raise any taxes for
the support of the municipal establishment. By the
statute 35 George III. c. 122, the magistrates consider
themselves vested with the jurisdiction reserved to
independent burghs of barony under the statute 20
George II. c. 43, and with other powers within the
burgh competent to justices of the peace. Weekly burgh-courts are held under the Small-debt act; and there are
courts, when necessary, for the punishment of offences
and the removal of nuisances. A treasurer is appointed
by the magistrates and council; and a fiscal, peaceofficer, and town-crier by the magistrates alone. There
being no local act, the inhabitants have adopted the
general police act in regard to its provisions for cleansing,
paving, and the supplying of water; and for these purposes they assess themselves in the sum of sixpence in
the pound.
The parish stretches along the coast, and measures
about six miles in length, from north to south, and one mile
in breadth. It is separated by the sea on the east and
north-east from the island of Bressay, which here forms
the harbour of Bressay Sound, at the northern extremity
of which, not far from the shore, rises the dangerous
rock called the Unicorn. The surface of the parish, as
well as that of the surrounding country, is rocky and
mountainous, the highest point reaching about 300 feet
above the level of the sea; the soil on the elevated grounds
is a deep peaty moss, and that of the arable land, which
lies in patches along the sea-shore, light and sandy,
and tolerably productive. The rocks consist of sandstone and conglomerate, and a quarry is in operation.
The rateable annual value of the parish is £7006. It is
in the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland, and
in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland: the minister's
stipend is £150 per annum, with an allowance of £8. 5. 9.
for communion elements. Of these sums, £27. 15. 6.
are derived from the bishopric rents of Orkney, £16. 13. 4.
from the town of Lerwick, £23. 0. 8. from lands in the
rural district, and £90. 16. 3. from the exchequer, under
the Small-stipend act. There being neither manse nor
glebe, a compensation of £50 per annum is paid by the
heritors in lieu thereof. The church is a modern
edifice, with a Doric front of hewn stone, and stands
above the town, towards the northern extremity. The
salary of the parochial schoolmaster is £34. 4. 8. per
annum, with about £30 fees. The ruins of several
chapels were recently visible at Gulberwick; but the
only relic of antiquity of any note now remaining is a
castle of Pictish origin, on a small island in a lake near
Lerwick; and this is fast falling to decay.
Leslie
LESLIE, a parish, in the district of Garioch, county
of Aberdeen, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Old Rain, containing 553 inhabitants. This place is said to have
derived its name from a family who held the lands so
early as the eleventh century. It is very pleasantly
situated on the banks of the Gady, a beautiful stream
celebrated by Arthur Johnstone, the elegant Latin poet;
and was erected into a burgh of barony by James II. in
favour of George, "dominus de Lesly," with the privilege
of holding a weekly market on Thursday, and a yearly
fair at Michaelmas, both of which, however, have long
since been disused. The parish measures three and a
half miles in length and two and a half in breadth, and
comprises 4000 acres, 2800 of which are cultivated. It
is crossed by a ridge, in some parts considerably elevated,
stretching from east to west, and dividing it into two
nearly equal parts, between which, and the high grounds
separating the parish from the Alford district, is a valley
watered by the Gady. The climate is moist and variable.
The soil upon the north of the river is a light loam, on
a gravelly or sandy bottom; and that upon the other
side, a strong rich mould, incumbent on clay. The lands
are well farmed, the seven-shift course generally prevailing; and they produce good crops of grain and turnips.
The sheep are a cross between the Leicesters and Cheviots,
and the cattle are the native Aberdeenshire, the latter
producing yearly about £1620. The only landed proprietors are Sir Andrew Leith Hay and Colonel F. Leith.
The substratum consists principally of serpentine rock,
with felspar, quartz, and a variety of minerals in small
portions. There is no good wood, the only plantation
being very small and not in a flourishing state. The
fuel used is, peat obtained from a moss in the parish,
and coal from Inverury. The inhabitants are chiefly
employed in agricultural pursuits, there being no manufacture with the exception of that of worsted stockings,
in the knitting of which the aged females are particularly
expert. The farm-produce is sold at Huntly and Inverury; but chiefly at the latter, for conveyance to Aberdeen by canal; and there are two commutation roads, the
one running parallel with the Gady, by Premnay, to the
turnpike-road between Inverury and Aberdeen, and the
other, in the direction of Kinnethmont, joining the turnpike-road to Huntly. The rateable annual value of the
parish is £2472. It is in the presbytery of Garioch and
synod of Aberdeen, and in the patronage of Sir Andrew
Leith Hay: the minister's stipend is £159, of which
nearly a third is paid from the exchequer, with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £11. 5. per annum. The church,
containing nearly 300 sittings, is situated on the southern
bank of the Gady, not far from the eastern extremity of
the parish; it was built in 1815. There is a place of
worship for Independents. The parochial school affords
instruction in the usual branches: the master has a
salary of £25. 13. 4., and £2. 2. 9. in lieu of a garden,
with about £13 fees; also £1. 13. 4. left for teaching the
children of poor widows. The chief relic of antiquity is
Leslie House, formerly the seat of the barons of Leslie,
a castellated building now ruinous, founded in 1661, and
once inclosed by a rampart and fosse. The parish confers
the title of Baron on the Earl of Rothes.
Leslie
LESLIE, a parish and manufacturing town, in the
district of Kirkcaldy, county of Fife; containing
3625 inhabitants, of whom 2000 are in the town, 9 miles
(N. by W.) from Kirkcaldy, and 20 (N.) from Edinburgh.
This place is by some writers supposed to have derived
its name from the Gaelic Lis, a garden, or richly-cultivated spot, and from its situation on the river Leven;
others, however, deduce it from the earls of Rothes,
who became possessed of certain lands here, to which
they gave their family name, and from which that appellation was in process of time extended to the whole
parish. At the period of the Roman invasion of Britain,
the Caledonians, who are said to have defeated the ninth
legion on the Orr, disputed the passage of the Leven at
this place, and on being repulsed, retired to the heights
of Lomond, while the Romans encamped on the heights
of Balsillie, in the western confines of the parish, where
both Roman and Caledonian battle-axes and other warlike instruments have been discovered. The parish
appears to have been distinguished at an early period as
a favourite resort of the Scottish kings, for hunting and
the celebration of various sports; and many of the
lands are still called by appellations referring, in their
Gaelic origin, to these games, which seem to have been
continued till within a very recent period. The earls
of Rothes, of whom one was created a duke by Charles
II., granted the inhabitants numerous privileges by a
charter which erected the place into a burgh of barony;
and their descendants still retain possession of their
ancient lands, the property of the present earl.
The parish is about five miles in length and from
three to four miles in breadth, and is bounded on the
south by the river Leven, which separates it from the
parish of Kinglassie; it comprises nearly 6000 acres, of
which 4300 are arable, 1000 meadow and pasture, and
thirty undivided common. The surface is pleasingly
undulating from the bank of the Leven to the heights of
Lomond, and is intersected by two streams that flow
into that river from the north and west respectively,
enlivening the scenery, which is otherwise agreeably
varied, and richly embellished with the plantations in
the grounds of Leslie House, Strathendry, and other
handsome seats. The Leven issues from the lake of
that name, and, after a course of about twelve miles
through a fertile and highly-cultivated district, falls into
the sea at the thriving town of Leven. The banks of
this river abound with beautiful scenery; and its stream
gives motion to numerous mills, and affords an abundant supply of excellent water for the bleachfields in the
parish, and for other works that have been erected on its
sides. Previously to the establishment of the bleachfields, the river abounded with trout and eels of remarkably fine size and flavour; and so abundant were the
latter that the lands of Strathendry, before the dissolution
of monasteries, paid a tribute of many thousand eels
annually to the abbey of Inchcolm, on which they were
dependent. The soil is every where rich and fertile,
and the lands are in the highest state of cultivation
under an improved system of husbandry; the crops are,
barley, oats, wheat, potatoes and turnips, with the usual
green crops. The farm-buildings are substantial and
well arranged; great improvements have been made in
draining and inclosing the lands; the fences on some
farms are hedges of thorn, and on others stone dykes,
and both are kept in good order. The plantations are
ash, elm, beech, oak, and silver fir, with some larch and
sycamore; the trees on the Leslie estate are remarkably
fine, and leading to the house is a noble avenue of beech,
of more than two hundred years' growth, several of the
trees measuring nearly seventeen feet in girth at a height
of four feet from the ground. The substratum is generally whinstone, interspersed in places with gravel and
sand, which rest upon it to a considerable depth; lime-stone, is also prevalent, and quarried for manure; and
in the eastern part of the parish, coal is found, but the
mines have been nearly exhausted, and are not wrought
to any great extent. The rateable annual value of the
parish is £5488. Leslie House, the seat of the Earl of
Rothes, a noble quadrangular mansion erected by the
Duke of Rothes in the reign of Charles II., was mostly
destroyed by an accidental fire in 1763; but a remaining
side of the quadrangle, forming the present residence,
was repaired by John, Earl of Rothes, in 1767. It is
beautifully situated in a tastefully-disposed and richly-embellished demesne, comprehending much interesting
and picturesque scenery, and through part of which the
Leven winds its course between banks crowned with flourishing plantations. The house contains many stately
apartments, with a valuable collection of paintings and
family portraits, and some beautiful tapestry: among the
subjects of the last are, the Story of Leander, the Journey
of the Children of Israel through the Wilderness, and the
Anointing of Saul by Samuel. Strathendry is a handsome spacious mansion in the Elizabethan style, erected
within the last few years; it is pleasantly situated in
a wide domain, and has thriving plantations, chiefly of
modern growth.
The town is neatly built, and mostly inhabited by
persons employed in manufactures and in agriculture.
The weaving of linen is one of the chief branches of
trade, in which nearly 300 persons are engaged, for the
manufacturers of Glasgow: there are six mills for spinning flax, affording occupation to more than 800 persons;
and three bleachfields, in which almost 150 are occupied.
Prinlaws, a very considerable village, has arisen since
the recent establishment of an extensive flax-mill and
bleaching-ground by John Fergus, Esq.; it contains 760
inhabitants, chiefly employed in the works. The houses,
to each of which is attached a garden, are neatly built,
and ornamented with shrubs and evergreens. Fairs are
held on the first Thursday in April, O. S., for milchcows and horses, and the 10th of October for lean stock;
the former of these is numerously attended, but the latter
has been for some years declining. The town, as a
burgh of barony, is under the government of two bailies
and a council of sixteen; but they exercise no jurisdiction of any consequence, except in matters of police.
A circulating library is supported by subscription, under
the management of a committee. A daily penny-post
has been established between this place and Markinch;
and facility of intercourse with the adjacent towns is
maintained by good roads, kept in repair by statute labour.
The parish is in the presbytery of Kirkcaldy and synod
of Fife, and in the patronage of the Earl of Rothes: the
stipend of the incumbent is £257. 8. 6., with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £18 per annum. The church
situated in the centre of the parish, is a neat and substantial edifice, with aspire, erected in 1820, and adapted
for a congregation of nearly 1000 persons, including 300
free seats. There are places of worship for members of
the Free Church and United Secession, the former very
lately erected. The parochial school affords a liberal
education; the master has a salary of £34, with £38
fees, and an allowance in lieu of a house and garden.
The poor have the interest of funds belonging to the
Kirk Session for their use, and producing annually about
£30. Leslie Green, in the parish, is said to have been
the scene of King James' poem of Christ's Kirk on the
Green. Upon several of the eminences are large erect
stones, on the removal of one of which, some time since,
a coffin containing human bones was discovered. On
these eminences, which are generally called Knowes, and,
in allusion to some warlike exploits, also distinguished
by proper names, other relics of antiquity have at
various times been found: on the Gallant Knowe, near
Strathendry, an urn of Roman pottery was discovered in 1760. Near Pitcairn House, a tumulus was
opened in 1770, in which was a kistvaen containing a
great number of human bones; and at the eastern extremity were two urns of blueish clay, filled with bones
which had evidently been burnt. A fragment of a deer's
horn, nine inches and a half in circumference at the
widest end, has been found in a bed of gravel, at seven
feet below the surface. Arrow-heads of flint, and the
head of a spear apparently belonging to a standard, have
been also found here.
Lesmahago
LESMAHAGO, a parish, in the Upper ward of the
county of Lanark, 6 miles (S. W. by W.) from Lanark,
and 22 (S. S. E.) from Glasgow; including the villages
of Abbey-Green and Turfholm, Boghead, Crossford,
Hazelbank, Kirkfield-Bank, Kirkmuirhill, and New
Trows; and containing 6902 inhabitants. This place is
supposed to have derived its appellation from a Celtic
term signifying "garden," and from the name of its
tutelar saint, who is said to have had a cell here about
the 6th century. In 1140, a monastery was founded by
David I. for Tyronensian monks, wherein he placed
brethren from his abbey of Kelso, to which it became
subordinate: the last remains were removed on the
erection of the present church. The Parish is about
twelve miles in length and nearly eight in breadth; it is
bounded on the north-east by the river Clyde, and
comprises 42,840 acres, of which 26,900 are arable, 1500
woodland and plantations, 600 coppice, and the remainder
moorland pasture, and waste. The surface is generally
elevated, and towards the west and south-west rises into
a range of hills, forming a boundary between the counties of Lanark and Ayr; the highest of these hills are
1200 feet above the level of the sea, and all afford excellent pasture for sheep. The chief rivers besides the
Clyde are, the Poniel water, which has its source in the
south-west of the parish, and, after a course of more
than seven miles, falls into the Douglas; the Logan,
Nethan, and Kype waters, which rise in the hills on the
west, and, receiving numerous smaller streams, join
the Clyde; and the Cander, which, traversing the parish
for a few miles, flows into the Avon at the parish of
Stonehouse. The banks of the Nethan are richly ornamented with plantations, and studded with handsome
villas and neat farm-houses. The Kype displays little
beauty in its course, and frequently, after rains, descending from the higher lands with impetuous violence, does
much damage to the cultivated plains. There are springs
of excellent water in various parts, several possessing
medicinal properties; many of them issue in streams
sufficiently powerful to give motion to mills and machinery. The falls of the Clyde are noticed in the account of the parish of Lanark, which is separated from
this parish by the river.
The soil is chiefly clay of a yellow colour, with tracts
of lighter and more friable quality, and some portions
of gravel and sand; the crops are, grain of all kinds,
potatoes, and turnips. The system of husbandry is
advanced; draining has been practised to a considerable
extent; the lands have been inclosed, chiefly with hedges
of thorn, &c., but partly with stone dykes; and the farmhouses have within the last few years been greatly improved. Much attention is paid to the management of
the dairy and the breeding of cattle; the cheese made
on the several dairy-farms is principally the Dunlop
kind. The cattle are of the Ayrshire breed: the sheep,
of which large numbers are fed in the hilly pastures,
are the old black-faced, these being better adapted to
the nature of the soil than the Cheviots. A moderate
number of horses, chiefly for agricultural uses, are annually
bred, and are in much repute for strength and agility.
The woods are judiciously managed, and the plantations
are also kept in good order, and are very flourishing;
the annual produce from both is estimated at about
£700 per annum. The substratum is principally coal,
which is wrought in several parts. A fine kind of cannel
coal is found at Auchinheath; it occurs in seams varying from ten to twenty inches in thickness, and is sent
in considerable quantities to the gas-works in Glasgow
and other places. The rocks are chiefly whinstone;
limestone of good quality is also abundant, and is extensively worked. Ironstone occurs in several places,
but not in such abundance as to have led to the establishment of any works; lead-ore, likewise, is supposed to exist, and several attempts have been made
to procure it, but hitherto without success: few minerals, indeed, have been found. Petrified shells are thickly
imbedded in the limestone, as well as the fossil remains
of various animals. The rateable annual value of the
parish is £27,056.
Several handsome seats have been erected by heritors
residing on their lands, and all of them are embellished
with flourishing plantations: Stonebyres is a very splendid mansion, the oldest portion of which was built in
1398, and the most modern in 1844. The inhabitants of
the parish are partly employed in the mines and quarries,
and in Glasgow manufactures: many of them reside in
the villages, which are all separately described. Fairs for
hiring servants are held in March and October, and
a cattle-fair in the spring. Facility of intercourse with
Glasgow and other places is maintained by good roads,
which have been greatly improved within the last few
years, and of which the turnpike-road from Glasgow to
Carlisle, and that from Glasgow to Lanark, pass, the
former for eight, and the latter for about five, miles
within the parish. A post has been established; and
there is a small library, supported by subscription.
The parish is in the presbytery of Lanark and synod of
Glasgow and Ayr, and in the patronage of the Duke of
Hamilton. There are two ministers, the church having
been made collegiate at the Reformation: the minister
of the first charge has a stipend of £283.4.2., with a
manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum; the
minister of the second charge has an equal stipend,
with a manse, but no glebe. The church, built in 1804,
is handsome and substantial, and is adapted for a congregation of 1330 persons. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, and for Independents, the Reformed Presbytery, and the Relief. The
parochial school affords a liberal education, and is well
attended; the master has a salary of £34, with £45
fees, and a house and garden. A school for teaching
girls to read and to sew is supported by subscription;
it is situated in the village of Abbey-Green, and is
attended by about thirty children. In different parts
are several other schools, the masters of which receive
annual donations from the heritors, in addition to the
fees. The poor have the interest of various funded
bequests yielding about £100 per annum; the principal
is a bequest of £2600 by the late Dr. White, of Calcutta.
There are three friendly societies; which have contributed greatly to reduce the number of applications to
the parochial funds; and also a savings' bank, duly
encouraged. Some slight remains exist of the ancient
castle of Craignethen. Roman coins have been found
near the site of a Roman road which has, within the
last few years, been totally obliterated by the progress
of cultivation; and many ancient cairns have been
removed, to furnish materials for stone dykes. A Caledonian battle-axe, and about 100 silver coins of Edward I., were dug up in opening ground for laying
down a drain.
Lessudden
LESSUDDEN, a village, in the parish of St. Boswell's, district of Melrose, county of Roxburgh,
4 miles (E. S. E.) from Melrose; containing 399 inhabitants. The name of Lessudden, though often given
to the parish, is more appropriately applied to this
village. It is probably derived from Edwin, king of
Northumbria, who had a fortress here; and in a charter of Robert II., by which the lands were granted to
the abbey of Melrose, this place is called Lessedwin, signifying "the manor of Edwin." The village is beautifully situated in the north-eastern part of the parish,
adjacent to the south bank of the Tweed, and on the
high road from Melrose to Jedburgh; it is built at the
east end of a spacious flat green, amid pleasant gardens, and in the neighbourhood of woods that overhang the Tweed. The air is salubrious; and from the
advantages the village possesses, it is likely to increase
in extent and population. A subscription library, containing more than a thousand volumes, was established
here in 1799, under the patronage of Sir David Erskine,
of Dryburgh Abbey.
Leswalt
LESWALT, a parish, in the county of Wigton,
4 miles (N. W.) from Stranraer; containing 2712 inhabitants. The name of Leswalt is of doubtful origin,
but is supposed to signify "the meadow along the burn."
In the reign of James V. the parish was the property
of the monks of Tongland, the vicarage then paying a
tax of £12. 13. 4., a tenth of its estimated value: at
the time of the Reformation the tax was £26. 13. 4.
The church was made over to the king in 1587, and by
him in 1689 vested in the bishops of Galloway; but
when episcopacy was abolished, it became again the
property of the crown. The parish is about eight
miles in length, and nearly of the same breadth. It
has the Irish Channel on the west, Loch Ryan on the
east, the parish of Kirkcolm on the north, and Portpatrick on the south; and forms a portion of the
peninsula called the Rhyns of Galloway. The surface
is for the most part exceedingly hilly, and along the
coast rugged and rocky, and frequently broken by
immense chasms. There are two large streams, Soleburn and Pooltanton; and a beautiful sheet of water
called Loch Naw, which covers a space of thirty acres.
The soil in some parts is rich and productive; but
in many others, especially towards the south, it is wet
and heavy, having large tracts of moss, totally unfit for
tillage, but employed for pasturing sheep and young
cattle. The oats produced are estimated at the value
of about £6000 yearly: some attention is now paid to
the cultivation of wheat, and considerable quantities of
potatoes are raised. Much land formerly rough pasture, or waste, has been improved by lime and shell-sand
manures and brought into good cultivation; and the
care recently taken of the fences and the farm-houses
has effected great changes in the appearance of the
parish. Black-cattle of the Galloway breed are reared
for the English markets; the sheep are chiefly the Cheviot and the black-faced. Greywacke and red sandstone form the principal strata of the parish. Lochnaw
Castle, on the border of the loch of the same name,
with its plantations and gardens, forms an object of
admiration: the only plantations in the parish are
those above the castle. There are two villages, Clayhole and Hillhead, forming a part of the suburbs of
Stranraer. An excellent road runs through the middle
of the parish, branching off in one direction round Loch
Naw to Portpatrick, and in another by Kirkcolm to
Stranraer. The rateable annual value of Leswalt is
£5836. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the government of the presbytery of Stranraer and synod of Galloway, and the patronage is in the Crown. The stipend
of the minister is £143, of which nearly a fourth is
received from the exchequer; with a manse, built in
1811, and a glebe of nearly twenty acres, valued at about
£30 per annum. The church, built in 1828, contains
550 sittings. The members of the Free Church have a
place of worship; and there is a parochial school, the
master of which has a salary of £25. 13. 3., with £20
fees, and a house and garden. There is also a parochial
library of nearly 400 volumes.
Letham
LETHAM, a village, in the parish of Monimail,
district of Cupar, county of Fife, 4 miles (W. by N.)
from Cupar; containing 383 inhabitants. It is situated
in the western part of the parish, about a mile north of
the high road from Cupar to Collessie; and is a considerable village, of which the population is chiefly
engaged in the weaving of linen. The Independents
have a place of worship. A large subscription school
was established here in 1821; and there is a miscellaneous circulating library, besides a religious library
in the vestry of the parish church, which is about half
a mile distant.
Letham
LETHAM, a village, in the parish of Dunnichen, county of Forfar, 5 miles (E. by S.) from
Forfar; containing 745 inhabitants. This village, which
is of comparatively recent origin, stands principally
on the lands of the late George Dempster, Esq., of
Dunnichen, by whom the plan of its erection was
laid down. It is pleasantly situated, and regularly
built, containing many neat and several handsome
houses, inhabited chiefly by persons engaged in manufactures, and in the various handicraft trades requisite
for the supply of the district. A public library is supported by subscription, and has a collection of more
than 500 volumes of works on religion, morals, history,
and general literature, several of which were donations
from individuals interested in its success. The principal trade carried on is the weaving of the coarse linen
cloth called Osnaburghs, and the finer sorts of linen for
shirting and sheeting, in which great numbers of females
are employed. In connexion with these, a mill has
been erected in the Den of Letham, near the village, the
works of which are propelled by the Vinney water, for
spinning lint and tow into yarn. Several attempts have
been made to introduce power-looms, but hitherto without effect, the weaving being still carried on in the
houses of the weavers, many of whom have small farms,
or portions of land, which they cultivate at their leisure
hours for health and amusement. Connected with the
manufacture is a linen-hall, which has for some time
been appropriated as a schoolroom, and on the Sunday
as a place of worship for a congregation of Seceders.
The number of children attending the school varies
from eighty to 100; and many of the children employed in the spinning-mill are taught the rudiments of
general learning. Fairs are held twice in the year, for
cattle, and for hiring farm servants. Near the Den of
Letham graves have been discovered, containing vast
numbers of human bones, and several urns, which
crumbled into dust on exposure to the atmosphere.
Lethendy and Kinloch
LETHENDY and KINLOCH, a parish, in the county
of Perth, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from Blairgowrie; containing 662 inhabitants. These two ancient parishes
were united about the year 1806. The district of Lethendy measures five miles from east to west, and one
mile and a half at its greatest breadth, comprising 1633
acres, of which 1486 are well cultivated, and the remainder in plantations, with the exception of a small portion
of pasture. The district of Kinloch contains 2824 acres,
of which 1503 are cultivated in the best manner, 269
are under plantations, and the remainder waste, or used
only for pasturage. Lethendy is bounded on the east
by the burn of Lunan, separating it from Blairgowrie;
and the land gradually rises from that burn to within
a short distance of the western limit, where it exhibits a
sudden declivity about half a mile in extent. In Kinloch the surface in general is irregular. There are two
large brooks, Lornty burn and Lunan burn; and three
sheets of water, called respectively the loch of Drumelie,
the Rae loch, and the Fenzies loch. The soil is partly
a black mould, inclining in some places to a reddish
argillaceous earth, and producing all kinds of crops of
excellent quality: in the eastern quarter the lands become more heavy and wet, and the soil is blacker, and
not so fertile. Between 200 and 300 head of blackcattle are kept, many of which are fattened for the
market. The rateable annual value of the parish is
£4489. The principal residences are, the house of Balleid, a very old building; the house of Marlee; and the
house of Kinloch, a neat modern structure. The fuel
in general use is peat and wood, obtained in the parish;
but coal is procured from Fifeshire, and also from Newcastle and Sunderland, through Perth, to which place
the agricultural produce is sent, especially potatoes for
the London market. The parish is in the presbytery of
Dunkeld and synod of Perth and Stirling, and in the
patronage of the Crown. The minister's stipend is
£211, with a manse, and a glebe of eight acres in
Lethendy, valued at £18 per annum, and another of the
same extent and value in the Kinloch district. The
church of Kinloch is a plain modern structure; that of
Lethendy very ancient, and much dilapidated. The
members of the Free Church and the United Secession have places of worship. There is a parochial
school in each of the two districts, where the usual
branches are taught; the master of that of Lethendy
receives a salary of £25, with a house and garden, and
£12 fees, and the master of the school in Kinloch has
a salary of £35, with a house and garden, and £12 fees.
The remains of antiquity include the old tower of Lethendy, and a Druidical temple in Kinloch; and a great
many tumuli are to be seen in the latter district, called
the Haer cairns, on a moor where some suppose the
famous battle to have been fought between Agricola
and Galgacus.
Lethnott and Navar
LETHNOTT and NAVAR, a parish, in the county
of Forfar, 7 miles (N. W.) from Brechin; containing,
with the hamlet of Balfield, 400 inhabitants. These
two ancient parishes, united in 1723, measure in length,
from north-west to south-east, fifteen miles, and are
about five miles in average breadth. The whole comprehends only 2324 acres under cultivation, the remainder being extensive hills and moorland in a state
of undivided common, and used as sheep-walks. The
parish is surrounded by the Grampians on all sides
except the east; and among the many lofty hills the
most elevated is that of Wirren, or "the Hill of springs."
The cultivated portion chiefly forms an irregular glen
watered by the West water, a tributary of the North
Esk; the lands rise gradually from the stream, and
stretch into the hills and mountains. The scenery is
improved by about fifteen or twenty acres of wood,
disposed in clumps; and in the southern quarter is some
level ground, adjacent to rivulets, of which there are
several in this and other parts of the parish. The soil
in general is clay and loam on a tilly bottom, producing barley and oats, and the usual green crops; but
no wheat is ever sown. The higher grounds are not so
much loaded with the debris of the hills as the lower,
whither it is brought down by the rains and streams;
but the soil there is more gravelly, and much thinner,
and the value of the farms in the hilly part consequently depends chiefly upon the right to hill pasture.
The rotation system of husbandry is followed; and the
average rent of arable land is 12s. per acre, the leases
running for nineteen years. The inclosures are of stone,
and are mostly in good condition; the chief deficiency
is in the farm-buildings, which are very indifferent.
Vast improvements have taken place within the last
twenty-five years, in reclaiming, draining, and liming
the lands; and in some districts the extent of ground
under tillage has been nearly doubled. The greatest
discouragements to the farmers are, the rugged and
uneven state of the roads, and the distance of a markettown, the nearest being Brechin, to which, moreover,
the road lies across a steep hill. Lord Panmure, the
principal proprietor, in order to encourage his tenants
in this parish and those of Edzell and Lochlee, several
years since instituted an annual show of sheep and cattle,
at which premiums are awarded for the best specimens.
The hills consist of clay-slate and mica-schist, upon a
bed of gneiss. A vein of blue slate intersects the parish
from east to west, extending, as is supposed, from the
German Ocean to the Western Isles: this is thought to
be a continuation of that found at Dunkeld and Easdale, and it was wrought a few years since for a short
time, but the working was discontinued. A little limestone also exists; and in the lower parts of the valley
are gravel, sand, clay, marl, and peat. The last partly
supplies the inhabitants with fuel; but they also burn a
good deal of turf, and coal brought from Montrose, the
nearest sea-port town, sixteen miles distant. The rateable annual value of the parish is £1399. It is in the
presbytery of Brechin and synod of Angus and Mearns,
and in the patronage of the Crown: the minister's stipend is £158, of which nearly a third is received from
the exchequer, with a manse, and a glebe valued at
£20 per annum. The church is a plain edifice, built in
1827, and accommodates 250 persons with sittings.
The parochial school affords instruction in the usual
branches; the master has a salary of £34, with a house
and garden, and £7 fees. A school, five miles distant
from the other, is supported partly by a small endowment, and partly by subscription. Lord Panmure takes
one of his titles from Navar.
Leuchars
LEUCHARS, a parish, in the district of St. Andrew's, county of Fife; containing, with the village
of Balmullo, 1901 inhabitants, of whom 592 are in the
village of Leuchars, 7½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Cupar.
This place appears to have derived its name, signifying
in the Gaelic language "a marshy flat," from some low
grounds to the east and west of the village, which, previously to the draining of the lands, were covered with
water during the greater part of the year. It seems to
have been the joint property of the earls of Southesk
and the family of the Bruces, of Earlshall; but nothing
of its origin prior to that period is known; nor has it
been connected at any time with events of historical
importance. From the style of the older portions of
the parish church, it would appear that it was originally
founded at a very early time; but by whom, or under
what particular religious establishment, is not clear.
There was also an ancient chapel dedicated to St. Bennet,
which subsisted till the Reformation; but not a vestige
of it is remaining. The parish is situated on the bay
of St. Andrew's, and is about nine miles in length and
five miles at its greatest breadth; it is bounded on the
south by the river Eden, and comprises 12,350 acres, of
which 7900 are arable, 3780 meadow and pasture, and
about 500 woodland and plantations. The surface towards the bay on the east is an extensive level, but
towards the west rises by a gradual acclivity to the
height of nearly 300 feet above the level of the sea,
constituting a range of hills which separate the parish
from the parish of Logie: the principal of these hills,
within the parish, are, the Lucklaw, the Airdit, and the
Craigfoodie. The Eden receives the waters of the
Moultry, which intersects the parish from north to south,
and also of the Monzie burn, which falls into the Moultry
before the influx of that stream into the Eden.
The soil near the sea-shore, which is a dead flat
measuring about two miles in breadth, is sandy and
comparatively barren, but increases in richness towards
the inland parts, where it becomes a deep loam, alternated with extensive beds of strong blue clay. The
system of husbandry is in a highly-improved state; and,
according to the quality of the soil, a five, six, or eight
years' rotation is pursued: the crops are, oats, barley,
wheat, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual green crops.
The farm houses and offices are substantial and commodious; the lands have been well drained, and inclosed with dykes of stone; and on most of the farms
are threshing-mills, of which some are driven by steam.
The chief fuel is coal, brought from Newcastle and the
Frith of Forth. Great numbers of sheep are fed in the
pastures during the summer, and on turnips during the
winter; they are of the Leicestershire, Cheviot, and
Highland breeds, the last kind generally fattened for
the butcher, and the two former kept for breeding.
The cattle are of the Teeswater, crossed with the Fifeshire; and the horses mostly of the Clydesdale breed.
The plantations are well managed; on the light and
sandy soils Scotch fir thrives well, and attains to a
stately growth. The substratum is various; to the
north-west chiefly whinstone: Lucklaw hill is composed
of trap, alternated with greenstone interspersed with
veins of calcareous spar and porphyritic felspar; and
near the Eden is a stratum of red sandstone, but not
sufficiently compact for building purposes. The rateable annual value of the parish is £15,527. The chief
mansion-house is Earlshall, a castellated structure of
venerable antiquity, part of which is still kept in repair:
the walls and roof of the great hall, which is very spacious, are ornamented with heraldic devices, and it
displays a fine specimen of baronial grandeur. The
grounds are extensive, and embellished with thriving
plantations. Pitcullo and Airdit are also castellated
mansions, partly fallen into decay. A large number of
the working classes are employed in weaving towelling
and sheeting for home use, and coarse linens, dowlas,
Osnaburghs, and Silesias for the manufacturers of Cupar
and Dundee, to be exported to America and the West
Indies: 130 looms are constantly in operation. A distillery at Seggie, on the bank of the Eden, for many
years previously to 1836 consumed 100 quarters of
grain daily, affording employment to about 100 persons.
On the Moultry and the Monzie burn are meal and
barley mills, driven by those streams; and there are
mills in the parish for linseed, oatmeal, and for sawing
timber. The village of Leuchars is extensive, and neatly
built, and appears to have increased since the conversion of the tract of land called the Tents Moor into
farms, and the consequent removal of numerous cottages on it, the occupants of which now reside in the
recently-erected houses. It is pleasantly situated, and
has a cheerful and healthy appearance; the surrounding
scenery, also, is diversified. The inhabitants, who are
chiefly employed in weaving, and in the trades requisite
for the supply of the parish, have facility of intercourse
with the neighbouring market-towns by means of good
turnpike-roads, by which the village is intersected. The
Eden is navigable for vessels of considerable tonnage to
Guardbridge, near the village, where a small harbour
has been constructed for the convenience of trade; and
at Seggie is a pier for the use of the distillery there. A
large number of salmon are taken during the season;
and near the mouth of the river are extensive beds of
muscles, which are let to tenants who bestow great attention upon the management of them. Two annual
fairs for the sale of cattle and pedlery are still held in
the village; but they have been for some years declining,
and are but thinly attended. Balmullo, consisting chiefly
of scattered houses, is pleasantly situated.
The parish is in the presbytery of St. Andrew's and
synod of Fife, and in the patronage of the Crown The
minister's stipend is £238. 11. 10., with a manse, and a
glebe valued at £30 per annum, The church, situated
in the village, is a highly-interesting structure, and
appears to have been erected at different periods, exhibiting beautiful specimens of the ancient and later styles
of Norman architecture, with additions of a much more
recent character. It consists of three portions, of which
that to the east, the most ancient, is of semicircular
form, and decorated externally by a range of ten circular
arches with zigzag mouldings, supported on double pillars: above is a series of nine similar arches and pillars,
surrounding the walls. The interior of this portion of
the building is lighted by a tier of three circular-headed
windows of corresponding character, inserted in the
intervals between the pillars; and above the upper
series of arches are corbels grotesquely ornamented,
from which spring the ribs of the groined roof. The
central portion of the edifice differs from the former
chiefly in having a series of pointed arches formed by
the intersection of circular arches resting on the alternate columns, and in the higher elevation of the roof,
which is not groined; it is lighted by two windows on
the south, and one on the north. The western portion is
not distinguished by any striking features of architectural embellishment: together with the central part, it has
been fitted up as the parish church, and is adapted for
a congregation of nearly 900 persons. There is a place
of worship for members of the Free Church, and in the
village of Balmullo is one for a congregation of the
Original Secession. The parochial school is under good
arrangement: the master has a salary of £34, with £10
fees, and a house and garden; also a glebe of two acres
of land, and the interest of 2000 merks Scotch bequeathed by the Rev. A. Henderson. A school for
English reading and sewing is supported by the Lindsay
family; and a parochial library has been established in
the village of Leuchars, which already contains a collection of some hundred volumes of general and religious
publications. The poor have the rent of lands in the
hands of the Kirk Session amounting to £24. At a
short distance from the village is a circular mound once
surrounded by a moat, on which the ancient castle of
Leuchars was erected, but no vestige of the buildings is
remaining; it was a place of great strength, and one of
the strongholds of the earls of Fife, but the fortifications were demolished by the English in the fourteenth
century. On Craigie hill, an earthen vase containing
about a hundred silver coins of Severus, Antoninus, and
other Roman emperors, was turned up by the plough in
1808: most of them are now in the possession of the
Lindsay family. Pitlethie, in the parish, is believed to
have been a royal hunting-seat.