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^ 



THE NEW 

STATISTICAL ACCOUNT 



OF 



SCOTLAND. 



VOL. VIIL 



THE NEW 



STATISTICAL ACCOUNT 



OF 



SCOTLAND. 



ISY 



TIIK MINISTERS OF THE RESPECTIVE PARISHES, UNDER THE 
SUPERINTENDENCE OF A COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY 

FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SONS AND 
DAUGHTERS OF THE CLERGY. 



VOL. VI II. 



DUNBARTOX-STIRLING-CLAOKMANNAS. 



WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 

EDINBURGH AND LONDON. 

MDCCCXLV. 



DUNBARTON, 






CONTENTS. 



ARROCHAR, .... PAGE 94 
RON HILL, .... 220 

CARDR08S, ... 83 

CUMBERNAULD, .135 

DUNBARTON, ... 1 

KILMARONOCK, .211 

KILPATRICK, NEW, • . . 36 

KILPATRICK, OLD, . .15 

KIRKINTILLOCH, . 168 

LU88, . . .155 

ROSENEATH, . . . 102 

ROW, . . . . .65 



1 



rv 



t 



PARISH OF DUMBARTON. 

PRESBYTERV OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. WILLIAM JAFFRAY, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 
Name, — The word Dumbarton or Dunbarton is a corruption 

of the old name Dunbriton, a compound word, which signifies the 
fort or castle of the Britons. When a town was built near the 
walls of the fort, the same name was given to it. It was after- 
wards applied to the parish, and lastly to the county. 

Extent^ Sfc. — The parish is between 7 and 8 miles in length, 
and from 3 to 4 in breadth. In the Old Statistical Account, the 
length is stated at from 2 to 3 miles. * This is quite correct as 
to the inhabited part ; but the author has excluded a large moor 
belonging to the burgh of Dumbarton, which is quite uninhabited, 
except by a single family. Mr Chalmers has also fallen into error 
in regard to the extent ; he states the length at 4, and the breadth 
at 2 J miles.-f" It is bounded on the north, by the parishes of Bon- 
hill, Kilmaronock, and Killearn ; on the north-east and east, by 
Killearn and West Kilpatrick ; on the south, by the river Clyde ; 
and on the west, by the river Leven, which separates it from the 
pari.^h of Cardross. By a survey made in 1818, by Mr W^ood, the 
parish was found to contain 6522 Scots, or 8155 English acres. 

Topographical Appearances. — The south part of the parish is flat ; 
but towards the north, about the distance of two miles from the Clyde, 
it rises rather abruptly, and from that, to the northern extremity, is 
nearly all moorland. There are a few small hills on the moor, but 
Done of any great height. The most singular object in the parish is 
the Castle rock, which stands at the southern extremity, on a 
small peninsula formed by the junction of the River Leven with 
the Clyde, and is composed of trap of various kinds. In winter, 
sometimes, when the tides are unusually high, it is entirely sur- 
rounded with water. The rock is nearly divided into two equal parts. 

• Statistical Account, Vol. iv. page 21. f Calcdonin, Vol. iii. page 914. 

DUMBARTON. A 



1 



PARISH OF DUMBARTON. 

PRESBYTERV OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW i 

THE REV. WILLIAM J AFFRAY, MINIST 



I. — Topography and Natural Histori 
Name, — The word Dumbarton or Dunbarton is a 

of the old name Dunbriton, a compound word, which s 

fort or castle of the Britons. When a town was bu 

walls of the fort, the same name was given to it. I 

wards applied to the parish, and lastly to the county. 

Extent^ §-c. — The parish is between 7 and 8 miles 
and from 3 to 4 in breadth. In the Old Statistical -A 
length is stated at from 2 to 3 miles. * This is quit 
to the inhabited part ; but the author has excluded a 
belonging to the burgh of Dumbarton, which is quite i 
except by a single family. Mr Chalmers has also falU 
in regard to the extent ; he states the length at 4, and 
at 2^ miles.-f" It is bounded on the north, by the paris 
hill, Kilmaronock, and Killearn ; on the north-east a 
Killearn and W^est Kilpatrick ; on the south, by the r 
and on the west, by the river Leven, which separates 
parish of Cardross. By a survey made in 1813, by Mr 
parish was found to contain 6522 Scots, or 8155 Eng 

Topographical Appearances, — The south part of the p 
but towards the north, about the distance of two miles froi 
it rises rather abruptly, and from that, to the northern < 
nearly all moorland. There are a few small hills on tli 
none of any great height. The most singular object in 
the Castle rock, which stands at the southern oxtr 
small peninsula formed by the junction of the River 
the Clyde, and is composed of trap of various kinds, 
sometimes, when the tides are unusually high, it is i 
rounded with water. Tiie rock is nearly divided into two 

• Statisttc.l1 Account, Vol. iv. pago^l. t Caledonin, Vol. 

DUMBARTON. A 



2 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

The western part is the highest, being about 206 feet above the 
level of the sea. The eastern peak is not quite so high. There 
are houses within the walls of the castle, which are capable of con- 
taining about 200 men. 

Rivers. — The only river in the parish is the Leven, a beautiful 
stream, which takes its rise in Lochlomond, and after a smooth 
even course of seven miles over a bed 

** With white round polished pebbles spread," 

forming the western boundary of the parish for several miles, it 
discharges itself into the Clyde at Dumbarton Castle. 

Climate^ Sfc. — The climate is on the whole moderate, though 
rather damrp and variable. Very heavy showers are frequent in 
spring and autumn. The winter is generally temperate, frost and 
snow not continuing for any great length of time. The prevailing 
winds are from the west and south-west In spring, easterly 
winds sometimes continue for a long time, and often do much in* 
jury to the early vegetation. 

Towards the close of the year, dense fogs for days hang over 
the south part of the parish. At that time,- the influenza is very 
prevalent, and often proves fatal to infirm and delicate people. 
Scarlet and typhus fever prevail very much, sometimes, indeed, to 
a most alarming degree. The small-pox, hooping-cough, and 
measles, are also very common ; but the small-pox is usually very 
mild, and few deaths occur from it, as vaccination is very gene- 
rally practised. 

The soil of the parish is generally fertile, but rather shallow. 
On the south side, there are several fields of very rich soil. 
There are many difierent kinds of soil ; in some parts, it is very 
clayey, in others full of gravel. There is a very plentiful supply 
of limestone at a place called Murroch glen ; and on the moor of 
Dumbarton, there are quarries of red freestone; The stone when 
taken out of the quarry is soft, but it soon hardens when exposed 
to the air. 

Zooloffy — Large flocks of wild ducks {Jnas boschas)^ and teal 
(Anas crecca)j are common. Besides these, several different kinds 
of the diver tribe visit the parish. Among the rarer birds are the 
kingfisher (Alcedo ispida)^ the bittern (Ardea stellaris)^ the black- 
backed gull (Lams marinus)^ the little awk (Aha aUe)y and the 
wild swan (Anas cygniis ferns). The roebuck is sometimes found, 
and wild rabbits and hares are tolerably plentiful. Adders are nu- 
merous on the high grounds. 



DUMBARTON. 3 

II. — Civil History. 

No general account of this parish has ever been drawn up (so 
far as known), except that in the Old Statistical Account A very 
good account of the castle, and some excellent remarks as to the 
ecclesiastical state of the parish, are to be found in the third vo- 
lume of Chalmers's Caledonia. There are two works on the agri- 
culture of the county of Dumbarton, which contain some notes on 
the agriculture of the parish. Both of these are reports which were 
drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agriculture : the 
first drawn up by the Reverend David Ure, and published in 
1794 : * the other, the joint performance of the late Reverend 
Andrew White, minister of the parish of Kilmaronock, and the 
. Reverend Dr Macfkrlane, then minister of the parish of Drymen, 
now Principal of the University of Glasgow, and published about 
seventeen years after, f A good plan of the town of Dumbar- 
ton was published by Mr Wood in 1818, in the map of the coun- 
ty ; at the same time, a separate plan of the town was published 
by him. A very neat and correct plan was drawn in J 830, from 
surveys, made by the late Mr Henry Reed, one of the masters of 
the public school ; it belongs to the magistrates of Dumbarton. 

Parochial Registers. — The parish registers consist of three sets ; 
the minutes of sederunt ; the register of baptisms and marriages ; 
and the register of deaths. The minutes of sederunt consist of 
nine volumes, which are generally in good order, but are only 
complete from 1704. The earliest date is 1667. A volume of 
minutes bearing date about 1620 had fallen, by some chance, into 
the hands of an individual in town; the kirk-session, however, 
think that they will be able to recover it 

There are six volumes of the registers of baptisms and mar- 
riages. The earliest date is 1642; and they are complete from 
1701. 

Tlie register of deaths consists of two volumes, the one from 
1691 to 1749, the other from 1783 to 1795. 

Antiquities. — At a very early period, it appears that there* was a 
town at or near the site of the burgh of Dumbarton, which was cal- 
led Alclud or Alcluid, and was the capital of the kingdom of the 
Attacotti. The word Alclud signifies the rock of the Clyde, or on 
the Clyde ; it was at first applied to the castle, and afterwards to 
the town, as the name Dunbriton was applied in the same manner, 
at a later period. The Romans had a naval station here, which they 

• 4t6, London, 1794. t ^^'"» (ilisgow, 1811, 



4 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

called Theodosia. This has been disputed, and the mouth of Loch- 
lomond, and Dunglass, in the parish of West Kilpatrick, about two 
miles higher up the river than Dumbarton, have both been thought 
to be the situation. It is said that, about two hundred and forty 
years ago, several remains were found, which evidently showed that 
the Romans had been masters of the place. On the western peak 
of the castle rock, there stands a circular heap of stones strongly 
built together, which is supposed to have been the base o{r pharos 
or watch-tower. 

The parish, generally, occupies no great space in the page of 
history ; but the castle, from its great strength in former times, 
and from the strenuous efforts always made to obtain possession of 
it, is sometimes made mention of. It became a royal fortress at 
an early period. In 1238, Alexander II. granted a charter to 
the Earl of Lennox, confirming him in the possession of his earl- 
dom ; but excepting the castle and certain lands, &c in the neigh- 
bourhood, which had been possessed by his father. ♦ The castle 
was delivered over to Edward I. at the commencement of the com- 
petition for the crown, and was shortly afterwards put into the 
hands of John Baliol. Sir John de Menteith, the betrayer of 
Wallace, was made governor by Edward. Sir John governed the 
fort till 1309, when Robert Bruco obtained possession of it by 
stratagem. We are not informed of the way in which it was taken ; 
but Mr Chalmei*s mentions that one " Oliver, a carpenter," con- 
trived the affair, and that he was afterwards rewarded by a grant 
of some lands, f For a long series of years after, the castle fell 
into many different hands. 

The castle was formally annexed to the crown in 1485 by the 
act of Parliament, 11 James 11. cap. 41. The statute bears, *' Item, 
the Castell of Dumbertane, with the landes of Cardrosse, Ros- 
neth," &c. 

The history of the castle is of little importance till the time of 
Queen Mary. In the early part of her reign, the fort was possessed 
by the rebel Earl of Lennox ; but afterwards possession was ob- 
tained by the Royalists. After the unfortunate Queen was de- 
throned, the castle was still held for her by a faithful adherent — 
Lord Fleming. It soon, however, fell into the power of the Regent. 
In the month of May 1571, on a dark and stormy night, one Cap- 
tain Thomas Crawford, with a few soldiers under his command, 
succeeded in taking it by scaling the walls. Hamilton, the Arch- 

• Chart. Lennox. f Caledonia, Vol. iii. page 878. 

3 



DUMBARTON. 5 

bishop of St Andrews, the governor's wife, and several other per- 
sons were made prisoners. The Archbishop was taken to Stirling 
shortly after, and was cruelly put to death. He was hanged on a 
tree; and the following couplet is said to have been written on the 
occasion : — 

Vive diu, felix arbor, seraperque vireto 
Frondibus, ut nobis talia poma feraa. 

The castle was in the possession of Charles I. at the commence- 
ment of the war ; but in the early part of the year 1639, the rebels 
became masters of the place. The King recovered it in the same 
jear. Id 1640, it again fell into the hands of the rebels. Shortly 
after, the Scottish Parliament ordered that the works on the rock 
should be destroyed. It appears, however, that the command was 
never obeyed. Oliver C'romwell obtained possession in 1652. At 
the time of the union, the castle of Dumbarton was one of the forts 
that was agreed to be kept in repair. The establishment consists 
of a governor, lieutenant-governor, barrack-master, store-keeper, 
and surgeon. Lord Lyndoch is the governor at present. The troops 
usually stationed there, consist of about thirty men, who are ge- 
nerally sent from the depot at Glasgow or Paisley; and about 
twelve men from the Royal Artillery. 

The town of Dumbarton was made a royal burgh by Alexander 
IL in 1222; at the same time, he granted certain lauds in the 
neighbourhood, and the right of fishing in the river Leven, for a 
considerable distance above the town. 

Several other charters were granted in favour of the burgh by 
succeeding sovereigns, which were all confirmed by a charter of 
James VI. dated 13th December 1609, and whi<*,h was ratified in 
1612 by Parliament.* About this period, the town was much 
damaged by floods, so much so, that application was made to the 
Parliament to obtain a sum of money to enable the magistrates to 
do something to prevent the town being entirely destroyed. A 
commission was appointed to enquire what sum would be neces- 
sary ; they reported that " na les nor the sowme of threttie 
thowsand pundis Scottis money was abill to beir out and furneis 
the necessar charges and expenses in pforming these warkies, that 
are liable to saif the said burgh from ytter destructioune." f The 
Parliament accordingly granted the sum of twenty-five thousand 
merks Scots for that purpose. It appears that that sum was not 

• Acu Pari. Vol. iv. page 483. f Ibid. Vol. iv. page 376. 



6 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

sufficient, for King James soon after granted a further sum of 
twelve thousand merks. 

At the Union, Dumbarton was joined with Glasgow, Renfrew, 
and Rutherglen, in returning a Member to Parliament. By the 
Reform Act it is joined with Kilmarnock, Port-Glasgow, Ren- 
frew, and Rutherglen. The parish church of Dumbarton existed 
at an early period. The first notice of it appears in the Rotuli 
Scotiae, in 1296.* Mr Chalmers says, that the church, with all 
its pertinents, was granted to the monks of Kilwinning, and that it 
belonged to them till the time of the Reformation, -f- 

A grant of the patronage of the " kirk and parochin of Dum- 
bartane, parsonage and vicarage thereof, with the mans and glib, 
houss, tenements, biggings, teinds, fruits, rentis," &c. ''to the 
Provost, Baillies, Counsell and communitie of the burgh of Dum- 
bartane," was made in 1618. The charter is dated 10th June, and 
was ratified by Parliament on 26th June 1633. The town-coun- 
cil still enjoy the right of patronage. 

Besides the parish church, there was a collegiate church in the 
parish. It was founded about 1450, by Isabella the Duchess of 
Albany and Countess of Lennox. A single arch, supposed to be 
the remains of the church, is still in existence close to the town. 

Eminent Men. — The parish of Dumbarton has not produced 
n»any men of eminence. The only man of historical importance, 
who was a native of the parish, was Sir James Smollett of Bon- 
hill. This eminent man was born in Dumbarton, but the precise 
date of his birth is unknown. He was intended for the profession 
of the law, and was bred as a writer in Edinburgh. He represent- 
ed the burgh of Dumbarton in the Convention of Estates in 1688; 
he also represented the same burgh in several subsequent Parlia- 
ments. Smollett supported the Revolution of 1688, and when Wil. 
liam III. was raised to the throne he received the honour of 
knighthood, and was made a Judge in the Commissary Court of 
Edinburgh. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, when 
the great question of the Union of England and Scotland began 
to be agitated in Parliament, he came forward as a zealous advo- 
cate of the proposed union. In 1707, he was appointed one of the 
commissioners for framing the Articles of Union, and was the first 
member who represented the Dumbarton district of burghs in the 
British Parliament. 

Sir James married Jane M*Aulay, a daughter of Sir Aulay 

• Acta Pari. Vol. i. page 25. f Cale Ionia, Vol. iii. pagu 902. 



DUMBARTON. 7 

M'Aulay of Ardincaple, and left several sons and daughters. 
His youngest son, Archibald Smollett, was the father of the 
celebrated Dr Tobias Smollett, the author of " Roderick Ran- 
dom." Dr Smollett was not born in the parish of Dumbar- 
ton ; his birth-place being in the neighbouring parish of Car- 
dross; but it was at the school of Dumbarton, then taught by 
Mr John Love, that he received his first lessons in classical 
learning. His biographer, Dr Anderson, thus speaks of him 
at that period : " The first blossoms of his poetical genius api^ear- 
ed at this early period of his life : They were chiefly satirical 
verses on his school-fellows, whose character and conduct disgust- 
ed him ; and were remembered, as they evinced, when a boy, the 
sensibility of his temper, and his disposition to chastise insolence 
and expose rudeness." ♦ When he had received the ordinary 
course of school education, he went to the University of Glasgow ; 
but does not appear after that to have had any connection with 
the parish. 

Mr John Love, the master of the school of Dumbarton, was a 
native of the parish of Dumbarton, and born in the year 1 695. 
He received his education at the University of Glasgow, and he 
was elected about the year 1720, master of the school of Dumbar- 
ton. This school had been for a long time prior, a celebrated one 
(or classical education; it is said that George Buchanan the histo- 
rian, received part of his education here;f this, however, is uncer- 
tain. Mr Love, after labouring for fifteen years in Dumbarton, 
was promoted to the High School of Edinburgh. He continued 
there about four years, when he was removed to the school of Dal- 
keith in 1739. Mr Love, along with Mr Robert Hunter, A. M. 
Professor of Greek in the University of Edinburgh, published 
an edition of Buchanan's Translation of the Psalms. The book 
was printed by the Ruddimans, and was published in 1737. :|: 
This edition of that beautiful translation is the best which has yet 
been published. Love was a very great admirer of the writings of 
George Buchanan, and became engaged in a sharp controversy 
with one Mr William Lauder, who endeavoured to prove that 
Johnston's version of the Psalms was superior to that of Buchanan. 
In 1740, Love wrote a pamphlet entitled Buchanan's and John- 
stones paraphrase of the Psalms compared ;§ and in 1749, he pub« 

* Anderson's Life of Dr SmoHetl. 

f Mackenzie's Lives of Scois Writers, Vol. iii. page l^C. 

* Edinburgh, 173T,8vo. § Do. 1740, 8vo. 



^ DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

lished a book called " A Vindication of Mr George Buchanan.** • 
Mr Love died at Dalkeith in 1750, aged fifty-five years. He had 
a most thorough knowledge of the ancient classics, and possessed 
the happy faculty of being able to convey his knowledge to others. 
Dr Anderson says that he was " an eminent scholar, an excellent 
teacher, and a good man."f 

The Rev. John Freebairn, a native, and for several years minis- 
ter of the parish, though not known for any literary production, 
was a man possessed of considerable talents. In the General As- 
sembly he must have made a good figure, as Henry Mackenzie, in 
his Life of John Home, describes him thus : He was *' a plain coun- 
try clergyman, but of infinite native humour," &c. " whose talent 
for enlivening a debate by pleasantry, or turning the laugh against 
his adversary by sarcasm, not rude, though keen, I have seldom 
heard equalled by any debater whomsoever.''^ 

The late Dr Patrick Colquhoun, the author of a ** Treatise 
on the Wealth, Power, and Resources of the British Empire," 
and for some years one of the police magistrates of London, was a 
native of Dumbarton. By his will, he left the sum of L. 200 Ster- 
ling, to the minister and elders of the parish of Dumbarton, the 
interest of which was to be divided yearly among poor people of 
the name of Colquhoun in the parishes of Dumbarton, Cardross, 
Bonhill, and Old Kilpatrick, not receiving parochial aid.§ 

HI. — Population. 
The first statement of the population of the parish of Dumbar- 
ton was taken about the year 1750, for Dr Webster. The popu- 
lation then amounted to about 1480. According to the Old Sta- 
tistical Account, the number in 1790 amounted to rather more 
than 2000 souls. 

In 1801, 2541 

18II, . 3121 

1821, 3481 

1831, . 3623 

In the last mentioned year there were 1697 males, and 1 926 females- 
About the beginning of 1837, an enumeration of the population 
of the parish was made, in order to answer the queries proposed 
by the Commissioners for ascertaining the opportunities of Reli- 
gious Instruction, &c. The population was then found to have 
decreased very considerably, the total amount of the inhabitants 

• Edinburgh. 1749, 8vo. f Life of Smollett, page 12. 

t Account of the Life of Mr John Home, 8vo, Edinburgh, 1822, Vol. i. p. 62, 
§ Dr Colquhoun, previous to his removal to London, was Lord Provost of Glas- 
gow. 



DUMBARTON. 9 

only being 3116.* This decrease can be accounted for thus : In 
1831, when the last Parliamentary census was taken, the trade of 
the town of Dumbarton was in a very flourishing state. A large 
quantity of crown-glass and bottles was made annually, which em- 
ployed a conf^iderable number of men. Shortly after the census 
of 1831, the manufacture was stopped, and the workmen of course 
were all thrown out of employment. These men were obliged to 
leave Dumbarton to seek employment elsewhere, chiefly in Eng- 
land. Since that time, no glass has been made at these works. 
At the time of taking said census, two large ship-building concerns 
were in full operation. One of them was not situated in the pa- 
rish, although most of the men there employed lived in the parish 
of Dumbarton. Like the glass-works, they were unfortunately stop- 
ped, and the men were all thrown idle. Subsequently, they re- 
sumed work, but not to the same extent as formerly. The num- 
ber of inhabitants in the landward part of the parish is about 800 ; 
the rest live within the town of Dumbarton. 

The average number of births in the parish for the last seven 
years has been about 69, and the number of marriages during the 
same period about 30. It is impossible to give any thing like a 
correct statement of the average number of deaths, as no register 
of deaths has been kept for more than forty years. According to 
a private note kept in 1837, the number buried in that year was 
127 ; but from this we cannot form a fair estimate, as, during 
that time, typhus fever prevailed to a most alarming extent, and 
many of the people buried were strangers. 

There are only about five proprietors in the parish possessing 
lands above the yearly value of L. 50 Sterling, — besides the burgh 
of Dumbarton, which possesses extensive property within the parish. 
The annual value of real property, asassessed in 1815, was L. 4695 
Sterling. 

In 1831, there were 804 families in the parish; 367 inhabited 
houses, and 6 uninhabited. 

The English language is pretty generally spoken. A conside- 
rable number of Highlanders reside in the parish ; but, with a few 
exceptions, they are all able to converse in the English language. 
A considerable quantity of game is destroyed by poachers ; but 
the salmon-fishings are not muth poached, as the tacksmen are 
almost constantly on the spot. Illicit distillation was, some years 

* All the statements made as to population arc according to the census of 1831, 
unles where specially excepted. 



10 



DUMBARTONSHIRE. 



ago, carried on to a considerable extent, but the trade is now quite 
unknown. A large pawnbroking establishment was carried on a 
few years ago ; in the winter of 1835, the premises were burnt to 
the ground, and, since that time, the trade has been carried on, on 
a very small scale. 

IV. — Industry. 
In 1831, there were 71 persons employed in agriculture ; 12 of 

these were occupatits employing labourers, 13 occupants not em- 
ploying labourers, and the remaining 46 were labourers. In the 
same year, there were 81 males employed in manufactures ; 405 
in retail trade or in handicraft ; 56 under the class of wholesale 
merchants, professional persons, &c. ; 130 labourers employed in 
labour not agricultural. 

Agriculture. — The system of farming pursued in the parish is 
in noways different from that pursued in other parts of Scotland. 
The fiar prices for the last seven years were as follows : — 



Wheat, 

Oats, 

Bear, 

Barley, 

Peas & 

Beans, 



1831.' 



L. s. d. 
2 13 11 
I 1 1 
1 10 10 
I 13 0\ 

1 14 lOi 



18327 



L. s. d. 
1 11 1 

18 7 

1 7 5J 
I 9 104 



1^55: 



1834. . 1835. 1836. 



L. s. d L. s. d 
1 16 52 8 6 



L. 8. d. L. s. d 

2 7 9 1 19 9 

19 141 31 91 5 3 

1 5 9J1 3 10,1 3 li;i 7 b 



1 8 641 8 M 7 



I 11 441 11 041 12 1 13 



1 10 



2 4 6 



1837. 



L. s. d 

2 8 fc 

1 g 

1 7 S 

I 10 3 

I 16 10 



Wages, — Farm-servants generally get L. 12. Sterling of wages 
per annum. Agricultural labourers get the following rates of 
wages: — Is. 6d., Is. 8d., Is. lOd., Ls. lid., 2s., 2s. 2d., and 2s. 
4d. Sterling per diem ; the average rate is 10s. a-\^eek. 

Rent of Land. — The farms in this parish are usually let on 
leases of nineteen years. The usual rent of land is L. 2, 10s. 
Sterling an acre, and some even is let as low as L. 2. The real 
rent of the parish is about L. 8400. 

Fisheries. — The burgh of Dumbarton possesses the right of 

fishing salmon in the river Leven, and also in the Clyde, from 

the Castle of Dumbarton to the mouth of Lochlong. The rents 

vary very much. The right of fishing in the Leven is at present 

let at L. 281 Sterling a-year. The Clyde fishings in 1836 were 

let for about L. 58. 

V. — Parochial Economv. 
The only town in the parish is Dumbarton, a royal burgh, the 

chief town of the county of Dumbarton,' and the seat of presby- 
tery. The town is situated on the west bank of the river Leven, 
not very far from its junction with the Clyde. It consists of one 



DUMBARTON. 1 1 

tolerably well built street in the shape of a crescent, and several 
other smaller streets. The houses are generally closely built to- 
gether, and many of them very ill-aired. Thp principal street is 
kept Tery clean, and well paved, and has for some time been light- 
ed with gas. In 1831, the population was about 3300, but 
since that time it has decreased considerably. The affairs of 
the burgh are managed by a provost, two bailies, a dean of 
Guild, a treasurer, and ten councillors. Before the Reform Act 
passed, the council was divided into two classes , merchant and 
trades^ councillors ; but since the passing of that act, the distinc- 
tion has been abolished. The bailies are empowered to hold 
Courts for the administration of justice, but they do not hold them 
at any stated period, and they sit when business requires their 
attendance. The Sheriff of the county holds regular Courts in 
Session time every Thursday for the Sheriff Court processes, and 
commissary causes, and on every second Thursday for small debt 
causes. The business in these courts has fallen off very much of 
late years. 

Manufactures. — Previous to the year 1831, a considerable trade 
was carried on in the town of Dumbarton. A very extensive crown- 
glass and bottle-work was then in full operation. At the time 
when the old Statistical Account of the parish was published, 
there were about 130 individuals employed in these works, and 
the amount per annum of duties paid to Government was L. 3800 
Sterling.* Some years after that, the number of workmen was 
about 300, and the quantity of coal consCimed per annum was 
about 17,000 tons. The largest sum of money ever paid by the 
company to Government for duties was L. 119,000 Sterling : this 
was in 1818. The duties never afterwards amounted to so large 
a sum. When these works were in operation, there were about 
2000 tons of shipping belonging to Dumbarton. The number of 
vessels now belonging to the port is about 40, — containing in all 
about 1212 tons burthen. The glass-works are to be exposed to 
sale, in a short time, when it is expected that they will be sold, 
and that trade will again revive.f 

At high water, the river Leven is navigable for large vessels up 
to the quay of Dumbarton ; but at very low tides none can come 
up, unless of a small size. This is partly owing to a bar across the 
mouth of the river at Dumbarton Castle, and partly owing to seve- 

• Stat. Account, Vol. iv. page 23. 

t Since the above was written, the Glass-works have been sold, and arc going on in 
a nourishing manner. 



12 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

ral sand- banks above that These, for a small sum, and with no 
great labour, could be easily removed. There are two shipbuild- 
ing yards on the Leven, (one of them in the parish of Cardross), 
which employ a number of men, and where some beautiful vessels 
have been built, and are still in progress of building. A-small trade 
in tanning and rope-spinning is carried on; and there is one brick 
field in the parish. 

Means of Communication. — The town of Dumbarton is distant 
from Glasgow about fifteen miles, and from Greenock about seven. 
There are two steamers belonging to a company in Dumbarton, 
which sail to and from each of these places twice a day. Letters 
are sent also twice a day from Dumbarton to Glasgow, and vice 
versa. There is also a daily communication with Helensburgh, 
Luss, and Drymen. In summer, a coach starts every lawful morning 
at nine o'clock for Balloch, with passengers for the Lochlomond 
steam-boat, and returns to town again in the evening, in time for 
the steamer which goes to Glasgow. An elegant bridge, 300 feet 
in length, consisting of five arches, was built across the Leven about 
the year 1765 ; it was erected at the expense of Government, and 
cost L. 2.500 Sterling ; about L. 150 have been expended on re- 
pairing it since that time. About eighty-five years prior to the 
erection of the bridge, an attempt was made to erect one, and a 
subscription for that purpose was commenced, but to no purpose. 

The greater part of the fences consist of thorn hedges, which 
thrive remarkably well, and are generally neatly and trimly kept. 

Ecclesiastical State, — The parish church is very conveniently 
situated for the great majority of the inhabitants. It stands in the 
east end of the town of Dumbarton. The nearest boundary of 
the parish is distant from it about fifty yards, and the farthest from 
six to eight miles. There are about eight inhabited dwelling-houses, 
distant from the church more than two miles, and none farther 
than three miles. There are sittings in the church for 1265 per- 
sons ; of these sittings about 90 are free. The average num- 
ber of individuals attending the parish church throughout the year, 
is 900 ; with the exception of about 50, who come, from some of 
the neighbouring parishes, they all belong to the parish of Dum- 
barton. The minister of the parish only got a manse about the 
end of 1837, but has not yet got a glebe. 

There is a missionary in the town, who is supported by a sum rais- 
ed by subscription ; the salary is L. 52 a year. There are two Dis- 
senting places of worship in the parish, the one a Roman Catholic, 



DUMBARTON. 13 

the Other a United Secession, Chapel. Neither of these are endowed, 
the clergj-men being supported by the seat rents alone. The Ro- 
man Catholic clergyman is provided with a house, the other clergy- 
man is not. The Dumbarton Roman Catholic Chapel is within 
the diocese of the Bishop of Glasgow. The Baptists have a place 
of meeting, — a small room in the town ; tliey are by no means 
numerous. The following will give a tolerably correct state- 
ment of the religious persuasions of the people of Dumbarton, as 
ascertained in 1837: Of the Established Church, 2311 ; Episco- 
palians, 35 ; Independents, 8 ; Roman Catholics, 284; Relief, 
262 ; United Secession, 1 13 ; Baptists, 30 ; Cameronians, 9 ; Se- 
ceders, 26 ; Unitarians, 5 ; number of persons of no religious per- 
suasion, 33; total, 3116. There are several Sunday evening 
schools in the parish. There is also a Society for the Diffusion of 
Missionary Intelligence, which meets regularly once a month. 

Education. — There are seven schools in the parish, exclusive of 
the parochial school. Four of these are taught by male teachers, 
the others by females. The parochial teacher has a salary of 
L 40 Sterling per annum, which is paid by the magistrates of the 
bui^h. The amount of his school fees cannot be ascertain- 
ed. The other teachers depend on school fees alone. At the 
half yearly examination of the public school in February 1838, the 
branches of education taught, and the number of pupils learning 
each branch, were as follows: Greek, 3; Latin, 12; French, 6 ; 
English reading, 161; English grammar, 49; mathematics, 3; 
geography, 22; arithmetic, 78; writing, 96; drawing, 1. Se- 
veral years ago, the public school was taught by three masters, 
one taught the Greek, Latin, and French languages, another 
taught English grammar, &c. and the third taught writing, arith- 
metic, book-keeping, &c. Since 1833, one master manages the 
three departments. It is much to be regretted that classical learn- 
ing is very much neglected now. Not quite twenty years ago, the 
master of the classical department was able to live comfortably on 
his school fees, from the number that attended his classes. Now, 
there are only three Greek, and twelve Latin scholars, making a 
total of fifteen ! 

Literature — There is a public library in the parish, which was 
instituted in 1797: it contains nearly 2000 volumes, — among 
which are some good standard works. The " Dumbarton Sabbath 
Evening School" has about 600 volumes, which are lent out to 
the scholars. The scholars of the public school have also a small 



14 DL'MBARTONSHIUE. 

library, — which now consists of nearly 300 volumes. The Oon- 
servative and Liberal parties each support a reading-room in Dum- 
barton. 

Friendly Societies. — There are four Friendly Societies in the 
parish, which were instituted for the purpose of assisting the mem- 
bers in time of distress. All members contributing regularly to 
these societies are entitled to a weekly allowance when unable to 
work. There is also a Society for the relief of indigent old men 
and women, which has already done much good. 

Poor and Parochial Funds, — The average number of persons 
receiving parochial aid, is about 70. The amount of collections 
at the church door, each Sunday, is generally about L. 1. The 
proprietors in the parish are assessed for the support of the poor, 
but only within the last four years. The average amount of the 
assessment is about L. 300 Sterling. The amount of extraordinary 
collections in the parish church during the last two years was as 
follows: in 1837, L. 82, 17s. 9d., and in 1838, L. 59, Os. 6d. 
Sterling. 

Fairs. — There is only one fair held within the parish. It is 
held annually on the second Tuesday of August, on a common, 
close to the town ; the business transacted there is of no great ex- 
tent 

Inns and Ale-houses. — There are two good inns in Dumbarton, 
which are well filled, in summer, by travellers going to, and return- 
ing from, Lochlomond. The number of ale-houses yearly licens- 
ed is from 40 to 50. 

Fuel. — Coal is almost the only fuel used, and is all brought from 
Glasgow. A small quantity of peats is used by the poor. 

February 1839. 



PARISH OF OLD KILPATRICK. 

PRESBYTERY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. MATTHEW BARCLAY, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 

Name. — The name of the parish is compounded of Gi7, the 
Gaelic word for a church, and the name of the patron saint of 
Ireland. Tradition says that he was born in this parish. This is 
doubted ; but still it must be confessed, that, if this be not the birth- 
place of Saint Patrick, it is difficult to account for the name of the 
parish, and for many traditions in regard to his character and 
doings, which have been handed down for generations in the 
neighbourhood. 

Extent and Boundaries. — The parish is about 8 miles long, 
and its greatest breadth is from 4 to 5 miles. Its figure is trian- 
gular, with the base resting on the Clyde. It contains about 18 
square miles. It is bounded on the south, by the river Clyde ; on 
the west, by the parish of Dumbarton ; on the north, by Dumbar- 
ton, Killearn, and New Kilpatrick ; on the east, by New Kilpa- 
trick and Renfrew. On the opposite side of the Clyde are Ren- 
frew, Inchinnan, and Erskine. 

Topographical Appearances. — The parish is situated on the 
banks of the Clyde ; and although this river is celebrated for the 
beauty and the diversity of its scenery, it may be affirmed that 
there is no part of the scenery of the Clyde which excels that of 
Old Kilpatrick. In sailing down the river as we pass Renfrew 
Ferry, near which the parish begins, at the village of Yoker, the 
country is flat and well cultivated, having all the appearance of 
land that will repay the skill and the toil of the husbandman. At this 
part, the whole breadth of the parish is seen rising with a gentle 
slope to the upper boundary. As we proceed down the river, the 
part in view is still fertile and well cultivated, but begins to be 
narrowed by the enclosing hills, so that by the time the navigator 
sweeps past the parish church and the village of Old Kilpatrick, the 
base of the hills comes nearly to the water's edge. At the part 



\6 DUMBARTONSHIRE, 

of the parish ferthest down the river, it opens up again into a plain 
of considerable extent 

The view all the way down is exceedingly diversified. The 
first public work which we pass is Dalmuir-shore Soda Work, on 
the brink of the river, which, with its furnaces and chimnies, and 
burnt rubbish, but ill acords with the scene around. Farther down, 
and about half a mile from the river, are Dalmuir paper-works, 
which rather add variety to the prospect than diminish its 
beauty. Farther on still, we see up the glen of Duntocher, at the 
head of which stand those huge cotton-works, part of which is seen, 
which give employment to thousands who live in the villages, lying 
concealed from the view. When we come to Erskine Ferry, 
the bend of the river is one of the finest which can be imagined. 
On the left are Lord Blantyre's house and grounds in the parish of 
Erskine, and on the right is the village of Old Kilpatrick, with its 
church and its tower, and its white-washed houses, which are situated 
at the bottom of the Kilpatrick braes, rising to the height of about 
1200 feet above the level of the sea. On the sides, on one part are 
well cultivated fields, and rich crops ; on another, fine growing planta- 
tions, and on others, rocks and copsewood. The summit also is now 
smooth, now rugged, now planted, and now abrupt and broken. The 
bend of the river extends as far down as Dunglass Castle, about two 
miles and a-half, and is varied all the way in the most beautiful 
manner. After passing the village, the house of Glenarbuck is 
seen imbedded in trees, giving the idea of all that is peaceful and 
sheltered, and retired ; and then not far ofi* at the river's edge, is 
Bowling Bay, at the mouth of the Forth and Clyde Canal, with 
its basin and docks, and all the bustle of merchandize and ship- 
building. Beyond this, rise in great beauty the hills and the woods 
of Auchentorlie. To complete the view, there is often a multi- 
tude of vessels in sight ; the ferry-boat crossing with its load of 
carts or carriages, and live-stock of all kinds, — the gay steamer 
with decks cruwded, flags flying, and band of music playing, the 
powerful Tug with her steam and smoke, dragging her half dozen of 
vessels, with yard and sail, some of which have probably come 
from the most distant parts of the world ; and sailing vessels of 
all descriptions, making their way up or down, as wind and tide 
will serve their purpose. 

On the public road, there are two views which have been long 
celebrated, — the one from Dalnotter Hill, and the other from the 



OLD KILPATRICK. J? 

Chapel Hill, — the one a quarter of a mile before entering Old 
Kilpatrick village, and the other a quarter of a mile after leaving 
iu But to leave the public road, and ascend the hills, adds greatly 
to the magnificence of the sight Within five minutes' walk from 
the Tillage, and with no great exertion in the ascent, the whole 
length and breadth of Renfrewshire is spread before you. As- 
cending higher still, the prospect extends, and opens Up to view a 
large part of Lanarkshire, with Tintock as a termination. Again, 
if we proceed across the braes, about four or five miles from the 
Clyde, we come to a round hill named Duncomb, from which, 
owing to a low part on the ridge of the Kilpatrick hills, a mag- 
nificent scene is seen to the south, and east and west ; while, to 
the north, Benlomond and his brother mountains are fiill in view, 
and Lochlomond with its islands is spread before us. This is a 
>iew which is not much known, but may be ranked among the 
fine views of Scotland. From one part of the Kilpatrick braes, 
Ailsa Craig may be seen. It may also be remarked, that the 
abrupt and rocky hill Dumbuck, makes a beautiful termination to 
the range at the western extremit}'. 

Hydrography. — The parish abounds with excellent springs of 

water. There are two lochs in the high part, behind the ridge 

of the Kilpatrick braes, which supply the principal stream in the 

parish, which passes Faifley* and Duntocher, and falls into the 

Clyde at Dalmuir. This stream, from the many falls in its 

course, and excellent situations for dams, might move machinery 

to any extent ; but, owing to differences of opinion among the 

proprietors, it has never been made available to the extent of its 

power. Most of the work of this kind on its banks is done by 

the power of the steam-engine. There is no other stream in the 

parish which is of much consequence in this way. 

Geology. — The geology of this parish is the same in its general 
features as that of New Kilpatrick. The whole is of the coal forma- 
tion, and the hills, which rise through or are superimposed, afj'J 
which so beautify the district, are of the trap formation. The rocks 
are principally greenstone, amygdaloid, trap-tuffa, wacke, and basalt 
Although there are no basaltic pillars to equal those of Staffa, or 
the Giants' Causeway, yet there are some so regular and perpen- 
dicular, as to give a pleasing variety to the scene. In the Auch- 
eiitorlie and Glenarbuck grounds, there are rocks of this descrip- 
tion, which form precipices so abrupt and high, as to require the 

DUMBARTON. B 



18 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

practised eye of the mountaineer, or of the enthusiastic geologist, 
to overlook the brink without a shudderl It is these which form 
the deep chasms in the hills, which give their romantic character 
to these beautiful spots, and which cause the Kilpatrick braes to 
impress the most untaught in the beauties of nature with feelings 
of admiration. Any organic remains which have been discovered 
are principally of the vegetable kind. There are also strata of 
clay and iron-ore. 

It may be here mentioned, that lately, at Dalmuir, a bed of 
shells was discovered in a section of the sand deposit, which is to 
be found in many places in this district of country. This disco- 
very was made in consequence of making some alteration in the 
course of the Dalmuir Burn. A full account of the whole matter 
is published in Vol. i. page 131, of the Records of General Sci- 
ence. The communication is made by Mr Thomas Thomson, 
son of Dr Thomson of Glasgow. He says, ** The locality in 
which the fossils are exposed is situated on the banks of the 
Dalmuir Burn, about 100 yards above the bridge, by which the 
road from Glasgow to Dumbarton crosses it, and about a mile 
from the Clyde. The current of the stream is not very rapid, so 
that the bed of shells is probably not more than 20 feet above 
the level of the Clyde, which at that place is sensibly salt at high 
water. The breadth of the channel of the stream is about 14 
feet, and the depth of the banks about 2^ feet. The sandy de- 
posit appears to extend on both sides of the stream upwards and 
downwards, without alteration, but the fossils are con6ned to a 
circular, or rather elliptical space, the breadth of which (across 
the stream) is about 25 feet, while its length is only about 15 
feet The deposit extends from each bank only about 6 feet, so 
that more than one-half of the whole mass has been cut away 
during the change of the course of the rivulet. The whole depth 
of the bed, as it exists at present, is about 2^ feet ; but I am in- 
formed by the overseer upon the estate, who superintended the 
workmen during their operations, that after the soil had been re- 
moved, 10 or 12 feet of earth full of sand was carried away, so 
that the depth of the bed in its original state, must have been 12 
or 14 feet" 

" The number of species which have been already collected 
amount to about 30." The names are given in the Journal. 
Mr Thomson again says, " The shells which have been found 

d 



OLD KILPATKICK. 19 

in the Dalmuir sand liave in general lost all colour^ and become 
of a dull yellowish white, but otherwise, though brittle, they are 
in a state of beautiful preservation. They appear to be all na- 
tives of the British seas, with the exception of the F. lamellosus^ 
which has only been observed about the Straits of Magellan, and 
Nautica glaucvwides^ which is a crag fossil." And again, ** The 
shells which have been assembled in this confined s|)ot, and bu- 
ried in sand in this extraordinary manner, appear to have been 
collected from very diflerent situations. The Nucula minutOj and 
the f^elutina^ inhabit deep water ; the Buccina and the Astarte fre- 
quent the sands about low water, in which the My a truncata and 
the Cardium edule bury themselves; while the Mytilus and the 
Modiola attach themselves to rocks in deep water, and the LittO' 
rina (and probably the Natica) frequent those rocks which are 
alternately covered and laid bare by the ebbing and flowing of the 
tide.''' And again, ^' It is remarkable, and is a circumstance which 
adds to the extraordinary nature of this deposit, that the sand in 
the immediate neighbourhood of the fossils is quite destitute of 
any traces of shells. Few of the shells which it contains have 
been previously found fossil, and therefore it appears probable, 
that, if not considered as belonging to the recent period, it must 
be referred to a very late tertiary era, at a time when all the low- 
lands on the banks of the Clyde, at least as far up as Glasgow, 
have been covered by an arm of the sea." 

Mineralogy. — The mineralogy, as well as the geology of this 
parish, is full of interest. A great variety of zeolites have been 
found. The different species are, Prchnite, Stilbite, Heulandite, 
Thomsonite, Laumonite, Cross-stone, both single and crossed ; 
Analcime and Mesotype. Of these, beautiful specimens have been 
collected. The Hunterian Museum has been enriched with a 
splendid collection of these treasures of the rock, which were pre- 
sented by Dr William Couper, Professor of Natural History in 
Glasgow College. The Doctor continues to make an annual per- 
ambulation of these hills with his geological pupils, as affording 
the most interesting field of observation in the neighbourhood of 
Glasgow. There are two quarries of whinstone, which are wrought 
for providing metal for the roads, out of which these different 
species of minerals are still obtained from time to time. The one 
is about half a mile behind the village of Old Kilpatrick, and the 
other is on the side of the public road from Glasgow to Dumbar- 
ton, about a quarter of a mile below Bowling Inn. 



20 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Soil — The soil consists of diluvial deposit, in general dry with 
a gravelly bottom ; but in some places on the banks of the Clyde, 
especially at the part farthest down the river, it is fine deep loam 
with clay bottom. The rising grounds are so situated as to show 
that the deluge which caused their formation must have been 
from north-west to south-east 

Mines. — There are mines of coal and lime in the neighbourhood 
of Dun tocher. The shafts are from 120 to 200 feet deep. These 
mines contain ironstone, limestone, coal, and pyrites. The ironstone 
varies in thickness. The limestone and coal are regular; the coal 
is about 4^ to 5 feet thick, and the limestone, which lies immediate- 
ly above it, is about the same. It is expected that seams of coal 
will be found lower down, but no search has been hitherto made 
for them. I'he coal, in burning, cakes like the Newcastle coal 

Zoology » — The game in the parish are hares, pheasants, par- 
tridges, red grouse and black grouse. Besides these, there are 
roe-deer in Lord Blantyre^s woods on the hills. There are foxes, 
too, which sometimes do considerable damage on the sheep farms. 

The parish is not remarkable for breeding any species of cattle. 

Botany, — There are no rare plants. The soil is congenial to 
all sorts of forest and fruit trees. Oaks, ashes, elms, beeches, 
planes, limes, and fir-trees, of various kinds are growing, both in 
the upper and lower parts, with great luxuriance. Many of them 
are of a great size, and must be of a great age, and are still fresh 
and vigorous. Fruit trees also grow well. They have not been 
much cultivated, but, from the appearance of those which have 
been planted, there seems to be nothing in the soil or subsoil to 
prevent them from growing to any size, and bearing fruit to any 
age, to which fruit trees in this country can attain. 

II. — Civil History. 
Antiquities. — It is well known that the Roman wall between the 
Forth and Clyde terminated in this parish. It was begun by Agri- 
cola, and completed by Antoninus Pius, and is generally called 
Graham's dike, from a tradition that a Scottish warrior of this 
name first broke over it. All vestiges of the wall within the parish 
have disappeared ; but the fossa which ran parallel to it may still 
be traced in several places, particularly on the farm of Carleith, 
and in a field near the Cleddin burn. The very accurate survey 
made by General Roy in 1755, and published by the Antiquarian 
Society in 1793 ; and the earlier but careful remarks of Gordon, 
Stukely, Horsley, and Maitland, enable the antiquary to trace the 



OLD KILPATRICK. 21 

line with tolerable accuracy. The progress of agricultural im- 
provement, and, as a consequence, the obliterating of such remains 
of antiquity, within the last fifty or sixty years, have been so great, 
that without the assistance afforded by the works of these zealous 
investigators, it would be impossible to trace this mark of Roman 
conquest. Nor is it wonderful that a bulwark of turf should have 
disappeared after the lapse of seventeen centuries. 

The termination of the wall was at one time understood to have 
been at Dunglass, bujt it is now generally agreed to have been at 
the Chapel Hill, a short distance from the parish church. Two 
sculptural stones with the usual inscription, containing the number 
of the legion, and the amount of labour performed in the construc- 
tion of the wall, were found there, and presented by Hamilton of 
Orbiston (to whom this property and the neighbouring estate of 
Erskine belonged) in 1695 to the College of Glasgow ; and another 
also discovered there, was presented soon after by the Marquis of 
Montrose to the same learned body. The workmen employed 
in digging the canal in 1790, which passes at the bottom of the 
Chapel Hill, found, in a subterraneous recess, vases and Roman 
coins ; and there is little doubt, that more careful research might 
bring to light more of these interesting monuments. 

At Duntocher there is a bridge called Roman, but it is consi- 
dered by some of the best antiquarians,* to have no greater claim 
to such high antiquity, than that the materials may have been af- 
forded by the neighbouring fort. Others, however, are inclined 
to support the antiquity of the bridge. Its appearance is much 
in favour of an ancient datie. Beside it, there is a stone with an 
inscription, bearing that the bridge was repaired in 1772 by Lord 
Blantyre, and also stating that it was built in the reign of Hadrian, 
which proves what was the current opinion at the time of erecting 
the stone. 

The lines of the Roman fort at Duntocher can now with difficulty 
be traced. A stone similar to those found at the Chapel hill, 
but more elegant in design and execution, was discovered here. 
It stood in Gordon's time on the gate of Cochno, but was soon 
after given by the proprietor, Mr Hamilton of Barnes, to the Glas-* 
gow College. Engravings of these stones will be found in Gordon's 
Itinerarium. The Collie of Glasgow engraved a series of similar 
monuments found along this line of frontier, but for their own use 
exclusively. 

* Roy*s Military Antiquities page 158. 



22 DUMBARTONSHIUB. 

A subterraneous buildiug, supposed by some to have been a #u« 
dorium, or hot-bath, and by others a place for holding grain, was 
accidentally discovered in 1775, in the same hill on which the 
fort was situated. The cavity had two circular chambers, sur- 
rounded with a wall of hewn stone. The whole was covered over 
with tiles to support about two feet depth of earth above. Some 
husks of grain were found in the place. Now, there is nothing to 
mark the excavation, but a small sinking in the surface above where 
the cavity was situated. 

A Roman altar without any inscription was found in a field in 
the neighbourhood ; and now ornaments the gable of the miller's 
house at Duntocher mill. Roman querns have often been found 
in the adjacent places. One was found in digging the foundation of 
a new church in connection with the Establishment, which is now 
erecting on the side of this hill, where the Roman invaders of our 
country had their fort and reared their altars to their idol gods. 
A Roman vase was found in one of the fields of Auchintoshan 
estate, the property of John Cross Buchanan, Esq. 

About a furlong to the north of Duntocher, on the property of 
James Hamilton, Esq. of Barnes, there are two artificial tumuli^ 
described by Horsley (Britannica Romana, page 164.) 

There are distinct vestiges of hill-forts on several of the neigh- 
bouring heights, particularly on one called the Round Hill, and 
another in the grounds of Auchentorlie. 

Dunglass Castle, on the edge of the Clyde, was the messuage of 
the barony of Colquhoun. The writer of the former Statistical 
Account of this parish, misled by Pennant, confounds this Dun- 
glass with another more important place of the same name, in Ber- 
wickshire, where Lord Haddington and many gentlemen of qua- 
lity were blown up in 1640. This obvious mistake has been 
transferred by Chalmers to the pages of his Caledonia, Vol. iii. p. 
865. 

In the church-yard, there is a monumental stone, to which tra- 
dition has affixed the name of Saint Patrick. It is, however, the 
sculptured effigy of an armed knight, and, from the style of execu- 
tion, of the fourteenth century. It has no inscription, but it may 
be very plausibly assigned to some one of the knightly race of Col- 
quhoun. 

In the garden at Mount Blow, the residence of William Dunn, 
Esq. there is a monumental cross. It is of the style so prevalent 



OLD KILPATRICK. 23 

in the west of Scotland, especially in Cantyre and the Hebrides, 
and of the twelfth century. But as this cross (as mentioned in the 
former Statistical Account) was then used for a foot bridge, one 
side is completely dis6gured, and the other very much injured. 
There has been an inscription, but two side figures and a running 
ornament are all that now can be perceived. There is a similar 
cross at Barrochan, in the parish of Kilallan, which has been en- 
graved in Hamilton of Wishaw's description of Renfrewshire. 

Land'Ovmers, — The chief land-owners are, Lord Blantyre; Wil- 
liam Dunn, Esq. of Duntocher ; James Hamilton, Esq. of Barnes ; 
Andrew Buchanan, Esq. of Auchentorlie ; Colonel Geils of Dum- 
buck ; W. C. Stirling, Esq. of Edinbarnet ; John Cross Buchan<- 
an, Esq. of Auchintoshan ; Alexander Campbell, Esq. of Barn- 
hill ; Robert Glasgow, Esq. of Glenarbuck. 

Parochial Registers, — The parochial registers for marriages and 
baptisms begin at 1688, and are regularly kept ; but, from decay, 
are imperfect till 1 740. The registry of baptisms does not, how- 
ever, shew the number of births, as the Dissenters do not register 
their childrens' names. 

Kilpatrickf a Burgh cf Barony. — Why the use of the privileges 
of being a burgh of barony should have ceased, it is difficult to 
say, as there is as much need as ever for bailies and their officers 
to restrain the bad, and encourage the good. The jail is still 
standing with its iron bars on the windows, and its door well stud- 
ded with nails, but it is now used as a private dwelling. A bur- 
gess-ticket, dated 13th day of October 1760, states that Kilpa- 
trick is a burgh of barony, in virtue of a charter under the Great 
Seal, dated 27th January 1679; It declares that the village of 
Kilpatrick is to be the head burgh of barony, with power to name 
bailies, to create and admit burgesses, in and to all the freedoms, 
liberties, and immunities allowed by law, and known to appertain 
to any sick burgh within the kingdom. 

III. — Population. 

In 1755, the parish is said to have contained 1281 souls. 

At the tlHte of the last Statistical Account, 2452 

In 1811, 1595 males and 1833 females, in all 34:28 

In 1821, 2007 moles and 1685 females, in all 3092 

In 1831, 2820 males and 3059 females, in all 5879 

The cause of so vast an increase is the erection of so many pub- 
lic works, especially the cotton spinning and power-loom weaving 
factories at Duntocher and Faifley. 

Most of the chief heritors are resident, with the exception of 



24 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Lord Blantyre, whose seat in this neighbourhood is in the adjoin- 
ing parish of Erskine. 

Habits of the People. — The habits of the people in food ami 
dress are like those of the rest of the west of Scotland. Oatmeal 
and potatoes^ with a portion of butcher-meat, is the staple of those 
employed in out-door work. A good deal of wheaten bread is also 
used ; but the workers in the factories having hard labour within 
doors, and having better wages, both require and obtain a diet 
more approaching to the luxuries of life, than that of those whose 
lot it is to enjoy fresh air, and to be able to use and' enjoy a coarser 
food. Tea is a universal beverage with all classes. 

IV. — Industry. 
Agriculture. — The exact number of acres in the parish has not 
been ascertained ; but the following statement may be considered 
as an approximation sufficiently near the truth, for the purposes of 
a work of this kind : 

Anibley - 5915 acres. 

Pasture, - 4940 

Wood, - 572 



Total, 11427 imperial measure. 

The valued rental is L. 4441, Ids. 8d. The real rental may 
be estimated at about L. 12,500. 

Rent of Land. — The rent of arable land is in some cases as high 
as L. 3 per acre, and in others as low as L. 1. The average may 
be considered about L. 1, 15s. per imperial acre. 

The average rent of grazing for a milk cow per season is about 
L. 5, and of a sheep about 7s. 

The rate of common country labour is from Is. lOd. to 2s. per 
day. The rate for labour which requires more expertness, such 
as thrashing or mowing, is about 2s. 6d. The wages of all kinds 
of tradesmen are about the same as in Glasgow. 

The price of all country produce, and of provisions of all kinds, 
is as high as in the Glasgow market. Every article of foreign 
produce is higher ; as in all cases the expense of carriage must be 
added, and an additional profit to the retailer, who deals on a small- 
er scale than retailers in town. 

Cattle. — The draught horses are good, and of the active strong 
make of those which are now generaHy used in the west of Scot- 
land. Few are bred in the parish, but from their appearance they 
may be considered to be of the Lanarkshire breed. There are but 
few saddle-horses. 

The black-cattle, which are fattened in the grazing part of the 



OLD KILPATRICK. 23 

parish, are mostly of the Highland breed, and are bought at the 
large fairs or trysts in the country round. 

The milch cows, of which there are a great number, are of the 
Ayrshire breed. Little cheese is made, as the farmers find it more 
profitable to supply the villages of the parish, or the neighbouring 
towns, with milk and butter. Part of the milch cows are reared 
in the parish, but a great many are brought from neighbouring pa- 
rishes. Some of the farmers have been remarkably successful in 
bringing their stock to the greatest perfection, both as regards the 
symmetry of the form of the animal, and the quantity and the qua- 
lity of the produce* The butter of one of the dairy farms is so 
well known in the Glasgow market for its excellent quality, that 
it brings regularly ten per cent, more than the ordinary price. 

The sheep which are reared and fed in the moor parts of the 
parish, are nearly all of the black- faced kind. 

The leases of land are in general for nineteen years. 

The Average gross amount of Raw Produce. — This cannot be 
stated very accurately, as a number of farms have been unlet, and 
have been under a course of improvement by their proprietors. 
Some of the lands have been thrown into pasture which were cul- 
tivated before, and may soon come to be cultivated again. Some 
others have not been under a regular rotation of crops. But the 
following statement may be considered an approximation : 

985 acres oats, at 1.. 4, 1 6s. . . L. 4728 

721 do. potatoes, at L. 12, - - 8652 

264 do. turnips, nt L. 8, - - 2112 

822 do. wheat, at L 6, 10s., - 5343 

165 do. barley, at L. 5, - . 825 

985 do. hay. at L. 4, . . - - 8940 

1973 do. arable pasture, at L. 1, 158. . 3452 15 

5512 do. pasture and wood, at 68^ - 1653 12 

11427 Total, - - L. 30706 7 

Quarries and Mines. — Besides the mines of coal and limestone, 
mentioned under the head of Mineralogy, there is abundance of 
freestone and whinstone, quarries of both of which are wrought 
in different parts of the parish. 

Fisheries. — There are two fishing stations on the Clyde, but 
these are not of much value, — the one never renting more than 
L. 2 or L. 3 a-year ; the other never more than L. 6 or L. 8. 

Manufactures. — The factories of William Dunn^ Esq. for spin- 
ning and weaving cotton. — These consist of four large mills : the 
Faifley mill, the Duntocher mill, the Milton mill, and the Hard- 
gate mill, all situated within less than a mile of each other. It 
was about the year 1808) that these works were commenced. 



26 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

About that time, Mr Dunn purchased the Duntocher mill, which 
had been used. for spinning wool and fiax and cotton yarn. The 
work was then unoccupied, and the village almost deserted. Id 
two or three years after, Mr Dunn purchased the Faifley mill from 
the Faifley Spinning Company. This had been used for spinning 
cotton, but on a small scale. He next purchased in 1813 the Dalnot- 
ter Iron- Works, from Messrs Richard and Robert Dennistoun, which 
had been occupied by them, as a mill for slitting and rolling iron, 
and manufacturing implements of husbandry, nails, &c. At the 
time Mr Dunn became proprietor of the works, the whole of the 
men and women employed at them did not exceed 150. 

The Duntocher and Faifley mills were first greatly enlarged. 
The Milton mill, which was begun in 1821, was built on the site 
of the Dalnotter Iron- Works, and after this a large addition was 
made to the Faifley mill. The Hardgate mill was begun in 1831. 

These four establishments are exclusively employed in spinning 
and weaving cotton. 

The machinery now in operation is as under : mule spindles, 
66,820 ; throstle spindles, 7236 ; total spindles, 74,056 ; power- 
looms, 530. 

The quantity of cotton spun per annum is about 1,000,000 pounds 
weight ; and the yarn produced, which varies in fineness from No. 12 
to No 130, may be stated to be about 875,000. The cloths manu- 
factured are of different fabrics from 9°*^ to 20°° reed, and vary in 
breadth from 26 to 72 inches. The number of yards produced an- 
nually, may be stated to be 2,000,000. 

The machinery till lately was driven by water power. There 
were six water wheels of various dimensions employed ; but there 
has been erected a powerful steam engine at Faifley, and other 
two are in progress at Milton and Duntocher, which will be in 
operation in the course of the present summer, 1835. 

The number of persons employed in the spinning and weaving 
departments, is upwards of 1400; 256 men, earning from 10s. 
to 30s. per week; 626 women from 6s. to 10s.; 120 boys, four- 
teen years and upwards, from 5s. to 8s.; 180 boys from 11 to 14, 
from 2s. 6d. to 5s. ; 235 girls, from 2s. 6d. to 5s. ; total number 
employed 1417. 

As part of the produce of these works, Mr Dunn has acquired land- 
ed property in the parish to the extent of about 2000 acres, nearly all 
arable, and much ofitasgood land as any on the banks of the Clyde. 
He possesses also about a fourth part of undivided moor, capable 



OLD KILPATRICK. 27 

of grazing about 266 sheep. Of this estate Mr Dunn -famis 
about 1200 acres, himself. It is on his property, also, that the lime 
and coaUworks already mentioned are situated. 

The estate, although acquired at different times, lies all com- 
pactly together, extending along the banks of the Clyde for about 
two miles. It is intersected by the Glasgow and Dumbarton 
turnpike road for about two miles, nearly parallel to the Clyde, 
and in a diagonal direction by the Forth and Clyde Canal, for 
about two miles and a half. 

Besides his own works, there are on Mr Dunn's property the 
two important establishments of Dalmuir Paper- Works, and Dal- 
muir Shore Soda Works. There is a quay, also, at Dalmuir for 
loading and landing goods, which has been in existence beyond 
the memory of man. 

Besides the persons occupied in weaving and spinning, Mr Dunn 
employs about his works and on his lands, masons, wrights, coal 
and lime-workers, quarriers, brick-makers, farm-servants, and 
other labourers, to the number of 250. The total amount of 
wages which he pays in the parish is about L, 30,000 annually. 

In addition to the people employed by Mr Dunn within the 
parish, he employs in Glasgow, engineers, mechanics, iron and 
brass-founders, to the number of about 200, whose wages annually 
amount to about L. 9000. Much of the work done by these men 
is for the establishments in this parish, as they are employed in 
making spinning and weaving machinery, and steam-engines, 
partly for sale, and partly for the supply of Mr Dunn's own works. 

Mr Dunn is one of the most remarkable instances which the 
history of our country presents, of a person who has risen to great 
affluence, whose only patrimony at the first was the knowledge of 
a trade, united with great sagacity, great industry, and great per- 
severance. 

Manufactures. — Dalmuir Paper ^Works^ possessed by Edward 
Collins, Esq. All kinds of paper are manufactured here. There 
are employed at these works, 5 men, at L. 1, 2s. a- week ; 58 at 
lis. ; 91 women, at 6s. 2d. ; 17 boys, at 5s. ; 5 girls, at 4s. 6d* 
The value oF the paper manufactured annually, is about 
K 30,000. The duty paid to Government is about L. 10,000 
a-year. 

In this manufacture there has been great improvement. By 
the introduction of machinery, a much greater quantity is made 
by fewer hands. 



28 DUMBARTONSHIUE. 

Soda works, at Dalmuir Shore, possessed by Messrs Charles Todd 
and Co. — Tlie soda works were first established here by the father 
of the present Lord Dundas, under the superintendence of the 
late Earl of Dundonald, who, much to his own honour and his 
country's advantage, passed a considerable time at this place in 
scientific pursuits. His Lordship was the first who introduced 
the making of soda on a large scale, by using soap-makers' leys, 
which formerly used to be run off as waste. At the same time, 
the extended demand interested the scientific world, and induced 
the adoption of other modes for the production of this article. 

At these works, are made weekly about 30 tons sulphuric acid, 
which is wholly employed in decomposing common salt towards 
the manufacture of bleaching powder, or the chloride of lime. 
The residuum of the operation is converted into the well known 
soda of commerce, used in great quantities for domestic purposes, 
and by soap-makers, bleachers, dyers, potters, &c« 

The number of hands employed is from 80 to 100, all male 
adults, who work from six o'clock till six o'clock, and, as the ope* 
rations go on night and day, one part relieves the other. The 
average wages are about 1 Is. per week. 

As the works have not been established a sufficient length of 
time, it is impossible to speak decisively of the effects on the 
health or longevity of the workmen employed. 

Bleaching and Calico- Printing Works at Milton Field, possessed 
by Patrick Mitchell, Esq. — The number of hands employed, when 
the works are in full operation, is fronii 400 to 500. They work six 
days in the week, 10 hours a-day, with the exception of Saturday. 
On that day, all the children and mechanics, which include more 
than three-fourths of the whole, work only eight hours. The re- 
maining fourth continue the usual time. 

The men, when fully employed, can earn from L. 1, 5s. to 
L. 1, 10s. a- week; the women about 6s.; and the girls and boys 
from ds. 6d. to 5s. 6d. 

Dye-works at Cockney Field, possessed by Messrs Macdonald 
and Mackay. — The manufacture carried on here is dyeing Turkey 
red on cotton cloth, and printing the cloth which has been dyed. 

The hands employed are about 70; say 32 men, 18 women, 8 
girls from twelve to sixteen years of age, and 12 boys about the 
same age. Hours of work from six in the morning till seven in 
the evening, allowing an hour for breakfast, and an hour for dinner. 



OLD KILPATRICK. 29 

The men make about 12s. to 13s. a-week; the women 6s. to 
7s. ; and the boys and girls from ds. 6d. to 4s. 

Ship^building yard^ at Bowling j possessed by Mr David M*Gill. 
— This yard has been long in existence. The vessels built are 
sloops up to 170 tons, and vessels for the canal navigation. The 
number of hands are, 10 journeymen at L. 1, Is. a-week, and 6 
apprentices at 6s. a-week. 

Ship-building yard at Little MiUy possessed by Messrs Mills 
and Wood. — This yard has been established only since the month 
of May 1834. The kind of vessels built hitherto has been 
steam-vessels of a large class. The hands employed at present, 
April 1836, are, 31 journeymen, at L. 1, Is. a-week; 41 appren- 
tices, at 7s. ; 10 sawyers, at L. 1, Is. ; 2 labourers, at 10s. ; 4 
smiths, from 15s. to L. 1, Is. ; 6 joiners, from 15s. to 18s. 

Distilleries. — Of these there is one at Little Mill, possessed 
by Mrs McGregor. The amount of gallons yearly is about 48,21 1, 
the duty on which is L. 8035, 3s. 4d. The amount of malt con- 
sumed is 11,180 bushels, the duty on which is L. 1643, 7s. 9d. 
making a total of duty annually of L. 9678, lis. Id. There is 
another at Auchintoshan, possessed by Messrs Filshie. The total 
amount of duty is L. 3150, 10s. 8d. for last year. 

Forge at Faifleyj possessed by Mr James Marr. — The manu- 
facture here is spades and shovels. The number of hands is 27, 
of whom a few are boys. The men, when in full work, can earn 
L. 1, Is. a weeL 

Works on a Smaller Scale, — Besides the large manufacturing 
establishments, there are a few on a small scale. There is a dye- 
work at Hardgate, and several nail*works on a small scale. There 
are a few weavers employed by Glasgow and Paisley houses, and 
a good many females who work at embroidering muslin, also em- 
ployed by Paisley and Glasgow manufacturers. Indeed, this is the 
employment of most of the females who have spare time, besides 
managing thq domestic arrangements of the family. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 
Market^Town. — The nearest market-town is Dumbarton, which 

is about a mile from one extremity of the parish, and about five 

miles from the church and manse. 

Villages. — The villages are Old Kilpatrick, Bowling, Little 
Mill, Milton, Dumbuck, Dalmuir, Dalmuir Shore, Yoker, Dun- 
tocher, Faifley, and Hardgate. 

Means of Communication. — There are carriers passing every 



30 DUMBAUTONSHIRE. 

day from Glasgow to Dumbarton, and the villages to the west. 
There is a stage-coach daily from Duntocher to Glasgow. But 
the chief means of travelling are the steam-boats on the Clyde, 
which pass up and down almost every hour of the day. Tbereare 
four stations for taking on board and landing passengers by means 
of small boats ; one at the Brick-house, one at Erskine Ferry, 
one at Bowling, and one at Dunglass. The length of the turn- 
pike roads is twelve miles, and of the statute labour roads sixteen 
miles, all in excellent repair. The Forth and Clyde canal inter- 
sects the parish for about five miles, from which the chief advan- 
tage is the bringing of coals and manure. Letters are conveyed 
by a branch of the Glasgow post-office. There is an arrival, 
morning and evening, from Glasgow, and one every evening from 
Dumbarton. There is a departure every evening for Glasgow, 
and every morning for Dumbarton. 

Ecclesiastical State, — The parish church is conveniently situat- 
ed, being about four miles from each extremity of the parish, 
lengthwise, and there are not above two houses five miles distant. 
The church was built in 1812, and is in good repair. According 
to the plan, it was to contain 790, but, in fact, there is not seat- 
room for more than 750 or 760, at eighteen inches a sitter. All the 
sittings are allocated to the heritors. The manse was built near- 
ly forty years ago, and repaired in 1829. The glebe contains 
about 8 Scotch acres, besides the garden, and may be valued at 
L. 32 per annum. The stipend was decreed at last augmentation 
(which was in 1833) to be 18 chalders, half meal and half barley. 
But the teinds were exhausted before obtaining the stipend de- 
creed. The present allocation bears 200 bolls, 5 stones, 2 lbs. 
meal, and 55 quarters, 4 bushels, 3 pecks, 1 gallon, and 1 quart 
barley, and L. 7, 1 9s. Sjd. money. This was farther reduced by 
an error discovered in one of the allocations. A surrender of the 
teinds was made in this instance, and now it stands 7 bolls, 2 
stones, 9 ^% lbs. meal, and 1 quarter, 6 bushels, 3 pecks, 1 gallon, 
I4 quarts, barley, and 5s. 7^d. money, instead of 20 bolls, 2 stones, 
2/5 lbs. meal, and 5 quarters, 3 bushels barley, and 6s. 4d. 
money. The allocation was decreed final on 26th January and 
16th February 1833, during a vacancy in the parish. If this mat- 
ter be stirred again, it is to be remarked that no allowance was 
made in the modification for the difierence between the Old Dum- 
bartonshire measure, in which the valuation was made, and the 
new measure, in which the modification was made. Thb difference 



OLD KILPATRICK. 31 

is one-eighth on every boll of meal Besides, somewhat more in 
the case of some of the farms would have been produced by a sim- 
ple surrender of the teinds than has been by the calculations which 
have been made. The stipend in 1835, as the allocation now 
stands, was L. 226, 9s. 5d., without any allowance for communion 
elements. 

Owing to the crowded sUite of the parish church, which is al- 
together too small for the population, a parish missionary has been 
employed for about two years, who regularly preaches on Sabbath, 
visits the sick, and has classes for religious instruction during the 
week. His preaching station is at Faifley. The place holds from 
200 to 250 hearers, and is generally crowded to the door. His 
salary is L. 50, and has been paid by a private individual. There 
is an additional church now building by subscription at Duntocher, 
which is to contain 800 sittings. The principal heritors, with few 
exceptions, came forward in the most liberal manner in aid of this 
undertaking. Mr Hamilton of Barnes began the subscription 
with L. 100; and it is but justice to say, that he and the ladies of 
the family are ready to promote every good work. Mr Buchanan of 
Auchintoshan subscribed L. 100, and made offer of ground for the 
building. A site offered by Mr Dunn was preferred, who sub- 
scribed Lf. 200 ; Mr Buchanan of Auchentorlie also subscribed 
L. 100. Many others contributed liberally, both heritors and other 
inhabitants. In all, about L. 900 has been subscribed, and it is 
hoped that, as much additional will be contributed as, with the aid 
of the Church Extension Fund of the General Assembly, will leave 
the church, when completed, free of debt.* 

* It must now be added, that the new church at Duntocher is finished. The cost 
of the erection, after deducting the drawback on wood and glass, was L. 1459, Is. 2d. 
The amount of contributions to meet this expenditure, including L. 300 from the 
General Assembly's Church Extension Fund, was L. 1299, 12s. 5d., leaving a defi- 
ciency of L. 159, 8s. 9d. But as it was desirable that the new church should begin 
without any incumbrance, the treasurer, who was the minister of the original parish, 
gave up his claims for the balance, so that the managers undertook their charge free 
of debt. 

The church was opened on Sabbath the 25th September 1836, and the Rev. John 
Pollock, who had been labouring in the district for more than two years as parish mis- 
sionary, was ordained the minister on the 6th of October. Mr Pollock was translated 
to Balder nock parish on the 29th of March 1838, and the Rev. V^illiam Alexander, 
who is now minister of Duntocher, was ordained to the charge in October 1898. 

The parish of Duntocher was di^oined quoad sacra from the parish of Old Kilpa. 
trick by the Assembly of 1836, The inhabited part of the parish is about a mile and 
a half in length and three quarters of a mile in breadth, and its nearest extremity is 
nearly two miles from the original parish church. From a census taken by the late 
minister, the parish was found to contain 3336 inhabitants, of whom 1604 professed 
to belong to the Established Church. With the exception of three heritors'^families, 
and three or four other families, all the population may be said to belong to die work* 



32 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

There are three Dissenting churches. One of these is of the 
Original Burgher Associate Synod, capable of containing about 550. 
The minister's stipend is L. 90, with a house, and about five or six 
acres of glebe land. One is of the Relief, capable of containing 
about 600. The minister's stipend is L. 120, with a house and 
garden. And one of the United Secession, capable of containing 
about 670. . The minister's stipend is L. 130, with a house, or an 
allowance of L. 20. The stipends are paid from seat-rents and 
collections. The names of the present incumbents, in the order 
in which the denominations have been stated, are Mr James 
Gardiner, Mr Hugh Crichton, Mr J. Russell, and all of them are 
respectable and good men. 

The number of communicants at the parish church is about 700. 
The relative number of those who profess to belong to the Es- 
tablishment, and of those who profess to belong to other denomi- 
nations, according to a census taken in spring 1836, is as under ; 
Establishment, 3349 ; Relief, 865 ; Secession, 785 ; Original 
Burgher, 272 ; Roman Catholic, 764 ; Episcopalian, 53 ; Baptist, 
l4; Methodist, 1 ; Reformed Presbyterian, 1 ; Unitarian, 1 ; In- 
dependent, 1 ; no persuasion, 17; total 6123. Total under twelve 
years of age, 1742 ; under seven years of age, 1139; total in the 
parish, 1163 families, 6123 individuals. 

It may be remarked, in order to give a full view of the church 

ing classes, The number of sittings in the church is 776, of which 712 arc let With 
the exception of about 40 all are let to parishioners, The seat rents are at very low 
rates, varying froni 28. to 45., with the exception of 62 in the front of the gaJlery, 
which are let at 10s. each. 

There is reason to bless God, that this new erection has prospered exceedingly. • It 
is difficult to say how many per»^ons who attended no church have been reclaimed. 
But from the fact of the original parish church having been gradually increasing in 
the numbers attending, and being now respectably filled, although a void was made in 
its attendance of 300 to 400 hearers, it is quite^ivithin the mark to say, that 200 at the 
least are now regular in their attendance at church, who were very seldom if ever in 
the house of God, This can be tlie more confidently affirmed, as neither the congre- 
gation in the new church, nor the increase in the old, have been lirawn from the Dis* 
senting congregations in the parish. One great advantage of increased accommoda- 
tion and low priced sittings, has been, that a much larger number of young people 
and children have been brought to both churches than before. One of the greatest 
evils of hi^h seat rents over all the country has been, that the number of seats taken, 
and the number of communicants on the roll, were nearly equal, so that no allowance 
was made for young people and children — a system fearfully calculated to increase 
the habit of forsaking the assembling in the house of God in tlie rising generation. 
Since the opening of the church 102 new members have been added to the roll of com* 
municants. Two weekly classes for religious instruction were conducted by the late 
minister, and although confined to those above 14 years of age, the one was attended 
by about 120, and the other by 70 young jpersons. The present minister is equally 
industrious in his classes, and equally successful with his predecessor. It may be 
added, that a number of families now maintain family worship, in which this duty was 
entirely neglected before the opening of the new cluirclf. — (Feb. 1839.) 



OLD KILPATRICK. 33 

accommodation, that families belonging to the Establishment in 
the village of Yoker, amounting in all to about 28 souls, attend 
in Renfrew church ; the number of whose sittings may be about 
12; that families in Miltoo and the neighbourhood belonging to 
the Establishment, amounting in all to about 80 souls, and fami- 
lies belonging to Dissenters, amounting to about 120 souls, attend 
in Dumbarton ; the sittings taken by both may be about 85. 

The sittings taken by all the Dissenters residing in the parish, 
although this has not been so accurately ascertained as could be 
wished, yet cannot amount to more at the utmost than 900. This, 
however, does not give a full view of the congregations of the 
Dissenters, as each of them have members from other parishes. 

The amount of the church-going population will then appear as 
follows : sittings in the parish church, counting them all occupied, 
750 ; attending at preaching station, 200 ; sittings at Renfrew 
about 12 ; sittings in Dumbarton parish church about 34 ; sittings 
taken by Dissenters both in the parish and at Dumbarton, about 900 ; 
say that, of the Roman Catholics there is a church attendanceon the 
average of 150, which is a large allowance ; total of sittings, 2046. 

If we double the above, this gives, according to the usual mode 
of calculation, the number of souls belonging to the families who 
attend a place of worship, which is 4092; and this leaves 2031 as 
the total number of souls belonging to families who attend no 
place of worship. This is a fearful state of things in a jcountry 
parish. If we consider the manner in which the Sabbath is spent 
by men in general, who do not attend a place of worship, and also 
the amount of the influence of their example on those who do, in 
leading them, even on a Sabbath day, to conduct themselves in a 
way inconsistent with the services in which they have been engaged, 
it is impossible to enumerate all the evils of such a state of things, 
both for time and for eternity, both for the body .and for the soul. 

On this subject one remark is obvious. If it had not been for 
the exertions of Dissenters in such a parish as this, in supplying 
the lack of the Establishment, matters would have been much 
worse. For all that they have done in stemming the torrent of 
heathenism,' they deserve the approbation of every man who is a 
lover of the Lord Jesus Christ 

Education — Schools. — The parish school is at Old Kilpatrick 
village. The endowed salary is L. 34, 4s. 4d., and the wages for 
reading are 2s. per quarter, and for reading, writing, and arith- 
metic, 2s. 6d. The wages may amount to L. 15 per annum, and 
the emoluments of the teacher, as session-clerk and treasurer to the 

DUMBxVRTON. C 



34 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

poor's fund, to L. 20 or L. 25 per annum. There are ten unendowed 
schools ; one at Moss Wallach ; one at Faifiey ; two at Duntocher ; 
two at Old Kilpatrick ; one at Dalmuir ; one at Little-mill : one at 
Milton ; and one at Kilbovne. Besides these, there are a few scholars 
taught to read by females at Duntocher and Faifley, who also teach 
them needle^work. The average number who attend the whole may 
be estimated at about 480 day-scholars, and 230 evening-scholars, 
making a total of 510. Most of the teachers can teach Latin and 
English grammar, practical geometry, and book-keeping ; but 
there are few applications for more than the usual elementary 
branches. The average fee is about ds. 6d. per quarter for read- 
ing ; ds. 6d; for reading and writing ; and 4s. for reading, writing, 
and arithmetic. There are six Sabbath schools, but these are for 
religious instruction alone. 

Literature. — There is a village library at Duntocher, of 430 
volumes, and two Sabbath school libraries, one of 110 volumes, 
and another of 230 volumes. There is a village library at Faifley of 
233 volumes, and one of the Sabbath school of 293 volumes. 
There is also a Sabbath class library at Old Kilpatrickof 150volumes. 
Friendly Society. — There is a friendly society at Duntocher and 
Faifley. The members are 208, who contribute 13s. a-year each. 
The allowance for a member who is sick, but not confined to bed, 
is 4s. 6d. a-week, and for one bedfast is 8s. After the first year, 
if the disease continue, and the man be unable to work, the allow- 
ance is 4s. 6d. a-week for life. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — The number of persons on the roll 
at present, with the aliment of ea^h, is as under : 

1 at 2s. per month L. 2 

2 - 28. 6d., •- 
1 - 3s., - ' - 

1 . 4s. 6d., 
14 - 5s. 

1 - 5s. 6d.} 
15-69., 

1 . 6s. 6d., 

1-78., 

1 1 - os., - 

S . 10s., 

2 . lis., - - 
1 - 12s., 
1 - 168., - - 

I - 17s. 4d , 
1 - 408., 

65 L.22 10 10 

27 12 of the above are widows, who have 27 chll* 
— dren in all. 

Total, 92 



5 





8 





1 12 





4 


6 


3 10 





5 


6 


4 10 





6 


6 


7 





4 8 





1 10 





1 2 





12 





16 





17 


4 


2 






OLD KILPATRICK. 35 

The three who have the highest allowances are persons derange- 
ed in intellect : one of them in the Glasgow Lunatic Asylum. 

To meet the above expenditure, and other occasional expenses, 
such as coflSns for paupers, &C there is an assessment, which varies 
from L. 250 to L.dOO a-year, one-half of which is laid on the 
heritors, and the other half on tenants and householders. There 
is also between L. 30 and L. 40 collected at the church door, 
which, after some necessary expenses being deducted, is paid into 
the poor's fund. 

Houses Licensed to Retail Spirits. — There are 31 in the pa- 
rish. Three of these are toll-houses, which is contrary to ex- 
press act of Parliament, and 12 of them are in Old Kilpatrick vil- 
lage alone. 

Fuel. — Coal is the prevailing fuel. It is chiefly brought from 
the neighbourhood of Glasgow by the canal, and for the last three 
years has been sold in the parish at 5s. per 12 cwt. Besides this, 
a good deal of Mr Dunn's coal is used, which is sold at 3s. for a 
measure, which would weigh about 14 cwt. Peats are used mere- 
ly for kindling. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
The changes since the former Statistical Account are very great. 

The rental then is called L. 5000. The rental now is upwards 
of L. 12,000. Indeed, there was a period during the war when it 
must have been considerably more. The total number employed 
at manufactures, was then 1043 : the number now is about 2400. 
The total population then was 2452 : the population now is up- 
wards of 6000. The smith and ir^n foundery, which employed 278 
hands, has wholly disappeared, and in place of one of its factories, 
there is one of Mr Dunn's cotton-mills, — while of another of its 
branches at Old Kilpatrick village, there are no remains. The 
wool mill, which finished 1000 yards a-day, is superseded by a mill 
for cotton. The statute labour was then L. 63, Gs. 8d : it is now 
on an average L. IQO. There was then one Dissenting church : 
there are now three. Inoculation for small pox was then generally 
practised : now it has been totally displaced by vaccination. Still 
there are a few cases now and then of natural small-pox, but gene- 
rally mild. 

Drawn up in 1836 ; Revised in February 1839, 



PARISH OF NEW OR EAST KILPATRICK. 

PRESBYTERY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR* 

THE REV. ANDREW SYM, D. D. MINISTER. 



L — Topography and Natural History. 
Namcj Itc^-The two parishes of New or East, and Old or 

West Kilpatrick, occupy a large portion of that district of Scot- 
land formerly called Lennox or Levenach — the field of the Le^eii. 
The etymology of Kilpatrick is plainly the Gaelic ct7, a church 
or religious house, prefixed to the name of the patron saint of 
Ireland, to whom the church of Kilpatrick was originally dedicated* 
The tradition which points out the tombstone of this saint in the 
church-yard of Old Kilpatrick is rejected by antiquaries; but 
there is good reason to believe that he was bom in that parish, 
near the Roman fort of Duntocher, which not improbably is the 
Nemthor of the early legends of St Patrick. ♦ 

Extent and Beundarie^. — The greatest length of New Kilpatrick 
parish is 7^ imperial miles ; the mean length, 6 miles ; the great- 
est breadth is 5^, and the mean breadth S^ miles ; giving a su- 
perficial extent of 21 square miles, or 13^440 imperial acres. 
These measurements are taken from Wood's map of Dumbarton- 
shire ; but, according to the plans of the several estates, the ex- 
tent is only 12,049 imperial acres. It is bounded on the north, 
by the parishes of Strathblane and Killearn ; on the west, by Old 
Kilpatrick; on th& south, by Renfrew and Go van; and on the 
east, by the Barony of Glasgow, Cadder, and Baldernock. 

Topograpiiical Appearances. — The Kilpatrick hills or braes, 
disjoined from the Campsie Fells by a gap of three or four miles 
in width, making way for the Blane with its beautiful strath, and 
for the black-watered Allander, lie partly in the parish. These 
hills range from east to west, terminating abruptly with Dum- 
buck, near Dumbarton. Their greatest height is about 1200 feet 
above the level of the sea ; and from them the parish slopes on one 
band with a southern exposure towards the Clyde, and on another 

" Transactions of ik>ciety of Scottish Antiquaries, Vol. ii. Part i. p. 213. 



NEW KILPATRICK. 37 

towards the valley of the Allander and Kelvin in the south-east, 
the descent being broken by a succession of undulations, which di- 
minish in elevation as they approach the rivers. This undulating 
surface gives to the landscape a variegated and interesting charac- 
ter. It is thickly set with swelling knolls, generally accessible to 
the plough, and actually under cultivation, but many of them so 
steep, as to render ploughing difficult. If more of these knolls 
were wooded, it would contribute much to ornament, at no ultimate 
loss to the proprietors. 

Meteorology.-^^o register of the weather has been kept in the 
parish for many years, so that we have few meteorological obser- 
vations to record. A singular phenomenon occurred in the sum- 
mer of 1832, which was carefully investigated at the time, and the 
fact fully ascertained. On the Idth June of that year, there fell 
near Castlehill, a shower o{ Jish^ consisting chiefly of herring-fry. 
Some of them were described as being of the size of large min- 
nows ; but the largest that I saw were about two inches in length. 
Upwards of 100 were found huddled together by a road side ; 
others were probably washed away by the stream that was speedily 
formed ; and some were seen scattered over the neighbouring field. 
Three days after the occurrence I pickqd up a few. By this time 
they were much disfigured; but still it was not difficult to discover 
what they were ; and some which I saw preserved in spirits left 
no doubt of their being herring. Castlehill is three or four miles 
distant from the Clyde, from which they had probably been 
caught up by a whirlwind, and carried hither through the air. 
They fell amidst a very heavy shower of rain, accompanied with a 
peculiar rushing noise, which was heard at a considerable distance. 

Hydrography. — Dugalstone loch is a considerable sheet of wa- 
ter, of artificial collection. It lies within Dugalstone pleasure- 
grounds, and contributes much to the beauty of that once highly 
ornate, but now neglected seat. It covers 23 Scots acres. The 
pleasure grounds of Kilmardinny likewise contain a small loch, 
surrounded by trees and ornamental shrubbery ; and abounding 
in pike, eel, and perch. It contains about 8 Scots acres. St 
German's loch is somewhat larger. It is a good locality for the 
botanist, containing several nt'ater-plants not everywhere to be 
found. Germanus was the companion of St Patrick in his mission 
to Ireland ; and from him it probably is that this loch derives its 



name. * 



* Traosaettons of Society of Scottish Antifiuaries, ui tujtra^ 



38 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

The Kelvin is hardly of size enough to be dignified by the nam6 
of a river, but in Scottish dialect comes under the description of 
a toater. It rises in the parish of Kilsyth ; and after a south- 
westerly course of about 16 miles, falls into the Clyde at Partick, 
two miles below Glasgow. Through the greater part of its course 
it b a sluggish, uninteresting stream ; but on reaching Garscube 
it changes character. The current is now rapid ; the banks are 
richly wooded ; below Garscube House they are bold and preci- 
pitous ; and there are in the Lowlands few finer rivers than the 
Kelvin, as it winds through these beautiful grounds. 

The AUander is a smaller stream, but not less useful. It is 
the feeder by which the Kelvin receives the waters of the reser- 
voirs on which the great flour-mills at Partick and Garscube de- 
pend during the dry season of the year ; and before joining the 
Kelvin, it supplies the extensive machinery at Clober Bleachfield, 
and various other works. 

Geology, — Of the great coal-basin, near the centre of which 
Glasgow is situated, the Kilpatricks occupy a large part of the 
north-western quadrant ; the arch, or outer border being overlaid 
with trap, of which the hills consist. At Garscube, in the south- 
eastern corner of this pitrish, where coal is at present wrought, 
the same beds are found as at Glasgow, dipping to the south-east 
at an angle of 8°. In digging for it, the strata met with are the 
usual alternations of blaize, sandstone, clay iron ore, and grey- 
plies. A great way beneath this lies another coal bed ; the dip 
of which being in the same direction, at an angle of 14^, it ap- 
proaches the surface towards the north and north-west, and is 
wrought at Lawmuir and Castlehill, where it is found at a depth 
of about 30 fathoms. The strata met with here are successive 
alternations of blaize and ironstone, the latter from 3 to 6 inches 
in thickness ; and immediately over the coal is a valuable bed of 
limestone 3 feet thick. Farther to the north, rocks of sandstone 
and conglomerate appear ; and still farther in the same direction 
are the hills, consisting of greenstone, amygdaloid, trap-tufl^ 
wacke, and basalt, the latter of which occurs near Craigtou in a 
very perfect prismatic form. 

The Diluvial deposits are chiefly a stiflFred and bluish clay, sand 
and gravel, broken up into elongated swells. The range of these 
swells is generally from north-west to south-east; and it may be 
observed, that very frequently the north-western acclivity is abrupt, 
while in the opposite direction, it is more lengthened and gentle. 



NEW KILPATRICK. 39 

In the clay, numerous boulders occur, varying from the size of a 
pigeon's egg to many tons in weight- These boulders consist 
chiefly of the different kinds of trap ; but many, even of the largest, 
ue of granite, gneiss, and mica-slate rocks, which are not found in 
9tuBi distances of less, some of them than 25 and others 70 miles, 
in a Dorth-westerly direction. Blocks of limestone occur in like 
manner, the surfiice of which frequently presents a considerable 
degree of polish, with occasional deep irregular scratches, as if a 
heavy body had been forcibly moved over it. 

The €rgaiHe remainsy though almost exclusively confined to the 
Tq;etable kingdom, are numerous and interesting. They consist 
chiefly of plants, which are now found only in insular situations, and 
in climates approaching to tropical heat ; such as tree-ferns, gigan- 
tic equiseta, catamites and palmaceae. 

Various strata of clay-iron ore occur, alternating with sand- 
stone and blaize. One of these, which crops out on the banks of the 
Kelvin atGkirscube, was wrought some years ago, for the purpose of 
anelting : but the ore was not found in sufficient quantity, or suffi- 
ciendy rich to render the working of it profitable. 

Mineralogy. — The Kilpatrick hills present a fertile field for the 

researches of the mineralogist, containing a great variety of the 

zeolite fiunily. A splendid collection of these minerals has been 

presented to the Hunterian Museum by Dr Couper, Professor of 

Natural History in the University of Glasgow. They consist of 

prehnite, stilbite, Heulanite, Thomsonite, Laumonite ; cross-stone 

both single and crossed ; analcime, mesotype, and Eddingtonite. 

The student will nowhere find a more favourable opportunity of 

becoming acquainted with this beautiful family of minerals, than 

this collection presents. Many years ago, a vein of sulphate of 

barytes was wrought in these hills, in the expectation that lead 

might be extracted from it ; and a mine had been driven 30 yards 

into the hill-side, before those engaged in the undertaking were con- 

^ced of its futility. 

Sail — The prevailing soil is clay, over a bottom of hard and 
impracticable till. The stratum of fertile clay is generally no 
deeper than the plough goes ; and the retentive subsoil, prevent- 
ing the escape of the surface water, renders the land wet and clag- 
gy. Along the course of the Kelvin, the Allander, and some other 
streams, there are several hundred acres of deep rich loam ; and 
some knolls of sand and gravel are covered with a light dry soiL 



40 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Oil the high grounds there is a good deal of moor, bog, apdpeat^ 
moss. 

Botany. — In his Flora Glottiaua, Mr Hopkirk frequently refers 
to places in this parish as producing rare, or not very common 
plants ; among ^^hich may be noticed Achillea tamentoia ; Hiera" 
cium aurantiacum^ though probably not native ; and Ciadcuvirosay 
said to be rare in Scotland, but abundant here. To these may 
be added Pyrola seeunda, which has escaped Mr Hopkirk's obser- 
vation, but is found on the Kilpatrick hills. 

Of Forest trees the beech seems most congenial to the soil, and 
attains the greatest size. At Balvie there is an avenue of tall and 
handsome beeches, none of them remarkable for size, taken sii^- 
ly, but worthy of notice for the uniformity of height and girth of 
so great a number. A much larger than any of these grows at 
Dugalstone. At three feet from the ground, it measures 16 feet 
in circumference ; and its branches cover a space of 22 yards dia- 
meter. Other forest trees are found of considerable size, and the 
soil seems favourable to the fir tribe. A Scotch fir was recently 
cut at Garscube, which measured upwards of nine feet in girth at 
three feet from the ground, and contained 155 solid feet of tim- 
ber : and two more growing at Balvie are of nearly as large a size* 
At Dugalstone thereare man^ large and beautiful spruce and 
silver firs.* Ashes, elms imd sycamores, thrive well ; but the oak 
is preferred for new plantations, though we have none of great 
size or age. A walnut tree at Mains measures 1 1^ feet in girth* 
Zoology. — In this department we have here most of those ani- 
mals which are common to the Lowlands of Scotland, together 
with some which belong to mountainous regions. Game is abun- 
dant, yet not so much so as to injure the farmer. We are occa- 
sionally visited by the roe-deer, breaking away from his haunts in 
the woods of Buchanan. Black-game and grouse are numerous 
in the muirland parts of the parish, partridges in the fields, and 
pheasants in the plantations. The woodcock too is found, but 
more rarely. Of water-fowl we have the wild-goose and wild- 
duck, the sheldrake, widgeon, teal, and various divers. Besides 
these, under the head of game, for we do not pretend to any scien- 
tific arrangement, we have the golden and the grey plover, the cur- 
lew, land-rail and water-rail, the snipe and the heron. Of birds 
of prey we have the kite, or salmon-tailed glede, the common buz- 
zard, the white hawk, large gray hawk, the snipe and sparrow 
hawks, and what is here called the hunting-hawk. Of birds of 



NEW KILPATRICK. 41 

passage we have the common varieties of the swallow kind ; the 
king-fisher, the goatsucker, the fieldfare, and redwing. The 
missel-thrush has of late years taken up his abode with us ; the 
starling and water-ouzel are found, though not numerous* The 
goldfinch and goldeurcrested wren, the least and most beautiful 
of our Scottish birds, shall end our enumeration of the feathery race, 
for we need not notice those species that are everywhere to be 
found. There are foxes in the upper part of the parish ; but the 
fewer, that we have no fox-hunter. Of the weasel tribe we have 
the polecat, the otter, the stoat, and the common weaseL The 
pine-martin has been shot in the woods of Balvie ; and the brown 
squirrel has been seen at Garscube ; but each of them only in a 
single instance. The black-rat, as elsewhere throughout Scot- 
land, has disappeared before the large brown rat of Norway. 

II.—- Civil History. 
Date of Erection. — As a separate parish. New ICilpatrick is of 

comparatively modem date, having been disjoined from Old Kii- 

patrick in 1649. The disjunction is quoad omnia. - 

Registers. — The parochial registers are imperfect, part of them 
having been destroyed in 1797, at the first Itollotting for militia. 
On that occasion a considerable mob assembled, which was not 
dispersed till tro<^ arrived froin ""Glasgow, by whom several pri- 
soners were made.* Some of the mob having entered the school- 
master's house, seized on the register^f baptisms, and tore out a 
number of the leaves, that they might not be evidence against 
them of their liability to serve. The date of the earliest entry is 
6th January 1691 ; and from the 8th December 1755 the series is 
complete. There are two volumes of records besides those now 
in progress. 

Ministers. — The first minister of the parish, Mr Walter RoUock, 
was inducted in December 1650, and died only a month after. 
He was succeeded by Mr Robert Law, who is known as the author 
of ** Memorialls, or the memorable things that fell out within this 
island of Brittain from 1638 to 1684." Of these memorable things 
'the chief, in Mr Law's estimation, seem to have been deeds of 
witchcraft, portentous appearances, and prophetic warnings ; with 
the narration of which a great part of his volume is occupied. It 
appears from the records of the presbytery of Dumbarton, that 
Mr Law was called to be minister of the parish in 1652 ; but was 
refused induction by the presbytery, on the ground of his not being 

* Tliis affair is known by the name of the Battle of Garscube. 



42 ' DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

qualified for the ministry. He seems to have served the cure not* 
withstanding ; and in May 1654, he was, without further trials, or 
any deed of induction, received into fraternity as a member of 
Presbytery ; and his name is found in the sederttnts down to 4th 
September 1660. After the restoration he was outed for non- 
conformity ; but Mr Sharpe, his editor, in the short account of his 
life prefixed to the ** Memorialls," states that, though he did not 
subscribe the indulgence, yet he returned to his charge on the 
passing of that act ; and he quotes a minute of council, from which 
it appears that, in 1679, on the petition of Andrew Colquhoun of 
Garscadden, and Hugh Crawfurd of Cloberhill, in name of the 
people of Easter Kilpatrick, Mr Law was continued minister of 
the parish. We know not how to reconcile this statement with the 
evidence of the Presbytery records, which show that Mr William 
Duncan, a conformist, was minister of this parish from the year 
1666 to the date of the Revolution. The ministers in succession 
to him have been — Mr John Dougal, admitted 31st December 
1690, died 2dd December 1712 ; Mr John Logan, admitted 15th 
September 1715, died 18th January 1730; Mr Andrew Gray, 
admitted 18th March 1731, died 10th February 1776; Mr James 
Carrick, admitted dlst October 1776, died 2dth February 1787 ; 
Mr George Sym, admitted 20th December 1 787, died 29th May 
1835. The present incumbent was ordained assistant and succes- 
sor to his father, 27th September 1821. 

Principal Families, — At an early period the family of Galbraith 
had extensive possessions in Lennox, and William Galbraith of 
Gartconnel is noticed as a person ^' of good account" in the time 
of David IL about the middle of the fourteenth century.* Gart- 
connel is now known only as a farm belonging to Mr Gordon of 
Dugalstone ; but the site of an ancient castle or keep is still mark- 
ed out by the surrounding fosse. 

Douglas of Mains, — Janet Galbraith, daughter and co-heiress 
of James, or perhaps rather of the above William Galbraith of 
Gartconnel, married in 1373 Nicholas Douglas, fourth son of 
James, first Lord of Dalkeith, (grandson of William, Lord of 
Douglas, the companion in arms of Wallace.) By this marriage 
he acquired the estate of Mains, and other considerable posses- 
sions in Lennox ; and from him the present proprietor is descended 
in the fifteenth generation. Malcolm Douglas of Mains, the eighth 
in descent from Nicholas, is known in the History of Scotland as 

• Crawford, Peerage, p. 159, natc. 



NEW KILPATUICK. 43 

the associate of Crawford of Jordanhill in the taking of Dumbarton 
Castle in 1571 ;* and likewise as having been implicated, by the 
doubtful evidence of Edmonstone of Duntreath, in the raid of 
Ruthven, and other transactions connected with that affair; in 
consequence of which he was beheaded at Edinburgh in 1584, 
along with his father-in law, Cunningham of Drumwhassil. -f* 
This seems to be the person whom Buchanan, (Hist Lib. xx.) 
erroneously calls Robert Douglas. 

ColquhounqfGarscadden and Killermont. — This family, to whom 
nearly a third of the parish now belongs, is descended from John 
Colquhoun, second son of Robert, sixth laird of Camstradden. He 
is said to have distinguished himself in the battle of Pinkie, 1547. 
His great-grandson, William Colquhoun, writer in Glasgow, ac- 
quired the lands of Garscadden by purchase in 1655, and was 
succeeded by his eldest son Andrew, an eminent merchant in Glas- 
gow. Lawrence, second son of Andrew, purchased the estate of 
Killermont in 1746 ; and left an only child Agnes, who married 
John Campbell of Clathic in Perthshire. Their son Archibald, 
who assumed the name of Colquhoun on becoming presumptive 
heir to Garscadden, was educated for the Scottish Bar ; and rose 
to distinction in his profession, having been many years Lord Ad- 
vocate, and afterwards Lord Register of Scotland. His son, the 
present John Campbell Colquhoun, Member of Parliament for the 
Kilmarnock burghs, on the death of Miss Jean Colquhoun in 
1821, succeeded to the estate of Garscadden, and the representa- 
tion of the elder branch of the family. 

The Campbells ofSuccoth are believed to be cadets of the Ard- 
kinlas branch of the house of Argyle. They were settled in 
Dumbarton before the Union of the Crowns; and in 1616, Ro- 
bert Campbell purchased Succoth, in the parish of Cardross. 
In the reign of Charles XL John Campbell of Succoth, Director 
Depute of Chancery, acquired the estate of Garscube; since 
which time, the family have added to their possessions the estate 
of Craigton, in this parish, and various other lands in the counties 

* This was not the first time that the Castle of Dumbarton was taken by a Kil. 
Patrick laird. The lands of Balvie were formerly possessed by a family of the name 
of Logan ; and in the Privy-Seal Record, 16th July 1526, we meet with the following 
entry, which has been obligingly furnished us by John Riddell, Esq. Advocate. <^ Res. 
pette to John Logan of Balvey, Walter Galbrathe*' and others, *^ for yaire tressona. 
ble asiicging, takmg and wytholding of the King's castle and fortalice of Dumbartane, 
frae his servandis kepairs yerof^ and for uyeirs crimes, tresone, lese majesti, slachtris,** 
&c. 

f For this and some of the following genealogical notices, wc are indebted to James 
Dennistoune of Dennistoune, Esq. Advocate. 



44 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

of Lanark and Argyle. This John was the law agent of Archi* 
bald, ninth Earl of Argyle, whom he attended on the scaffold at 
his execution, and received from him a silver kylevine pen-case, 
which is preserved as an heir-loom in the £unily. * His great- 
grandson, the late Sir Islay Campbell, Bart Lord President 
of the Court of Session, has left a high name among the law au- 
thorities of Scotland, and the virtues of his private life will not 
soon be forgotten. He is thus noticed by Mr Brunton in his 
Account of the Senators of the College of Justice : <* Sir Islay 
Campbell of Succoth, Baronet, Lord President, eldest son of 
Archibald Campbell of Succoth, one of the Principal Clerks of 
Session, by Helen Wallace, heiress of Ellerslie, was admitted ad« 
vocate 11th January 1757. He obtained very extensive practice 
at the Bar, there being scarcely any cause of importance in which 
he was not engaged or consulted; and many of his written plead- 
ings are still held as perfect models of brevity, force, and elegance. 
He was nominated Solicitor- General in 1783, and was the follow- 
ing year constituted Lord Advocate, and soon after chosen repre- 
sentative for the Glasgow district of burghs to Parliament, where 
he took an active share in all the important transactions of the 
times. The University of Glasgow conferred upon him the de- 
gree of Doctor of Laws, and he held also for some time the office 
of Lord Rector. He was promoted to be President of the Court 
of Session, 14th November 1789, in the room of Sir Thomas 
Miller. He was placed at the head of the commission of Oyer 
and Terminer, issued in the year 1794, for the trial of those ac- 
cused of high treason in Scotland, at that disturbed period, and 
was highly commended by the English lawyers for the manner 
in which he acquitted himself in that capacity. He held the 
office of Lord President for upwards of nineteen years, and re- 
signed in 1808, after having discharged its arduous duties with the 
utmost ability, integrity, and zeal ; and on the 1 7th of Septem- 
ber, the same year, was created a Baronet. Being then in the 
full enjoyment of all his mental faculties, he was afterwards chosen 
to preside over two different commissions, appointed to inquire 
into the state of the Courts of Law in Scotland, which he con- 
ducted with his accustomed industry and talent. After his re- 
tirement from the Bench, he resided principally at his estate of 
Garscube, where he kept his active mind continually engaged in 

* This could not, therefore, be the kylevine pen-case which the Earl's descendant 
made use of at his interview with Jeanic Deans.— Heart of Mid- Lothian. 



NEW KILPATRICK. 45 

various pursuits connected with literature and agriculture, and in 
receiving visits from his extensive acquaintance both in England 
and Scotland. His Lordship died on the 28th of March 1823, in 
the eighty -ninth year of his age." He was succeeded in his estates 
by his son, the present Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart, who sat 
for many years as a Judge of the Courts of Session and Justiciary 
by the title of Lord Succoth, which offices he resigned in 1825. 

Glassford of Dugahtone. — The lands of Dugalstone were for- 
merly possessed by a family of the name of Graham, of the 
Knockdollan branch of the Montrose family, from whose heirs 
they were ^purchased in 1767, by John Glassford, Esq. one of the 
most eminent and respected merchants of his time. His mercan- 
tile enterprise is thus noticed by Smollett in his popular work 
Humphry Clinker, in which, under his assumed character, he 
says, " I conversed also with Mr G — ssf— d, whom I take to be 
one of the greatest merchants in Europe. In the last war, he is 
said to have had at one time five-and twenty ships, with their cargoes, 
his own property, and to have traded for above half a million Ster- 
ling a-year.*' Mr Glassford was a gentleman of enlightened un- 
derstanding and liberal mind ; of prompt judgment and active ha- 
bits, which enabled him to conduct with ease a great variety of 
affairs ; a generous patron of the arts, and a principal promoter 
of all undertakings which had the advantage of the community in 
view. He died in 1783, and was succeeded by his eldest son 
Henry, who inherited, along with the possessions, much of the 
character of his father. He represented the county of Dumbar- 
ton in part of two Parliaments ; and during the troublesome times 
that followed the first French Revolution, contributed greatly to 
the exciting and maintaining a spirit of loyalty and patriotism in 
this district. * On his death in 1819, the estate of Dugalstone 
devolved on his brother- consanguinean, the present James Glass- 
ford, Esq. Advocate, who is favourably known as author of a Trea- 
tise on the Law of Evidence, and other literary productions ; and 
more widely as one of the most efficient members of the late Irish 
Education Commission, in which capacity he distinguished him- 
self by his consistent advocacy of Protestant principles. Mr Glass- 
ford has lately transferred his right to the estate of Dugalstone to 
hb nephew and heir-apparent, Henry G. Gordon, Esq. 

* As an instance of his n^unificence, we may mention, that for many years he was 
in the habit of giving annually 150 carts of ooal to the poor of this parish, with a- 
like benefiuTtion to the parish of Baldernock. 



46 DUMBARTONSHIRE* 

Sprewl Craufurd ofCowdonhill. — The Craufurds are believed 
to have been from a very remote period in possession of the estate 
of Cloberhill ; but we have not been able to trace their history 
farther back than the beginning of last century, when it was con- 
veyed by Hugh Craufurd to John Sprewl of Cowdon» in Ren- 
frewshire, who had married his only child Isabel. This John 
Sprewl, in the year 1716, made a new deed of entail, by which he 
destined the lands of Cloberhill and Drumchapel to the heirs-male, 
and failing them, the heirs whatsomever of this marriage, binding 
them to assume the name and designation of Sprewl Craufurd of 
Cowdonhill. On his death without heirs-male, the estate de- 
volved on the issue of the marriage of his eighth daughter Agnes 

with Hunter, Esq., whose grandson, Andrew Hunter Sprewl 

Craufurd, is the present proprietor; and as he has hitherto no 
male issue, the presumptive heir is the late Chief Baron of the 
English Exchequer, Sir William Alexander, Knight, grandson 
of the eldest daughter of the entailer.* Within these few years, 
there was in the possession of this family a curious heir-loom — 
a silver spoon, the circular mouth-piece of which is not less than 
three inches in diameter. Inscribed on it are the terms of its tenure, 
according to which the title of the present holder cannot be dis- 
puted. 

** This spoon I leave Id legacy. 

To the maist mouthed Craufurd after me. 1480.** 

Of a later date are the following lines. 

** This spoon, you see, 
Is left in legacy ; 
If ony pawn't or sell*t, 
Cursed let him be.** 

The Duke of Montrose has a valuable estate in the parish, part 
of the ancient barony of Mugdock ; and the Earl of Glasgow, as 
heir-at-law to the Crawford estates, to which, however, his title 
is at present under dispute, has lately succeeded to the lands of 
Knightswood ; but it would be out of place to attempt any ac- 
count of these Noble families. 

Kilpatrick Lairds, — A century or more ago, the Kilpatrick 
lairds were noted for their convivial habits, and many anecdotes 
of their reckless revelry are current in local tradition. Their so- 
cial meetings were often prolonged for days together, with little 
intermission from hard drinking. On one of these occasions, the 
laird of Qarscadden was observed to sit very quiet for some time, 
and his countenance at length to undergo a change ; of which one 

* Sir William succeeded to the estate on the death of .Mr Crawford in 1837. 

3 



NEW KILPATRICK^: 47 

of the company took notice, saying, <* Is na Garscadden- looking 
unca gash." — " And so he may, said another, for he has beea 
with his Maker this half hour : but I did na like to disturb the 
conviviality of the company by saying ony thing about it." This 
anecdote has been introduced by Mr Gait into one of his tales, 
and is not unworthy of preservation as indicating the manners of 
the age. In latter times, the gentry of the parish have acquired 
a more honourable distinction in the profession of the law, and 
as representatives of the county. We have already noticed Sir 
Islay Campbell of Succoth, Bart and his son, Sir Archibald Camp- 
bell, as Senators of the College of Justice, and Archibald Colquhoun 
of Killermont, Esq. as Lord Advocate of Scotland. And as Mem- 
ber of Parliament we have had Henry Glassford of Dugalstone ; 
Lord Advocate Colquhoun ; the late John Campbell, younger of 
Succoth, whose early death deprived usof a much respected and very 
promising country gentleman ; and John Campbell Colquhoun of 
Garscadden and Killermont, an accomplished scholar, and an elo- 
quent advocate of education and religion. By these gentlemen 
the county of Dumbarton has been represented during more than 
twenty of the years of the present century. 

Antiquities, — To the antiquary, the parish presents little that 
is interesting, except what arises from the Wall of Antoninus^ which 
crossed it, at its widest part, from east to west. The description 
given of this wall by Gordon in his Itinerarium Septentrianale is 
in a great measure applicable to its present state. The ^^ forts at 
Castlehill and New Kilpatrick," the " ditch running up the -hill 
at Ferguston," and the " causeway at New Kilpatrick'' are still 
nearly in the condition he describes. Two stones dug from the 
ruins of these forts, and noticed by Gordon, the one as the largest^ 
and the other as the noblest Roman stones ever found in Scot- 
land, are preserved in the Hunterian Museum of the University 
of Glasgow. A few years ago, another stone was dug up near 
Castlehill, and presented by Mr Glassford, the proprietor, to the 
same institution. It is a votive tablet, dedicated to the rural gods, 
which may fairly be interpreted, the fairies of Britain. The height 
is 3^ feet ; the breadth of the base 16 inches ; and the thickness 10 
inches* It is in excellent preservation, and the inscription, which 
we subjoin, is distinctly legible. — campestribvs et brtanni q 

P SBTIVS IVSTVS PREF COH IIII GAL V. 8LL. M. ^ 

On the farm of Dasholm, near Grarscube, a barrow or tu- 
mulus has recently been discovered, and in part opened up. 



48 DUMBARTONSHIRB. 

Hitherto this mound, though sufficiently conspicuous and evi- 
dently artificial, had attracted little obser^tion, the curiosity 
of any chance inquirer being satisfied by the traditionary in« 
formation of its being a court-hill, one of those eminences on 
which courts of justice were held in the days of feudal juris* 
diction. But, a short time ago, the farmer, partly with the 
view of clearing his field of an incumbrance, and partly of obtain- 
ing soil to top-dress other fields, set about removing the mound^ 
and had not proceeded far in his operations when he came upon 
a narrow flight of steps leading upwards from the level of the field, 
not to the centre of the tumulus, but towards a point in the radi- 
us, distant about one-third of its length from the outer extremity. 
This stair being followed six or seven paces inward, was found to 
terminate in a flag-stone, on which some ashes or cinders lay, and 
which emitted a hollow sound on being struck with the tools* of 
the workmen. It was removed, and beneath it there was discover- 
ed a narrow oblong trough or cell, walled with stone on every side. 
In this, several fragments of armour were found, among which were 
apparently the visor of a helmet, the head of a spear, and the blade 
of a sword, the first being of copper, and the two last of iron. 
Besides these, there were what may have been a spade or shovel, 
much turned up at the edges, two picks of a small size, and se- 
veral other articles, the purpose of which has not been guessed — 
all of iron. The whole of them are in the possession of the 
farmer. There were no bones discovered, and the stone-work 
seemed to extend no farther than has been described. The re- 
moval of the tumulus, however, has not been continued, and pro- 
bably other remains of antiquity may yet be found, as very little 
progress has hitherto been made in opening it up. 

Ruins at Drumry, — At Drumry, near Garscadden, are some 
ruins, said to be those of a chapel, which there undoubtedly was 
at that place ; but which have every appearance of being part of 
a keep or peel ; what now remains being a patched tower, over- 
hanging a steep bank. At a period considerably remote, the lands 
of Drumry belonged to a branch of the Callendar family ; and Pits- 
cottie notices a Sir Robert Livingston of Drumry, Lord Trea- 
surer of Scotland, as having been beheaded at Edinburgh in 1447, 
in consequence of his being implicated in the Charges against Sir 
Alexander Livingston of Callendar, Governor of James IL during 
his minority. Another Sir Robert Livingston, of Easter Wemyssand 
Drumry, was killed in the battle of Flodden, 1513. His daughter. 



NEW KILPATRICK. 49 

Margaret, married Sir James Hamilton of Fymiart, who received 
from James V. a grant of the lands of Drumry, which had probably 
escheated to the Crown in default of heirs-male. Sir James ex« 
changed them in 1528 with Lawrence Crawford, for the lands of 
Crawford-John in Lanarkshire, by which means they came into 
possession of the Kilbirney family, who took from them the title of 
Barons of Drumry. This Lawrence Crawford is said by Chalmers,* 
somewhat inaccurately, to have founded a chapel here, dedicated 
to the Virgin Mary. He was not the founder of the chapel ; for 
there is mention of it in the deed of conveyance by which he be- 
came possessed of the estate ; and a notice of the chapel-lands 
of Drumry is met with in 1476. Crawford says f more correctly, 
that Lawrence Crawford founded a Chaplainry in the little church 
of Drumry, of his own patronage ; it being a usual practice with 
men of wealth to dedicate private altars in churches to their fa- 
vourite saints, and to provide for their service by liberal endow- 
ments. This chaplainry at Drumry was endowed with the lands 
of Drumchapel, and other considerable possessions, among which 
were the lands of Jordanhill in Renfrewshire. 

Lurg.^ — At Lurg, on the estate of Mains, there was another 
small chapel, of which few memorials now remain. The place 
where it stood is pointed out by the name Chapel Couch; and in 
the tradition of the neighbourhood the auld kirk is still spoken of. 
There was a cemetery attached to it, and till within these thirty 
years several tombstones remained. These are now all removed, 
with the exception of one, which is covered with a few inches of 
soil, and is passed over by the plough. It is a rude unpolished 
stone, without date or inscription. 

Modem Buildings. — Of modern buildings the most worthy of 
notice is Garscube House, the seat of Sir Archibald Campbell 
of Succoth, Bart. It is in the old EiTglish manor style, and is a 
very elegant building, highly creditable to the architect, Mr Burn 
of Edinburgh. It was built in 1826-27. — Another handsome 
house, in the same style, has lately been erected at Clober for Alex- 
ander Dunlop, Esq. Advocate, planned by Mr Baird of Glasgow. 
— Killermont House, the seat of Mr Colquhoun, M. P., is large and 
commodious. The modern part of it, forming the south front, was 
built about the year 1805. — At Garscadden ; at Balvie, the seat 
of James Macnair, Esq. ; and at Kilmardinny, lately purchased 

• ('al«donia Vol iii. p. 904, note. t Peerage, p. 160. 

DUMBARTONT. D 



50 DUMBARTONSHIUE. 

by William Brown, Esq. merchant in Glasgow, there are good 
substantial bouses. Garscadden-gate was formerly much tisited 
by idlers from Glasgow and Paisley ; but it is now divested of the 
&ntastic ornaments which constituted a great part of its attraction. 
It is, however, still worthy of a visit, being an elegant Gothico- 
castellated structure. The church is a neat and commodious place 
of worship, with little attempt at ornament. The material em- 
ployed in all of these buildings is freestone, which is abundant in 
the neighbourhood. 

HI. — Population. 
In the records of the Presbytery of Dumbarton of the year 1653, 
there is a statement of the number of persons on the examination 
rolls of the several parishes within its bounds. In this parish the 
number was 750 ; which, supposing the rule to hold good that two- 
thirds of the examinable persons are equal to half the population, 
gives 1000 as the number of inhabitants at that date. 

According to Dr Webster^s tables it amounted in the year 1755 to 1990 

By the Government census of 1801 it was . . 2312 

1811, 2608 

1821, 2530 

1831, . . 30£0 

Of the latter number 1610 were males, and 1480 females; 1675 
resided in the Dumbartonshire part of the parish, and 1415 in 
Stirlingshire. The increase has taken place chiefly in the village 
of Milngavie (written, as it is pronounced, Millguy, in the former 
Statistical Account,) and has been caused by the establishment 
of a cotton-factory and a calico print- work. It ha5 not, however, 
been confined to this village, but has been general over the pa- 
rish ; and is to be attributed to the prosperous state of trade and, 
till lately, of agriculture. Of the inhabitants of the parish, 1 162 * 
reside in Milngavie, and the remaining 1928 in the country, or 
in small hamlets. 

Birthsy Sfc. — The yearly average of registered births for the three 
years preceding 1835 is 53; and of proclamations for marriage, 25.6. 
Neither of these numbers, however, can be relied on for statistical 
purposes. The number of proclamations does not quite corre- 
spond with the number of marriages ; for sometimes the banns 
are published without being followed by marriage ; and more fre- 
quently marriage takes place without publication of banns. The 

• Thi« applies to the year 1831, since which time tlie population of Milngavie if 
believed to have ir.creased hy 150 souls ; and that of the parish to alx)ut 3250 in all. 



NEW KILPATRICK. 



51 



Dumber of births is stiU less to be relied on, for very few of the 
Dissenters are at the pains to register. We can therefore obtain 
only an approximation from the proportion of Dissenters to the 
adherents of the Established Church ; the latter being required 
to register before obtaining baptism for their children. This pro- 
portion gives 89,3 as the yearly average of births for the last three 
years. We have no public register of deaths ; but a private list 
kept by the grave-digger gives 71, as the average number of 
burials during the same period. This, however, is considerably 
above the average of deaths within the parish ; for, owing to the 
neighbourhood of Glasgow and other circumstances, more funerals 
come from other parishes than leave this. For instance, of the 
97 burials in 1834, 22 * were from other parishes, while only four 
persons are known to have been carried elsewhere for burial. The 
average of these years is likewise increased by there having been 
8 buriak in consequence of cholera in 1832, and 6 in 1834. 
Making allowance for these circumstances, the yearly average of 
deaths will be found to be about 60, or in the proportion of one to 
52.8 inhabitant$. f 

Table of burials in the years 1832, 1833, and 1834. 



Years of ase. 


1832. 


1833. 


1834. 


Under 1, 7 


12 


17 


23 


From 1 to 2, 


1 


6 


12 


2 10, 


5 


3 


16- 


10 20, 


3 


5- . 


3 


20 30, 


5 


6 


6 


30 40, 


o 


2 


6 


40 50, 


3 


3 


8 


30 60, 


3 




7 


60 70, 


8 


7 




70 80, 


5 


2 


^ 

o 


80 90, 


3 


5 





90 97, 


2 


• 





Totol, 55 61 97 

'Classification of Ages. — Of the inhabitants of the village of Miln- 
gavie, there are. 

Under 15 years of age, 460 

Betwixt 15 and 30, i^A) 

30 50, 238 

50 70, .111 

Above 70, .'JS 

Total, 1162 

The nuAiber of unmarried men, bachelors, and widowers, above 50 years of a^^e, is 6 

women, spinsters and widows, above 45, 52 

We have not the means of extending these particulars to the other 
parts of the parish. 

• This again is much above the average, which may be above twcive. 
f On a medium populatiou of 3170. 



52 DUMBARTONSHIUE. 

The number of families, giving an BTcrage of 5.27 persons to each family, is 5(j7 
inhabited houses, . . ... • 442 

uninhabited houses, .... .9 

In the parish, or belonging to it, there are 4 persons insane ; 4 
fatuous; 2 blind; I deaf; and 1 deaf and dumb. There are 17 
proprietors of land of the yearly value of h. 50 or upwards ; and 
1 beneath that value. We have 6 or 7 resident families of inde- 
pendent fortune. 

Habits^ Circumstancesy Sfc, — The habits of the people are no 
way peculiar. There is a growing taste for neatness and cleanli- 
ness in personal appearance and domestic arrangements. The 
comforts and advantages of society are enjoyed in a very conside- 
rable degree ; and, were it not for the depressed state of agricul- 
ture, all classes would have reason to be satisfied with their con- 
dition. Oatmeal, both in the form of porridge and of cakes, po- 
tatoes, niilk, and cheese, barley-broth with butcher-meat, or her- 
ring, are the ordinary food of the peasantry. Wheaten bread, 
butter, tea, and coffee, are in more common use with the villagers. 
The circumstances of the latter class, employed chiefly in cotton- 
spinning and calico printing, have been very prosperous for some 
years past; but contentment does not always accompany pros- 
perity; and during the year 1834 we had very serious distur- 
bances at Milngavie and Dasholm, in consequence of a general 
strike by the united printers. This attempt at dictating to their 
masters, as uniformly happens where the latter have resolution 
enough to resist the demands of the Unionists, has entirely failed 
of success, and has been the occasion of a great number of the 
printers being deprived of their employment, by the introduction 
of hand-loom weavers and other operatives into their places. 

Character of Inhabitants. — The inhabitants are intelligent and 
shrewd in the ordinary affairs of life, and many of them possess 
no small share of acquired knowledge. The ancient religious 
character of the Scottish peasantry is scarcely maintained among 
us ; and, of our villagers especially, there are numbers by whom 
religious ordinances are much neglected. In general, however, 
religion has a hold of the minds of the people ; many of them arc 
well read in their Bibles ; and from not a few houses the morning 
and evening sacrifice of family worship is still offered up.* The 
chief stain on their moral character arises from the vice of intem- 
perance. Till the reduction of the duty on whisky, smuggling 
was carried on to a considerable extent, but is now unknown 



NEW KILPATRtCK. 



53 



among us ; an improvement nhich is fully counterbalanced by the 

increase of drunienneta from the cheapness of ardent spirits. 

IV. — Indlstry. 

The following Table is constructed from the Government 

census of 1831. 



Division 

of 
Fari-h. 


tmplojtd ill 
RgrieaUate. 


11 

"Is: 


l| 

ii 

71 

MO 


|l 
II 

8 

12 
31 


i 

141 

;« 
17H 


3 1 


Numlwi oT 


11 


if 

Too 

147 


I 

141 


IliiirlHrlDniliire. 
Stirtingthlrc. 


35 le 
II) \-i 


[4 

12 


11.1 


T.rtil. 



Agriculture and Rural Economy. — The extent of arable land, 
either regularly or occasionally in tillage, is calculated to be 6000 
Scots acresj and about 2300 Scots acres remain constantly ivaste, 
or in pasture. Of these, 800 acres may be capable of cultiva- 
tion ; but it is very questionable whether the application of capital 
to their improvement would be profitable. None of the parish is 
in a state of undivided common. There are 600 Scots acres un- 
der wood, of which not more than to the extent of 3 or 4 acres is 
natural. Fir, beech, and in recent plantations, oak, are the most 
common of our cultivated trees. Till of late, little attention was 
paid to forest management, the trees being allowed to grow up aa 
they might, without pruning or thinning, 'i'he proprietors are 
now more sensible of the importance of this branch of rural eco- 
nomy, and begin to plant more extensively, and (o bestow more 
care on the young plantations. 

Rent of Land. — I'he average rent of arable land is h. I, i4s. 6d. 
per Scots acre ; but this includes a deal of inferior land in the 
liigher parts of the parisli. In the lower parts, from L. 2 to L. 2, 
10s. is a common rent, and some is as high as L. 3 per Scots 
acre. On pasture farms, the average rate of grazing is reckoned 
to be L. 3 per ox or cow ; and Ss. per ewe or full-grown sheep. 
On low pastures, where milch cows are taken in to graze, it i^ 
usual to receive L. 5 per cew for the season. 

* The toUl number of ikrms In (he pariah i< 70 ; but uf Ibne, HTcra] arc occupied 
by femila ; ' some bj the proprictiin ; sorDe uramoll uie *re laboured by (he furuieri 
tbemielTe*; and nme ore occupied by itenoiii engaged in alhar cmploymeuu : none 

f Of tb«e, 97 are employed in coal-mines. 



54 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Rate of Wages. — The usual wage of an able-bodied labourer w 
'2s. a-day in summer, and Is. 8d. in winter, without victuals. 
When constant employment is given, the wage is 10s. a- week 
throughout the year. Women get from Is. to Is. 6d. a-day. 
Our farmers, however, are not much in the habit of employing 
day-labourers, except for harvest-work; and that is now most 
frequently done by the piece, at the rate of 14s. for wheat, and 
lis. for oats or barley, per Scots acre. Potatoes are usually dug 
at the rate of from 8d. to lOd. per boll of 6 cwt The ordinary 
work of the farm is done by hired servants, who have their bed and 
board in the farmer's house, and form part of his family. The 
common wage of a good ploughman is about L. 9, 9s. per half- 
year ; of an inferior ploughman, L. 8. I'he wage of an experi- 
enced dairy-maid is from L. 5, 5s. to L. 6 per half-year, and of 
other female servants from L. 3 to L. 4, lOs. Masons^ wages 
are 16s. or 17s. a- week ; and carpenters' Is. more. 

Prices of Raw Produce and Country Manufacture. — The prices 
of different articles of raw produce and country manufacture, re- 
quired for the purposes of rural and domestic economy, are nearly 
as follows : — Lime, per chaldron of 64 Winchester bushels, 14s. ; 
dung, per ton, 5s. to 6s. ; coals, per cart of 12 cwt, according to 
quality, 3s. or 4s.; beef, per stone of 16 lbs., (22^ oz. in the lb.) 
8s. ; mutton, per ditto, 7s. ; pork, per ditto, 5s. 6d. ; wheat, per 
imperial quarter, * L. 2, 10s. lOd. ; barley, per ditto, * L. 1, 
10s. 6d. ; oats, per ditto, * 19s. 7d. ; beans, per ditto, * L. 1, 
12s. 5d. ; potatoes, per ton, (10s. 8d. per boll of 6 cwt) L. 1, 15s. 
e^d. ; a close-bodied one-horse cart, without wheels, L. 4, 5s. 
to L. 4, 10s. ; pair of cart-wheels and axle, L. 6 to L. 7 ; a wooden 
plough, L.3; an iron ditto, L. 4, 15s.; a pair of heavy harrows 
with 44 teeth, L. 2, 17s. 6d. ; a pair of light ditto with 33 teeth, 
L. 1, IBs.; a double iron roller, L. 14 ; a corn-fanner, L. 6 to 
L. 8 ; mason-work, per rood of 2 feet thick, L. 2, 2s. to L. 2, 
5s.; ditto, the mason providing materials, L. 7, 10s. to L. 8; 
carpenter work, — roofing, per rood, L. 5 ; ditto, flooring, per 
yard, 3s. 6d. ; smith-work, screwed, per lb., 6d. ; ditto, plain, per 
lb., 4d. ; a set of horse shoes, 4s. 

Sheep and Cattle. — The common breed of sheep is the black- 
faced ; of cattle for the butcher, the West Highland ; and of dairy 

* These are the average prices of the Dumbartonshire Aars for the three years pre- 
ceding 1834. 



NEW KILPATHICK. 



55 



cows, the Ayrshire. Much attention has been paid for some years 
past to the improvement of the latter, to which the Strath- Endrick 
and Dumbartonshire Agricultural Clubs have greatly contributed 
by the liberal premiums offered for good bulls. Few of the sheep 
or black-cattle are bred in the parish, being bought in at the 
great fairs in the neighbourhood. 

Husbandry. — The general character of the system of husbandry 
pursued is, green-cropping with a six years' shift. The usual ro- 
tation is, I . oats ; 2. potatoes, with a small portion of turnip ; 3. 
wheat, with rye-grass and clover; 4. hay ; 5. and 6. pasture. There 
are some farms, however, on which no regular rotation is observed, 
and two white crops in succession are still occasionally taken : but 
this occurs chiefly on lands which are held on uncertain leases; 
and the consequence is, that these lands are sadly scourged. Po- 
tato-husbandry is carried to great perfection, and the management 
of this crop is looked upon in a great measure as the test of a farm- 
er's activity and enterprise. The soil is not in general favourable 
for turnips, and still less so for turning in sheep to eat them off 
the ^ound ; and seldom more than to the extent of an acre or 
two are grown on each farm, to supply the dairv-cows. Summer- 
fallowing suits the soil better, and is partially practised ; but the 
neighbourhood of Glasgow occasions a great demand for potatoes, 
and affords an abundant supply of dung, which is brought out by 
the return carts at a diminished expense. It is usual to apply to 
the potato crop from 30 to 40 tons of dung per Scots acre ; and 
it is found, that the more liberal the allowance, the greater is the 
profit. Thirty bolls of potatoes per Scots acre, equal to 9 tons 
in weight, are reckoned an average crop ; but 50 bolls are fre- 
quently gathered ; and in favourable soils and seasons, 60, or even 
70 are sometimes boasted of. The failure of the seed, which has 
been so generally matter of complaint for the last* two seasons, has 
been partially experienced here. Some fields were planted anew, 
and others sown with turnips ; but the loss has proved much smal- 
ler than was feared at first; many fields which in spring seemed 
to have failed, having afterwards recovered and borne abundant 
crops. The opinion begins to prevail, that the failure, where it 
has occurred, and the tardiness of growth in other cases, were 
owing chiefly to the over-dry state of the ground at the time of 
planting; a circumstance of which we have not often reason to 
complain in this district. The potato crop is uniformly followed* 

♦ Written in 1835. 



55 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

by wheat, for which it makes a good preparation. As soon as 
the potatoes are dug, the ground is ploughed anew, and the wheat 
sown. This can seldom be accomplished before the middle of 
October ; and from that period till Martinmas is the usual season 
of wheat-sowing; but fallow ground is sown in the end of Sep- 
tember. Four imperial quarters per Scots acre are reckoned an 
average return ; but we have known double that quantity reaped 
after summer fallowing. Of oats, the average return may be five, 
and of barley, four and a half quarters. 

The Dairy. — The dairy is an important, and the most profitable 
branch of our husbandry. A farm of 100 Scots acres will gene- 
rally have 12 milch cows, yielding on an average 8 Scots pints of 
milk, and 1 lb. avoirdupois of butter per day, during seven months 
of the year. The whole of the milk, except what is used by the 
family, is churned, and the butter and butter-milk sent to Glas- 
gow, where they find a ready market. Butter fetches about 9d. 
per lb. ; and butter-milk Id. per Scots pint We shall thus have 
as the gross produce of each cow, 214 lbs. butter, at 9d. per lb. 
L. 8, Os. 6d. ; 1712 pints butter-milk, at Id. per pint^ L. 7, 2s. 8d. ; 
making L. 15, Ss. 2d. 

This system of dairy-husbandry seems well adapted to the neigh- 
bourhood of a large town, and is extending every year. Even 
from beyond the limits of this parish, a distance of eleven or twelve 
miles, butter-milk is regularly carried to Glasgow. 

Leases and Rents. — The general duration of leases is nineteen 
years. Rents, though reduced from the high war-rates, are still 
too high for the tenant. Money-rents alone are in use ; but in 
a few instances they are subject to a fixed increase or reduction ac- 
cording as the fiars price of wheat exceeds or falls below L. 8 
per quarter. It seems not yet to be understood that it would be 
better for both parties that the landlord should take the payment 
of all public burdens on himself. Minister's stipend and school- 
master's salary, conversion labour money, and land-tax, are still 
very generally charged against the tenants ; though on some es- 
tates they are relieved from the first two. 

Farm-buildings, — Several of the farm-steadings have been re- 
built of late years, and in general they are substantial, and suited 
to the size of the farms ; but there are some not very creditable 
exceptions, which we have a prospect of soon seeing removed. 
The dwelling-house is usually of one story, containing a kitchen, 
a parlour, and a small middle apartment below, with two sleep- 



NEW KtLPATRICK. 51 

iog rooms above. On the lands of the Duke of Montrose, and on 
several of the farms on the Garscube and Dugalstone estates, 
there are good two-storied houses, with other ample buildings. 

Size of FarmSf Inclomres^ S^c. — The extent of the arable farms 
varies from 30 to 300 Scots acres — the most common size be- 
ing about 80 acres. The whole of the arable part of the parish is 
inclosed and subdivided into fields, varying from oneio fifteen acres 
in extent. The hill-pastures are likewise inclosed with ring fences. 
Thorn-hedges are in most common use ; but dry stone dikes are 
frequent. More attention has been paid of late than formerly to 
the management of quick fences ; but still many of them are far 
from being in good condition. 

Obstacles to Improvement, — The chief obstacles to further im- 
provement arise from the want of capital, and the high rate of 
rents compared with prices. Most of those tenants who bad re- 
alized some money in the war-times have now lost it ; and many 
have been obliged to quit their farms^ There is no want of en- 
terprise among them, and were the landlords disposed to be at the 
expense of furrow-draining their lands, we doubt not that the 
tenants would willingly pay a fair per ccntage on the cost A 
great part of the largest estate in the parish is, or was till very 
recently, held in liferent by Dowagers, on whose lives the leases 
are contingent On these lands no expensive improvements can 
be undertaken ; and even the ordinary outlay necessary to keep 
the ground in heart cannot be made without ^isk, and in fact is 
not made. 

Freestone Quarry, — At Netherton of Garscube there is a valu- 
able freestone quarry of considerable celebrity. The stone is of 
a warm cream colour, easily chiselled as it comes from the quarry, 
but hardening by exposure. Roseneath House, Blythswood House, 
the Custom-House at Greenock, and Garscube House, present 
favourable specimens of this stone. At one time it was largely 
exported to Ireland and the West Indies, and proved a source of 
great wealth to the tacksman. The average out-put of rock is 
about 20,000 cubic yards per annum, and it gives employment to 
68 persons. 

Produce. — The average gross amouut and value of raw produce 
raised in the parish, may be estimated as follow : 

2488 Imperial quarters of wheat, at L. 2, 10s.l OJ. per quarter, L. 6923 13 4 

5675 do. oats, at 198. 7d. - do. . 5556 15 5 

315 do. barley, at L. 1, lOs. 6d. do, - 480 7 6 

110 do. beans, at L. I, 12s. 5d. do. - 178 5 10 



58 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

4545 tons potatoes, at L. 1, 15s. 6d. per ton, - - L. 8067 7 6 

1872 do. turnip, at 17s. do. - - 1591 4 

26,550 do. hny, at Ss. do. - - 3882 10 

18,660 do. wheat-straw, at Is. 3d. do. - 1166 5 

31.780 do. oatstraw, at ls.8d. do. - . 2648 6 8 

1960 do barley-straw, at Is. 3d. do. - - 122 10 

Land in pasture, grazing 700 milch-cows, at L. 5 each, - 3500 

do. do. 328 black-cattle, at L. 3 - - 984 . 

do. do. 160 young cattle, at L. 1, 10s. - 240 

do. do. 850 sheep, at 8s. .... . 340 

Gardens and orchards ("conjectured ), . - - - . - 300 

Thinnings of woods, (do.) - - . - - 300 

8187 carts of coal of 12 cwt., at 2s. 9d. per cart, . • 1125 14 3 

4500 do. do. at 4s. per do. - - 900 

1695 chaldrons of lime, at 148. per chaldron, ... 1186 10 

20,000 cubic yards freestone, at 4s. 6d. per yard, • • 4500 

Gross produce, - - • - - •L.43,393 9 6 

Manvfuctures and Arts, — The chief branches of manufacture 
and art, are calico-printing, cotton-spinning, and bleaching of cot- 
tons and linens. We have now ( 1835) three printfields, which em- 
ploy 623 hands, and throw off annually 167,800 pieces of 24 yards 
each. It is chiefly block-printing that is carried on ; but some 
machinery has recently been erected, and more is about to be in- 
troduced into the works at Milngavie. The cotton-fectory em- 
ploys 130 persons, and is now being enlarged to double its former 
extent. Two bleachflelds employ 82 persons ; at the Clober field 
3,169,814 yards of cloth are bleached annually, of which 146,746 
yards are linen. A paper-mill, conducted till lately on the old sys- 
tem, employed 22 men and several females, and produced twenty 
reams of paper a<day, but now that the improved machinery has 
been introduced, with 15 men and about the same number of fe- 
males as before, it produces sixty reams per day. A snuff-mill 
employs 2 ; and four corn mills, one of which is chiefly for in^heat 
and barley, employ 13 persons. A distillery, at which 5 hands 
are employed, consumes 483 imperial quarters of barley, and pro- 
duces 11,200 imperial gallons of whisky a-year. In the cotton- 
factory, the legal time of working is strictly adhered to — twelve 
hours a-day for five days of the week, and nine hours on Saturday. 
At other employments the usual time of working is ten hours a- 
day, but on occasions of extraordinary demand, these hours are 
often increased. Good wages are made at most of these employ- 

* Deducting from this sum the value of minerals, woods, and orchards, there re- 
mains in round numbers L.d5,100, as the value of the gross produce of land. The 
land rent of the parish is L. 11,500, nearly one- third of the produce ; which is much 
too high a rate, the calculation being that Uie land ought to produce four rents to give 
a fair profit to the farmer. Considerable allowance, however, must be made for er- 
rors in an estimate in which accuracy is obviously not attainable ; and we have no 
doubt that our estimate of the produce is below, rather than above the truth. 



NEW KILPATIUCK. 59 

ments. Printers earn from 16s. to 30s., and cotton-spinners about 
20s. a-week. To common observation it would appear that cot- 
ton-spinning is not favourable to health, the workers having ge- 
nerally a sallow and delicate look. The other employments seem 
perfectly healthy. Factory-work, by collecting a multitude of per- 
sons of both sexes together, is injurious to morals ; and the demand 
for the labour of children, which, though now checked at the cot- 
ton-factory, continues at the printfields, threatens to increase the 
evil. It is an evil, however, which the masters of such works have 
it much in their power to remedy or prevent, by making a careful 
selection of workers, by dismissing bad characters from their em- 
ployment, by providing for the education of the children, and by 
encouraging attendance on religious ordinances. 

v.— Parochial Economy. 
Markets. — The nearest market- town is Glasgow, which is about 

seven imperial miles distant from the centre of the parish. The 

only village of any consideration is Milngavie, in which there are 

good shops for butcher-meat, groceries, and various other wares. A 

fair for milch-cows is held at New Kirk, (by which name the few 

houses near the church are usually called) on the 1st* of May, 

O. S. which was formerly well frequented ; but is now dwindled 

away into insignificance. 

Means of Communication, — The means of communication are 
abundant. We have a penny-post to and from Glasgow every 
lawful day, with two post-offices, one at Milngavie, and the other 
at New Kirk. The high-ways from Glasgow to Balfron and Dry- 
men pass through the parish ; making, together with part of the 
road to Dumbarton, about 11 imperial miles of turnpike-road with- 
in its boundaries. We have three stage-coaches travelling on these 
roads ; one from Milngavie daily ; one fromBalfron, and one from 
Drymen, three times a-week ; all of them to Glasgow. The Forth 
and Clyde Canal passes through the parish, nearly parallel with 
and not far from its southern border. The principal local pur- 
pose for which it is used is the conveyance of coals from the Tem- 
ple coal-work, and of stones from Garscube quarry. The farmers 
near it sometimes receive boat-loads of dung from Greenock ; but 
the heavy duties render it fully as dear as that brought by carts 
from Glasgow. 

Bridges. — Our principal bridges are over the Kelvin, connect- 
ing this parish with Cadder and the Barony. There are three of 
these, of three arches each, and one of two arches ; besides a 



CO DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

handsome private bridge lately built for a new approach to Gars- 
cube House. The great aqueduct, by which the Forth and Clyde 
Canal is carried over the Kelvin, stands in the angle, where this 
parish meets with Govan and the Barony. Over the Allander 
there are three single-arched bridges, and several others over smal- 
ler streams. All of them are of stone, and they are generally in 
good condition. 

Ecclesiastical State.-^The church is centrically situated, and is 
little more than three miles distant from the remotest inhabited 
parts of the parish. It was built in 1807, and is in good repain 
There is accommodation in it for about 700 persons. None of 
the sittings are let for hire, but all of them, except 20, are appro- 
priated by the different heritors, according to their valuations, and 
are occupied by their tenants, free of charge. Those not appro- 
priated are reserved for strangers and the poor; A handsome 
new manse, in the English cottage style, was built in 1837, on a 
plan by Mr Herbertson of Glasgow. The glebe, including 
garden ground, is about 5 Scots acres in extent, and is worth 
L. 10 Sterling a-year. There is no grass glebe ; but the statu- 
tory allowance of L. 20 Scots is received in place of it. The sti- 
pend consists of 17 chalders of grain, half barley and half oat- 
meal ; together with L. 100 Scots for communion elements, and 
L. 1, Is. 7|d. Sterling, drawn, " conform to use and wont," 
from the lands of Kilbowie, in the parish of Old Kilpatrick. Tak- 
ing an average of the Dumbartonshire fiars for the three years pre- 
ceding 1834, and deducting 9^ per cent, as the difference between 
the Dumbarton and Linlithgow measures of barley, the whole 
amount of the stipend is L. 266, 13s. Sterling. 

There is a Relief meeting-house at Milngavie, and in the neigh- 
bouring parish of Old Kilpatrick are two Seceding houses, one 
connected with the Original Burgher, and the other with the 
United Secession, which afford accommodation for a considerable 
number of inhabitants of this parish. The stipend of the Relief 
minister at Milngavie is L. 110 Sterling a-year, paid from the 
seat-rents and collections; besides which he has a free dwelling- 
house and garden. 

The following is as near an approximation as can well be made 
to a correct classification of the inhabitants according to their re- 
ligious denominations : — Attached to the Establishment, 338 fa- 
milies, or 1784 persons; Secedersor Dissenters, 215 families, or 



NEW KILPATUICK. 61 

1 104 persons ; Episcopalians, 5 femilies, or 31 persons ; Catholics, 
19 families, or 1 12 persons ; total, 577 families or 3031 persons.* 

Divine Service is not so regularly well attended as it ought to 
be, neither at the Established Church, nor, it is believed, at the 
Relief meeting-house. According to a common calculation, half 
of the population are supposed capable- of attending church. Of 
the 1784 persons, therefore, who profess to be attached to the 
Establishment, 892 ought to attend public worship; but the church 
is seldom full except on occasion of the communion ; and the con- 
gregation is considered to be well out when it amounts to 500 per- 
sons. A good many, however, are accommodated at Mary- Hill, 
and other neighbouring churches ; and, on the whole, it cannot be 
said that we are not a church-going people. The average num- 
ber of communicants at the Established Church is 360; and the 
average amount of the ordinary collections for the poor is L. 58^ 
to which L. 10 may be added as the probable amount of occasional 
collections for religious and charitable purposes. 

Education. — There are in the parish one parochial, and five 
private day-schools, and five Sabbath schools. None of the private 
schools are endowed, but four of them have school-rooms provided 
by individuals, and the other by private subscription. One of the 
teachers has likewise a dwelling-house and garden, together with 
a small salary, supplied by Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart. The 
branches of education generally taught are merely reading, writ- 
ing, and arithmetic In the parochial school, and in one of the* 
private schools, English grammar, Latin, geography, and practi* 
cal mathematics are taught in addition to the more common 
branches. The parocliial schoolmaster has the maximum salary 
and other legal appointments, with a small endowment from the 
Mains estate, amounting to L. 20 Scots a-year. The school-fees 
are so ill paid, or rather so seldom demanded, that they do not 
add above L. 10 a-year to his income. The usual terms of edu- 
cation are, for reading, 3s. 6d. ; for writing and accounts, 4s. 6d. ; 
English grammar or geography, 5s. ; and Latin, 7s. per quarter. 
Though the benefits of education are freely acknowledged, there is 
reason to fear that many parents are satisfied with giving their chil- 
dren a smaller share of it than formerly. The temptation of add- 
ing somewhat to the family earnings, causes those who are in the 
neighbourhood of the printfields to be taken from school at much 

• T\m enumeration diflers slightly frpra the Government census of 1831, having 
been made independently of it, and partly in the preceding year. 



62 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

too early an age ; an evil for which, it is hoped, a partial remedy 
will soon be^rovided by the erection of an infant school at Miln- 
gavie, (erected in J 835.) In that village the proportion of persons 
above six years of age who have not received some degree of edu- 
cation, is about three in every hundred ; but with many the degree 
of it is so small, that they can scarce be said to be able to read. 
Over the parish, the average proportion attending school is one- 
tenth of the population. 

Literature,— ^Vie have two libraries ; one of them kept at Miln- 
gavie, and the other in the parish school-room. They are both 
supported by annual subscription, and the latter is much read. 
The books are chiefly religious, biographical, historical, and agri- 
cultural. 

Savings Banks, Sfc. — Several years ago a savings bank was esta- 
blished, but, not meeting with encouragement, it has been discon- 
tinued. The nearest to which the inhabitants have access,* are at 
Mary-Hill and Glasgow; but it is believed that little money is 
lodged in them from this parish. A friendly society maintained its 
ground for a good many years ; but whether from some defect in 
its constitution, or from mismanagement of its funds, it was found 
necessary to dissolve it ; and at present we have no institution of 
the kind, to the regret of the well-wishers of the labouring classes. 

Poor ojid Parochial Funds. — In the year 1831, which we se- 
lect for the sake of comparison by the Government census, and as 
being quite an average year, the sum expended on cases of pauper- 
ism was L. 173, 9s. Ud. Of this sum there went to the support 
of the ordinary poor, L. 127, 9s. ; occasional poor, L. 27, 1 Is. 
lOd; board of a lunatic, L. 13, 7s. 7d. ; funeral expenses, L. 5, 
Is. 6d. The number of ordinary poor throughout the year was 
35, so that the average allowance to each was 6s. per calendar 
month. The population being 3090, the charge to each inhabi- 
tant would be Is. l^d ; and the rental of the parish being L. 1 1,500, 
the burden on the land would be 3^d. in the pound, supposing the 
land to bear the whole charge. But we have an annual revenue 
of about L. 95, arising from the following sources : — Church door 
collections, average L. 58 ; interest of L. 520 at 4 per cent. L. 20, 
16s. ; interest of L. 40 at 5 per cent. L. 2 ; hearse and mortcloth 
hire, average L. 10; private baptisms, average L. 1, 10s.; fines 
for immorality, average L. 3 ; total, L. 95, 6s. By a voluntary 
contribution, proportioned to their several valuations, the heritors 
make up what is awanting to meet the charges ; a plan that is 



NEW KILPATRICK. 63 

free from many of the objections to which a legal assessment is 
liable ; but the success of which depends on the unanimity of the 
heritors. We have met with several instances of persons in very 
needy circumstances refraining from asking, and even refusing to 
accept, parochial relief; but this disposition is not now so general 
as it once was. Relief is rather claimed as a right, than regarded 
as a degrading charity ; yet it does not often happen that any who 
are not really in need apply for assistance* 

Akhouses. — There are sixteen houses licensed for the sale of 
spirits and ales, and two for the sale of ales alone ; being at the 
rate of one for 31.5 families. Though the proportion is higher 
in many other places, yet the number is too great for the good of 
morals ; and it is much to be desired that more strictness were ob- 
served in the granting of licenses, and greater facilities- afforded 
for withdrawing them when abused. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
Since the date of the former Statistical Account of the parish, 

considerable changes have taken place, both in respect to Agri- 
cutture and Manufactures. A better method of Husbandry is now 
followed, consisting in a regular system of green-cropping, which 
implies the frequent application of manure, and an effectual work- 
ing and cleaning of the ground. The benefit of this system is 
seen in the character of the wheat-crop ; which, instead of being 
as formerly very precarious, now seldom fails, and is chiefly relied 
on by the former for payment of his rent. We do not regard the 
high degree of perfection, or rather we should say of finiealness 
to which the art of ploughing has been carried, as any advantage ; 
for not only is less than a reasonable quantity of work done, but 
it is not substantially done, deep ploughing being sacrificed for the 
sake of an eye-sweet furrow. For the same reason, we look upon 
it as no improvement, that ploughing is now almost uniformly per- 
formed with two horses only, instead of three or four. One advan- 
tage, however, that hence results, is a great saving in the number of 
horses kept, being 75 fewer than before ; and this notwithstanding 
an increase in the number kept for purposes not agricultural. Tlie 
number now in the parish is 285, of which 230 are for the pur- 
poses of agriculture. The want of good roads, noticed in the 
previous report, has been long since remedied, the parish being 
intersected in every direction with turnpike or other roads, the 
former of which are in excellent condition. There is therefore 
no longer any difficulty in procuring dung for the land ; and it is 



G4 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

now carried from Glasgow in great quantity to almost every part 
of the parish. 

By the introduction of cotton-spinning'and calico-printing, the 
village of Milngavie has risen to considerable importance since 
the date of the former report, its population having increased about 
sixfold. A large circulation of money has thus been occasioned, 
and a convenient market created for the disposal of the produce 
of the neighbouring farms. 

In regard to the comforts and conveniences of life, the people 
of this parish partake in a fair measure of the improvement that 
has been general over the kingdom. They are better fed, better 
clad, and better lodged than before. At the same time, pauperism 
has greatly increased, not only in absolute amount, but in ratio. 
On referring to the accounts of the poor's funds for the year 1791, 
when the population, according to the former Report, was 1700, 
we find that the expenditure on cases of pauperism was only 
L. 39, 16s. ; whereas in 1831, with a population of 3090, the ex- 
penditure was L. 173, 9s. lid. Thus, while the population has 
increased in the proportion of 1.8 to 1, or somewhat less than 
twofold, pauperism has increased in the proportion of 4.3 to 1, 
or more than fourfold. This is easily accounted for, without 
supposing any great change in the management. The more 
abundant and the more easily* attainable the necessaries or luxuries 
of life are, the less is the inducement to save, the greater the 
temptation to squander ; so that, when a family is deprived of its 
head, or when individuals are disabled by the infirmities of age, there 
is too often no resource but on the poor's funds. And the habits 
of full living, which a state of prosperity had produced, cannot be 
entirely abandoned even in reduced circumstances; whence it 
happens, that not only is the relative number of the poor augment- 
ed, but their necessities are likewise increased, and a higher rate 
of relief is required. It will tend to confirm these remarks to ob- 
serve, that the rate of pauperism is highest among the manufactur- 
ing or operative, as distinguished from the agricultural classes ; the 
improvement in the mode of living having been greatest with the 
former. Thus in the year 1831, the manufacturing village of 
Milngavie, containing 116'2 of the 3090 inhabitants of the parish, 
absorbed L. 76, 7s, 4d. of the whole expenditure, which, as already 
stated, was L. 173, 9s, lid. or, the population of Milngavie being 
to the whole population of the parish as .37 to 1, the proportion 
of pauperism is .44. If a similar increase of pauperism should be 



ROW. 65 

AMind uoiformly to attend a state of manuracturing prosperity, it 
will form an important deduction from the addition to the sum of 
oatiooal happiness which such prosperity produces. 

The chief improvement which the present state of agricultural 
knowledge suggests, is furrow-draining, accompanied with the use 
of Mr Smith of Deanston's trench plough, or some other method 
of opening the subsoil, so as to allow the escape of the water. 
The trench plough has not yet been introduced, and perhaps th^ 
subsoil is too stiff, and too full of boulders to admit of its introduc- 
tion; but furrow-draining is making yearly progress, and with 
manifest advantage. Small stones are more frequently used for 
filling than the drain tile, and seem preferable where they can 
easily be procured ; but, in many situations, they are not to be 
had without great expense; and it is much to be desired that some 
of our proprietors would establish kilns for the manufacture of 
tiles.* Were the land once thoroughly drained, little would be 
awanting to warrant us in saying that the parish is in a state of 
high agricultural improvement 
Drawn up 1835 ; Revised February 1839. 



PARISH OF ROW. 

PRESBYTERY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. JOHN LAURIE, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 
Name, — In the immediate neighbourhood of the church, there 
is a long narrow strip or point of land, which, at low water, runs 
into the Gareloch considerably more than half its breadth, and is 
called in Gaelic a Rhue or point. Although there is nothing re- 
markable in this point, except its having been long a ferrying station 
to Roseneath, it has evidently given its name to the parish, most 
probably because the church was built near it, when Row, which 
was once a part of the parish of Roseneath, became a parish of itself 
in the year 1648. 

Extent and Boundaries. — The parish extends about 16 miles 
nearly due north and south. Its greatest breadth from east to 
west is about 6 miles, its narrowest point somewhat more than 

• A tile kiln has now been erected by Mr Colquhoun of Killermont. 
DUMBARTON. E 



66 DUMBARTONSniRF. 

1 mile, and its mean breadth may be fairly estimated at 4 miles. 
It extends over a surface, therefore, of about 64square miles. It 
is bounded on the south, by the river Clyde ; on the east, by the 
parishes of Cardross and Luss ; on the north, by a narrow strip 
of Luss of about a quarter of a mile in breadth, and lying between 
Row and the parish of Arrochar ; and on the west, it is bounded 
by Loch-I^ng, Roseneath, and the Gareloch. Its form is near- 
ly that of a wedge, with its greatest breadth towards the south, and 
running to a point on the north. 

Topographical Appearances. — By far the greater part of the pa- 
rish is hilly and mountainous. The main ridge of hills begins to 
ascend gradually from the shore of the Clyde in the south, and 
stretches continuously in a northerly direction throughout the whole 
length of the parish. The summit of another ridge runs along its 
eastern boundary for several miles, until it unites with the other 
at the head of Glenfruin. The main or western ridge, which is 
skirted on the west by the Gareloch and Loch- Long, and on 
the east by Glenfruin, is mostly covered with heath, where it has 
not been cultivated or laid under wood. That along the east, though 
highfir, is beautifully green. The height of Finnart hill, which 
is perhaps the highest in the parish, is said to be 2500 feet above 
the level of the sea, which lies at its base. Between these two 
ridges of hills, lies the beautiful strath of Glenfruin, signifying, ac- 
cording to some, the Cold Glen, or, according to others, the Glen 
of Sorrow, probably so called from its having been the scene of 
some disastrous event in the times of old, when its inhabitants were 
less secure than they now are from the murderous inroads of their 
neighbours. This strath is about 5 miles long, and varies from 
between a quarter and three-quarters of a mile in breadth. With 
the exception of a little natural wood towards the south, and one or 
two insignificant patches of plantation elsewhere, this glen is whol- 
ly without wood. Much of its soil is exceedingly good ; a part of 
it is under cultivation ; but from its tunnel-like form, and its having 
no wood or hedges to intercept the currents of wind that often 
traverse it very furiously, it is both much less cultivated and much 
less fertile than it should be, and at one time actually was. It owes 
but little to man's labour and care, and therefore it gives but little of 
what it would give, were it dealt with a little more generously. Few 
straths, with no ornament from the hand of man, are more truly 
beautiful. The most northerly eight miles of the parish are entire- 
ly hilly, with only one or two small patches of level ground. There 
is a considerable portion of natural wood along that side of the hills 



ROW. 67 

that look3 into Loch-LoDg. Tlie banks of the Garelocb are much 
less precipitous than those of Loch- Long. Cultivation has extended a 
considerable way up the side of the hills along it, and there is enough 
of wood to add to the beauty of the scenery, as well as occasionally 
to add something to the income of the proprietor. From the village 
of Row southwards, the banks of the Gareloch become more level. 
In the neighbourhood of the church, and of his own house of Arden- 
connel, the late much respected proprietor, Mr Buchanan, plant- 
ed a considerable portion of wood, and to him that beautiful neigh- 
bourhood owes much of its beauty. The flattest and the best land 
in the parish is on Lord John Campbell's estate of Ardincaple, and 
in the barony of Miilig, which lies immediately behind the town of 
Helensburgh. Ardincaple is well wooded, but the barony of Mii- 
lig is exceedingly naked, and has no shelter except the little which 
it steals from the skirting plantations of Ardincaple on the west Of 
the whole parish there is but an inconsiderable part that is either 
cultivated or capable of being cultivated to any advantage. 

Before concluding the topographical appearances, it would be 
almost unpardonable to omit all mention of the extreme loveliness 
of the situation of the church, and the burying-ground in which it 
stands. The church itself is as plain and ordinary a looking 
building as can well be. It has nothing ornamental or tasteful in 
it, but every thing around is full of exceeding beauty. The square 
burying-ground is surrounded on three sides by fine, old wide- 
spreading plane trees, the first to burst into leaf in spring, and 
most abundant in their foliage. A bay of the Gareloch lies with- 
in a few yards of it, which at full tide is extremely lovely ; and 
the opposite shore and hills of Roseneath are strikingly picturesque 
and beautiful. Saddening as the reflections are which arise when 
standing amidst the ashes of thousands of fellow-beings, it is im- 
possible to look around without feeling the influence of having as 
much exquisite scenery spread before the eye, as it is possible to 
conceive. The situation of the manse is little inferior to that of 
the church, and the view from the Row point, at a little distance 
from the church, is equally delightful. Towards the north, the 
loch stretches itself for a distance of five miles, and the prospect 
is, terminated by the dark, rugged, and lofty hills of Loch Long, 
** noble samples of nature's statuary." Towards the south lies the 
point of Roseneath with its castle, its fine trees, and its gallow- 
hill wooded to the top ; the expanse of the Frith of Clyde, the 
turrets of Ardincaple, and the wooded point of Ardmore. 



68 



DUMBARTONSHIRE. 



Meteorology. — From its uearness to the Frith of Clyde, and the 
Dumerous large lochs in the neighbourhood, the temperature of 
this parish is in general mild in winter. As a proof of this, it 
may be stated, that while the thermometer in the Botanical Gar- 
den at Glasgow fell to 1^® below zero in 1838, it stood here at 15® 
above zero. Another proof of the mildness of the climate is seen 
in the earliness with which the wild flowers make their appear- 
ance. About two years ago, the common primrose was in full 
flower in the side of a spring, near the manse, on the 17th of Ja- 
nuary : and the Bhododendron ponticum matures its seeds, from 
which young plants spring up without any shelter or care. Through 
the kindness of Lord John Campbell, I am enabled to transcribe 
the following tables of obser^^ations made at Ardincaple. 

1832. 





Mean tem- 












perature 


Mean of 


Mean 


Mean 


Inches of 




at 9^ A. H. 


extreme. 


maximum. 


minimum. 


rain. 


January, 


40.61 


40.62 


44.07 


37.17 




February, 


41.12 


41.44 


46.12 


36.77 




March, 


44.55 • 


43.36 


48.83 


37.90 




April, 


50.50 


48.30 


55.90 


42.63 




May, 


55.55 


5191 


62.60 


41.33 




June, 


62.68 


58.41 


66.90 


49.95 




July, 


63.85 


0<7<«JT 


68.53 


50.15 




August, 


62.88 


59.04 


67.60 


50.62 


3.40 


September, 


52.38 


55.36 


61.92 


48.81 


2.40 


October, 


52.25 


49.81 


53.85 


45.80 


7.10 


November, 


43.00 


43.13 


47.67 


38.62 


5.25 


December, 


41.33 


40.76 


1 44.52 

1 


37.00 


6.40 


Means of 


50.892 


49.301 


55.71 


43.012 


4.9! 


the vear. 

• 













1833. 





Mean tem- 












perature 


Mean of 


Mean 


Afean 


Inches of 




at 9^ A. M. 


extreme. 


maximum. 


minimum. 


ram. 


January, 


35.77 


35.88 


40.16 


31.60 


0.80 


February, 


40 38 


40.36 


44.72 


36.00 


6.67 


March, 


40.33 


40.58 


47.27 


33.90 


1.51 


April, 


47.66 


46.08 


52.86 


39.30 


3.10 


May, 


59.26 


52.66 


62.80 


47.52 


2.30 


June, 


60.58 


57.13 


64.70 


49.57 


5.56 


July, 


64.00 


61.61 


70.19 


53.02 


2.60 


A ugust. 


62.45 


55.86 


66.35 


45.37 


1.65 


September, 


56.25 


53.33 


5961 


47.05 


5.15 


October, 


47.54 


49.94 


55.15 


44.73 


4.35 


November, 


43.96 


42.15 


46.98 


37.33 


5.88 


December, 


41.43 


40.60 


44.70 


36.50 


11.00 


Means of 


49.97 


47.919 


54.624 


41.824 


; 4.214 ' 


the year. 










/ 













Ale.D 


Means 






Mean 


Mean 


Mean 




jeightofi ofex- 


RUQ 




temp, a 






temp, of 
at. tber. 




treme 




lnDuary, 


9M-- 


mum. 


mum. 


at noon. 


temp. 




41 .78 


45.70 


37.80 


63.6 


30.042 


41.75 


11. 78 


Feb. 


41.00 


46.06 


36.00 


58.8 


30.4SO 


41.03 


3.85 






50.20 


39.10 


63.4 


30 123 


44.65 


535 




48.6G 


55.56 


40.20 


65.7 


30.760 


47.88 


0.38 


May.' 


56.81 


64.22 


45.42 


68.3 


30J10 


5*82 


2.07 




61.38 


66.80 


50.05 


67.7 


30.316 


58.42 


3.B0 


Fuly, 


M.S5 


71.»] 


53.20 


69.8 


3a 352 


oaao 


2.10 




62.25 


68.81 


56.10 


69.2 


30 418 


62.45 


3.55 


Sept 


56.90 


62.84 


49.49 


67.9 


30.460 


56.16 


3.80 


[>ctober. 


49.90 


55.50 


44.00 


66.6 


30.450 


49.75 


5.60 


Nov. 


44.37 


40.93 


40.18 


644 


30.4 IS 


44.05 


5.00 


Dec. 


43.33 


46.96 


38.51 


644 


30.748 


42.73 


4.82 


Meana of 


51.34 


56.816 


44.17 


65.8 


30.423 


50.49 


4.258 


the ve-r- 

















Ureetest heigbt of the barometer, 31.314 ioches, December 15th. 

Mean annual height of barometer, 30.420. 

Least height of barometer, 29.21 inches, November 89th. 

Mean maximum of thermometer during the year, 56°.816. 

Mean aQnnal temperature at 9} a. h. 51°.34. 

Mean minimum of thermometer during tbe year, 44°.I7. 

Least height of thermometer, 26°, January 29tb. 

Greatest height of thermometer, 63°.5, July 3lBt. 



\nulysis 


,1' K<^mHrk» ma.lL. o 


D the Weatber 


Analysis of Remarks on the 




in Days for tS.14. 


Winds for 1M+. 




s 


^ 
S 


>« 


1 


11 


Ia 


u 


1 
W 


^ 


1 


U 
» 


1 


N' 


1 




lauuary. 


a 


?fi 





3 


15 


If) 


.1 


V 


fl 


] 


fl 


? 








Feb. 


14 


14 


V 


.'• 




li 


2 




M 


?■ 


4 


:< 


3 


ft 


1 


March, 


la 


19 


H 


2 


4i 


10 


7 





41 


4 








S 


ST 


4 


April, 


«« 


4 


4 


7 


11 


« 




o 


2 


» 


i 


fl 





11 


ft 


«ay. 


1+ 


17 


a 


a 


12 


1 


3 





(1 


li 


II 


14 











1? 


IH 


i» 


<l 


10 





9 


1 





ft 


(1 


V 


4 


i>1 


1 


luly. 


IM 


Ui 


J2 


Tli 


in 


2 


2 








7 


7 




;i 


ft 


9 


August, 


1-7 




ti 


V 







1 + 







.1 


If 


4 


n 


f 







141 


14 


4 


+ 


18 





4 


I 


1 


10 


V 




10 






Jctober, 


10 


21 




2 


« 


1 


9 








it 


(1 


(1 


fl 


n 


n 


Sov. 


U 


16 


li 


3 


li 


t 


li 




fi 














Dec 


16 


li 


^ 





12 


7 


7 


ll 





6 




3 


* 


8 


8 


Mean of 


172 


tft.'l 


!■•*■ 


4:^ 


133 54 


7? 


7 lie 


5« 


?fi 


3!) 


.i'^ 


la-^ 


6 


■he j.-,.r 












' 















This parish is but rarely visited with thunder storms ; but for 
the last two winters there has beeo a coosiderable quantity of sheet 



70 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

lightning, and the sky, in the earlier part of the winter particularly, 
is very frequently illuminated by vivid and beautiful streaks of 
variously-coloured aurora borealis. 

Hydrography. — There is no stream that deserves the name of 
a river in the parish of Row. Indeed, with the exception of the 
small stream Fruin, which runs through the glen of that name, and 
&lls into Loch Lomond, about 7 miles from its source, there are 
only a few brooks from the hills, which ^re almost all nearly dry in 
summer. The Clyde, however, skirts its southern boundary, and 
the Gareloch and l^och-Long lie along its western extremity. 
The Gareloch is 6 miles long, and at an average somewhat less 
than a mile in breadth. Its greatest depth is said to be about 23 
fathoms, and its bottom is in general covered with a very fine 
stiff bluish clay, affording excellent anchorage for vessels. The 
extreme beauty of its banks, rather than the virtue of its salt water, 
has long had sufficient attraction to draw many visitors for sea- 
bathing, and of late its shore has become studded with many beau^ 
tiful villas, the property in general of the respectable families who 
come to make them their summer residence. And assuredlv, few 
places can boast of so much to attract and fascinate with its beau- 
tiful scenery. Loch-Long is very much deeper than the Gareloch ; 
it is also considerably broader in that part of it which bounds this 
parish, and, as its name imports, it is much longer, the Gareloch 
having probably received its name of Gare or " short" Loch 
from its being so much shorter than Loch Long. If the Gareloch 
may be vain of the beauty of its banks, Loch Long may be proud 
of its deep black waters, and the majesty of its high and rugged 
mountains. 

Although there are many springs along the sides of the hillsi 
there are none of any consequence, or with any mineral virtues 
that have been turned to any use. The temperature of one or two of 
these has been found to be about 45° both in summer and winter. 

Mineralogy. — In the northern or hilly part of the parish, the 
rocks consist of greywacke, clay slate, and transition limestone. 
Towards the south, are beds of red sandstone, and coarse con- 
glomerate. The connection of these rocks with the coal forma- 
tion has not been well made out. From the circumstance of their 
resting upon the greywacke series, they have generally been sup- 
posed to belong to the old red sandstone. Dr Thomson, however, 
is disposed to consider them as belonging to the new red sandstone. 
Attempts have been made in two places to find coal, but unsuccess- 



ROW. 71 

fully, although a bore was made to the depth of 50 fathoms. The 
ODly appearance of coal was a stratum of crow coal of about an 
inch thick. Gypsum and thin beds of limestone are associated 
with the sandstone, which rises to the height of 334 feet behind 
the town of Helensburgh, and is covered by till or diluvium of a 
whitish constratified clay full of water. There is a blue limestone 
on the top of the slate in Ardenconnel moor and in Glenfruin, in 
which masses of pyrites are fbund. There are also worn boulders, 
either from the rocks of the neighbourhood or from others which 
lie in the north. Greenstone and mica slate abound. In the lower 
part of the parish, resting upon this deposit, are alluvial beds of 
gravel, sand, and clay containing marine shells, indicating a change 
in the relative levels of the sea and land, posterior to the^deposition 
of the diluvium. The shells in general agree with those of the 
adjoining seas. There are, however, amongst them, soma which are 
not known to be identical with any existing species. 

Zoology. — Among the animals which have now become less com- 
mon in many places, there are occasionally found the roe, the fox, 
the badger, the wild-cat, martin, and the squirrel. The following list 
of birds was made up by a very accurate observer, George Camp- 
bell, Esq. Ardincaple: Sparrow-hawk, peregrine falcon, kestrel, mer- 
lin, common buzzard, hen-harrier, kite, short-eared owl, barn-owl, 
tawny-owl, goat-sucker, chimney -swallow, martin, sand-martin, com- 
mon swift, spotted fly-catcher, missel-thrush, fieldfare, song-thrush, 
red-wing, blackbird, moor blackbird, European-dipper, redbreast, 
redstart) black-cap warbler, whitethroat, wood-wren, golden- 
crested wren, great titmouse, blue titmouse, cole titmouse, long- 
tailed titmouse, hedge sparrow, pied wagtail, grey wagtail, yellow 
wagtail, shore-pyet, sky lark, yellow-bunting, corn-bunting, house 
sparrow, chaffinch, mountain-finch, siskin, goldfinch, common 
brown linnet, green grossbeak, common bulfinch, cross-bill, com- 
mon starling, raven, carrion crow, hooded crow, rook, jackdaw, 
magpie, jay, common creeper, common wren, cuckoo, ringdove, 
common pheasant, black grouse, red grouse, partridge, heron, cur- 
lew, redshank, sandpiper, woodcock, common snipe, jack snipe, 
dunlin, corncrake, common gallinule, common coot, oyster-catcher, 
turnstone, water ouzel, green lapwing, golden plover, ringed plover, 
bernacle goose, sheldrake, wild duck, teal, common widgeon, scaup 
pochard, goosander, horned grebe, red-throated diver, bill auk, 
common gull, herring gull. Of these the rarest in the parish are 
the merlin, horned-owl, mountain finch, siskin, sheldrake, coca«vci>x 



72 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

teal, horned grebe, red-throated diver, water-rail, and cross-bill ; 
indeed this last bird has not been observed in the parish till last 
summer, and it is observable that the fir cones, its peculiar food, 
were particularly abundant last year. 

In the lochs, salmon and sea trout are common ; the herring visit 
them early in the season, and are often taken in great abundance, 
particularly in Loch- Long ; cod, whiting, haddock, and seth or 
coal-fish are also abundant, though not so much so as formerly. 
There are a few oysters in the Gareloch, but they are both more 
numerous and larger in Loch- Long. The bottle -nose whale, por- 
poises, otters, and seals, are occasionally seen. About thirty years 
ago, a specimen of the opah or king-fish was taken on the shore 
near Helensburgh, and a few years since a tunny of the enormous 
length of 9 feet, probably the largest that has ever been taken in 
the British seas, was captured in the Gareloch. Both of these have 
been preserved in the Andersonian Museum, Glasgow. 

Botany. — There is a very considerable variety of plants found 
in the parish. Among those which are not very common in Scot- 
land, are : 

Veronica montana Dipsacus sylvestria Spiraea fUipendula 

Circsea alpina Plantago media Thalictrum flavum 

Blysmus rufus Solanum dulcamara Bartsia viscosa 

Eriophorum alpinum Verbascum nigrum Melampyrum sylvadcum 

— gracile Myrrhis odorata Geranium pratense 

Phalaris canariensis Coniiim maculatum Malva sylvestris 

Poa maritima Drosera longifolia Carduus mariaiius 

— nemoralis Rumex alpinus Habenaria viridis 

Festuca ovina Triglociiin maritimum trifolia 

bromoides Adoxa moschatellina Typha angustifolia 

Bromus giganteus Cerastium tetrandrum Curex laevigata 

Montia fontana Pnmus domestica Aspidium lobatum. 

It has been already observed, that the climate is particularly fa- 
vourable for the early appearance of the wild flowers. It spares 
also the garden flowers till late in the season, and last New Year's 
day there were both carnations and ten weeks stock in flower in 
the manse garden ; and in the neighbourhood the gooseberry 
has occasionally a second crop of blossom towards the end of the 
year. Many of the more tender green-house plants stand the 
winter out of doors, and the laurustinus and varieties of laurel thrive 
particularly well. 

II. — Civil History. 
Historical Notices. — The history of this parish has not been il- 
lustrated by any published account excepting the very meagre 
outline contained in Sir John Sinclair's Statistical work. Some 

3 



ROW. 73 

particulars applicable to it will also be found in the Agricultural 
Survey of Dumbartonshire, published in 1811. 

The whole lands now contained within the parish constituted part 
of the original earldom of Lennox. Those which form the eastern 
coast of the Gareloch, extending into Glenfruin, were given by Al- 
wyn, second Karl of Lennox, to his younger son Amelec, in the 
twelfth century. This beautiful estate descended to Walter, son of 
Alan, the great-grandson of Amelec, who became the male represen- 
tative of his house, and who, marrying the heiress of the elder branch, 
continued the line of the family. The mansion or castle seems 
to have been at Faslane, where the mound may still be distinguished 
in the copsewood. Here, according to Blind Harry, Sir William 
Wallace was received and hospitably entertained by his gallant 
comrade Earl Malcolm, after he had sacked Dumbarton, and laid 
the Castle of Roseneath in ashes. We have no notice of Faslane 
Castle after the succession of the Faslane branch to the honours 
of Lennox, and the estate was by degrees feued out in small por- 
tions among a variety of vassals. Towards the northern end of it, 
several cadets of the neighbouring clan Macfarlane thus acquired 
lands on the shore of Loch-Long, while the Gareloch side and 
Glenfruin gradually became almost a colony of Colquhouns. A 
race of small proprietors settled in Glenfruin, and distinguished 
by the patronymic surname of Mac waiter, pretended to a direct 
descent from a younger son of Lennox ; but their illustrious blood 
does not appear ever to have emerged from obscurity. The only 
exception to this description of the bonnet lairds of Row, was the 
Macaulays of Ardincaple. Contemporary with the wars of suc- 
cession and of independence which followed the death of the 
maiden of Norway, were the Ardincaples of that ilk. About two 
centuries later, they assumed the patronymic surname of Macaulay, 
and, gradually extending and condensing their estate, acquired in 
some degree the importance of a clan. Nor was this an empty 
distinction in an age when armed men were the most prized pro- 
duce of the soil, when military service was the best payment 
of mail, and when the muster-roll occupied the place of the rent- 
roll. In few parts of Scotland was this more the case than in 
Dumbartonshire west of the river Leven. The three clans of 
Macfarlane, Macaulay, and Colquhoun, plundered each other, or 
combined to sweep the low country of its flocks and herds. Dur- 
ing the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the annals of this district 
would present a perpetual recurrence of raid and foray, in wKlcK 



74 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

rapine and sword united to embroil and impoverish the neighbour- 
hood. In these scenes Sir Aulay Macaulay of Ardincaple bore a 
conspicuous part, and the traditions of the country still preserre his 
name with awe. Occasionally other bands of plunderers invaded 
this district, among whom the more remarkable were the Mac- 
gregors, Campbells, Camerons, and Buchanans. One of these 
murderous conflicts was of sufficient importance to merit a place 
in the history of the times, and was fought in Glenfruin in Fe- 
bruary 1603. The older accounts of this transaction bear such 
marks of partiality as to be little worthy of credit, and the tradi- 
tions of the district lead us into great confusion. The recent in- 
quiries of Mr Pitcairn have brought to light a mass of authentic 
information, which will be found in his Criminal Trials. It seems 
enough here to state generally, that Alexander Colquhoun of Liiss, 
having obtained a commission of lieutenancy against ^* thievis, sor- 
naris, and broken men," who infested the Lennox, arrived in his 
country just as it had been invaded by Alister Macgregor of Glen- 
strae at the head of 400 men. Colquhoun rousing his vassals, and 
being assisted by some of the neighbouring lairds, and a number 
of the Dumbarton burghers, came up with the marauders at the 
farm of Strone, near the head of Glenfruin. A desperate combat 
gave victory to the Macgregors. Of their opponents 140 men 
were slain, the laird of Luss narrowly escaping, and many of those 
that fell being, as Calderwood says, landed men of good rank. 
The plunder carried away by the Macgregors consisted of 600 
head of cattle, 800 sheep and goats, and 280 horses. The story 
of some students from Dumbarton having been massacred in cold 
blood, does not seem to be borne out by the records. The arm 
of the law, too long suspended from motives of policy or partiality, 
now descended upon the unhappy Clangregor, more in vengeance 
than in justice. The whole race were proscribed, their name pro- 
hibited, their children exiled from their native land, and it was not 
until 1774 that the many penal enactments against them, which 
defaced the statute book, were finally repealed. After the battle 
of Glenfruin, the country became by degrees more settled. The 
Macgregors had ceased to exist as a clan. The Macaulavs and 
Buchanans were beginning to be less powerful, and the estate of the 
Macfarlanes, poor in every produce but men, was inadequate to 
maintain its lairds in wealth when they could no longer lay their 
neighbours under contribution. The lands of these chiefs have 



ROW. 75 

now mostly passed to strangers, and even the representation of 
their several houses is in a great measure in abeyance. 

Meanwhile, the domain of Luss has extended itself on all sides, 
and, in addition to its having stretched itself over nearly the whole 
territories of Macfarlane and Macaulay, it has swallowed up the 
smaller possessions of a swarm of petty proprietors in the parishes 
of Row, Luss, and Arrochar. Sir James Colquhoun is now in pos- 
session of the whole of this parish, with the exception of the estate 
of Ardincaple, the property and beautiful residence of Lord John 
Campbell. 

Antiquities. — The only buildings of any antiquity of which any 
portion still remains, are a part of the present Castle of Ardincaple^ 
supposed to have been built about the twelfth century and the 
imperfect walls of a chapel at Faslane. The author of Caledonia 
says that this chapel was dedicated to St Michael. The date and 
occasion of its erection are unknown, but it is probable that it was 
built for the convenience of the Lennox, while they were either con* 
stant or occasional residents at their castle of Faslane. Attach- 
ed to the chapel is a burying-ground, which has now almost ceased 
to be used. Of Faslane Castle, only the mound raised by its 
foundation is distinguishable. Similar traces of another castle 
called Shandon, are discoverable on the hill side above the mo- 
dem house of Shandon. Its name, ^^ The Old Dun,** would lead 
to the supposition, that it was a still more ancient strong-hold than 
the castle of Faslane. But tradition has handed down no memo- 
rial regarding it to the present times, nor have any relics been 
found among its ruins to lead to any information concerning it. 

Besides the Chapel of Faslane, there were of old three other 
chapels within the bounds of the parish ; one of them in Glcn- 
fruin, either near the school-house there, or more probably on 
the farm of Balnock, on which there are still some remains of a 
burying-ground called Chapel Dermid. The other two were in 
the barony of Millig; the one of them on the farm of Kirk- 
michael, which has received its name from the saiot to whom the 
chapel was dedicated, and the other on the farm of Millig, called 
also after the same saint, and till of late presenting some ruins. 

Until a very few years ago, the only good houses in the parish 
were Ardincaple Castle, and the mansion house of Ardenconnel. 
Now, however, there are many very beautiful ones along the banks 
of the Gareloch, built on perpetual feu from the lands of Sir James 
Colquhoun. 




76 DUMBARTONSHIRE, 

IIL — Population. 
In consequence of the very meagre and imperfect records of 
the parish, there are no means of ascertaining the population at 
remote and regular dates. In the former Statistical Account 
of the parish, it is said, that the number of inhabitants was 853 ; 
but it is not stated at what period this census was taken. About 
ninety years ago the number amounted to 1300, and about 6fty 
years before this present date, it appears to have fallen to 1000. 
There can be little doubt that this decrease of 300 was owing to 
the enlargement of the farms and the ousting of cottars. In the 
Glenfruin district alone, it is almost within the memory of indivi- 
duals still alive, that there were 45 families of farmers, besides 
a number of cottars ; now there are only 10 of farmers and 4 of 
cottars. In consequence, however, of the very rapid growth of 
the town of Helensburgh, the population doubled itself within 
the last forty years previous to 1831. It was in that year 2037. 
From 1831 till 1835, there was an additional increase of about 
400, chiefly from the still greater growth of Helensburgh ; though 
partly also from the building of villas and cottages on the Gareloch. 
The present population may amount to about 2600. Of this num- 
ber the burgh of Helensburgh contains 1400 ; the remainder are 
scattered over the landward part of the parish, and can scarcely be 
said to be in any part of it, a village population, unless indeed the 
few houses in the neighbourhood of the church of Row, and the 
increasing clump of cottages at Gareloch-head, may be called vil- 
lages. 

The average number of births may be about, . . 50 

The average of deaths, - - - between 40 and 50 

The number of marriages, - - - - 24 

In Helensburgh in the year 1835, there were under 

5 years of age, - . Males, 95 Females, 94 

From 5 to 15, 

15 to 25, 

25 to 35, - . - 

85 to 45, - - - 

45 to 55, 

55 to 65, 

65 to 75, 

75 to 85, - - - . 

85 and upwards, . . . 

Total; 672 717 

Of the females above 45 there were unmarried, 22 ; widows, 45. 
Of the males above 50, there were 9 bacrhelors and 10 widowers. 

Though we have stated the resident population of the parish to 
be 2600, it is increased by more than a half, probably two-thirds 



173 


157 


114 


134 


103 


119 


81 


97 


54 


51 


23 


34 


14 


21 


11 


9 


4 


1 



ROW. 77 

of this number during about five months in the year, from the 
number of families who come for summer quarters and sea-bath- 
ing. 

The only nobleman in the parish is Lord John Campbell, who 
usually resides at his seat of Ardincaple. But there is a consider- 
able number of wealthy and independent families who have resi- 
dences in it, and remain either the whole or the half of the year. 

Language, — It would appear that, two centuries ago, or later, 
Gaelic must have been the language usually spoken. The first mi- 
nister of the parish was at that time appointed to the charge in con- 
sequence of his being able to preach in the Irish or Gaelic. At 
present, however, that language has rightly given way to English, 
and is not spoken except by a very few families, who have brought 
it with them from their birth-place in' the Highlands. 

Like most of the districts in the neighbourhood of the High- 
lands, smuggling seems to have prevailed some time ago to a con- 
siderable extent. But, for some years, this degrading and demora- 
lizing habit has been rapidly decreasing, and now it has almost 
ceased to be practised. It is much to be wished that the same thing 
may be said of poaching. 

IV. — Industry. 
Agriculture. — With the exception of Glenfruin, which is capa- 
ble of being cultivated much more extensively than it is, the great- 
er part of the land capable of bearing crops to any advantage, is 
either constantly or occasionally under cultivation. This, liow- 
ever, bears a very inconsiderable proportion to the whole extent 
of the parish. Within the last thirty years, there has been a very 
great improvement in the character and extent of the husbandry ; 
chiefly from additional draining and fencing. But very much re- 
mains to be done in these respects, and the farmers both feel the 
evil, and look to the proprietor for more encouragement than they 

have hitherto had. 

Of late, considerable and increasing attention has been paid to 

the breeding of cattle, both for the dairy and for feeding. Those 
for the dairy were, till within the last fifty years, mostly of the High- 
land breed. But now, with the exception of some of the moor- 
land farms, they are almost all of the Ayrshire, though not very 
pure. The cattle fed for the market are of the West Highland 
stock, and both kinds promise to be still further improved, in con- 
sequence of the late formation of an agricultural association of the 
parish of Row, Luss, and Arrochar. 



78 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Bent — The average rent of arable land per acre may be stated 
at L. I, 5s, the highest at L. 3. Average rent to the farmer of 
grazing a full-grown ox or milk-cow is about L. 6 ; of black cat- 
tle, not housed in winter, L. 3, 10s. 

The sheep are almost all of the black-faced breed. There are, 
however, a few Cheviots. The average rate of grazing a full-grown 
one to the farmer is about 5s. Male farm-servants who live with the 
farmer, receive at an average L. 8 in the half-year, and female farm- 
servants receive L. 4. Masons, carpenters, and other artisans are 
usually paid ds. 6d. per day. Leases run for the term of nine- 
teen years, and hitherto they have not been understood to have 
been very unfavourable to the tenant, A few of the farm-build- 
ings may be considered as tolerably good. But the greater num- 
ber of them are very much otherwise. It can scarcely be said that 
there are any unconquerable obstacles in the way of a much great- 
er improvement of the land. With the facility of obtaining ma- 
nure from Greenock, and lime in the parish, and from Ireland by 
sea, willing tenants, and an encouraging landlord, might consider- 
ably change the face of the fields to the better. But both land- 
lord and tenant must move together. 

Quarries. — Lime is occasionally wrought, but in consequence 
of the superior quality of the Irish lime, and the facility and cheap- 
ness of its carriage by water, the lime quarries in the parish are 
neither constantly nor extensively worked. Slate also has been 
occasionally wrought, but it, too, is inferior in quality^ and therefore 
little called for. In the southern part of the parish^ there is a 
coarse freestone, occasionally quarried for building. All attempts 
to obtain coal have failed. 

Fisheries. — The fisheries in the Gareloch and Loch-Long are 
not very profitable, nor much attended to, except for a short time 
during the spring and early part of the summer. Neither the 
quarries nor the fisheries, therefore, add much to the produce ofthe 
parish. Nor does it grow more grain, with the exception, perhaps, 
of a little barley, than is sufficient for the consumption of the in- 
habitants, and the use ofthe farmer's establishments. There may 
be about L. 1000 worth of potatoes sent out of the parish yearly, 
and L. 500 worth of hay. These sums, with the addition of some- 
what more than L. 100 from the timber and copse-wood cut, may 
probably be conceived as the whole produce of the parish, not con- 
sumed or used in itself. The rental of the parish may amount to 
between L. 4000 and L. 5000, nine-tenths of which is drawn by 



ROW. 79 

Sir James Colquhoun — who probably receives upwards of L. 1 500 
additional arising from the feus in Helensburgh and the landward 
part of the parish. 

There are no manufactures or public works in the parish, and 
consequently a great want of employment for the many individu- 
als in Helensburgh, whose labours are but partially required in the 
neighbourhood. There are a few coasting and coal vessels, but 
these are inconsiderable in number. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 

The only town in the parish is Helensburgh, a rapidly increas- 
ing watering-place. It was founded by the first Sir James Col- 
quhoun, and was named in honour of his wife Lady Helen Suther- 
land. It was created a burgh of barony by charter in the year 
1802, and has a provost, two bailies, and four councillors. It 
has the privilege of holding a weekly market and four annual fairs. 
There is a small and incommodious pier, principally used by the 
steam-boats, of which several sail daily to Glasgow. There is also 
a daily post from Dumbarton and Greenock. The turnpike road 
from Dumbarton to Arrochar traverses the parish for about sixteen 
miles. A new line of road from Helensburgh across the hill to 
Luss and Balloch ferry, affords an easy communication with these 
places. 

Ecclesiastical State. — The greater part of this parish was at one 
time included in the older parish of Roseneath, and an appendage 
of the Abbey of Paisley. The remainder of it was an annexation 
from the old parish of Cardross, which formerly stretched along 
Glenfruin, and crossed at the top of the glen to the shore of the 
upper part of Gareloch, and also to a part of the coast of Loch- 
Long. Before the formation of this parish, the Presbytery of 
Dumbarton, the General Assembly, and the Commissioners for 
planting of Kirks, took various plans into consideration from the 
year 1639 and following years, for the purpose, not only of reme- 
dying the inconveniences arising from the extent and anomalous 
boundaries of Roseneath and Cardross, but also for making the 
new parish of Row from a part of both. In 1643, Cardross received 
lands from Roseneath towards the west as far as its present boundary, 
and gave up in exchange Glenfruin and the lands on the shores 
of Lochs Long and Gare. And in 1648 the boundaries of the new 
parish of Row were finally settled, and a deed of erection for the 
church was procured and immediately acted upon. In this year 
also Mr Archibald McLean, the first minibter, was translated to 



80 DUMBABTONSHIRE. 

it from the parish of Kingarth. It appears that the formation of 
this parish was mainly or rather wholly owing to the laird of Ar- 
diucaple, who generously built the church at his own expense, be- 
sides giving land for it and for the glebe. Whether the situation 
of the church was ever a convenient one for the inhabitants is 
more than questionable, from its position on the western skirts of 
the parish, and its being twelve miles from its northern termination. 
Now, however, that the burgh of Helensburgh and its immediate 
neighbourhood have a population of about 1600, and those at the 
distance of between two and three miles from the church, there 
can be no doubt as to its present inconvenient locality. The 
present church was built in 17Gd, and an addition made to it in 
1827. There are nearly 700 sittings, the larger portion of which 
are common. The present manse was built in 1829. The glebe 
contains about 10 acres, and is worth L. 20 per annum. The 
amount of stipend is 98 bolls of meal, and L. 55, including com- 
munion elements. Its average for the last six years has been 
L.136, 5s. lid. 

Last summer a church in connection with the Establishment 
was built at Gareloch -head, about six miles from the parish church. 
It must, however, continue for some time merely a preaching sta- 
tion, in consequence of a want of on endowment, and the difficulty 
of obtaining a bond for the stipend of an ordained minister. It is, 
however, an essential blessing to that district of the parish, and is 
a gratifying memorial of the liberality of many of the generous 
feuars in the parish, by whose large subscriptions it was chiefly 
built. 

There is one place of worship in Helensburgh in connection 
with the Old Light Burghers, and another in connection with the 
Independents. The stipend of both of the ministers arises from 
the seat-rents and collections on Sabbaths. That of the first 
amounts to L. 100, and of the second to L. 70. The number of 
communicants in the Established Church amounts to 600 ; that 
of the Old Light Burghers from this and the neighbouring parishes 
of Cardross and Roseneath, amounts to 115; those of the Inde- 
pendents to 32. 

Education. — There are at present 8 schools in the parish. Of 
these, one is the parochial school, situated near the church of Row. 
The salary of the teacher amounts to L. 36; and the school fees 
average about L. 30. Two of the remaining ones are endowed 
each with L. 10 annually, arising from a piece of land in Glen- 



ROW. 81 

fruin, mortified for this purposeaboutseventy years ago by Mr Glen of 
Portincaple. Three others are assisted with yearly donations, and 
in one of them sewing and knitting alone are taught The re- 
maining two are wholly unassisted, and one of them is iii a great 
measure a boarding establishment There is no part of the pa- 
rish so far from some one of the schools as to feel any serious in- 
convenience from its distance from the means of education, and 
the consequence is that there is not perhaps a single individual 
born in the parish and upwards of ten years of age, who cannot 
read. There are, however, a few grown persons, that have come to 
reside in the parish who cannot read. 

There is a public library in Helensburgh of considerable extent, 
and a congVegational one connected with the Established Church, 
formed about three years ago. 

Savings Bank. — A savings bank has been established for some 
years in Helensburgh. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — At present, there are 26 individuals 
upon the regular poor's roll. Of these, 4 are orphans and one 
insane. But there are almost alwayl^ several individuals or families 
who receive occasional aid to a considerable extent The regu- 
lar poor receive from 6s. to L. 1 a quarter, according as their cir- 
cumstances and merits may require. The sum given annually to 
the regular and occasional poor, for some years, averages nearly 
L. 120. This amount is obtained without any assessment The 
ordinary Sabbath day collections yield about L. 80. The remainder 
is got from the rent of a few sittings let in behalf of the poor, from 
marriage and mortcloth dues, and from the interest arising from 
a small fund belonging to the poor. The expenditure, however, 
is now threatening to exceed the inconie, and must ere long do so, 
unless some means are taken to arrest the increase of the grow- 
ing number of paupers; and by far the most effectual means would 
be to introduce some public works, and curtail both the facilities 
and the places for dram -drinking. There is still a disposition on 
the part of the poor of a respectable character to refrain from ask- 
ing parochial aid, except under strong necessity. But with those 
of idle and intemperate habits there is scarcely a shadow of such 
delicacy either here or any where else. The dram-drinker has 
usually drowned every good feeling in his progress to poverty. 

There is a lock-up house in the parish. But there is no regu* 
lar jail, although there is frequent occasion for it for the visitors of 
the public houses, particularly for the drunken vagrants who visit 

DUMBARTON. F 



82 DUMDARTONSIIIRE, 

and linger about the parish in great numbers during the summer 
months, and are now also becoming very numerous at all seasons. 
Did those who are melted by their squalid wretchedne<(s, when 
they come to their doors, see how much of their charity is spent 
in whisky, it is probable that they would limit their benevolence 
of this kind, and bestow it upon the more deserving poor among 
themselves. 

Innsj Sfc. — There are about 30 public-houses in the parish, a 
far greater number than ought to have been licensed among a |k>- 
pulation of so inconsiderable an amount. Nine of them are on the 
Garelochside, where one or at most two would have been abun- 
dantly sufficient. Considering the rapidity with which habits of 
drunkenness are increasing everywhere, it is much to be wished 
that some efTectual means could be resorted to for checking this 
fearfully ruinous vice. Surely our courts of Justices have few things 
brought before them more worthy of their serious consideration 
than the licensing of public houses, many of which are unquestion- 
ably public nuisances, as well as scenes of great degradation. It 
would be a bitter insult to many neighbourhoods to allege that 
they require as many tippling-houses as are actually thrust in 
among them, and that too with the concurrence of a court of grave 
deliberators, who have both law and conscience on their side in 
restricting the number of these pest-houses. 

Fuel. — In several of the farm-houses peats are still burnt, but 
coal is now becoming more common even in them, and it is the 
only fuel burnt in Helensburgh and the numerous villas along the 
Loch side. The coal is usually brought from the neighbourhood 
of Glasgow, though occasionally a little of it is brought from the 
Ayrshire coast. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
This parish has undergone very considerable changes since the 

last Statistical account was written. The extent of land under 
wood has been a good deal increased, especially on the estate of 
Ardincaple. The extent of cultivation is greatly enlarged. The 
system of husbandry is much improved, and the fertility of the soil 
much increased. Helensburgh, from being a village with 100 in- 
habitants, is now a town with many excellent houses, and a popu- 
lation of 1400 people. The Garelochside, instead of having x)nly 
a few farm and cot-houses along it, is now studded with many taste- 
ful villas, and ornamented shrubberies and gardens. The eight heri- 
tors among whom the parish was divided are now dwindled down to 



CARDROSS. 83 

two, the possessions of the other six having been added to the large 
and beautiful estates of Luss. The two schools, on the contrary, 
have been increased to eight, and the population of the parish had 
been multiplied from 1000 to about 2600. 1 he Gaelic is less 
spoken than it then was ; but the inns and tippling-houses have 
been increased from 1 1 to about 30. In consequence of the fre- 
quent daily communications by steam, and the many respectable 
and well educated families that now reside here during the summer 
months, especially, the manners and habits of the parishioners must 
have undergone a considerable change ; but it may be a question 
whether the more simple, and in some respects, at least, the more 
religious habits of the olden mce, have received any adequate equi- 
valent from those of a more modern growth. 

January 1839. 



PARISH OF CARDROSS. 

PRESBYTERY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. WILLIAM DUNN, MINISTER.* 



I. — Topography and Natural IIistoky. 
Name. — The parish of Cardross derives its name from the 
ancient site of its church, on the point formed by the rivers Leven 
and Clyde. Ross, " the point,** Car^ " of the muirish ridge,** is 
a purely Celtic etymology? probably not inappropriate to the ori- 
ginal aspect of the place, and borne out by the analogy of other 
names in the vicinity. 

Extenty Sfc, — Bounded on the south by the Clyde, its modern 
extent stretches westward from that point along the shores of the 
Clyde, until it joins the parish of Row, near Helensburgh. On 
the north, its boundary with Luss and Bonhill parishes follows the 
ridge of hills in an easterly direction, till above Kenton it descends 
upon the Leven, which river forms its eastern limit. Its greatest 
length is 8 miles, and its breadth varies from 1^ to 3 miles, giving 
a surface of about 16 square miles. 

• The Rev. Archibald Wilson, the late Incumbent, having been in infirm health, 
the foUowing account of the parish of Cardross was drawn up, at his request, by 
James Dennistoun of Dennistoun, Esq. 



84 DUMBARTONSHIUE. 

Surface. — The superficial character of the ground does not ad- 
mit of much variety, rising on either hand from the Clyde and 
the Leven by a gradual ascent The ridge thus formed does not 
present much irregularity, and is not intersected by any valleys of 
importance, nor by any considerable streams or lakes. Its greatest 
elevation, at the summits of the Kiliter and Carman, is 943 feet. 
In tracing the shores of the Clyde, we find extensive banks of blue 
adhesive clayj stretching more than half across the bed of the river, 
which is from one to two miles wide. They are covered with a 
few inches of sand interspersed with shingly stones, and are over- 
flowed at high water. By judicious embankments a large portion 
of this unprofitable surface might be gained and improved. The 
only remarkable feature on this coast is Ardmore, "the great pro- 
montory," which forms a conspicuous object in the Frith. Ori- , 
ginally an insulated rock in the river, the gradually receding waters 
have left it surrounded by a considerable flat, and united to the 
mainland by a narrow isthmus. The rock is nearly circular, rising 
precipitously about 40 feet, and afibrding on the top a table of 
good soil. It is a muddy red breccia or puddingstone, imbedding 
rounded pebbles chiefly of quartz, being the same formation'with 
the nearest point of the Kiliter range, from which it is distant 
about half a-mile. This head-land may be considered the limit of 
the river Clyde on the northern shore, as the Frith here suddenly 
doubles in breadth, and assumes the character of an arm of the sea 
Geology. — The geological character of this parish belongs to the 
secondary formation. The predominating rock is freestone, which 
towards the east end is of a reddish colour and friable quality. At 
Keppoch it occurs of a bluish gray colour and better description, 
in contact with the breccia of the Kiliter, which we have already 
described. It is remarkable that both of these run in parallel lines 
or dikes to the north- eastward ; the former appearing at TulH- 
chewan, Balloch, and Buchanan, while the latter can easily be 
traced from Ardmore, by the Kiliter and Inchmurrin, to Balmaha. 
On the north-western side of the Kiliter, we find a considerable 
dike of jasper, of a coarse hard quality, interposed between the 
breccia and the sandstone, the latter of which again appears on the 
estate of CamisEskan, containing veins of limestone. This last 
occurs in the glens, and has occasionally been worked; but its ad- 
mixture with sand and magnesian earth renders it better for the pur- 
poses of building than for manure. 

Soil — The soil is generally of a light gravelly description. 



CARDROBS. 



85 



sparingly covered with vegetable mould. This is particularly the 
case towards the shores of the Clyde, where, in some instances, it 
is thinly strewn upon the rock. On the higher land ii becomes 
deeper, and often rests upon till. The hills present a surface of 
elevated moor, rarely interrupted by moss or rock, a considerable 
part of which might be rendered arable. The vale of Leven con- 
sists of a channelly alluvial soil, of snificient depth and fertile qua- 
lity. 

Climate, — The climate is healthy, and free from predisposing 
tendency to any particular diseases. It partakes of the same ge. 
neral character which is observable over the soulli-west coast of 
Scotland, being mild arid humid, with frequent showers rather 
than heavy rains. Frost is seldom severe or long-continued, and 
heavy falls of snow are almost unknown. The annexed table, 
constructed from careful observntion by Mr Dunlop of Keppoch, 
will afford a view of the weather for the seven years from 1826 to 
i832.» 



BimmiMr 


I'herm 


umi-wr. 


WiiiJs. 


U«.Ih«- 




Yan. 


1 




1 


! 


2 


2 


2 
z 


2 


e 

'3 


k 


■/= 




1826 




a 




is 


■17 


78 


l.ltl 


111 


■m 


nu 


19S 


m 


1827 


wm 


77 


19 


■•i'i 


HR 


i,>.1 


ii-1 


MH 


IN7 


124 


.VI 


1828 




28,Ws 


Rl 


•23 


*l 


Hf 


l"7 


HT 


19 


l<>4 


117 


,=■^1 


IflSO 


»S 




76 


ai 




















a 


29tWi 


7G 










m 










IS3I 




7!) 




as 


!in 


I.W 


(iH 


rfi 


l»2 


[lli 


^7 


1832 


*v3 


•^^ 


76 


■it 


m 


02 


1(>J 


4^) 


V 


ItW 





11. — Civil History. 

No general history of this parish has been given t^t the public. 
There have, however, been compiled two sbitistical accounts of 
Dumbartonsbire,-from which much information applicable to Car- 
dross, may be collected. The former of these was drawn up bv 
Mr David Ure for the Board of Agriculture in 1794; the other 
was. published in 1611, and was the Joint production of the Re- 
verend Andrew White, minister of Kilmarnock, and the Very llo- 
verend Principal Macfarlan of the University of Glasgow. The 
localities of the parish may also be illustrated from the map of the 
county as surveyed by Mr John Wood in 1818. 

Situated at a distance from the capital, and from all the usual 
royal residences, as well as from the ceaseless wars that ravaged 

* Mr DuiilupN tabic siiicf 1832 iirewnts very aimilar tctuIIs, and reed nut Ins 
added. 



86 DUMBARTONSHIRF. 

the border counties, Dumbartonshire was seldom agitated by the 
events that belong to the page of national history. To the parish 
of Cardross this want of historic interest belongs in a remarkable 
degree, as it rarely was the scene even of those petty struggles, 
by which rival chiefs of robber clans occasionally disturbed the 
peace of the neighbourhood. Its peasantry were not unfrequently 
visited by these mountain marauders, at the expense of their cattle 
and stock of all sorts, but their pacific habits prevented them alike 
from defence and retaliation upon their lawless visitors. It is, 
therefore, from family records and private incidents that the course 
of events in this parish during past ages must be traced; and 
among these the genealogist will find enough to reward his re- 
searches. 

Eminent Men, — The families particularly worthy of notice are 
those of Dennistoun of Dennistoun, Spreul of Dalquhum, Napier 
of Kllmahew, Bontine of Ardoch, Noble of Ardardan, and Smol- 
lett of Bonhill.* The last has been illustrated by Sir James 
Smollett, a commissioner for the union in 1707^ and a politician 
of considerable adroitness; and still more by his grandson, Dr 
Tobias Smollett, one of the greatest names in Scottish literature. 
A Tuscan column connects his memory with his native vale, and 
an authentic memoir, prefixed to Dr Anderson's edition of his 
works, will supply to his admirers those particulars of his life, 
which want of space compels us here to omit* No portrait of 
either of these distinguished men is found in the possession of 
their representative, and unfortunately the family papers contain 
very few remains of the author of Roderick Random. The family 
of Mr Dunlop of Keppoch, although recently settled in Dumbar- 
tonshire, has given to the Church and universities of Scotland, a 
perhaps unexampled succession of distinguished ornaments. Prin- 
cipal Carstairs was nearly related to them by marriage, and Mr 
Dunlop possesses many of his original papers, which are not no- 
ticed in the published selection. He also has at Keppoch an ori- 
ginal portrait of Carstairs, and the thumbikins by which he was 
tortured.f 

Antiquities. — Did our limits permit us to enter at large upon 

• The families of Dennistoun, and Spreul, and Napier have now left the parish ; 
and to this list maybe added Campbell of ('amis Eskan, Geils of Geilstoun, and 
Buchanan of Drumhead. 

t From the correspondence of Principal Dunlop, the curious fact appears, thut in 
the name of the Darien Company, he bargained with the surrounding proprietors to 
retain Keppoch Bay as the harbour for their shipping. 



CARDIIOSS. 87 

the history of landed property, and the genealogies of its proprie- 
tors, we might collect much to interest the lovers of such details : 
but in the absence of other striking objects of antiquity, we shall 
notice only the hunting-seat of King Robert Bruce, at which he 
spent the close of his glorious life, and where he died of leprosy 
in 1329. The wooded knoll, at the first milestone from Dum- 
barton along the Cardross road, bears the name of Castlehill, al- 
though there have not been any ruins visible in the memory of 
persons now alive. Retiring from the cares of government, this 
chivalrous monarch here sought the relaxation of the chase, va- 
ried by excursions on the water, for both of which the spot was 
well adapted, while it was protected by the neighbouring fort of 
Dumbarton. The interest which attaches to the favourite resi- 
dence of the Bruce is enhanced by the preservation, in the ac- 
counts of the high chamberlain, of many notices exhibiting the 
domestic arrangements of a royal abode in 1328. These have 
been given to the public in their original form, in the appendixes 
to Tytler's History of Scotland, Vol. ii. and to Pinkerton's History 
Vol. ii. The following specimens will be intelligible to the gene- 
ral reader : — To green olive oil for painting the royal chamber, 
10s. ; to chalk for painting it, 6d. ; to a chalder of lime for white- 
washing it, 8s. ; to tin nails and glass for the windows, 3s. 4d. ; 
to seeds for the orchard, Is. 6d. ; to a house for the falcons, 2s. ; 
to a net for fish, 40s. ; to bringing the King's great ship from 
Tarbat, 28s. ; to two masts for the ships, 8s. ; to conveying Peter 
the fool to Tarbart, Is. 6d. * 

Modern Buildings, — The mansion-houses in the parish of Car- 
dross do not present any remarkable features ; those of Ardoch and 
Kilmahew, now abandoned, are indifferent specimens of the old 
Scottish country house ; that of Camis Eskan has grown, by fre- 
quent additions, into a commodious residence ; those of Keppoch 
and Ardmore are modern and comfortable buildings. Bloomhill 
House, recently built, the seat of Alexander Ferrier, Esq. is per- 
haps the most beautiful villa on the Clyde. 

Parochial Registers. — The only parochial registers are those of 
births and marriages, which have been preserved since 1687. 

III. — Population. 
The increase of population from 1821 to 1831, as exhibited by 

• It is almost unnecessary to remark, that these sums arc in Scottish money, being 
in value one-twelfth part of the corresponding sums in the Sterling coin. The Tarbart 
here meant is on Lochfyne. 



88 



DUMBAUTONSHIRE. 



the government census, is 491. It has taken place chiefly in the 
villages of Ronton and Bridgend ; but the hamlet of Cardross has, 
during the same period, received considerable accessions. The 
return of 1831 may be thus classified : 

Houses. Families. Moles. Females. Totol persons. 



Renton, 

Bridffend, 

Landward, 



185 

35 

154 



349 
134 
190 



896 
286 
555 



902 
349 
546 



I860 

635 

1101 



Total, 374 673 1739 1857 3SC6 

From 1824 to 1831 inclusive, the yearly average of registered 
births was 64? ; of marriages, 25?. No register of deaths is kept 
The following table exhibits the only return of ages and occupa- 
tions, taken up in 1831. 

Number of illegitimate births in the parish during the three 
years preceding 1839, 26. 



Occopations of families. 



Males Superan. Female 

above 20. males. servants. 

Renton, 403 29 21 

Bridgend, 124 12 14 

Landward, 283 22 78 



Agricul- 
ture. 

53" 

7 
95 



Trade. 

174 
63 
30 



Other occu- 
pations. 

15 
64 
65 



Total, 810 63 113 155 267 251 

No peers are landholders in this parish ; the landed proprietors 
are 13» and most of them resident. All their rentals are above 
L. 50 a- year. 

Character of the People^ §*c. — No Gaelic has been spoken in 
the parish for some generations past The people generally are 
m circumstances of comfort ; and the influx of strangers to the 
sea coast, and to the works on the Leven, has introduced a taste 
for dress not known in the more remote parts of Scotland. On 
the whole, they are contented and respectable, and it is hoped 
their character is improving. In particular, illicit distillation, for- 
merly the bane of the district, has entirely ceased. 

IV. — Industry. 
Agriculture. — 

Number of acres imperial, either cultivated or occasionally in tillage, about . 6500 

constantly waste or in pasture, about 
that might be cultivateid with profit, about 
under wood, about ..... 

The progress of agricultural improvement throughout this 
parish wa^, until lately, somewhat tardy. It is true that near 
Dumbarton were some small properties, belonging for several 
centuries to substantial burghers of that town, who, while they 



4000 

2000 

300 



CARDB0S8. 89 

spent upoD these the time they could spare from the pursuits of 
trade, brought aloog with them a share of its profits to aid in 
** subduing the soil." But, generally speaking, land was owned 
by lairds, whose scanty rentals gave them little opportunity for 
speculative ameliorations, and was occupied, in minute subdivisions, 
by a race of wretched cottars, whose utmost hope was to scourge 
out of their crofts a bare pittance for the support of their nume- 
rous families, after paying in kind the stipulated maiL In the 
absence of all demand for labour, nothing flourished but indolence 
and idleness ; and as the few necessaries of life were obtained 
chiefly by barter, the circulation of money was scarcely known. 
A slight change for the better succeeded the rebellion of 1745; 
but until the end of last century, the outlay of proprietors scarcely 
extended beyond the mains or home- farm ; and the system of small 
possessions was rarely disturbed. During the last forty years, how- 
ever, improvement has advanced with rapid strides. Several of 
the ancient landholders have increased their wealth from incidental 
sources, while others have sold their estates to persons possessing 
the means of turning them to better account The money which 
they have thus been enabled to spend on roads, inclosures, build- 
ings, and agriculture, has not only augmented the actual value of 
the soil, but has, by circulating through the district, laid the foun- 
dation of capital, which, rapidly accumulating from the annual re- 
turns of produce, has given to the tenantry the means of co-ope- 
rating with their landlords. Large tracts of waste land have thus 
been brought into tillage, while that which was formerly cultivated 
has been rendered infinitely more productive by draining, level- 
ling, and manuring.* The cottaries have been converted into 
farms ; the crofts into convenient fields : the use of drift sea-weed 
has either been superseded by lime and dung, produced in the 
farm-yards or imported from Greenock, or, where it is continued, 
it is purified by being rotted into composts. The ancient occu- 
piers, in order to make way for substantial tenants, have, from 
starving on their pendicles, been converted into day-labourers or 
artisans, and so enabled to earn a comfortable subsistence. Sub- 
stantial steadings have replaced the dry-stone hovels of this class, 
and begin to engraft upon the proverbial filth of Scotland habits 
of neatness and comfort. In these, as well as in many other re- 

• Draining, on the improved system, has been lately carried on to a large extent 
by Mr Campbell of Camis Eskan and other proprietors, and is now in very general 
ufe in the parish. 



I 



90 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

spects which cannot here be particularized, a great change has 
been progressively effected, and continues in each year to advance, 
on ever}' estate where either the high moorlands, or the neglected 
shores, present opportunity for extending the operations of the 
plough. In a few places, however, the inconvenience of small 
possessions, and occupiers destitute of capital and spirit, continues 
to be felt ; and in others, short leases, in which no order of culti- 
vation is enjoined, still permit the abuses of the old system. But 
most of the new tacks are drawn for nineteen years, and stipulate 
for the most approved rotation of crops, and in almost every in- 
stance for a fixed money- rent 

Live-Stock. — Although a considerable extent of the parish con- 
sists of moorland pasture, it is employed in grazing cattle or sheep 
purchased from the Western Highlands, rather than in breeding 
them. The low country is in many respects well adapted for dairy 
husbandry, although in very dry summers the grass on the light 
soils occasionally gives way. It has not, however, been much al- 
lotted to this object, although most of the tenants, to a certain 
extent, combine this branch of rural economy with their method 
of agriculture \ and more attention has lately been paid to it, by 
introducing animals of the finest breed from Ayrshire and other 
dairy districts, and by cultivating the most approved bulbous roots 
and green crops. The indigenous horses were of a small size, 
between the cart-horse and the Highland poney, and combining 
the faults of both. The race has been improved by a cross with 
the Clydesdale stock ; and those now bred in the district are of a 
serviceable quality, although, in so hilly a district, the judicious 
introduction of " a dash of blood'" might probably be of advantage. 
Stock of all sorts is improving, under the auspices of an agricul- 
tural association recently formed in the county, in connection with 
the Highland Society of Scotland. 

Woods. — The district of Dumbartonshire west of Leven is re- 
markably adapted for the growth of wood, particularly of oak, 
copse, and the evidence of various ancient charters attests that 
here were situated the principal forests of the Lennox. In Car- 
dross, however, the extent of natural wood is now not great, and 
until lately it has been too much neglected. The most thriving 
woods are on the estates of Dalquhurn and Camis Eskan, the lat- 
ter of which have been considerably extended by plantations chiefly 
of larch and fir, but into which oak has now been introduced. 
Some land has also been planted of late on the estates of Mildovan, 



CARDROSS. 91 

Kilmakewy Ardoch, and Kipperminsbock, but upon tbe whole 
planting bas not as yet been sufficiently attended to. 

Fisheries. — Tbe salmon-fisbings of tbe Leven were formerly of 
considerable value, but are now mucb fallen off. Tbey belong to 
tbe corporation of Dumbarton, and to Sir James Colquhoun of 
Luss, but tbey scarcely fall witbin this parish. The practice of 
fishing by stake-nets on the shores of the river was some years 
ago suppressed by a judgment of tbe Supreme Court ; but bag- 
nets have very lately been introduced in the open Frith below 
Ardmore, and promise to render very valuable salmon-fishings 
which have hitherto not been available to the proprietors. Of the 
yairs mentioned in the former Statistical Account of this parish, 
those of Ardmore and Colgrain are kept up, but they are no longer 
of any value beyond the casual supply of a few salmon or trouts. 

Manufactures. — The only manufactures of Cardross are those 
of Renton on the Leven, and consist of calico-printing and bleach- 
ing. These branches are carried on to a great extent along this 
river, whose pure water and powerful stream are'peculiarly adapted 
for them ; but as most of the works are situated in Bonhill, refer- 
ence is made to tbe notice of them contained in the account of 
that parish. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 

Market-Towns. — The only market-town in this district is Dum- 
barton, adjacent to the eastern extremity of this parish ; but there 
is a good deal of communication with those of Greenock and Port- 
Glasgow, on the other side of the Clyde, and a ready consump- 
tion is found for the produce of the western portion of the parish 
at the thriving watering village of Helensburgh. The villages are 
Renton, already mentioned as the site of a manufacturing popu- 
lation (which was founded in 1782 by Mrs Smollett of Bonhill, 
and named after her daughter-in-law Miss Renton of Lammerton,) 
and Bridgend, a suburb of Dumbarton. 

The turnpike roads are those leading from Dumbarton to Ren- 
ton, two and a-half miles, and to Helensburgh seven and a-balf 
miles. Along the former of these, coaches run in summer to Loch- 
lomond, but the only public communication towards the west is by 
the steam-boats on the Clyde. There are daily posts along both 
of these roads, the post-town being Dumbarton. The chief sta- 
tute labour roads lead from Cardross to Renton, and from Ardmore 
ferry to Balloch ferry, both of which are undergoing considerable 
improvements. 



92 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Ecclesiastical State. — The parish of Cardross did not originally 
extend along the Clyde, beyond the site of the modern church, 
but some detached lands in Glenfruin belonged to it. In 1643 
a new arrangement, under the sanction of the Commissioners for 
the plantation of kirks, assigned to this parish its present bounds, 
and threw Glenfruin into that of Row. The church was at the 
same time moved from the point opposite Dumbarton to its pre- 
sent situation, which is the most central that could be found. It 
contained about 450 sitters, and, being found too small, was, in 
1826, replaced by the present building, which was erected with 
considerable taste, and can accommodate above 800 persons. The 
average number of the congregation is from 750 to 800 ; of com- 
municants about 500. The Crown is patron, and the minister is 
titular of the teinds. The stipend amounts to 1 1^ chalders, besides 
an augmentation of three which was obtained in 1814, but which has 
never yet been followed up by a locality, chiefly on account of the 
difficulties arising out of the arrangement of the parish in 1643. 
The glebe contains 9^ acres of arable ground, and the manse is 
believed aboul; a century old. There is now a regular missionary 
connected with the Establishment, residing in Ronton. 

At Ronton is a chapel, in connection with the Associate Pres- 
bytery, with a congregation of about 400 in attendance on Divine 
worship: the minister has L. 120 a-year, with a manse and glebe. 
There is at Bridgend a congregation of the Relief body, of whom 
about 600 attend worship. The minister is understood to have a 
house and about L. 125 a-year. These salaries are paid by the 
respective congregations.* 

Societies. — The religious societies are, a Bible society, formerly 
drawing about L. 20 a-year, but which has not been in operation 
for the last two years ; and a Bible and Missionary Society at Ren- 
ton, the income of which is L. 30. There is now also a society 
connected with the four schemes of the General Assembly, and 
another for the promotion of Female Education in India. 

J5rfiica^io;i.— There is a parish school, of which the teacher 
draws about L. 34 of salary, and L. 24 of school fees, besides 
L. 15 as the average value of some ground; bear and money mor- 
tified in the seventeenth century by the Napiers of Kilmahew. 
His emoluments as clerk to the session, and to Mrs Moore's trust, 

* There are about 470 femilies nominally connected with the Established Church, 
and there arc about 270 families nominally connected with Dissenters and Seceders : 
these are almost entirely confined to the villages of Rcnton and Bridgend, which lie 
in the very confines of the parish, and upwards of three miles from the parish church. 
--(1839.) 



CARDROSS. 93 

may amount to L. 25 more. There are five private schools, the 
emoluments of which are derived from fees, and vary from L. 15 
to L. 70. The usual branches are taught, and at the parish 
school, the annual rate of fees is, for English reading, 10s. ; for 
writing, 12s. ; for arithmetic, 14s. ; and for Latin, 16s. There 
is, on the whole, a readiness to profit by these ample opportunities 
of education, and there are few persons who cannot read and write. 

Libraries, — Three libraries have been established : in Renton, 
a general subscription library, containing 1000 volumes, and a 
Sunday school library, consisting of 200 volumes ; at Geilstown, 
a general library for the landward district, lately established, and 
already possessing upwards of 400 volumes. 

Funds for Charity. — The poor of this parish have hitherto been 
supported without the aid of compulsory assessments. The weekly 
collections in the parish church amount on an average to from 
L. 100 to L. 120 a-year ; and there is received from proclamations 
of banns, mortcloth dues, and rent of church seats, a farther sum 
of about L. 15. The number of poor upon the session roll is 
about 70, who receive on an average about 6^d. a-week. When 
a deficiency of funds occurs, the heritors regularly come forward 
with voluntary contributions. In 1690, a legacy of L. 500 Ster- 
ling was bequeathed by Mrs Jane Moore, to be invested in land 
for behoof of the poor of that part of the parish of Cardross lying 
between Auchenfroe and Keppoch. It was applied to the purchase 
of Ballimenoch, the present yearly rent of which is L. 228; besides 
the dividend arising from about L. 1000 invested in the three per 
cent, consols, which was obtained a few years ago by the sale of 
the freehold superiority of the estate. The trustees are the mi- 
nister, heritors, and kirk-session. There are 28 paupers on the 
roll, among whom is divided L. 217. The ordinary expense of 
management is limited to the clerk's salary, of L. 7, 7s. 

In this parish there are no public charitable institutions, friendly 
societies, savings' banks, prisons, or fairs. Considerable exertions 
have been made to check the increase of public-houses, and, ex- 
cepting in Renton, the number is moderate. An ample supply 
of coals is brought down the Clyde, at a moderate expense of wa- 
ter carriage. 

On the whole, the parish of Cardross has made great advances 
in general improvement and prosperity since th6 former Statistical 
Account was drawn up, and may be reckoned one of the most 
beautiful on the Clyde. 

Revised FebruarT/ 1839. 



PARISH OF ARROCHAR. 

PRESBYTERY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. PETER PROUDFOOT, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 

Name. — Adopting the statement given in the former Statis- 
tical Account, Arrochar, formerly written Arrocher and Arro- 
quhar, " signifies a high or hilly country ; it is generally pro- 
nounced in the Gaelic language Arrar, which is a contraction of 
ard thir ; — ard signifying high, and thir a country." The name 
is very descriptive of the general appearance of the parish, which 
is high and mountainous, and presents very little low or arable 
ground. 

Extent^ Sfc. — The parish is about 15 miles in length, exclusive 
of the farms of Ardleish and Doune, which lie on the east side of 
Loch Lomond, and commencing about two miles beyond its most 
northern point, extend down its eastern shore five or six miles, and 
form the boundaries of the properties of Sir James Colquhoun of 
Luss, Bart, and His Grace the Duke of Montrose, and also of the 
counties of Dumbarton and Stirling. The mean breadth of the 
parish may be computed at 3 miles : and it contains a surface of 
somewhat more than 48 square miles. It is bounded on the east 
by Loch Lomond, the farms excepted which stretch down its 
eastern shore, which are bounded by the counties of Perth and 
Stirling ; on the south, by the water of Douglass and part of the 
parish of Luss ; on the west, by Loch Long, and part of Argyle- 
shire ; and on the north, by the parish of Strath fillan in Perthshire. 

Topographical Appearances. — Its form is peculiar; towards the 
upper and lower ends of the parish ; there is a considerable extent 
of mountainous country, while from Tarbet on Loch Lomond side, 
to Arrochar on Loch Long side, there is only a small isthmus of 
not more than a mile and three quarters. Ben Vorlich is the 
highest mountain in the parish. It is distinguished for the richness 
of its pasture, its rare and varied botanical productions, and rises 
about 3000 feet above the level of the sea. The parish is so moun- 
tainous, that jhere is only a small proportion of arable ground, not 
more than from 300 to 400 acres. 



AllKOCHAR. 95 

There are no caves that require any particular notice. Tradition 
says that there was one of considerable extent in Ben Vorlich, and 
another of smaller dimensions, on the farmofStuckindroin, thescene 
of some tragical event 

The extent of coast along Loch Lomond on the east is nearly 
14 miles, and on the west along Loch Long about 3 miles. The 
shores of Loch Lomond are sandy, flat, and occasionally rocky, with 
many most beautiful headlands. There are small bays at Cam- 
busnaglass. Parkin, Tarbet, Inveruglass, Ardvorlich ; and there 
are three islands in Loch Lomond, which may be considered as 
belonging to Arrochar. 

The climate is generally mild, but variable. Frosts, though occa- 
sionally severe, are seldom of long continuance. Snow seldom lies 
above a few days upon the low grounds. Colds in winter and 
spring are sometimes general, and then they usually assume the 
character of influenza ; inflammatory attacks were more frequent 
some years ago than at present, 'i'yphus fever occurs occasion- 
ally, but has been confined almost always to one family, and never 
extended to more than two families in any one season, for upwards 
of twenty years. 

Loch Lomond, the eastern boundary of the parish, is 24 miles 
io length, and in some places seven miles broad. From Lower 
Inveruglass, where the parish of Arrochar commences, up to near 
its northern point, it is of considerable depth. Opposite the point 
of Farkin, about a mile and a-half from Inveruglass, it is Q^ fa- 
thoms, a little farther north 80 fathoms deep ; for about a mile 
south of Tarbet, it is about 86 fathoms deep ; but about 2 miles north 
from it, opposite Alt Gary, it is 100 fathoms, which probably is its 
greatest depth ; beyond that, its depth gradually diminishes to its 
northern end. It is almost unnecessary to add, that the scenery 
of Loch Lomond is singularly bold and beautiful, and for extent, 
variety, and magnificence, ia not perhaps equalled or surpassed by 
any Lake in Great Britain. Loch Long, which constitutes part 
of the western boundary, is from 20 to 22 miles in length, and at 
some parts may be about 2 miles in breadth. Its depth in the 
immediate neighbourhood of Arrochar may be stated from 15 to 
20 fathoms. Its shores are occasionally sandy, but their general 
character is rocky. There are several magnificent points in Loch 
Long, the opening of Loch Goil, and the bold and splendid sce- 
nery towards the head of Loch Long, are objects of general attrac- 
tion and admiration. 

There are no rivers in the parish that require particular notice. 



96 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

The water of Falloch, which rises and falls into Loch Lomond at 
its head, — of Inveruglass, which runs into Loch Lomond at Up- 
per Inveruglass,— of Douglass, which enters the same at Lower 
Inveruglass, with the water of Linnhe that flows into the head of 
Loch Long, — are not remarkable for either lengthy depth, or 
breadth. There are several small but beautiful cascades in the 
parish. 

Geology and Mineralogy, — Except where in one or two places it 
is traversed by a whin dike, mica slate is the only rock formation of 
the parish, — extending from the sea level to the summit of the high- 
est hills; the schistose laminae are usually in parallel layers; but 
the section made by the new road along Loch Lomond to the 
foot of Glen Falloch presents them in every variety of contortion. 
Nor can there be any where a better field for studying the pecu- 
liarities of this primary rock so prevalent in the mountainous re- 
gions of our country. So far as we are able to judge, there are 
no indications of minerals, iron excepted ; and these are but few 
and not very distinctly marked. 

Zoology. — White hares and ptarmigan are to be met with on 
Ben Vorlich. Several of the farms rear sheep of excellent quali- 
ty. In Loch Lomond, salmon, salmon -trout, pike, perch, powans, 
usually called fresh-water herrings, and eels, are to be met with. 
In Loch Long, there are salmon, salmon-trout, cod, sethe, lythe, 
ling, whitings, skate, halibut, flounders, soles, with herrings in their 
seasons, and almost all the varieties of white fish. Muscles are 
found in great abundance towards the head of Loch Long, oysters 
but in small quantities, limpets, wilks, buckies, spout-fish ; but 
crab-fish or partans are seldom met with, in any degree of per- 
fection. 

Caterpillars are occasionally troublesome in gardens, and several 
years ago they attacked, in immense numbers, and with great vo- 
racity, the oak woods ; and in many places the foliage was utterly 
destroyed. 

Botany, — On Ben Vorlich, the following are among the more 
interesting plants : 

Stat ice armeria Sazifraga stellata Oxyria rcniformis 

Juncus biglumis _^_ oppositifolia Circa'a alpina, vars. « and 

■ trif{rdinis hypnotdes, var. ft. Hook. 

trifidus • platypetala Lysiraachia vulgaris 

Luzula spicatu Hieracium alpinum Lobelia DortmanDa 

Vaccinium uliginosum Gnapbalium supinum Lythrum salicaria 

Epilobiutn alsiiiifolium Carex stricta Solidago virgaurea 

Draba incana Rhodiola rosea Hypericum Androsapmum 

Saxifraga nivalis Cnicus heterophyllus I'arnassia palustris 
» nizoides 



ARROCHAR« 97 

II.— Civil History. 

Ijand-owners. — Sir James Colquhoun of Luss, Bart, is proprie- 
tor of almost the whole parish. The only other (and the onli/ re- 
sidmt proprietor) is John M*Murrich, Esq. of Stuckgoun, whose 
property, though not extensive, is one of singular beauty and value. 

Parochial Registers, — There are no parochial registers of a more 
remote date than 176]. They are not voluminous, and have not 
been particularly well kept 

Within these few years a number of houses have been erected 
for sea-bathing quarters; for which Arrochar presents excellent 
opportunities. 

III. — Population. 

The popuUition of Arrochar in 1755 amounted to 466 

1791, . 379 

1831, 334 males, 226 females. 
Total 560. 

The population has, of late, increased considerably. This arises 
from Arrochar having been of late years divided into smaller farms, 
and from the number of feus that have been taken. So lately as 
1817, the land was almost all in the hands of one individual. 

The yearly average of births for seven years may be stated at 
12, marriages 3. No register of deaths has been regularly kept. 

Number of persons under 15 years of age, as nearly as can be ascertained, 147 

from 15 to 30, . .54 

30 50, . . .143 

50 70, . .50 

70 and upwards, . . .14 

There are 105 families ; 96 inhabited houses, and 6 uninhabited 
houses, at least for one part of the year ; but three of these are 
usually occupied during the summer season. There are no fatuous, 
deaf, blind, or dumb persons in the parish. 

English and Gaelic are generally understood ; but while there 
are no individuals that cannot speak and understand English, there 
is a considerable number that have no acquaintance with Gaelic. 
Within the last forty years, Gaelic has rapidly lost ground, and will, 
ere long, as in other pjirts of Dumbartonshire^ be known here only 
as a matter of history. 

The inhabitants are shrewd, moral, and professedly religious 
Poaching in game and salmon fisheries are now almost unknown. 

IV. — Industry. 
There are fourteen farmers. The servants are generally shep- 
herds, though they also assist in the ordinary work about the farm, 
and may amount to about 16. Cottars are occasionally but not 
permanently employed in farming occupations. There are no 

DUMBARTON. G 



98 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

manufactures. There are 3 grocers, 7 public-houses, 5 of which 
are worse than useless, and ought to be abolished ; but two are ne- 
cessary, — the inns at Tarbet and Arrochar. There are 3 tailors, 
6 shoemakers, 3 smiths, one master wright with 2 men. 23 in- 
dividuals are employed in the herring-fishing. 

4srncii//i£r^.— The parish consists of 31,011 English or 24,809 
Scotch acres. There may be from 300 to 400 acres under 
constant or occasional cultivation. It does not appear that more 
ground could be cultivated with advantage. The number of acres 
under natural wood must be very considerable ; but the amount has 
not been ascertained. The oak woods are regularly thinned, and 
are in good order. 

Bent — The average rent of arable ground may be stated at 
L. 1, 10s. per acre. The average rent of grazing is L. 2 for an ox 
or cow ; ewe or full-grown sheep, 2s. 6d. to 3s. 

fVaffeSy Sfc. — Farm- servant's wages may be stated at L. 20 per 
annum. Labourer's wages vary from 9s. to 12s. per week; wrights 
and masons, 1 5s. and 16s. per week. The sheep are of the black- 
faced breed. Cattle are either reared upon the ground, or brought 
when young from Argyleshire. 

John M*Murrich of Stuckgoun has reclaimed about 50 acres. 
The general duration of leases is nine years. Farm buildings and 
enclosures are capable of considerable improvement. There are 
no mines ; but there are two small whinstone quarries, formed from 
the whinstone dike that stretches from Loch Lomond to Loch 
Long. 

Fisheries, — Herring fishing employs 23 hands, and is some- 
times pursued with great success. Herrings are usually in Loch 
Long towards the beginning of June, and are in great perfec- 
tion from the end of that month till the middle or end of July. 
When the fishing fails on Loch Long, the fishermen go to Loch- 
fine, and follow the occupation till the end of the season, in the 
neighbourhood of Tarbert, and from Tarbert they go onwards to 
the vicinity of Campbelton. Each boat upon an average will clear 
from L. 30 to L. 60. There are usually three hands in an ordi- 
nary sized wherry. 

Produce, — The annual thinning and felling of woods may yield 
about L. 300; of fisheries, L. 320. The amount of sown produce the 
writer has been unable to ascertain. Small quantities of kelp were 
manufactured some years ago; but, from not affording a remunerat- 
ing price, the manufacture has been abandoned. 



ARKOCIIAR. 99 

Navigation. — No vessels of larger size beloDg to the inhabi- 
tants than small fishing-boats. A steam-boat regularly plies from 
Glasgow to Arrochar, during the summer months, and vessels with 
coals and lime from Glasgow and Ireland come to Loch Long 
Head ; and wool is frequently forwarded from this to the Liverpool 
market. 

V. — Parochial £conomy. 

Market-'Tcwns. — No market-town in the parish. The nearest 
market-towns are Helensburgh and Dumbarton, — the one seven- 
teen miles and a quarter, and the other twenty-two miles distant. 
There are two small villages or clachans. * 

Means of Communication. — There are a daily post, and two car- 
riers weekly. Steam -boats ply regularly, both on Loch Lomond and 
Loch Long during the summer months, commencing towards the 
middle of May, and ceasing about the middle or end of October. 
There are no mail or heavy coaches. But a coach runs for about 
three months in summer, every lawful day, from Inverary in the 
morning to Tarbet, and from Tarbet in the afternoon to Inver- 
ary. Chaises, gigs, and carts can at all seasons be readily pro- 
cured at Tarbet or Arrochar inns. 

The roads, with the exception of two miles on Loch Long side, 
are excellent The roads on Loch Lomond side are about fif- 
teen miles in length, and present singularly beautiful and splendid 
scenery. Bridges, with one exception, are in good repair. 

Ecclesiastical State, — The church is situated rather at a comer 
of the parish ; but the great body of the parishioners are at no 
great distance ; some families are at the distance, however, of 
ten or twelve miles. The church was built in 1733, and will soon 
require a general repair. It is seated for about 300. The sittings 
are all free. The manse was built in 1837, and is an excellent 
house. The glebe contains about nineteen acres; but, with the ex- 
ception of little more than three acres, is all hill ground, and of in- 
ferior quality. It is not worth more than L. 9 annually. The 
stipend is L. 231, with 12 bolls meal. This also includes com- 
munion elements. The teinds are exhausted. There are no go- 
vernment churches, no chapels of ease, no catechists, no Dissent- 
ing chapels, and no Dissenters within the parish. 

Divine service is exceedingly well attended. In summer, the 
church is generally crowded to overflowing, and is felt then to be 
much too small ; and, in the winter, when the weather is favour- 
able, it is filled. Probable average of communicants, 216. No 



100 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

religious societies; butcoUections are occasionally made for religious 
purposes, which have always been liberal. 

Education. — There are one parochial, one privately endowed 
school, and a charity sewing school, to the teacher of which the Society 
in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge gives a salary of 
L. 4 annually. In the parochial school, the ordinary branches of 
education are taught. In the private, in addition to these, practical 
mathematics, geography, Latin, and Greek are taught The pa- 
rochial teacher enjoys the maximum salary, and also receives L. 5 
or L. 6 out of the bishop's lands, Dunkeld. The school fees must 
for sAiumberof years have been very small. In the parochial school, 
the fees are, for reading, ds. per quarter ; reading and writing, 4s. ; 
reading, writing, and arithmetic, 5s. The teacher has the legal 
accommodations. 

The salary of the private teacher is L. 25 annually, which is 
paid by John M^Murrich, Esq. of Stuckgoun, a gentleman to 
whom the parish of Arrochar is under no common obligations. 
The fees in this school are, reading, 2s. 6d. ; reading and writing, 
ds. ; reading, writing, and arithmetic, ds. 6d. ; and Latin, 5s. per 
quarter. Fees may amount annually to betwixt L.15 and L.20. 

There are no persons in the parish between the ages of six and 
fifteen, that cannot read and write. There are three families to- 
wards the head of the parish, whose children can neither be bene- 
fited by the parochial nor private school. 

Literature. — There is a small parochial library. No Friendly 
Societies, and no Savings Banks. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — Nine may be stated as the average 
number of the poor. The largest sum given, and that to a pauper, 
who is perfectly helpless, is L. 15 ; the lowest, L. 1. Collections 
for the poor average for several years, L. 30. These, with in- 
terest of money, L. 6, 6s., marriage and mortcloth dues of L. 2 
per annum, have always proved sufficient for the support of the 
poor. For repairs upon houses allotted to the poor, funeral ex- 
penses, &c. the sum of L. 48, 6s. 2^d. was distributed last year ; 
considerably the highest sum that was ever in one year expended 
for the support of the poor. There have been some remarkable 
instances of reluctance on the part of the poor to receive paro- 
chial aid. The old church officer, who was for upwards of two 
years confined to bed, had the utmost horror of coming upon the 
poor^S'box ; and, from his salary being continued, from marriage 
dues, from the kindness of the benevolent, and from that disposi- 



ARROCHAR. 101 

tion which was iDdicated by his own significant expression, ^^ Pro- 
vidence is large^ and I'll no come upon the poor's hox^' — he 
lived and died without receiving a farthing from the session, and he 
had safely husbanded, for many a long day, a guinea to pay for his 
coffin. It is to be feared that the feeling so remarkably exhibited 
by him is gradually^ if not rapidly^ diminishing. 

/iti», Sfc — There are two inns, one at Tarbet, which is too well 
known to require any favourable notice ; another at Arrochar, 
which has been lately built and opened, and is also under excel* 
lent management These are necessary for the accommodation 
of travellers, who come from all quarters to visit the splendid and 
beautiful scenery of Inverary, Glencroe, Loch Long, Lochlomond, 
and Loch Kettwrin. There are five other public-houses, which, 
from the facilities they present, have a most pernicious influence, 
inducing and maintaining habits of intemperance. It were well for 
the interests of the community that these were instantly and for 
ever put down. 

. FurL — Coal is the common fuel, — which is usually shipped at 
the Broomielaw. The average price, at present, may be stated at 
86. 6d« the 12 cwt., carriage included. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
Within the last twenty years, the population has considerably 
increased ; and if the system of feuing is continued, there is every 
probability that a few years only will elapse, when Arrochar will 
become much more extended as a watering-place than it is at pre- 
sent The' character of the people, during the same period, has 
also considerably improved. A better conducted system of edu* 
cation, based upon Scriptural principles, has been introduced : and 
the establishment of a Sabbath school, which has been in existence 
for upwards of twenty years, and the regular church-going habits 
of the people, have, it is hoped, been attended with the most bene- 
ficial consequences. 

March 1839. 



PARISH OF ROSENEATH. 

PRESBYTERY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. ROBERT STORY, MINISTER. 



L — Topography and Natural History. 
Name.'^'TuE name is found variously written in documents of 

different ages ; but latterly it is generally spelt Rosneath.* There 
can be no doubt as to the meaning of the first syllable Rosj con- 
fessedly a Celtic word, signifying a point, — a generic term simply, 
and not expressive of the elevation or depression, or of any parti- 
cular shape of the headland to which it refers. Respecting the 
adjunct, neath, however, etymologists widely differ. Some derive 
the name from Bhos-neth, the promontory or peninsula of the small 
dingle ; and such an origin is probable from the fact, that in the 
southern extremity, there is a dingle, which, to persons approach- 
ing it from the east or west, must always have presented a strik- 
ing feature in the aspect of the peninsula. Nothing could be more 
natural to the aboriginal Celts, emerging from the vast glens of 
the contiguous mountains of Cowal, than the exclamation, this 
is the little dingle! — and if tradition, tracing the route of the 
Cambuskenneth pilgrims to Icolmkill, be correct in representing 
Killcreggan, (in the immediate vicinity of the dell, and then the 
seat of a religious house) as one of their resting-places, they could 
not fail, in approaching it, to detect in the dingle a miniature resem- 
blance of the larger hollow of Glenfruin, which might lead them 
to repeat and sanction, if not to originate the name. Others con- 
sider it to be derived from Ros^neoth, the bare unwooded pro-' 
montory : such, however, in the judgment of Celtic scholars, are 

• In the twelfth century, it is found with its modern orthography, Rosneth, in 
the grant by Amelicy the brother of Maldoen, the Earl of Lennox, of all its temporali- 
ties to the monks of Paisley. Afterwards Rusneth — Kosneuth, nevet — ncgty obviously a 
contraction, and Nenet, probably from the mistake of a letter by the transcriber of the 
document. Then again Nevino persona deNeveth andGilmothe Alio sacristi de Ncvneth, 
Michael Gilmodyn persona de Nenet, are signatures to charters which identify the va- 
rious orthographies with the name of one place. Renyt is another variety, and equal- 
ly with the others differing from the Saxon or Celtic orthographies, assumed to be still 
more ancient. 



ROSENEATH. 103 

Exceedingly plebeian in their etymological solutions, and exhibit 
no taste for romantic and interesting derivations. But, notwithstand- 
ing this impression, they may be correct in the present case; for it 
is certainly by no means improbable, that such an epithet would be 
suggested by the general aspect of the peninsula, before any art was 
employed in its cultivation or adornment A third class, however, 
reject both these derivation^ being confident that the modern or- 
thography is a corruption of Moss-na'choichf or the VirgirCg pro' 
mantory : these would thus have us believe that the name has 
DO connection with the natural appearance of the locality, but with 
a fact in its ecclesiastical history, — a church having at a very ear- 
ly period been dedicated to the blessed Virgin. It is of very little 
consequence which hypothesis be adopted : all seem to be equal- 
ly probable. It may be said, however, that with neither of the 
two last does the natural appearance or ecclesiastical condition of 
the place at present correspond : for it is now clothed with artifi- 
dal plantations of various ages, and singular beauty, while the ve- 
nerable cruciform church, so consecrated, no longer exists — that 
which in superstitious times seems to have extended no ordinary 
sanctity, if it did not give a name to its sequestered environs, hav- 
ing been superseded more than seventy years ago by a Presbyte- 
rian parallelogram of the plainest description. The name is thus 
of a very conjectural origin : and it may farther be stated, that 
there are strong reasons for supposing that it is not descriptive of 
the promontory at all, but of a large' district of country, comprising 
part of the lordship of Lennox, designated Nevyd ; and that the 
peninsula of Roseneath is just the Ros-de-Nevyd. So long, then, 
as the meaning of Nevyd h undetermined, we cannot fix the origin 
or import of the present name : but should it be equivalent to 
Snowy, which is very likely, then Roseneath might be translated the 
peninsula of the snowy district, which would be graphically appli- 
cable to its position in the gorge of the adjacent mountains, partly 
comprehended in that lordship: for in winter, especially after a snow 
storm, its aspect is very remarkable, extending its undulatingsurface 
darkly on the waters, while the snows are unmelted in the mountain- 
ous regions which surround it. But etymologies of the name seem 
quite exhaustless. 

Extent and Boundaries. — The length is about 8 miles, and the 
breadth varies from about l^ to 2 miles. It is bounded on the 
east by the Gareloch ; on the south, by the Clyde ; on the west, by 
Loch Long; and on the north, by the parish of Row ; being thus. 



104 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

with the exception of the isthmus connecting it with the mainland 
of Dumbartonshire, entirely surrounded by water. Its form may 
be described as somewhat resembling that of a boot ; in such a 
way at least, as to the eye glancing over the map of Europe, Italy 
has been supposed to do.* 

Topographical Appearances. — The parish consists mainly of one 
continuous ridge, rising gradually from the level at its southern 
extremity, to the Gallowhill, and thence extending in undulating 
lines of various elevation to the hill of Tamnahara, which is the 
highest point of the peninsula, about 800 feet above the sea-level, 
With the exception of the level grounds, where the castle and 
policies are situated, and the few alluvial fields of the Clachan 
farm, contiguous to the church, the cultivated parts consist of ac- 
clivities from the lochs on either side. The whole of the more ele- 
vated tracts, comprising the summit of the ridge, and forming a 
kind of table-land, are covered with heath and morass ; and from 
the edges of these, the enclosed and arable fields descend to the 
gravelly beach or rocky banks which skirt the shores. 

The aspect of the whole parish is interesting and beautiful ; to 
the south especially, where it is adorned with extensive plantations 
of various ages. The natural lines are of most delicate symme- 
try, and generally the plantations have been so felicitously ar- 
ranged, as to give every.advantage to that original and intrinsic beauty 
of the environs, — while the trees are so mingled, as to secure all 
variety of tint to the foliage in the transitions of spring and autumn. 

It is often visited on account of its attractive scenery, and cer- 
tainly nowhere in this or perhaps in any other country, does a lo- 
cality of such limited extent contain within itself or command the 
prospect of a greater variety of interesting objects. Proceeding 
by any of the roads which intersect it, there is a succession of 
magnificent landscapes, abounding with whatever elements of subli- 
mity and beauty the eyes delight to look upon ; and thus, from 

* Formerly the parish of Roseneath extended much beyond its present dimensions, 
and was designated in presbytery records and other documents of the time* *^ the pa- 
rochin without and within the isle." It is now limited to the isle alone, and that 
moiety without the isle forms now part of the parishes of Cardross and Row. The dis. 
junction was effected in 1635. Considerable difficulties had occurred in accomplish- 
ing the new erection of the parish of Row, but at last a presentee was inducted on 
the express proviso that he should sanction the measure when otherwise matured ; 
and, moreorer, that he should denude himself of a portion of the teinds, to secure a com- 
petent living to the incumbent : while, on the other hand, the laird of Ardeucaplc 
only consented to his admission, on the condition of his preaching alternately in the 
new kirk of Row, on the opposite side of the Gareloch, and therefore without the 
isle (except when the Marquis of A rgyle should be resident in Roseneath,) without pre- 
judioeto the course of the erection, &c. 



UOS£NEATH. 105 

sucli poiDts as the Tower of the Castle — the Grallowhill or Tam- 
nahara, commanding the most panoramic views, may be seen in 
one direction perhaps dying away in remote distances, such soft 
and graceful lines of beauty as vulgarize the most exquisite crea«- 
tion even of such a pencil as Claude ; while at a glance of the 
eye elsewhere, sublimer forms rise to the contemplation than ever 
excited admiration around the bold and impetuous fancies of a Sal- 
▼ator Rosa. 

Perhaps, in absence of more important materials of statistical 
record, an instance or two may be given of the effect of these re- 
markable scenes upon sensitive minds. A distinguished man, well 
known as an elegant religious author, and exhibiting in his works a 
peculiar delicacy of perception of natural beauty, sat and wept like 
a child, when he first looked down upon the Gareloch from 
Baremman, so singularly bounded by the Castle point, the pro- 
montory of Ardmor, the distant hills of Renfrewshire; the exqui- 
site harmonies of the landscape were too much for even his eye, 
so familiar with beauty. Another, scarcely less known, from a 
different point, thus affected with the contemplation of the same 
objects, one fine summer morning, the writer heard exclaiming, 
*' O ! this is too much, this is too much !" and then his feelings 
were relieved by bursting into tears. After a long silence, al)- 
sorbed in gazing from Tamnahara on the rugged forms of the 
mountains, rising abruptly from the waters of Loch Long and 
Lochgoil ; " Never" — did a certain graphic author thus exclaim, 
creating terms for what he so admiced, ^^ Never did I see such 
specimens of the statuary of nature.'' An English artist accom- 
panied the minister one day to a cottager, who was labouring un- 
der very acute disease. He betrayed no peculiar emotion as he 
heard the groans of the poor man, so expressive of his intense 
endurance. No sooner, however, had he crossed the threshold, 
than he exclaimed; — " O nature ! O man!" waving his hand to- 
wards the glories he looked upon. The contrast was indeed ir- 
resistible. How much of the primeval order and beauty seemed 
to adorn what surrounded the cottage — how much of the misery 
of man's primeval folly dwelt within it ! 

Meteorology^ §*c. — There has been no register kept with suffi- 
cient accuracy to afford any precise test of the comparative tem- 
perature and pressure of our atmosphere. It may be stated, how- 
ever, that the air is much milder here than at most other places 
in the same neighbourhood, and on the same line across the cown- 



10(i DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

try. This is known to be the fact, and is indicated by various 
nataral appearances, such as the continuance of the foliage, and 
the length of time during which exotics of considerable delicacy 
may be exposed to the open air without injury. This mildness of 
climate is more observable towards the end of autumn and during 
the winter than in the season of spring ; and while the frosts of 
winter are less severe than in the interior of the country, the heats 
of summer are by no means so violent ; which may be accounted 
for by the peninsular situation of the parish, and its being sur- 
rounded and sheltered by higher grounds, which, though separated 
from it by the intervening wafers, are not more than a mile or two 
distant. The prevalent winds are from the south and south-west ; 
and to these the Loch Long side of the parish is particularly expos- 
ed, while the Gareloch side is enjoying shelter the most complete. 
The average rain is certainly not greater, but it is without doubt 
more frequent, than in the neighbouring districts of Renfrewshire 
and Argyleshire. The chief reason of this is to be found in the 
conflicting attractions of the higher grounds on opposite sides of 
the Frith. A large mass of dense vapour may frequently be seen 
driving up the estuary of the Clyde, as if ready to deluge the pe- 
ninsula in its progress. On reaching the narrow part of the chan- 
nel, between the Clock and Dunoon, it appears to pause for a 
while, as if considering in what direction to proceed : but whether 
it eventually verge toward the mountains of Cowal on the left, or 
toward the masses of Renfrew on the right, a portion of its watery 
burden descends on our intermediate shores, — and thus, whichever 
attraction prevail, we have invariably what is called the tail of the 
shower. This phenomenon is very striking, and may be very easily 
seen at certain seasons of the year ; and during the struggle of 
the opposing forces for the mastery, the scenery of the dark and 
stormy heavens oftentimes presents an aspect of bold and rugged 
sublimity. ♦ 

* Changes of weaUicr are preceded by such prognostics as arc common in other 
districts, — such, for example, as the low flight of the crow in the growing humidity 
of the air, — the landward flight and flocking together of the gulls before a gale. One 
or two may be specified as rather peculiar. 

In the calmest ni^rht the tide-stream at the ferry, although, as it passes, silent like 
the falling dew, will sometimes, before atmospheric changes, resound like a cataract. 
Let the sky be starry and cloudless, and otherwise studded all over with promises of 
a beautiful morning, the sun to a certainty will have much ado to escape from the 
clouds that shall crowd together to blindfold him. 

Between two peaks on the Arrochar range, to tlie cast of the *' Duke*s Bowling- 
green- Hill," should there appear a hazy ill-defined cloud in the afternoon, even iQ- 
though not a cloud should be elsewhere alwvc the horizon, many a dingy mass of va- 
pour will it have to l)ear by the morning. 



KOSENEATH. 107 

The parish is, upon the whole, very healthy, as is iDdicated by 
the loi^Tity of a much greater proportion of the people than is 
obsenrable in ordinary cases, and by the great number of large 
families that reach maturity without the occurrence of a single 
death. The air is indeed moist, but it is, at the same time, par- 
ticularly pure, to which the tide-streams, running in all directons 
romad nine-tenths of its boundary, must in no small degree con- 
tribute. It is vitiated by no miasma : the beaches are generally 
gravelly and bold ; and though a considerable part of the surface 
of the parish consists of marshy grounds, these lie along the sum- 
mit of the ridge, and none of their exhalations at any season de- 
scend to the cultivated and inhabited districts. It is very seldom 
that any thing like foggy weather prevails ; and the haars of the 
east coast are entirely unknown. It ought to be mentioned, how- 
ever, that one part is certainly less healthy than the rest : that 
toward the south, which is much crowded by plantations, and 
where, during the last twenty years, the proportion of sickness and 
death has been much greater than in the Loch Long district, and 
on the upper shores of the Gareloch. 

The prevalent diseases are rheumatic and pulmonary affections, 
which may be accounted for by the humidity of the climate, the 
nature and situation of the dwellings. Fevers do not frequently 
occur, and when they do, are traceable in almost all cases to 
infection from without the isle^ as it is called, and are convey- 
ed sometimes under circumstances that reflect but little credit 
on the principles and feelings of the wealthier classes of our city 

The transmission of sound acrossthc Ferry is remarkably varied by the degree of hu- 
midity in the air ; but no state of the atmosphere for the last twenty years has enabled 
the writer to detect the celebrated echo of the district. It is, however, gravely stated 
•8 a fact in acoustic treatises, on the authority of Dr Bird, ** that, somewhere in the 
*• Ule»* when a person at a proper distance played eight or ten notes on a trumpet, they 
were correctly repeated, but a third lower ; atlcr a short silence another repetition was 
heard in a yet lower tone ; and after another short interval they were repeated a third 
time lower stiU.** 

That proper distance nobody has been able to discover, at least within the last 
twenty years. It is possible the reverberation may have been greatly modified by the 
growth of the plantations ; but it is not likely that these varying keys should have been 
altogether lost. It is a curious circumstance, that, many years ago, when hailing a 
steam^boAt at anchor in the contiguous bay from the point of Craigencroan, the 
words were repeated distinctly ; and finding, on trial, that we had caught an echo of 
nine syllables, the writer and his friend at first supposed it was the long lost echo re- 
stored to the vicinage. There was no such repetition, no pause, nor change of 
key ; but firom that day to this the echo none can rouse from her slumber. A most 
evaoeaeent creature she must have been, in all probability depending for her existence 
on the position of the steamer at the time annihilated by the first dash of her paddle. 

So much for the Rosencath echo. Philosophers, puzzling themselves to explain the 
mystery cf her being, may remind one of Charles the Second, with his fish and tub 
of water» among the fathers of the Royal Society. 

4 



108 DUMBAUTONSUIUE. 

population. The evil alluded to, and from which the parish occa- 
sionally suffers, is of the following kind : There are a great num 
ber of young women from this parish employed as domestic ser- 
vants in the contiguous towns, more especially in Glasgow. As 
may be expected, not a few of these are from time to time seized 
with fevers and other infectious disorders : and though they are 
well known to be both faithful and active domestics, yet, no sooner 
are they unfit for their labour, than they are often hurried 
away from the families in whose services they have caught the in- 
fection, without any attendant, sometimes without any arrange- 
ment for their safety or comfort having ever been attempted. In 
this diseased and distressed condition they are left to find their 
way home as they best can : though symptoms of their malady are 
thus highly aggravated by undue exertion and exposure ; and with 
a diminished likelihood of recovery to themselves, they are made 
the vehicles of conveying disease, in its most virulent forms, to 
the small, and damp, and often crowded cottages of their native 
parishes. 

Within the last twenty years, there have been several fatal cases 
both of palsy, scrofula, and cancer ; and during the late visitation 
of Asiatic cholera, there were two cases of the disease, both of 
which terminated fatally. 

Many remarkable forms of disease have appeared among us ; 
and not a few very peculiar cases of insanity. In regard to these 
no minute details can be given here ; but in closing this section, 
it may be stated, that two very singular recoveries from disease 
have occurred within the last fifteen years. The one was the 
case of an epileptic youth, whose mind and body were fast decaying 
under his severe malady. It so happened that his parents had on 
one occasion left within his reach more than a pint of ardent 
spirits, for which, unhappily, he had contracted a liking. On their 
return home they found the bottle empty, and their epileptic son 
stretched senseless on the floor. He slept continuously for upwards 
of forty hours, and awoke in comparative health both of body and 
mind. He lived for several years, and during all that period he 
had no return of his malady, and no desire for violent stimulants. 
The other was the case of a poor woman, the mother of a large 
family, who, for a considerable period, had been in a state of vio- 
lent and seemingly confirmed derangement Her husband was so 
arrested and exercised with her distressing situation, that at length 
his mind became unhinged also ; and one night, in a fit of impetu- 



ROSENKATH. 109 

ous distrsctioD, he rushed from his cottage, and drowned himself 
in the Gareloch. So awful and sudden an event was not unblest 
to the poor widow : the result was her entire and almost immediate 
restoration to soundness of mind. 

Hydrography. — As might be expected from the nature of the 
parish, there are many small rivulets, or brooks, descending from 
the higher grounds. In rainy weather, these give an aspect of 
great liveliness to the scenery on both shores, increasing at times 
from brawling brooklets to impetuous torrents, and showing in the 
lower parts of their course many cascades of various and pictu«- 
resque beauty. During the piercing frosts of our severer winters, 
there may thus be seen an endless variety of columnar congella- 
tions, glancing through the leafless brushwood of the bolder rocky 
banks ; while during the intense heats of summer, the streams 
which should replace them entirely disappear. 

Of late years, there have been several waterspouts of unusual 
magnitude on the Grareloch side ; and, as these occurred at one 
locality, there must in all probability be something in the nature 
and form of the ground to occasion the coincidence. 

There is one small lake in the parish contiguous to Tamnahara. 
It is not deep, but its waters are very pure, and it affords what 
may be considered rather good perch fishing. A small stream 
from this lonely and elevated lake falls into Loch Long near the 
north-west extremity of the parish ; but this, like our other streams, 
is very inconsiderable during the warm summer months. 

There are but few perennial springs : one of these, near the 
old mansion-house at Clachan, is nearly of the same temperature 
at all seasons ; and in droughty summers has been occasionally re- 
sorted to from considerable distances. The other, in the Clachan 
glen, called the Minister's well, is slightly chalybeate, and, like the 
former, scarcely varies in its temperature. 

Although there are no fresh water rivers, there is a considerable 
stream in the tides of the Gareloch at Roseneath Ferry. These 
are very remarkable, as well for their rapidity as their varying di- 
rection, occasioned by the narrowing of the loch at the Row Point, 
and the various headlands or horns of the contiguous bays. The 
waters both in Loch Long and Loch Gare are generally clear, — 
their depth varies from 10 to 30 fathoms, and the saltness of nei- 
ther is materially diminished by the waters of the Clyde. In Loch 
Long, the current runs about two miles, and in the Gareloch three 
or four miles, an hour. 



no DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

The Gareloch affords excellent anchorage for vessels of all sizes ; 
the holding-ground is good, and the shelter is complete from all 
the more prevalent winds. This is especially true of the beautiful 
small bay of Campsaile, perhaps the best sheltered anchorage on the 
west coast of Scotland. Of late years, it has on this account been se- 
lected by many gentlemen of the Royal Yacht Club, and during the 
winter season is studded with their cutters, which ride there in perfect 
safety during the most violent gales. It appears that, at a very 
early period, it was used by the Kings of Scotland for a similar pur- 
pose, having been a frequent station of the royal navies : and with- 
in the memory of the present generation a 74 gun-ship lay for a 
considerable time at anchor, between the Row Ferry and the Castle- 
point : Indeed, the whole navy of Britain might ride securely on 
the bosom of the Gareloch, and enjoy all the comforts of an inland 
harbour. 

Geology and Mineralogy. — There is scarcely any thing worthy 
of notice in the geological structure of the parish. It may be men- 
tioned, however, that nearly the whole strata of this peninsula be- 
long to the primitive class of rocks. The prevailing formation is 
day-slate, which, at times, passes into chlorite slate, and, more 
rarely, into mica slate. One example of the chlorite slate has 
been furnished by quarries that have been opened on the face of 
the hill rising from the Gareloch, above the Row Ferry. The 
clay slate strata are inclined at an angle of about 60^ The di- 
rection appears to be pretty uniform, from north-west to south-east. 

On the shore of Loch Long, near the site of the old fort at 
Knockderry, a large mass of greenstone has been forced up be- 
tween the strata, and appears as a dike of from twenty to thirty 
feet thick, lying interposed between the strata, and not cutting them 
across. In the immediate vicinity of this dike, the rock approaches 
in its mineralogical character to chlorite slate ; but at no great 
distance, the clay-slate appears. Another much smaller greenstone 
dike, about three feet thick, and nearly half a mile farther south, 
on the same shore, is found similarly related to the adjoining stra- 
ta. The south-eastern extremity of the parish is occupied by a 
rock of the secondary class, conglomerate, or coarse sandstone, 
which occurs in beds of considerable thickness. This rock is 
recognized as a portion of the great sandstone formation which 
extends along the opposite shores of Renfrew and Ayrshire, and 
embraces the Cumbrae Islands and a large portion of the southern 
half of Bute. The sandstone must, no doubt, be regarded as one 



BOSBNEATH. 1 1 1 

of the lowest membersof the carboniferous series, which pervades the 
great valley of the Scottish Lowlands, in which no organic remains 
have hitherto been found. The line of formation between the 
sandstone and primitive rock of the parish runs along the vale or 
dingle which stretches from Campsaile on the eastern shore to Port- 
kill on the south-west. Although seldom observable on the surfoce, 
k it easily known by the superior fertility of the fields lying on the 
sandstone. In the slate formation on the Loch Long shore, as well 
as in the quartz, iron pyrites is found in considerable abundance. 
In the slate, it is always crystallized, and in the quartz it appears 
in irregular masses of larger size. The colour of the slate varies 
very much, and obviously in proportion to the quantity of oxide of iron 
which pervades it. Boulders of granite are frequent on the western 
shore^ some of them of considerable size. 

Zooloffy, — There is nothing remarkable in the zoology of the pa- 
rish. No animals of any rarity seem to be indigenous. The zo<^* 
logical ornament of the parish is its herd of roe-bucks. These ele- 
gant creatures, although not so numerous as formerly, may still be 
seen in little groups, chiefly in their favourite haunts throughout the 
woods, or bounding across the open fields. They seem rather mi- 
gratory in their habits, which, independent of other causes, accounts 
for their diminished numbers. For it is a remarkable fact, that, 
although the plantations here afford the best possible retirements, 
and seldom any thing can occur to startle or annoy them, they have 
been seen occasionally swimming across Loch Long to the Cowal 
mountains, and throughout the Lennox different colonies are spring- 
ing up, whose common ancestors browsed in our quiet groves on 
this side the Gareloch. 

It is said that at one time the soil of the peninsula was so sove- 
reign a repellent of rats, that not one of the race would come near it. 
The Greenock skippers, to secure their vessels from such a nuisance, 
shipped ballast from the Roseneath shore for any of their longer 
voyages; audit seems there is no doubt a sagacious West India plant- 
er did veritably export some casks of our earth to Jamaica, in hopes 
of killing the rats that were gnawing his sugar canes. The alleged 
peculiar sanctity of the spot, may have originated such an impres- 
sion of the virtue of the soil of the beautiful isle. The fact of 
their being no rats in the parish, would aid the delusion. Now, 
indeed, different races of these pestilent vermin, under cover of our ag- 
ricultural improvement or from vessels with less sacred ballast touch* 
ing our shores, have effected a habitat here as in other districts. Not 



112 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

more than forty years ago, however, a rat seemed so rare and, 
strange a creature, that the children were let loose from the parish 
school for the express purpose of seeing the skeleton of one which 
had been found, to the surprise of the whole neighbourhood, at the 
demolition of the old ferry house. 

In the high grounds, grouse are still found in considerable num- 
bers, although gradually giving way to the more muscular black 
game. The partridge, coveys have multiplied with the cultivation 
of the fields below. Hares are not increasing in number. In their 
season, snipe and woodcock are abundant in certain localities : but 
pheasants, although all the ordinary arts have been employed to 
naturalize them in covers apparently most agreeable to their habits, 
?— the soil has hitherto put forth no virtue sufficient to attract 

The surrounding waters periodically abound with herrings ; and 
salmon* are caught at different stations in considerable numbers ; 
but there is nothing peculiar in the mode of fishing either. In re- 
gard to the herrings, it may be stated that they appear in the 
Gareloch sooner than in any other of the western lochs, and are 
fully equal in quality to those of Loch Fine. Of late years, they 
have not been so numerous as formerly, owing, as many persons 
in lack of a more exact philosophy imagine, to the frequent passing 
and repassing of steam-vessels in all directions, and more especially 
where the waters of the Gareloch and Lochlong diverge from the 
estuary of the Clyde. 

The symptoms of the approach of the shoal for the season are 
familiar to the natives, and always excite interest around our shores. 
Nor does the flight of gulls and other aquatics, or the harlequin 
movements of the porpoises in the end of May or beginning of 
June, contribute more to the picturesque aspect of our secluded 
waters, than they excite agreeable sensations, as the well known 
heralds of God's bounty, on its way with each coming tide from 
the prolific depths of the more distant ocean. 

There is, besides, a great variety of fishes, more or less abun- 
dant, fit for the table, found in our contiguous waters, viz. sea-trout, 
haddock, common or rock-cod, ling, (20 lbs.) whiting, skate, mac- 
kerel, flounders of all varieties, sethe, lithe; but, from whatever 
cause, they are all less numerous than about ten or twenty years ago. 
In addition to these others, are occasionally found, such as the hali- 

• In the twelfth century, A melee, the Earl of Lennox, granted to the monks of Pais- 
ley a right to all the salmon fishing in the Gare'och, reserving to himself and heirs 
•verv fourth salmon. 



R08ENBATH. 113 

buCy (60 lbs.) said to be a peculiar favourite with the Jews; mullet, 
q)erlins, John Dorys, one of the most elegant of the finny tribe, the 
gunuurd or crooner, so named, from its emitting a sound at the depth 
of several feet, similar to the grunting of a pig, the braise, of sin- 
gular beauty of colour, (2 lbs.) grim iris, the bones of which, when 
boiled, become quite green, and several years ago, a tunny, of about 
eight feet in length, was entangled in the salmon nets ; or rather was 
entrapped out of his depth at the head of the Gareloch. 

The shell fish of any value are few. Occasionally a crab or 
lobster is found on the Loch Long shore. Mussels are numerous, 
but seldom come to maturity ; there is a bed or two of oysters, also 
of excellent quality, but scantily inhabited. 

The following is a list of Roseneath shells, or shells on the 
Gareloch shore, two or three of which may be interesting to con- 
chologists. 

FiBtella Tulgarit Modiula vulgaris Venus gallina 

Turbo littoreus Mjrtilus edulis Venerupis pullastra 

Turbo nidis Csuttium edulc Venerupis Virginca 

Nerita littoralis Cardium echinatum Pholan dactylus 

TomateUa tomatilis Tellina tenuis Hiatella rugosa 

Bnceinum undatum Psammobia solidula Mya arenaria 

RofteUaria pes-pelecani Astarte Scotica Mya truncata. 

Peeten opercularb Astarte Gnnensis 

Pecten varius Cyprina Islandica 

Botany, — The soil .seems favourable for the growth of trees of 
all descriptions ; and evergreens, shy, or rather difiicult of culture, 
shoot up in the more sheltered spots with wonderful celerity and 
luxuriance. There are in the woods of Campsail, as well as in 
the policies contiguous to the Castle, and around the church, trees 
of great magnitude and beauty. But the botanic glory of the pa- 
rish, are the two silver firs near the site of the old mansion of 
the Campbells of Carrick. They are supposed to have been 
among the first specimens, and coeval with the introduction of 
that species of pine into this country. Their circumference, five 
feet from the ground, is about 19 feet, and their lofty stems support 
a profusion of mighty boughs, by the peculiar form and grouping 
of which, such an expression of power and majesty is conveyed, as 
to excite, even in the most insensible, sublime emotions. They 
singularly combine, by their relative position, to effect this. A 
distinguished artist greatly erred, when preparing his work on fo- 
rest trees ; he sketched only one of these magnificent forms. Would 
a section of York Minster do justice to that noble pile in a collec- 
tion of Gothic cathedrals ? 

DUMBARTON. H 



114 



DUMBARTONSHIRE. 



The following is a list of the more humble plants in the parish, 
some of which will be found of considerable rarity. 

Hypericum quadrangulum 
perforatum 
humifusum 
pulchrum 
cinerea » » «»»»« ■««»»>«»»«»'»i» cioqcs 



Salicomia berbacea 
Veronica aoiitellata 
anagallis 
montana 



M)#M»#0l«ltfW*«lf<A* 



Oxyria reniformis 
Triglochin maritimum 
..«.«i....i.,«,,«.^ palustre 
Erica tetralix 



0i0^i^^09'0immmm<mmm0^^^m 



0i^>0>m0^-0'i0mm0i^m^m00>^^^ 



0>m0>mmn^0>0mm^0<**0m^*i**0 



Pinguicula vulguris 
Lyoopus EuropsBus 
Ciroaea lutettana 
alpina 



tfV<*MM»WW«M# 



m0'm0im00<m* 



9immm0'i0>0mf^mm0^0mm 



»»#»#»»^»0»»^»»rfl^»»#>#<W« 



Valeriana oflScinalis 
Fedia olitoria 
Scirpus sylvaticus 
Poa fluitant 
Briaa media 
Elymus arenarius 
Triticum junceum 
Galium boreale 
Asperula odorata 
Phmtago maritiroa 
Ilex aquifulium 
Lithospermum maritimum 
Lycopsis arvensis 
Myosotis palustris 
Anagallis arvensia 
^ tenella 



0mm0t00i0»0>m0m0i0mm 



p^w^»***<^#*»<»»s » 



0>^>mmg0<0'>0>0^m^0>0>fm 



MWtfMMW^* 



Lysimacbia vulgaris 

Erytliraea centaurium 
8amoIus valerandi 
Lonicera periclymenum 
Glaux maritima 
Gentiana campestris 
Sanicula Europasa 
Cicuta virosa- 
SisoD verticillatum 
Carum carui 
Pimpjnella saxifraga 
GEnanthe fistulosa 

Daucus carota 
Salsola kali 
Viburnum opal us 
Parnassia palustris 
Droaera rotundlfolia 
Hyacintbus non-scriptus 
Narthecium ossifragum 



Vaccinium uHgniosum 
vitis idea 
oxycoccos 
Polygonum vlnparum 
Pyrola media 
Chrysosplenium opposi* 

tiiblium 
> w »»a «i»i»— <i«»v«#<»w aitemuoiium 
Saxifraga stcllaris 
aizoides 
granulata 
bypnoides 
Sedum villosum 
Prunus spinosa 

Rubus idaeus 

^r^^iww^»^ SSjIQUIIS 

Giaucium luteum 
Tbalictrum majus 
Trollius Europsus 
Thymus serpyllum 
Teucrium scorodonia 
Galeopsis tetrabit 
wm0i^0is 0^*10*00^^0^0 vci sicoior 
Prunella vulgaris 
Scutellaria galericulata 
B&rtsia viscosa 
Digitalis purpurea 
Lepidium Smithii 
Draba verna 
Geranium sy 1 vatic um 
Corydalis claviculata 
Polygala vulgaris 
Ononis arvensis 
A nthyllis vulneraria 
Vida sativa 
Lotus major 
,«^,w»^^ corniculatus 
Hypericum androasraaum 



Leontodon palustre 
Cicborium intybus 
Eupatorium cannabinum 
Gnaphalium dioicum 

00>m0i0i00*00m000tm000mm\m B\ IVclvavUIH 

Aster tripolium 
Solidago virgaurea 
Orcbis mascula 
,,^,.».w« latifolia 

Gymnadenia conopses 
Habenaria viridii 
.^ albida 



•ifwiawtMM 



« bifolia 



Listera ovata 

W0*0mm0'000*000k COl CJH m 

Zostcra marina 
Myrica gale 
Juniperus communis 
Polypodium vulgare 

pbegopteris 
dryopteris 
Aspidium lobatum 
, oreopteris 
filix-mas 
dilatatum 
^ filix fisemina 
Cistopteris fragilis 
Asplenium viride 

ruta-muraria 
adiantum nigrum 
iricbomanes 
Scolopendrium vulgare 
Blechnum boreale 
Hymenophyllum Wilsoni 
Botrychiuro lunaiia 
Lycopodium clavatum 
selago 
alpina 
selaginoidesy 



0>l^0*0m0000»000t0>^00m0i0^ 



0>^*0>m0»0'0>0'0>00>00*0 #^*P^* 



90*0>0^0>0**>00>0^^^>000* ^ 



000>0i00^00>m00<0>*0m0t 



0<f*0*0i000i^000*m0m0* 



0i0*0>0m00l^00>00'0<00 



W0^mm00t00^m00<mm 



00'0'0100^0l0f00*0^0i^ 



*0>0>^0*00t0>0'm^t0l0'*m 



0^^0^*>mi*m0i0^'0^<mm0wm0<0i 



00*0>0t0l0t0mt00^^^00t0>0t00t0^0i 



wn»wMiM#w^viffM#«»tfM«wwt 



II. — Civil History. 
As has been already observed, the peninsula formed a portion of 

the district de Nevyd, granted at a very early period to the Len- 
nox family, and continuing in their possession till the close of the 
fifteenth century. In the year 1489, the Earl of Lennox seems 
to have been engaged in measures rather of a treasonable charac- 
ter, for which he had forfeited the royal favour. The records of 
the Scottish Parliament contain a declaration and ratification of 
his pardon ; but the forfeiture from all his property was not with- 
drawu; for, in that same year, the lands of Roseneath were a royal 



ROSENEATH, 115 

gift to Colin, the first Earl of Argyle. It does not appear that 
the whole of the Roseneath district, or of the lands de Nevyd was 
bestowed upon Argj'le, for down to the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century, the property of that family, even in the* isle* was 
limited to its southern extremity. The new acquisition, however, 
was of importance in the history of that illustrious family, being 
its first territorial coimection with the western Lowlands, which 
thus extended its influence beyond its original limits, and great- 
ly facilitated, in later ages, its predominance for more than a 
century, amid the agitations and antipathies of a tramsition coun- 
try, so to speak, consummating the demolition of one, and con- 
struction of another system of religious opinions. The first pro- 
prietor of Roseneath was a man eminent for his wisdom in con- 
duct His integrity of principle, and his talent for public affairs, 
were evinced by the ofiices he filled, having been Lord High 
Chancellor of Scotland, and plenipotentiary at the celebrated Nor- 
thampton conference ; by his fidelity to the last to his sovereign, 
amid the rebellious nobles ; and by the confidence reposed in him, 
notwithstanding, by James IV. on his accession to the throne. The 
occasional presence or residence of the successive Earls of Argyle 
must have materially affected the civil and religious condition 
of this district, but especially when they abjured the Romanist su- 
perstitions. The fourth earl was the first nobleman of his country 
who embraced the Scripture faith of the Reformation ; and as he 
cherished in his household the teachers of the truth, his dependents 
and tenantry would unquestionably share the blessedness which he 
enjoyed himself, and which, in his celebrated letter to the furious 
and bigoted Primate, he evinces so strong a desire to secure for 
them. 

Subsequently, during the tyranny of the latter Stewarts, the 
Lowland Presbyterians often found shelter on this side the Gare- 
loch, as the names and traditional histories of several families, 
residing here for many generations, indicate. It is curious, indeed, 
to observe how tradition sometimes extends the line of its vague 
remembrance. An old woman of the name of Chalmers preferred 
a claim some years ago for sessional relief, grounding it on the al- 
leged fact, that her " mother's forbears had for fifteen, and her fa- 
ther's forbears for twenty-five generations been residenters in the 
parish." The truth of her story was not difficult to expiscate, al- 
though tradition had so rapidly elongated her genealogical tree, for 
there is little doubt but that Chalmers of Gadgirth, a leader of the 



116 DUMBARTONSHIIIK. 

Covenanters, was the chief of her ancestors, who had found their 
way across the Frith of Clyde during the troubles of the western 
Lowlands, to enjoy the protection of the family of Argyle. 

Notwithstanding the accounts that are generally given that Bal- 
four of Burley, one of the assassins of Sharpe, passed over to Hol- 
land, and died in the service of the Prince of Orange, there are 
strong presumptions that he found an asylum in the same penin- 
sula, and that, having assumed the name of Salter, his descendants 
continued here for several generations. They were always consi- 
dered of more gentle kin than the tenantry around them; their 
family traditions, it is said, uniformly so identified their ancestor. 
The last of this race died about thirty years ago. 

The effect of this immigration and settlement from the Lowlands 
was traceable in the earlier disuse of the Gaelic language in this 
than in the contiguous parish ; of which this may be stated as con- 
clusive evidence, that there were Gaelic services at communions in 
the neighbouring church of Row, although not hal^ a mile across 
the Gareloch, for fifty years after they had been laid aside in Rose- 
neath. 

Antiquities^ Sfc, — There are no ruins or monuments to throw 
any light on the more remote history of the spfct, with the excep- 
tion of the debris of an old Danish or Norwegian fort at Knockderry, 
on the Loch Long shore. This must have been coeval at least 
with the battle of Largs, and is admirably situated for observation, 
commanding an extensive range of the frith and its shores in all di- 
rections. It is certain that the Danes sailed a,long the northern 
shore of the parish to Arrochar, and that, having conveyed their 
boats across the isthmus of Tarbet, they devastated the islands of 
Loch Lomond, and the contiguous district Thus, in the absence 
of more authentic information, we may gather from witnessing the 
ruins of the antique stronghold, fitted to protect them, either as 
they advanced or retired, that these now peaceful shores were once 
the scene of violence and bloodshed. It may be noticed in pas- 
sing, that though the term Loch Long, sufiBciently characterizes the 
form of the waters that bound the parish in the west, yet it does 
not primarily refer to their appearance at all, but to the ancient ex- 
pedition alluded to, and strictly means the lake of ships ; and no 
doubt the classical reader may see in this, not a very distant or in- 
distinct connexion with the longiB naves of the Romans. 

There is a precipitous rock of conglomerate on the north of 
the castle called Wallace's leap, which is traditionally monumental 



ROSENEATH. 117 

of similar occurrences at a less distant period in the south of the 
peninsula. On one occasion, as the story goes, Wallace, having been 
hotly pursued by his enemies, galloped in the direction of this 
cliflT, and having no other way of escape, leaped his horse from its 
lofty brink. The poor steed was killed upon the spot, and its 
grave is still marked by a rude block described as its tombstone ; 
but Wallace himself made for the Gareloch, swam across, and so 
escaped his Saxon pursuers. Such is the tale of tradition ; but 
Blind Harry describes a visit of his hero to the " Isle" under more 
auspicious circumstances : for instead of hurrying hence as a fugi- 
tive in imminent peril of his life, he took and set on 6re and de- 
molished the castle, and then cros^d in triumph to Fasslane, a re- 
sidence of the Earl of Lennox, whose patriotism never gave way 
ID those days of aristocratic apostacy. To use the language of the 
old ministrel, 

Yan to F&5lan ye wortbe Scot yan pass, 
Quhar Erie Malcolm was bydand at defence, 
Kicbt glad wa« he of Wallace gude presence. 

In what condition the castle remained for centuries, or whether 
it was ever rebuilt or possessed while within the Lordship of Len- 
nox, it is impossible now to say. About 1630, it seems to have 
been fitted up by the Marquis of Argyle, as a subsidiary residence 
to the old family mansion of Inverara. A small castellated build, 
ing situated on the point south of Campsail bay, the late Duke 
enlarged, and surrounded it with more commodious suites of apart- 
ments. About thirty years ago, Rosneath Castle was once more 
burnt to the ground, which gave occasion to his Grace, then a very 
aged man, thus piously to express his gratitude to Divine Provi- 
dence, as he viewed the conflagration from Ardencaple on the op- 
posite shore, ** I thank my God I have another house to go to." 

Of religious houses there are no ruins, although the names of 
several places indiciite their former existence, and tradition con- 
firms the impression conveyed by the name. Of these, Kilcraigin, 
the chapel of the Rock, and Port Kill, the harbour of the chapel, 
may be given as examples. Some traditions attaching to these 
spots have already been alluded to; and it may further be stated, that 
the bodies of the dead used to be brought thither from the Hebrides 
and other districts of Argyleshire, and even from Ireland, as if to 
enjoy a more sacred and happier sepulture in ground, from a 
very early period imagined to be of peculiar sanctity. In one of 
the fields near Port Kill, several stone coflins were found about 
thirty years ago. They were of very rude construction ; and the 



ri8 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

relics of the dead they contained had become as the dust that en« 
closed them. 

On the farm of Marson, the last ruins of what seemed to have 
been some ancient chapel, were employed in completing the en- 
closures of that district, regarding which some interesting tradi- 
tions were in circulation among the people; very much resembling 
those of the crusade adventures. In the contiguous farm of Mem- 
big, there is a deeply affecting spot by a beautifully sequestered lit- 
tle bay overhung with lofty trees, which cannot be omitted, when not- 
ing the few antiquities, if they can be so called, which the '* isle" 
contains. There is indeed nothing seen there monumental of the 
doings or sufferings of man ; only the green sward meets the eye, 
and no relics of any former age ; but who can look on it without 
emotion ? it is the traditionary burial place of unchristened infants, 
during the iron tyranny of the papal delusion. A sweetly solemn 
seclusion, as if a dark and severe superstition, half relenting its own 
uncharitableness, and yielding to a certain compunctious tender- 
ness of feeling, had sought for the loveliest spot in this beautiful 
" isle," for the repose of those babes whose dust it had harshly 
doomed to exile from the sepulchre of their fathers. 

Modem Buildings, — After the destruction of the old castle, the 
late Duke of Argyle founded another mansion in 1803, not on the 
old site, but retiring from the shore more towards the bosom of 
the Bay of Campsail. It is from a splendid design by J. Bononi 
of London, in Romanesque, or rather modern Italian style of archi- 
tecture. The general effect is exceedingly graceful and elegant. 
It has two principal fronts, to the north and to the south. The 
former is adorned with a magnificent portico, approximating to the 
Roman Ionic, and projecting so far as to admit of a carriage-way 
being within it. A circular tower rises from the centre of the 
building, surrounded by a balustrade at the summit, from which 
there is one of the most splendid panoramas that can possibly be 
conceived. 

The situation, although in some respects inferior to that of the 
old castle, and not perhaps the best that might have been other- 
wise selected on the grounds, is happy in many respects ; and the 
castle itself, with its magnificent environs of woods, and waters, 
and mountains, contains, in rich variety and profusion such ele- 
ment); of beauty and sublimity, as those who are strangers to the 
shores of the Gareloch may find it exceeding difficult to see any 
where else. 



ROSENEATH. ]19 

The Easter House, formerly the seat of the ancestors of the 
present Ducal family, of the house of Argyle, is remarkable for 
its position, from the magnificence of its back-ground, and the 
yew avenue, with its parallel of lofty limes extending to the church 
— ^a grouping which excites very much the admiration of strangers. 

Besides, there have been, within the last twenty years, erected 
throughout the parish, chiefly on the Gareloch, a considerable 
number of villas and cottages, which, if not distinguished for ar- 
chitectural elegance, generally occupy situations which command 
most interesting prospects of the surrounding scenery. 

Maps, jfc. — There have been very minute maps, plans, and 
surveys recently made for the respective land-owners ; but there are 
DO letters or documents existing which particularly illustrate the 
history and antiquity of the parish. The sessional records do 
not extend back above seventy years, and have not been regularly 
or fiilly kept. A pretty correct list of the births, marriages, and 
deaths has been kept for the last twenty years. 

There are regular half-yearly meetings of the heritors and kirk- 
session for the distribution of poor's-money ; and notices of these 
have been regularly engrossed, in a separate volume, for the last half 
century. 

Heritors. — There are only four heritors in the parish : The 
Duke of Argyle ; his Grace's brother. Lord John Campbell ; Co- 
lin Campbell, Esq. of Pealton ; and Dugald Cumming, Esq. of 
Baremman. The last only is resident in the parish. 

Eminent Persons^ 8fc. — Respecting various members of the 
Argyle family, whose names are honourably associated with their 
country's history, reference might be made to the public records, 
since none of the events in which they bore so conspicuous a part 
happened here, or are especially connected with this locality, — it 
being uncertain, besides, whether any of them were natives of this 
parish ; yet, as it seems to have been ai*avourite residence with 
one of these illustrious men, the Marquis of Argyle, a notice of 
his character may be inserted from one of the historians of his 
own age. 

" He was a man of singular piety, prudence, authority, and elo- 
quence ; and though he had been much envied and calumniated, 
yet his death did abundantly vindicate him. He left his desolate 
family upon the Lord's providence and the King's uncertain favour. 
As he was a very great support to the work of reformation, so it 
was buried with him in one grave for many a year." 



120 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

His widow continued to reside in the castle which he had re- 
built, nor can the insertion be resisted of this beautiful eulogium 
on one who so long hallowed these sequestered shores by her pre- 
sence. " His noble lady, Lady Margaret Douglas, a lady of sin- 
gular piety and virtue, bore the sad shock with other both per- 
sonal and domestic afflictions, with great patience and incredible 
fortitude, giving herself always to prayer and fasting, and minis- 
tering to the necessity of the saints." In the old Castle* one of 
their daughters was married to the Earl of Caithness, whom Mid- 
dleton, the brutal minister for Scotland, (one of those dissolute 
bacchanals to whom Charles II. conBded che government of his 
kingdom,) *' threatened to kick with his foot when sitting on her 
knees before him, begging her dead fether Argyle's head to be 
buried." 

The fate of the next Argyle, rather a rash patriot, the victim of 
royal resentment and jealousy, is well known ; although, perhaps, 
the particulars of his escape from his first imprisonment are fami- 
liar only to the readers of the more minute and circumstantial bio- 
graphies. They were of a romantic cast, and reflect exceeding 
credit upon the self-command and dexterity of his step-daughter, 
the Lady Sophia Lindsay, to whom, after his arrival in the Low 
Countries, he addressed a poem well expressed, and throughout 
containing a pleasing vein of religious sentiment The following 
lines might be applied to the present phase of our own community, 
and are quoted to show how curiously in certain cycles men are 
the agents or the victims of the same ecclesiastical and political an- 
tagonisms : 

The world is here as I have seen, 
All do cry down what is — up what hath hecn ; 
Debate for government in church and state, 
Are still the deviPs delight. 



* The castle was the scene o£ superstitious omens of bis untimely end. According 
to Baillie, " all the dogs on the day Charles 1 1, landed in England, did take a strange 
howling and staring up to my lady*s bedchamber for some time together. The Mar- 
quis's sister. Lady Kenmure, * from a little skill of physiognomy which Mr Alex- 
ander Colville, Justice Deput,an old servant of the house, had taught her, had said 
some years ago that her brother would die in blood.'* *' When the Lord Marquis of 
Argyle went from Inverara to Roseneath in his birline, when going up to sec the King 
after his return from exile, Mr Gordon, minister, with some others, accompanied 
bim to the boat, and after said lord wus upon his voyage they, returning home, m«t 
a dumb man, who fells a whining and mourning, and having a staff in his hand, laid 
down the staff on the ground, and lays his body on the ground, laying his neck upon 
tke stafi^ and smyting the upper part of his neck with the edge of his band, he arosQ 
from the ground and |K>iuted at my lA>rd Argyle in the birline, which accordingly fell 
out, for he was beheaded.*' 



ROSBNEATH. 121 

Dr Andersoo, the well knowD founder of the Andersonian losti- 
tutioD of Glasgow, was the son of a former minister of the parish, 
and was bom in the manse. He was a man of eminent talent 
and various attainments, and will long be remembered ashaving first 
realized the idea of bringing within reach of the labouring classes 
the philosophy and science of the chartered universities. 

Matthew Stewart, one of the most distinguished of the Scottish 
mathematical scholars, perhaps better known as the father of the 
celebrated Dugald Stewart, was for some years minister of Rose- 
neath. There are still current among the older people, some ra^- 
ther amusing traditions respecting his singular absence of mind, 
and the avenue of yew trees, in itself so remarkable, leading 
from the church to the old family seat of the Campbells of Ma- 
more, has acquired rather a classical interest, from having been the 
frequent and favourite scene of his peripatetic meditations.* 

III. — Population. 

Since the date of the former Statistical Account, the popula* 
tion has been gradually increasing. Then it was stated to be only 
894, now it consists of 709 souls. The agricultural improvements 
of the intermediate period easily account for this : having render- 
ed necessary the employment of additional labourers, and increas- 
ed the productiveness of the soil. The Government census of 1831 
shows a still higher number, but that was a partial augmentation 
arising from a temporary cause, the working of two slate quarries 
which had been opened on two different properties, but which have 
since been closed. 

The number of families is 156, and the average of births, mar- 
riages, and deaths, during the last seven years, has been 17, 4, 
and 9^ respectively. 

It may be remarked, that, while the average of each family is 
not more than A^^^ the average of children bom in each produc- 
tive marriage is so high as 5/x 5 ^^^ ^^ ^' unworthy of note, that 
from a calculation regarded as accurate that of all the children 

• Tt seems not just to pass over, without some particular notice, tlic extraordinary 
instance of Isabella Campbell, who indeed, although in humble life, might have been 
named among the eminent persons connected with the parish. Successive ^itions 
of her memoirs, consisting of many thousand copies, have been printed ; and it may 
be truly said, that wherever the English language is spoken, the knowledge of her 
godly example has found its way. The letters, although she had no other advantage 
than what the cottage school afforded, are written with great elegance and beauty, 
admirably showing how the habitual contemplation of the glorious revelation of Divine 
truth may supersede the ordinary means of mental cultivation and refinement. 



122 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

born to the heads of families now in the parish, and resident for 
the last forty years, ^%% are still alive. 

To whatever cause so small a mortality may be attributed, the 
salubrity of the air, the general healthiness and sober habits of the 
parents, or the skill and care with which they nurture their ofiF- 
spring, it is a fact not a little remarkable in the history of human 
life. Large families, indeed, frequently reach mature age without a 
single breach, and sometimes with scarcely the experience of any 
acute disease ; and instances of longevity, it is believed, are much 
more numerous than in most parishes of similar extent. 

Of the whole population l-9th are above sixty years of age, 1-1 8th 
above seventy. Many are considerably beyond eighty. Several have 
reached their ninetieth year, and although only one female is 
older (in her ninety- third,) a few years ago there were several living 
nearly a century old, and one female died in her hundred and third, 
who a twelvemonth before had displayed such strength of consti- 
tution, and such tenacity of life, as to have recovered entirely from 
a severe dysentery of several weeks duration. 

Regarding one venerable lady, whose age extended to within a 
little of a century, it is worthy of record, that, as each Sabbath re- 
turned, she regularly committed to memory, as in the days of her 
youth, a portion of scripture, with some psalm or hymn, or spiri- 
tual song, to supply her wakeful nights, or when she was alone, as 
she used to say, with materials of reflection and devotion. 

The great bulk of the population now are engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits, and the tradesmen are of such crafts as are need- 
ful to supply the wants of a rural district. There is neither a 
baker nor butcher in the parish, but the contiguous towns compen- 
sate that deflciency. 

Character of the People^ Sfc. — In their general deportment, they 
are well conducted, sensible, and judicious in the management of 
their affairs, not distinguished, perhaps, for enterprise or energy, 
but steady and industrious, exceedingly neighbourly and kind, and 
although with some exception?, compared with other parishes, 
exemplary in their attendance on religious ordinances. 

Very much as one family the parishioners dwell together, and in 
the interchange of kind offices there but seldom occurs any inter- 
ruption. InsurmounUible difiSculties are in the way of ascertaining 
intimately the amount of religious principle actuating any commu- 
nity. It has been remarked they do generally attend public wor- 



ROSENEATH. 123 

ship; besides, it merits notice, that many have family worship 
daily, and are readers of the Scriptures, while occasionally there 
have been remarkable examples among them of the transforming 
power of the truth of God. The periodical influx of strangers for 
the summer months, although in some temporal rospects an advan- 
tage^ is not to be regarded without serious apprehensions in its 
moral and religious bearings. Occasionally very estimable persons 
are met with among this fluctuating population, whose temporary 
residence is even a blessing to our secluded community ; but there 
has always hitherto been a leaven of ungodly scomers among our 
summer visitants. Incapable of laying aside habits intrinsically 
criminal, they aggravate their guilt by transferring them where they 
are more obtrusively ofiensive. As if long accustomed to think 
that ** man made the town," they seem to conclude that he " made 
the country" also ; and it ought to be known through such a me- 
dium as a statistical survey of the parish, that there are many persons 
of respectable stations in life from the commercial districts, so lost 
to all sense of decorum, as systematically to disturb the devotions 
of a peaceful people, by retiring during the service, should conti- 
nuance to its close unexpectedly interfere with the projected relaxa« 
tions and amusements of the day. Some bolder, or more hard- 
ened in their desecration, attempt no such compromise with their 
conscience, as to attend any portion of the service; but while 
others are reverently occupied, may occasionally be seen prowling 
around the walls of the church, or along its contiguous avenues, 
contemptuous of the worship of the God whose works they pre- 
tend to admire. 

Only one illegitimate birth occurred in the parish in the course 
of the last three years. 

IV. — Industry. 

Agriculture and Rural Economy. — The parish consists of 6140 
acres, of which about 3000 are uncultivated moorland, although 
of these it is calculated 500 are capable of profitable culture, 520 
are under valuable wood plantations of various ages, and 720 of 
old and natural copse, which leave about 1 900 acres of ground 
cultivated, or occasionally in tillage. 

In the grounds of the Castle, and the environs of the church, 
and the site of the ancient House of Campsail, are chiefly found 
the trees of any considerable age and magnitude, and these are 
of all varieties ; ash, elm, beech, plane, lime, oak, yew, horse chest- 



1 24 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

nut, holm oak, cedar, with various species of fir, &c. Some of these 
are magnificent trees; the silver firs of Campsail have already 
been particularly noted. . 

Those planted of late years consist of all varieties of the pine 
tribe, with oak, ash, and birch, which are indigenous to the soil. 
Within the last thirty years, the appearance chiefly of the south- 
ern district of the parish has been greatly improved by numerous 
plantations, harmonizing exceedingly well with the more ancient 
trees of the Castle grounds, and the natural woods skirting the 
shore. 

The Gallowhill, for example, which lies immediately opposite 
Greenock, a few years ago, was a mere heath and furze cover for 
game, but now bears to its summit a luxuriant forest of this descrip- 
tion, and which, resting on a base of beautifully pendant fields, 
highly cultivated, forms one of the most interesting and remarkable 
objects to be found in any locality. The woods are kept in good 
order, all fenced and drained, and according to the most approved 
rules periodically thinned. 

Rent of Land, — The average value of land under the plough 
may be rated at L. 1, ds. per acre; the charge for grazing a cow, 
L.2, 10s.; and, for a full-grown sheep, 5s. The rental of the pa- 
rish may be estimated rather below L.3500. 

Rate of Wages. — Agricultural labour averages Is. lOd. ; arti- 
sans, 2s. 6d. per day. Farm servants are hired at L.7 and L.8 
for the half year, with bed, board, and washing. On three or four 
farms only are there married ploughmen, who receive, in lieu of fixed 
money wages, allowance in produce with free house, garden, and 
cow's grass, amounting in the aggregate to L.d2. 

Implements used in husbandry cost thus, — an iron plough, 
L.4, 10s.; pair of wooden harrows, L. 1, 15s.; wheelbarrow, L. i, 
5s.; one horse box-cart, L.8, 10s. Sawing of timber, — yellow 
pine, ds. 6d. ; hardwood, 4s* per 100 feet. 

Breed of Cattle. — The common breed is Ayrshire, and a con- 
siderable portion of the parks is under grazing for black and 
West Highland cattle. A few sheep are kept ; and on one farm 
a small herd of goats. — An association has been lately formed for 
improvement in this branch of rural economy, and it may be stated 
as a token of its probable success, that, at the last annual meeting 
of the Highland Society held in Glasgow, two oxen fed on the 
farm of Mr Lorn Campbell, his Grace's chamberlain, under whose 

8 



ROSENBATH. 125 

auspices the association has been formed, greatly distanced all 
other competitors, and were, indeed, supposed to have been the very 
Bnest specimens ever reared of that peculiar bred. 

Hutbandry. — The general character of the husbandry is im- 
proving chiefly by inclosing and draining on the modern system, 
which might, however, be carried to a still greater extent Nearly 
the whole of the cultivated ground is inclosed by hedge and stone- 
dikes, and on some farms there have been reclaimed lands to com- 
plete the uniform aspect of the fields, which indicate a very de- 
termined spirit of agricultural improvement. 

To this, throughout the parish generally, there is no peculiar ob- 
stacle, but the want of better farm buildings, which, with very few 
exceptions, are inconvenient, — not in good repair and of limited 
extent ; and sometimes a lack of sufficient capital. For the pro- 
duce there is a steady and constant market, with easy access and 
water carriage for any amount of stimulating and enriching ma- 
nure ; while the sympathy and encouragement of a kind and m- 
telligent proprietary have the natural effect of giving no small energy 
to the farmer's proceedings. The ordinary duration of a lease is 
nineteen years, on terms that seem favourable to the occupier, and 
such as are fitted to secure the full benefit of his compact with the 
landlord. The enclosures are very complete, and are in good repair, 
perhaps more thoroughly suited to the purposes of the farmer, than 
those of any other parish in the district. 

Quarries and Mines. — Of the latter little need be said. The 
parish contains both limestone and slate, but neither has hitherto 
been productive. The lime can at all times be procured from the 
north of Ireland in abundance, and at less expense than the far- 
mers could prepare it on their own fields. 

A few years ago, two slate quarries were opened by the Duke of 
Argyle and Mr Gumming of Baremman, on their respective pro- 
perties. Both were wrought for some time but unproductively, and 
were abandoned by their respective proprietors. The slate, how- 
ever, is of excellent quality, and Mr Gumming lately re-opened 
his quarry with greater prospects of success. 

Fis/ieries. — Both salmon and herring fishing in their season 
are carried on to a considerable extent on both shores of the pa- 
rish. 

Produce, — The average yearly value of all kinds of produce, cal- 
culated pretty exactly may be thus rated : 



L.2000 








1500 








400 








90 








1200 








600 








100 









126 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Value €l all kinds of gnin, .... 

Of potatoes and tumipa, ..... 

Of hay cnlUTatedy . ' . 

(Meadow trifling) 

or flax for flannel, are ..... 

Of land in pasture, rating it at L. 2, 10ft. for each cow or flill- 

grown ox, and for each sheep, 58. . . . 

Annual thinning from plantation grounds, 
Of salmon fishing, .... . 

L.5820 

V. — Parochial Economy. 
Occasionally sales are effected in Glasgow and elsewhere ; seed 

oats are sometimes exported to Ireland, and potatoes to the colo- 
nies; but Greenock is the chief market for all descriptions of farm 
produce from the parish, to which there is a ready access by the 
two ferries of Row and Kilcraigin. By the former, (on the Gare- 
loch shore) and about six miles from Greenock quay, the farmer can 
convey his articles to market in steamers every day ; by the latter, 
which is on the Loch Long shore, where the estuary is about three 
miles wide, in the regular packet-boat on Mondays and Fridays. 

Villages. — There are several little groups of cottages, scarcely 
one of which can be termed a village, unless, indeed, the Clachan 
lay claim to that distinction among those of the hill of Campsail, 
Kilcraigin, Barber, or the mill of Reheane. In none of these, are 
there above ten or twelve families, and in the Clachan itself there 
are not sixty souls. 

Each family in these groups occupies a separate or self-contain^ 
ed cottage, so that although contiguous or rather crowded together, 
each thus enjoys a certain domestic privacy. Very few of the cot- 
tages are without a ben^ the comfort of which is so felt by the poor- 
est of the people. It is of no mean importance in their domestic 
economy, for very obvious purposes ; but it may be observed that 
it is prized in proportion to the diffusion of the power and habit 
of reflection, especially when the mind becomes religiously im- 
pressed. Such a family accommodation in their humble dwellings 
facilitates the attainment of that quiet and seclusion so indispensa- 
ble for those exercises with which a stranger cannot intermeddle. 

Means of Communication. — There are no turnpike roads; but 
about twenty-four miles of carriage roads, kept in excellent repair^ 
traverse the parish in various directions, with the exception of not 
more than three miles, the isthmus extending from Coalport to Fer- 
nivarry, they entirely surround the peninsula, and bisect it first across 
the dingle of Campsail Bay, then at Mamore, thus connecting the 
Loch Long and Gareloch sides of the parish, while another line. 



ROSENEATH. 127 

longttudiDally stretching from Portkillto Pattown, along the' farm- 
steadings of the west, very much facilitates all intra-parochial com- 
munication. An additionalline bisecting the ridge between Kilcraigin • 
and Mamore would afford a more direct access to the Row ferry, 
and the church from the Loch Long side farms, and contribute to the 
comfort of a very considerable portion of the population. 

From the position of the parish, our extra-parochial communi- 
cation is chiefly by water, for which since the use of steamers, there 
are abundant facilities. Not many years ago, an open packet 
boat from the Row and Kilcraigin ferries was the ordinary mode of 
conveyance to Greenock ; often against wind and tide would hours 
be spent in crossing the frith ; now, there are two or three steam- 
boats at all seasons, and in summer, arrivals and departures at the 
Grareloch ferry seven or eight times a day. At all times, by the 
row-boat, passengers can cross the Gareloch for the interior to the 
east The channel of the ferry, at low water certainly not more 
than one-sixth, widens, with the return of the tide, to upwards of 
half a mile. 

Of late years, a daily penny post subsidiary to Helensburgh, has 
been added to our means of communication. It was established 
on the condition that, although arriving on the Sabbath, no bag 
should be made up or dispatched as on other days. Its time has 
rather varied. At present, it arrives at twelve and departs at half- 
past two. 

Ecclesiastical State. — In the twelftli century Rosneath was a 
parsonage, the patronage of which belonged to the Earl of Len- 
nox. The territory which the name then included, with the pa- 
tronage of the church, Amelec, a younger son of Allwyn, Earl of 
Lennox, obtained for his patrimony in 1225, granting the church 
with all its pertinents in perpetual alms to the monastery of Paisley. 
By an agreement in 1227, between the Bishop of Glasgow and 
Abbot of Paisley, the monks of that abbey were allowed to appro- 
priate the church of Roseneath, and it continued in their possession 
till the Reformation. They enjoyed the whole of the revenue, and 
employed a curate to perform divine service. 

At the Reformation, the revenue was let by the Abbot for L.146, 
13s. 4d. per annum; and in 1587 the patronage and tithes, then 
held by Lord Claud Hamilton for life, as commendator of Paisley, 
were granted to him and his heirs for ever, along with the other 
property of the monaster)', now inherited by the Marquis of Aber- 



1 28 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

corn. The patronage of the church was afterwards acquired by 
the Argyle family, with whom it still remains. 

The church, although situated within about two miles from 
the southern boundary, from the peculiar form of the parish, is 
pevhaps more convenient than it could be elsewhere for an equal 
number of the people. It was built in 1780, rather prior to the 
revival of that taste in architecture which has adorned so many of 
our rural districts with convenient or rather elegant churches. 
Were it a matter of much importance, one might regret a struc- 
ture had not been erected to harmonize in some degree with the 
exquisite beauty of the environs. It is an edifice of the oblong or 
barn form, and that of the very plainest description. The belfry 
must always be excepted,, which is singularly synmietrical in its 
proportions, — the only relique of that more ancient fabric, which 
the modern parallelogram supplanted : cruciform, and dedicated to 
the Virgin Mary,* very aged people still speak with considerable 
reverence of its venerable and picturesque appearance. Its ex- 
ceeding uncomfortableness had determined the heritors to demo- 
lish it; and it is very probable that the incurable damp in its 
walls may induce, respecting the present church, a similar de- 
cision. 

It is, however, sufficiently commodious for the indigenous or or- 
dinary population ; but in summer, when the cottages and villages 
throughout the parish are studded with sea-bathers from the in- 
terior, it is often so crowded as to render the congregation very 
uncomfortable. 

The living consists of 210^ bolls of meal, 26 1 of bear, and 
L. 8, 10s. in money, with an allowance of L. 5 by his Grace the 
Duke of Argyle for communion elements. The teinds are ex- 
hausted. The glebe contains not more than 6^ acres, the greater 
portion of which is very inferior land. 

The manse is newly built, in every respect affording a comfort- 
able residence for the minister's family. The former manse, al- 
though not an old house, and thoroughly repaired about twenty years 
ago, on account of damp, the heritors, perhaps wisely for them- 
selves, at all events most considerately of the minister's comfort, 

* This only traditionally, — for in whatever way the assumed sanctity of the place 
depended upon the patronage of the Virgin, even in the charter of the twelfUi cen- 
tury, the church is designated the chuich of St Nicholas. It is probable the church or 
religious house at Kilcratgin, originated the relationship, which secures to this isle 
the soubriquet of the Virgin promontory, the more popular translation of the name. 



ROSENEATH. 12[) 

instead of enlarging, resolved to convert into a quarry for the pre- 
sent edifice. 

153 fiunilies attend the Established Church ; and 3 are Dissent- 
ing or Seceding families. 

JSducatum. — The different branches of a commercial and clgs- 
sical education are very efficiently taught by the parochial school- 
master ; and every day the children under his care are instructed 
in the principles of religion. The average attendance may be rated 
at 70, although in the winter season upwards of 100 sometimes 
are at scbooL The school-house was built a few years ago, a very 
handsome and commodious structure, superior to any in the county, 
reflecting great credit, at once upon the liberality and taste of 
the heritors. The schoolmaster's house is at a little distance 
ffom it, immediately contiguous to the church, with accommoda- 
tions much superior to what the statute provides for that class of 
most deserving men. His garden is much less than the legal di- 
mensions, but he enjoys an allowance in lieu of that deficiency. 
The salary is the maximum, which, with the fees, 2s. 6d. for read- 
ing, 3s. for writing, and 3s. 6d. for arithmetic, may constitute an 
income of between L. 70 and L.80 per annum. 

The only other school in the parish is at Knockderry, on the 
shore of Loch Long. The teacher there has a salary of L. 35 
a-year, guaranteed to him by Mr Lome Campbell, his Grace's fac- 
tor ; and although the parents pay at the rate of 5s. per quarter 
for each child, the fees fall greatly short of the sum guaranteed, 
from the circumstance of the school commanding pupils from a 
very limited population, but whose distance from the parish school 
rendered its erection necessary, — the expense of which was solely 
met by the Duke of Argyle. Although less, it is built upon the 
same principle as the parochial school-house. Both houses are 
much more commodious than at present is needful, and may be 
considered as anticipating any probable increase of population in 
their respective districts, for a century to come. 

It may be stated, that the people are universally anxious to have 
their children educated. All the natives of the parish, male and 
female, are taught at least to read and write ; and although indi- 
viduals from time to time are found that can do neither, they are 
generally natives of Argyleshire, servants to the different farmers. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — There are nearly 30 on the poor 
list ; these, chiefly desolate widows, and frail lone women — only 
two men, indeed, the one blind, the other lame, receive any relief 

DUMBARTON. I 



130 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

from the funds. The amount of poverty is not so great as such a 
number in so small a parish might seem to indicate, for assistance 
is rendered to the needy long before they reach that extremityof des- 
titution, which in some districts seems to be held as an indispensable 
antecedent to the bestowal of public alms. The allowance varies from 
15s. to L. .5 in the year. The mean amount of collections at the 
church amounts to about L.35 : there is also interest on L. 170, and 
a donation of L. 10 from the Duke of Argyle. At present, there are 
three lunatics in different asylums chargeable upon the parish. 
To meet this extraordinary outlay, the heritors, by a judicious ar* 
rangement, subscribed, in proportion to their respective interests in 
the parish, the greater portion of the necessary funds ; and for the 
reversion the kirk-session are responsible. 

One of the lunatic cases is of peculiar interest. Formerly the 
individual had been confined for more than a twelvemonth, and 
was dismissed perfectly cured. For five years he continued sane ; 
and, during thattime, he liquidated, from the proceeds of his spade 
labour, at the rate of L. 5 per annum, the whole of the outlay which 
the session had incurred. A Bible was given him as a memorial 
of God's goodness to him, and the integrity of his conduct, — which 
he had not in his possession more than two or three months, be« 
fore a relapse ensued ; and although convalescent, lie is still in 
confinement. 

When any case of more than ordinary distress occurs, the people 
are in the habit of raising contributions throughout the parish ; 
and nothing can be more conclusive of their sympathy with each 
other, than the amount which in this way is often raised. It can- 
not, perhaps, be stated that there exists any general disinclination 
in the poor to receive assistance from the session, although in- 
stances do occur of extraordinary exertions made by the kindred 
of the parties, rather than they should apply for it. One widow, 
with several children, not long ago entreated the minister to give 
her allowance to some other person, on the plea, — that her father 
was able to assist her ; and another individual, about the same 
time, prevented a subscription in behalf of his brother's family, 
who had died prematurely, on the ground that they should always 
have a share of what he himself possessed. Another example of 
no ordinary interest ought not to be omitted. One day, the mi- 
nister met two labouring men on the Gareloch shore, and, upon in- 
quiry, discovered, rather with difficulty, that they were raising money 
to assist a poor parishioner, who had been long a bed-rid invalid. 



BOSENEATH. 131 

They would take nothing ; — they were not going to the manse» 
nor to Baremman, nor the Clachan, nor Portkiln. " You have 
all enough ado with the poor, — it is right we should go among 
ourselves, the commonalty." The feeling was too sacred to re- 
press. They were allowed without further molestation to proceed 
on their way ; and they collected from among themselves about 
L. 9, which met the necessities of their young friend so long as 
he lived.* 

These instances indicate a right spirit in the people. The rea- 
diness with which they thus assist each other seems to have pre- 
vented the feeling of degradation, when they are assisted from the 
general fund, — which, indeed, they are besides led to regard in 
the light of a friendly society fund, to which in their day they had 
regularly contributed. 

It must not be omitted to observe, that, in addition to his an- 
nual donation, the Duke of Argyle allows pensions to all his infirm 
labourers, when unable to work, — also to the widows of labourers, 
and their children, until able to do something for themselves, — a 
hereditary compassionateness worthy of the patriarchal interest in 
the comfort of their dependents, which has so long distinguished the 
house of Argyle. 

Library. — A subscription librarj' exists in the parish, consisting 
of several hundred volumes in all departments of literature. It is 
rather in a more flourishing condition of late than formerly ; but 
still the number of subscribers is considerably below what even 
our limited population ought to furnish. The subscribers are 
chieflv among the labourers and artisans, not the farmers. There 
is also a small juvenile library, consisting of religious publications, 
exclusively for the use of those who attend the Sabbath school 
and the more private instruction of the minister. 

Neither friendly society nor savings bank exists in the parish, 
but several individuals, chiefly farm-servants, send their deposits 
to Greenock, and these are rather on the increase. 

Inns, — Lately there were five, now there are only two in the pa- 
rish, the ferry houses of Row and Kilcraigin. The privilege 

whicli this parish enjoys in a magistracy, which resorts to all just 

• But the most remaTltable case in the pariah of the relief of the destitute occurred 
some years ago. A young woman was supported on her deathbed by the charity of 
sympathising friends. From the subscription edition of the memoir of her life more 
than L. 600 were raised, exclusive of all expenses, and the author devoted the entire 
amount to the benefit of her surviving kindred, who are in circumstances of extreme 
poverty. 



152 DUMBARTONSHIRK. 

expedients for diminishing the opportunities of indulging in the use 
of intoxicating liquors, cannot be too highly valued. From the evil, 
likely to inundate some of the contiguous parishes, by the pro- 
prietors encouraging rather than preventing the multiplication of 
licenses, the people of this parish are comparatively secure. 

Fuel. — The ordinary fuel is coal in the southern part of the 
parish; elsewhere peat is used to a considerable extent. The 
coal is generally brought from Glasgow ; — of peat, the summit of 
the ridge affords an inexhaustible supply. Including carriage, the 
coal in ordinary years costs 6d. per cwt. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
Since the date of the former Statistical Account, very consider- 
able changes must have taken place in the parish, of which a few 
examples may be given. Then, it seems there were 96 herring 
fishermen, manning with hirelings, about 40 wherries, from which 
one must conclude almost the whole effective male population 
were occupied during the season in that precarious calling. The 
farms could not but be very imperfectly cultivated ; it is well known, 
indeed, that they were generally in a very miserable condition, the 
return of produce not averaging threefold. With few exceptions, 
they merited the appellation of crofts rather than farms.* The cul- 
tivation of the soil, the tillage of this peninsular ridge, must have 
been of inferior importance in their eyes, to those labours in the 
deep waters, for the proceeds of a summer fishing were sometimes 
more than double the rental of the whole parish. Such a precari- 
ous, although often lucrative vocation, was not favourable to the 
promotion of regular habits, accompanied as it was with such prac- 
tices as obtained here. The division of funds by each boat's crew, 
was signalized by a gathering of all the neighbours, and this reci« 

* The average might now he stated at 7 or 8 seeds. On some farms L.SO, some- 
times L. 40 Sterling have been realized from an acre of potatoes, for the growth of 
which the soil generally seems peculiarly favourable. The great stimulus to agricul- 
tural improvement in the parish, was given by the late Duke of Argyle, himself inte- 
rested in rural pursuits, under the active agency of his factor, Mr 11. Campbell, one of 
the few first members of the Highland Society still surviving. He had powerful 
prejudices to combat, but with energy and decision he prosecuted, what he deemed so 
indispenable to their own improvements, and the farmers generally can now appre- 
ciate the benefits resulting from having been so resisted and controlled in the 
management of their own fields. His successor, Mr Lome Campbell, the son of a 
gentleman who occupied the same important office, nearly a century ago, most efficient- 
ly sustains the same spirit of parochial improvement — giving free efiect to the kindly 
feeling so long hereditary in the fisimily of Argyle to their tenantry : while he dis- 
plays on the splendid fields of his own farm, unmatched for beauty of situation in the 
country, those almost horticultural niceties of doing up which distinguish the ni(;st 
noted of the plains and valliesofthe lowlands. 

G 



ROSENEATH. ^ 133 

procity of ciyilities, diffused over several weeks of their vacation, 
bore very hard upon their sobriety and temperance. 

Now, not half a-dozen individuals prosecute the fishery beyond 
the shores that skirt the farms, which now, with few exceptions, 
would credita:bly bear comparison with fields of similar size in the 
most highly cultivated counties. 

Then, also, according to that Account, there were " plenty of 
whisky bouses in the parish," which must have been fatal attrac- 
tives during the long nights of winter, to the unoccupied fishermen. 
Nowthere are just two regularly licensed — " the two Ferry houses," 
if not to the parishioners, yet to the stranger and the traveller con- 
sidered indispensable conveniences. 

Previous to Huskisson's Act of 1829 for the encouragement of 
legal distillation, many of the cottagers were engaged in smuggling 
operations, like others in the mountain districts of the contiguous 
counties. The position and form of the parish rendering it pecu- 
liarly suitable for the prosecution of this unlawful manufacture and 
traffic, others than the natives burrowed with their stills in the se- 
questered ravines. For many years ihese illicit practices have been 
altogether abandoned; but when the mind of a community has been 
long familiarized to any evil, the demoralizing consequences may 
linger long after the evil itself shall have passed away. 

In those days also, and till within these very few years, other prac- 
tices, although not violating any distinct law, yet doubtless offending 
decorum, very generally prevailed. At marriages, for example, 
numerous crowds assembled, and generally they were very boiste- 
rous festivities. On the intermediate days, before the kirking, the 
young pair with their attendants, preceded by the bagpipe, per- 
ambulated the parish, visiting the cottages that had furnished their 
quota to the carnival. The ceremonies were closed by the whole 
party, after Divine service on Sabbath, adjourning for refreshment 
to the contiguous tavern. 

Now, marriages consist of small family parties ; only the nearer 
kindred of the bridegroom and the bride meet on the happy occa- 
sion, and thus is secured a far greater delicacy in the expression of 
kindly sympathies, than marked the penny or crowded bridals of 
former times. 

Baptisms were habitually desecrated by the accompanying cere- 
monies. The kindred and friends assembled with the parents after 
the dismissal of the congregation, and proceeded, like the marriage 
parlies, to eat and to drink in the house of refreshment, under the 



134 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

pretence of toasting prosperity to the child and its family. Now 
such a practice is no longer known. 

At funerals, four services or rounds of ardent spirits, with accom- 
panying viands, were considered as necessary out of " respect to 
the dead." Now, only once spirits or wine is presented, and no- 
thing can exceed the becomingness of the funeral rite. 

Again, if elsewhere New Year's Day was a festival, here it 
seemed to absorb the mind of the whole people. For weeks, the 
youths had been preparing for the great annual game ; and in one 
of the fields contiguous to the church, assembled many hundreds, 
old and young, with music and banners, either to witness or to 
join in the shinty combat of the day. At night succeeded a ball, 
which generally did not close till the dawn of the following morn- 
ing. Now the game is almost abandoned, and there is no ball. Di- 
vine service is performed in church at the ordinary hour, and this 
year, the day once so signalized with boisterous festivities, had a 
most pleasing aspect even of Sabbath tranquillity. 

This sketch of the change in the manners of the people within 
a period of not many years, may be closed with an additional il- 
lustration ; and those who have had opportunities of judging of the 
practice of the district will best know how to appreciate its singu- 
lar interest. On the Saturday evening of a communion, had ar- 
rived the usual supply for the consumption of the following day, 
as in former years : particular circumstjxnces had urged the mi- 
nister to address his people on the propriety of at once abandon- 
ing the old hereditary practice of the district, and not one indivi- 
dual resisted his counsel, or entered the threshold of the house of 
refreshments. To the end of the service they continued engaged 
in their devotions, like a quiet family parly assembled to eat the 
passover. 

These are some of the changes, among others, that might be 
noticed, as significant of an ameliorated condition of society. Re- 
lying, however, on the authority of aged people, it might seem that 
the future generations are far from the moral and religious stan- 
dard of their fathers. A very old man, not long ago, stated to the 
writer, that, although the Bay of Campsail be very beautiful, it was 
once to him more so ; when a little boy, early on a summer Sab- 
bath morning, he would go down to the shore and hear the fish- 
ermen at anchor in the bay singing the praise of God in their boats, 
for each boat then had family worship. 

Be it devoutly hoped that some future statist shall be able to say, 



CUMBERNAULD. 135 

that, early on the summer Sabbath mornings, ^^ arises the voice of 
rejoicing and salvation as in the tabernacles of the righteous," from 
all the cottages and villas around the bays of the Gareloch. 

May 1839. 



PARISH OF CUMBERNAULD. 

PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. JOHN WATSON, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 

Name, — Cumbernauld, in Celtic Cumar^an-alt, is said to sig- 
nify the meeting of streams, descriptive enough of the situation of this 
parish, — several brooks uniting their streams a little below the vil- 
lage of Cumbernauld. As itoriginally formed partoftheancientking- 
dom of Cumbria, comprehending the south and south-west of Scot- 
land, as well as Cumberland in England, it is supposed by some 
to have derived its name from the Cumbrians. Nothing, however, 
is more involved in mystery, than the derivation of names, and this, 
like many more, rests on mere conjecture. 

Extent^ Sfc. — The parish of Cumbernauld, situated at the east- 
em extremity of Dumbartonshire, is bounded on the west, by the 
parish of Kirkintilloch ; on the south, by the parish of New Monk- 
land; on the north and north-east, by the parishes of Kilsyth and 
Denny ; and on the east, by that of Falkirk, all in the county of 
Stirling. From east to west its length is about 8 miles, and its 
breadth from north to south from 3 to 4 miles. 

Geology, — This parish is formed of a succession of ridges of 
whinstone or trap, running in parallel lines to each other, in a di- 
rection from east to west; and excellent metal for making roads 
or paving streets, and for building farm-houses and fences, is here 
in great abundance. Freestone also abounds in various parts of 
the parish of excellent quality, and for the purpose of building is 
worked to a very considerable extent in the lands of Netherwood, 
adjoining the Forth and Clyde Canal. Limestone on the same 
lands, and also at Cumbernauld, of a very superior quality, is work- 
ed to a great extent, the former averaging above L.4000, and the 
latter L.2500 annually. The mine of Netherwood at present is 



1 IW DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

cleared of water by manual labour, and Cumbernauld by an inge* 
nious hydraulic machine ; but I apprehend that, ere long, some 
more powerful means for removing the water will be found to 
bo necessary. The dip in both is east and south-east The 
lime strata, for properly speaking there are three strata, or the 
lime post, is between 8 and 9 feet in thickness, lying between an 
indurated freestone and blaise ; on the east, it is cut off by a whin 
dike ; and on the west it is separated from the coal district by a 
ridge of sandstone. About 20 fathoms below the limestone, 
there is a stratum of coal not worked ; but as the parish lies on 
the boundaries of the coal fields, which stretch into Fife on 
the east, and into Lanarkshire and Ayrshire on the south and 
west, coal is found in different parts of the parish, but chiefly 
of that sort called smithy coal. At the Hirst, near to the free- 
stone quarry above-mentioned, it is worked to a very conside- 
rable extent. About 1400 tons will be the average output. 
Much of it is made into coke or char for the public works in 61as« 
gow, &c. About two tons of coal will make one ton of char. This 
mine is horizontal, the coal seam from 12 to 18 inches thick, — the 
dip south-east, is level free. The depth of this mine from the 
surface is from 27 to 37 fathoms. Large coal is found at a greater 
depth, and is wrought to a small extent only, not being of a good 
quality. It is supposed, however, that, by sinking to a greater 
depth, coal of a superior quality will be found. Near to this, on 
the farm of Westerwood, under lease to the Carron Company, is 
a mine of ironstone wrought by them to a small extent, but this 
mineral is found in various other places of the parish. 

Botany. — Among the few rare plants to be found here, we may 
mention Ivy-leaved duckmeat, Lemna trisulca^ on the banks of 
the Forth and Clyde canal ; Alexanders, Smymium Olusatrum^ at 
the back o' Bog ; rosebay willow herb, Epilobium angustifoliumj 
Cochlearia Armoracia, horse-radish. 

Of plantations, there may be above 500 acr^s ; consisting of oak, 
ash, elm, beech, lime, plane, alder, horse and sweet chestnut, pop- 
lars, spruce, larch, &c. which beautify, shelter, and fertilize the 
country. Holly thrives well, and grows to a large size ; and there are 
some very fine trees of a large size near to Cumbernauld* House ; 
and in the Vault glen there are some larch trees planted soon after 
the introduction of that tree into Scotland, of great height and 
girth ; also some very fine specimens of the Spanish chestnut. 

In some favoured spots, apple, plum, pear, Jind cherry trees, yield 



CUMBERNAULD* 137 

occasionally fair crops. The climate, however, seems not to be 
adapted for orchards, the finer kinds being liable to blight, and all 
sorts to canker and rust. The frosts and cold east winds in April 
and May often destroy the blossom, and render fruit in this place 
but a very precarious crop. 

Zoohgy. — Grouse and black-cock breed in the moor of Fanny- 
side, and duck and teal in the loch of that name. Pheasants, par- 
tridges, plovers, snipe, woodcock, &c. frequent the woods and low 
grounds. Some years ago the jamhe rouge^ or red-legged par- 
tridge, was introduced here by the Honourable Admiral Flemin«r, 
but it is supposed that the climate was too cold, as none of them 
are now to be seen. Swallows and martins, &c. ; cuckoos visit us 
annually. The other small birds are such as are found all over the 
country, blackbirds, thrushes, linnets, and finches, larlcs, &c — 
Among birds of prey, and these are not numerous, are the glede, 
the sparrowhawk, and the owl. There are three well-stocked 
rookeries in the parish. Crows, doubtless, are intended by the Crea- 
tor to serve a useful purpose ; but in spring and autumn, where they 
are numerous, they do.very considerable damage to both the grain 
and potato crops. 

In spring, the roebuck is to be found in the woods of Cumber- 
nauld and Castlecary, where are also a few squirrels. The other 
wild animals are, the fox, polecat, weasel, club-tailed weasel, or 
ermine, and the otter. Two wild cats were lately shot. The skin 
of one of them was nearly as large as that of a fox. I believe that 
no badgers are now found here. 

Climate, — The parish having an elevation of 230 or 240 feet 
above sealevel,the air is sharp; but though sharp it is not unhealthy. 
The prevailing winds are west and south-west, which, loaded with 
the vapours of the Atlantic, render the climate sofl and rainy. 

Hydrography. — From its elevated situation, (his parish has no 
rivers, — the Kelvin, which divides it from Kilsyth, and the Luggie, 
which separates it from New Monkland, being here inconsiderable 
streams. Fish formerly abounded, it is said, in both, and in their 
tributary rivulets ; now, however, a few trout are only to be found. 
This decrease is ascribed to the quantity of lime now laid upon 
the ground, and the flax steeped in the waters. 

With the exception of Fannyside Loch, in the moor of the same 
name, there is no fresh water lake in the parish. Formerly, there 
were others, which have been drained and turned into arable land. 
Fannyside Loch is but a few feet deep ; it covers about 60 acres 
of land, has a few pike and perch, but no trout. In its bottom and 



138 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

on its banks, there is a very fine white sand, which would answer 
well in the manufacture of glass. — The only other collection of 
waters in the parish is the Forth and Clyde Canal, which runs 
through the north side of it for about four miles from Castlecary 
on the east to Achinstary on the west. Pike and perch are found 
in the canal, and coot and wild duck are seen upon its shores. On 
a small stream near to the old house of Castlecary, there is a 
waterfall of about 80 feet, which, together with the deep dell, the 
overhanging and surrounding woods, the old mill and miller's 
bouse now in ruins, the murmuring of the water, and the songs of 
the birds which strike the ear, renders it a scene at once pictur- 
esque and romantic. 

II. — Civil History. 
I am not aware of any history of the parish extant. The Old 

Castle of Cumbernauld, together with the barony, which in the 
end of the thirteenth century belonged to John Cumyn, Earl of 
Buchan, came into the possession of the Flemings of Biggar and 
Cumbernauld, in the course of the fourteenth century, who were 
afterwards created Earls of Wigton. 

In the early period of Scottish history, the Flemings of Cum- 
bernauld are often mentioned, and make a distinguished figure in 
the transactions of those unsettled times. They came originally 
from the low countries. Under a grant of David L, Baldwin, a 
distinguished Fleming, settled at Biggar, in the upper ward of 
Clydesdale, and in the reigns of Malcolm IV. and William I. was 
Sheriff of the shire. Sir Malcolm Fleming was Sheriff of Dum- 
barton in the reign of Alexander III. Robert, his son, was one 
of the chiefs who, at the treaty of Brigham, March 12, 1289-90, 
proposed the marriage of Margaret of Scotland with Prince Ed- 
ward of England. He swore fealty to Edward, assisted at the 
murder of Cumyn at Dumfries, and was one of Bruce's associates 
in his arduous endeavours to restore the liberties of his country, 
and received from him a grant of the lands of Leinsie and Cum- 
bernauld, they having fallen to the Crown by the forfeiture of 
Comyn. Sir Malcolm Fleming, his eldest son, remained true to 
the family of Bruce, and belonged to one of the four corps into 
which the Scottish army was divided at the disastrous battle of 
Halidon Hill, 19th July 1333. Sir Malcolm Fleming retreated 
from the field of contest, and secured the Castle of Dumbarton, 
of which he was governor, and from thence carried in safety to 
France, the young King, David II. with his infant consort, Joanna, 
where they found protection until their return to Scotland, 4th 



CUMDl^RNAULD. 139 

May 1341, when they were safely landed at Inverbervie, a small 
sea-port on the coast of Kincardineshire. It is probable that Sir 
Malcolm remained in France during the stay of his King and 
Queen : he returned hon^e along with them, was raised to the peer- 
age by David II. who created him Earl of Wigton, and gave him a 
grant of lands in the same county. According to the English 
historians, he was taken prisoner at the battle of Durham, 7th 
October 1346 ; and it is said that David IL along with his favourite 
and faithful servant, Malcolm Fleming, was, on the 2d January 
1347, sent to the Tower of London, where he suffered a long and 
dreary captivity ; while others maintain that the Earl of Wigton 
made good his retreat from the battle of Durham, and in proof 
cite from the Calendar of Charters the following title : " De ca- 
piendo Robertum Bertram, qui Malcomum Fleming, inimicum 
Regis, evadere permisit'' He is simply called Malcolm Fleming, 
probably for this reason, that the English Government did not re- 
cognize the right of the Scottish Kings to confer titles of honour. 
Thomas Fleming, his grandson, by a deed of sale dated at Ed inburgh, 
8th February 1371, sold the Earldom of Wigton to Archibald, Earl 
of Galloway, ** pro una certa et notabili summa pecuniae propter mag- 
nas et graves discordias, et inimicas capitales, inter me et indigenas 
majores comitatus praedicti exortas." This sale was confirmed by 
King Robert II. 7ih October 1372 ; and he resigned the Barony 
of Leinzie, in Dumbartonshire, in favour of Malcolm Fleming of 
Biggar, which was confirmed by Robert IL, 20th September 1382. 
Dying without issue, he was succeeded by his cousin, Sir Malcolm, 
son of Sir Patrick Fleming of Biggar. Sir David Fleming, his 
eldest son, distinguished himself at the battle of Otterburn, 1388, 
was of the commission for a truce with England, 6th July 1406, 
attended James the Prince of Scotland to the Bass, saw him safe 
on board the ship that was to convey him to France, and as he 
returned home on the 14th of the same month, was waylaid and 
murdered by James Douglas of Balveny, afterwards seventh Earl 
of Douglas, at Hermandstone, near Edinburgh, and was buried 
at Holyroodhouse. Of Sir David, Wyntone says, 

<' Schire David Fleming of Cumbernauld, 
Lord and Knyghte baeth stout and bauld, 
Trowit, loveit, well with the King, 
Thia like guid and gentle Knyghte, 
That was baith manful, lele, and wigHt." &c. &c. 

It is not quite ascertained at what time the Flemings of Cum- 
bernauld were raised to the peerage. Robert Lord Fleming oc- 



140 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

curs in the Records of Parliament, 11th October 1466. They 
were probably ennobled by James II. who died in 1460. 

In 1563, Lord Fleming held the Castle of Dumbarton for Queen 
Mary, when Captain Crawford, having bribed some of the workmen 
about the Castle, surprised and took it. Lord Fleming made 
his escape ; but Lady Fleming, the French Ambassador Verac, 
together with John Hamilton, Archbishop of St Andrews, were 
made prisoners. 

By patent dated Whitehall, 19th March 1606, John, sixth 
Lord Fleming, was created Earl of Wigton and Lord Fleming of 
Biggar and Cumbernauld. John, sixth Earl, went with James II. 
to St Germains, voted against the Union with England, and, being 
suspected on the breaking out of the Rebellion in 1715, was, by 
a warrant of Major-General Williams, the Governor, committed 
prisoner to Edinburgh Castle, 20th August 1715, and on 24th 
June 1716, was liberated by an order of the High Court of Jus- 
ticiary. In 1 736, he was made King's Chamberlain of Fife, died 
in 1744, and was succeeded in his titles and estates by his brother 
Charles, who dying 26th May 1747, unmarried, the (estates de- 
volved to his niece, Lady Clementina Fleming, only child of John 
sixth Earl. She married, in 1735, Charles Elphinstone, third 
son of Lord Elphinstone, and who became afterwards tenth Lord 
Elphinstone. She died 1st January 1799, being eighty years of 
age. As heir of entail, the estates of Biggar and Cumbernauld 
devolved upon her second grandson, the Honourable Charles Fle- 
ming, an Admiral in her Majesty's Navy. 

The barony of Leinzie, comprehending the parishes of Kirkin- 
tilloch and Cumbernauld, originally belonged to Stirlingshire. In 
the reign of Robert I. or David II., Malcolm Fleming, then Sheriff 
of Dumbarton, got them disjoined from Stirlingshire and annexed 
to Dumbarton, while Drymen, Killearn, and other parishes were 
disjoined from Dumbarton and annexed to Stirling. An act of 
Parliament in 1503 restored them to their original counties ; but 
this act having been repealed, 8th May 1509, Leinzie was again 
annexed to Dumbarton, and Drymen, &c. to Stirlingshire. In 
1339, or thereabouts, another attempt was made to alter this ar- 
rangement, but was defeated by the Earl of Mar, then Sheriff of 
Stirlingshire. Since then, no change has been made in this ar- 
rangement.* 

' Vide, Chalmers* CaicdunlH) Hailcs* Annals, Wood's Tecrage. 



CUMBERNAULD. • 141 

Antiquities. — 'There are no remains of any religious houses ; yet 
the names of several places, as Achinbee, Achenkill, Chapelton 
Kildrum, Kilmuir, Croy, and others, would lead to infer that there 
had been several within the parish. 

The only relic of antiquity is Graham's Dike or Agricola's 
Wall, of which there are some traces. It enters the parish at the 
Bed Burn bridge, near to the Roman camp at Castlecary, 
where the turnpike road crosses the burn, and runs nearly parallel 
with the Forth and Clyde Canal, through the whole length of the 
parish till it enters the parish of Kirkintilloch, at the Barrhill, a 
little south of Achinstarey. 

No part of the wall, which is said to have been 20 feet hi;^h, 
and 24 feet thick, now remains ; but the fosse, which tradition 
states to have been 20 feet deep, and 40 feet wide, is distinctly 
to be seen throughout its whole length, part of it being used as a 
parish road. Running in a straight line, partly over elevated and 
rocky ground, little of it could have been filled with water ; but to 
'^.ompensate for this, and where most required, it had the Dullatur 
Bog, then a loch or impassable morass, upon its northern bank. 
Near its eastern extremity, on the farm of Toll-Park, the fosse, 
and part of the, road which run along its southern boundary, may 
still be distinctly seen. But, for a more particular description, we 
refer to the authors who have more minutely described it. 

Some stones with inscriptions, found in or near the wall, may 
l>e seen in Glasgow College Museum. 

In the garden at Nethercroy, near Achinstarey Bridge, there is 
to be seen a Roman altar, bearing the following inscription : — 

Nymph is, 

Vexillatio 

Lee:. VI. vie. 

V. ET. sub. FA 
6io. LIBERA. 

Into the south wall of the mansion-house of Nethercroy are 
built two stones. On one of them are three male figures clad in 
armour, and bearing spears and shields. On the other are two 
female figures, one of them as having come from the bath, regard- 
ing attentively her attendant, who is in a bending posture, as if lift- 
ing something from the ground. 

On the farm of Carrickstone or Carrigstone, on the rising ground 
nearly west of the churchjand a little to the southof the Roman wall, 
there is a large stone, called the Standing- Stone. Though con- 



142 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

siderably larger than the one above noticed, it is of the same fi- 
gure, and probably was used for the same purpose, that of an altar. 
It has no inscription, nor any figure upon it. * But it has a hole 
in it ; and tradition says, that this hole received the standard of 
Robert the Bruce, then Earl of Carrick, who here assembled his 
army before marching to the field of Bannockbum, 24th June 
1314, which decided the independence of Scotland. Supposing 
this to have been the place appointed for the rendezvous of the 
army, in a military point of view, Bruce seems to have made a ju- 
dicious selection. On the north, he had the DuUatur Bog, then 
a loch or impassable morass ; so that, in case of an attack, he had 
only to defend the narrow defile at the Castlecary on the east, or 
the narrow valley through the Balloch Bog on the west or south- 
west ; while, in case of need, he secured for himself a safe retreat, 
either uppn the River Avon and Bathgate to the south-east, or 
upon the Water of Luggie and the Clyde to the south. This ac- 
count, it is said, is to be found in some of our early historians. 

It has already been observed, that the Forth and Clyde Canal 
traverses the whole length of the parish on the north. And in its 
formation, through the Bog of Dullatur, swords, pistols, &c. the 
bodies of men and horses were found in it, and what seems some- 
what marvellous, a trooper, completely armed and seated on 
the horse, in the exact posture in which he had perished. This 
bog lay directly south of the field of the battle of Kilsyth, between 
the gallant Marquis of Montrose, and General Baillie, 15th August 
1645 ; and it is supposed, that these were some of Baillie's men 
who, in their haste to escape, being either ignorant of the ground, 
or hard pressed by their enemies, had rode into the bog and there 
perished. 

A Roman road, leading from the south to the camp at Castlecary, 
may be partially seen in themossof Fannyside; and in the same moss, 
the inhabitants direct the stranger's view to certain hollows, or hags, 
as having been places of temporary concealment for the Covenan- 
ters, or persecuted remnant during the time of Charles II. and 
his brother James. 

Near the house of Cumbernauld, there is an eminence called the 
Towe Hill, where in the olden time, the feudal Baron held his 
court The gallows-knowe, it is well known, was always near the 
Mote Hill, alias Court Hall of those times ; and we are inclined 
to suppose from the name, that the Towe Hill might be the place 
where the Baron's sentence was carried into speedy execution. 



CUMBERNAULD. 143 

Not fiu'.from this, is the Vault Glen: and till very lately the 
farm house called the Vault, on the edge of the glen, was standing ; 
whether, as its name vault would import, it was anciently a prison 
or place of confinement, is not well known. 

At the Chapelton, on the farm of Achinkill, it is supposed there 
had been a religious house and burying-ground : for upon the re • 
moval of the houses, some human bones were turned up by the 
spade and plough, but nothing else of interest was discovered. A 
century ago, January 1739, there was a very violent storm of wind, 
by which many houses were unroofed, windows broken, large trees 
blown down, and much damage done by it in many other respects. 
It is worthy of notice, that, as a very violent storm of wind hap- 
pened in January 1839, the same should have occurred in 1739. 
Session Records, 7th February 1739. The same day the session, 
^' considering that the heritors have been often called upon to re« 
pair the damage done to the kirk windows by the violent storm in 
January last, yet it remains utterly neglected by them, appointed 
a glazier to mend and refit said windows, and to be paid by their 
treasurer." 

It also appears that the year 1739 had been a bad season, for, 
20th January 1740, ^Uhe session, considering the great want and 
hardship, which a great many honest families in this parish are 
under, through the calamities of a late hail blast, and the pre* 
sent cold and dearth, agreed, that the circumstances of such fa- 
milies shall be inquired into, and their necessities carefully re- 
lieved by the several members of the session, especially the mo- 
derator, to whom they are readiest to let their case be known, with 
confidence it will not be divulged to the damage of their credit." 
During the Rebellion 1745-6, a party of Highlanders having 
visited Cumbernauld, were followed by a party of the King's dra- 
goons, who took up their quarters in the old castle or house of 
Cumbernauld, which, after the building of the present mansion, 
'731 1 had been converted into stables, &c. " sic transit gloria 
®undi,** and upon their departure set it on fire and burnt it to the 
pound. This happened a short time before the battle of Falkirk, 
between Prince Charles Stewart and General Halle v, 17th Janu- 
^Vf 1746. The fury of the dragoons seems to have evaporated 
^'ft the smoke and the flames of the old house, for the present 
niansion with its inmates they left unscathed. 

Bcdenastical History. — Originally Cumbernauld formed part of 

3 



144 DUiMBARTONSHlUE. 

the parish of Kirknitilloch, from which, by a decreet of the Lords 
of Erection and Plantation of Kirks, it was disjoined in 1649, and 
erected into a separate parish by the name of Easter Leinzie, or 
Lenyie, as Kirkintilloch was of Wester Lenyie, — a word derived, 
perhaps, from the ancient British Leveyn or Lleven, signifying 
smooth. An account of this parish before the disjunction will 
fall more properly under the Report of Kirkintilloch. 

An application to Parliament in 1621, for building a new church in 
the middle of the parish, having failed, a decreet of the Commis- 
sioners, as above noticed, in 1649, ordered the parish of Leinzie 
to be divided into two parishes, which was carried into effect short- 
ly afterwards. The communion tokens bear, " Erected 1656," 
with the words, " Urit nee Perit," over the burning bush. The 
settlement between the presbytery and the Earl of Wigton for 
manse and glebe was in 1658. Mr Thomas Stewart, the first mi* 
nister, was ejected in 1662 for nonconformity. He was succeeded 
by Mr Gilbert Muschett, with whose induction, 11th May 1666, 
the session record begins, " The session's book of Easter Leinzie 
beginning in the year of God one thousand three score and six. 

** At the Easter Kirk of Leinzie, the eleventh day of May 1666, 
The whilk day Mr Robert Bennet, minister of Kirkintilloch, maid 
sermon, and thereafter did institute Mr Gilbert Muschett to be 
minister of the said kirk, and did receive the oath de fideli," &c. 

With the exception of an anxiety often manifested by the mi- 
nister and elders about strangers coming into the parish without 
testimonials, nothing deserving notice occurs in the record till 5th 
November 1676, when the session appoint all persons who go out 
of the parish to get their children baptised at conventicles, to pay 
4 libs. Scots, and be cited to the Presbytery ; and several persons 
are mentioned as liable for this fine. 

From this time, the minister from the pulpit often forbids the 
people to attend conventicles, to reset rebels and fugitives : and 
on 9th September 1683, he strictly warns them to take notice " that 
none of the twelve persons declared fugitives be resett in none of 
their quarters, viz. James, John, and George Russell in Gaubet- 
hill," with nine others who are named. 

Subsequent to this, the parish church seems to have been all 
but deserted. Almost every Sabbath the minister complains of the 
people absenting themselves from the parish church, and going to 
the conventicles, and threatening the elders with deposition from 
their office ; but all was ineffectual, for the record often bears that 



CUMBERNAULD. 145 

only fifteen, tweoty, twelve, &c persons, and one, two, or no elders 
were present, and the reason assigned is *^ that ane great conven- 
ticle'' was held either within the parish or neighbourhood. 

It is noticeable, that, after the granting of the third indulgence, 
Mr Musehett, 14th August 1687, intimates from the pulpit, ^* that 
be was willing to give one of the dyets to Mr Robb, the Presby- 
terian minister, that the offering for the poor might be preserved, 
and for several other reasons mentioned by the minister ; and 
that he would write to Mr Robb thereanent betwixt and the 
next Sabbath, to see if he would accept of the said offer." 
This offer, it would seem, that Mr Robb did not think proper 
to accept; for on 25th September, same jear, ^* the whilk day the 
people are exhorted to be regular and orderly ; albeit Mr Robb is 
come so neeire as to keep ane meeting in the Newtoune." This 
exhortation, like the others, was disregarded : the former complaints 
are still made, ** That no elders were present in the church, no 
offerings were gathered, that no session was kept, and that 300 or 
S60 heads of &milies, besides women and children, were absent 
from the church." On 15th July 1688, the twelve persons for- 
merly mentioned are again denounced as fugitives ; and the said 
** day intimation was maid, that the meeting-house preacher is ane 
rebell, and not pardoned ; excommunicate and not relaxed ; and 
ane slanderer and leisingmaker, alienating the hearts of his Ma- 
jesties subjects, by not keeping the three late thanksgivings." 

Some persons belonging to the parish were suspected of being 
concerned in the rescue of Alexander Smith at Inchbelly Bridge, 
in June 1683, when a soldier was killed ; for in the record of date 
28th October 1688, " Intimation is maid not to harbour or resett 
John Russell of Cattcraig, who is forfeited ; John Bulloch, acces- 
sorie to the murder at Inchbellie Bridge, and James Brownlee and 
Thomas Smellie, his associates ; who are likewise suspected to 
have accession to the same murder ; and John Bulloch having up- 
braided the minister with ill-language, and carrying armes on Sa- 
turday last." 

On the same day, the minister warns the people not to hear Mr 
Michael Robb, the meeting-house preacher, in regard of his dis- 
loyaltie, in not praying for the Queen, Prince and Royal Family, 
and in regard of his preaching erroneous doctrine." 

In those unsettled times, the minister's person, house, and family, 
were assailed by some disorderly persons ; for December SOth, 
Sunday after Christmas day, intimation is given, " That, notwith* 

DUMBARTON. K 



146 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

'standing of his Majesties proclamation, several persons in this pa- 
rish have, upon Tuesday, 25th December, invaded and robbed my 
house, taken away my armes and books, some of these per- 
sons being under public scandals, at least, the ringleaders of them, 
and that, though they escape punishment from men, yet the Lord 
our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment" 

The above excerpts from the session*records clearly shew that 
Mr Robb declined the friendly offer made him by Mr Muschett; 
but it id afterwards recorded that, of 30 persons who were excom- 
municated, the first on the list is Mr Michael Robb, the meet- 
ing-house preacher, and after the Revolution, the minister of 
this parish, the reasons of this sentence are noticeable. ** Ja- 
nuary Idth 1689. The first Sunday after the Epiphany, the 
said day, 30 persons that were grievous offenders, some of them 
being under the scandals of adulterie, and murder, and others of 
them being notour railers and scandalizers of ministers, and others 
guiltie of ane illegal convocation and licentious tumult, having in- 
vaded and robbed the minister's person and house, having taken 
away his armes and books, and others of them being rebels and 
fugitives, furnishers and resetters of rebels, and some of them ha- 
ving laid violent hands both upon the minister and his wife» all 
these were procest with the sentence of excommunication, and are 
pronounced to be persons disobedient to the voice of the church, 
and to be obstinate and incorrigible in going on in their sinful 
courses and practices, and are by the said sentence cast out of the 
church, and debarred from the society of the faithful in meetings, 
prayers, and all other sacred fellowship, as unworthy, with whom 
any good Christian should converse untill they be ashamed of their 
sins, and manifest their repentance, and humiliation, that they may 
be loosed from the said dreadful sentence, which they have deserv- 
ed by their gross scandals and offences." Then follow the names 
of Mr Michael Robb, William Neale, John Carmichael, Ellen 
Young, &c. 

On 27th January, the minister mentions the tumults in Glas- 
gow, and throughout the presbyteries of Glasgow, Hamilton, and 
Linlithgow, and intimates his resolution ^^ to make sermon in the 
church till the Government be settled, and so long as the keys of 
the church door are not taken from him," 

The session record ends February 3d 1689, the fourth Sun- 
day after Epiphany, *^ with the minister warning the people not to 
join with them who make tumults, in taking away the keys of kirk 



CUMBERNAULD. 147 

doors, or renting minister's gowns, lest they bring trouble upon 
themselves by such disorderly practises." — Although removed af- 
ter the Revolution, Mr Muschett seems to have remained within 
the parish^ — for so late as 1715, the record bears that several per- 
sons were cited to the session for being irregularly married by him, 
and censured for the same. 

As hv down as 172 1 , the meetings of session are dated at Easter 
Leinzie. The next entry in the record being the commencement 
of Mr Oughterson's incumbency, is dated Cumbernauld, 7th May 
1727, which is the name which the parish now bears. 

Parochial Registers. — The parish register for marriages and 
births begins 10th April 1688, and though much decayed seems to 
have been accurately kept till 1722. At this time, the parish seems 
to have been as populous as at present ; from 1688 to 1693, the 
average number of registrations of births being above 100; from 
W93 to 1700, about 90; from that to 1705, about 70. From 
this period the number gradually decreases, especially from the 
time of the Secession : for the five years ending with 1735, the 
average is 56; do. ending with 1750, about 43; do. ending with 
1765, about Sa 

The number of marriages about the end of the seventeenth 
century, averages about 23 only. From this time to 1722, there 
are frequent interruptions ; and downwards, are total blanks in the 
registers ; and in the same interrupted and irregular way, the record 
is continued to 1801. From this time, it has been carefully and 
pretty regularly kept, though the number of registrations does not 
give the exact number of births or baptisms, which is occasioned 
by the Secession ministers keeping a register for their own congre- 
gations. 

There is no registration of burials before 1817. Since this time, 
one has been kept with great accuracy. During the seven years 
ending 1831, the average of births was 67? ; deaths, 48? ; marri- 
ages, 24?. It is worthy of remark, that during the year ending 
31st December 1831, the deaths exceeded the births by one, the 
births being 73 and the burials 74. From the great mortality in 
1832, the same excess occurred. These, however, are rare oc- 
currences, for though the situation be high, and the climate moist, 
the parish is by no means unhealthy. Several individuals now liv- 
ing are considerably above eighty, two or three about ninety years, 
and some others died lately at this advanced period of life. 



148 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

III. — Population. 

'llic population in 1765 was 2903 

1791. IGOO 
1801, 1795 
1811, 2176 
1821, 2864 
1831, 3060 
In 1821, Cumbernauld village had a population of 950, which, in ten years, had 
increased 450 in 1831. 

Cumbernauld village, ... 1400 

Condorat do. - - - - 501 

Country, - - - - - 1179 

3080 

The number of families, 700, gave 4^ to a family, or 4} nearly. 
During the seven years ending with 31st December 1838, 

the average of marriages was d3l|- 

Births, . 79f 

Burials, .-.58^ 

The chief employment of the people is cotton weaving, there 
being above 560 weavers' looms in the parish, or nearly one-fifth 
of the whole population. Some time ago, weaver's work was hardly 
to be obtained. At present, work is plentiful, but the prices are 
small : upon an average, the weaver's weekly earnings will not ex- 
ceed 5s. or 6s. clear ; and considering the price of provisions, and 
how few are of provident habits, many must be suffering privations. 
Indeed, the fluctuating nature of the cotton trade, and the small 
remuneration, have induced many of the weavers to relinquish the 
loom, and have recourse for employment to the coal and ironstone 
mines* 

The above, with other causes, some of them of a political na- 
ture, have produced unquestionably very great changes in the 
moral character and habits of the people, — not for the better, it is 
much to be feared ; and has hindered them from prizing as they 
ought, and, therefore, from giving to their children, that education 
which once was the pride and the honour of the people of Scot- 
land. The natural effect of this is, that though few are unable 
to read, yet they are allowed to grow up in comparative ignorance 
of religion and its duties ; and hence may be dated the decline of 
morality, — disinclination to religion and to religious duties, — ne- 
glect and disregard of the Sabbath and of Sabbath institutions, — 
the increase of profanity and crime, and, of late years, the increas- 
ing magnitude of the criminal calendar. Notwithstanding of this, 
and though we have some turbulent spirits among us, — and it is 
to be regretted that this class seems upon the increase, — still the 
character of our population generally is quiet and orderly, in the 
midst of their many privations. 

The principal exception from this general character, consistent 



CUMBBRNAULD. 149 

with my knowledge, is that of a few deluded men in the village of 
Condorat, who, in the year I82O9 joined some disaffected charac- 
ters from Glasgow, and accompanied them, upon 6th April 1820, 
to Bonnymuir, about three miles west of Falkirk, where, engaging 
a party of the King's troops, they were defeated and taken pri- 
soners. One only was a native of the parish, and was executed 
at Stirling for high treason ; the others had their sentence com- 
muted to transportation. 

There are some poachers ; but since the change in the Excise 
laws, if there be any smuggling, it is inconsiderable. A change 
ID the game laws seefais in justice equally desirable. 

IV. — Industry. 
Bund Economy. — The parish comprehends 9145 acres, 3 roods, 

and 5 falls; of this number, 6168 acres, 2 roods, and 21 falls are 

arable; 2170 acres, 1 rood, and 12 falls pasture and moss; 556 

acres, 3 roods, and 12 falls plantations and woods ; and 250 acres 

roads and waters. 

It is divided between 40 and 50 proprietors. About 20 or 25 of 
them derive more than L. 50 from their respective properties. Se- 
veral of them have very considerable incomes. The Right Honour- 
able Lord Elphinstone is the only nobleman who possesses pro- 
perty, and the Honourable Admiral Fleming the only person of 
rank who has a mansion-house within the parish. 

The soil of the parish varies ; but generally rests upon a stiff 
retentive till, and when allowed to lie for a few ;years is again co- 
vered with rushes. During the last twenty years, much has been 
done in the way of general improvement, by plantations, draining, 
straighting, clearing of stones, weeds, &c. Tile-draining has late- 
ly been tried with advantage, and still a great deal requires to be 
done. 

The manner of farming generally may be stated to be the fol- 
lowing : 1. oats ; 2. oats ; 3. green crops, potatoes, or turnips ; 4. 
wheat, barley, or oats, with grass seeds ; 5. hay ; 6. pasture, for a 
less or greater number of years. 

Lime is sometimes laid on the sward. When prepared for fal- 
low or green crop, five or six chalders of lime, with fifty or sixty 
carts of dung, are allowed per acre. About the commencement of 
the before-mentioned period, few turnips were grown, but they are 
now common on every farm, and the breadth is yearly on the in- 
crease, while that under potatoes has likewise been greatly enlarged. 
This crop was very deficient last year, both in quantity and quality. 



160 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Mangel-wurzell has been tried, but not continued, as it is con- 
sidered not to be profitable. 

Admiral Fleming cultivates a number of the artificial grasses ; 
but the Fescue, iWothy, Holci, and meadow-grasses are suppos- 
ed best to suit the soil. 

Twenty years ago, very little wheat was sown here. Both cli« 
mate and soil were supposed unsuitable for this grain, but experi- 
ence has proved this to have been a fallacious opinion, for a very 
considerable breadth is now under wheat. This arises firom the 
different way of management ; before the introduction of fallow 
and green crops, the ground was neither worked, cleaned, nor 
manured. Still, the farmer labours under disadvantages which no 
system of cultivation can remove. The continued and heavy rains 
which prevail in the end of the year often prevent him from geir 
ting his wheat into the ground in sufficient time before the winter 
sets in. Many instances of this might easily be adduced, were it 
necessary. 

At one time flax was grown to a great extent, and when it yield- 
ed twenty or twenty-five stones or more per acre, and brought L 1, 
and sometimes even L. 1, 10s. per stone, it amply repaid outlay 
and labour ; but from some cause not well ascertained, of late 
years, the flax'crops have almost altogether failed, and, of course, 
the culture is comparatively given up. 

Wheat may average per acre from 8 to 9 bolls ; barley from 7 
to 8 bolls ; oats from 6 to 7 bolls ; and potatoes, county measure, 
from 30 to 40 bolls; rye-grass and clover from 160 to 200 stones 
iron per acre. A few meadows still remain, and when well ma^ 
naged and carefully irri^ted, when that can be done, will yield 
from 200 to 300 tron stones per acre, and an excellent fodder for 
cattle in winter. 

Live-Stock. — The breed of horses, as well as of cows, has been 
greatly improved of late years, and prizes for both were awarded 
at the show of stock of the Highland Society last autumn at Glas- 
gow. Indeed, the dairy stock of some of our farmers, for figure 
and produce, equal any in the country. The milk, generally, is 
made into butter, and sold in the Glasgow or Falkirk markets. 
Little or no cheese is made here. The produce of a good cow 
averages L. 9 to L. 10 per annum. The grass of a milk cow costs 
about L.3, 1 5s.; of a yeld about L. 2, 15s.; of a two-year old 
quey about L. 1, 10s. to L. 2; of a one-year old quey about L. 1 
or L. 1, 5s. It may be sometimes more or less, according to the 

4 



CUMBERNAULD. 151 

paslure. The keep of a milch cow may be estimated at L. 7 or 
Lb 7, 10s. per amium. 

Leases have generally been for nineteen years, but, of late, they 
have been shortened, in some instances, to thirteen and fifteen. 
But this is supposed to be too short a term for the tenant to bene- 
fit by his lease, and this, more especially, when the farm is let at 
the highest ofifer, which is generally the case. 

Tlie fiums are generally inclosed with fences of stone or thorn, 
and partly with both. The farm-steadings generally are in good 
condition ;— 4ho8e upon the estates of Lord Elphinstone and Ad- 
miral Fleming having been lately built or repaired, and in some 
eaaes much enlarged. The parish is well provided with roads, 
through the influence of Admiral Fleming. The length of turnpike 
roads within the parish will be little, if at all, short of twenty miles. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 
Means of Communication^ Sfc. — Roads are a most important 

branch of rural economy, and from the roads in this parish, the 
farmer possesses every facility in bringing lime or manure, and in 
conveying to market the produce of his lands. At present, there 
is no railroad ; but the projected Edinburgh and Glasgow railroad 
passes through the whole length of the parish, nearly parallel with 
the Forth and Clyde Canal, and very nearly in the line of Agri- 
cola's Wall. Cumbernauld was erected into a burgh of barony in 
1649. It had a weekly market, which has fallen into disuse. It 
has two &irs annually. Sometimes a considerable business in cattle 
is done at the May fair. At the August fair, no business is done. 
There is a horse race, — which is advantageous only to the publi- 
cans ; and is little better than a nuisance. 

Falkirk, distant nine, and Glasgow thirteen miles, are the nearest 
market-towns. Cumbernauld is a daily penny-post upon Glasgow on 
the west, and Denny on the east. The mail-coach by Crieff, and 
a coach by Auchterarder to Perth, a coach to Edinburgh by Lin- 
lithgow, a coach to Alloa by Falkirk, two coaches to Stirling, pass 
daily through this parish to and from Glasgow. Sometimes, there 
are more than these. In summer a coach usually passes for Cal- 
lander and the Trosachs daily. 

Boats with passengers for Falkirk, Edinburgh, &c at present 
ply east and west four times a-day ; in summer, more frequently. 
In connection with the passage-boats, coaches carry passengers 
from Wyndford Loch to Stirling, and Perth, and Alloa, &c. and 



152 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

from No. 16 to Kirkaldy by Dunfermline. Luggage boats also 
regularly ply upon the canal with goods. 

Ecclesiastical State. — The parish church, situated at the village 
of Cumbernauld, is nearly in the centre of the parish. Five or 
six families only are four miles from the parish church, which 
is an old &bric. It was repaired in 1810, notwithstanding the ur- 
gent solicitations of the incumbent and session, as appears from 
the session record, 25th March 1810, the church being altogether 
insufficient to accommodate the inhabitants. To obviate this as 
far as the old walls would admit, both pews and passages are very 
narrow and inconvenient It has been repeatedly repaired since ; 
but the dampness of the site, six doors, and the incommodiousness 
of the seats, make the church uncomfortable, cold, and unhealthy. 
The church has about 660 sittings. The communion seats alone 
are free. The number of communicants is about 500. The ba- 
rony of Castlecary, with a population of seventeen families, by a 
decreet of Court in 1725, or thereabout, was disjoined from the 
parish of Falkirk, and annexed to Cumbernauld quoad sacra. Ac- 
cording to report, the minister of Falkirk was taken bound to preach 
in Cumbernauld three days each year. The present church is 
quite insufficient for the population ; but, from its central situa- 
tion, a church of proper dimensions would well accommodate the 
whole parish for enjoying religious ordinances. 

The manse was built in 1827. The original glebe, by agree- 
ment between the presbytery and the Earl of Wigton, was for 8 
acres. In consequence of the turnpike-road passing through it, 
an excambion was made, the minister getting some marshy land 
in lieu of that cut off by the road. At present, including site of 
manse, offices, garden, roads, &c. the glebe may be about 11 
acres, but not all arable. 

In 1820, the Court, by decreet, modified the stipend to 16^ chal- 
ders, half meal, half barley, with L. 10 for communion elements. 

So early as 1743, a house belonging to the Original Burgher 
Associate Synod, was built in the village of Cumbernauld. It was 
rebuilt in 1725, is a commodious place of worship, with a respec- 
table congregation : and the minister has a salary of, I believe, 
L. 100. 

Another meeting-house in the village formerly belonging to the 
Antiburgher, but now connected with the United Secession body, 
was built about seventy or eighty years ago. This congregation is? 
not numerous. The minister's salary is, I believe, L. 80. Both 



CUMBERNAULD. 153 

the ministers have dwelling-houses, and both congr^ations are 
made up from all the surrounding parishes. 

Of the 700 families composing the population of the parish, 
about 180 belong to the Secession, and there are 5 or 6 Irish fit- 
milies, supposed to be of the Roman Catholic faith. In these 700 
fiiinilifls, the annexation is not included. 

Edueatwn. — The parish school is situated in the village of 
Cumbernauld, and is attended generally by from 80 to 90 scholars. 
The salary is the minimum. The dwelling-house has two rooms 
and kitchen. The garden falls short of the legal quantity by six 
falls, for which the heritors allow Is. per fall, or 6s. 

The school in the village of Condorat, two and a-half miles west 
of the church, is attended by from 60[to 70 scholars. Here, there 
is a very good school-house, and a dwelling-house for the master 
of two rooms and closet, built three or four years ago by public 
subscription. Another school at Garbethill, three miles east from 
the church, has about 20 scholars. Each of the teachers of these 
two schools has an allowance from the heritors, during pleasure, 
of a sum of about L. 4, 8s. annually, which small sum has been 
sometimes withheld. Another school in the village of Cumber- 
nauld is upon the teacher's own adventure. The fees are the same 
as in the other schools. 

Few persons between six and fifteen years of age are unable to 
read the Bible, and the numbers of those above that age still few- 
er, though, from the change in their circumstances, occasioned by 
the decline in the cotton trade, there is neither the anxiety nor 
the ability for giving children the education which was evinced by 
parents some years ago, when they were in easier circumstances. 

Poor and Parochial Funds, — The average number of poor up- 
on the roll is about 25. The average weekly allowance is about 
Is. S^d. with occasional relief both to those who are upon the roll, 
and to others who are not upon it For meeting this expenditure, 
there are the weekly collections at the church door, averaging 
about L. 50 per annum ; the letting out of mortcloths, about 
L. 7 per annum ; and proclamation fees, with occasional donations 
from non-residing heritors. There never has been a legal assess- 
ment. Voluntary contributions and extraordinary collections have 
hitherto been the means resorted to for meeting any deficiencies. 
But as legal assessments seem desirable to some influential heri- 
tors, it is probable they may ere long be had recourse to in pre- 
ference to the old way of raising funds for supporting the poor. 



154 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

From donations and savings, when money was more plentiful 
with the operatives, and fewer demands made upon the funds, a 
sum of L. 160 or L. 170 had been realized : but it was all expended 
some years ago ; and the only sum as a fund for the poor is L. 90 
bequeathed by the late Right Honourable George Viscount Keith, 
the interest whereof he required should be distributed to the poor 
annually upon the first day of January. 

The dislike to being on the poor's roll is certainly not so strong 
as it once was, and seems daily growing weaker. Whether this be 
occasioned by the influx of strangers, who generally show no unwil- 
lingness to claim from the parish funds, or whether, by the heritors 
taking the management of the funds, producing a belief of there being 
a legal right to parochial relief; whether from these or whatever causes 
it may spring, there is unquestionably not that feeling of shame at 
being on the session, as it was termed, which was wont to be when 
their weekly pittance was doled out to them by the elders of their 
respective quarters. The Dissenting congregations contribute no- 
thing to the poor's funds. Their poor are supplied out of the pa- 
rish funds. Those who assert, therefore, that the Seceders sup- 
ply their own poor, cannot refer to this parish. 

Library, — A subscription library was instituted a few years ago 
in the village of Cumbernauld, now consisting of from 1000 to 1200 
volumes, and, in general, the books have been very well selected ; 
— owing, it is supposed, to the causes formerly mentioned, the an- 
nual subscriptions have rather decreased. 

Savings Bank. — A savings bank was established in 1815. The 
annual deposits are from L. 150 to L. 160, and the sums with- 
drawn nearly the same. It does not seem to have been sufficient- 
ly appreciated by those for whose benefit savings banks were in- 
stituted ; for, with the exception of a few servants, chiefly females, 
the deposits have been made by the directors, by societies, or by 
those farmers and tradesmen who are in easy circumstances. 

Societies. — A Society of Weavers, and another of Masons, were 
in^tuted about thirty or forty years ago ; but, having been esta- 
blished on erroneous principles, they have been declining for some 
time. 

jipril 1839. 



PARISH OF LUSS. 

FRBBBYTERT OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. ROBEBT CARR, MINISTER. 



L — Topography and Natural History. 

Name. — This parish has its name from the Gaelic Lus^ signi- 
fying a plant or herb. Luss is the name of a small river^ and the 
valley or glen through which it flows. As the church is situated 
at ther influx of this river into Lochlomond, the name was extend- 
ed to the parish. It was anciently written Lus^ and is the same 
with the name of Luce in Galloway. 

Extent, ^c. — The parish of Luss extends in length from south 
to north about 8^ miles. Its greatest breadth is 5, and its least 
3^ miles from east to west Its extent in square miles may be 
about 33. It is bounded on the east, by Lochlomond ; on the 
south and south-west, by the parishes of Bonhill and Row ; on the 
west, by Row and Lochlong ; and on the north, by Arrochar pa- 
rish. If we include the lands of Bannachra, which formerly be- 
longed to Row, but are now understood to belong to Luss quoad 
sacra, it is also conterminous with Cardross on the south. The 
eastern boundary is an irregular line running north and south to- 
wards the middle of Lochlomond. The southern boundary leaves 
the bank of that lake about three-quarters of a mile south from 
the influx of the Froon, and proceeding westward becomes coin- 
cident with the course of that stream, which separates it from Row. 
Then the Laran forms the limit from Inverlaran, where it enters 
the Froon, to the summit of Shannan Hill, where it has its source. 
It then runs irregularly along the ridge which overlooks the Froon 
on the north, and after leaving within Row, Stron of Glenfroon, 
Finnart Hill, and Stronmalenoch, it again takes a westerly direc- 
tion, and reaches the shore of Lochlong to the north of Gortan. 
From Lochlong to Lochlomond, it is conterminous with Arrochar. 
The outline on the south and west is thus extremely irregular. 

Topographical Appearances^ 8fc. — By far the greatest part of the 
surface of this parish is mountainous, some of its mountains rising 



156 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

to near 3000 feet above the level of the sea. The principal are, 
Ben Cornachantian, Corafuar, Craiginlenue, Aich, DhU| &c« 
These are intersected everywhere by glens wildly picturesque. As 
we advance from the south-eastern boundary of the parish north- 
ward, the Froon, already referred to, first crosses our way. Glen- 
froon, well known in Scottish story as the scene of a bloody con- 
flict, fought in 1603^ between the clans of Colquhoun and Mac- 
Gregor, is but partly situated within Luss. The Proon flows in- 
to Lochlomond, nearly opposite the southern end of Inch Murren, 
the most considerable and the southmost of its islands. Parallel 
to Glenfroon, on the north, and separated from it by a mountain 
range, already referred to, is Glenfinlass. The sources of the Luss 
and Finlass are not far from the upper extremity of this valley. The 
Luss diverges from it by taking a direction rather to the north of 
east. The streams of Finlass and Luss are about three miles apart 
at their termination in Lochlomond. Lastly, at the northern boun- 
dary is Glen-du-glass. At Inveruglas, or the mouth of the Duglas, 
is the ferry of Ruardinnan directly opposite, at the foot of Benlo- 
mond. All these valleys intersect the mountains in an easterly 
direction, and discharge their respective streamlets into Lochlo- 
mond. 

The flat land, which is by far the smaller portion, lies in the 
south-east. It extends along the lake from the southern boundary 
to Ross-dhu, the seat of Sir James Colquhoun, Bart. A consi- 
derable part of this land is almost perfectly level, another part, 
gently undulating; the rest slopes with a more or less gentle ac- 
clivity, till it is lost in the bold, abrupt, or rugged ascent of the 
mountains. 

From the village of Luss southwards, the lake near the bank is 
in general neither rocky nor very deep. Northward towards In- 
veruglas, it is much deeper, and the bank in many places is rocky. 
To the north of the village, the mountain rises with steep ascent 
from the very bank of the lake. The lake in general has a muddy 
bottom. From the southern boundary are a succession of head- 
lands, called Rosses^ along the flat district, projecting a small way 
into the lake. They are Nether Ross, Middle Ross, Ross-finlass, 
Ross-dhu and Ross Arden. 

Islands, — The islands of Lochlomond included in the parish of 
Luss are, Inchlonaig, Inch-tavanach, Inchconachan, Inchmoan, 
Inch Galbraith, Inchfriechlan, and a few other very small islets. 
Inchlonaig, now occupied as Sir James Colquhoun's deer-park, is 



LVM. 157 

remarkable for the fpreat number of very old yews which are fiprow- 
ing in it It contains about 150 deer. It is inhabited by one fa- 
mily, who board persons that have been addicted to drinking. Inch- 
tavanach, or Monk's Island, about three-quarters of a mile long, 
lies not very distant from the west margin of the loch, between 
Ross-dhu and the village of Luss. It is steep and mostly covered 
with copse-wood. It is inhabited by one family, who fahn part of 
it, and admit as boarders persons given to intoxication. The sum- 
mit of the island is called Tom-na-clag, the Bell Height or Crestf 
because, according to tradition, the bell w^s here elevated, which 
the holy occupants of this island employed in summoning to 
prayers the inhabitants of the two parishes of Luss and Inchcail- 
liacfa. Inchconachan or Colquhoun's Island lies beyond Inchta- 
vanach, and parallel to it on the north-east. It is not inhabited. 
Inchmoan or Moss Island is but little elevated above the surface 
of the lake. It lies to the south-east and south of the two last, 
and is of considerable extent. It supplies the villagers with peat 
for fuel, and is of little importance in other respects. Near this, 
on the south, b Inch Gaibraith, occupied only by a few trees, and 
the ruins of an ancient castle, once the residence of a family, from 
whom it has received its name. Inchfriechlan, shcygy (that is, 
fern) Island^ is a rock opposite the village of Luss. The other 
islets included in this parish are of no note whatever. 

Lakes. — From what has been already said of the rivulets of Luss, 
it might be inferred that there is no deficiency of springs. Those 
proc^ding from rocks generally of clay slate furnish, for the most 
part, limpid and pure water. There is no lake in this parish or 
adjoining to it except Loch Lomond, anciently called Lyncaledur 
(i. e» the lake of the woody water) in one of the Roman itineraries; 
— and this is the earliest mention of it. It did not receive its pre- 
sent name till the fourteenth century, when it was thus named from 
Ben Lomond. Lummon signifies a beacon in the British language, 
and occurs elsewhere in Scotland, as well as in Wales. Its pre- 
vious name was the lake of Leven, so called from the smoothness 
of its waters. This lake being twenty-four miles long, extends 
along the east of this parish for about a third of its whole length. 
Its greatest breadth, which is nearly opposite Ross-dhu, is almost 
eight miles. From Luss parish northward, Arrochar extends round 
the one end of it, and Bonhill southwards round the other. Along 
the eastern bank, lies Buchanan from the boundary of Arrochar 
till it meets Kilmaronock at the influx of the Endrick, — which last 



158 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

parish is again conterminous with Bonhil). The waters of this 
lake are particularly soft and wholesome, and are used for culi- 
nary purposes. The upper and narrower part of the lake is by 
far the deeper, and never freezes. South from Luss, it seldom ex- 
ceeds 20 fiithoms. This part freezes over only in long and severe 
frosts. In the beginning of 1838, the lake was traversed to and 
from Inchmurren on the ice, by horses and wheel carriages to either 
bank. The greatest depth of this lake is about 100 fathoms, and 
its average height above the sea level is 22 feet. After great 
floods in winter, it has been known to rise about 6 feet higher than 
after great droughts in summer. It is much higher now than once 
it was. Stepping-stones across the channel of the Falloch, at the 
north end of the lake, are now several feet under its surface after 
the greatest drought. Cambden describes an island as in his day 
existing in Camstraddan bay, with a house and orchard. Now on- 
ly a heap of stones is to be seen when the water is low, said to 
mark the site of the ancient family residence of Colquhoun of 
Camstraddan. This lake, for beautiful and picturesque scenery, 
is not surpassed by any in Britain. Its beauties have long been 
so well known that they need not be particularly described. They 
may be surveyed with great advantage from the summit of Inch- 
tavanach and Inchmurren, Strone hill near Luss, and the northern 
summit of Benbui. From the last the prospect is beautiful, va- 
ried, and extensive. To the north and north-east, stretches Loch- 
lomond with its islands, and beyond it Benlomond, the hills of 
Buchanan and Strath Endrick ; to the south-east, part of the vale 
of the Leven is seen and Dumbarton rock ; to the south and west, 
the Frith of Clyde, with Greenock, Helensburgh, Rosneath, Du- 
noon, and the Argyleshire mountains ; to north- west, the vale of the 
Froon throughout its whole length. 

Lochlong, which bounds this parish for a short distance on the 
west, is a deep extensive arm of the sea, stretching from the Frith 
of Clyde northward between the counties of Dumbarton and Ar- 
gyle. Luss can derive but little advantage, however, from its con- 
tiguity to Lochlong, as it is fenced on that side by a barrier of 
lofty and rugged mountains. 

Geology. — The rocks of the flat south-easterly district are of 
the conglomerate or red sandstone formation. Clay-slate and the 
kindred varieties occupy the mountainous district. The line of 
separation of these two formations may be well traced in the beds 
of the rivers and mountain torrents. From near the pass of Bal- 



LUSS. 159 

maba, in Buchanan, it proceeds in a south-westerly direction. It 
crosses the Froon near the junction of the Laran with it, and pas- 
ung above Ardincaple Castle, runs between Cairndow and Dun- 
more points, and in Rosneath over the hollow behind Campsail 
Bay. The dip of the strata is in general towards the south-east 
The rocks of the clay-slate formation are often traversed by veins 
of quartz ; crystals of cubical iron pyrites are also met with, as well 
as quartz abundantly disseminated in masses, throughout the same 
class of rocks. Roofing-slates of good quality are obtained in 
Camstraddan and at Luss. There are documents to prove the 
existence of the former quarry, more than four hundred years ago. 
A freestone quarry is also occasionally worked. The alluvial 
land generally consists of sand or gravel, or of peat-moss. There 
is good loam in some parts. The peat-moss, which is ei^tensive, 
everywhere contains the remains of ancient wood. Birch and oak 
are the predominating species. Some brazen points of spears and 
antique iron helmets were found in the alluvion, near the Froon, 
at Dumfin. They came into the possession of Sir James Col- 
quhoun about two years ago. 

Botany. — The more remarkable plants are, Isoetes lacustris ; 
Sulndaria aquatica ; Aliama ranunculoides ; Vacdnium oxycoccoi ; 
Rubus chamcemorus ; Lysimackia thyrsiflora ; Agrimonia Evpa^ 
toria ; Osmunda regalis ; CoUema Burgesii^ &c. The natural 
woods of this parish consist of oak, ash, yew, holly, rowan, birch, 
hazel, aspen, alder, crab, bird-cherry, wild-cherry, hawthorn and 
willows. The oak thrives only in dry ground ; ashes abound near 
brooks, and by the bank of the lake. The yew is rarely met with 
except in the islands. The rowan often grows in elevated situa- 
tions, and hollies are scattered through the woods. There are 
from 800 to 900 acres under natural wood, and now a great deal 
under plantation. The other indigenous plants are nearly the 
same as in other parts of the Highlands, in similar soils and situa- 
tions. 

II. — Civil History. 
This parish was formerly of great extent, including the modern 

parish of Arrochar on the north, and the lands of Auchindennan, 
Cameron, Stuckrogert, and Tullichewen, on the south ; and the 
lands of Buchanan on the opposite side of the lake. Buchanan 
was dbjoined in 1621, and Arrochar in 1658. The rest were an- 
nexed to Bonhill about 1650. But the lands of Caldanach, 



160 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Prestelloch, and Conglens, once belonging to the parish of Inch- 
caiUiach, are now annexed to the parish of Luss. 

There are few events which have been deemed worthy of record 
connected with the early history of this parish. When Haco of Nor- 
way invaded Scotland in the year 1263» part of his fleet sailed up 
Loch Long to Arrochar. The Norwegians having landed here, 
hauled their boats across the isthmus, embarked on Loch Lomond 
at Tarbet, sailed down the lake, slaughtered and plundered the inha- 
bitants of Luss and the islands, which were then very populous, and 
were moreover crowded with people who had fled thither for security 
from all parts of the country. About the beginning of the twelfth 
century, Alwyn, the second Earl of Lennox, had granted a charter 
conferring the lands of Luss on Malduin, Dean of Lennox. His 
posterity, who were styled de Lussy possessed the estate, till the 
fourteenth century, when it passed to Colquhoun of Colquhoun 
by his having married the sole heiress. The principal part of the 
parish continued to be possessed by the direct descendants of these 
individuals in the male line, till about the beginning of the last 
century, when it again passed by marriage of the sole heiress to 
Grant of Grant, the ancestor of the present Sir James Colqu- 
houn. Robert, a younger brother of Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, 
obtained a charter in 1695 of the lands of Camstraddan and 
Achingahan, and became the ancestor of the family of Camstrad- 
dan. The present Sir James Colquhoun's father purchased the 
estate of Camstraddan from the hereditary proprietor, and re-an- 
nexed it to the estate of Luss, and thus became proprietor of the 
whole parish, except the quoad sacra annexation of Bannachara. 

Eminent Characters. — Sir John Colquhoun, grandson of that 
Sir John who was slain in Inchmurren by the islanders in 1440, 
deserves to be mentioned here. He was in 1474 made Lord 
High Chamberlain of Scotland^ and Ambassador Extraordinary to 
the court of England. In 1477, he was made Governor of Dum- 
barton Castle, for life. Having acquitted himself in every station 
with fidelity and honour, he was killed by a cannon-ball at the 
siege of that fortress, on the 1st of May 1478. 

Mr John M'Laurin, a very distinguished divine, brother to 
ther celebrated mathematician of that name, was minister of Luss 
early in the last century, from which he was translated to Glas- 
gow. 

The late minister, Dr John Stuart, was equally esteemed for 
his excellent character, and his rare attainments in literature and 

3 



LUSS. 161 

science. His labours in perfecting the Gaelic translation of the 
Scriptures, will embalm his memory in the hearts of the natives of 
the Highlands* 

ParochuU Registers. — The registers of baptisms and marriages 
fipom 1698 till 1735 have been very irregularly kept From the last 
date till 1780, more care has been manifested. Since then, up to 
the present, they have been well kept, but are not voluminous. 

Antiquities. — About a mile and a quarter south from Luss, there 
was a cairuy called Cam-ma'cheasoff^ from St Mackessog, a native 
of Lennox, who was a bishop and confessor, and suffered martyrdom 
at this place about a, d. 520. The church of Luss, in which he 
was buried, was dedicated to him, and he was long regarded as the 
tutelar saint of this parish. He was commemorated on the 10th of 
March. In the church-yard, there were discovered some stone coffins 
of considerable antiquity, but without any inscription. Each of them 
consisted of an entire stone, with a cavity cut out of it fit for hold- 
ing a dead body at its full length, and a stone lid for covering it.* 
At Dumfin, on the northern bank of the Froon, around the summit 
of a round hill, are traces of an ancient fortification. Tradition 
points to it as a residence and stronghold of Fingal, King of Mor- 
ven. The name Dumfin is compounded of Dun and Firiy and 
denotes the fort of Fin or FingaU T^ traditions of this coun- 
try represent Fian M^Coul or Fingal and his associates as giants, 
of whom the most extravagant feats are related. For example, an 
enormously large stone or mass of rock is pointed out, which it is 
said, Fingal, standing on the top of Benbui, took upon his little 
finger to throw to the top of Shantran Hill, a distance of several 
miles, but that not being rightly balanced, it fell into a small brook 
mid-way between the two. 

Modem Buildings. — Ross-dhu House is the only mansion de- 
serving notice. It was built by the great-grandfather of the pre- 
sent proprietor, about sixty-five years ago. It is beautifully situated 
OD the promontory of that name. A part of the walls of the more 
ancient edifice, as well as a roofless chapel still used as the family 
cemetery of the Lairds of Luss, situated hard by, add variety to the 
appearance of this beautiful spot. 

At Little Dumfin, there is a mill for grinding corn ; another in 
which wood is sawed and charcoal ground ; a third for cutting log- 
wood for the dye-works on the river Leven. The stream of the 

* There is a statue of St Mackessog, which formerly stood at Bandry, but is now 
in the &mily burying-ground of Sir James Colquboun, at Uoss-dhu. 

DUMBARTON. L 



1^2 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Froon is the power employed in driving the machinery of these 
mills. There is also a meal-mill and a saw-mill on the river Luss 
near to the village. 

III. — Population. 
There do not appear to be any sources whence the population 

of this parish in ancient times can be accurately estimated. It is 

recorded that << seven score" were killed at the battle of Glenfroon 

on the side of the men of Luss ; but we know not how many of 

these were allies from other districts. From returns made in the 

year 1755, the population appears then to have been 978. In 

1793 it was 917. A diminution took place when many small farms 

were united. It has since undergone a slight increase. In 1821, 

there were 553 males and 597 females, 1150 in all. In 1831, 

the whole population was 1181. This increase may be owing to 

increased activity in the improvement of land, as well as to the 

employment of more hands in other works carried on within the 

parish. 

Number of persons residiog in the village of Luss, . 250 

in the country, . 931 

The STerage number of births for the last seven years, 23 

of marriages^ ... 7 

Number of fiimilies of independent fortune residing in the parish, 1 
Fatuous, . . . • . .2 

Blind, • . . . .4 

Deaf and dumb, all belonging to one fiunily, • . 6 

Illegitimate births during the last three years, 4. 
Language J Sfc. of the People, — The language now universally spoken 
by the natives of the parish is the English language, or rather 
the provincial Scotch dialect* About a century ago, Gaelic seems 
to have been as commonly spoken as English. Although it is still 
spoken by some old people, the rising generation seem to grow up 
without any knowledge of the language. For many years, it has 
ceased to be used in the service of the church. A good many Gae- 
lic terms are still retained in common speech, which are unknown 
in parts remote from the Highlands, where the Scotch dialect is 
spoken. 

The peasantry in general are in much better circumstances, in 
respect to dwellings, food, and dress, than they were at the middle 
of the last century. But although there are many commodious and 
comfortable dwellings, yet there is still much room for improve- 
ment in this particular among the people generally. There is 
also a more plentiful supply of food than formerly. The extend- 
ed culture of potatoes, as well as the increased productiveness of 



I.uss. 163 

the soil generally, occasioned by the agricultural improvements, 
which have to some extent found their way hither also, render a 
scarcity of provisions a rarer occurrence now than in former times. 
They are generally a contented people ;.yet it is believed, that a 
somewhat more general diffusion of capital would tend not only to 
increase their comfort and improve their condition, but to pro- 
mote the improvement and productiveness of the land. They are 
remarkably kind and hospitable, and as there has been less shift- 
ing of population here than elsewhere, they continue much at^ 
tached to their native soil, in which generally their forefathers 
have dwelt from time immemorial. They retain much of the 
manners, customs, virtues, and prejudices of the olden times. 
The great body of them are regular in attending on religious or- 
dinances. Since the reduction of the duty on distilled spirits, il- 
licit distillation has almost ceased to exist Poaching is also in a 
great measure kept down. 

IV. — Industry. 
Agriculture. — Several hundred acres of the best arable land in 

the parish, being adjacent to the family residence of the proprie- 
tor. Sir James Colquhoun, have been laid out as pleasure-ground, 
and are either occupied with plantation, or used for pasture. As 
there has been no actual survey taken of the land for a long time, 
and from reluctance on the part of the parties who can give in- 
formation, it would be next to impossible to ascertain the number 
of acres and the actual produce of the land, whether in cultivation 
or not. There can be no doubt that, by a judicious application of 
capital, a large portion of the marshy and mossy land in the flat 
district might become productive, and yield an ample return. 

Rent. — The average rent of good arable land per acre may be 
stated at L. 2, the average rate of grazing per ox or cow, grazed at 
L. 2, lOs., and for each full-grown sheep for the year, supposed 
to be about 3s. 6d. on the hill pasture. 

fVaffesj 8fc. — The ordinary labour of cultivation is generally per- 
formed by the farmer's own family and servants, who live at his house, 
and are hired half-yearly. The average hire of a full-grown man is 
L. 7, and of a woman, L. 3, 10s. per half year. Persons hired for 
harvest-labour receive, men, 2s. and women. Is. 6d. per day, with 
victuals. Occasional labourers receive 2s. per day. The price of 
the various kinds of produce is regulated by the state of the 
Greenock and Glasgow markets. The expense of carriage ren- 
ders coals very dear, as this commodity must be conveyed from 



164 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Glasgow or Ayr ; cpnsequeutly, peat is much used as fuel. 
Agricultural produce finds a ready market in the villages on the 
Leven, in Helensburgh, especially during the summer, or in 
Greenock. 

Tailors are often hired by the day, and receive from Is. 8d. to 
2s. besides victuals. A pair of strong shoes for a labouring man 
costs 9s. to 10s. for a woman, 7s. to 8s. The shoeing of a horse 
costs 3s. 8d. The price of a cart is L. 10, 10s. The wages of a 
journeyman shoemaker per day, are 2s. 6d. ; of a smith, 8s. ; of 
a Wright, 3s. A good deal of the work required in all these spe- 
cies of handicraft is done by persons in Helensburgh. 

Live Stock. — The prevailing breeds of sheep are, the south of 
Scotland black-faced sheep on the hill pasture, and occasionally 
the Cheviot breed on the low grounds. The Highland breed of 
cattle is grazed on the hilly pastures. The milch cows on the low 
grounds are generally of the cross breed between Highland and 
Ayrshire, and on the best of the lands, pure Ayrshire. 

AgricuUwral Society. — An agricultural society has been esta- 
blished for several years among the tenantry on Sir James Col- 
quhoun's estates, and prizes have been distributed annually to 
encourage improvements in the breeding of cattle, as well as in 
the cultivation of land. A considerable degree of emulation has 
thus been excited among all descriptions of farmers. Towards 
farther improvement, draining of land is much wanted in many 
places. There has been no embanking nor artificial irrigation ; 
but a good many acres, which are laid under the waters of the 
lake in winter, are under crops of grain in summer. 

For many years, a large proportion of the tenants have had no writ- 
ten leases, and this must have operated to some extent as a check to 
improvement. But as they were never removed except from strong 
reasons, their circumstances were by no means so unfavourable as 
might be otherwise supposed. Although there are several com- 
modious farm-buildings, yet generally they are not such as were 
to be desired, and such as, considering the facility of procuring 
materials, might have been expected. 

Quarries, — The freestone quarry is worked only for buildings 
within the parish. The slates from Luss and Camstraddan quarries 
are not only conveyed by the lake to the various parishes surround- 
ing it, but down the Leven to Dumbarton, Glasgow, Paisley, Port- 
Glasgow, and Greenock. To Helensburgh, Row, and the shores 
of the Gareloch, they are conveyed by land. There are about 

3 



LUSS. 165 

fifty men employed io working them at present. They bring out 

many thousands annually. There are two varieties of them, the 

one light or grayish blue, the other dark blue. The last named 

bring the highest price in the market. 

v.— Parochial Econoiiy. 
The nearest market-town is Helensburgh. - It is nine miles from 

the village of Luss, but is not three from the south-west extre- 
mity of the parish at Inverlaran. Although this rising town is en- 
titled to the privilege of a weekly market every Thursday, it is on- 
ly in summer that a regular demand for articles of country pro- 
duce is kept up. But from this town to Greenock, there is only 
an additional distance of about four miles across the Clyde, which 
is readily passed at all seasons in the steam-boats. 

Means of Commttnication. — The turnpike roads to Helensburgh 
and Dumbarton are excellent. The post road from Dumbarton 
along Loch Lomond to the Highlands, extends throughout the whole 
length of this parish. The road which branches from the one at Red 
House at the south end of the parish, and extends up through Glen- 
firoon, is within this parish for three miles, and the branch lead- 
ing off to Helensburgh, for two and a-half. Again the road from 
Dumbarton to Arrochar by Helensburgh and Loch Long, passes 
along the narrow slip which extends to this arm of the sea. Alto- 
gether, there must be an extent of about fourteen miles of turn- 
pike roads within the parish. The post-office is at the village of 
Luss, and there is a delivery of letters from Dumbarton and In- 
verary daily. 

There are three bridges over the Froon, one for each of the 
roads above specified ; and one over each of the rivers Finlas, 
Luss, and Douglas. Those on the main or Dumbarton road 
are very sufficient ; the two on the Helensburgh and Glen- 
froon branches are of an old construction, and rather narrow. The 
fences are generally either hedges or stone dikes ; but the arable 
land cannot be considered as on the whole well enclosed. An ex- 
cellent wall, built of stone and lime, extends for about three 
miles, along the east side of Dumbarton road, as a fence to the 
Ross-dhu pleasure grounds. It is built of freestone, and is finish- 
ed with a cope of the same. The only direct water-carriage is by 
Loch Lomond. This lake renders the different districts around its 
extended margin easily accessible by boats of different descriptions ; 
but although the river Leven is also navigable, it is only by very 
small vessels ; so that communication this way is limited to the 



166 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

towns along the banks of the Clyde. Various plans have been 
suggested, at different times, for supplying this defect The deep- 
ening of the Leven, so as to reduce the surface of the lake to the 
level of the sea or nearly so, is one of these. However feasible 
this may have been eighty years ago, the vested rights of the pro- 
prietors of the public works on the Leven have long since caused 
all idea of it to be abandoned. Another plan suggested is to lead 
a canal along the vale of the Leven, from Loch Lomond to the 
Clyde. A third plan is to cut a canal across the isthmus from 
the head of Loch Long to Tarbet. It is feared that no plan such 
as these will be carried into effect, till the proprietors of the ex- 
tensive estates, surrounding the lake, combine for the common in- 
terest, with greater zeal and harmony than they have hitherto ma- 
nifested. 

Ecclesiastical State. — The church Is rather conveniently situated 
for the parish than otherwise. It is rather distant, indeed, from the 
southern district, in which the greatest part of the country population 
is concentrated ; but, on the other hand, the most distant and least 
accessible part is the opposite or north-west quarter. The church 
of Arrochar is of much easier access than that of Luss to some of 
the families who are located there. The greatest distance which 
any parishioner has to travel in coming to church is eight miles. 
The distance from Inverlaran to the south-west extremity of the 
parish, is seven miles. The church was built in 1771, and is still 
in a good state of repair ; it affords accommodation for 500 per- 
sons. The seats are all appropriated, and are paid for at the rate 
of Is. per sitting, which goes to the parish fund. The manse was 
built about forty-four years ago, and is at present in need of re- 
pairs. 

The glebe contains about nine arable acres, and from two to 
three under natural wood^ and is generally considered a good glebe. 
The annual amount of stipend is 134 bolls oatmeal; 50 bolls 
bear or barley, and L. 50 in money. There is a process of aug- 
mentation at present depending. There is no church or chapel 
of any kind within the parish, except the parish church ; neither 
is there any religious missionary or catechist. The church is ge- 
nerally well attended. All the parishioners belong to the Esta- 
blishment, except three families who are connected with the Relief 
body. The average number of communicants is 360. The 
amount of collections at the church for religious and charitable 
purposes during the year is about L. 12. 



LUSS. 167 

Education. — There is one parish school and two others in the pa- 
rish ; one for the ordinary branches, the other for educating girls, 
rapported partly by the family of Luss, and partly by the payments 
of the scholars. For many years, a salary was received from the 
Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, by the teacher pf 
the former of these two schools ; but the regulations having been 
departed from, the salary was withdrawn. The salary paid to 
the teacher of the parochial school, which is situated at the vil- 
lage, is the maximum : that paid to the teacher of the other school 
for common education, is L. 15 yearly, and he has school fees be- 
sides^ Tliis school is situated at Moorland, four miles south from 
Luss. A comfortable dwelling-house has recently been built for 
the teacher, at the expense of Sir James Colquhoun, and the te- 
nantry in the neighbourhood of the school. The mistress of the 
girls' school is paid L. 15 annually, but no fees. The branches 
taught in the parish school are, English, writing, accounts, Latin, 
French, &c. The teacher accommodates boys for board and edu- 
cation. In Moorland school, the same branches are taught^ Latin 
and French being excepted. The girls in the third school, 
which is located nearly half-way between the other two, learn sew- 
ing, reading, and writing. The parish teacher has the legal ac- 
commodations : and his school fees amount to L. 15 a year. The 
people in general are alive to the importance of education. The 
inhabitants of the upper part of Glenduglas are too far from any 
of the schools of the parish to send their children to them. The 
number of families so situated is four, — the nearest of them being 
five miles and a-half from the parish school. 

Library. — A library has existed in this parish for mani/ years, and 
seems to have been established for the sole benefit of the incumbents 
of the parish, as the books (upwards of 100 in number,) are all old, 
and chiefly in Greek or Latin. A small circulating library (up- 
wards of 80 volumes) was set on foot also some years ago, by the 
present incumbent, consisting chiefly of practical divinity. 

Savings Bank. — A savings bank was established nine years ago, and 
although those for whose benefit it was intended,* have not great- 
ly profited by it, — yet it has been very useful to the respectable 
servants in the parish. Nearly L. 300 have been accumulated. 

Poor and Parochial Funds, — The average number of poor re- 
ceiving aid from the parish fund is 24 ; many of these receive 
small sums half yearly ; the average sum allotted to each weekly 
pauper being Is. 9d. The annual amount of contributions for 



168 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

their relief is as follows, on an average for the last seven years : 
Collections in Church, L. 38, lis. ; mortcloth dues, L.2, 10s.; 
proclamations of banns, L. 3, 10s. ; amount of seat rents, L. 9, 
7s. 6d.; interest of stock, L. 10, 16s.; donations, &c. L. 12; to* 
tal of contributions for poor, L. 76, 4s. 6d. There is no disposi- 
tion among the poor to refrain from seeking parochial relief. 
They do not now appear to consider it so degrading as formerly. 

Fairs, — There is one fiiir held within this parish, in the village 
of Luss, on the third Tuesday of August, for the sale of sheep and 
lambs. 

Imu, — At Luss there is a large inn. There are, besides, six 
licensed public-houses within the parish. Their effect on the 
morals of the people, is decidedly unfavourable. Three may be 
considered as sufficient for all useful purposes. 

June 1839. 



PARISH OF KIRKINTILLOCH* 

PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. ADAM FORM AN, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 
Name. — The ancient name of the parish and district is Caer^ 
pen-tulachy which, in the language of the Cambro-Britons, signi- 
fies a ^' post or stronghold at the head or end of a ridge." This 
is entirely in accordance with the topography of the town of Kirk- 
intilloch, and no doubt alludes to the Peel or ancient warlike fort 
on the line of Roman wall near the present parish church. There 
is a place named Kintulach^ which, in 1581, belonged to the ab«- 
bacy of Dryburgh, and is also called Ridgend ; both are evidently 
from the same root, and both constituted part of the reversions of 
the Earldom of Lennox. The present parish of Cumbernauld 
formed part of the district of Kirkintilloch, till some time between 
the years 1507 and 1522, when the name of the whole district 
was changed to Lenzie, which was the name of the barony belong- 
ing to the Noble family of Fleemings, Earls of Wigton. But it 

* Drawn up by Rev. William Patrick, author of " A Description of the Plants of 
Lanarkshire,*' &c. &c. 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 169 

ivas not till 1659, when a new church was built for the {Lccommo- 
dation of the eastern end of the parish at Cumbernauld, (CumaV' 
n^^aldj L e. the meeting or confluence- of streams,) that both pa- 
rishes settled down to their present forms, each retaining its mo- 
dem name. The chapel of the Virgin Mary then became the pa- 
rish church for the inhabitants of the western end, at Kirkintil- 
loch, and is still in use. 

Boundaries and Extent. — This parish and the parish of Cum- 
bernauld, although both in the county of Dumbarton, lie quite de- 
tached from it, so that the western extremity of Kirkintilloch is 
about six miles distant from the south-east end of the main body 
of the county to which it belongs, the county of Lanark coming 
in on the south, and the county of Stirling on the north, and meet^ 
ing between them. The portion so detached includes a district 
about 12 miles long from west to east, and from 4^ to 2 miles 
broad. It contains 32^ square miles, or about 20,800 English 
acres ; a space nearly equal to that covered by the waters of Loch- 
lomond. The parish of Kirkintilloch forms the western end of 
this district. From a point between Gallowhill and Boghead in 
the west, to Dalshannan in the east, it is 6 miles and 6 furlongs 
in length. The widest place, from Mollinburn in the south, to 
Auchinvole in the north, is 3 miles and 3 furlongs. It is bound- 
ed on the east, by the parish of Cumbernauld ; on the north, by the 
parishes of Kilsyth and Campsie, in the county of Stirling ; on the 
west, by the parish of Cadder ; and on the south, by the parishes of 
Cadder and New Monkland, in the county of Lanark. It contains 
8527 Scots acres, or 10,651 English acres, and about 17 square 
miles. 

Topographical Appearances. — The parish constitutes a portion 
of the northern boundary of the great valley of the Forth and 
Clyde Canal, stretching from east to west, of considerable extent, 
and rising very little above the level of the Atlantic and German 
Oceans. It is cut off from the fertile districts of the Forth by the 
range of hills a little to the north, called the Campsie Fells, and 
from the vale'of the Clyde on the south by the high lands of Monk- 
land. The bottom of the valley seems at some ancient period to 
have been washed with a mighty flood, or rather with a continual- 
ly flowing tide. The banks on the north are high and often 
abrupt ; but on the south they are more undulating, and of no 
great elevation, consisting chiefly of trap ridges, with rich and ex- 
tensive arable lands between. The face of the country, therefore, 



1 70 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

rises to tbe south, and declines towards the north ; still the slope is 
so gentle, that very little of it can be said to have a northern ex- 
posure. The trap ridges seldom attain any great altitude, except 
at Stron and BarhitI on the east, where the elevated peak, and 
Ihe abrupt precipitous crag, often assume an alpine appearance. 
The range of the Campsie Fells on the north, rising often to the 
height of 1500 feet, affords a friendly shelter from the biting winds 
of the north ; so that the district, upon the whole, exhibits a happy 
combination of alpine wildness, and of pastoral simplicity ; yet en- 
joying all the advantages of a rich and arable country. 

Most of the farmers in the district, from necessity and interest, 
are great observers of the times and seasons, and many of them 
have notes, very accurately and copiously kept, of the state of the 
weather, particularly at the two most important epochs of the year, 
seed-time and harvest ; not only during their own experience, but 
also during the lifetimes of their fathers and grandfathers. Subjoin- 
ed are some of the principal of these observations in an abridged 
form. These rural annals extend as far back as the beginning of 
the eighteenth century, and relate chiefly to the seasons. * 

* The seven ill -years, as they are called, seem to have ended about ]704. On the 
27th November preceding, one of the most terrible storms ever known devastated a 
great part of England, and did much damage in Scotland. In 1709, there were three 
months of very severe frost, with heavy snows. 1712 was a wet season, with a great 
flood in harvest. 1714 was very dry; a great frost in 1716; 1723 remarkably dry, 
no rain till 26th October. 1725 very wet ; snow remarkably deep in 1731 and 17S6. 
However, from 1730 to 1740, the seasons were in general very favourable, only some 
shaking in 1739. The year 1733 was the year of the great hail which happened 
when all the crops were in ear. It commenced in Galloway, and skirted along the 
counties of Ayr and Lanark, did much damage in Renfrew and Dumbarton, and 
broke in a great wnterspout in the Campsie Hills. This dreadful storm carried de- 
vastation with it wherever it went. One farmer out of all his crops had only 
three bear-heads left, which happened to be sheltered by a great mugwort bush. 
The severe frost of 1740 is still spoken of. It in reality commenced in December 
17d9i and continued nine weeks, or a hundred and three days; a very bad crop fol- 
lowed, with an early frost in harvest. It was in January 1739 that the windy Satur- 
day happened, or exactly a hundred years before the dreadful hurricane of January 
1839. An early and good crop in 1742, rendered memorable by the Carobuslang 
work ; a ffreat hail in May 1745. The preceding harvest was very wet ; the crop 
greatly injured. The harvest of 1 745 also very bad, great rains and heated stoofat. 
From 1746 to 1749 all the crops were good, and meal cheap. 1750, a dry summer, a 
wet August, but a good harvest ; 1751-52, medium seasons ; meal 104d. and lid. per 
peck. 1753, light crop, early and dry. 1754, a good crop, preceded by a Ions and 
severe frost in winter. 1 755, wet seed-time, bad crop, late harvest with frost. 1756, 
wet late harvest, with a light crop, much shaking ; meal rose to Is. 6d. per peck. 
1757, rather dry and early, but corn yielded but little meal, which sold at Is. per 
peck. 1758, remarkably good season and fine crop ; meal Hd. per peck. 1759-60- 
61, were medium seasons ; meal low, but in 1761 it rose to Is. per peck. 1762, snow- 
ed eleven days together, late seed-time, dry summer, much corn, fodder scanty. 1763, 
a frost, which lasted ninety four days, rest of the season favourable, with a tolerable 
crop : 1764, backward season, and crop rather below mediocrity ; 1765, early sea- 
son, but frost and much rain in harvest. 1766, good seed-time, wet summer, good 
harvest, corn good in quality. 1767, medium season and crop, first half of harvest 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 171 

The following is the state of the winds for each month during 
that remarkable year 1799 : 

good, ktter half Tery wet. 1766. early Crop, but light and deficient ; 1769, tolerable 
good crop. 1770, crop in good hind excellent, high Unds deficient, fodder plentiful. 
1771, Tery bad crop, iU gecured, and heated. 1772, rather late, and scarcely a medium. 
In the month of June in this year, hailstones of great sise fell in many pbora, in some 
phwes it it and as large as nutmegs. 1779, a terrible storm in March, rest of the sea- 
aon rather laTOurahle, a tolerable crop. 1774, dreadful storm, September 30, and 
again in December 5, 6, 7, which did much damage by sea and land ; altogether a 
wet lata season, with a low ayerage crop ; 1775, great storm October 19, and again in 
November, the rest of the season excellent, and prices low. 1776, medium season and 
crop. 1777, late season, and crop indifierent. 1778, much the same as kst. 1779, a 
great frost, which lasted ttj^ty-four days, the season otherwise good, with an early 
hcrrest and good crop. 1780, a ^^ood season, but not equal to the last. 1781, good 
aeaaon and erop, but much duikmg. 1782, a severe bad season in May and June ; 
haiktonea of immense sise feU in some places; frost in harvest, a complete failure in 
the erop. There are no distinct notes from this time till 1799, which was a very bad 
season, with a poor late crop ; meal 2b. per peck, potatoes 8d. the small peck, and hay 
ia. 4d. per stone. At the end of the following year, 1800, oatmeal was 0%, per peck, 
pwsa meal, 2s., potatoes, lOd. small peck, hay. Is. 9d. per stone. There was a great 
£iilure of the crops all over Britain^ attributed to the great drought of the summer. 
In 1801, there vras the best seed-time in the memory of man — the year throughout 
was good, with a plentiful crop of every kind, and an early dry harvest. The first 
e^t months of the year 1802 were the worst in remembrance ; the four last were 
fine ; a late but plentiful crop, and all well got in. There was plenty of grain on the 
nere, but it did not meal so well as last year ; beef Is. per pound, mutton 9d., butter 
Is. 5d., cheese 9d., eggs per dosen Is. dd., peck loaf ds. 2d., oatmeal Is. dd., pota- 
toes, a poor crop and watery. Is. per peck. In 1803, a good crop, dry harvest, grain 
pitiful, oatmeal Is. 4d. per peck. The last seven months of 1804 all frood weather, 
with the best crop, full and ripo, and well got in, that occurred since 1801 ; oatmeal 
la. 5d. per peck. In 1805, meal at same price, a plentiful crop of every kind. In 
the harvest of 1806 there was a great drought, followed by a wet November and De- 
cember, corn, beans, and potatoes were all got in in fine order. 1807, a poor crop, 
oatmeal 2b., hay 2s., peaae, beans, and potatoes bad ; 1808» a fine crop, well got in ; 
potatoes, pease, and beans above an average, altogether a remarkably fine harvest. 
1809^ a good harvest, grain plentiful, but high priced ; oatmeal in June 2s. in July 
la. lOd. per peck. 1810, a beautiful warm sunny harvest ; no rain from dd Septem- 
ber till near the end of October, the best harvest and wheat seed-time remembered ; 
barometer above fair for six weeks together ; oatmeal Is. 6d., potatoes 9d. 1811, a 
great comet appeared near Ursa Major on the 9th September, extraordinary rains, 
frost, and winds in spring and beginning of summer, a medium crop. 1812, crop 
not all housed till the beginning of September, plentiful but dcnr ; meal 2b. 4d. and 
potatoes Is. per peck. 1813, a good harvest, and a most excellent return of all sorts 
of crops, meal Is. 6d. potatoes Is. per peck. 1814, a remarkably fine harvest, plenty 
of grain, but little straw, meal Is. 5d. per peck, potatoes 9d. per peck of forty-two 
pounds. 1815, a plentiful harvest all safely housed, oatmeal Is. Sd. per peck, pota- 
toes 9d., beef and mutton per stone 10s. 6d., skim cheese 5d. and sweet milk cheese 
9d. per pound. 181 6 was an uncommonly cold wet year, no sunshine ; a poor crop of 
every kind over all Europe, wheat L. 3, 10s. per boll oats L. 2, barley L. 2, 10s., 
oatnoeal 2b. per peck, quartern loaf Is. 5d. 1817 was the worst crop ever known in 
the west of Scotland ; the month of August was particularly bad. 1818, a plentiful 
crop of every kind in Scotland, but a poor crop in the south-east of England, pota- 
toes very plentiful, and of a fine quality ; harvest began in early places on the 10th 
of August ; new oats and barley in the Falkirk and Haddington markets on the 13th of 
August ; oatmeal Is. 5d, and potatoes Is. the peck. 1819, trees early in leaf, but de- 
stroyed by the frost early in June ; no equinoxial blast in autumn ; the longest set of dry 
warm weather in September since 1800 ; crop finished over all the country by the end 
of that month, very plentiful and well got in ; oatmeal 1 s. 2d. per peck. The Radicals in 
great commotion, especially towards the latter end of the year. 1820, harvest begun, 
but not generally, by the end of Augtut, and was very generally finished by the end 
of September. Upon the whole, a plentiful crop, and all safe. In November best beef 
10s. 6d. per stone, oatmeal 17s. 6d. per boll, butter l5. per pound, all very cheap. 



172 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 



January, 

February, 

March, 

April, 

May, 

June, 

July, 

August, 

Sqjtember, 

October, 

Norember, 

December, 



N. 


s. 


E. 


w. 


N.B. 


N.W. 


S.B. 


S.W 


1 


10 


1 


9 


2 


3 


1 


4 











8 





3 


2 


15 


1 








8 


1 


8 


4 


9 











11 


7 


4 


3 


3 











17 


4 


6 





4 








1 


21 


4 





2 


2 











9 








3 


19 











19 





2 


I 


9 





2 


1 


7 


1 


^ 


8 


10 











8 


6 


3 


4 


10 











17 





6 


1 


16 











19 











12 



2 12 3 155 25 36 29 103 

Hydrography. — The streams in this district are neither large 
nor numerous. The water of Kelvin, which is the chief, rises 
near Orchard, in the parish of Kilsyth, and runs in a direction 
nearly due west, towards the Clyde, formbg the boundary between 
the counties of Stirling and Dumbarton. Its course through these 
parishes is far from picturesque, and more resembles a great ditch, 
- or one of the slow sluggish streams of the south, than the " jouk- 
ing burnies," or " rattling roaring torrents," which sweep over 
their channelly or rocky beds in these northern latitudes. Before 
reaching the Clyde, however, near Glasgow, its stream expands, 
its banks become elevated, bold, wooded, and highly picturesque, 
and being studded here and there with elegant country seats, and 
smart villas, are altogether worthy of the beautiful ballad in their 
praise, entitled *' Kelvin Grove," so well known, and so deserv- 
edly popular in the west of Scotland. Near to Kirkintilloch the 
Kelvin is crossed by a bridge, and is about forty yards broad. The 
Luggie, a tributary of the Kelvin, is the next stream of importance. 
It suddenly bursts up in a large and vigorous spring in the midst 
of a morass, on the farm of Torbrax, in the parish of Cumber- 
nauld. After entering this parish at Dalshaunan, it forms the 
boundary between it and Lanarkshire till Barbeth, where it entire- 
ly enters the parish of Kirkintilloch, and runs by Duntiblae and 
Oxgang, and joins the Kelvin to the north-west of the town of 
Kirkintilloch. Throughout the greater part of its course, it keeps 
by the level grounds, and is, like the Kelvin, a slow muddy ditch- 
like stream, subject occasionally to great inundations. Tlie banks 

The notes from which I quote are not so distinct after this date. It is stated that 
the ayerage of rain for seven years before 1788, which was a remarkably dry year, 
was 25 inches, whereas in 1788 it was only 14.5. On the 29th and dOth May 1809, 
there was the greatest fall of snow ever known at the season of the year. The snow 
was nearly a foot deep. There was aUo a great frost, the rivers frozen, and many 
trees broken down by the weight of the snow. 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 173 

are mostly low, ragged and ungainly, but near Oxgang and Dun- 
tiblaoi they are high, imposing, and finely wooded. The Buth« 
land Burn rises at Gamkirk, winds in a romantic manner around 
the fine old turreted mansion-house of Bedlay, solacing the whole 
scene with its pleasing and perpetual murmurings, and finally loses 
itself in the Luggie at Oxgang. Another small streamlet, called 
the Bord Burn, rises near Croy-mill, crosses below the Forth and 
Clyde Canal at Shirva, and is soon after swallowed up in the Lug- 
gie. All the streams which flow into the Luggie are from the 
south, whilst those which flow into the Kelvin, with one exception, 
are from the north. This latter river is the trough of the waters 
which flow from the bordering counties of Lanark and Stirling, 
There is a small lake at Gartshore, named the Bord Loch, which 
covers about four acres of ground. It has some pike, and is fre- 
quented by wild ducks and teals. It seems to receive its chief 
supply of water from a copious spring in the centre, which in the 
severest frosts is seldom covered with a thick coat of ice. This 
arises from the spring-well temperature of the water, great part of 
which is seldom much below 50^ of Fahrenheit. Accidents are 
accordingly said to have occurred here on the ice. There is a 
tradition of the loss of a great many lives on one occasion, by the 
ice giving way, when overloaded by curlers. The Forth and Clyde 
Canal, which forms the most important hydrographical feature of 
the district, will be mentioned in its proper place. 

Geology and Mijneralogy. — The district of Lenzie lies on the 
northern border of the great coal field of Lanarkshire, after all the 
main seams of the most valuable metals crop out, and where the 
different beds of limestone on which they rest come to the surface 
with their accompanying deposits of coal and ironstone. It is also 
connected on the east with the great carboniferous deposits, which 
stretch along both sides of the Forth, including on the south 
side of that river, the district as far east as Blackness, and from 
Avon Water to the Forth, and the whole range of coal country on 
the north of that river from Culross to Dollar, and eastward by Dun- 
fermline, Auchterderran, Leven, Largo, Elie, St Monance, and 
near to St Andrews. Were a geological map of this part of Scotland 
to be produced, the district of Lenzie would probably be included 
in the range of these coal fields. It is in vain, however, to search 
here for any of the main seams of the great Lanarkshire basin, 
as they are all run out before they reach this locality. This great 



174 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

district is hemmed in by the porphyritie rocks of the Ochil rang^ 
on the north, continued in the Campsie hills to Dumbarton, which 
divide the red sandstone from the coal formation of the Forth and 
Clyde. Part of the parish of Kirkintilloch, with part of the adjoin- 
ing parishes of Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, and Campsie, seem at some 
remote and unknown period to have formed the bottom and sides of 
a great inland sea or lake, which stretched in an easterly and westerly 
direction along the valley of the Forth and Clyde Canal. This great 
basin of water appears to have been studded with islands or inches, 
as they are sometimes called, the memorials of which are still pre- 
served in the names of the places. Among the still existing chrono- 
meters of this sort, which have escaped the wasting influence of the 
hand of time, and still live as it were to speak and testify for them- 
selves, we may mention Inchbreck and Inchbelly in this parish, 
and Inchterf, Inchwood,and Netherinch in the parishes of Campsie 
and Kilsyth. The whole of the tract in which these lost or ci" 
devant islands, if I may so speak, occur, partakes considerably of 
the character of a lowland valley ; but were it necessary absolutely 
to define its geognostic features, we would rather rank it among 
the broad flat-bottomed valleys which abound in many places in 
Scotland. They are less rugged and picturesque in their outlines 
than mountain vallies, and less extensive than lowland ones. Still 
this resembles the lowland valley, in so far that it appears to have 
been originally scooped out by the same natural agencies ; and from 
a careful inspection of the whole, it seems as if a large body of 
water had passed over it rounding the inequalities, and acting on 
the masses of strata in proportion to their power of resistance. At 
the same time, the valley of the Forth and Clyde Canal, especially 
in so far as it is connected with this parish, has much of the charac- 
ter of a drained lake, or indicates a locality where the rivers or 
floods, not having had any great velocity, have had time to deposit 
a considerable quantity of sediment over a flat sur£ice, in the mid- 
dle of which many islands no doubt appeared. In the country to 
the north of this valley, and also considerably to the west, in the 
parishes of Old and New Kilpatrick, there is a continuity or iden- 
tity of strata, accompanied with various alpine ranges, consisting 
of whin, chiefly diorite, resting on the lower members of the coal 
formation. The Campsie range, which borders on the parish of Kir* 
kintilloch, immediately to the north, is of this description ; which, 
although the giant range of these districts is, however, itself mimick- 



KIUKINTILLOCH. 175 

ed or approximated by variouj} smaller ridges to the south in the pa- 
rishes of Kirkintilloch and Cumbernauld, which are of similar struc- 
ture, run in the same easterly and westerly directions, and may all 
be ascribed to the same geological epoch. The shapes or general 
forms of these ridges are considerably modiBed by the currents 
of water which, at an early period, have apparently flowed between 
them, probably from east to west, which is indicated not only by 
the grooviogs and dressings on rocks, and the abrading efiects of 
the liquid among the materials opposed to its passage, but is also 
rendered extremely probable by the natural lie of the whole dis- 
trict, and more especially by the fact, that the surface of the river 
Forth is about five feet lower than that of the river Clyde — a 
&ct ascertained by the levels on the line of the Forth and Clyde 
Canal* 

The principal deposits of coal in the district of Lenzie are only 
such as are immediately connected with the carboniferous group 
of limestones, and all lie in awilleysj or small insulated patches, of 
very inconsiderable length and breadth. These small indepen- 
dent basins are generally of an oval shapj, and evidently seem to 
have been once small lakes or marshes, the strata having been de< 
posited on the bottoms and sides, taking the concave form, which, 
under such circumstances, -we would naturally suppose them to as- 
sume. In all of these swilleysy the stratum of coal that is of con- 
inderable thickness at the base, becomes thinner, and gradually 
fines off towards the edges, and at last totally disappears. This 
. fact proves that the present basin-shaped position of the strata 
was their original one ; and that the basin, at the period when the 
coal was deposited, was a detached lake or marsh, and not a part 
of the bed of the sea. These coal beds are evidently of consider- 
able antiquity, and must have preceded some considerable local 
convulsions of nature. This is indicated by the fact, that while 
the small coal-basins at Holland Hirst in the east, and at Shirva 
on the west, both respectively retain their original or native forms, 
that at Strpn, which lies exactly between them, and on the same 
line running east and west, the coal has been up -heaved by a great 
mass of diorite whinstone, which forms a considerable hill, and the 
whole original basin has accordingly been reversed in its shape, or 
has become saddle-backed, resembling a cup or basin turned upside 

• It is beliered that the bed of the Forth has been raised 20 feet. This would 
give 26 feet of a fall. 



176 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

dowDy or lying with its mouth undermost, and the bottom in the 
air. That this basin was originally of the same form as those at 
Holland Hirst and Shirva there can be no doubt. The whin-hill 
at Stron must therefore be of a more recent date, and probably 
the coal basins of which we are now to speak are of a date pos- 
terior to the causes which led to the formation of the great valley 
in which they are deposited. 

The Shirva field, a little to the west of the Stron, is a small cop 
or swilky^ thrown in and out again by two hitches or troubles, 
which run along the northern and southern boundaries of the 
coal basin, which is of an oval form, probably about a mile in 
length, and half a mile in breadth. The coal here is about 
six and a-haif feet in thickness, is rather soft; in its texture, 
and comes up to the day, as the miners term it, at a very acute 
angle. It is wrought upon the inclined plane system. About 
four feet above this coal, there is a two inch coal with a roofing 
of shale, upon which a four feet post of limestone rests, which is 
again succeeded by a roof of shale, which reaches to the surface. 
This limestone resembles that found at Gladdens, near Glasgow. 
About five fathoms below the thick coal, there is another seam of 
coal thirteen inches in thickness, which is succeeded by a bed of 
sandstone twenty feet thick. No farther search has been made. 
This is, upon the whole, a very singular little patch of carbonife- 
rous matter, altogether very unlike any other found in the neigh- 
bourhood. 

At Holland Hirst, in the parish of Cumbernauld, but only a 
little to the east of the Stron in this parish, there is another sin- 
gular small independent basin of coal, which, for the sake of con- 
nexion, it may not be improper to describe. This field consists of 
two seams, the upper or main coal, 3 feet thick, and a thin seam of 
18 inches. Like that of the Shirva, it forms an oval basin upwards 
of half a mile in breadth, and from the present workings at the en- 
gine at Arneybog eastward to the Red-burn, fully a mile in length. 
It is cut off from the Netherwood lime-fields by a hitch running 
east and west, which may be seen crossing the country a little 
above the Redburn Bridge, at Castlecairy. It is cut off from the 
Cumbernauld lime-field on the south by a large greenstone ridge, 
which runs by Craigmarloch, the back of Cumbernauld Inn, and 
the picturesque waterfuU a little above the old house of Castle- 
cairy. The coal here is thrown in from the north, which v/ould 
seem to connect it with the Stirlingshire coal-fields. It was sup- 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 177 

posed to extend cousiderably to the west, but this, as we shall pre- 
sently see, has been proved not to be the case from recent borings* 
The three feet or main coal is three fathoms above the thin or 
eighteen inch seam, and thecalm limefourfeet thick, nine feet above 
the main coaL The thin coal is wrought long-wall, so that all 
the coal is wrought out. The main coal is wrought ^< stoop and 
room," but not so extensively as the former. The engine pit is 
38^ fathoms deep, fitted with an excellent engine of eleven horse 
power, adapted to draw both coals and water. This work as well 
as the extensive collieries at Banknock, on the opposite side of 
the canal, belong to the Honourable Admiral Fleming. The 
works at Shirva belong to Walter Ballantyne, Esq. 

In a position almost exactly between these two small insulated 
basins of coal, and also on the south bank of the canal, is the sin- 
gular conical coal-field of Stron or Barr-hill. The minerals here 
are the property of Captain Murray Gartshore, of Gartshore, and 
* William Wallace, Esq. of Auchinvole. This field, as we have seen, 
is saddle-shaped. The prevailing rock in this locality is a felspatho- 
pyroxenic trap, which, as already stated, seems to have burst up at 
a period subsequent to the formation of the coal-field, carrying the 
coal, &C. along with it. This hill is in a peculiar range of coun- 
try, namely, exactly in the direction of the anticlinal line, which 
alters the dip of the metals from east to west, and runs of course 
in the direction of the strike. If a line were drawn on the map 
of Scotland from north to south through this hill, it would be 
nearly the anticlinal line of a large portion of the district. It 
will pass on between the sources of the Eudrick and Carron on 
the north, causing the one to run east, and the other west In 
the south, the same line determines the courses of the numerous 
waters which run into the Tweed and the Clyde. The Clyde 
and the Forth alone, with daring impunity, boldly cross and sweep 
along this line, and at these crossings of the anticlinal line lie the 
principal coal-fields. The anticlinal line, which here produces the 
divergence of all the metals, runs up the face of the Barr-hill, by 
the Stron engine, so that all the metals to the east of that line dip 
to the east, and all the metals to the west dip to the west The 
strike of the metals is due north and south. The dip of the coal- 
field at Shirva is accordingly to the west, while that at Holland 
Hirst is to the east These speculations must be taken with some 
degree of allowance, but they will be found near the truth. There 
are two principal seams at Stron, as at Holland Hirst ; but the 

DUMBARTON. M 



178 DUMBART0N6HIRK. 

thin coal is only from 14 to 16 inches thick. The thick or main 
coal is four feet thick, and lies about seven fathoms below the thin 
seam. A black band of ironstone lies about seven fathoms above 
the thin coal. There are besides, five other small and inferior 
bands of ironstone connected with the seams. The coal here is 
good for smithy purposes, and a great proportion of it is used oa 
the spot in the making of coke. Mr Wallace has 24 coke-kilns 
at present in use, and Mr Gartshore 13. These are erected to- 
wards the summit of the Barr-hill, nigh to the remains of the 
Roman wall, and shine forth in a dark night like beacons to all 
the country round. Admiral Fleming has also extensive works 
of the same kind at Holland Hirst. About 32 cwt of coals put 
into each of these kilns yields a ton of coke. The coals require at 
least two days to roast; but this depends much on the state of the 
atmosphere. In March 1834, when coke sold at 16s. 8d. per ton, 
the expense of working, with the profits, might thus be estimated : 
Coke per ton, worth 16s. 8d. ; working the coal 32 cwt. to a' 
ton of coke, 8s. 8d. ; cost and keeping up of kilns and expense of 
charring, 2s. 6d. By subtracting the two latter sum^, or lis. 2d. 
from 16s. 8d., there is a clear profit of 5s. 6d. per ton for the land- 
lord and tenant. The above works, including Holland Hirst, send 
annually to the Glasgow market, by the canal, about 2148 tons 
of coke. 

The thin coal in these collieries is difficult to work. The 
colliers are paid about 2s. per cart, equal to 3s. 4d., and some- 
times as high as 3s. 9d. per ton at the room fkces. The main 
coal, on the other hand, is put out as low as Is. 8d. per ton, carried 
to the pit bottom. The average price is 2s. 6d. per cart, equal 
to 4s. 2d. per ton. Great quantities of fish bones were discover- 
ed when digging the engine pit at Holland Hirst ; but organic 
remains are not so common in these strata as in some others. 

There are at least five distinct main posts of lime in this district^ 
all apparently entering it from the south, showing it to be the bot- 
tom of the Lanarkshire fields ; while its surface and principal mi- 
neral beds to the east are evidently connected with the carboni- 
ferous groups of the coal-fields of the River Forth. The upper- 
most post of lime occurs at Milncroft, in the parish of New Monk- 
land, exactly on the confines of the district of Lenzie. The se- 
cond post is the celebrated deposit in Cumbernauld, lying on each 
side of a deep and romantic ravine, and forming by far the best 
lime for all purposes in this part of the country. The third post 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 179 

is the calm-limestone found in the pit at Holland Hirst. The 
fourth post is the underwood lime thrown out from the Holland 
Hirst coal by the hitch above alluded to. The fifth post occurs 
at Shir?a. It is the third post or calm-limestone which chiefly 
runs throughout the parish of Kirkintilloch. This is a very ex- 
taisive deposit, and, with some of the accompanying upper and 
lower limestones, runs along the whole of the level tract by Cum- 
bernauld and Bedlay to Glasgow, along the valley of the Forth and 
Clyde Canal, in this part of the country, and stretches also along 
the range of the Campsie Fells, where it is in some places 50 or 
60 feet in thickness. It is a hard dark-blue lime with few organic 
remains, and yields but little effervescence with acids. It is well 
fitted for building purposes, and for smelting iron, but is little 
used by the agriculturist. A fine section of this limestone is cut 
through at the viaduct bridge on the Kirkintilloch railway near 
Bedlay. The Bedlay lime, which yields large supplies to the 
Monkiand iron-works, is of this post 

The ironstone found at Stron belongs to an entirely different 
group from that found near Airdrie. In the Monklands, the up- 
per black band is found about 25 fathoms above the ell-coal, and 
Musbet's black band about 15 or 16 fathoms below the splint coal ; 
but all these seams are totally run#out before they reach thi^ quar- 
ter. The black band of ironstone, however, on the Barr-hill, 
seems of excellent quality, and may yet be wrought to great advan- 
tage. The following journal of a bore at Stron will afford some 
idea of the order and succession of metals. 



Soft brown sand, 

Blue-till, 

Ironstone hand, 

Dark fakes mixed with blaes, 

Bock in beds, • 

Blaea, 

Hard white rock, 

Black blaes. 

Ironstone band. 

Very black blaiae, 

Ironstone band, 

Black blaes, 

Grey fiikes, 

Hard fiikes. 

Hard white rock, 

Very hard rock. 



1. 


Bore at Stron, 






FL 


In, 




Ft, 


In, 


7 





Soft white rock, 


4 


6 


2 


8 


Grey fakes in beds, 


7 


10 





6 


Black blaes. 


20 


5 


7 


6 


Hard black fakes, • 


3 


10 


7 





Black blaes, 





4 





4 


Ironstone band, 





4 


5 


2 


Black blaes mixed with fakes, 


3 


2 


14 


9 


Black fakes. 


5 


9 





3 


Blaes, 





3 


1 


H 


Ironstone band, 


1 








2 


Black blaes, 


1 





8 


n 


Hard blaes. 


6 


9 


6 


9 


Ironstone band, 





4 


4 
2 


9 
4 










133 


"e 


2 


2 









The depth here is upwards of 22 fathoms, in which there occur 
six dirtinct bands of ironstone, many of them very thin, averaging 



180 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

upon the whole about 2 feet 9 inches in thickness. The 8-inch 
seam is the best. The coal does not occur in this bore, which was 
made in the bed of the lake-like valley to the north of the canal. 
The 7-feet of soft brown sand lying upon blue till has every ap- 
pearance of aquatic origin. The coal is found on the south side 
of the canal, to the east and west of this bore, as appears from the 
following journal, down only to the first workable coal. 

Ft. In. Ft, In. 

Blue till mixed with freestone, 19 6 Fire coal of the smithy kind, 2 9 

Greyfiikes, . . 2 Rock, .0 

Blaes, ^ ^ 



2 








6 


8 





1 


9 



Rock in beds, ..80 34 10 

Dark-grey fakes, 

In this journal we have the blue-till on which the soft brown sand 
in the valley seems to rest ; but here it is mixed with shattered 
fragments of freestone and other rocks, striking memorials, we may 
imagine, of the destructive eETects produced by the eruption of the 
greenstone rocks from below. 

It was long suspected that coal might be found to the west of 
Holland Hirst, or between that colliery and the colliery at Stron. 
The experiment was lately made, but proved a failure. The fol- 
lowing journal, however, has an additional interest, as having been 
put down in the ditch of the Roman wall or Graham's dike, on 
Westerwood farm. Afe the first breaking of the soil, a nondescript 
sort of earth was found, containing the debris of many substances, 
which the borers, for want of a better name, have termed surface. 
The bore failed in its chief object, the discovery of coal. It is as 
follows : — 

//. In. Ft. In. 

Surface, . 13 Freestone, . . 2, 2 

Freestone, . .80 Dark-grey fakes, 2^2 

Dark fakes, . 9 Dark blaes, . 2 

Blaes, . .04 Hard kingle, .07 

Hard rock, • . 2 ._i_ 

Dark fakes, ..01 26 1 

Another bore was put down near Wyndford Loch, to the 4epth 
of upwards of 33 fathoms. It consisted almost entirely of repeat- 
ed layers of hard faky matter, or a mixture of freestone and shale, 
with two seams of coal of a foul coarse quality, about a foot each in 
thickness, and a coarse limestone of three inches. In one place, on 
the valley of the canal, after a bore of two fathoms, they were stop- 
ped by gravel. 

These bores are all on the east side of the parish. We will now 

examine the west side where it borders with Cadder. We have 

seen that the calm limestone is the most extensive, and most re- 

3 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 181 

• 

markable of the stratified rocks in this district. It is found in the 
pits at Holland Hirst, and also at Woodmill, Bedlay, and all along 
by Gamkirk, Huggenfield, Robroyston, and Cathcart. Near the 
Kirkintilloch railway, at Bedlay, it is found in great perfection. It 
is generally in two plies, separated by blaes. The following jour- 
nal will afford some idea of the accompanying metals. 

Ft. In. FU In. 

Blue limestone, . 2 Hard grey sandstone, . 3 4 

Shale, . . .13 Light hard sandstone, 3 4 

Blue limestone, ..30 Kingle, . .95 

Dark blacs, . . 12 Hard slaty sandstone, 13 4 

Freestone plies and blaes, 9 7 Dark fire-clay & slaty sandstone, 21 9 

Cool, . . .08 Dark shale, . 11 11 

Dark hard fakes, . .47 Dark fire-clay with ironstone 



1 


3 


3 





1 


2 


9 


7 





8 


4 


7 


12 


I 


1 


4 


8 


5 


11 





11 





5 


3 


2 


8 



Slaty sandstone, . 12 I bolls, 36 7 

Coal, ..14 Dark hardstone, . 6^ 

Slaty sandstone, . .85 Dark freestone and shale, \0\ 

Hard grey sandstone, . 110 Coal, ..06 

Dark ft-eestone plies, 110 Dark freestone and shale, 11 4 

Dark fire clay, .53 Coal, . . .26 

Light sandstone, . 2 8 Dark-grey pavement, 2 

Were I to compare the limestones on the north of the great 
Lanarkshire basin, with those on its south-western boundaries, I 
would point out the Calderside lime between the parishes of Blan* 
tyre and East Kilbride, as corresponding with Millcrofk; lime, the 
Auchintibber as corresponding with the Cumbernauld, but of in- 
ferior quality, and the limestones to the west of Kilbride as cor- 
responding with the Netherwood lime. There is nothing equiva- 
lent to the calm limestone on the south-west of the county of La- 
narL Although this district, therefore, properly speaking, lies at 
the bottom of the Lanarkshire coal-fields, still it is connected with 
other fields to the east, particularly with the Falkirk coal-fields, 
which seems to be cut off from the fields still farther to the east, 
by traps, as at Bowden and Cockleroy, which rise out from below 
it. Probably the whole district may here be viewed as one of de- 
nudation, which has been cleared of all the upper strata, and final- 
ly cleared of the waters which overwhelmed it, by the upheaving of 
the Campsie and other traps with which it abounds. 

The prices of boring in this district, where the metals are sel- 
dom at any great depth, are as follows : 

First 5 fathoms at ds. per fathom, 
Second do* at lOs. do. 
Third do. at 15s. do. 
Fourth do. at 208. do. 
Fifth do. at 258. do. 
Sixth do. at 30s. do. 

Total 30 fathoms cost . 



L. 1 5 





2 10 





3 15 





5 





6 5 





7 10 





L. 50 10 






182 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

The following will afford an idea of the expense of shanking and 
mounting a pit on a hmited scale in this quarter. 

Five fathoms shanking, . . L. 19 

Awindlas. . . . 1 10 

A rope and chain, .... 2 

Five fathoms of pipes for pumping water, . 4 10 

Total for five fathoms, L. 27 

The following is the average annual rental of the minerals in 
the parish of Kirkintilloch. 

Barr-hlll colliery, Mr Gartshore, let to Marshall and Wallace 1834, L. 225 

Stron, Mr Wallace, . . . . . 300 

Shirva colliery, Mr Ballantyne, . . 200 

Orchardtown Limework, Mr Sharp, let to A. Baird, 1834, . ^00 

1000 Tons of coke at 16?. per ton, . . 1600 

Total rental per annum for minerals, . . L. 2575 

The above is only an estimated rental, taken from the heritors' 
books, with one exception. Probably the real value is greater. 

The trap rocks in this district are often very remarkable. Near 
Smithston« by the road side, there is a greenstone in which the 
rock assumes a columnar form. There is a singular ridge of dioritic 
whinstone at Mollinsburn, through which the new Kirkintilloch 
road is cut. It runs east and west, and rises up so abruptly as to 
resemble a great quartern loaf lying on a table. The place where 
the above road passes, seems like a piece cut out of the loaf. ^ 

As to the soils of this district, they are not generally so heavy 
as farther south ; they do not so decidedly incline to clay, and are 
upon the whole more grassy. In the genuine coal-fields, grass is not 
the favourite herb, but various species of ranunculus, yarrow, 
daisies, and other insignificant weeds are very prevalent. The 
bottom of the valley of the great canal is nearly all transported 
soil. Near Auchinvole, and in several other places, there are beds 
of water-formed sand of considerable thickness. The ground 
along the southern part of the Kelvin is of a deep marshy nature, 
and is often overflowed by the river, particularly near to the junc- 
tion of the Luggie and Kelvin. The soil of a small tract to the 
north-east angle is of a light reddish colour, upon a whinstone 
and gravelly bottom. Around the town of Kirkintilloch, the soil 
is a light black loam, 16 or 18 inches deep, on a reddish tilly bot- 
tom. A strong natural clay prevails throughout the southern 
and eastern parts of the parish, where it comes more immediately 
into contact with the genuine coal measures. Tracts of moss, af- 
fording a black peat earth, are interspersed, here and there, through- 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 183 

out the whole district The following is nearly the amount of peat 
moss in the parish. 

Drum M088, - - - - 40 acres. 

Mosflfinnin and Bedcow, - . . 40 

Barbeth, - . . • - 12 

Muirside Moss, - - - - 12 

Pkitches of moss elsewhere, - - 30 

134 acres. 

Zoology. — At Cumbernauld, at the east end of the district of 
Lenzie, an ancient breed of white cattle were kept for many ages, 
after they had disappeared from every other place in Scotland. 
We have a direct testimony to this fact, from a variety of celebrat- 
ed and reputable authors, from the earliest periods to the present 
times. As this district, at one time, belonged to the Cummins, it 
is probable, that the same breed were also at Hamilton, as the es-> 
tate of Cadzow also belonged to the same family. They have 
been long extirpated from Cumbernauld^ There is, however, 
one of ihefercenaturce which still keeps its ground there, the nim- 
ble and elegant Cervus capreolusj or roe. It is very frequent in the 
woods at Cumbernauld and Castlecairy, and has of late been hunt- 
ed by hounds trained for the purpose. When attacked, it is very 
shy of leaving its cover, but when driven to the open field, it does 
not run swiftly, but seems to leap or bound like a calf, and unless 
another place of shelter be near, is soon overheated and overtaken. 
The Sciurtis vulgaris^ or common squirrel, abounds in the woods. 
The Lepus cunniaduSf or wild rabbit, is more common in the woods 
than formerly, and has probably been introduced by the gen- 
tlemen of the chace to feed foxes. Better feed them on rabbits 
than on their tenants' poultry. Along the banks of the canal, in 
particular, the Arvicola aquatica^ or water-vole, and Sorex fodiensj 
or water-shrew, are very common. Other quadrupeds common to 
this part of Scotland are also found. Among the birds of prey, 
the BtUeo ceruginosus^ or gled, and the Buteo nisusy or sparrow- 
hawk, are the most destructive. In the last Statistical Account of the 
parish, drawn up by the Rev. William Dunn, the author states, that 
" the advantage resulting from our late improvements is attended 
with one circumstance of which we have reason to complain, which 
is this, that the use of lime upon our lands, the filth which is con- 
veye into our rivers, from the coal-works in the neighbourhood, 
and the machinery which have been erected, have already render- 
ed a salmon-fishery, which was considerable, very insignificant ; and 
indeed there is too much reason to apprehend, that the fish in our 



184 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

rivers will be almost totally exterminated by the joint effects of these 
different sources of destruction." The remark is true with regard 
to the salmon-fishery, which was at one time important enough, 
to be expressly retained by the family of Cumbernauld, when they 
dispensed with the rest of their property in this neighbourhood. 
That the number "of fish has generally decreased is also very proba- 
ble. The chief kinds now found are the following ; — the reader, 
however, will remark, that I am not quite satisfied in my mind as 
to the Salmo albus, 

Salmo salar, common salmon I^euciscus rutelus, roach ^Sccitki^ braixe 
fiirio, common trout - phoxinus, minnow 



•• albus, whiteiiiigor white trout Perca fluviatilis, common perch 



Esox luciua, common pike 

Botany. — The only thing worthy of remark in the botany of 
this district is the immense quantity of Lathyrus salicariaj or pur- 
ple-spotted loosestrife, which fringes the southern bank of the ca- 
nal, and in the months of July and August, when in full blossom, ex- 
hibits a rich display of purple spikes of flowers, and altogether pre- 
sents to the eye a peculiarly gay and captivating appearance. The 
Iris pseudacorus, or yellow water iris, and the Menyanthes trifoliatay 
also contribute to swell the more than usual exuberance of ver- 
dure. In this entangled mass of foliage there may be occasional- 
ly detected a few specimens of that rare and beautiful plant Lysi^ 
machia thyrsifloraj or tufted loosestrife, and also some rare Cari- 
ces, and a variety of interesting aquatic plants. The Arenaria 
vernoy or vernal sandwort, rather a rare plant, occurs in dry gra- 
velly places between Cadder and Kirkintilloch. A variegated va- 
riety of the Urtica urens^ or common nettle, sometimes occurs. The 
Sambucus ebulus abounds in a field on the northern precincts of the 
parish, near the mansion-house of Glorat. The Valeriana offici- 
nalis is more common here than in Lanarkshire. 

The principal plantations are on the estate of Gartshore. They 
extend to upwards of 326 acres, and are finely and very imposing^ 
ly laid off. The trees chiefly planted are larch, spruce, and 
Scotch fir ; but little hard-wood. The principal mansion-houses 
in the parish are well ornamented with trees, and there are some 
pretty extensive plantations, as at Boghead, but not so important 
as to require to be specified. 

II. — Civil HrsTORY. 
This district must have been of great importance so far back as 

the time of the Romans, as it was here that they had one of their 

principal forts. In the year 1184, the town of Kirkintilloch was 

erected into a burgh of barony by William the Lion. Before the 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 185 

year 1195, William, the son of Thorald, who held the manor of 
Kirkintilloch, granted to the monks of Cambuskenneth the church 
of Kirkintilloch, with half a carucate of land. William Cummin, 
afterwards Earl of Buchan, held the manor of Kirkintilloch in 
1201. The estates afterwards came into the hands of the Noble 
family of Fleming. There is in the charter-room at Cumber- 
nauld an ancient charter from Alexander II., dated about 1226. 
In the " Registrum Magni Sigillt Regum Scotorum," published by 
order of Government, there is a charter to Malcolm Fleming from 
King Robert, conveying ** totam baroniam de Kirkintolach que fuit 
quondam Johnis Comyn.'' In the reign of Robert 1 1, there is a char - 
ter of confirmation, dated Kinghorn, 20th July, the fourth year of 
his reign. This had reference to the claim of William Boyd, son of 
Thomas Boyd, the former proprietor of the barony of Lygne. The 
same monarch, by a charter dated Arnele, ISth May, in the third 
year of his reign, grants ^' Villa de Kerkentuloch to Gilbert Ke- 
nedy, grandson of Malcolm Fleming." In 1526, James V. ^^ ra« 
tifyies and apprevis the charter of new infeftment maid by our so- 
verene Lord to Malcolm Lord Flemyng, making the touns of 
Biggar and Kerkentuloch, burghis of barony, with the mercat 
dais, in all punctis, with arteklis, after the form and tenor of the said 
charter of infeftment maid thereupon.'' In 1672, William Earl 
of Wigtown built a bridge of three - arches over the Luggie, the 
old bridge being quite ruinous. The building of this new bridge 
is said to be a '* maist necessary and useful bridge for the saife 
passage of all persons who travel from Edenbro and Stirling to 
Glasgow and Dumbarton, being situated on the highway leading 
to and fro these toun^." The Earl, in consideration of the ex- 
penses he was at in building the new bridge, was permitted by Act 
of Parliament, for the space of five years after the opening of the 
same,toexactanimposition,of four pennies Scots for every ox, horse, 
or cow, four pennies for every ten sheep, and eight pennies for 
every loadened cart. This district formerly belonged to Stirling- 
shire. Some time between 1507 and 1522, the name of the whole 
was changed from Kerkentulach to Lenzie. In 1621, an attempt 
was made to get a new church erected in the middle of the pa- 
rish, but without success. In 1659, the parishes of Kirkintilloch 
and Cumbernauld were finally separated. A new church was built 
at the east end for the new parish, and the chapel of the Virgin 
Mary, built 1644, became the parish church of Kirkintilloch, as 
at present. 



186 DUMBAIITONSHIRE* 

In 1745, the Highlanders descended directly upon this part of 
Scotland from the Craw road along the western limb of the Camp* 
sie range. A stupid and cruel-minded man fired from a barn bole, 
and killed one of the rebels as they passed through the town of 
Kirkintilloch. This wanton and unwarrantable action led to very 
serious results to the inhabitants of the burgh. They were order- 
ed to give up the murderer to justice, but, on being unable to do 
so, a heavy fine was imposed upon them. On the return of the 
Highland host northwards, the town was again put into a great 
panic, it being reported that they were to come that way, and 
meant to bum it. An aged person tells me that his fether was an 
eye-witness of the confusion which prevailed on the approach of 
the much dreaded host. People were flying in all directions, in 
the utmost despair, taking with them what they valued most ; and 
among the rest, he particularly remarked an infirm old man making 
his escape with his cow and a chaff-bed thrown over her back. 
But a more dreadful, and not less dreaded foe, was destined to in- 
vade the peaceful burgh of Kirkintilloch well nigh to a century 
after. This was no less than that appalling scourge, the Asiatic 
cholera, which visited this place in 1832, after having visited Had- 
dington and Musselburgh. Kirkintilloch was the first .station it 
touched at in the west of Scotland, and if the local agitation was 
great, the terror of the whole country around was, if possible, still 
greater. The total number of cases was 96 ; deaths, 36 ; cures, 
60. Of the 36 fatal cases, 10 were children, 14 females, and 12 
full-grown males. 

Antiquities. — The castle of Kirkintilloch, on the Kelvin, ap* 
pears to have been a place of considerable strength, in the end of 
the thirteenth century, when it belonged to John Comyn, who lost 
it and the barony of Kirkintilloch, by forfeiture, on the accession 
of Robert Bruce, when it was given to Sir Robert de Fleeming, 
ancestor of the Honourable Admiral Fleeming, in consideration 
of the eminent services rendered in the course of the long and 
bloody contest, which that monarch carried on with the English, 
for the possession of the Scottish throne. No traces of this an- 
cient fortress now remain. In the northern side of the parish, 
there is an ancient square tower, known by the name of the tower 
of Banheath. This was in ancient times a stronghold of the 
Boyds, Earls of Kilmarnock, whose armorial bearings are still 
blazoned above the door. It was at one period surrounded with 
woods, and had a deer park. In the memory of persons now liv- 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 1S7 

ing, the tower was covered with a leaden roof, and was surrounded 
by a ditch. It is still pretty entire, but in a state of complete dis- 
repair. 

But by far the greatest object of curiosity in the district, either 
to the antiquary, or general reader or scholar, is the remains of 
the ancient Roman wall, with its peels or forts. It appears that 
no less than six walls were built along this narrow neck of land by 
the Romans. The first was built by Julius Agricola, the first 
of the Romans who penetrated into Caledonia, about a. d. 81. 
A second wall was built between the Forth and Clyde by Lollius 
Urbicus about a. d. 138, under the Emperor Antoninus. It was 
built of turfi and fortified by castles of stone* work. Capitolinus 
expressly mentions this wall, and memorials of it are preserred in 
the inscriptions both of the Emperor and General. Carausius, 
who usurped the empire in Britain towards the end of the third 
century, according to Rennius, (cap. J 9, Eldit. Gale,) built or 
repaired the wall between the Clyde and Forth, about a. o. 289. 
The marches of the empire were again repaired under the Em- 
peror Valentinian, by his general Theodosius, in a. d. 367, when 
the province of Valentia was formed. The marches of the em- 
pire, or the above wall, was also repaired by Stilicbo about a. o. 
398. When the Romans finally left this part of the country they 
caused the Britons first to repair the wall, which was of turf, and 
of little use. Bede says it was situated between the Forth and 
Clyde, and begun at a place called Peneltun in Saxon, and 
Penualin Pictish, (Nenricus calls itC^nua/, perhaps Kennal,) about 
two miles distant from Abercorn, and ended towards the west at 
Alcluyd or Dumbarton, on the Frith of Clyde. The same au- 
thority says it was very broad, and very high, and that the remains 
of it were to his time. The wall of a. d. 426 was between the 
Tine and Solway. 

It is the remains of the wall described by Bede which are now 
to be seen. It enters the parish of Kirkintilloch at Barr, crosses 
Barr-hill, and then the canal at Shirva, runs in a westerly direc- 
tion near the south bank of the Kelvin, passes the town of Kir- 
kintilloch, at the back of the parish church, and leaves the parish 
near Mr Thomson's of Belfield. The whole distance is about 
six miles. During that brief space, there have been no less than 
three distinct forts or castles, which are on high and naturally 
strong positions, well-fitted to see to a great distance around, and 
to exercise an extensive surveillance not only over the pieces of wall 



188 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

committed to their keeping, but also over the whole country around. 
The first of these posts upon the east side stands upon the top 
of the Barr-hill, a situation so elevated as to command a view of 
almost the whole length of the wall from east to west ; or over a 
space of country upwards of thirty-two miles from sea to sea. 
The fort is a square area of 150 yards. About the time the last 
statistical report of the parish was written, some vaults belonging to 
it were discovered. They were all entire, covered above with flat 
bricks, and floored with a mixture of lime, and black and white 
gravel, with sand, as if from the sea-shore, very unlike any that 
is now to be found in this neighbourhood. The next of these 
forts, proceeding westward, is situated three miles distant, at the 
village of Auchendowie. It is of an oblong rectangular figure, ex- 
tending 150 yards one way, and 70 another. This fort is now 
sadly mutilated, and can scarcely be traced. The Forth and 
Clyde Canal is cut through it Two miles onward in the same 
direction is the fort or peel, as it is called by way of distinction. 
It is situated on a piece of rising ground at the west end of the 
town of Kirkintilloch. The ditches and forms of the fortifications 
are still pretty distinct, except on the west side, where they have 
been lately levelled and turned into a kail-yard. The fort is of 
an oblong rectangular form, 90 yards in length, and 80 in breadth. 
It is singular in being situated on the north side of the wall, where- 
as all the other forts stand upon the south side. From the his- 
tory of the place* subsequent to the time of the Romans, there is 
more than ground for suspicion that this was one of the strong- 
holds of the Comyns, during the time of the disturbances with the 
English. Certainly the traces of the remains of the fortifications 
are much fresher here than at any of the neighbouring stations'; 
and the reason probably is that they are newer, and may therefore 
be referred to comparatively modern times. That this was once 
a Roman fort, there can be no doubt; the only question is, as to 
the remains of the ditches and redoubts now visible. A piece of 
lead, weighing upwards of 11 stones, of the shape of a cast of pig- 
iron, was lately found. It has been sawn into two pieces. There 
are some rude marks on it resemblino; the Roman numerals for 
two hundred. Stones bearing inscriptions have also been dug up 
among the ruins of all these forts. Many of these are in the Hun- 
terian Museum at Glasgow. Mr Dunn, the last minister of Kir- 
kintilloch, mentions one with the words Legio Secunda Augusta 
Fecit. The ditch is in a pretty entire state in many places on the 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 189 

property of the Honourable Admiral Fleeming, between Castle- 
cairey and the Barr-hill, and also in this parish. It is sometimes 
of considerable depth, and twenty or thirty yards broad, covered 
with a thick coating of verdure. The bottom of it is everywhere 
pervaded with masses or rather fragments of broken stones. It 
is here uniformly called Graeme's Dike. 

III. — Population. 
In 1751, the Rev. Dr Erskine, at that time minister of Kirkin- 
tilloch, aflterwards of Edinburgh, found the population to be as 
follows : 

Families in the town, . . 195 

in the country, . . 226 

Persons in the town above eight years of age, 575 

in the country, do. do. 796 

The addition of the Seceders and Quakers, at that time in the 
parish, made up 1400 examinable persons, which, being taken at 
one-half of the population, will give 2800 of a population. This 
is Mr Dunn's data, deducible from Dr Erskine's returns, but it is 
erroneous. Dr Erskine gives the total families in town and coun- 
try at 421 ; and if we allow four to a family, which is a fair enough 
calculation for those times, it will give a total population of 1664^ 
The return of souls to Dr Webster in 1755 was 1696, so that 
the total increase in four years was only 32 souls. The number 
of inhabitants in the parish in 1791 was as follows : 

In the town, 1536 

In the country, , . 1 103 



Toul, 2639 

This shews an increase in forty years of 943. 



Population in 1801, 
1811, 
1821, 
1828, 
1831, 



3210 
3740 
4580 
5518 

5888 



The increase in ten years, from 1791 to 1801, is 570; from 
1801 to 1811, the next ten years, 530 ; from this last period till 
1821, it is 840 ; 938 for seven years, from 1821 to 1828; and for 
three years from 1828 to 1831, the increase was 370; so that in 
the ten years before 1831 the total increase was 1308. The gross 
average annual increase for the whole period is rather more than 
81 per annum. The full particulars of the census of 1828 are in 
the hands of Mr John Moffat, merchant in Kirkintilloch. The 
following are its general results. 



190 



DUMBARTONSHIRE. 



Landwardt 
Burgh, 



Above 12 yean of age. 

928 
2755 



Below 12 years of age. 

418 
1417 



Total. 

1346 
4172 



Total, 8683 . . 1835 . 5518 

The increase per anDum at this period, Mr Moffat supposes to 
be about 120. The result of the Government census of 1831 is 
as follows : 

3006 
2882 



Males, 
Females, 



Total, 5888 

The following are the general outlines of the census for the 
purposes of the Church Commission in 1836. 



Districts. No. 


of souls. 


Above 12. 


I. Barr, 


328 


223 


2. Shirva, 


202 


157 


3. Eastside, , . 


555 


441 


4. Hight Street, north side. 


676 


436 


5. High Street, south side. 


163 


102 


6. Hillhead, 


673 


455 


7. Waterside, - . 


353 


245 


8. Gartshore, 


284 


206 


9. Middlemuir, 


92 


63 


10. Cowgate, 


1362 


1061 


11. Townhead, 


1222 


802 


Omitted in Townhead, 


20 


15 


12. GaUowhiU, 


116 


78 


13. Belfield, &c. 


110 


56 



6156 43.30 

The lists are uncommonly accurately taken down, and neatly 
and carefully assorted ; but it is probable some of those who were 
entrusted with them have got bewildered in one department, name- 
ly, in ascertaining the numbers above twelve years of age, and 
those above seven. The proportion of those above twelve years of 
age is probably here too great. The average number of procla- 
mations and baptisms in the parish church for the last eight years 
are as follows, (premising in the meantime that by the Church Com- 
mission returns, there are in the parish 18 bachelors, heads of fa- 
milies, 91 old maids, and 80 widows.) 

Years. Proclamations. Baptisms. 



AOtJtr, 

1831, 


60 


lift 
99 


1832, 


41 


120 


1833, 


44 


83 


1834, 


44 


104 


1835, 


61 


107 


1836, 


62 


105 


1837, 


42 


107 



404 



33 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 191 

The proclamations, as here given, are at the rate of one marriage 
to about ievery 113 individuals, which is about the usual average 
in this quarter of Scotland, sometimes a little more, and sometimes 
a little less. In Hamilton it is 117, and in England generally 
120. There is one baptism to every 60 persons, which is about 
twice too much : the true number is probably about 30. Accord- 
ing to this computation, the total number of baptisms in the parish, 
among Churchmen and Dissenters, will be about 1600 or upwards. 
The deaths, as far as can be ascertained, are about one to 120. 
Members of families, 1114; inhabited houses, 615; houses, unin- 
habited or building, 1. Illegitimate births about 7 per annum. 

State of Landed Property. — In the beginning of the fourteenth 
century, the whole parish, excepting the burgh lands of Kirkin- 
tilloch, and the barony of Western Gartshore, (which has for 
many ages been possessed by that ancient and respectable family, 
Gartshore of Gartshore,) was the entire property of the Noble fe- 
mily of Flemings, Earls of Wigton. Lord Elphinstone, in 1735, 
married Clementina, the only daughter and heiress of John, 
the last Earl, at whose death in 1778, the male line of that house 
became extinct. Lady Clementina Fleming lived till 1799, when 
she died at the advanced age of eighty. The Honourable Admi- 
ral Fleming, second son of John, eleventh Lord Elphinstone, is 
now the heir-general to the whole Wigton estates. The last of 
the property in this parish belonging to the family was sold off in 
1757, but they still retain the feu-duties, and some other casual- 
ties of feudal superiority. Admiral Fleming has held some of the 
highest appointments in the British navy, and is now on the chief 
command at Portsmouth. He is equally distinguished for his pub- 
lic and private worth and intelligence ; and it is to him, and that 
excellent patriot, the late Sir Peter Murray of Auchtertyre, the 
father of Captain Gartshore of Gartshore, that the public are in- 
debted for the very superior roads which everywhere intersect this 
district of country. 

The family of Gartshore, as above stated, is of great antiquity, 
and has long resided in this part of the country. The present re- 
presentative of the family. Captain Murray Gartshore, second son 
of Sir Peter Murray of Auchtertyre, with his excellent and amiable 
lady, a daughter of Sir Howard Douglas, Bart, her Majesty's Com- 
missioner for the United States of the Ionian Islands, has of late 
resided chiefly on his estate in this parish, where he is universally 
beloved and respected. It is understood that he is about to erect 
a new house among the fine plantations near the Barr-hill. To 



192 



DUMBARTONSHIRE. 



judge from the plans, the building will be at once elegant and 
commodious, and will add not a little to the picturesque beauty of 
the district — Major Berry has an elegant and commodious seat 
near the town of Kirkintilloch, and many fine villas and 
manor houses of wealthy and respectable individuals are scat- 
tered in different parts of the parish. Owing to the gradual 
dismemberment of the Wigton estate, which, at one period, ex- 
tended over many neighbouring parishes, the property has been 
very equally distributed, and is now in the hands of a great many 
proprietors. In this respect, it may be considered as a model of 
a parish so circumstanced, and it may therefore not be improper to 
give an analysis of the present state of property, so as to make 
figures speak, instead of words. 

In the roll of the real valuation of the parish, there are no less 
than 311 proprietors of lands and houses, so that every nineteenth 
person nearly is possessed of some heritable property. The num- 
ber of female proprietors is 52, with a gross yearly income of 
L.839, 7s. lOd. It may not be uninteresting to observe the pro- 
portion in which this considerable sum is distributed among them. 
They constitute nearly one-sixth of the whole proprietors, but the 
proportion of their gross yearly income is only about one-twentieth. 
The numerals indicate the number of individuals, and the sums 
their annual income from property. They are put down promiscu- 
ously as. they occur on the roll. 

No. of persons. Annual income. I Nc 



1 


L. 5 10 


2 


5 18 


8 


71 8 


4 


8 1 6 


5 


5 5 


6 


86 


7 


69 1 4 


8 


9 


9 


6 5 6 


10 


5 14 


11 


5 18 9 


12 


2 


13 


22 16 


14 


4 15 


15 


7 8 9 


16 


6 1 6 


17 


17 14 6 


18 


12 18 6 


19 


1 4 


20 


1 5 


21 


21 2 


22 


16 4 1 


28 


4 5 


24 


27 19 


25 


8 8 


26 


29 15 


27 


9 



>f persons. 


Annual income. 


28 


L. 4 


29 


8 1 6 


SO 


11 


81 


3 15 


82 


6 


88 


2 11 


84 


7 14 


35 


5 2 


86 


60 


87 


29 10 


88 


85 


89 


17 


40 


21 


41 


25 


42 


11 19 


48 


17 2 9 


44 


26 18 11 


45 


7 10 


46 


13 12 


47 


16 16 


48 


4 5 


49 


4 14 


50 


6 14 9 


51 


2 


52 


16 17 6 


rotal, 


L. 889 7 10 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 193 

The old original Scotch valuation of the parish is L. 5085. The 
real rental is L. 14y600 Sterling, which being allocated at Sd. 
per pound Sterling, as at present, brings a yearly income of 
L. 121, 19s. 4d. The total number of names of heritors upon the 
roll is S09, of whom 189 pay minister's stipend, and 144 school 
master'ssalary. The number of proprietors of land of L. 50 and up- 
wards is 3d. There are also as follows : L. 10 or under per annum, 
40 proprietors; L. 10 to L. 20, 15 do.; L. 20 to L. 50,31 do.; L.50 
to L. 100, 19 do. ; L. 100 to L. 150, 4do. ; L. 150 to L. 200, 5do. ; 
L. 200 to L. 300, 4 do. This calculation does not include the 
larger estates. The following are the principal : 

Estates. Acres. Rental of Lands. Woods. Minerals. 

Gartshore, 1518 L. 1488 6 L. 220 L.250 

Qigaqg^ 131 387 

Shir?a, 170 380 200 9 

Anelilnyole, .151 271 300 

There are eleven principal tenants, with sundry smaller ones on 
the estate of Grartshore, and about eight tenants on Oxgang. 
There are in the parish 3076 acres, 2 roods, and 19 falls under 
cultivation, which yields an average annual rental of L. 8468, 4s. 
6d. The net produce of lands and houses is as follows : 

Districts. 

1. HJIHiead, east side, .... 

2. Burgh Isnds, East Midr, south-east side, 

5. Including Woodhead, Woodmill, Dalshannan, > 
4. Hole, Barbeth, &c. &c. ( 
5- Drum, Drumbreck, Gartshore, &c. 

6. Tintock, East Muir, Luggie bank, &c. 

7. Waterside, Solesgirth, &c. 

8. Woodilee, Caefinuir, Oxgang, &c. 

9. Muirbead, Greens, Boghaetd, &c. 

10. Industry, Backrow, &c. .... 

1 1. Freeland Place, Townhead east, &c. 

12. Townhead, east and west. Canal bank, &e. 
IS* Cowgate east, Broadcrofc, and Blackcauseway, 
14. Cowgate west, Blackloch, &c . . . 
16. High Street, north and south sides, 
16. Bellfield, Westerraains, &c. 

L. 13,759 9 6 

The landward proprietors are about 128, with upwards of 105 
tenants under them. The following table will show the comfor- 
table circumstances in which many of the inhabitants of this pa* 
rish are placed, in regard to that degree of comfort which depends 
on the possession of property. The kinds of property are lands, 
houses, and| feus ; — the numeral letters indicate the number of 
persons condescended upon : 

DUMBARTON. N 



Annual net rentals. 


L.722 


2 10 


. 265 


11 11 


822 


4 6 


2185 


10 8 


1231 


11 


110 


11 4 


925 


16 


. 554 


2 


. 38« 


15 


660 


15 3 


442 


7 


617 


7 9 


1017 


6 


774 


3 10 


1393 


4 2 



194 



DUMBARTONSHIRE. 





Annual income 


Annual income 


Annual income 


Proprietors, 


from land. 


from houses. 


from feus. 


1 


L. 135 


L.359 




2 


322 


22 13 


. L. 28 11 6 


3 


190 


141 


44 13 I 


4 


19 


52 5 





5 


46 


116 5 10 





6 


11 10 


130 14 3 


1 4 


7 


9 


69 


6 5 6 


8 


290 


13 





9 


45 


81 





10 


10 


45 





11 


141 


50 





12 


28 


81 








In their 






In their 


Farmers. 


femilies. 


Weavers. 


families. 


19 


133 


8 




54 


. 9 


63 


14 




91 






52 




280 


3 


11 


43 




160 








4 




16 


1 


3 


104 




477 


. 3 


14 


135 




823 


3 


16 


64 




202 


. 





41 




273 








14 




97 



As a contrast with the above, we may give some statistics re- 
lative to the more dependent classes, which will speak for them- 
selves. 

Districts. 

1. Barr, 

2. Shirva, 

3. Eastside, 

4. High Street, north side, 

5. High Street, south side, 

6. Cowgate, 

7. Townhead, 

8. HUlhead-GaUowhill, . 

9. Waterside, 
10. Middlemuir, 

Here we have 471 weavers heads of families, with 2473 de- 
pendent on them ; or making up parts of their families ; whereas 
38 farmers with their large incomes and greater need of assistance, 
have only 240 living along with them, either as dependents or as 
members of their households. The average number of individuals 
in a weaver's family is five and a fraction ; in a farmer's femily^ 
six and a fraction ; but the means of support cannot be calculated 
by the same ratio. 

In speaking of the habits of the people collectively, we may say 
with Mr Dunn in the last report of the parish, that they are in 
general " a virtuous and industrious people." " The pride of 
mind,'' he continues, ^^ and impatience of contradiction, which the 
possession of landed property frequently inspires, perhaps, may 
occasion too many law-suits." In this respect, they are certainly 
naturally not more pugnacious than their neighbours, although 
the great subdivision of property among them creates also a sub- 
division of rights, and, of course, furnishes a greater opening for 
law-suits. This is certainly one evil arising from an extensive 
subdivision of heritable rights, but it has also its counterbalancing 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 195 

advantages, and one of the most remarkable of these is the encou- 
ragement of yirtuous and industrious habits, arising out of the ha- 
bitual sentiments of self-respect and self-dependence. This is no . 
imaginary statement ; its effects have been manifested in the re- 
markable fact, that, with the increase of trade and manufactures, 
a rapidly multiplying population, and in an extensive district of 
country, within a few miles of Glasgow, no poor's rate was ever 
imposed by law, till within these few years past : all was done by 
Toluntary contributions. This fact of itself speaks volumes in be- 
half of the orderly, industrious, and virtuous habits of the people 
of Kirkintilloch. 

IV. — Industry. 

Total frmiUes^ 1114 

FamilieB employed in agriculture, as formers, cottars, and farm-ser- 
vants, - - - - - -118 

in trade, handicraft, manufactures, &c. - - - 96 1 

not in any of the above emi)lovments, - - - 35 

Number of wholesale merchants, capitalists, bankers, professional per- 
sons, and other educated men, - - ' - - 50 
Oocopiers employing labourers, - - - - -34 

not employing labourers, .... 72 

Labourers in agriculture, ...... 152 

Employed in manu&ctures and machinery, - - - 724 

Retail trade, handicraft, or maltsters, - - - - - 214 

Biales twen^ years of age, ..... 1367 

Male-«ervant8 twenty years, --.... 1 

under twenty, - - - . . 2 

Female servants, ....... 129 

When the last statistical account of the parish was drawn up, 
there were — weavers, 185; stockingmakers, 11 ; smiths, 15; 
house-carpenters and cabinet-makers, 20 ; masons, 10 ; shoe- 
makers, 10; saddlers, 4; coopers, 6; a good many tailors, and a 
few hair-dressers. At that period, namely, 1791, there were in 
the burgh 1536 ; but in 1828, when the total population was 5518, 
there were in the burgh 4172. The following is the state of the 
principal trades at present, as drawn up by Mr William MoflFat, 
preacher of the Gospel: Slaters, 5; masons, 12; house-carpen- 
ters and cabinet-makers, 30 ; tailors, 20; bakers, 12 ; shoemakers, 
24; blacksmiths and locksmiths, 10; house-painters and glaziers, 
4 ; hair-dressers, 2 ; saddlers, 2 ; weavers, 2000. 

It will be observed, that there is a decrease in the stocking- 
making trade, also among the saddlers and coopers, and an as- 
tonishing increase among the weavers. Some of these articles are 
probably supplied from Glasgow. In the Church Extension list 
I also find the following heads of families, namely, 7 founders, 
10 printers in cloth, 13 sailors, 5 maltmen, 20 merchants and 
grocers, 7 carters, 2 plasterers, 2 thatchers, 2 quarriers, I m\\V- 



A 



196 



DUMBARTONSHIRE. 



Wright, 3 gardeDer39 2 sawers, 2 carriers, 2 butchers, 1 musician, 
2 calenderers, 6 hatters, 3 painters, 1 nailer, 4 toll-keepers, 60 
labourers, 3 surgeons — there are 7 in all. 

Agrictdturc—^The lands are for the most part arable, but still 
the proportion is not so great as might at first sight be imagined. 
The total number of Scots acres in the parish is 8527 ; but by 
the returns of Messrs Shaw and Miller, two most able practical men, 
who made up an estimate of the rental of the landward part of the 
parish in August 1836, which is attested by the sheriff of the 
bounds, it appears that there are only 3076 acres, 2 roods, and 
19 falls, under regular cultivation, leaving an overplus of 5451 
acres. A large proportion of this residuum is taken up by the 
town of Kirkintilloch, and the rest by the canal, railway, public and 
private roads, hedges and fences of all sorts, which are numerous, 
farm-houses, streams, and burns, and a few straggling villages. 

The only uncultivated land in the parish is towards the east end, 
about Stron and Barr-hill, and the mosses already alluded to. Al- 
together the waste lands, with the above exceptions, do not amount 
to, perhaps, more than 300 acres, if so much. To this amount 
we may add other 300 acres now under wood, chiefly larch, spruce, 
and Scotch fir, with a sprinkling of hard- wood. These yield good 
returns, or may be expected to do so. The average rent of land 
per Here throughout the parish is about L. 1, 10s. But the ave- 
rage will be better shown as follows : In 131 properties in the 
hands of the same number of proprietors, and of 108 tenants, the 
proportion between the number of acres, and the rental per an- 
num, generally on a lease of nineteen years, is as follows : I shall 
put them down at random, as taken from the books of the heritors, 
and from other sources of information. 

Acres. 
03 
70 
65 
50 
30 
28 
50 
9 
.8 
80 
60 
45 
80 
90 
57 
30 
80 
72 
50 

Tbo total number of acres is 2252, and the total annual ren- 



Annual rental. 


Acres. 


Annual Rental. 


L. 140 








12 


22 





122 








80 


130 





65 








70 


110 





80 








45 


95 





90 








130 


175 





80 








80 


105 





172 








175 


111 





32 








43 


70 





26 








70 


94 





170 








30 


45 





120 








160 


350 





100 








130 


295 


9 


70 








151 


271 





83 








44 


130 





60 








36 


40 





50 








28 


55 





60 








19 


55 





100 










2252 






55 


L. 3828 






J 

KIRKINTILLOCH. 197 

tal of these acres L.d828 Sterling; the average is L. !» ffs. 6^d. 
or L. 1 , 10s. nearly per acre. There is very little permanent pasture 
except at Barr-hill. The best land in the parish is at Shirva. 
Oats, barley, hay from sown grasses, flax, pease, beans, and a small 
proportion of wheat, are the principal crops sown. The usual ro- 
tation of crops in dry lands is for the ^rst year a white crop ; for 
the iecond yesit a green crop ; on the third year the land is sown 
down, partly with wheat, barley, or oats, and in the fifih and sixth 
years it is allowed to lie in pasture. In wet lands, generally two 
white crops are taken, or one of them in flax, which is chiefly 
sown towards the east end of the parish. The other crops are as 
above. In the third year, some farmers sow down with barley and 
rye-grass ; and where that does not answer, they plant potatoes ; in 
the fourth year, there is a hay-crop, and the fifth and sixth are 
pasture. Flax is not so much sown now as formerly. Flax, after 
paying expenses, may be worth from L. 5 to L. 6 per acre ; oats 
at 5 bolls per acre, L. 3^ lOs.; wheat from L.9 to L. 10; hay 
from L.5 to L. 6 on clean land; barley, L.5; potatoes, L.I6 
per acre. The price of manure for an acre of land, if well done, 
is L. 8) 2s. The price of labouring it, L. 1. Dung is sold at 4s. 
and 4s. 2d. per square-yard. There is I^ square-yard in a ton. 
One hundred tons costs by the Canal L.20, or 5s. per ton. 
Horse and cow-dung is sold in Kirkintilloch at 6s. per ton. 
About four carts of dung are required for an acre of potatoes, 
which will cost L. 10. An acre of potatoes, when laboured by the 
spade, costs about L. 1, lOs.^ for labour by the plough, L. 1, Is. 
Calculating the expense of labour as above, by the plough, per 
day, there will be for three men, 6s. ; three women, 3s.; a plough 
and two horse^s, 12s., = L. 1, Is. The best men-servants for agri- 
cultural labour may be had at from L. 16 to L.20 per annum, 
with board and washing ; boys at from L. 4 to L. 10. The best 
women-servants are hired at from L. 9 to L. 10 per annum; in- 
ferior, L. 6 ; labourers in winter earn 9s. per week, in summer, 
12s.; masons, L.1, Is., and carpenters, 18s. The rate of wages 
in the following trades from 1810 to 1820 was, — 

1811. 1812. 1813. 1814. 1815. 1816. 1817. 1818. 1819. 

8. d. 8. d. s. d. R. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 8. d. s. d. 
Haaons per day, 2 10 3030309030343 2 26 
Joinera & Carpentera, 3 0303030303030 3024 
Maaons Ubourert' do. ) 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 I 10 1 6 1 3 
Slaters* ditto. 343434343634343434 

Sawyers' do. . 404040404040404040 
Blacksmiths' do. 2626262626282 82 82 8 

Plasterers' do. 3 6 B 6 3 6 3 8 3 8 3 6 3 6 3 6 3 6 



198 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

The working hours of masons and all who labour in the open 
air, are reduced from 1st November to 1st March, and from 
that month till November are again increased, and of course the 
wages bear the same proportion. In the above calculations, al- 
lowance is made for these alterations, and the average only is given. 

There are about 148 horses in the parish, employed entirely in 
agricultural labour, which is at the rate of 4 horses to every 100 
acres. In the town of Kirkintilloch, there are 20 common car- 
ters' horses, taxed at 10s. 6d. each for road-money. There are 
also in the parish about 740 cows; generally about 12 or 14 
milch-cows, or, including young cattle, ^0 in all to the hundred 
acres of arable land. There are, besides, a number kept by private 
individuals, for retailing the milk to the public. The horses are 
of the Clydesdale breed, but rather small. The covfs are of the 
Ayrshire breed, and very good of their kind. Mr Anderson of 
Smithston, on the eastern borders of the parish, has been long 
celebrated for the excellent sorts of cattle reared by him. He 
and his father, who was also a skilful rearer of cattle, have contri- 
buted much to the amelioration of the breed both of the horse 
and of the dairy-stock of cattle in the district. He was one of 
the prize-takers at the late great cattle-show in Glasgow. The 
average rent of grazing is at the rate of L. 2, 10s. per ox or cow 
grazed, and at the rate of 10s. per ewe or full-grown sheep pas- 
tured for the year. But these latter are very few in number. 
The keep of a horse per annum to the farmer who has every thing 
within himself, is about L. 12. 

There has not been so much draining in this parish as in some 
others, but to this general remark there are many individual ex- 
ceptions. Mr Horn of Braes is well known as one of the most 
able and successful agriculturists in the west of Scotland, and has 
drained more than any other person in the parish. Messrs Stew- 
art of Barbeth, and Inglis of Woodhead, have brought in a good 
deal of moss. The following are the estimated expenses of 
draining and improving one acre of mossy marshy land. 

Tiles per acre, ..... 

Casting drains 8d. per rood, und soles for tiles of wood, 

Casting and filling, Is. per rood, 

For delving, . . 

For putting one inch of sand on surface, 

For dung. 



Per Acre. 


L.6 








1 











4 





3 


10 





2 








3 


2 





L.15 16 


~0 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 199 

Id every hundred acres of arable land, there may be 20 acres 
ID oats, 8 acres in potatoes or green crops, 20 acres in hay, 6 
acres in wheat or barley, and fully one-half in pasture. There 
may be in the whole parish annually about 615 acres of oats, 246 
acres of potatoes, 615 acres in hay, and 184 in wheat or barley, 
which, out of 8076 arable acres, leaves 1660 for white and green 
crops, and 1416 for pasture, which latter amount is probably a lit- 
tle below the mark. 

Produce. — Proceeding upon the above data, the average gross 
amount of produce raised in the parish, as nearly as can be ascer- 
tained, will be as follows : — 

IVoduoe of grain of aU kinds, whether cultivated for the food of man 

or the domestic animals, ... L.5900 

Potatoes, turnips, &c .... 3800 

Hay, ... 2000 9 

Pasture, ...... 1500 

Flax, . . . 200 

Gardens and orchards, 200 

Thinning woods, 100 

Minarals, ... 2573 



Value 


per 


annum 


as 


rental. 


L.40 








70 








50 








25 





9 


95 









L. 16,275 

An acre of oats in this parish is worth about L. 6 Sterling ; 
wheat, L. 8; hay from L. 3 to L. 6 ; potatoes, L. 12. The above 
estimate does not include the manufactures. The mills for work- 
ing up the agricultural produce are 

Acres of land 
attached. 

Woodmilis, oats, flour, &c. . . 6 . 

Duntiblae, do. do. . 3 . 

Pergushill, flax, . 20 . 

Boghead, do. . . . 12 . 

Hole, do. . . . 45 . 

L.280 

Woodmilis is the property of Mr Wilson, and has been lately 
completely fitted up with new machinery of the most approved 
construction, with a thrashing mill attached. Thirlage is still in 
use in the corn-mills. 

Manufactures. — The principal manufacture in the town is that 
of cotton goods for exportation. The principal manufacturers are 
Mr John Marshall, and Mr Grey of Duntiblae. Mr Marshall at 
one period employed from 1200 to 1400 hands, and at present 
from 500 to 800. The trade here is chiefly in lappets for the 
East India trade, with a few purls and victories for the South Ame- 
rican trade. Lappets are muslins with raised flowers in imitation 
of tambouring ; purls are a gauze with lappeting on it ; victories 




200 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

are a sort of thin gauze web. The lappets are woven in the usual 
way, with the aid of a wheel with catches, and a spring which raises 
and depresses the needles which form the flowers. The thread is 
never changed, but always comes through the same needle, and 
hence resembles tambouring. This trade is at present most de- 
pressed. Mr Marshall employs 44 journeymen, who have every- 
thing provided. They can make 6s. and 7s. per week each. This 
work goes all to India, from whence letters are often received in 
two months. In 1835, there were 1600 weavers in the town of 
Kirkintilloch ; according to the statement of Mr Marshall, there 
are now about 2000 weavers. Perhaps the cotton trade, in 
shape of wages alone, will bring into the town of Kirkintilloch, 
L. 700 per week, or L. 36,400, per annum, which is only at the 
moderate allowance of 7s. per week each, or L. 18, 4s. Sterling 
per annum. Among the 2000 weavers, there are only, however, 
471 male heads of families, and, allowing five to each family, it 
will make 2355 individuals in all, but from actual surveys, the num- 
ber dependent on these 471 heads of families is 2473. Now, if 
we take this latter number as the gross amount of weaving popu- 
lation, we will find that there is only about one- fifth not employed 
at. work, so that there must be a great deal of clubbing, or of the 
joining of wages together, which may make up a good common in - 
come. A weaver's wife can wind pirns for three looms, which, at 
Sd. each, yield 9d. per day. 

Besides the cotton trade, there is a calico printfield employing 
about 120 hands, including printers, ipechanics, and labourers. 
There is also a silk-hat manufactory employing upwards of 20 
hands, and an iron foundery well employed. There are two dis- 
tilleries in constant operation, and one occasional distillery. Of 
the two in constant operation, the one produces 1800 gallons of 
whisky per week, and the other 1400 gallons, or in all 3200, ^hich 
is 116,400 gallons per annum, which at the moderate computation 
of 6s. per gallon, will yield per annum L. 49,920 Sterling. 

The average hours of labour for weavers is 12 hours per day ; 
masons and labourers 10 hours in summer, and 7 in winter ; join- 
ers and carpenters 10 hours; shoemakers, blacksmiths, and tailors 
12 hours; painters, plasterers, and slaters the same as masons. A 
labourer's wages per day ought to be equal to the price of a peck 
of oatmeal. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 
y Ww. — The town of Kirkintilloch is a very ancient burgh of 



KIBKINTILLOCB. 301 

barony. " It was erected," says the late Rev. William Dunn, "about 
1170, by William King of Scots, Baron of Lenzie, and Lord of 
Cumbernauld ; and still holds of the barony of Cumbernauld for 
the payment of 12 merks Scots of yearly feu-duty." At this rate 
it was erected into a burgh of barony two years before the city of 
Glasgow, which was in 1172; but I find from the town's docu- 
ments, that the true date of the erection of the burgh of Kirkin- 
tilloch is 1184. There was a renewal and confirmation of the 
charter by the Earls of Wigton, first at Cumbernauld, 10th De- 
cember 1520, and again at Boghall, 10th February 1527. The 
annual feu-duty is as above, 12 merks or Ids. 4d. per annum. 
The bui^h proprietors have also the teind-tack (dated Novem- 
ber 1642,) of the teinds parsonage and vicarage of the burgh 
lands or Newlands mailing. The town paid on obtaining this 
grant 650 merks, or L.30, lis. l^d. Sterling. The burgh 
lands are the thirty-three and a-half Newland mailings, includ- 
iog tbe town and lauds of Boghead and Gartcloss. The pri- 
vil^es with which the town is endowed are ample. Its burges- 
ses elect their own magistrates, independently of the lord of the 
barony. The magistrates are two bailies, and they are annually ^ 
chosen. They are empowered by the charters of the burgh, to 
hold courts, levy fines, imprison ofienders, or even banish them 
from their liberties; and, in short, to exercise every right with 
which the baroq himself was invested before the erection of the 
burgh. These rights, the community have continued, ever since 
that period, to enjoy undisturbed. They were in no degree af- 
fected by the act, by which the British Parliament in 1748 abo- 
lished the heritable jurisdictions in Scotland. None are entitled 
to vote at the election of magistrates, except burgesses being the 
proprietors of the Newland mailings. They are at present twenty- 
two in number, sixteen of whom are resident. Courts are held, 
but at no stated times ; a proof that the cases are not numerous. 
The burgh, besides the above, is possessed of no exclusive privi- 
leges, and has no local acts in its favour. There are no local 
taxes, nor any incorporation of trades. The town's debt is about 
L. 300 Sterling, the annual revenue about L. 30, the greater part 
of which is expended in paying the interest on the debt, and in 
keeping up public buildings. The population of the town at the 
present moment may be about 4600 souls. There are 180 houses 
at L. 10 per annum of rent. 

The community are possessed of a court-house and jail, with a • 



202 DUMBARTONSHIUE. 

steeple and bell, to which an excellent school-room for the town and 
parish is attached. The public buildings are under the superinten* 
dence of the magistrates. They were erected here in 1814. There 
was formerly an excellent bell in the steeple, 19 cwt which was 
cracked; the present town's bell with appendages weighs only 14 
cwt 

The total expense of erecting the public buildings, with the 
parish school-room, is as follows : 

Mason work, &c. Carpenter and mason work. 

Court-room, prison-rooms. Staircase without roof, L. SO 19 

and house below, L. 145 Roof of do. . 14 14 

Staircase, . . 93 Court-room, prison-rooms, 

School-room, . 89 and house below, 99 14 

Grating for windows, . 10 School-room, 200 17 9 

L.837 L. 346 4 9 

Prisons. — The total cost, including all of the above items, was 
L. 683, 4s. 9d., from which deduct L. 15, 16s. for old timber and 
slates, and the net sum paid is L. 667, 8s. 9d. 

The prison is very small, and is used for persons confined for 
short periods only, and not at all for debtors. It forms part of the 
town-house, and stands at the cross in the middle of the town. 
There are only two cells, and there is no airing yard attached. 

Means of Communication. — It is to the two distinguished in- 
dividuals formerly alluded to, that the public is chiefly indebted 
for the admirable roads which intersect the parish in all direc- 
tions. Besides the Edinburgh and Glasgow road by Kilsyth, 
which runs through the parish to the north of the town, there are 
the following roads, with their respective lengths in the parish :— 
From Park-burn to Inchbelly, 2 miles; Inchbelly to Shirva, 
Twechar and Auchinvole, 4; Will-head to Gartcloss, &c., 3; 
Oxgang to Bedcow and Mossfinnin bridge about 3 ; Townhead 
to Boghead, 1 ; Gartcommon to Badenheath, 4 ; Deerdyke to 
Shangan, 1 ; = 19 miles. 

The road- money collected is at the rate of L. 2 Sterling on 
every L. 100 of valuation. It is as follows : — Road money for 
landward part of the parish, L. 74, 16s. 6d. ; do for burgh, L. 63; 
horses at 10s. 6d. each, viz. twenty belonging to carters in town, 
L. 10, 10s. =L. 148, 6s. 

The first public railway in Scotland, on the modern improved 

principle, was the " Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway," which 

connects the rich coal and mineral districts of the Monklands, 

with the Forth and Clyde Canal near Kirkintilloch. The act was 

4 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 203 

obtained in the year 1824, (5 Geo. IV. cap. 49.) The origin- 
al capital was L. 32,000; but, by a new act in 1833, (3 Wm. IV. 
cap. 114,) the total capital was raised to L. 52,000. The north- 
em terminus is at Kirkintilloch, and the south-east at Palace Craig, 
in old Monkland, including a length, in all, of about eleven miles. 
The distance between the rails is 4^ feet. The railway was at 
first laid with rails weighing twenty-eight pounds to the yard, but 
these have been found much too light, and the whole is now in pro- 
cess of being laid with rails weighing forty pounds per yard. No 
passenger waggons are allowed on this railway. It is connected 
with the Ballochney, and Glasgow, and Garnkirk railways in the 
south, and these penetrate into all the great mineral deposits in 
Lanarkshire. Great quantities of coal and iron are transported 
by this railway to the depot in the Forth and Clyde Canal. The 
coal is of very superior quality, and is laid down in the town of 
Kirkintilloch, at the rate of 15s. per waggon of 48 cwt. In 1835, 
about 49,000 tons of coals, and 3325 tons of pig-iron were ship- 
ped on the canal from the railway. 

The Forth and Clyde canal runs for about six miles along the 
northern border of the parish. It was commenced in 1768, by 
virtue of an act, 8 Geo. III. cap. 73, but was not finished till 
1790. The total length from sea to sea is thirty-five miles. The 
highest point at Windford Loch is 156 feet above the level of the 
sea. The average width at the surface is 56 feet, at the bottom 
27 feet, and the depth of water is nearly 10 feet. Vessels of 19 
feet beam, 68 feet keel, and drawing about 10 feet water, can 
pass along the navigation. In its course, the canal passes over 
10 large aqueduct bridges, and 33 smaller ones ; and 33 draw- 
bridges are thrown over the navigation for the crossing of public 
and private roads. In all, there are 39 lochs, each 74 feet long 
between the flood-gates, and 20 feet broad. The canal is s up- 
plied with water by eight reservoirs, covering 721 acres. The ca- 
pital stock of the company in 1820 was L. 519,840 ; the income 
in 1836, was L. 63,743, 16s. 7d. The total original expense was 
L, 345,618, 12s. Allowing eight acres of land to a mile, the 
mere ditch of the navigation in this parish will occupy 48 acres. 
There are seven swift iron-boats on the canal for the conveyance 
of passengers, which travel at the rate of ten miles per hour. The 
following is the number of passengers booked at the drawbridge 
jof Kirkintilloch, near the manse, for the periods specified, in 1837 : 



204 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

Mon ths 1837. First week. Second week. Third week. Fourth week. 

April, - - 559-887 - 891 - 467 

May, .. 888-420 -490 -886 

June, . . 463-461 - 486 - 551 

July, - - 481-505 - 598 - 643 

August, - - 472-257 - 579 - 699 

October, - - 826-549 - 889 - 519 

January, . - 604-229 - 323 - 449 

The total number of passengers by the canal passage boats from 
this station alone in seven months is 18,516, or at the rate of 193^ 
per month, and 23,170 per annum. There is also a daily coach 
to Glasgow from the Washington Inn at nine morning. In 1832» 
and for some time before and after, there were five iron steamers 
with the paddle-wheels in the stern plying on the canal. Their 
names, tonnage, and power of engines were as follows : 

Tonnage. Power of Engines. 

Lord Dundas, 40 - 16 

Cyclope, - - 50 - - 16 

Manchester, - 50 - - 35 

Edinburgh, - 40 - - 16 

Union Tug Boat, - 25 - - 12 

These steamers are now discontinued. It was on this same 
sheet of water, in March 1802, that Mr Symington, in a large ves- 
sel with a steam engine of more than twenty horse power, passed over 
a distance of nineteen miles in six hours, the steamer dragging two 
loaded vessels after her, and having Lord Dundas, and Mr Speirs 
of Elderslie on board. It was here also that Mr Symington ini- 
tiated the American Fulton in the mysteries of steam navigation, 
two years before he sailed for America to carry his projects into 
effect. 

Gas^Wbrk, — A gas- work has lately been erected for the purpose 
of supplying the town with gas. The whole is to cost L. 1600 at L. 3 
a share, of which 1000 shares are sold ; L. 2 a share is only re- 
quired. The mason-work cost L.421, the carpenter-work 1^88. 
The roof is of iron. The main stalk is square, and 50 feet high. 
The tanks or cylinders are 28 feet diameter, and 10^ feet from 
the top of the cap to the spring of the foundation. There are 6 
retorts ; the main pipe is 4 inches diameter. 

Ecclesiastical State* — The parish church of Kirkintilloch is 

* The inhabitants of Kirkintilloch, with the neighbouring parishes of Cadder, 
Cumbernauld, and Kilsyth, participated largely in the well-known revival of religion 
which took place at Cambuslang and various other parts in Scotland in 1 742. The first 
appearance of the impressions which were afterwards so largely vouchsafed to many 
individuals in this district, are recorded by Mr Robe, then minister of Kilsyth, and 
also by Mr M*Laren, the minister of this parish. They are so very remarkable that 
they are worthy of being here held up to their ** succeeding race,** where poHHcal re- 
ligion too much predominates over the vital and spiritual godliness which actuated 

3 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 205 

situated in the centre of the town, which, being near to the western 
angle of the parish, is not more than a quarter of a mile distant 
from one extremity, while it is fully five miles distant from the op- 
posite extremity. It is situated conveniently, however, for the 
major part of the population. As already stated, the present pa- 
rish church was formerly the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, and, 
from a stone above one of its windows, it appears to have been 
built in 1644, or about fifteen years before the separation of this 
parish fronr the parish of Cumbernauld. The ruins of the old pa- 
rish church is near to Oxgang, where there is still a burying- 
ground. The present church is in a very miserable state of dis- 
repair. The walls are time-worn and ungainly ; the timbers, in 
general, fragile and insufficient ; the galleries inconvenient and 
crazy, one of them having been lately taken down in case of the 
danger of its coming down at an inconvenient season ; the seating 
is fast crumbling into ruins ; the walls outside filled up with dust 
of former generations to the height of four or five feet from the 
spring of the roofing, and with the walls and flooring, of course, 
intolerably damp. Under these circumstances, the Presbytery of 
Glasgow, some years ago, gave a deliverance enjoining the heri- 
tors to provide the parish with a new parish church ; but a few of 
the heritors objecting, carried the matter to the Court of Session, 
where the decree of the Presbytery was reversed. In this case 
the architect reported, that the existing fabric might be repaired 
so as to be a serviceable church for from twenty-five to thirty-five 
years, at an expense of L.660, while a new church of the same 
size would cost L. 1280. Mr Dunlop, advocate, is of opinion, 
that the same decision would have been given here as in the case 

the faithful in olden rimes. The narrative of the above reverend fathers informs us, 
that, about April 1742, ^< sixteen children or thereby, in the town of Kirkintilloch, 
were observed to meet together in a barn for prayer ; the occasion of which was, that 
one of them said to the rest. What need is there that we should always play ; had we 
not better go and pray ? Wherewith the rest complied. The minister at that time, 
the Rev. Mr Burnside, who was succeeded immediately after by Mr McLaren, as 
soon as be heard of it, carefully inquired after them, and met frequently with them 
for their direction and instruction. And as I am informed, (says Mr Robe), they 
make progress and continue in a hopeful way. This made much noise in the coun- 
try side, and deep impressions both upon young and old.** On Sunday, 20th May 
following, Messrs Robe and McLaren preached at Kirkintilloch. Mr Robe says, 
** There we saw Zion*s mighty King appearing in his glory and majesty, and his 
arrows sharp in the heart of his enemies. Many were awakened there, and brought 
under great spiritual distress.** Some time after we are told, that, in the parish of 
Kirkintilloch, there were known to the minister tp be about 120 under a more than 
ordinary concern about their salvation, including the praying young, who were now 
increased to a greater number than formerly mentioned. Mr Whitefield preached 
about this time both here and at Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. In the latter of theae 
paruhef there were at least dOO awakened, in the parish of Cumbernauld, 14 ot 
15. 



I 



30() DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

of Roskeen, had the architect reported in regard to Kirkintilloch 
church, that, in consequence of raising the level of the floor, which 
was required there as in Roskeen case, it would be necessary to 
heighten the walls, in order to afford proper accommodation to the 
sitters. The architect, however, had omitted all notice of this 
matter in his report ; and when the chargers, on the cause com- 
ing into the Inner- House, proposed to put additional queries to 
him to bring out the facts as to this matter, the Court held them 
foreclosed, by their not having previously objected to the report, 
and refused to allow additional queries to be put. It was on this 
point that the case for the Presbytery was lost ; and the church, 
accordingly, remains in its present ruinous condition.* It contains 
about 800 sittings, and is generally crowded every Sabbath. The 
regular communicants average 700. No free sittings, and only 
a very few pay for their seats. The glebe amounts to 8 acres, 
including the garden. About 6 acres of the glebe were lately let 
for L. 14, 10s. per annum. ^ 

The Report of the Commissioners for Religious Instruction in 
Scotland calculate the teinds as follows : — 

Gross amount of teinds belonging to proprietors: — Meal, 1 boll, 
2 firlots, 1 peck, 2 lippies, at L. 1, 6s. 6d. ; money, L. 904, 5s. total, 
L. 905, lis. 6d. Applied to ministers' stipends and communion- 
elements out of the gross teindS: — Meal, 123 bolls, 1 firlot, 1 peck, 
at L. 102, 9s. 4d. ; barley, 121 bolls, 2 firlots, 3 pecks, 2 lippies, 
at L. 133, 4s. 5d.; money, L.26, 7s. 6d. total, L.262, Is. 3d. 

Value of the unappropriated teinds belonging to other persons, 
L.643, 10s. 3d. The church-lands in the parish are, Vicarland 
on the East croft of Kirkintilloch, 2 acres ; Priestland, 2 acres at 
Auchinvole, held anciently of the prebends of Biggar ; Lady-yard, 
half an acre in middle of burgh-holm, held of chaplains of Kirkin- 
tilloch. 

The new church of St David's, upon the Assembly's Church 
Extension plan, was erected in 1837. It is fitted to contain 1012 
sittings, and was erected at the cost of L. 2300. It was opened 
on Sabbath, 8th June 1837, and the present incumbent was in- 
ducted 3d May 1838. St David's is the only church in town 
purely on the voluntary principle. All the rest are more or less 
endowed, as under : 

United Secession, Rev. Andrew Marshall. — House valued at 
L.26, 12s.,' land, L. 4, 7s. 6d. ; feu-duties, lis. 8d. ; total an- 

* Since the above went to press^ the Church has undergone a thorough repair. 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 



207 



side, 



nual endowment, L. 42, 7s. 6d. The stipend is about h. 100 per 
annum. 

Original Burghers, Rev. William Tannahill. — House, L.24; 
land, L9. Total, L. 3a Besides the above, the United Seces- 
Mon congregation have a place named Orchardyard, worth L.2 per 
annum; and the Original Burghers have houses and feus worth 
I*^9s, per annum. The comparative number of Churchmen 
VmI Dissenters is as follows : 

, Districts. 

1- Bsrr, 

^ Shim. 

jEistride, 

^ High Street, north side, 

f Wett High Street, south 

« Hinhesdr 

J» Waterside, 

8, Gartsbore, 

9» Middlemuir, 
10. Cowgate, 
il. Tovnhted, 
12. Omitted in Townhead, 
IS. GallowhiU, 
i4. Cordskt, Bellfidd, &c. 

3583 1^4 903 "^ 

The proportion belonging to the Established Church is 610, 
more than the half of the whole population ; the proportion be- 
longing to the United Secession is 305 less than the fourth; 
those belonging to the Original Burghers are scarcely a sixth, and 
those belonging to the Methodists are only about one-seventeenth. 
The following is the state of church accommodation in the above 
districts, the names of which will be ascertained by the corre- 
sponding 6gure8, as above : — 



Estab. Ch. 


United Sec. 


Old Burg. 


Dtfeth 


239 


21 


24 


29 


164 


12 


19 


, , 


328 


108 


98 


1 


371 


125 


82 


13 


86 


27 


23 


10 


349 


209 


74 


2 


225 


8 


114 


, 


190 


35 


38 


«• 


64 


4 


24 


.^ 


682 


900 


169 


18 


717 


242 


213 


12 


11 


... 


3 


M. 


111 


..M 


5 


_^ 


46 


43 


17 


.MM 



Districts. 


Seats taken. 


Proprietors. 


CommunicantA 


1. 


82 


49 


78 


2. 


7 


8 


52 


a 


70 


10 


102 


4. 


75 


4 


84 


5. 


15 


46 


22 


6. 


110 


40 


127 


7, 


28 


41 


77 


a 


23 


18 


76 


9. 


6 


38 


18 


10. 


214 


54 


154 


11. 


151 


i.. 


234 


12. 


1 


4 


1 


la 


3 


.» 


27 


14. 


10 


•^ 


11 



765 342 1055 

The parish has lately been divided, quoad spiritualiaj into the 
parish of St David's and the old parish of Kirkintilloch. The 



208 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

boundaries of the new parish are as follows : From the bridge 
leading from Campsie on the north, along the coal-road, and then 
up the High Street to the Cross ; thence along the Cowgate and 
down the Broadcroft to the river Luggie, and by it to the canal ; 
then across the canal by the Hillhead-bridge, onward by the 
Longmuir road to the Twechar road; then up the Bord-burn 
and onward to the Moss*water ; it is then bounded on the east 
and north by the parishes of Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, and Camp- 
sie. It contains a population of about 2700 souls; a number suf- 
ficient for the strongest man's superintendence. 

Education. — The instruction at the parochial school consists 
of English, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, mathematics, geo- 
graphy, Latin, Greek, and French. The present very able and 
efficient teacher is the Rev. Andrew Love, a licentiate of the 
Church of Scotland. The salary is L. 34, 4s. 4^. paid by 144 
heritors. The average wages may be about L. 30 ; other emolu- 
ments about L. 4. The Rev. Mr Love informs me, that his ave- 
rage number of scholars, summer and winter, falls little short of 124. 
There is also a subscription school, taught by Mr Hendry, and 
anotherwitharemarkablyelegantfabricatGartshore, taught by Rev. 
Mr Donald, which is upon a charitable foundation, and was erected 
by the munificence of a lady of the family of Gartshore. There 
are, in all, nine schools in the parish, one parochial school, as above, 
two endowed schools, and the rest unendowed. In 1833, the num- 
bers and ages of those attending school were as follows : numbers 
of children taught to read under five years of age, 2 ; five to fifteen, 
years of age, 480 ; to write, from five to fifteen years of age ; 199 
children at parochial school, from Lady-Day to Michaelmas, 
124 ; children at schools not parochial, from Lady- Day to Michael- 
mas, 522 ; from Michaelmas to Lady- Day, 545. 

The number of children under twelve years of age attending 
school in the various districts of the parish in 1837, according to 
the Church Commission Returns is, Barr, 321; Shirva, 11; 
High Street, north side, 53 ; West High Street, south side, 
19; Hillhead, 49; Waterside, 31; Gartshore, 28; Middle- 
muir, 11; Cowgate, 102; Townhead, 109; omitted in Town- 
head,2; Gallowhills,8; Cordalet, Bellfield,&c. 18, total 472. The 
total number of scholars, as far as can beascertained, may be in all 669, 
of whom 472 are under twelve years of age, which is at the rate of 
9} J S ths of the whole population. Children twelve years of age and up- 



KIRKINTILLOCH. 209 

wardsformabouthalfthe population, which inthisparish willbed078» 
— ^those under twelve, and of course not reaching that age, will be 
about 2500 ; of these 472 are attending school, which is about a- 
third of the number, or one-thirteenth of the whole population. 

There are two libraries, namely, a parish library and a subscrip- 
tion library. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — The Gartshore mortification in fa- 
Tour of orphan children was originally about L. 1100. Each or- 
phan is allowed a firlot of oatmeal at a time, or one boll annually. 
The sum received by each is in no case to be less than L. 1, or 
more than L. 5 per annum. Some get Is. 8d. per week in money. 
The oatmeal in December 1836 was 5s. lOd. per firlot ; in July 
1837, it was 5s. 2jd. ; in December of the same year, 4s., and in 
June 1838, it was 4s. 4d. per firlot There were lately 23 or- 
phans on the charity, 1 2 of whom were boys. The following was the 
state of accounts in 1836 and 1837: Receipts 1836, received 
from Miss Galloway, L. 9, I3s. 4d. ; lifted from Ship Bank, 
Li. 10 ; lifted all the money from Ship Bank, L. 20 ; interest on 
above sums, L. 3, 13s. 4d. ; total L. 43, 6s. 8cl. Receipts for 
1837, received from Mr Gordon, factor at Gartsliore, L. 35. 

Some time ago, L. 1000 Sterling was left by John Adam, Esq. 
London, the interest of which is to be devoted exclusively to the sup- 
port of the poorest of the poor, or part may go for the education of the 
sanae class. The trustees are the heritors and kirk session. The 
sum has not yet been realized, but the principal, with interest when 
it arrives, will amount to a considerable capital. In 1837, there 
was collected for coals at the parish church, L. 9, 16s. ; at St 
David's, L. 5, Os. 6d. ; from Mr Calder, 10s. ; total, L. 15, 63. 6d. 
Paid at Glen Collieries, L. 12, 16s.; Cowgate toll, 13 carts, 2s. 
6d. ; tolls, lis. ; horse, 16s. ; total, L. 14, 5s. 6d. 

An assessment for the poor was only imposed in 1831. It 
amounts to twopence per pound : 

1835. 1836. 1837. 



Paupen on permanent roll, 39 39 41 

Persons not on permanent roll, . 130 134 123 

Funds. 

1835. 1836. 1837. 



Amount of assessment for ^^ jg g L.98 14 9 L. 100 
support of poor, 

The average number of poor is 168, and the average amount of 
assessment, L.98, 10s. 4d. 

DUMBARTON. O 



210 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

1835. J 836. 1837. 



The actual amount of free) 
funds distributed among i L. 145 12 L. 146 14 5 L. 151 7 2 
paupers on permanent roll, j 

Total annual amount of funds distributed, L. 17^, 17s. 8d. 
The highest rate of relief is L. 5, 4s. ; the lowest, L. 1, 6s. per 
annum. 

Before the litigation about the parish church before alluded 
to, the weekly collections at the church door were on an stverage 
L.1, 10s. per week, or L. 62 per annum. On the heritors, who 
were the chief profilers from these collections, refusing the people 
who paid them, proper church accommodation, the church door 
collections fell off to 12s. per week, or L. 89 per annum, which 
is a diminution of 18s. per week, which has ended in a permanent 
poor's rate, and a new church must follow in due time to the 
boot Such are the unhappy consequences of mutual misunder- 
standings. 

The pensioners in the session 1st August 1837, were 41 in all, 
27 of whom were females, and 7 widows. The rates per week 
were 1 at 6». ; 1 at 2s. 6d. ; 1 at Is. 8d. ; 3 at 2s, ; 7 at Is. 6d. ; 
19 at Is. ; 7 at'6d. &c The weekly sum paid was L.2, 9s. 2d. 
The effects of a poor stent may here be watched with great ad- 
vantage ; and it is desirable that some 6ne would take the trouble 
of making the results known to the public. 

Fairsy 8fc, — There are three fairs held annually in the burgh, 
chiefly for the sale of cattle, namely, on 2d Tuesday of May, the last 
Thursday of July, and the 21st of October. The market-day is on 
Saturday, but is not much observed. The lintseed Saturdays were 
formerly great marts for the sale of the commodity, from whence 
they derived their names ; but flax is not now so much cultivated 
as formerly, and these markets have accordingly declined with the 
cause which produced them. 

The revenue from the post-office is about L, 230 per annum, 
but is much less since the Campsie post was withdrawn. Letters 
from Glasgow arrive by a mail gig every morning at six o'clock, 
and are dispatched at eight o'clock. Letters arrive from Falkirk 
at eight o'clock, and leave at six o'clock. There is a receiving- house 
in Cowgate, which closes at half-past seven. 

Inns and Alehouses. — There are about 40 inns and alehouses 
in the parish. These are too frequently viewed as the causes of 
the corruption of morals among the lower orders, whereas they are 
only the effects. 



KILMARONOCK. 211 

The town of Kirkintilloch lies 49 miles west of Edinburgh, 20 
south-west of Stirling, 16 east of Dumbarton, 7 north of Glasgow, 
5 south-west of Kilsyth^ and 8 south-east of Campsie. The pa- 
rish is destined to receive an additional advantage from the Edin- 
burgh and Glasgow Railway, which is to pass throughout its whole 
length. It begins in the west near Pinkerton-hill, runs north by 
Coulstone, Bishopriggs, Corshill, Miremailing, Gladdens, Cadder- 
moss, Lochside distillery, and Mountain-moss, and enters Kirkin- 
tilloch passing Garngebber, near which it crosses the Monkland 
and Kirkintilloch railway, passes on by Wamflat, crosses Luggie 
water west of Drumbreck, and runs on by Mosside, Drumgrew, 
and Basterboard, where it leaves the parish, and enters Cumber- 
nauld* 

June 1839. 



PARISH OF KILMARONOCK. 

PRKSBTTBRY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. W. B. S. PATERSON, MINISTER.* 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 
Name. — The name evidently signiBes the cell, chapel, or bury- 

ing-place of St Marnoch. 

Extent and Boundaries. — The south part of the parish of Kil- 
maronock is situated at 56** of north latitude, and 4*^ 30' of west 
longitude. If reduced to the form of a parallelogram, it would 
measure about 5 miles in length, by 8 in breadth ; and, conse- 
quently, its contents are about 15 square miles. It is bounded on 
the north and east, by the River Endrick ; on the south-east, by 
part of Finnich Glen and Drymen parish ; at the south point, by 
Dumbarton parish ; on the south-west, by Bonhill parish ; and on 
the north-west, by Lochlomond. 

Topographical Appearances, — The parish is adorned with a great 
variety of wood, both natural and planted, hedge-row and detached 
trees, chiefly oak, beech, ash, and larch ; and it is watered by several 
springs, rivulets, and the River Endrick. The land of the parish is 
mostly arable, there being but little of it hilly or moorland, for the 

* Drawn up by Mr Peter Bain, Parochial Schoolmaster of Kilmaronork. 



212 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

pasture of sbeep and cattle. The three most elevated parts of its 
surf&ce vary between 500 and 1000 feet above the level of the seai 
which are the highest part of the little range of hills on the west, 
commonly called Mount Misery, Duncryne or Duncruin, in the cen- 
tre, and the elevation towards Dumbarton moor on the south. The 
western range beginsat Balloch, in Bonhill, on the south, and extends 
northward to Ross along the south-east shore of Lochlomond ; and 
is, at the highest part, about 900 feet in elevation. The part on 
the north end, which belongs to Mrs Macdonald Buchanan, is 
mostly planted with larch, oak, &c, but the rest is unplanted. 
From the summit of Mount Misery, there is to be had an exten- 
sive and splendid view. Toward the south, are to be seen the 
vale of Leven, with the numerous public works along its classic 
stream, the town and castle of Dumbarton, and part of Clyde and 
Renfrewshire; on the west, in the distance, the lofty hills of 
Cowal, in Argyleshire, rising beyond those of Cardross, Row, 
and Roseneath ; and the extensive and apparently continuous 
range along the west side of Lochlomond, in Luss and Arrochar, 
crowned at the north end by the lofty Benlomond, and in the 
same direction the intervening lake, interspersed with its many 
wooded islands ; on the north-east, Benledi in Perthshire ; and 
closer at hand, the hills of Buchanan, with the river Endrick 
intervening, and meandering through the plain along the wOods 
and pleasure grounds around Buchanan House ; and on the east, 
and toward the south, the greater part of Strathendrick, with the 
Ochill, Fintry, Killearu, Strathblane, Campsie, and Kilpatrick 
hills, along the horizon. The hill which I would next no- 
tice is Duncryne. Its original orthography was Duncruin, being 
composed of dun^ signifying bill, and cruirij round ; and it was pro- 
bably thus named from its round or conical shape. It stands in 
the very centre of the parish, and is a conspicuous, beautiful, and 
rather a fantastic object. It rises rapidly from the plain on the 
west and north sides, to the height of about 450 feet, and, on the 
south-east, it is only about 250 feet high, whence there is a gradual 
descent to the plain extending for about a quarter of a mile. The 
area of the base on which it stands seems to contain about two 
acres, from which it gradually tapers to the summit, till it contains 
only about two roods of surface, which is pretty level. The 
ascent is rendered easy by means of a pathway approaching the 
hill from the north-west, and winding along the north, east, 
and south, till it reaches the top, on the we5t. It is most* 



RILMARONOCK. 213 

ly all eoTered with soil, and the bare rock appears only in -t' 
Yery few places. It is now the property of the Duke of Mon- 
trose, and is covered with young oak, larches, &c« having been 
planted a few years ago by the late Duke. The body of the 
hill seems to be chiefly composed of a kind of trap rock, which is 
rendered softish by exposure to the action of the atmosphere ; 
while, in the rest of the parish, with the exception of some trap 
dikes (running from south-west to north-east,) and limestone,* 
ihe rock is composed of a red or grey sandstone of a very 
solid and compacted grain. From the top of this hill, there 
is also a very fine view to be had of almost the whole parish, 
and all the objects seen from Mount Misery, with a very few 
exceptions. The third elevation that remains to be noticed, is 
that toward Dumbarton moor. This rises to a height considera- 
bly greater than any of the other two. Some good limestone has 
been found in this moor ; and there is also a cascade of conside- 
rable size and beauty in the glen which runs northward through 
the fiutn of Gallengad. This moor has been rendered notorious 
for some time by means of a dispute which arose between the ma- 
gistrates of the burgh of Dumbarton, and some proprietors in Kil- 
maronock, respecting the marches between their properties. The 
matter was litigated for about seventy years, and various decisions 
were given with regard to it in courts of law'; but it was lately 
brought to a final decision by Mr Alison, Sheriff of Lanarkshire, 
to whom the matter was referred, and to whose judgment all par- 
ties agreed to submit. In the hollow part which lies between this 
moor and Duncryne Hill, there are a few farms containing pref ty 
good land ; but the greater part is of inferior quality. There is 
also in it a large extent of peat-moss stretching from south-west 
to north-east, and containing nearly 100 acres. This is so soft 
and deep, that a great part of it has been hitherto considered unfit 
for cultivation. 

Hydrography. — From Drymen Bridge to where the river En- 
drick runs into Lochlomond, the distance is scarcely four miles in 
a straight line ; but by following its numerous windings, the dis- 
tance is nearly doubled. It thus flows sluggishly along its mazy 
course, there being only about ten feet of rise from the level of 
Lochlomond, when the lake is at its ordinary height, to about 100 
yards below Drymen Bridge. It is navigable at times for scows or 
other flat-bottomed craft;, for all this distance : and coals are thus 
conveyed up, and wood or other commodities down the river, and 



214 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

bence to Leven and other distant markets. At its junction with 
the lake it is often about two feet deep in su^-nmer, and for about 
two miles next the lake, the average breadth is about 80 feet, and 
the depth usually 10, butfarther up it is rather narrower and shallower. 
The principal kinds of fishes to be found in this part of the river 
are, the pike, perch, braize, eel, and some trout toward Drymen 
bridge. A large extent of deep and excellent land, but in gene- 
ral only a few feet in elevation above the level of the lake, lies on 
each side of the river; and hence, crops are often injured or car- 
ried off by being overflowed with water ; and in some parts it is 
useful only for meadow hay or pasture- Sometimes in winter, in- 
deed, when the lake is at its greatest height, and the river is much 
swollen by heavy rains and the melting of snows, this plain to the 
extent of some hundreds of acres, would have all the appearance 
of an extensive lake, were it not for some trees standing up from 
the water. The better part of the land in the parish seems to 
lie along the Endrick, and from Ross southward to the boundary 
at Blairnyle. 

II. — Civil History. 
Land-owners, — The chief land-owners are the following : The 

Duke of Montrose, principal heritor in point of valuation, or valued 
rent ; Mrs Macdonald Buchanan of Ross and Drmnmakill ; John 
Buchanan, Esq. of Ardoch ; R. D. Mackenzie, Esq. of Caldar- 
van ; and Robert Macgoune, Esq. of Mains. 

Parochial Registers, — These consist of registers of baptisms, pro- 
clamations or marriages, minutes of kirk-session, and accounts of 
poor's money. The oldest book is a collection of detached leaves, 
perhaps fragments of several old books, which are now kept within 
two old boards, and contain entries of all matters connected with 
the management of the parish. The earliest date I have disco- 
vered in it is 4th April 1647. The next in point of antiquity is a 
book containing minutes of session, unsigned by the moderator or 
clerk, the first date of which is 20th January 1710, and the last 
11th December 1771. No book for minutes of session has been 
kept from that date till *23d February 1834, the date of the ear- 
liest entry in the new minute book. The only minutes that have 
been kept during all that interval, and preserved till this time, are 
written on a few loose leaves : they do not exceed five in number, 
and are unsigned. The next in order is a register of baptisms, com- 
mencing 4th August 1731, which, with two other books, contains a 
continuous register of baptisms down to the present date. The 



KILMARONOCK. 215 

entries in these books are not always made according to the exact 
order of their date, and many children in the parish have not been 
registered at all. They cannot, therefore, be said to be regular- 
ly kept The only book containing a register of proclamations or 
marriages, and preserved to the present time, has for its first date 
15th November 1755, and contains a regular and continuous re* 
gister to the present date. These, together with a book and some 
loose papers, containing accounts of money transactions relative 
to the poor's fund, form the entire records of church matters in 
the parish. 

Modem BuUdingt.^^The modern buildings in the parish of any 
consequence are the following : I. Baturrich Castle, belonging to 
John Buchanan, Esq. of Ardoch, which was completed about five 
years ago. It is built on part of the ruin of the ancient castle of 
Baturrich, on the rising ground about half a mile from Loch Lo- 
mood, near the western corner of the parish ; and from it, there is 
a very fine view of the lake, beautifully studded as it is with its 
numerous wooded islands, and also of the whole vale of Leven to 
the river Clyde ; 2. Ross Priory, to which a considerable addition 
was made about thirty years ago, by the late Hector Macdonald 
Buchanan, Esq. and which is now the residence of Mrs Macdonald 
Buchanan. It is also beautifully situated on the south-east bank 
of Loch Lomond, at about two miles distance northward from Ba- 
turrich Castle, and surrounded by a lawn but little elevated above 
the level of the lake, and finely interspersed with a variety of trees, 
some of which are old and of great size and beauty. The house 
faces the north-east, and an avenue of about three-quarters of a 
mile in length leads to it in a straight line ^from the south-east, 
shaded on each side by a row of fine tall oaks, beeches, &c. ; 3. 
Catter House, though not a modern building, I may here mention, 
as it is an admirable old mansion-house, and it is now the resi- 
dence of Stewart Jolly, Esq. factor to the Duke of Montrose. It 
is finely situated on an eminence near Drymen Bridge, on the 
river Endrick, and faces the north. From it there is a splendid 
view of the lawn and woods around Buchanan House, belonging 
to the Duke of Montrose, and westward across Loch Lomond 
along the numerous windings of the slowly flowing Endrick. 

There are two churches in the parish, viz. the parish church, 
which was built in 1813, and the Reliefmeeting-house, built about 
1774. There are three meal mills in the parish ; Catter mill, 
Mavie mill, and Aber mill. There are no manufactories. 



216 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

HI. — Population. 

^' Amount ofpopulation in 1801, 879 

1811, . 898 

1821, 1008 

1881, . 999 

The population at present, as ascertained by the minister in visiting the 

parishioners, amounts to 950 

Number of fkmiUes in the parish in 1891, 175 

chiefly employed in agriculture, 80 

trade, manufactures or handicraft, 27 

The number of illegitimate births in the parish during the last 

three years is I. 

IV. — ;Industry. 
AgricaltuT€n — There are in the whole parish about 660 imperial 
acres under wood, besides a great many detached trees in hedge- 
rows, fences, and elsewhere ; of which the following is a statement : 

On the lands of the Duke of Montrose, all planted by the l.ite Duke, : 180 acres. 
On those of Mrs Macdonald, including the wooded islands of Craeinch and 
Torrinch, Lochlomond, ...... 280 

On those of John Buchanan, Esq. of A rdoch, . . . 200 

On those of R. D. Mackenzie, Esq. of Caldarvan, . . 40 

On those of the other proprietors, . . . . .10 

Imperial acres in all, 660 

The average rent of land is 1 8s. per acre. 

The moorland part of the parish grazes only about 500 sheep, 
which are of the black-faced or Highland breed, and a few cattle of 
the Argyleshire breed. A few sheep of the Cheviot or Leicester sort 
are sometimes kept in low parks. The cattle on the low grounds 
are of the Ayrshire breed. Considerable attention has been paid 
of late to the improvement of all these sorts of cattle. 

Part of the lands, being the inferior sort, is kept in cultivation 
by being four years under pasture, and two under oats; but the bet- 
ter part of the land is cultivated by a six years^ course of crops and 
pasture ; thus, 1^/, green crop ; 2(/, grain crop ; d(/, hay ; Ath 
and bth^ pasture ; and 6/^, oats. Considerable attention has been 
paid, of late years, to the improvement of inferior or waste lands, in 
some parts of the parish, by the new modes of draining, &c. ; but a 
considerable part, perhaps more than a third part of the arable land, 
is incapable of a high state of improvement under ordinary tenants, 
either on account of the shallowness or peculiar qualities of the 
soils ; from rocks, chiefly of sandstone, want of proper declivity, or 
other obstacles to thorough draining ; or from the difficulties there 
are in driving manure and other commodities from and to distant 
parts and markets, owing to the bad roads through the parish, 
which are kept so chiefly from the want of proper metal or materials 



KILMARONOCK* 217 

ivithiD any ordinary distance for repairing them* Yet, in spile of 
all these difficulties and hindrances, a spirit of industry and enter- 
prise, now observable among a great proportion of the agricultu- 
rists, is leading them on to many useful improvements. 

V. — Parochiax EcoNOMy. 

There is no village in the parish : there are not even four dwel- 
ling-bouses in it closely contiguous. 

Means of ComTnunication, — Neither is there a post-office; but 
the penny-podt from Dumbarton to Dry men passes daily through 
the parish. The Dumbarton and Drymen turnpike-road passes 
through it from south-west to north-east for six miles ; and the 
Drymen and Glasgow road passes through the east end of it for 
about one mile. A public coach travels from Drymen to Glasgow, 
and returns in the evenings on Wednesdays and Saturdays in 
winter, and on Mondays additional in summer, and there are two 
carriers, one from Buchanan, and another from Drymen, who pass 
through this parish once a-week on their way to Glasgow on Tues- 
days, and return on the Wednesday. 

The only bridge worth mentioning is that across Endrick, the 
boundary of the parish, on the road to Drymen, which is an old 
one containing four arches. The fences are generally thorn hedges 
or stone dikes. The hedges in inferior soils are generally bad 
and insufficient for fences, and require to be frequently repaired 
with other materials ; but in the better soils there are some good 
thorn fences. The stone dikes are, in some places, new and good, 
but in others old and in a falling state, and insufficient for fences. 
I think that I may state generally, that their condition is somewhat 
worse than in most neighbouring parishes. There are no canals, 
railroads, or harbours. 

Ecclesiastical State. — The parish church is situated almost at 
the northern extremity of the parish, and is not convenient for 
the greater part of the population, as its distance from the eastern 
extremity is two miles, from the western by the roads six miles, 
and from the southern, five miles. The church was built in the 
year 1813^ and is at present in a very good state of repair. There 
is no benefection on record except one from Mr Maurice Car- 
michael, of Bromley, to the poor of the parish, amounting to L. 50 
Sterling, and made by him in the year 1790. The church affords 
accommodation for 400 sitters. The sittings were divided among 
the heritors, as is usual in all parish churches in the country, and 
they are occupied by their respective tenantry and others, free of 



218 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

expense. The communion table seats, containing 40 sittings, are 
free to any who may choose to occupy them. The manse was 
built in 1804. It has since undergone some trifling repairs at 
diflerent times ; and it is now, on the whole, in a good state of re- 
pair. 

The glebe consists of 7 imperial acres, and may be worth L. 1 
per acre of yearly rent. 

The stipend consists of 96 bolls meal ; 64 bolls barley ; and 
L. 43, 10s. lOd., which includes L. 8, 6s. 8d. allowed for commu- 
nion elements. There is, as before said, a church belonging to 
the Relief body, to which I believe there are 20 acres of land at- 
tached, which, with collections and seat-rents, make up the minis- 
ter's stipend. 

There are 60 families, and 240 persons of all ages attending the 
parish church. There are about 100 families, and 400 persons of 
all ages atteading the Relief meeting-house in the parish, and 
other Dissenting places of worship out of it. The parish church 
is, on the whole, well attended, and, so far as I can learn, the Dis- 
senting one also. 

It will be observed from the above statements that the number 
of Dissenters in the parish considerably exceeds the number of 
churchmen. And it is perhaps proper here, to state, that this was 
caused about sixty- five years ago, by an unfortunate difference 
arising between Lord Stonefield, who was patron at that time, and 
the people, regarding the settlement of a minister ; when the 
people taking offence, left the Established Church, and built for 
themselves a meeting-house in connection with the Relief body, 
to which the greater number adhered ; while others went to Dis- 
senting chapels in other parishes. And owing to that unhappy 
disagreement, and perhaps to the Dissenting chapels being more 
conveniently situated for the bulk of the parishioners, the greater 
part still continue Dissenters, though after the lapse of sixty-five 
years, and the ministry of two incumbents in the parish church. 
It is right, however, here to state, that a disposition to return to 
the church has lately shown itself among some Dissenters, and 
that the number of churchmen has been for some time increasing. 
As a proof of the correctness of this statement, I may mention, 
that, in 1835, the roll of male heads of families communicants 
contained 41 names, whereas in 1838, it contained 51, which 
shows an increase of 10 names in three years. 

There are about \5fi communicants in the Established Church. 



KILMARONOCK. 219 

The amount of yearly collections for the poor averages about 
L. 26, and about L. 7, 10s. for religious and charitable objects. 

EducaiiofL — There are three schools, one parochial school, no 
endowed schools, except the parochial one, and two unendowed 
schools. The salary of the parochial schoolmaster is L. 31 per year, 
and the school-fees amount to about L. 25. The amount of school- 
fees to each of the other two teachers may be somewhere between 
L. 10 and L. 15. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — There are 10 paupers constantly 
on the roll, who receive the average sum of I6s. each per quarter, 
or L. 3, 4s. per year ; and besides these, there are several fami- 
lies who, though not upon the roll, receive occasional relief. The 
collections in the church, as formerly stated, amount to L. 26 
yearly, and the mortcloth and proclamation dues to L. 4 ; which, 
together with the interest at four per cent, arising from the sum 
of L. 300, lent on bill from the poor's fund, and the interest from 
L. 40, deiK>sited in bank, amount to about L. 43. No disposition 
to consider it degrading to seek parochial relief is shown, except 
in rare cases. In this parish, as in most others in Scotland, that 
spirit seems to be fast wearing out. 

Library. — A parish library, got up by means of subscriptions 
and donations of books from heritors and others, was instituted in 
this pariah in June 1838, and is kept in the parish school, the 
schoolmaster being librarian. It is under the management of the 
kirk-session, and now contains 160 volumes. 

Fairs. — There are two fairs held within the parish, one for 
horses at Craftammie, on the second Tuesday of February ; and 
another, chiefly for milk cows,' at the fiirm of Ardoch, on the last 
Thursday of ApriL 

Alehouses. — There are eight taverns or alehouses, whose injuri- 
ous eflFects on the morals of the people appear in some instances, 
though not to any considerable extent. 

Puei, — Fuel consists chiefly of peats and coals. Peats are cut 
from some mosses within the parish, and sold rft the rate of 3s. for 
an ordinary cart. Coals are carted from Garscube, Kilpatrick, or 
certain places on the river Leven, and the price has varied for 
some years between 9d. and Is. per cwt., including cartage and all 
other expenses. 

July 1839. 



PARISH OF BONHILL. 

TBEBBYTBRY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. WILLIAM GREGOR, MINISTER.* 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 

Name, — Chalmers supposes that the name of this parish is a 
corruption of the Gaelic word Bogh rC ui% signifying foot of the 
rivulet. The oldest spelling is Buchnull, which occurs in the 
fourteenth centurj'. Afterwards, it was long spelled Bulhill, and 
subsequently Bunnull. 

This parish was enlarged in 1650, by the annexation of TuUif- 
ebewen, Stockragent, Cameron, and Aucheiidennan, from the 
parish of Luss ; and of Balloch, Milton, Blairquhois (now Wes- 
terton), Ballagan, and Ledrestbeg, from the parish of Kilmaro- 
nock. The annexation was effected by the Commissioners for the 
Plantation of Kirks, at the desire of the heritors and the presbytery. 
Before this event, there had been only 120 communicants in the 
parish. 

Boundaries^ Extent^ S^c. — Bonhill is bounded on the north and 
north*east by the parish of Kilmaronock and Loch Lomond ; on 
the east, by the parish of Dumbarton ; on the south and south- 
west, by the parish of Cardross ; and on the west by Luss. It 
is 4^ miles in length, and 4 in breadth, forming nearly a square. 

Hydrography. — The river Leven issues from Loch Lomond at 
Balloch, and falls into the Frith of Clyde at Dumbarton Castle^ 
after a course of about nine miles in length. The tide comes up 
the river more than a third part of its length, and the stream is 
navigable in its whole extent It produces excellent salmon, and 
a variety of other fish. 

Remarkable A&h Tree. — This large tree stands in the church- 
yard, and has been long regarded as one of the most remarkable 
of the species in this country. In the year 1768 it was measured 
by Mr Beevof, who found it to be 16 feet 9 inches in circumfe- 

* Drawn up from notes furnished by a residenter in the parish. 



BOMllLL. 221 

renc6 at the height of 5 feet. Id September 1 784, according to 
Dr Walker, it measured 17 feet 9 inches ; but at the height of 
one foot above ground, it was found to be no less than 33 feet in 
girth. At the height of six teet the trunk divides into three great 
arms. In the Agricultural Survey of Dumbartonshire, published 
in 1811, the circumference of the trunk where smallest is said to 
be upwards of 1 8 feet This venerable tree is going rapidly to 
decay. The trunk is hollow, and the branches, though clasped, 
may soon be expected to give way. It still, notwithstanding, an- 
nually produces luxuriant foliage. 

Another remarkable ash-tree, of even greater dimensions, is 
also to be seen in this neighbourhood. It is thus described in the 
edition of Gilpin's Forest Scenery by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, 
publisfaed in 1834:/^ Near the house of Bonhill, in Dumbar- 
tonshire, there is a very ancient and remarkable ash. This tree 
has been surrounded by a sloping bank of earth to the height of 
about three feet. A little above this artificial bank, or about four 
feet above the natural surface, it measured 34 feet 1 inch ; at tlie 
height of four feet above this baiik, it measured 21 feet 3 inches, 
and at the height of twelve feet from the ground, immediately under 
the three great arfns into which it divides, 22 feet 9 inches. At 
the junction of these arms, the leading trunk had, above a century 
ago, been broken, and in consequence of which the . tree has be^ 
come hollowed. One of these arms measured 10 feet 4 inches, 
another 1 1 feet, and the third 12 feet in girth, and yet they seem 
not to have been original branches, but only pollards formed after 
the trunk was broken over. Many years ago, the tree being hol- 
lowed and opened on one side, the opening was formed into a door, 
and the other part of the tree scooped out. In this way a small 
room, 9 feet 1 inch in diameter, was formed within the trunk. Its 
roof is conical, and 1 1 feet high. It is floored and sitrrounded 
with an hexagonal bench, on which eighteen people can sit, with a 
table in the middle ; and above the door there are five small leaden 
windows. Though the tree has decayed in the heart, it has con- 
tinued to live in the bark, and to form a great arch of new wood. 
The whole trunk, which is a vast mass, is thickly covered with 
fresh vigorous branches." — Vol. i. p. 264, 265. 

II. — Civil History. 
The whole lands in the parish formerly belonged to the family 

of Lennox ; but in the fifteenth century the Darnley family by 

marriage got one-half of the estate and the titles. The other 



A 



'222 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

half was afterwards divided between the families of Napier and 
Gleneagles. Darleith was the property of the Darleiths, who are 
said by tradition to have been hereditary followers to the Earls of 
Lennox. The family having gone to decay, the estate was pur- 
chased by Mr John Zuil, writer in Inverary, whose attachment to 
the Covenant, and sufferings in its cause, are commemorated by 
Wodrow. 

Antiquities. — There are very few remains of antiquity of any 
interest in this parish. At Auchenheglish, on the lands of Auch* 
indenanrie (now Belretiro), was an old burying-ground, which was 
used within the last century. It probably belonged to a place of 
worship which gave name to the field, and the ruins of which are 
still pointed out when the lake is low, at a short distance from the 
shore, having been overflowed by the gradual encroachment of 
the water. 

A correspondent writes, that he *' should be inclined to doubt 
the existence of a church or any place of worship on the .island 
or rather the ^hore off the point of Auchenheglish. In the 
dry summers of 1825 and 1826, the alleged site was examin- 
ed with great minuteness, the lake being very low at the time, 
and aconsiderable part of the shore being uncovered ; but we 
could not discover the slightest vestiges of any building or any 
thing in the shape of foundation stone or wrought mason work 
of any description. The church or chapel, it may be remarked, 
stood on the high bank, immediately north of the Scotch and 
silver fir trees on the side of the road, where it quits the shore of 
the lake at what is called Auchenheglish brae, where I am told 
that one grave-stone is to be seen, and the appearance of the foun- 
dations of a building. A cross or other similar erection may have 
been placed on what was probably, in former times, a low green 
island, ^ch as the Aberetle is now; but which is. now merely a 
shoal composed of large stones rounded by the attrition of the 
water, few or none being of any size. The gradual rise of the 
waters of the lake is quite undeniable. Witness the trees along 
the lower side of the road through the Belretiro property. 

** There is a collection of ancient tumuli on the high lands of 

Soromer, on the edge of the moor, which has of late years been 

planted with birch and Scotch firs ; the graves, of which there 

may be from twenty to twenty-five, within an oblong of 200 feet 

by 60, are of the usual description, fenced by rude and undressed 

stones. The covers have been mostly removed or destroyed. Some 

3 



UOMIILL. 223 

forty or forty-five years ago, I have been told that an investigation 
of these having been made by my uncle, Mr James Smollett, 
bones and stone arrow-heads were discovered in them ; but I have 
never seen any of these." 

The castle of Belach (or Balloch) was the early seat of the 
Lennox family, and their charters are often dated from thence in 
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, before they resided at 
Inchmurrain. The site is still marked by the fosse, but no re- 
mains of building have been seen in our time. See as to this a 
note to the novel of the Spaewife by Gait. The only other fa- 
mily of note who anciently resided in this parish were the Lind- 
says of BonhilL Their ancestors were knights in the reign of 
David IL, and acquired their estate by grant from their relation, 
the Earl of Lennox, by whom they were also appointed foresters 
and tosheagers of the earldom. The male line failed soon after 
the Restoration, and the estate passed to Sir James Smollett, 
Provpst, and representative of Dumbarton in Parliament, and af- 
terwards a commissioner of the Union. 

III. — Population. 
The population of Bonhill has rapidly increased since the esta- 
blishment of the bleachfields and printfields, which now form its 
chief trade and industry. In 1 755, from the returns made to Dr 
Webster, the population was 901 ; and in 1791, from a list of the 
inhabitants made up to 1st January in that year, the population 
amounted to 2310, of whom 562 were under ten years of age. 

By Uie Government census of 1801, the population was 2460 



1811, 


2791 


1821, 


3003 


1831, 


8874 


of families in the parish in 1831, 


780 


chiefly employed in agriculture, 


172 


handicraft, 


558 



IV. — Industry. 

The valued rent of the parish is L.2180, 9s. 2d. 

Agriculture* — The lands in this parish, as may readily be con- 
ceived from the large manufacturing population, are all cultivated 
according to the most improved methods. Furrow-draining has 
been adopted to some extent, and with the usual good effects. The 
subsoil plough has been but partially used, but in instances where 
it has been tried it has doubled the value of the land. 

Horses, §*c. — The horses generally used for agricultural purposes 
are the Clydesdale breed. The cows are chiefly of the Ayrshire 



2*24 DUMBARTONSNIUK. 

variety, and considered to be excellent for the purposes of the 
dairy. 

The first printfield on the Leven was begun about the year 
1768. At first the printing was almost entirely confined to hand- 
kerchiefs, and done by what was termed block-printing. Copper- 
plate presses were erected, and posterior to these, presses to be 
driven by water. Long before this time, (1728, 1729,) however, 
the parish had acquired some celebrity for its bleaching processes, 
from the introduction of workmen from Holland, and the establish- 
ment of bleachfields on the Dutch method. At the time the for- 
mer Statistical Account was published, there were three printfields 
and four bleachfields in the parish. The number of these has 
since much increased, and both departments are simultaneously car- 
ried on in the same establishments. The print-works and bleach- 
fields now in operation are as follows : 

1. Dalmonach and FerryfieldL — At the print-works of Ferry field 
there are employed two steam-engines of 10 and 14 horse power; 
and one water-wheel of 20 feet diameter, 7 feet broad, with a fall 
of 20 inches. The total number of persons employed is 416 ; of 
whom 203 are men, 121 women, and 92 children under twelve years 
of age. The amount of wages paid from 1st January till 1st July 
1809, was L. 5395, 8s. 8d. At Dalmonach there are two engines, 
one of 10 horse power, the other of 16 horse power, and one water- 
wheel of 16^ feet in diameter, and 15 feet broad, with a fall of 26 
inches. The number of persons employed amount to 565, of 
whom 252 are men, 169 women, and 144 children under twelve 
years of age. The wages paid for the first six months of 1839 
amounted to L. 5667, 2s. Od. In both these works there are eight 
printing machines employed, which can print from one to six co- 
lours at a time, and 1200 yards each in an hour. 

2. Dalmonach, — The number of people employed at Dalmonach 
print-works in March 1835, was 899, of whom 604 were males, 
and 295 females. 

3. Levenfield, — At Leven Geld there is a water-wheel of 16 feet 
in diameter, 6^ feet broad, with a fall of 3 feet. The number of 
individuals employed are, 188 men, 97 women, 30 between twelve 
and fifteen years of age, and 100 children under twelve years of 
age, of the last of whom all can read, and 56 write. Amount of 
wages paid from 10th January to 10th July 1839, L.4904, 2$. lOd. 

4. Levenbank Print' JVorks. — There is a steam-engine of 15 horse 
power at these works, with a water-wheel of 22 feet diameter, and 



fiONHILL. 225 

a fall of water of 19 feet The number of persons employed are, 
of men, 1 19, of women, 50, of children under 12 years of age, 53, 
in all 221. Amount of wages paid from 10th January to 10th 
July 1839, L. 3505. 

5. Alexandria Works, — There is a steam-engine of 20 horse 
power at these works, with a water-wheel of 18 feet in diametert 
by 6 broad, and a fall from canal of 15 inches. The persons em- 
ployed are, men 192, women, 142, children, 104 — all of whom can 
read, making a total of 438. The amount of wages paid to these 
from 1st January to 1st July 1839, was L. 5100. The amount of 
goods printed for same period waS 1,310,400 yard^. 

6. DUUddp and Milbum^ — At these works there is a steam- 
equine of 14 horse power, but which works up to 16. The diame- 
ter of Dillichip water-wheel is 15 feet 6 inches, the breadth 11 
feet 3 inches ; — the diameter of Milburn wheel, which is an over- 
shot one, is 23 feet, and the breadth 3 feet. The fall of Dillichip 
canal is about 12 or 14 inches. The number of persons employ- 
ed at these works is 565, of whom 103 are women, and 63 chil- 
dren under twelve years of age. The operations carried on are 
bleaching, dyeing and printing ; and the wages paid from Decem-» 
ber 22d to July 6th 1838-9, amounted to L.6820. The goods 
finished during the same period, were 58,424 pieces of furniture 
and garments, 11,251 handkerchiefs and shawls, and 10,237 
woollens; in all, 2,084,257 yards. 

7. BonhiU PrirU-Work. — The mechanical power employed at 
this establishment is a steam-engine of 18 horses power. The 
number of persons employed are, men, 1 00 ; women, 32 ; and 
children under twelve years of age, 58, all of whom can read and 
write. The amount of wages paid from 1st January to 1st July 
1838, was L. 2000, and the quantity of goods finished, 480,000 
yards. 

8. MilWurn Pyrolignous Works. — These works were established . 
in 1806; about 15 men are employed at them; and the products 
ire pyrolignous' acid, tar, pyroxilic spirit, kreosote, &c. A fine 
Prussian blue is manufactured at these works. 

9. Kirkland Works. — At this establishment a steam-engine of 
8 horses power is employed. The number of individuals employed 
in various departments, is 224. Of these, 83 are children under 
fourteen years of age. The operations carried on are, printing, 
bleaching, and dyeing. The amount of wages paid from 1 st Ja- 
nuary to 1st July 1835, was L. 3106, and the quantity of goods 

DUMBARTON. P 



226 DUMBARTONSHIRK. 

printed and dyed during the same period, was 23,400 pieces, of 
28 or 80 yards in length. 

Ecclesiastical State. — The church is mentioned in a charter 
of Donald, Earl of Lennox, about the middle of the fourteenth 
century. The patronage appears to have belonged to this family 
until the widow of Earl Duncan erected the collegiate church of 
Dumbarton in. 1450, and endowed it with this church. 

Number of families who profess to be connected with the Es- 
tablished Church, 592 ; Relief, 254 ; Old Light Burghers, 75 ; 
United Secession, 36 ; Roman Catholics, 12 ; Episcopalians, 
4; Cameroniaqs, 4; Baptists, 3; Unitarians, 2 ; Methodists, 1 ; 
Antiburghers, 1; Bereans, I; of no profession, 28; total, 91S» 
The Independents have since opened a place of worship, and now 
claim 80 members. Also, there is a considerable number of per- 
sons not householders, but lodgers, of whose religious profession 
little is known. Many of these are connected with some one of 
the various bodies. 

It is understood that the kirk-session records were extant to a 
remote period in the time of Mr Gordon Stewart, when Mr Bu- 
chanan of Ardoch saw them. 

Education. — There are 7 schools in the parish, two of which 
are parochial. The average amount of each of the parochial 
schoolmasters' salaries is L. 21, 7s., with L. 15 of school fees, and 
L. 7 of other emoluments, being the yearly worth of the dwelling- 
house, school-room, and garden. Two of the non-parochial 
schools are taught by females. About seven*eighths of the po- 
pulation inhabit the Vale of Leven, and are employed at the 
public works, bleachfields, and printfields : to these works the chil- 
dren are sent, in too many cases, at and under seven years of age ; 
and any learning they get afterwards is at the week day evening 
and Sunday evening schools. (Abstract Education Inquiry, 1837). 

Poor. — 

The average amount of contributions for the poor for the three 

years 1805-86-37, was - - - - - L. 166 5 1 

Of this sum, from church collections, - L. 99 16 3 

Other volunury contributions, - - 28 10 9 

From mortifications, &c. - - - 37 18 1 

L. 166 5 1 

Benefit Societies. — The following are the societies at present 
established in this parish, viz. 1. Bonhill Old Friendly So- 
ciety ; 2. Bonhill New Friendly Society ; a Levenbank Friend- 
ly Society; 4. Balloch Friendly Society; 5. Bonhill and Bal- 

4 



BON HILL. 227 

loch Uoion Friendiy Society ; 6. Bonhill, Levenbank, and Bal- 
locE FrieDdly Society ; 7. Bonhill Village Friendly Funeral 
and Mortcloth Society. They are nearly all similar, and merely 
differ in the sum paid at the death of a member. The first three ( Ist, 
2d, and 8d,) give the sum of L. 1, 10s. to the nearest relation at 
the death of a member, whereas the next three (4th, 5th, and 6th,) 
give JL8 at death ; also there is some trifling difference in their 
way of electing preses, &c. &c. The object of the 7th is to al- 
low L. 5 and the use of the mortcloth to the nearest relation at 
death of a member, and each member (when the number of mem* 
bers exceeds 200), pays 6d. at the death of a member. Every male 
or female upon admission into this society must be above sixteen 
years of age, and under sixty; whose residence or employment must 
be in the village of Bonhill, and pay Is. 6d. as entry-money. There 
are thus no less than seven benefit societies in the parish, alt 
nearly similar in their purposes, for providing a weekly allowance 
to side members, and a sum for the respectable interment of such 
as die. But, besides these, there exist smaller associations of a 
like kind among particular kinds of workmen ; as block-cutters, 
block-printers, engravers, &c And in cases of accident or sick- 
ness, liberal contributions are often raised. Scarcely a pay day pas- 
ses without some such subscription. 

There are no savings' banks in the parish. ^ 

Mechanic^ Institution, — The Vale of Leven Mechanics* Insti* 
tution was commenced in 1834, consequently has been in opera- 
tion for five years. 

The institution has not yet been able to erect a hall to itself, 
and consequently is obliged to deliver its lectures in any room, 
school, or church that can be most readily obtained. 

The support of the institution is derived to a certain extent 
from the donations of the surrounding gentlemen, but chiefly from 
the fees paid by the students themselves ; the fee paid for the 
whole course is only 2s. 6d. The course generally comprehends 
about twenty-six lectures, delivered, for the most part, on Saturday 
night, that being the most convenient for the working population 
here. 

The annexed table will show the attendance and increase for 

the last five years : 

Seasion 1834-5, the number of studenU was 106, at 58. each. 
1835-e, do. 69, at 2s. 6d. 

1896-7, • do. 86, at :2s. 6d. 

1837-8, do. 142, at 2s. 6d. 

1838-9, do. 170, at 2s. 6d. 



228 DUMBARTONSHIRE. 

From a careful calculation of the number of males above eighteen 
years of age, made in the year I8889 it was found that there were 
1176 employed about the Tarious print-works upon the water ; out 
of that number only 109 were members of the Mechanics' Insti- 
tution, that is, about one-eleventh of the whole— the remainder 
consisting of females and persons resident in the district. 

In this district there are three pretty large villages within a 
mile of each other — namely, Bonhill, Alexandria, and Ronton, 
the united population of which may amount to about 6000 ; out 
of that number last year, the attendance was 170, being equal to 
35.29 of the whole. During last session a library of 160 volumes 
has been procured in connection with the institution. 

Hitherto the institution has been much indebted to gratuitous 
lecturers, who, in all cases, have been left to choose their own 
subjects, the consequence of which has been, that the courses of 
instruction were more desultory and unconnected than the com- 
mittee would have liked — an evil which they are endeavouring, as 
far as possible, to obviate during the ensuing session. 

Jidy 1840. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 



ON THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON,* 



Name. — Dunbar or Dtimbar, and Dunbarton or Dumbarton, 
have long been celebrated in *^ Scottish story/' as national fortres- 
ses of great antiquity and strength, and from analogy, might boti 
be plausibly derived from the same Celtic radicals, Dun and^ 
which by interpretation mean a *^ fort or stronghold on a sunlit 
or height." This is unquestionably the origin of Dunbar on the 
Frith of Forth, but the Dunbar-ton on the Frith of Clyde is sup- 
posed to be a corruption of Dun-briton, the ** fort of the Britons," 
also formerly called, according to Morris and others, Alclud or 
Alcluid. In examining the Acts of Parliament published by 
authority of Government, we find the name frequently rendered 
Dunbretane, more frequently Dunbertane and Dunbartan, but lat- 
terly chiefly Dumbarton or Dunbarton, so that no conclusion can 
be drawn from '* use and wont" in favour of either of the above 
etymologies. But be this as it may, the town and fort, which have 
given their name to the county, are of great antiquity, and evident- 
ly bear the impress of the language of the earliest inhabitants of 
these northern isles. This district is also occasionally known by 
the name of Lenox, which is a corruption of Leven-ach^ " a field 
or district on the Leven," by which latter term we are to under- 
stand not merely the water of Leven, but also Loch Lomond, for- 
merly called Loch Leven, which stretches along a large portion 
of the eastern boundaries of the county, and also washes with its 
pure and limpid wave many parishes in Dumbartonshire to the 
south. The Lenox family, now extinct, but represented by the 
Duke of Richmond, derived their name from the same origin, 
according to the practice of our forefathers, who named great dis- 
tricts and great families after each other. 

• Drawn up by the Rev. William Patrick, Hamilton 



230 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

Extent, (J-c. — Dumbartonshire is situated between 55*^, 53', 30* 
and 56^ 1^,40^, of north latitude; and between 3% 54', 60% and 
4% 53', of longitude west from Greenwich. On the east it is bound- 
ed by the counties of Stirling and Perth, but principally by Stir- 
ling, from which it is separated through a considerable portion of 
its extent, as far north as Elengavahana by Loch Lomond, above 
which the loch is surrounded by the county, including the farms 
of Doune and Ardletsh on the east, which here march with Perth- 
shire. Strathfillan in Perthshire is the entire boundary to the 
north, as Argyleshire is to the west, which last is separated from 
Dumbartonshire by Loch Long, from the Frith of Clyde to Ar- 
rochar. The boundaries on the south are Renfrew and Lanark, 
but principally Renfrew, from which it is separated by the estuary 
of the Clyde. These boundaries do not embrace the disjoined 
piition of this county, including the parishes of Kirkintilloch and 
Cumbernauld, which lie by themselves about six miles east of the 
Dfiain body of the county, bounding with Stirling on the north and 
east, and with Lanark on the south and west. Tlie extreme 
length of Dumbartonshire from Kelvin bridge, at the south-east 
comer of New or East Kilpatrick to Inverarnan brook, at the north 
of the parish of Arrochar, is about 47 miles. Its breadth at the 
southern extremity from east to west is 24 miles ; farther north it 
is 10; between Tarbet or Loch Lomond, and the head of Loch 
Long it is only about 2 miles broad, at Upper Inveruglass scarcely 
so much, and at the northern extremity the widest place is 9^ 
miles. The detached parishes of Kirkintilloch and Cumbernauld 
include a district about 12 miles long from east to west, and from 
2^ to 4 miles broad. This isolated portion of the county contains 
32^ square miles, and the main body of the county 228 — in all 
260^ square miles,, and about 167,040 English acres. 

TopographicahAppearances. — The county of Dumbarton, takea 
as a whole, like the inhabitants scattered over its diversified soil 
and varied surface, is in a transition state, between highlands and 
lowlands. The scenery to the north and all along Loch Lomond 
is for the most part decidedly alpine, and exhibits all the varieties 
of the most enchanting and variegated of Highland landscapes. 
Although the parish of Arrochar, which forms the entire northern 
part of Lenox, be 15 miles long and on an average 3 broad, and 
contains about 48 square miles, still so mountainous and irreclaim- 
able is its soil that not more than about 400 acres are ever sub- 



ON THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON. 231 

jected to the plough. Here the majestic Ben Voirlich near the 
north-west extremity of Lioch Liomond rears an alpine peak to the 
height of nearly 3300 feet above the level of the sea. The pa- 
rishes of Lass and Row are also decidedly hilly. In the latter of 
these parishes there are two ridges of hills running north-east and 
south-west, intersected by a beautiful strath, (the highly interesting 
and picturesque Glenfruin), which stretches between them upwards 
of five miles. The height of Finnart, which is washed at its base 
by the sea, towers above it to the height of 2500 feet. In Luss, 
Ben Cniachanstean, Corafuar, Shantron, Beneicb, Doune, and 
many others, attain great altitudes, some of them 3000 feet above 
the level of the adjoining seas. The lofly hills in Luss and Ar- 
rochar are strikingly and exquisitely contrasted with the wide ex- 
panse of the beautifully spread and pellucid waves, of the queen 
of lakes, the far-famed, and yet scarcely sufficiently admired Loch 
Lomond. Here savage grandeur, in all the towering superiority of 
uncultivated nature, is seen side by side with the very emblem of 
peace and tranquillity, an alpine lake, which the winds reach only 
by stealth, basking by day under the enlivening beams of the sun, 
but not subjected to the tidal attractions of the pale silvery moon. 
Hie parish of Roseneath, enclosed between two lochs or arms of 
the sea, like Argyle's Bowling Green, a little to the north of it, 
also adds much to the varied and attractive scenery of Dumbarton- 
shire. This peninsula in itself is a very striking panorama. It 
consists principally of one ridge or height rising from the south in 
undulating wavy lines, till at Tamuahara, it attains an elevation of 
about 800 feet From almost any part of the intersecting levels, 
beautiful peeps of sea, mountain, peaceful valley, or rich and ara- 
ble expanses of fertile lands, may be obtained. Towards the 
south of the county, the parishes partake more of the lowland cha- 
racter, and rising, as most of them do, from the' Clyde or Leven, 
and other intersecting streams, attain no great altitude, and present 
but few of the more striking irregularities of surface. To this re- 
mark, there are, however, many exceptions, and these striking 
ones, as for exs^mple, the rock of Dumbarton, which to the eye of 
the geologist presents the idea of a coprolite, after nature had ex- 
hausted herself by her more gigantic eflForts to the north. The 
Kilpatrick braes, rising to the height of 1^00 feet above the sea, 
are also a fine range of hills, intersecting a fertile and beautiful 
lowland country, affording from their summits some of the finest 



232 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

• 

prospects to be had in Scotland ; and doubly interesting by com- 
bining a view of the summits of the wildest Highland hills, with 
the rich mercantile highly cultivated districts of Renfrew and 
Lanark — the workshops of the west of Scotland. No district in 
North Britain can boast of finer scenery than the county of Dum- 
barton, and certainly none is more variegated or more frequently 
visited, or admired by strangers. 

Hydrography. — This county may truly be termed the land of 
" lakes and streams." The muse of Smollet has made the Leven 
familiar to every classic ear; and Loch Lomond presents attractions 
to the eye with which the fervid anticipations of the most pictures- 
que fancy are more than gratified. The landscape view of the 
district, however, comes only partially within the drier definition 
of statistics. In alluding to Loch Lomond, in all respects the most 
interesting sheet of water in Dumbartonshire or Scotland, forget- 
ting the scenery, (or remembering to forget it,) we shall state only 
a few facts carefully and statistically ascertained. 

This magnificent expanse of fresh water is, as near as can be as- 
certained, twenty-four miles in length, (not thirty, as in various po- 
pular publications,) and in some places six or seven miles broad. 
Its direction is nearly south-west and north-east, but rather in- 
clined to north and south. The bed in general is a soft detrital 
mud, formed from the washings of the adjoining rocks. It is re- 
markable that where narrowest this lake is generally deepest ; and» 
from, there being little or no waste of rocks from currents, the in- 
equalities of depth must be natural, and not from recent artificial 
acts of abrasion. In the south at Kilmaronock, Bonhill, and in 
part of Luss, the width is considerable, probably about seven miles. 
It tapers and twists gradually northwards to near Ardleish, like an 
eel, where it receives two rivulets of tiny dimensions. North of 
the Clachan of Luss, the lake is deepest and narrowest, but pro- 
bably in no place does it exceed in depth 600 feet, namely, oppo- 
site Alt Gary, and in other places north of the above village 
it varies in depth from 396 to 480 or 54Q feet. At Faskin it is 
66 fathoms, northwards a little 80 fathoms ; two miles north of 
Tarbet 80 fathoms, and at Alt Garry, as above, 100. In these 
northern parts, the lake never freezes, being too deep to attain an 
equal temperature. South of Luss, Loch Lomond is seldom deep* 
er than 1 20 feet, but with this depth of water frost is seldom strong 
enough to congeal its surface. In some places, however, a fri- 

3 




ON THE COUNTY OP DUMBARTON. 233 

gorific influence subsists between the islands and mainland, which 
produces a thick board of ice in severe seasons. 

The waters of the lake, although much too limited to be affect- 
ed by tides, are not stationary. At the time of the great earth- 
quake at Lisbon, November 1st, 1755, a singular commotion was 
observed in this lake, which shows that its foundations are deeply 
set, and are connected with'secret and distant correspondents. Its 
usurping powers at present have evidently a tendency to encroach 
upon the land. In some places the ruins of the works of man have 
been overtopped by the waters of Loch Lomond ; and the stepping- 
stones across the channel of the Falloch, at the north end of the 
Lake, are now below the surface of the water, many feet, even in 
the greatest droughts. The effects of heavy rains or the melting 
of snow are not insensibly felt ; affecting the water level in some 
instances to the amount of five or six feet. In droughts the de- 
crease of water is equally perceptible. North of Luss, the banks 
of the lake are often lofty or precipitous ; but south of that village 
they slope gradually to the shores of the lake, and flatten down 
alnoost to a dead level. The family seat of Camstradden, men- 
tioned by ancient writers as an island or peninsula, with an house 
and orchard, has been completely overwhelmed, and exhibits only 
a cairn of stones when the water is very low. A number of head- 
lands or Rosses, especially along the southern banks, at once en* 
liven and diversify the scene, which, added to the islands scattered 
over the surface of the lake like spots on the sun, give a peculiar 
character to the scenery of Loch Lomond. The principal islands of 
Loch Lomond in this county are Inch-murin, Inch-lonaig, Inch-ta- 
vanach. Inch-moan, Inch-conachan, and Inch-galbraith, with nine 
other islets of inferior size and less importance. The islands Inch- 
cailach. Inch-fad, Inch-cruin, For-inch, Cre-inch, Clair-inch, and 
Bue-inch, are in the county of Stirling. The Tom-na-clag in Inch- 
tavanach, the yew trees and deer park in Inch-lonaig, added to the 
circumstance of both islets being used as "temperance hotels," for 
the reclaiming of confirmed drunkards, add at once a moral and natu- 
ral beauty to the scene. This fine sheet of water empties itself by 
the river Leven, which pursues the same direction as the lake it- 
self into the Frith of Clyde, after a sweet and richly varied course 
of about seven miles. Its waters, like those of the loch, are extreme- 
ly pure, and are equally well fitted for culinary or manufacturing 
purposes. To the traders of Glasgow they are invaluable, and 



234 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

have invited hither many extensive bleaching and printing esta- 
blishments, such as those of Bonhill-field, Bonhill-place, Leveo- 
field, Leven^^bank, Kirkland-field, Dalmanoch-field, Dalgohom, 
Cordelty &c The same properties have rendered the Leven an 
equally eligible situatipn.for the scaly tribes/' many species of which 

*« Cut with tireir golden oart tbe silver stream.** 

Smollet in his beautiful ode to Leven water particularly alludes 
to its watery tenants,. y ^^^tit '^' ' 

In myriads de%fi|}ff|^y8Ul flood ; 
The springing Crtiijit lit speckled pride ; 
Tlie salmon monarch of the tide ; 
Tbe ruthless pike intent on war ; 
The silver eel and mottled char.** 

There are besides Loch Lomond, eight or nine small fresh water 
lakes in Dumbartonshire, but none of them of much importance. 
Loch Sloy, in Arrochar, upwards of a mile long and a quarter of a 
mile broad, is interesting as having been at one period the rendez- 
vous of the clan Macfarlane, whose slughorn, or war cry, was 
" Loch Sloy," which in Gaelic signifies the " lake of the host or 
army." There are also two considerable lochs in Old Kilpatrick ; 
two also at Fannyside, in the parish of Cumbernauld, between 
which a new public road, projected and accomplished by that in- 
defatigable road-maker, the Honourable Admiral Fleeming, now 
passes. 

The river Clyde, on the southern boundary of the county, is not 
more beautiful than lucrative to all the districts which its waters 
intersect or touch upotu At the head of Loch Lomond the waters 
of Falloch, Inveruglas, Douglas, and Linnhe, are '' brisk bratling 
mountain streams, exhibiting in inany places small but beautiful 
cascades. The Kelvin water is part of Kirkintilloch parish, where 
it resembles a great ditch traversing a meadow, but at Garscube 
its banks are bold and elevated, and continue to be highly interest- 
ing, till its embochure in the Clyde at Partick, two miles below 
Glasgow. Gareloch and Loch Long are two very interesting arms 
of the sea to the west of the county. Gareloch, i. e. the " short 
loch," is a small sheet of salt water, running nearly N. W. and 
S. E. Like Loch Lomond, it is not more than six miles long, and 
has an average depth of about 130 feet, lying on a fine stiff blue 
clay, excellent for the anchorage of vessels. Loch Long is a more 
extensive arm of the sea, running nearly N.E. and S.W., approach- 
ing Loch Lomond to the north and receding from it to the south. 



» 



ON THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON. 235 

It is upwards of twenty miles long, and in some places very deep. 
Its immense depth gives to the waters a dark blackish, colour, in 
some degree heightened by the hills which skirt it on either side. 
The scenery at the opening of Loch Goil *and about Arrochar is 
peculiarly bold and striking; and from Baremman and Tamnahara, 
in Roseneath, it is of a character, perhaps, scarcely equalled even 
in the panoramic assemblage of nature's. gifts in this highly favour- 
ed district Beautiful. streamv^yi- lakes of less note are plenti- 
fully scattered over the face ilF^^iiioutiiy ; and springs of whofe- 
some water gush out in liberai^NPbfusion for the use of man and 
beast. 

Geology. — The geology of this district presents a suite of rocks: 
from the oldest strata, mica-slate, to the limestone and coal forma- 
tions. The oldest formations are to the north, and the newest in^tbe 
south and south-east. The generally predominating rock where the 
primitive strata prevail is mica^slate, — a formation which lies im- 
mediately above the gneiss, and into which it insensibly passes. 
This mineral here, as in the neighbouring districts, and through- 
out the greater portion of the Highlands of Scotland, presents a 
dtstinct and uniform character. It is composed chiefly of parts 
adhering together without any intermediate cement, forming 
plates laid on each other. It is always stratified, and is most- 
ly composed of mica and quartz, and occasionally felspar. Mica 
b very abundant, quartz also very abundant, and felspar scarce- 
ly perceptible. This rock forms the bulk of all the highest and 
most striking hills in the north of the county. The direction 
of the strata, as a whole, is nearly N. E. and S. W. At the sum- 
mits and along the bases of the hills on both sides of Loch Lomond, 
the strata of mica-slate are distinctly observed cropping out in the 
usual direction, and in a position almost vertical, irom which it 
may be inferred that this substance composes the mass of these 
mountain ranges. The mica-slate of this quarter is distinguished 
by an abundance of quartz, which in some other districts is gene- 
rally in small quantity. Towards the summits of some of these 
mountains, the rock is remarkably penetrated by it, and exhibits 
veins and masses of every form, but not in regular beds. Indeed, 
quartz in many instances is so abundant, that it gives the mica- 
slate a whitish colour, resembling at a distance pure quartz. In 
some places these rocks are remarkably twisted, as at the foot of 
Glen Falloch, in Arrochar, where a beautiful section is brought to 



236 GENERAL OBSEttVATIONS 

view by the extensive cuttings for the new road which passes' 
through Strathfillan. The dip of the strata at the head of Loch 
Lomond is generally S. E., and the course of the valleys by which 
the mountain ranges are intersected affect an easterly direction. The 
principal of these are Glenfroon, Glenfinlass, Glen-du-glass, &c. 

In some places the mica-slate passes into talc-slate. This 
is especially the case between Tarbet and Luss, where mica-slate 
and talc-slate occur, with intersecting beds of greenstone and 
felspar porphyry. A singular dike of greenstone may also be ob- 
served at Knockderry, on the shore of Loch Long. The rock in 
which this intruded mass occurs is for some distance completely 
altered, so as to assume the appearance of chlorite slate. 

Besides the mica-slate, this district is also intersected by a clay- 
slate formation, in a direction south-west and north-east, constitut- 
ing a part of that great clay-slate formation skirting the Highlands, 
and found in so many localities. It is wrought in this county, in the 
well-known quarries of Luss and Camstradden. These slates are 
frequently traversed by veins of quartz, and abound with iron py- 
rites, which, in the clay-slate, is always found in crystals, which ge- 
nerally assume the form of cubes. It is particularly worthy of re- 
mark, that the islands at the south end of Loch Lomond, where they 
are only to be found, are in the direction of the clay-slate, and softer 
transition strata. These islands themselves are formed of the 
more durable varieties of rocks, while the clay-slate and softer rocks 
have been washed away, leaving the islets entire, affording a: strong 
presumption that their present appearance is the result of exten- 
sive denudation. The lake itself is in fact only a great cavity in mi- 
ca-slate, &c. at a low level, and consequently filled with water. The 
probability, therefore, is, that the whole of this remarkable cavity 
must have been filled up at some prior period by one great mass 
or line of strata, which, being of a softer structure, and more liable 
to the wasting effects of air and water, has been gradually broken 
or worn into its present shape. 

The slates in this district may be generally termed quartzy 
mica, and these constitute the greater portion of the primary dis- 
trict ; clay-slate also abounds, and is found lying on the mica- 
slate. These rocks frequently pass into talc-slate, as already 
3tated, and also into a sort of porphyritic mica-slate, thickly stud- 
ded with crystals of quartz, and also, in some cases, there occurs 
a slate so much mixed with lime that it may be safely termed a 
limestone slate. 



ON THE COUNTr OF DUMBARTON. 237 

A litde to the south of Camstradden slate quarry, and near to 
Ros-doe, the transition rocks succeed the primary stratified group 
io the shape of greywacke, and slaty greywackeof a peculiar com* 
position, and alternating with the older formation to the north; 
This greywacke is very different in appearance from that general- 
ly found about Leadhills and the south of Lanarkshire. It seems, 
for the most part, to be composed of quartz, felspar, and clay^slate, 
cemented together with a basis of clay-slate, and frequently stud- 
ded with blue quartz, common quartz, and crystals of felspar. 
Scarcely anything of the shape of greywacke-slate is to be found, 
and none of those remarkable alternations of greywacke and grey- 
wacke-slate, which abound in the south of Scotland, occur here. 
But the peciiliar feature of these transition rocks is the presence of 
the black-limestone, not a vestige of which occurs in the greywacke 
of the south of Lanarkshire. This limestone, of a bluish-black 
colour, is to be found connected with the slate formation in Ar- 
denconnel muir, and also in Glenfruin. The same superabun- 
dance of quartz as in the mica-slate is also another remarkable 
feature, to which we may add the total absence of flinty slate, or 
Lydian stone, and those frequent alternations with porphyry, re^ 
sembling the ehan courses of Cornwall. With regard to the black 
limestone, it is allowed by Charpentier and others, that it is of 
later formation than greywacke and clay-slate» When nearest to 
the primitive formations, the black limestone is subordinate, while 
in the newest part of the transition formations, clay-slate is only 
found subordinate to limestone. This is exactly the position in 
which it occurs here, as may be seen in the localities above al- 
luded to. It^must be confessed, however, that the remark of 
Humboldt has much weight, namely, that the constancy of binary 
or tertiary associations, as connected with the transition formations, 
are of much more importance than the analogy which the succes- 
sion of homonymous rocks presents. Thus he observes, that clay- 
slate and black limestone, clay-slate and porphyries, clay-slate and 
diorites, and greywacke, porphyry, and sienite, granular lime- 
stone, and anthracitous mica-slate, are observed to form geognos- 
tic associations in countries the most remote from one another. 
Some of these associations, as the clay-slate and black limestone, 
are to be found in Dumbarton, but not in Lanarkshire, while many 
of the others are found in the south of Scotland, but not in this 
part of it. 



238 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 

The mica-slate, including also chlorite slate, as on Gare- 
loch above Row Ferry, on which these transition rocks rest, 
is an extensive formation, extending from the Mull of Can- 
tyre, and including the islands of Isia, Jura, and Colonsay. It 
stretches along by the north of Loch Awe, where it meets with 
the granite of Cruahan Ben, it then passes on by Ben Lawers to 
the north of Loch Tay, and may be traced in a thin line as feur east aa 
Stonehaven. This rests again upon an immense deposit of gneiss, 
which extends to the north of Scotland, with patches of granite and of 
old red sandstone, here and there interspersed. The transition rocks 
here are part of a thin stripe of very inconsiderable breadth, running 
north-east and soulh-west, passing through the centre of the island 
of Bute, entering this county near the south-east end of Roseneatb, 
crossing it by Ros-doe and the Pass of Balmaha it stretches away by 
Aberfoil, Callander, Comrie, south-east of Dunkeld, passes through 
Edzel, and terminates in the sea at Stonehaven. Bute is the 
south-western terminus of the minerals of which the county of 
Dumbarton is composed, and Stonehaven the north>east terminus* 
From the same point in the north-east, an extensive formation of 
old red sandstone, lying to the south, extends also from Stonehaven 
to the south of Bute, having Montrose, Arbroath, Dundee, Dun- 
. ning, Stirling, and the town of Dumbarton standing on its south- 
ern extremities. Like the greywacke, this formation runs due 
north-east and south-west. As connected with Dumbartonshire, 
the old red sandstone group appears in the south-west of the pe- 
ninsula of Roseneath, chiefly as a conglomerate south-east of the 
vale or dingle, which stretches from Campsail on the east to Port- 
kill on the south-west. It passes north-east through part of Row 
parish, including the Cilliter range to the north-west, and the point 
of Ardmore, including Camis Eskin and Keppoch, and then 
stretches through Bonhill to Inch-murrin in Loch Lomond, and on 
to Balmaha and Buchannan. It constitutes, in fact, part of the 
lower basin of Loch Lomond on its south-east end. It forms also 
the link between the slaty rocks to the north, and the sandstone, 
lime, coal, iron, &c. to south ; and may be said, in some degree, 
to be the basin of the Frith of Clyde. In many places along this 
noble estuary, there are striking proofs of the sea having once at- 
tained a higher level, and of having overtopped its present bed 
thirty or forty feet This is strikingly exhibited in the remarkable 
promontory of Ardmore, south-east of the entrance to the Gare- 



ON THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON. 23^ 

loch. This rock is of a circular form, composed entirely of old 
red saodstone conglomerate, containing many rounded water-worn 
balls, chiefly of quartz, very much resembling the breccia of the 
Ldmarkshire formations. It is about forty feet high, and seems 
leh as a pillar to mark the modern subsidence of the waters which 
once surrounded it. The same conglomerate is found in the Cil* 
liter range, a little to the north. In other places this sandstone is 
of a greyish-blue colour, either coarse-grained or 6ne granular* 
The coarse-grained contains angular fragments and rolled masses 
of quartz, felspar, grey wacke, and clay-slate, often so large, as in 
the above instances to constitute conglomeratesi — the fine gra- 
nular, in some varieties, with a base, in others, with a cement of 
day, is chiefly composed of quartz, felspar, and mica, minutely 
aggregated. This formation has, in all respects, the characters of 
old red sandstone, approaching to greywacke, and very much re- 
sembles the old red sandstone of Lanarkshire. In some places, 
jasper is found in considerable abundance ; and in one place, north- 
west of Cilliter, a dike of jasper of a coarse hard quality occurs. 
On the estate of Camis Eskan in Cardross, the old red sandstone 
contains traces of limestone, sometimes pervading the rock as a sort 
of base, as above Lanark in a neighbouring county, or more fre« 
quently in the form of contemporaneous veins. 

Proceeding southwards, and above the old red sandstone, we 
have, in some places, a reddish sandstone, evidently not of the old 
red sandstone formation, and in other places a sandstone of a warm 
cream colour, easily chiselled, but hardening by exposure. The 
author has paid much attention to these formations on the borders 
of the old red sandstone, and has no doubt but that they are ana- 
logous to apparently similar formations in the upper ward of 
Lanarkshire. Yellow sandstone, of the same sort as is found in 
Dumbartonshire above the old red sandstone, occurs in Lanark- 
shire abundantly in Wiston parish, also on Kennox Water, Dou- 
glas, and near Monk's-head, Lesmahagow. It usually lies in both 
countiies in thick plies, not far above the conglomerate, and imme- 
diately connected with the lower limestones. This yellow sand- 
stone in Dumbartonshire extends, perhaps, as far as Netherton 
Garscube in New Kilpatrick, not in an uniform mass, but, as it 
were, incidentally. Above these rocks, limestone and coal, shale 
and small beds of ironstone connected with the lower limestones 
occur. These metals, which are wrought with so much advantage 



240 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

to the proprietors and public, do not exist to any great extent iir 
this county. With regard to the geology of the two detached pa- 
rishes of Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, as fiill a description as 
circumstances would permit is given of that part of Dumbarton- 
shire, under the article Kirkintilloch. These parishes, however, 
although about five or six miles removed from the body of the 
county, are connected naturally with it in Ihe geological features 
of its south-eastern extremity. Both form part of the limestone 
series, or lower parts of the coal formations. In the middle and 
lower wards of Lanarkshire, the coals above the limestone form the 
great mineral wealth of that county ; but none of the same sort of 
minerals occur in the county of Dumbarton, unless it be at Grars- 
cube, in the south-east comer of the parish of New Kilpatrick. 
The limestone coals are wrought below those at Lawmuir and 
Castlehill, at a depth of about thirty fathoms. The natural con- 
nection of the parishes of Kirkintilloch and Cumbernauld with the 
county of Dumbarton are better exhibited by the expansive suite 
of their mineral products, than by acts of Parliament and parch- 
ment charters. The great link indicated by nature between these 
two districts is the calm limestone^ so fully alluded to in the ac- 
count of the parish of Kirkintilloch, extending from near the 
House of Cumbernauld, westward through the conterminous coun- 
ties of Lanark and Stirling, onwards to Old Kilpatrick at Dunto- 
cher. At this latter place, the property of Mr Dunn, the calm 
limestone is at present wrought in a pit of about thirty fathoms. 
Here the coal and limestone are each about 4 feet 9 inches, with 
but little separation. The coal is of a caking quality, and is first 
wrought stoop and room, after which the limestone is blasted. 
The limestone is mostly burned in old clamp or sow kilns, improved 
as much as possible by air pens, carried up the sides and ends, and 
stocked with brushwood. Draw-kilns save one-half. The miners 
are paid about 6s. per heap of five tons. One ton of coal is re- 
quired to burn thirty-two bushels of lime, equal to about two of 
lime for one of coal. The Jime is sold at 15s. per chalder of shells. 
The men employed in filling the kilns are paid per day ; but the 
burning alone costs about Is. 4d. per chalder. The coals at Gars- 
cube dip south-east at an angle of about 8°. The chief alterna 
tions of the strata are slate-clay, sandstone, clay ironstone, and 
fakes. 

UnstraiiJUd Rocks. — These are chiefly the trap of Dumbarton 
Castle and the Kilpatrick Hills, and certain beds of felspar por- 



ON THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON. 241 

phyry found among the older rocks of mica-slate. There are also 
dikes of trap and porphyry both in the mica-slate and greywacke. 
The Kilpatrick braes form the most interesting features in this dis* 
trict connected with the igneous formations. These beautiful hills 
range nearly east and west, and form a sort of continuation of the 
CSampsie Fells, from which they are separated by the straths of the 
Blane, and the Allander; while on the west they terminate abrupt- 
ly in the remarkable eminence termed Dumbuck, a sort of mimic 
of the Dumbarton rock. These hills are more or less connected 
with the parishes of Old and New Kilpatrick, Dumbarton, Bon« 
bill, and KilmaronocL They consist chiefly of greenstone, amyg-« 
daloid, trap-tuff, wacke, and basalt, incumbent on alternate strata 
of slate-clay and limestone to an unknown depth. Columns of 
basalt are found at Auchintorlie, also in the Glenarbuck grounds, 
and near Craigton. There is also in one part of the hills what 
seems to have been the remains of an extinct volcano. The 
eastle rock of Dumbarton, like the beautiful and romantic Kil- 
patrick braes, is composed of various sorts of trap. It forms the 
southern point of the parish of Dumbarton, and stands on a small 
jpeninsala at the junction of the Leven and Clyde. Like another 
remarkable hill, (Parnassus,) this rock has two summits; that to 
the west being highest, or about 206 feet above the level of the 
sea. The trap of these formations contains a great many of those 
aluminous silicious products, which constitute the zeolite family. 
The principal species are the mesotype of Hauy, and the Preh- 
nite. Besides these there are other new species, such as Thom- 
sonite, Hewlandite, &c A rare mineral, named Edingtonite, 
in honour of Mr Edington of Glasgow, occurs associated with the 
Thomsonite. The sulphate of barytes has also been found ; but no 
metal seems to accompany it This district is rich in mineral 
products. 

The trap of Dumbartonshire is part of that irregular mass which 
extends in length from St Andrews to Largs, and from Dunbar to 
Ayr, and in breadth from Stirling to near Peebles, including the 
limits of the great coal-field extending from the German to the 
Atlantic oceans. This trap in Dumbartonshire occurs only 
among the Umestone which lies at the bottom of the coal-fields. ' 

The felspar-porphyry in the mica-slate generally runs in dikes or 
masses parallel to each other. In some instances it effects a slaty 
structure, and seems to contain crystals of hornblende and pista- 

JDUHBARTON. Q 



242 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

cite, with small portions of cblor ite, aad oecasiooally common gar- 
net and pyrites. 

Organic JUmains. — Connected with the limestones and day 
ironstones there are yarious organic remains; but none except 
those peculiar to similar formations elsewhere. These are chief* 
ly spiri&rs, producta^ terebratuLae, paludinse, &c. 

The sand deposits in the south of the county also oootain Ta- 
rious beds of petrified shells, particularly at Dalmuir, so fully al- 
luded to by Mr Thomas Thomson in the Records of General 
Science. The geology of the eastern and detached portion of the 
county will be found under the article Kirkintilloch. 

Meteorology. — As connected with the geology of the district, 
we may also mention the science of meteorology. The climate of 
^ country depends much upon its alpine groups, its vales, and its 
forests, and the whole are materially influenced by their vicinity to 
the sea. There can be little doubt but that the broad stripe of 
coal and lime abounding everywhere, with great masses of iron in 
beds, balls, or dissen^iqated, which extends from the Atlantic be^ 
tween Arraq and the mainland, including the Frith of Forth, as 
far as tho Bass aqd Fifeness, materially influences the climate of 
this portion of the west of Scotland. It is universally admitted 
that the winds blow fropa the Atlantic, or frum a westerly direc^ 
tion, ajt least nine months in the year. This gives a sufficient 
cause for the direction of the winds, with the course of which the 
phenomena of rain is also intimately connected. The quantity of 
rain which falls along the coast from Greenock to Ayr has long 
been remarked to be much greater than in any corresponding dis- 
trict in Scotland. But the difference is not so much in the quan- 
tity of rain that falls, as in the number of days on which it actu- 
ally rains. It is generally supposed that temperature, and rain, 
which is the creature of temperature, are intimately connected 
with those subtile and generally invisible agents, the magnetic or 
electric fluids. It is to the presence of these in one form or other 
that we owe the greater part of the phenomena of rain. If clouds 
then be of magnetic or electric origin, it is very possible they may 
have some connection with the attractive influences of the im- 
mense iron deposits which stretdi in a north-easterly direction 
from Greenock to St Andrews, and from Ayr to Dunbar. The 
iron in the above deposits no doubt^ attracts the magnetic clouds, 
and these coming in contact with the high hills on the western 
coast, there precipitate their contents. The cause of the same 



ON THE COUXTV OF DUMBARTON. 243 

phenomena not happening along the iron-bound coast on the east* 
arises from the wind more seldom blowing from the east ; but 
nine months of the year, as has already been stated, the winds 
are in a westerly direction, which accounts for the greater access 
of rain on the western coast. 

Ayriadture. — The north of the county is very narrow and 
mountainous ; indeed, from Tarbet on Loch Lomond side, to Ar- 
rochar on Loch Long side, there is only a small isthmus of about 
two miles long, having great altitudes to the north and south. 
The shores of Loch Lomond are mostly sandy and flat, and towards 
the north occasionally rocky. The soil on the mountainous part 
of the parish is mostly light, and composed of the detrital parts 
of the mica-«late on which it rests. In the south-east of the pa* 
rish of Luss, there is some flat land, especially along the lake, 
from the southern boundary of the above parish to Ross-dhu. 
Among the hills to the north there are also some beautiful straths, 
such as Glenfruin. The banks of Loch Long are mostly hill pas- 
ture, but on the Gareloch, cultivation has extended a considerablo 
way up the sides of the hills which skirt it. Much arable flat 
land is also to be found at Ardincaple, and on the barony of Mil- 
lig. The parishes to the south and south-east of the county con* 
tain much fertile and valuable land, especially along the Leven, 
and throughout Kilpatrick Old and New. The soil, generally 
speaking, near to the streams of fresh water, along the Clyde, the 
Leven, the Endrick, and such like waters is the best In the 
north, gravel with sand or gravelly loam mostly prevail ; in the 
more fertile parts of the district, fine black loam is a prevailing 
soil The soil and surface of Dumbartonshire may be stated as 
follows : — 





English ticres 


Deep black loam, 


6,050 


Clay on a subsoil of till, 


. 30,970 


Gravel or gravelly loam, 


25,220 


Green hill pasture, - 


3.750 


Mountains and moors, - 


99,400 


Bog, 


720 


Islands in Loch Lomond, 


. 930 



ToUl English acres, 167,040 

The landed properties in this shire, not large in itself, fre- 
quently occupy a large surface, while they yield but a small re- 
turn in produce. The proprietors are few, not exceeding 150, 
exclusive of feuars and portioners in towns, whose number docs 
not exceed 400. The rental of the highest heritor is only about 



244 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

L. 4500. The farms in some places do not exceed 20. or 30 
acres in extent, but in some instances they amount to 600 or 800 
acres. The smaller farms are occupied by smaller tenants, mi- 
serably fed, living upon land over-cropt and miserably cultivated. 
In the best parts of the county, the cultivation equals the best 
style of agriculture known in the west of Scotland. In the north, 
the average rental of arable land is L. 1, 10s. per acre, the ave- 
rage grazing of an ox or cow L. 2, and of a sheep from 2s. 6d. to 
ds. A little farther south the price of grazing is somewhat 
higher; but the rental of cultivated land is much the same. 
The Highland breed of cattle is grazed on the hilly pastures. 
The milch cows on the low grounds are mostly of the cross breed 
between Highland and Ayrshire, and on the low and sheltered 
land pure Ayrshire. The indigenous horses are of a small size 
between the cart-horse and the Highland poney, combining the 
faults and blemishes of both. The prevailing breed of sheep are 
the south of Scotland black-faced sheep on the hill pasture, and 
occasionally the Cheviot breed on the low grounds, with some 
pets of the English breeds. 

In some places farther south still, the general character of the 
husbandry is improving, chiefly by inclosing and draining on the 
modern system. Nearly the whole of the cultivated ground is 
inclosed by hedges and stone dikes, and waste lands have in some 
places been reclaimed to a considerable extent. Within these 
few years a great deal has been done in the freeing of the land 
from moisture, by the modern improvements in draining. But 
much yet remains to be done, before the parish be greatly im- 
proved in this way. In the better cultivated places, the average 
rental of land is L. 1, 15s. per acre in the higher and wilder parts, 
and from L. 2 to L. 2, 10s. and L. 3 in the more fertile grounds. 
On pasture farms, the average rate of grazing a cow or ox is h»^ .. 
and near towns and villages, L. 5 are taken for a milch cow for 
the season, and about 8s. for a sheep. 

The husbandry in the south-east of Dumbartonshire includes 
a good deal of green cropping, and in the best places with a six 
years' shift; namely, 1. oat^; 2. potatoes, or a little turnip ; 3. 
vvheat with rye-grass and clover ; 4. hay ; 5. and 6. pasture. In 
most instances, however, no regular rotation is observed ; and the 
practice of taking two white crops in succession is still in too com- 
mon use. 

Wages. — The average wages of the best ploughmen is about 



ON THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON. 245. 

L9 per half year, which is at the rate of Is. per day ; the best 
dairy maids have seldom more than 6d. per day, or L. 4, 10s. per 
half year. Inferior servants have wages at a lower rate. If meal 
be reckoned at Is. 6d« per peck, the food of a male servant will 
cost bis master L. 7 or L. 8 more, so that his whole charge will 
be about L. 26 per annum ; and, allowing L. 4 more for board and 
lodging, about L.dO. This is nearly at the rate of a labourer's 
wages at Is. 8(1. per day upon an average through the whole year. 
This may appear a small sum, but it is perfectly sufficient for the 
condition of those who enjoy the pure physical necessaries of life, 
without any superfluity. 

Manufactures. — The two great sources of improvement in this 
as in neighbouring districts are chiefly attributable to two circum- 
stances: 1. The growth of the trade of Glasgow, Greenock, 
and Paisley, and the increase of their wealth, industry, and inha- 
bitants, have supported the prices of corn and cattle for many years 
past ; and it is to be hoped for the interest of this county, and of 
Scotland at large, they will not for many years, at least, much 
diminish. 2. The great and constant employment at present 
given to the lower classes of our industrious inhabitants, throws 
ready money into their hands, with which they go to market, and 
paying down, purchase at the lowest rate. Formerly they took 
from landlords, farmers, and manufacturing employers, goods and 
the means of subsistence upon the credit of their future services, 
which by the good was granted as an act of charity, by the bad 
as a most usurious and oppressive loan. A great change, however, 
took place on the introduction of man ufactures on a larger scale 
than formerly upwards of fifty years ago, when regular fair wages 
for labour were first introduced. So early as 1728, two public 
bleachfields were established in this county, one at Dalquharn on 
*• the Leven, and another at Cawesser on Loch Lomond, at both of 
which Dutch bleachers were employed. In 1810, there were nine 
bleachfields for whitening cotton goods. The gross value of the 
works was about L. 14,000; they employed about 150 men and 
women, whose wages amounted to near L. 3000 per annum, and 
consumed about 1800 tons of coals. There was also a field for 
bleaching linens, which employed 30 persons, and consumed 
1100 cart loads of coals per annum. There were then also other 
bleachfields for printed goods, in all employing 1700 hands, at a 
yearly amount of wages approaching L. 50,000. 

The machinery was estimated at L. 140,000; and they con- 



246 GENERAL OBSKRVATIONS 

sumed annually 9600 tons of coals, worth L. 6000. The difference 
at the present period will be best seen by referring to the accounts 
of the respective parishes in which they occur. The same may 
be also stated as to the bottle-works, glass-works, and other public 
works in the county. 

Population^ 8fc. This county extends to about 260^ square miles, 
the valuation in Scots money being L. 33,327, 19s. The popu- 
lation in the following years was as under : 

1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 
20,710 24,189 27,317 33,211 

In the first ten years there is an increase of 17 ; second ten 13 ; 
third ten 22. The population of the twelve parishes at present 
is as under — 

Arrocharin 1831, - 560 

Cardross, in 1831, - 3566 

Cumbernauld in 1831, - 3080 

Dumbarton in 1831, . 3623 

Kilpatrick New in 1831, - 3000 

KilpatrickOidin 1831, . 5879 

Kirkintilloch in 1831, - 5888 

Lussin 1831, . 1181 

Hoseneath in 1831, - 709 

Row in 1831, . 2037 

Kilmaronock in 1831, - 999 

Bonhillin 1831, . 3874 

Of its establishment as a shircy its past and present condition^ ffc. 
— From the chartulary of I^ennox, ands everal other records, it 
appears that there had been a judge or justice of Levenax in the 
reigns of William the Lion and Alexander II. In 1271, as ap- 
pears from Hole's Sutherland, (ch. 1 p. 6,) Walter Stewart, 
Earl Menteith, the foul betrayer of Wallace, was Sheriff of this 
county, and constable of its castle. The parishes of Kirkintilloch 
and Cumbernauld were first detached from the sheriffdom of Stir- 
ling and annexed to Dumbarton by Malcolm Fleemiqg, father of 
Sir Malcolm Fleeming, first Earl of Wigton, as appears from the 
chartulary of Lennox (1, 38.) In the Acts of Parliament pub- 
lished by authority of Government, Dumbarton is not once men- 
tioned in the reign of James I. During the reign of his succes- 
sor James 11. this shire seems to have come into greater notice. 
In August 1440, " the castell of Dumbertane, with the lands of 
Cardross, Roseneathe, the pensione of Cadzowe, with the pensione 
of the Ferme-Mill of Kilpatrick," seem to have been annexed to 
the Crown. About five years before this, Lord Erskine was in 
possession of Dumbarton Castle, and agreed to give it up " to the 
advice of the King and the three estates," upon his being ^^ freely 



ON TKK COUNTY OF DUMBARTON. 247 

entered iDto the Caslell of Kildrummie." On the occasion of the 
flmrriage of James III. in 1467, James Douglas and William 
Artbiinon were appointed by the estates to uplift the tax in Dum- 
bartonshire. At this time the Scots groat of the crown, which 
passed for Is. Id., was to pass for Is. 2d., and the half groat at 7(1. 
Item» the ^^ auld Inglisgrote to pass for 4d., and new grote'of Ed- 
ward for dd." 

In 1488 (temp. Joannes IV.) many of the western counties 
were in a very unsettled state, and the strong arm of the law was 
required to put down ^^ thift, reff, and uther ennormities." For 
this purpose the Lord of Montgomery is appointed for *^ Dumber- 
tane, the Leuenax, Bute, and Arran." Lennox and Dumbarton 
are here mentioned as constituting separate districts. In the same 
year some attention seems to have been devoted to the trade of 
Dumbarton, ^* it is statut and ordanit that in all time to come all 
manner of schippis may come to such free burrowis as Dumber* 
tane.^ In 1489, and for some years after, the Castle of Dumbar- 
ton was held by Robert, Lord Lile, and Malho Stewart, ^^ agane 
our sovreigne lord," also the castles of Cruikston and Duchel, 
Lennox and Lile were confederated to revenge the &11 of their 
late sovereign. They were finally routed at Gartalunan, near Tilly 
Moss on the Forth, after which Dumbarton Castle was besieged 
for six weeks and surrendered to the king. In 1503, it is statute 
that the " landis of Buchquhanane, Fyntres, Campsy, Strablane, 
Buthrane, Drymane and Inchcalesch," should be held as attached 
to the sheriffdom of Dumbarton, and that their inhabitants should 
appear at the ^^ fef courts of justice" there. During the reigns of 
James IV. and V. Dumbarton was the chief naval station in the 
west. September 2, 1545, at the instance of Henry Lauder, Queen 
Mary's Lord Advocate, '^ Matthew Earl of Lennox, was sumond 
for certane poyts of tressoun and lese majestic at the croce of 
Dumbertane." This was for seizing 30,000 crowns with arms and 
ammunition sent from France for the use of the queen. Shortly 
after this period, renewed privileges seem to have been granted to 
the principal sea-ports in the west. In 1555 it is forbid to carry out 
of the kingdom " victuallis, talloun, or flesche," except that it "sal 
be leiful to the inhabitantis ofthe burrowis of Air, Irevin, Glasgow 
Dumbertane, and uthers at the west seyis (seas) to have bakin bread, 
browin aill, and aquavite (some spirituous liquor) to the ilis (isles,) 
to betour (or barter) with uther, merchandise, and this act to be 
extended to maisters and skipparis of sic veschillis, &c.'' Great 



248 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

encouragement seems also at this period to have been given to thef^ 
herring fisheries in Loch Fine and in the western seas. In the* 
same year it is stated, that the "hail burrowis of the westcountrioy 
sic as Irevin, Air, Dumbertane, Glasgow, and uther burrowis has 
zeirly in all times bygane, resorted to the fishery of Loch Fyne 
and other lochis in the north ilis for making of herring and uther 
fishis." To encourage this trade, no exaction was made " except 
the payment of the fishers." Some of the greedy lawless lairds 
on Loch Fyne, however, raised a heavy tax or custom on every 
" last of maid herring," — an impost very properly put down by act 
of Parliament. Between February 1547 and July 1548, the un- 
fortunate Queen Mary was in safe keeping in the Castle of Dum- 
barton, till she was embarked in the French gallies and conveyed 
to France. She visited the castle again in 1563. During the 
troubles which followed her dethronement, the castle of Dumbar- 
ton, 1568, was in the keeping of John Fleeming of Boghall. On the 
2d of April 1570 (not 2d May 1571 as stated by Chalmers,)the Castle 
of Dumbarton was surprized and taken by escalade. The principal 
aK!tors in this affair were John Cunninghame of Drumquhassil, 
Matthew Douglas of Mains, Captain Thomas Crawford of Jordan- 
hill. In the reign of Charles 1. 1641, these seven parishes ** Inch- 
calleoche, (Buchannan,) Drymen, Balfrone, Fintrie, Kilbirnie, 
Strablane, and Campsie, as settled by the 73d Act of James VI., 
and, for a long list of reasons given besides, were annexed to the 
sheriffdom of Dumbarton. In 1649, the parish of Kilpatrick was 
divided as at present. The title of the act is " Act in favours of the 
parish of Dumbartane anent the dividing the parish of Kilpatrick." 
The county of Dumbarton was particularly involved in Argyle's 
invasion in 1685. On the 11th June of that year, the Marquis of 
Athol, with 300 of the king's troops, engaged about 400 of Argyle's 
men, killed many of them, and put the rest to the rout, which 
obliged Argyle to make a similar march to Allangreg Castle, where 
he staid till the 15th of June, when he marched 6000 men to 
<* Lennox in Dumbartonshire," and thence to Killearn, within four 
miles of Dumbarton. Here Lord Dumbarton, commander-in- 
chief of the king's troops, was within three miles of Argyle's army, 
who, when he saw Dumbarton's army so numerous and well-mar- 
shalled, at night made fires over all his camp, and, by the light of 
them, decamped and dispersed all his people to their respective ha- 
bitations. The subsequent history of the unfortunate Earl is well 
known. He was taken by a private trooper in the water of Inch- 

3 



ON THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON. 249 

idiMiDy brought a prisoner to Glasgow, and from thence to Edin- 
burghy where they made his Lordship come out of his coach at the 
Water-gate, and, with a halter round his neck, he was led by the. 
common hangmen, up the Canongate and High Street, and into 
the Castle ; and on the 1st of June, suffered by being beheaded at 
the Cross of Edinburgh* 

The inhabitants of this county made no particular display at 
the time of the Union ; and its history since may rather be said to 
be agricultural and commercial than political. 

General Remarks. — In a commercial point of view, Dumbarton- 
shire is of considerable importance, on account of various branches of 
industry, particularly for its bleachfields, cotton-spinning, glass- 
works, andalso foritsship-building. In its agriculture great improve- 
ments have of late taken place; the high demand from the Glasgow 
market having unquestionably operated as an inducement to under- 
take the improvement of the county lands. For this purpose, both 
proprietor and tenant have been obliged to enclose and lead manure^ 
lime especially, which has greatly augmented the demand for day 
labourers, the consequence of which has been a rise in the price of 
daily labour, as compared with former times, and also in the wages 
of country servants. The necessary result of all is a very conside- 
rable rise in the rent of land. And as the high price of grain, on 
the one hand, has animated the inhabitants of the country, 
so, on the other, it has excited the jealousy of those in the city, 
who conclude that, since high prices are very advantageous to the 
landed interests, they must be hurtful to trade. This idea, though 
perhaps an erroneous one, has, however, been attended with some 
advantages. It was for the purpose of cheapening the price of 
county produce that county roads were first thought upon ; and to 
accomplish the same object, the Clyde was deepened, and the Forth 
and Clyde Canal projected and carried through. It was in con- 
sequence of such speculations that agriculture itself, and a spirit 
for improvement of all sorts, began to be spread over this county. 
Spots, indeed, had been improved by individuals ; whereas now we 
often see an acre not worth half-a-crown formerly, let for L.3 or L.4 
or even L. 6 per annum, for three crops. A few proprietors then 
improved for their pleasure ; the body of our farmers are now be- 
ginning to follow their example, and seem to wish they were able 
to improve for gain. 

It may here be observed, that debauchery and drunkenness pre- 



250 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

vail but little in the county ; and were none allowed to sell beer 
and spirituous liquors, but such as take out licenses according to 
law, they would still prevail less than they do. 

The women, as in all districts, form a considerable class, and, from 
their industrious habits, many of them, when young and unmarried, 
are decently ornamented with the little superfluities of dress ; which 
they hold out probably as a fund at their disposal for the mainte- 
nance of children, in case any young admirer should choose to fancy 
them. Were it not, therefore, for the use of ribbands, and such 
Kttle ornaments now in fashion, a country lad could form no judg- 
ment of the industry and frugality of the young women of the pa- 
rish* Some shallow observers and pepper-corn politicians scout 
at the gaudy dresses of the country maiden, and abuse her for try- 
ing to *^ mimic a lady." This is a short-sighted policy. I call 
the buying of such superfluities as ribbands the greatest proof of 
frugality ; because every unnecessary expense must be cut off be- 
fore they can purchase an ornament, which, from the wedding day, 
the husband expunges out of the list of his wife's expenses ; as she 
had formerly expunged all other superfluities in order to acquire, 
what now she flnds to be superfluous. 

This county in its natural phases, and in its social character, is 
one of the most interesting in Scotland. In those beautiful arms 
of the sea. Loch Long and the Gare Loch, 

■ ■ " The Dolphin sports upon the tide, 

Displays his beauties and his scaly pride ; 
His various-coloured arch adorns the flood, 
IJkc a bright rainbow in a watery cloud.*' 

Her streams and lakes the most beautiful in this island, 

" A various rare supply, 
The bright-eyed perch, with fins of Tyrian dye ; 
The silver eel in shining volumes rolled, 
The yellow roach in scales bedropt with gold ; 
Swept trouts, diversified with crimson stains. 
And pikes the tyrants of the watery plains.'* 

To these agreeable features, 



<( 



-his proud head the airy mountain hides. 
.J- 1.1 1 ij J 1 • • « ' 



Amons the clouds, bis shoulder and his sides 
A shady mantle clothes.*' 

Among these woods, 

" The luscious pine, of humble growth, indeed. 
But of majestic form its mitred head 
Uprears.'* 

The oak and many other trees abound, all contributing, with 
the beautiful retreats of men, to add beauty and interest to the 
scene. 



ON THB COUNTY OF DtlMBABTON. 






innniaj') '<P!* 
mi joiBi;|mB,ij 



_J_ __ 

rti o o o crS"oo 



• '8 • • 'JS ' 



:l'i-:M 



11 

I; 

-I 

•si 

I 



S*JSSjS|S3 



S S 



3;!sis$^;sa;S3 









1-sr 



ll° nil 1 1 



252 
Table IL- 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS^ &C. 

•Showing the Fiars Prices of Dumbartonshire from 
1892 to 1888 inclusive. 





1892. 


1833. 


1834. 


1835. 


1836. 


1837. 


183a Average. 


« 


s. d. 


s. d. 


s. d. 


s. d. 


s. d. 


s. d. 


s. d. 


s. d. 


Wheat, 


51 1 


47 9 


39 9 


36 5 


48 6 


48 8 


58 11 


47 a^ 


Oats, 


18 7 


19 14 


20 3 20 9 


25 3 


20 9 


25 11 


21 6A 


Bear, 


27 59 
29 104 


25 9J 
28 64 


23 10 23 11 


27 5 


27 3 


31 10 


26 94 


Barley, 


28 1 


27 


30 7 


30 3 38 


30 4 


Pease & 








• 








Beans, 


81 44 


31 04 


32 


33 


44 6 


36 10 48 4 


36 81^ 


lOatmeal, 


14 8 


14 7 


15 6 


16 2 


22 8 


16 2 20 9 


17 n 



PEINTED BY JOHN ITABK, 
OLD ASiEMBLT CLOSE, EDINBUBGH. 



INDEX. 



Adam, John, bequest by, for the poor of 

Kirkintillodi, 209 
Agriculture and rural economy, 10, 24, 

58^ 77, 88^ 1^ 149, 168, 196, 216, 



Agriculture of the county, general ob- 

lenrationa on, 243 
Aldnid, ancient town of, 3 
Alexandria, Tillage of, 228 
AUander water, the, 38 
Anderson, Dr, birth-place of, 121 
Antiquitiea, 3, 20, 47, 75, 86, 116, 141, 

161,222 
Ardenconnell, plantations at, 67 
Ardincaple castle, 67, 75 
Ardmore house, 87 — ^promontory, 84 
Ardoch house, 87 
Argyle, Marquis of, his character, 119 — 

the second, 120 
Arrochar, parish of, 94 
Ash trees, remarkable, at BonhiU, 220 
Balfour of Burley, residence and death 
of, in Roseneath, 116 — descendants 
of, 119 
Balloch castle, ruins of, 223 
Balvie house, 49 
BanheaCh tower, ruins of, 186 
Basaltic pillars at Aucbentorlie, 17 
Batturich castle, 215 
Bedlay house, 173 
Ben Vorlich, 94 

Bleaching and print-works at Milton- 
field, 28 
Bloomfield house, 87 
Bonhill, parish of, 220— .village, 228 

Bord bum, the, 173— loch, 173 

Botany, 40, 72, 96, 113, 136, 158, 184 

Bowling bi^, 16 — village, 29 

Bridgend, village of, 88, 91 

Bruce, residence of, at Castlehill, 87 

Buchanan house, 213, 215 

Burying -place, ancient, at Auchenhe- 
glish, 222 

Buthland bum, the, 173 

Camis Eskan house, 87 

Campbell, Isabella, 121 

Campbell of Succoth, family of, 43 

Campbell, Sir Islay, 44 

Campsie Fells, 170 

Canal, the Portii and Clyde, 138— traf- 

DUMBARTON, 



fie on, 203— termination of, at Bow* 
ling bay, 16 

Cardross, parish of, 83— village of, 88 

Carstairs, Principal, 86 

Catter house, 215 

Cattle, see Live-Stock 

Chapelhill, termination of the Roman 
wall at, 21 — view firom, 17 

Character and habits of the people, 24, 
52, 88, 122, 148, 162 

Chemical works at Dalmuir, 28 

Cholera, ravages of, in Kirkintilloch, 
186 

Churches and Chapels, Established, see 
Ecclesiastical Statistics — Dissenting, 
see Dissenters 

Climate and meteorology, 2, 37, 68, 85, 
105, 137 

Climate and meteorology of the county, 
general observations on, 242 

Clober house, 49 

Clyde, scenery of, 15 

Coal deposits in Lenzie, 175 

Coffins, stone, found at Luss, 161 

Collieries of Cumbernauld, 136 — Dun- 
tocher, 20 — Garscube, 38 

Colquhoun of Killermont, family of, 43 

Colquhoun of Luss, family of, 160 

Colquhoun, Dr Patrick, 8 

Colquhouns, defeat of the, at Glenfruin, 
74, 156 

Crawford, Captain, capture of Dumbar- 
ton castle by, 4 

Crawford of Cowden hill, family of, 46 

Crosses, ancient, at Mount Blow, 22 — 
at Barrochan, 23 

Cumbernauld castle, 138 — parish of. 
135 — its history, dvil, 138^ — and ec- 
clesiastical, 14^— town of, 151 — col- 
lieries, 136 

Dairy husbandry, 25, 56 

Dalmuir bum, 17 — paper mills, 27 — 
soda works, 28 — villages, 29 

Dalnotter hill, view from, 16 

Danish remains at Knockderry, 116 

Dissenters and Dissenting chai>cls, 13, 
32, 60, 80, 92, 152, 206, 218, 226 

Douglas of Mains, family of, 42 

Douglas water, 96 

Dmmry peel and chapel, ruins of, 48 

R 



254 



DUMBARTONSHIRE. 



Dugalstone loch, 37 
Dumbuck, village of, 29 
Dumbartonshire, origin of the name, 1, 
229 — general observations on, 249 — 
agriculture, 243 — mountains, 230 — 
rivers 232-— lakes, 232 — geology, 235 
— past and present state, 246 — gene- 
ral view of its ecclesiastical state, 251 
i— fiars' prices for, 252 
Dumbarton abbey* ruins of, -6 — castle, 
1 — its history, 4 — moor, 213 — parish 
of, 1 — town of, 5, 11 — glass works, 
9, 11 

Dumfin fort, remains of, 161 

Duncruin hill, 212 

Dunglass castle, 16, 22 

Dunlop of Keppoch, family of, 86 

Duntocber glen, 16 — remains of Roman 
fort at, 21 — village of, 29 — quoad 
sacra parish of, 31 

Easter house, 119 

Ecclesiastical statistics, 12, 30, 60, 79, 
92, 127, 152. 166, 204, 217, 226 

Ecclesiastical statistics of the county, 
tabular view of, 251 

Education, statistics of, 13, 33, 61, 81, 
92, 100, 129, 153, 167, 208, 219, 226 

Endrick water, the, 211 

Erskine house, 16 

Faifley mills, 26— village, 29 

Fairs and markets, 14, 166, 210, 219 

Falloch wnteTf 96 

Faunyside loch, 137 

Faslane castle, 73 — chapel, ruins of, 75 

Finlass water, 156 

Finnart hill, 66 

Fish, shower of, at Castlehill, 37 

Fisheries, herring, 98, 125 — salmon, 10, 
91, 125 

Fleming of Cumbernauld, family of, 138 

Forth and Clyde canal, the, 138, 203— 
termination of, 16 

Freebaim, Rev. John, 8 

Freestone, see Quarries 
. Froon or Fruin water, the, 70 

Galbraith of Gartconnell, fumily of, 42 

Gallowhill, the, of Roseneath, 104 

Gareloch, the, 67, 70, 110 

Garscadden house, 49 

Garscube house, 38, 49 

Gartshore, family of, 191 

Gartiihore mortification for orphans, 209 

Geology and mineralogy, 17, 38, 70, 84, 
96, 110, 135, 158, 173— of the coun- 
ty, general outline of 235 

Glass works, the Dumbarton, 9, 11 

Glassford of Dugalstone, family of, 45 

Glenarbuck bouse, 16 

Glenfinlas, valley of, 156 

Glenfruin, battle of, 74, 156>— valley of, 
66 



Glorat house, 184 

Haco of Norway, his invasion, 160 

Hamilton, archbishop, capture and death 

of, 5 
Hardgate mills, 26 — village of, 29 
Helensburgh, town of, 79 
Heiring fisheries, 98, 125 
Husbandry, systems of, 55, 197 — dairy, 

25,56 
Ichthyology, 112 — see also Zoology 
Inchlonaig isle, 156 
Inchtavanacn, 156 
Inns nnd alehouses, and their effects, 14, 

35, 62, 82, 101, 131, 168, 210, 219 
Inveruglass water, 96 
Islands, various, in Lochlomond, 156 
Ironstone at Duntocber, 20 — Stron and 

Barrhill, 179— Westerwood, 136 
Keith, Viscount, bequest by, for poor of 

Cumbernauld, 154 
Kelvin water, the, 38, 172 
Keppoch house, 87 
Kiliter hills, the, 84 
Killermont house, 49 
Kilmahew house, 87 
Kilmardinny house, 49 
Kilmaronock, palish of, 21 1 
Kilpatrick, New or East, parish of, 36 

ministers of, from first settlement, 41 

— Old, parish of, 15 — Braes, 16, 36 

village of, 15, 29 
Kilsyth, site of the battle of, 142 
Kirkintilloch, parish of, 168— collieries 

and iron mines in, 175 — town of. 200 

— ^its manufactures, 195, 199 gaa 

works, 204<— mortality from cholera 

in, 186 
Knockderry, remains of Danish fort at, 

116 
Law, Rev. Robert, 41 
Lennox, family of, 73 
Lcnzie, district of, 173 — its geology, 173 

— reversed coal basin in, 175 
Leven water, 2, 220— navigation of, 11 
Libraries and literature, 13, 34, 62, 93: 

131, 154, 167. 219, 228 
Live-stock, breeds of, 24, 54, 90, 124, 

150, 164,223 
Limestone, see Quarries 
Lochlomond, 95, 157, 232— depths of, 

iu various places, 95, 232— encroach- 

raents of, on the land, 233 — ishuids 

in, 156 
Lochlong, 66, 70, 95 
Lochs, the Bord, 1 73^ Dugalstone, 37 

— Fannyside, 137— Gareloch, 67, 70 

—Lomond, 95, 156, 232— Long, 67, 

70, 95— St Germains, 37— Sloy, 284 
Longevity, instances of, 124 
Love, John, 7 
Luggie water, the, 137, 172 



INDEX. 



255 



Lurg chapd, ruins of, 49 

LuMy paiisb of, 155 — village, 165 — 

water, 156 
M'Laurin, Rev. John, 160 
Manufiustures, cotton, at Duntocher, &c- 
25 — at Kirkintilloch, 199 — various, 
29,58 
Manufactures of the county, general out- 
line of, 245 
Markets, see Fairs 
Mechanics* institute, the Leven, 227 
Menteith, Sir John, the betrayer of Wal- 
lace, 4 
Meteorological annals and tables ^m 

1704, 170 
Meteorology, see Climate 
Milngavie, or Millguy, village of, 50, 59, 

64 
MUton, village of, 29 
Miltonfield, print and bleachfield at, 28 
Mineralogy, see Geology 
Minerals, list of, found in the Kilpatrick 

braes, 19, 89 
Monkland and Kirkintilloch railway, the, 

202 
Moore, Mrs, bequest by, for poor of Car- 
dross, 93 
Mountains and hills — Ben Vorlich, 94 — 
Cantpsie, 170— Dalnotter, 16— Dun- 
cruin, 212— Finnart, 66— Kiliter, 84 
Kilpatrick, 16, 36— Mount Misery, 
212, of the county, 231 
Murroch glen, 2 
Nemthor, site of, 36 
Netherton, quarries of, 57 
Norwegians, invasion of the, 160 
Paper mills of Dalmuir, 27 — Kilpatrick, 

58 
Pauperism, see Poor, 
Plantations and planting, 53, 90, 184 
Poor, management of the, 14, 34, 62, 
81, 93, 100, 129, 153, 167, 209. 119 
Population returns, 8, 23, 50, 76, 88, 

97, 121, 148. 162, 189, 216, 223 
Popidation, character of, see Character 
Printfields, various, on the Leven, 224 
Quarries, freestone, 2, 57, 164 — lime- 
stone, 2, 135 — slate, 1 64-— whinstone, 
19 
Railviiiys, the Edinburgh and Glasgow, 
211 — the Monkland and Kirkintilloch, 
202 
Rebels, the, at Kirkintilloch in 1745, 

186 
Rent of land, rates of, 10, 24, 53, 78, 

98, 124, 163 
Renton, village of, 88, 91, 228 
Riots at Kilpatrick in 1797, 41 
Rivers and waters — Allander, 38 — 
Bord, na^Buthhind, 173— Clyde, 



15, 234— Dalmuir, 17— Douglas, 96 
Endrick, 211— Falloch, 96— Finlass, 
156 — Froonor Fruin, 70— Inveruglass, 
96— Kelvin, 38, 172— Leven, 2, 11, 
220— Luggie, 137, 172— Luss, 156 
Roman altar at Nethercroy, 141 — fort at 
Duntocher, 21, 188 — remains at Cas- 
tlehill, 47 — at Dumbarton, 4 — at 
Kilpatrick, 20, 22— wall, the great, 
140, 186 — its termination at ClMipel- 
hill, 20, 47 
Roseneath castle, the old, 1 1 7 — the new, 
118 — parish of, 102— improvements 
in, 132 — scenery of, 104 
Ross priory, 215 
Ross-dhu house, 156, 161 
Row, parish of, 65 

St David's, quoad sacra parish of, 207 
St Germains' loch, 37 
St Mackerisog, martyrdom and memori- 
als of, 161 
St Patiick, birth-place of, 15 
Salmon fisheries, 10, 90, 125 
Savings banks, ^1, 154, 167 
Schools, see Education 
Sbandon castle, ruins of, 75 
Shells, bed of fossil, found in the sand- 
stone, 18 
Ship-building, establishments for, at 

Bowling, 29 
Slate quarries, 164 

Sloy loch, the gathering-placc of the 
* Macfarlanes, 234 
SmoUet ofBonhill, family of, 86— Sir 

James, 6 — the novelist, 7 
Society, the agricultural, of Luss, 164 
Societies, friendly and benefit, 14, 34, 

154, 226 
Stewart, Rev. Matbcw, birth-place of, 

121 
Stuart, Rev. Dr, 160 
Towe hill, remains ut, 142 

Towns and villages-i-Alexandria, 228 

Bonhill, 228— Bowling. 29— Bridg- 
end, 88, 91— Cardross, 88 — Cumber- 
nauld, 151 — Dalmuir, 29 — Dumbar- 
ton, 5, 11 — Dumbuck, 29— Dunto- 
cher, 29— Fuifley, 29— Hardgate, 29 
Helensburgh, 79— Kilpatrick, 15, 29 
— Kirkintilloch, 200— Luss, 163— 
Milngavie, 50, 59— Milton, 29— Ren- 
ton, 88, 91, 228— Yoker, 15, 29 
Trees, remarkable, 40— at Bonhill, 220 
Tumuli, ancient, at Dasholm, 47 — at 

Sommer, 222 
Wages, rates of, 10, 24, 54, 98, 124, 163 
Wallace's leap, tradition relating to, 116 
Woods, see Plantations 
Yoker, village of, 15, 29 
Zoology, 2, 40, 71, 96, 111, 137, 183 



PRINTED BY JOHN STARK, 
ALV ASSEMBLY CLOSE, EDlNBURdiii. 



STIRLING. 



CONTENTS. 



AIRTH, 

ALVA, 

BALDERNOCK, 

BALFRON, 

BOTHKENNAR, 

BUCHANAN, 

CAMPSIE, 

DENNY, 

DRYMEN, 

DUNIPACE, 

FALKIRK, 

FINTRY, 

GARGUNNOCK, 

KILLEARN, 

KILSYTH, 

KIPPKN, 

LARBERT, 

LOGIE, . 

ML'IRAVONSIDE, 

POLMONT, 

SLAMANAN, 

STIRLING, 

ST NINIANS, 

STRATUBLANE, 



PAGE 28 
175 
169 

288 

201 

89 

234 

115 

99 

379 

1 

38 

48 

60 

138 

264 

340 

214 

205 

191 

273 

390 

303 

71 




.. flL.t^K^ 



PARISH OF FALKIRK.* 

PRESBYTBUY OF LINLITHGOW, SYNOD OF LOTHIAN AND 

TWEEDDALE. 

THE REV. WILLIAM BEGG, ) 

THE REV. THOMAS GORDON, 2rf Cof^regation, [ Ministers. 

THE REV. JAMES W. TAYLOR, Grangemouth, ) 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 
Nanuj Boundaries^ Sfc. — Falkirk appears to have been a town 
of some note in the eleventh century. The origin and etymology 
of the name are involved in much obscurity. The town is supposed 
to have been at one time denominated EccUsbrae^ or the C^iurch 
on the Brow, as descriptive of its situation. In the Gaelic language 
it is called Eglais bhrisf or the fallen church, and sometimes Eglais 
hhreCf signifying the spotted church. The name last mentioned 
has been translated Fario SacellOf and as such appears in charters 
of a comparatively recent date, supposed to have arisen from 
the colour of the stones used in the building, or from the diffe- 
rent kinds of architecture of which it was composed. Another sup- 
position is, that the present name is formed of the Latin word ra/- 
Adr, and the Saxon, kirk, originating in the circumstance, that the 
church stands on or near the line of the ancient wall of Antoninus. 
The parish of Falkirk is situated in the eastern division of the 
county of Stirling, is separated from the Frith of Forth by a small 
part of the parish of Polmont, and extends about nine miles in 
lengthi and from two to 6ve in breadth. It is bounded on the 
east, by the parishes of Polmont and Muiravonside ; on the south, 
by Muiravonside and Slamannan ; on the west, by Cumbernauld 
and Denny ; and on the north, by the river Carron, which di- 
vides it from Dunipace, Larbert, and Bothkennar. The course 
of the Carron, however, having, many years ago, in several 
places^ been altered, some parts of this parish are now on the 
northern side ; and certain small parts of the parishes of Larbert 
ud Bothkennar are on the southern, or Falkirk side of the river. 

* Dimim up by John BurnB, Esq. Writer, Falkirk. 
tnRUNOk A 



PARISH OF FALKIRK.* 

PRESBYTBUY OF LINLITHGOW, SYNOD OF LOTHIAN AND 

TWEEDDALE. 

THE REV. WILLIAM BEGG, ) 

THE REV. THOMAS GORDON. 2d Cor^regation, V Ministers. 

THE REV. JAMES W. TAYLOR, Grangemouth, ) 



L — Topography and Natural History. 
Namej Boundaries, Sfc. — Falkirk appears to have been a town 
of some note in the eleventh century. The origin and etymology 
of the name are involved in much obscurity. The town is supposed 
to have been at one time denominated Eccksbrae, or the C^iurch 
on the Brow, as descriptive of its situation. In the Gaelic language 
it is called Eglais bhris, or the fallen church, and sometimes Eglais 
bhrec, signifying the spotted church. The name last mentioned 
has been translated Fario SacellOf and as such appears in charters 
of a comparatively recent date, supposed to have arisen from 
the colour of the stones used in the building, or from the diffe- 
rent kinds of architecture of which it was composed. Another sup- 
position is, that the present name is formed of the Latin word ra/- 
lum, and the Saxon, kirk, originating in the circumstance, that the 
church stands on or near the line of the ancient wall of Antoninus. 
The parish of Falkirk is situated in the eastern division of the 
county of Stirling, is separated from the Frith of Forth by a small 
part of the parish of Polmont, and extends about nine miles in 
length, and from two to five in breadth. It is bounded on the 
east, by the parishes of Polmont and Muiravonside ; on the south, 
by Muiravonside and Slamannan ; on the west, by Cumbernauld 
and Denny ; and on the north, by the river Carron, which di- 
vides it from Dunipace, Larbert, and Bothkennar. The course 
of the Carron, however, having, many years ago, in several 
places, been altered, some parts of this parish are now on the 
northern side ; and certain small parts of the parishes of Larbert 
and Bothkennar are on the southern, or Falkirk side of the river. 



STIRLING. 



* Dravrn up by John Burns, Esq. Writer, Falkirk. 

A 



2 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

The parish is of an oblong shape, stretching from the north-east 
to the south-west ; and about four miles to the south, it is indented 
by parts of Polmont and Cumbernauld on the east and west, in 
nearly opposite directions. 

Topographical Appearances. — From the eminence on which the 
town is situated, northward to the river Carron, forming about a 
third part of the parish, the ground is perfectly flat, and consists 
of fertile carse soil in the higrhest state of cultivation. For a con- 
siderable space southward from the town, the country rises gra- 
dually to the height of about 600 feet above the level of the sea. 
Of this district the greater part is arable, and is diversifled by 
wood of natural growth, and by thriving plantations. Near to the 
southern boundary, there is an extensive moss, which gives to that 
part of the parish a dreary aspect. To the east and west of the 
town the ground is of an undulating shape, and is in general in an 
improved state. From the heights on the south a view may be 
obtained, scarcely excelled in Scotland for richness, variety, and 
extent. In the north-west, and at the distance of thirty miles, are 
to be seen Benledi and Benvoirlich, raising their lofty heads in 
wild sublimity. Within a more contracted range, circumscribed 
by the high grounds above Kilsyth and Denny, and by the Ochils 
and the Salitxe hills, many interesting objects meet the eye in a 
landscape studded with stately mansions, and with several towns 
and villages, while the broad expanse of the Forth intersects, en- 
livens, and beautifies the scene. When viewed from the north 
also, the town and wooded rising-grounds behind are picturesque 
and imposing. 

Climate^ Sfc, — The climate of the parish, upon the whole, is mild 
and temperate, although cold easterly winds generally prevail in 
spring and the beginning of summer. These have been the cause 
of great injury to vegetation, and render the fruit crop very pre- 
carious. In some seasons the verdure of the hedge-rows on the 
sides exposed to the north and east, has been entirely destroyed. 
Near the centre of the parish, there is more warmth than either 
to the north or south. At Grangemouth, when the wind blows 
from the sea, the air is extremely cold, while it is mild in the 
interior. On the approach of winter and during the early spring 
months, snow frequently covers the ground in the higher parts, 
when it is unknown in the lower. The parish is remarkably 
healthy. There are no diseases peculiar to it, and many of 
the inhabitants live to a good old age. At one time, fever and 



FALKIRK. 3 

ague were prevalent to a considerable extent, especially in the 
Carse ; but now, from the superabundant moisture being drained 
off, and probably from the condition of the population being im« 
proved, ague is quite unknown. 

Mineralogy. — Coal is found in the higher districts, in such 
abundance as not only to be sufficient for home consumption, but 
quantities are sent by the Union Canal for the supply of the me- 
tropolis. Ironstone, limestone, and sandstone are found in the 
same districts with the coal, one stratum of limestone being often 
found above, and another below a stratum of coal. Veins of ores of 
silver, copper, lead, and cobalt are said to have been raised at diffe- 
rent periods, but not in considerable quantities. In some parts of 
the Carse, borings have been made, not to such a depth as to enable 
us to speak with certainty respecting the mineral contents ; but 
as the locality is almost in the centre of the great northern coal 
basin, there is every i*ea8on to believe that coal may there be found, 
and oS good quality. 

Hydrography.'^ h& already stated, the parish is bounded on the 
north by the Carron. This river, famed in Celtic antiquities, 
and rendered classic from its connection writh incidents in Scottish 
history, takes its rise in the central parts of the county. It flows 
in an easterly direction with a sinuous course for about fourteen miles, 
and joins the Forth a little below the port of Grangemouth. At 
full tide, it is navigable for vessels of 200 tons burden, as far as the 
village of Carronshore, which may be two miles from its embou- 
chure. Above this it is a transparent stream, and abounds with 
trout, perch, eels, &c. ; but farther down it has a muddy bed, by 
which the water is discoloured. ^ It seeks its way to the Forth 
through a deposit of the richest alluvial matter. 

A rivulet at Castlecary divides the parish on the west from 
Cumbernauld, in the county of Dumbarton. Here there is a cas- 
cade of eighty feet in height, embowered in overhanging woods. 
A little to the northward, the rivulet joins Bonnywater, separating 
this parish from Denny and from a part of Dunipace. This stream 
falls into the Carron, about a mile below the village of Bonnybridge. 

The Grange-burn divides the parish from Polmont for two miles 
on the east. It has its rise in the upper part of the parish of Pol- 
mont, and, running northward, unites with the Carron near Grange- 
mouth. Formerly its junction was at that*town, but, by a recent 
alteration, afterwards described, the stream joins the Carron far- 
ther down. 



4 STIKJLINGSHIUE. 

There are several other small rivulets or bums which 6nd their 
vray to the Carron. The only one of these worth noticing, is the; 
Light-water-burn, near to the village of Camelon. This streamlet 
flows in the centre of what, to all appearance, must at some remote 
period, have formed the bed of a considerable river. The regular 
banks on each side, with the different windings, distinctly show 
this, and in the vicinity the face of the country has every appear- 
ance of a sea coast. Bays, headlands, and other similar indications 
may be easily traced. Close by, is the site of the ancient city 
of Camelon, which tradition represents to have been a sea-port, 
and where fragments of anchors and ancient boats have been found 
imbedded in the soil. The sea is now four or five miles distant. 

There are three small lochs in the upper parts of the parish, 
but in regard to them nothing remarkable can be stated. 

II. — Civil History. 

Historical Events, — Situated on the boundary betwixt the Ro- 
man possessions on the south, and those of Caledonia on the 
north, many sanguinary encounters took place in ancient times in 
this parish. Among these, there was one in the year 415, in which 
Robert Graham, a commander under King Fergus II., fell, while 
repelling the Roman forces ; and from this event the Wall of An- 
toninus, originally formed in a. d. 140, is supposed to have re- 
ceived the appellation, which it bears to this day, of Graham's Dyke. 
From the inscription upon a slab of marble found at taking down 
the old church in 1810, it appears that Graham was buried in the 
adjoining church-yard. 

On the north of the town, and near to where the village of Grahams- 
ton now stands, a battle was fought on 22d July 1298, between 
the forces of Edward I. of England, and the Scots, led on by the 
patriotic and undaunted William Wallace. The attack on each 
side was violent, but, overpowered by superior numbers, the Scots 
retreated, and, crossing the river Carron, marched northward. In 
this battle Sir John Graham of DundaflF and Sir John Stewart of 
Bonkill, commanders in the Scottish army, were slain, and were 
both interred in the church-yard, where their grave-stones are still 
to be seen. 

In the reign of James III. the town was for some time occupied 
by the army of the discontented Lords, who had risen in rebellion 
against that monarch. His Majesty intended to have attacked them 
there. They, however, anticipated his purpose, and met him at 



FALKIRK. 5 

Sauchie-burn, near Stirling, where the conflict took place, which 
terminated in his defeat and death. 

While Queen Mary was yet an infant, Henry VIII. cherished 
the hope of subjugating Scotland by her union in marriage with 
his soq^ Edward. The ELarl of Arran, then Regent, favoured the 
scheme ; but Cardinal Beaton and the Earl of Murray were its 
determined opponents. These personages agreed to have a meet- 
ing at Falkirk on 4th September 1543 ; and at Callendar House 
a treaty was signed, which put an end to the proposal. 

This celebrated but unfortunate ^ovdreign appears to have been 
on an intimate footing with the iamily of Callendar. On the 1 2th 
of August 1562*, she dined there with a part of her train on her 
way to the north ; and on 1st July J 565, she stood godmother to 
the inbnt Baron of Callendar, son of William, sixth Lord Livmg- 
stone. She slept at Callendar with the infant Prince James, on 
the night of the Idth January 1567, and again on the 24th of the 
same month, when on her way to visit her husband Darnley, then 
ill of the small-pox at Glasgow ; with whom she returned to Fal- 
kirk on the 28th, and proceeded to Edinburgh on the following 
day. Soon after this, Mary was a captive at Lochleven. After 
her escape from thence, Lord Livingstone was one of those who 
welcomed her on her arrival at Niddry Castle ; and on the field of 
Langside, distinguished himself by his gallant conduct at the head 
of his vassals, composed of inhabitants of Falkirk. He rode with 
the Queen from that fatal field, and, along with her, was confined 
in different prisons by Elizabeth. At Bolton they were joined by 
Lady Livingstone, who, with her husband, were for several years 
the principal attendants, or rather companions, of the captive 
Queen. In 1573, they were both released from their sufferings 
by death, and their remains were conveyed to Falkirk for inter- 
ment 

In the nonage of James VI., Scotland was for some time go- 
verned by the Earl of Morton, a function which, from the unpo- 
pularity of his measures, he was induced to resign. Having, how- 
ever, obtained possession of the King's person, and of the Castle 
of Stirling, his friends came to his assistance, and the Earl pitched 
his camp at Falkirk. Thither the army of his enemies soon re- 
sorted. When ready to engage, a truce was agreed to, followed 
by a treaty, which was published .at the market-crosses of Stirling 
and Falkirk, on 14th August 1578. 

The year 1638 was remarkable as the period in which the 



6 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

Solemn League and Covenant was subscribed by persons of all 
ranks throughout the Lowlands of Scotland. The measure was 
opposed by Charles L, and the Covenanters had recourse to arms. 
Voluntary contributions in aid of the cause were collected at the 
doors of the parish churches. The sum of L.158, 1 Is. 2d. Scots 
was raised by this parish, and from thence numbers flocked to join 
the army. Among these were Alexander Livingstone the Laird 
of Bantaskine, and Mr Thomas Spittal the minister, the former 
of whom fell in battle. In Falkirk the Covenant was subscribed 
with much solemnity. A table was placed before the pulpit on 
which the deed lay, and the elders were stationed at the entrances 
of the church, who ushered in the intending subscribers.* 

James, the first Earl of Callendar, was a staunch adherent of 
King Charles, and became a commander in the army which march- 
ed to relieve him when a prisoner in the Isle of Wight, being at- 
tended by a body of his Falkirk retainers. His army having been 
discomfited, the Earl retired to Holland; but his Falkirk troop 
valiantly forced their way through the victorious republicans. On 
their return home, they were summoned before the congregation, 
at the instance of the kirk-session, and were publicly ** admonish- 
ed'' for being upon what is called *^ the late unlawful engadge- 
ment." The session record contains the names of seventy-seven 
of the persons so dealt with. Among these, the names of Sir 
William Livingstone of Westquarter, and of other gentlemen ap- 
pear. 

The plague which broke out in Scotland in 1645, raged 
with great violence at Falkirk. It was supposed to have been 
introduced from Edinburgh. Those infected were confined to 
their houses tty command of the kirk-session, and were not al- 
lowed to have any intercourse with their neighbours. These re- 
strictions continued until the pestilence had disappeared, and their 
houses, clothes, and furniture been fumigated at the change of the 
moon, by " smeikers and cleansers," who were brought from Lin- 
lithgow and Borrowstounness. The session ordered that no per- 
son without testimonials should enter the bounds of their juris- 
diction from Leitb or Edinbuigh. The dead were interred in 

* On this subject there is the following entry in the records of the kirk-session . 
October 31 st 1648 : ** It is ordained that on Sunday, when the Covenant shall be 
subscribed, the persons following shall attend the several parts of the kirk, vis :— - 
To attend the north aisle, "Wastquarter and Patrick Grindlay ; to attend the wast 
end of the kirk, John Monteath and John Wyse ; to attend the east end, Walter 
Soott and Patrick Guidlat; to attend the wast loft, Alexander Watt and Hew Hidl; 
to attend the east loft, Robert Burn and Patrick Guidlat." 



FALKIRK. 7 

Graham's Muir, on the north of ihe town, each grave being cover- 
ed with a flat stone, and the whole were enclosed with a stone- 
walL The relics were removed, about fifty years ago, by the then 
occupier of the field. After the fatal battle of Dunbar, Crom- 
well marched to the Torwood in this neighbourhood, in pursuit of 
the army of Charles II. On his way he stormed and took posses- 
sion of Callendar House, where the King had a garrison. The 
slaughter was great, and on removal of the old gates by the 
late proprietor, numbers of human bones were dug out, probably 
the remains of those who had fallen at the siege. The republican 
troops were guilty of many excesses, — plundering the houses, and 
turning the churches into stables for their horses. The church 
of Falkirk shared the general devastation. ^* September 23d, 
1655, Ordains those whose seats were broken down in the kirk in 
the tyme of the troubles, should com and own thaim, and repair 
thaim, otherways the session will dispone upon them." This, and 
similar notices to be found in the parish records, illustrates the 
manners of the times and the effects of war. 

Alexander, second Earl of Callendar, was a zealous Covenanter, 
and a copy of the Solemn League is still preserved in Falkirk, 
bearing his signature, with that of many others. On two different 
occasions, the troops of Government took possession of his house ; 
but, in the last of these, in 1678, a mob from Falkirk put the in- 
truders to flight. The other branch of the Livingstone family ad- 
hered to the Royal cause, and members of it were engaged at the 
battle of Bothwell Bridge, and otherwise against the Covenanters.* 

The events connected with the chivalrous attempt of Prince 
Charles Edward to regain the throne of his ancestors, next made 
this parish conspicuous in history. On 17th January 1746, a battle 
was fought on the moor about a mile south-west from the town, 
on ground now traversed by the Union Canal and the Edinburgh 
and Glasgow Railway. The parties were the Highlanders under 
the Prince, and the Royal forces commanded by General Hawley. 
Both armies were well matched in point of numbers, each con- 
sisting of about 8000 men, and the day terminated in the total 
defeat of the Government troops, with 280 killed and wounded. 
The irregular nature of the ground and other causes led to the 
discomfiture of Hawley ; but after the battle of Falkirk, Charles's 

• Tlie writer has been indebted lor scrcral of the foregoing statements to the p^es 
o£ the FaUdrk Magazine,— a publication which issued from the local press in 18^7 ; 
but was discontinued after reaching the seventh number. 



8 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

success terminated. Amongst the slain in the Royal army were 
Sir Robert Munro of Foulis, Baronet, and his brother Dr Munro, 
to whose memory a splendid monument was erected near the cen- 
tre of the church-yard. Many incidents in regard to this eventful 
day have been handed down. One of these may be mentioned. 
On the day following^ a son of the chief of Glengarry, who had 
been engaged in the conflict, was accidentally shot from a window 
in the principal street of the town. He was carried to his lodg- 
ings in the near neighbourhood, in a house then possessed by an 
ancestor of the writer of this article, where he lingered for several 
days, and, after every attention paid to him, he expired, and was 
interred in the church-yard.* 

During the revolutionary excitement which pervaded the lower 
orders in the year 1820, a skirmish took place on a rising ground 
four miles westward of the town, which has been called the battle 
of Bonnymuir. On Wednesday, the 25th of April, a party of 
armed Radicals, chiefly from Glasgow, were overtaken near to 
the scene of action by Lieutenant Hodgson of the 10th Hussars, 
and Lieutenant Davidson of the Stirlingshire Yeomanry Cavalry, 
with a detachment of their respective corps. On observing this 
force the Radicals cheered, and advanced to a wall, over which 
they commenced firing at the military. They were soon, bow- 
-jfmVf overpowered, and nineteen of them were taken prisoners 
and lodged in Stirling Castle. In the- encounter Lieutenant 
Hodgson received a pike wound through the right hand, and a 
sergeant in the Hussars was severely wounded by a shot in the 
side and by a pike. Several of the Radicals were also wound- 
ed, and three horses. In this aflair, five muskets, two pistols, 
and about one hundred round of ball cartridge were taken by the 
military. The result showed the hopelessness of any attempt on 
the part of the Radicals to cope with regular troops, and the dis- 
turbances of that period speedily subsided. 

Eminent Characters. — The family of Livingstone has been long 
distinguished in this quarter. It is supposed to have had its ori- 
gin about the year 1075, and to be of Hungarian extraction. In 
course of time, it branched out into the three families of Lin- 
lithgow, Callendar, and Kilsyth. At the period of the Rebellion 

* The bouse from which the shot came was scTeral years ago taken down and re- 
built by the writer of this account. The death of this young officer was occasioned 
by one of his own men whose gun had missed fire during the engagement ; and 
while cleaning his piecci the shot went off '* at the expense of a life he would have 
done much to save." 

3 



FAI.KIRK. 9 

in 17 15, the titles of Linlithgow and Callendar centred in James, 

fifth Sari of Linlithgow, and fourth Earl of Callendar. He and 

William, third Viscount Kilsyth, having joined in that rebellion, 

thOT^ estates were confiscated and their titles forfeited. The Earl 

escaf>«d to the continent, where he died. Sir Thomas Livingstone 

of Westquarter and Bedlormie, Bart., is said to be his lineal de- 

scendaot The estate of Callendar was sold about the year 1720 

to the York«Buildings Company, whose affairs having become 

disordered, it was brought to sale under authority of the Court 

of Session in 1783^ and was purchased by the late William Forbes, 

^•» merchant in London, father of the present proprietor. 

William Boyd, fourth Earl of Kilmarnock, married I^dy Anne 

Livingstone, only surviving child of the above-mentioned James 

^1 of Linlithgow and Callendar. He connected himself with 

tue Rebellion of 1745, and having been convicted of high treason, 

^&s beheaded at London on 18th August 1746, in the 42d year 

^f bis age, and his remains were interred in the Tower. While 

^ Estate was the property of the York-Buildings Company, they 

S^'^ted a lease of it to the Earl and his Countess^ which expired 

^^t, the year 1777. 

''^oe estate of Kerse, now belonging to the Earl of Zetland^ 

was formerly the property of the family of Hope."^ In 1688, 

JJ '•''^^ purchased by Sir Thomas Hope, King's Advocate, from 

/^."^ AVilliam Livingstone of Kilsyth. By destination it fell to 

^ ^^cond son, Sir Thomas Hope, one of the Lords of Session, 

, ^^ afterwards Lord Justice-General. The estate was purchased 

f^^'^Jf years ago by Lawrence Dundas, Esq., merchant in Edin- 

-."'Si), who was created a Baronet in 1762: and, in 1794, his son, 

^ Thomas, was advanced to the Peerage under the title of Lord 

^das. He died in 1820, and was succeeded by his son, Law- 

^'^^^ who, in 1838, had conferred on him the title of Earl of 

^*^nd. In consequence of his death in the following year, the 

^^t« and honours devolved on his son, Thomas, the present Earl. 

' "^^mes Wilson, D. D., minister of the parish, was a native 

^ '^iQLnarkshire ; became pastor of a Dissenting chapel at Stock- 

P^^ in England ; was translated to Mid-Calder in 1793, and to 

^^^Virk in 1794 He died in 1829. In 1801, he published a 

"^^ry of Egypt in three volumes, and, in 1819, Prayers for Fa- 

O^^W and Individuals. Besides these, he was the author of some 

soudler publications. He had a numerous family, all of whom 



10 STIRLINGSHIRE, 

predeceased him, excepting one son, the present minister of Irvine 
who is the author of several works in Theology. 

Mr William Symington of the Wanlockhead mines, invento 
of a method of moving wheel-carriages by steam, constructed 
in 1802, a steam-vessel for the Forth and Clyde Canal, wbici 
towed two loaded sloops of seventy tons burden each, from Loci 
No. 20, to Port Dundas, a distance of 19^ miles, in six houn 
against a head wind. It appeared, however, that the agitation o 
the water would destroy the canal banks, and the design was laii 
aside. Mr Symington lived many years in Falkirk, and died ii 
London a few years ago. 

The Rev. John Brown Patterson, A. M., was ordained ministe 
of this parish in 1830. He was a native of Alnwick, in North 
umberland. He became distinguished as the author of an Essay oi 
the National Character of the Athenians, which gained the priz 
of one hundred guineas, offered in 1827 by the Commissioner 
for visiting the Universities of Scotland. He died in 1835, am 
his remains lie interred in the porch leading into the churcli 
where an elegant monument has been erected to his memorj 
Since his death, memoirs of his life, with a selection from his dis 
courses, have been published in two volumes ; and, more recentl} 
a volume of lectures. * 

Henry Belfrage, D. D., was a native of this parish, being a soi 
of the Rev. John Belfrage, minister of the Associate Congrega 
tion in Falkirk. He was ordained colleague and successor to hi 
father in 1794, and died iu 1835. He published several volume 
of sermons and other theological works. 

James Walker, Esq., LL. D., the celebrated engineer, Lon 
don, was born and educated in Falkirk. His father was a re 
spectable merchant in the town, and was proprietor and occupie 
of an extensive farm in the neighbourhood. 

The Rev. James Burns, A. M. was a native of Falkirk. Whil 
at college he gained several prizes. He was ordained to the firs 
charge of the parish of Brechin in 1798, and was the author of th 
Account of that parish, which appeared in the firstnumber of thi 
work, — besides other publications. He died on 2d January 1837 

Commodore Charles Napier was born at Merchistonhall in thi 
parish. He is renowned for the part he acted in the late brillian 
affair of St Jean D' Acre, and for other martial achievements. 

* He was succeeded as minister of the parisli by the Rev. Alexander Melvi]lc 
who was ordained on 2*2d January 18d6| and died on 2d December 1839. 

4 



FALKIRK. 11 

Land'Cumeri, — The chief land-owners are, William Forbes of 
CaHendar ; the Earl of Zetland ; Sir Thomas Livingstone, Bart ; 
Henry. Stainton, Esq. London ; Carron Company ; The Union Ca- 
nal Company; Heirs of Joseph Stainton, Esq. ; John R Ralston 
ofEllrig, John Strachan of Thornton, Yorkshire; John Callan- 
der of Woodbum ; Alexander Macfarlane of Thornhill ; Robert 
Russell of Dalnair, Thomas C. Hagart of Bantaskine ; Andrew 
Speirs of Lochgreen ; Thomas Marshall of Broomhill ; General 
Straiten of Underwood ; John Baird of Camelon ; Henry Salmon 
of Bonnyside ; and the Rev. Thomas Sworde, Rector of Thetford. 

Parochial Registers* — The date of the earliest entry is 4th Ja- 
nuary 1594. They are voluminous, and have been regularly kept 
until the present time. 

i!h<i^iii7{e«.— -Under this head, may be noticed the ruins of the 
pr^sidia or forts which were built by Agricola in the 80th year of 
the Christian era, for securing his conquests on the south. These 
forts appear to have been erected in the same track where Anto- 
i^UB afterwards formed the wall now called Graham^s Dyke. At 
^>a^ecary, the remains of one of these forts is still to be seen. 
^ey cover six acres of ground, now forming a grass field, being 
v^Ited underneath. Part of the foundation of the fort still con- 
tinues, and many of the square stones of which it was built are 
^^ in the enclosure of the field. At Roughcastle, two miles 
^ward, another of these forts was placed, but of which no ves- 
^%^ can be discovered ; and its situation is only marked by a slight 
elevation of the ground. About half a mile north-west of the mo- 
<lem village of Camelon, there are said to have been the ruins of 
^ rortification or camp; but, as the ground has long been under til- 
'^^no remains of it are visible. What is commonly called the 
^U» consisted of a ditch or vallum^ having a wall on (he south, 
^^^ was formed of the earth thrown out in digging the ditch. 
^^**^*^ with inscriptions have been dug up in various parts of it, 
*Dich throw light on its history, several of which are in the Col- 
*^8^ of Glasgow. Traces of the ditch are to be seen in various 
P<^8 eastward from Castlecary, and also in the grounds of Mr 
*^^bes, and of Mr HagarU It is particularly conspicuous in Cal- 
lendar Park, and at Laurieston. About a mile east of that village, 
*^ inters the parish of Polmont. A Roman highway entered the 
parish at Castlecary fort, and ran along the south side of Graham's 
%ke. Half a mile east of Roughcastle, it crossed the wall 
o' Antoninus, and came to the ancient station at Camelon, from 
^liicb it held on to the river Carron, where it entered the pa- 



12 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

lish of Larbert. Some parts of it remain, and are now used as a 
road. At the time of cutting the Forth and Clyde Canal, which 
is at no great distance, a Roman granary or cell was discovered, 
which contained a considerable quantity of wheat of a blackish 
colour. Portions of this wheat are in the possession of different 
individuals in the neighbourhood. 

The old tower or keep of the Castle of Castlecary is still^in 
tolerable repair, and is inhabited by the Earl of Zetland's forester. 
The other parts of the building are in ruins. It is a very ancient 
structure, and the tradition is, that it was built in the time of the 
Romans. 

In the course of the excavations at Grangemouth, two verte- 
brae of a whale were discovered imbedded in the clay. Irately, when 
digging clay at the Earl of Zetland's brickfield, about three miles 
from the sea, a similar relic was found, eighteen inches below the 
surface. It measured a foot in length, by nine inches in diameter. 

In April 1840, the trunk of a tree in a petrified state was found 
in the centre of the railway tunnel at Falkirk, 129 feet from the 
surface. It is about five feet in circumference. Several other or- 
ganic remains have been found there. 

Mansion-Houses, — Among these, Callendar House, the seat of 
William Forbes, Esq. undoubtedly holds the first place. It is in 
the fashion of the olden time, being remarkable for length rather 
than width, — of great thickness in the walls, and adorned with tur- 
rets of an antique form. It must have been built several cen- 
turies ago, but was in part modernized by the late proprietor. 
Viewed from the highway, it has a magnificent appearance. The 
situation, however, is low, and hence the prospect is limited. It is 
well sheltered in a park containing 400 Scotch acres, of which 
250 are covered with coppice-wood, mostly oak, upon ground rising 
gently to the south. The lawn is ornamented with trees of great 
size, and supposed to be 200 years old, having been planted >by 
the Earl of Callendar on his return from the exile into which he 
had gone with Charles II. Within the wood there is a mausoleum 
erected by the late Mr Forbes, in which his remains are deposited. 
It is of a circular form, ornamented with Doric columns. Over the 
door there is a Greek inscription, which has been translated thus : 

*' All things we mortals call our own 
Are mortal too and quickly flown ; 
But could they all for ever stay, 
We soon from them must pass away !" 

Kerse House, the seat of the Earl of Zetland, is pleasantly si- 



FALKIRR. 13 

tuated in the middle of a finely wooded park, and is the chief or- 
nament of the eastern Carse. The original part of the building is 
▼ery ancient, but successive additions have been made to suit the 
confenience or taste of the possessor. Its present appearance is 
that of a mansion of the Elizabethan times. 

Bantaskine House, the residence of T. C. Hagart, Esq., is an 
elegant and substantial mansion of modem architecture. It stands 
oo an elevated spot, half a mile south-west of the town, and 
partakes of the fine prospect which has already been adverted to. 
The grounds are encircled by luxuriant plantations. 

Modem Buildings, — The office and dwelling-house for their 
agent, lately erected by the Commercial Banking Company, in 
the High Street, is a superb structure, and beautifies the part*of 
the town where it stands. The meeting-house of the Secession 
at the east, and the Relief Church at the west end of the town, 
are large plain buildings, and do not contribute advantageously to 
the appearance of the place. 

IIL — Population. 

The population of this parish in 1755, was 3932 

1792, 8020 
rlBOl, 8838 

1811, 10,395;..,. ,4; 

1821, 11,536 

1831. 12748 

1835, 13,037 

The gradual increase may be ascribed to improvements in agri- 
culture and the extension of trade and manufactures. 

Id 1881) the number of inhabitants residing in the towns and 

Tillages of the parish was 10,294 

in the country, ..... 2454 



12,748 



Average of births for the last three years, 252 
deaths, . . 255 

marriages, . . 110 



There is only one nobleman (Earl of Zetland) who has a dwel- 
ling-house in the parish, but who resides chiefly in England. The 
number of individuals or families of independent fortune, and not 
engaged in business, may be seven. The proprietors of land of 
the yearly value of L.50 and upwards, may be estimated at forty 
in number. The people are, in general, contented with their si- 
tuation and circumstances ; and the great proportion are moral and 
religious, in so far as can be judged from regular attendance at 
public worship and outward decency of conduct. 

Poaching in game is practised by some individuals. Smuggling 
may be said to have entirely ceased. Pawnbroking is carried on 
to a small extent, although there is none licensed Cor that trade. 



14 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

IV, — Industry. 
Agriculture. — 

The number of acres, standard imperial roeasurei cultivated or occasionally in tillage, 

may be computed at . . . .11 j(a)0 

Number of acres never cultivated, and constantly waste or in pasture, . 1900 

undivided common, . . . ' , none 

under plantations, . . . - . 1800 

The trees planted or indigenous are, oak, Scotch fir, ash, larch, 
beech, hazel, and birch. The wood of Callendar is believed to 
be the remaina of the Caledonian forest, with which a great part 
of the country was covered at the Roman invasion. 

Rate of Labour. — Farm labourers have, in summer and winter, 
86. and 9s. per week, with victuals. Masons and carpenters, 2s. 
and 2s. 6d. per day besides victuals. Ploughmen have L. 16 per 
annum, with bed and board. 

Breeds of Cattle. — Of these few are reared, supplies being ob- 
tained from the North and West Highlands. 

There is nothing peculiar to the husbandry of the upper parts 
of this parish. Of the method of labour practised in the Carse 
district, we here insert an account, which has been furnished by 
an intelligent and scientific farmer, Mr David Hardie, Westkerse, 
and which may be viewed as applicable to the parses of this 
county in general. 

^< Owing, probably, to the small size of the farms in the dis- 
trict, which, till within the last fifty years, were much smaller than 
they now are, improved modes of management were later in being 
introduced, than into many parts of the country. Since then, how- 
ever, great changes have been efi'ected ; improved breeds of cattle 
have been introduced ; agricultural implements have been perfect- 
ed ; farm-ofiices improved ; and the fields have been levelled and 
laid off in straight ridges. 

" Greater facilities have also been afforded by the harbour of 
Grangemouth for procuring sea-borne manures, which have been 
largely used. 

'' The greatest alteration, however, has undoubtedly been effected 
by draining, — the first agricultural improvement of modern times, 
and one admirably adapted to the state of the soil. For the latter 
operation, drain^tiles, of which there is a manufactory in the dis- 
trict belonging to the Earl of Zetland, are universally used, and 
nearly all the farms have been either wholly or partially drained 
with them. The rotation of crops has also become better under- 
stood, and tbe particular shifts which are best suited to call forth' 
the energies of the soil, have been ascertained. Indeed, most of 



FALKIRK. 15 

tbe tenantry are bound, in their covenants of lease, to follow a par- 
ticular system of cropping ; but as it is^ one which experience has 
proved to be best adapted for the land, it is very rarely departed 
from, e?en in cases where the tenant is at liberty to do so. It is 
as follows : First year, fallow ; 2d, wheat ; dd, beans ; 4th, barley ; 
5tb, clover and ryegrass ; and 6th, and last of the rotation, oats. 
According to this system of alternate cropping, it will be seen, that, 
in order to secure a proportion of each kind of crop, as well as an 
equal distribution of labour throughout the season, it is necessary 
that each farm be divided into six equal parts, one of which is al- 
lotted to each of the above-mentioned crops. It has been objected 
to, on account of the frequent recurrence of fallowing ; but the ad- 
hesive nature of the soil, and the circumstance of its being much 
infested with root-grasses, seem to render this necessary. A crop 
of beans, indeed, is occasionally taken in place of fallow, in which 
case the land is manured and ploughed as soon as possible after 
the last crop of the previous rotation has been removed, and the 
beans are drilled in the month of February or March following, 
at the rate of six bushels per Scots acre. The land never admit- 
ting at that early season of being formed into drills, the drilUma- 
chine merely follows the plough, depositing the seed in every al- 
ternate furrow, at the distance of from eighteen to twenty^two 
inches betwixt the rows. They are usually twice hand-hoed in 
the early part of the summer, and if the land has been sufficiently 
manured, and the beans got off in time to allow it to be properly 
prepared for the wheat, the crop is not unfrequently equal to that 
which has been preceded by a bare fallow. In consequence, how- 
ever, of the late season at which beans ripen in this climate, they 
are seldom harvested in time to allow the land to be so prepared, 
and a bare fallow is therefore generally preferred. 

*< In this case, the land receives from four to six ploughings in the 
course of the summer, and is reduced to a fine tilth by a plentiful 
use of the harrows and roller. On account of the tendency of the 
wheat crop to lodge, manure is rarely employed in its culture. 
Ume is, however, occasionally applied, at the rate of ten to fifteen 
cart loads of shells per acre, although it is not so largely used, as, 
from its beneficial effects on the soil, might have been expected. 

" The seed is universally sown broadcast, and the season generally 
preferred is from the beginning to the middle of October. Tbe 
quantity of seed varies from two to three bushels per acre. The 
varieties in greatest esteem are Hunter's, and white and yellow 



16 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

Essex, although numerous others are in use. As early as possible 
after the wheat crop has been harvested, the manure which ^ai 
been collected during summer is applied to the stubble land, foi 
the following crop of beans, and the process is continued during 
frosty weather until the whole has been gone over. The quantity 
laid on varies probably from twenty<^four to forty cart*loads pei 
acre, and the expanse, exclusive of the carriage, from L. 6 to 
L.10. If intended to be sown in drills, the same method u 
pursued which we described above in the case of their being sub* 
stituted for fallow as a preparation for wheat ; but by far the greatei 
breadth of them is sown broadcast In the latter case, the ground 
is not ploughed till the month of February, and the crop is sown 
if possible about the beginning of March, at the rate of six bushels 
of beans, with one to two pecks of fitches per acre. The seed is 
then harrowed in, and the land rolled down, to preserve the mois- 
ture, as soon as it is sufficiently dry to permit of it. The land ia 
again ploughed, shortly after the bean crop has beto got off, and 
allowed to lay in the winter furrow, till the month of March or 
April following, when it receives two more ploughings, with a 
vigorous application of harrows and roller, to prepare it for the re- 
ception of the barley and grasses which are sown at the same time 
for the succeeding year's crop of hay. From three to four bushels is 
the ordinary allowance of seed for the former, and from half to 9 
bushel of ryegrass seed, with about eight pounds of red clover per 
acre for the latter. The common two- rowed barley, or, as it is 
sometimes termed, English barley, from its having been first intro- 
duced from England, has long ago superseded Scotch bear or 
bigg, and is the only variety now in use. The land is again 
ploughed in the winter succeeding the removal of the hay crop, 
for the last crop of the rotation, viz., oats, which are sown at the 
rate of six bushels per acre about the end of March. The varie- 
ties sown are numerous, but that most in favour, and which, from 
the abundance of its produce, and early season at which it ripens, 
seems best deserving of it, is the Friesland oat, so called from 
having been originally introduced into this country from that pro- 
vince. The same course is again commenced by fallowing, the 
above being the only crops grown to any extent in the parish. 

'* It is difficult to ascertain with precision the average amount of 
produce throughout a district ; but it may be stated generally that 
forty bushels of wheat ; forty-eight of barley ; thirty "six of beans ; 
sixty of oats ; and two tons of first crop, with one ton of second 



FALKIRK. 17 

crop hay per Scots acre, are considered as a fair return. Much 
more is occasionally reaped, but the above quantities will certainly 
exceed rather than fall below the average. 

** Grain rents, now so generally in use, are universal through- 
out the district. The principle, however, is not carried out 
to its full extent, wheat being the only article of produce by 
which the value of the rents is estimated ; in other words, the 
farms are univers^illy let for a certain number of bushels of wheat 
per acre. Ten is by much the most usual number, although a 
few of the farms are held at nine bushels per aci'e. The value of 
the wheat is, of course, determined by the fiars' prices of the 
county, and varies, frequently to a very considerable extent, yearly. 
In order, in some measure, to regulate this — to prevent the rents 
from rising too high in scarce years, and falling too low after 
plentiful harvests, it is becoming usual to fix a maximum and mi- 
nimum price at which the wheat shall be convertible into money, 
when the fiars' prices exceed or fall below them. Of late L.d, 16s. 
has in several instances been agreed on as the maximum, and 
L.2, 10s. per quarter as the minimum price, preventing a ten 
bushel rent from falling below L.«3, 2s. 6d., or rising above L.4, 
7s. 6d. per acre. But as the average of the county fiars for the 
last seven years, does not quite reach L.2, 10s. per quarter, the 
former of these sums may be taken as the average rent of the 
parish." 

Agricultural Society. — The Agricultural Association of the 
Eastern District of Stirlingshire was formed here two years ago. 
The Earl of Dunmore is patron, and Mr Forbes, president Its 
object is to promote scientific and practical improvements in agri- 
culture. Two cattle shows are held annually in the immediate 
neighbourhood of the town, at which premiums are awarded. 

Horticuliural Society. — There is also a Horticultural Society in 
Falkirk, under respectable patronage. The members have four 
exhibitions of fruits and flowers in the course of the summer season. 

Manufactures. — The Falkirk Iron Works are situated half a 
mile from the town, on the south of the Forth and Clyde Canal, 
and connected therewith by a basin. They employ about 500 
men and boys in ihe manufacture of every description of small 
castings and cast-iron articles ; such as pans, pots, kettles, stoves, 
grates, &c. for home and export sale. Most of the workmen arc 
employed in moulding these articles, and are paid according to 
the quantity of work they perform. The industrious and sober 

STIRLING. . B 



18 STIRLINGSHIRE^ . 

can earn wages sufficient to enable them to live comfortably with- 
out overworking themselves. Others are employed in making 
patterns for the moulders, in dressing the articles when moulded, 
in fitting their various parts together, and finishing them for sale. 
They are not generally so well paid as the moulders. No branch 
of these employments is considered more detrimental to health 
than other trades, and no disease is peculiar to them. The most 
common complaints are, fever, a disease called blackspit, and 
other epidemical disorders ; but to these they are subject only in 
rommon with other workmen in the neighbourhood. Many of 
them attain an advanced period of life. * 

Nail Manufactories. — Of these there are two in the village of 
Camelon, being the chief branch of trade carried on there. It 
was introduced about fifty years ago by Mr Cadell of Carronpark, 
who brought persons from England versant in the business, and 
who, by teaching others, have handed it down until the present 
time. About 250 men and boys are employed. The men get 
out nail-rods from the master, and return the produce in nails. 
The shops and all working tools and utensils are furnished by the 
employers, who also provide dwelling-houses for the married men 
and their families. The men work from five to five and a-half 
days in the week, each day consisting of ten hours. The remu- 
neration to nailers is as follows : — A man by himself gains from 
9s. to 14s. per week; a man and boy under him, 14s. to 16s.; 
a man with two boys, L.l to L.I, 2s. ; a man with three boys, 
L. 1, 8s. to L.1, lOs. They, however, find themselves in coals, 
which may cost each man 6d. per week or thereby. The em- 
ployment is by no means unhealthy, and the workmen are less 
subject to disease than those employed in cotton or similar facto- 
ries. The morals of the nailers have been improved within the 
last few years. In particular, drunkenness and habits of impro- 
vidence are greatly on the decrease. In 1 833, the cholera cut 
off so many of this class of people, that Mr Fairbairn found it 
necessary to advance L.40 for the purpose of interments, which 
has been repaid from the earnings of survivors, and a fund to the 
same amount accumulated to answer future emergencies, -f 

Collieries. — In the parish, there are three of these in operation, 
all to the south of the town of Falkirk. At one of them, the min- 
ing operations and the making of charcoal are carried on to such an 

* Conimuiiicatioii from G. Hardic, Esq. 
t CoiiiiDunicaUon from G. Fairbairn, Esq, 



FALKIRK. 19 

extent, a^ to employ 170 persons, who are paid according to the 
quantity of work they perform. They earn on an average L.1, 5s. 
per week each. 

Quarries. — There are seven freestone quarries working at pre- 
sent on a line near the middle of the parish, as far as Castlecary, 
fi>r furnishing stones for the railroad and viaducts connected there- 
with. In these quarries about 160 men are employed. There is 
also a whinstone quarry opened, for furnishing blocks for the rail- 
way, in which thirty men are employed. The weekly wages are 
from 15?. to L.1, Is. 

Brick and Tile- Works, — There are three of these in the parish. 

The largest is at liOck No. d» on the south bank of the Forth 

mnd Clyde Canal. It belongs to the Earl of Zetland, who carries 

^n the work under the direction of a manager, and employs about 

9 dozen of men. The average weekly wages are 16s. Asteam-^ 

<€Ogine of six horse power, for grinding clay, was lately erected 

here, being an improvement in the process of brick-making. The 

other two brick and tile works are about a mile west from the 

above, and also adjoin the canal. The one employs fourteen men, 

and the other ten. Average wages, 14s. per week. 

Saw-MiUs.—Oi these there are three. One at Castlecary 
employs sixteen men, another at Bonnyside, fourteen. The weekly 
wages are from 14s. to 18s. The saws used in both are circular, 
driven by water, and cut up wood for staves, packing-boxes, lath, 
roofing, and joisting. Formerly they were corn-mills. The other 
is upon a large scale, and is situated on the north bank of the 
canal, betwixt Bainsford and Grangemouth. It is constructed on 
the principle of Macdowall's patent, and is wrought by three steam- 
engines of eighteen, twenty, and forty horses' power. The saws used 
are both upright and circular, and cut for general purposes wood 
of anv lenorth or diameter. About fifteen men and boys are ge- 
oerally employed at from 6s. to L.1, 5s. of weekly wages. 

Wood' Yards. — There are four wood-yards in the parish. Taken 
together, ten pairs of sawyers are employed, who use the frame-saw 
for cutting up the wood. They are paid by the foot 

Pyroligneous Acid Works. — In Grahamston, there are two esta- 
blishments for distilling wood. In one of them, the distillation is 
used in making iron-liquor for printfields, and in the other for 

making vinegar. 

Coru-Mills.—Oi i\\Qse there are six, four of which are driven 



20 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

by water. The other two go by steam-engines of twenty and tbirty- 
six horse power. 

Distilleries. — Of these there are two. One of them at Bonny- 
muir paysL.150 per week to Government, and employs twelve men. 
The other at Camelon employs five men. 

Breweries. — There are four in the parish. Three of them are 
comparatively upon a small scale. The other makes ales and 
porter of various degrees of strength. It has a groat home con- 
sumpt, besides sending large quantities to London and elsewhere. 
It is situated in the town of Falkirk, and employs twenty men. 

Tan-warks. — There are four tan-wdrks, which are all situated 
in the vicinity of the town. Currying, as well as tanning, is per- 
formed in three of them ; and in one of these the process of taw- 
ing sheep and lamb skins is carried on. They employ, in whole, 
forty-two men. 

Weaving. — Muslin and coarse linen weaving are carried on here 
to a very small extent. In the town there are only forty persons 
employed in this trade. The muslin-weavers get all their work 
from Glasgow. The coarse linen-weavers work only at home- 
made cloth, that is, cloth made by families in the neighbourhood. 
Ten years ago, five times the present number were employed. 
They are decreasing every year, from the miserable wages made 
at the trade. 

Nurseries. — There are four in the neighbourhood of the town, 
which occupy a considerable extent of ground, and supply a large 
district with forest-trees of all kinds, as also fruit-trees, ornamental 
shrubs, bushes, &c. They are all kept in excellent order. 

Ship^Building. — This is carried on to a small extent, near to 
Lock No. 16. The vessels built are for the canal trade. Twelve 
men are employed. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 
Markei'Town. — Falkirk is the only market-town in the parish^ 
and is estimated as containing nearly 5000 inhabitants ; but within 
the bounds of the Parliamentary burgh, the population was ascer- 
tained in 1836 to be 7445, The town consists of a principal 
street, extending to three-quarters of a mile, from east to west, 
forming part of the turnpike road betwixt Edinburgh, Glasgow, 
and Stirling. The street is rather narrow at the extremities, but 
it gradually widens in approaching the centre, where it attains a 
respectable breadth. There are besides, other streets and lanes, 
some of which branch from, and others run parallel with, the prin- 

3 



FALKIRK. 21 

cipal one. Among these, the Kirk-Wynd strikes off from the 
main or High Street, and connecting with a range of elegant new 
houses in the same line, unites the town to the villages of Graham- 
ston and Bainsford, forming a continuous double line of houses of 
upwards of a mile in length. Situated on an elevation, with a 
gentle declivity on each side, and having a small stream or bum 
at each end, the town is easily kept dry, and has a free circulation 
of air. Within the last half century^ many of the houses have been 
Tebuilt, generally in a handsome style. An elegant spire, 140 
feet in height, containing a clock and a couple of bells, one of 
them large and full-toned, is both ornamental and useful. It was 
built in 1813 on the foundation of an old steople, which had been 
taken down in 1803, and originally erected in 1697. The shops 
and the town are lighted with gas, and a good supply of water, is 
obtained from the high grounds to the south. The bustle of bu- 
smess is observable to a degree rather beyond that of ordinary 
country towns. This is the case particularly on market and fair- 
days, and on occasion of the great cattle trysts which are held 
on Stenhouse-muir, in the parish of Larbert, three miles to the 
northward. From its vicinity to these markets, a large proportion 
of the dealers make Falkirk their head-quarters, and they thus 
draw to if, periodically, a considerable influx of strangers. With 
the exception of leather, no goods are to any great extent manufac- 
tured in the town, it being chiefly supported by an extensive inland 
trade, and by the iron-works, canals, and collieries in the vicinity. 
There is a market for butcher-meat to which, for its well known excel- 
lence, resort is had from all parts of the surrounding country. The 
grain market is also well attended, and it has now ample accom- 
modation. The trade of the place is assisted by a branch of the 
Bank of Scotland (which a few years ago came in place of the 
Falkirk Bank), also by branches of the Commercial Bank of Scot- 
land, the National Bank, and the Clydesdale Banking Company. 
Police^ Sfc. — Falkirk was erected a burgh of barony by King 
James VI. in a. d. 1600, by a charter in favour of Alexander 
Lord Livingston. In 1646, it was erected into a burgh of Re- 
gality by Charles I., and the different trades acquired certain pri- 
vileges, which were united by commissions or seals of cause from 
the baron. The rights which these conveyed are now entirely 
obsolete^ The office of stent-master, still retained by delegates 
chosen annually by each of the trades, is supposed to have ori- 
ginated in the powers formerly enjoyed by the burgesses. When 



22 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

the feudal jurisdictions were taken away in 1745, Falkirk again 
became a burgh of harony, under the government of a bailie ap- 
pointed by the proprietor of Callendar; but for many years past 
no person has held that office. For a long period, the only dis- 
pensers of law in the town, were the Justices of the Peace, who 
held monthly courts for the recovery of small debts, &c. and the 
suppression of riots. There was no jail or place of confinement 
for criminals, and the inconvenience and expense of sending these 
to Stirling, the county town, was severely felt At length mea- 
sures were taken for relieving this populous district from the hard- 
ships under which it had been labouring, and the matter having 
been represented to Government, a resident sheriff-substitute was 
appointed, who opened his court in Falkirk in July 1834. This 
arrangement has been of great advantage to the place, the more 
especially as, since then, apartments in the town steeple have been 
fitted up and legalised as a prison ; and it is now only necessary 
to convey to the county jail, such criminals as may be committed 
for trial before the Court of Justiciary. 

By the Reform Act, Falkirk is constituted a Parliamentary 
burgh. Its boundaries are defined; and, along with Airdrie, Hamil- 
ton, Lanark, and Linlithgow, returns a representative to Parliament 
By a subsequent act, the municipal government of the burgh is 
vested in a provost, three bailies, a treasurer, and seven council- 
lors ; but, having been called into existence without being provided 
with the means of defraying*the necessary expenditure, the magis- 
trates exercise no jurisdiction, nor have they as yet interfered with 
the town's revenue. This is managed by the stent-masters, who, 
from use and wont, have exercised the power of levying an annual 
assessment from the inhabitants, for supplying the town with water, 
and other public purposes. The feuars are a separate body, who 
annually choose office-bearers, and who, in consideration of their 
surrendering about forty years ago certain privileges which they 
held over the extensive moor or commonty on the south of Falkirk, 
in order that it might be cultivated, acquired right to some heri- 
table property, besides the town's customs. Their funds are ap- 
plied towards objects of local improvement Hitherto this system 
has been held sufficient for managing the affiiirs of the town. The 
police of the district is maintained by the county at large, by whom 
several criminal officers are stationed in the place. 

Villages. — Beginning at the west end of the parish, the first we 
notice is Bonnybridge. It is situated on the Glasgow turnpike 



FALKIRK. 23 

road, four miles from Falkirk, and contains about lOOinbabitants, 
who are employed as artisans and labourers. In the neighbour- 
hood, there is a small burying-yard. There is a school which has 
a small endowment, and the teacher is appointed by the kirk-ses« 
sion of the parish. 

Camelon is on the same turnpike road, and about a mile west 
from Falkirk. The population in 1831 was 809, and the inhabit- 
ants are chiefly engaged in nail-making. It has two schools, one 
of which was built by subscription, and a Sabbath school supported 
hj a society. A handsome church has been recently built at the 
west end of the village, seated for 660 persons.* .The ground for 
the site, and a liberal donation besides, were given by Mr Forbes of 
Callendar, and the remainder of the expense was made up by con- 
tributions under the Church Extension Scheme. 

Baiosford, a mile north of Falkirk, is now a suburb of that tows, 
and forms part of the Parliamentary burgh. In 1831, it contained 
791 inhabitants, a great proportion of whom are employed at the 
well-known Carron Iron Works, which are in the neighbourhood, 
but in the parish of Larbert. A|basin communicating with the Forth 
and Clyde Canal, accommodates the Carron Company's vessels 
10 the Liverpool trade, and a railway connects it with the works. 
Some of the inhabitants are also engaged at a rope-walk at this 
place. The village contains one school. By the canal, over which 
there is a drawbridge, it is disjoined on the south from Grahams- 
ton, which in 1831 contained 1288 inhabitants. It is also a suburb, 
and j>art of the burgh of Falkirk. It consists of modern stone- 
buildings, occupied as dwelling-bouses and shops. The labouring 
part of the population are chiefly employed at the Carron Works, 
and at the Falkirk Iron Works in the neighbourhood. From its 
vicinity to the canal, there is a considerable traffic in timber and 
grain; and vessels with dried fish from the north resort thither, 
which command a ready sale. There are four schools ; some of 
them under female teachers. 

Laurieston is about a mile and a-half east from Falkirk, on the 
Edinburgh road. In 1831, it contained 1306 inhabitants, who are 
employed chiefly in weaving, nail-making, and in agriculture. 
There are also various artisans, such as stone masons and shoe- 
makers. This place has been laid out on a regular plan on the 
sides of the highway, having a square in the centre, with lanes in 
the same direction on the south and north, and intersected by cross 

• This church was opened for worship on Sabbath, 28d August 1840. 



24 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

Streets. It was originally called New Mercbiston, having been 
feued out in 1766, by Francis Lord Napier. It received its pre- 
sent name in honour of the late Sir Lawrence Dundas, who be- 
came its feudal superior, and it still holds under his descendant, 
now Earl of Zetland. There are three schools ; also a church in 
connection with the Reformed Presbytery, built in 178a The 
place is elevated, and commands an uncommonly beautiful view of 
the Carse of Falkirk, and more distant mountain scenery. 

For the sake of arrangement we classify Grangemojuth among 
the villages ; but in reality, it merits the denomination of a town, 
being a sea-port, and the centre of a district lately erected into a 
quoad sacra parish. 

Grangemouth * is situated at the junction of the Forth and 
Clyde Canal with the Carron, a little above the union of that river 
with the Forth. The town derives its name from the Grange bum, 
which, winding past the Grange, or home farm of the ancient and 
now demolished Abbey of Abbotshaugh, formerly emptied itself 
into the Carron, close by the site of the town. Recent improve- 
ments, by giving a new direction to the course of the rivulet, have 
deprived the name of its original significance. A new cut of nearly 
a mile in extent was opened in 1838, to connect this stream with 
the Forth in a more easterly direction, and thus to secure its for- 
mer outlet for the formation of the extensive wet-docks which are 
now in progress. The town was commenced in 1777 by Sir 
Lawrence Dundas, in the prospect that its connection with the 
canal would raise it into consequence as a sea-port. The streets 
are regular, having been built upon a plan, and the appearance of 
the place, from the flatness of the surrounding country, the canal, 
and the frequent sea-dikes, suggests the idea of a Dutch village. 
The canal is the object of principal importance. When it 
reaches Grangemouth, it has traversed a distance of twenty-nine 
miles from Port Dundas. The rise from Grangemouth to Lock 
20, which is the summit of the navigation, is 156 feet. The rise 
is effected by means of locks of 20 feet in width and 74 in length, 
every one of which has 8 feet of fall. Its width upon the sur- 
face is about 60 feet, and at the bottom 27. Its depth is 9 feet. 
The canal terminates at Grangemouth in extensive wood-ponds, 
in a basin and harbour. It admits vessels of ninety tons burden. 
The wood-ponds are receptacles for the timber which is im- 

• The account of Grangemouth has been furnished by the Rev. Mr Taylor. 



FALKIRK. 25 

ported. They are two in number. The largest is bonded^ and 
forms a square of about three acres. Norway, Prussia, and Ame- 
rica are the countries with which this branch of trade is maintained. 
It forms a principal part of the traffic of the place. 

The basin and harbour afford accommodation to the vessels 

until they pass through the canal, or discharge their cargoes. 

The larger class unload here, and the proportion of their goods 

destined for Glasgow are carried through by means of lighters,—- 

boats built expressly for canal navigation. There are, besides 

these, three private wharfs on the banks of the Carron. 

The want of accommodation at the port has been long com- 
I>lained of. Proposals and plans of enlargement were made many 
'drears ago, when the canal did not yield a fifth of its present re- 
'^^enue. In 1838, effective measures were adopted. The late 
^Barl of Zetland and the Forth and Clyde Canal Committee em- 
"^loyed Mr Macneill, civil-engineer in London, to take surveys, 
^uid to submit a report of improvements. His report has been 
dopted, and, since April 1838, 200 artificers and labourers have 
n employed in working it out.^ The report embraces the fol- 
lowing particulars, 1. the changing of the direction of the Grange 
lum. 2. The formation of a wet dock on the south-east of the 
present harbour, 27 feet in depth, and of such dimensions as to 
contain forty sail of the largest class of steam and merchant ves- 
sels. The sea lock, to shut the dock, is proposed to be 300 feet 
long and 70 broad. The formation at Bristol of a lock a few feet 
larger, deprives this one of the boast of being the largest in the 
world, and leaves it only the second place. 3. The deepening of 
the River Carron, so as to allow canal traders drawing nine feet 
of water to arrive and depart at low tide. 4. An enlargement of 
the easter timber basin, and a junction betwixt it and the wet 
dock by means of a canal ten feet deep. Above twenty acres of 
land have been allotted for these improvements; and, by 1843, 
they are expected to be in such a state of forwardness as to admit 
vessels into the wet dock. The facilities afforded to shipping 
will thus be greatly increased ; and as Grangemouth has every 
local advantage from its being the east port of Glasgow, and its 
close communication with the German Ocean, it will possess every 
accommodation to invite the resort of commerce. 

The canal does not communicate immediatelv with the Forth, 
but is connected with it by the river Carron. The course of 
this river has undergone many changes. At one period it flowed 



2C STIRLINGSHIRE. 

about half a mile east of its present course, giving name to the 
farm of Carron Flats, and encircling in its windings the Inches, 
Easter and Wester, More recently, its course was north and west 
of the town. Its bed in that direction may be distinctly traced. 
To secure a ready approach to the canal, the river was straightened 
by means of a cut The alluvial matter, through which the Car- 
ron flows, has been accumulated in a long progress of years, and 
invites the labours of enterprise to convert it into fertile fields. It 
was lately contemplated to reclaim the ground on both sides of 
the river, and surveys have been taken, extending frum Bo'ness 
to Higgins Neuck, which hold out the stimulating prospect of 
2800 acres of the richest soil. 

The distance from the quay at Grangemouth to the outmost 
beacon at the mouth of Carron, is reckoned about a mile and a- 
half. Vessels entering the canal were formerly conducted up the 
Carron by pilots. About fifteen persons generally held' license of 
pilotage from the Trinity House of Leith. The occupation of 
this class is now, however, superseded by the employment of small 
steam-boats, which tow the vessels from the water mouthy thus 
rendering them less dependent upon tide and wind. Two steam- 
boats are used for this purpose. 

Grangemouth was made the seat of a custom-house in 1810. 
It extends over the out-stations of Alloa, Stirling, and Kincardine. 
Its officers consist of a collector, comptroller, clerk, two landing- 
waiters, locker, six tide-waiters. 

The following tabular views of the nature and extent of the 
trade, convey a more correct idea of it than any description which 
could be given, of the total number of ships, &c. &c 

Number of Vessels which passed through the Canal during the 
year laSO to 1839, inclusive: 

1830. 1831. 1832. 1833. 1834. 



To Port Dundas, 
From sea to sea. 
Inter mediate. 


1421 
184 
221 


1402 
165 
222 


1210 
151 
211 


1314 

182 
214 


1402 
226 
239 




1826 


1789 


1472* 


1710 


1867 




1835. 


1836. 

1810 
267 
328 


1837. 


183a 


1839. 


To Port Dundas, 
From sea to sea, 
Intermediate. • 


1478 
239 

285 


1710 
224 
348 


1705 
244 
423 


2204 
276 
479 



2002 2405 2282 2372 2959 

* 1831 being a year of great commercial distress in Glasgow, may account for tlie 
great decrease in 1832. 



FALKIRK. 



27 



Average of first five years, 
Average of second five years, 
Average of the ten years. 



1732A 
2404 

2068i^ 



Number of Vessels and Tons of Grain which entered the Port 
of Grangemouth during the following years : — 

Vessels. 1830. 1831. 1832. 1833. 1834. 



British, 
Foreign, 


Vea, Tons. 

594 28834 

43 8283 


V. T. 
389 19077 
49 10250 


V. T. 
408 12789 
4 617 


V. T. 
489 162i3 
5 761 


V. 

428 
8 

436 
18£ 


T. 
16756 
1187 




637 37117 
1835. 


438 29327 
1836. 


407 13406 
1837. 


494 16974 
1838. 


17943 
)9. 


Britiab, 
Foreign, 


V. T. 
525 25394 
4 457 


V. T. 
736 40^ 
5 713 


V. T. 
590 30256 
22 2762 


V. T. 

721 88728 
13 1012 


V. 

1021 
72 

1093 


T. 
54402 
7806 




529 25851 


741 41277 


612 33018 


734 39740 


62208 



Average of first five years, 
Average of second five years. 
Average of the ten years, 



481 1 vessels, 22953| tons. 
742| 404221 

612^1^ 31686^ 



Tons of Pig- Iron brought east by the Canal from Kirkintilloch 
Bailway during the years 



1835. 

Tons. 
5379 



1836. 

Tons. 
4248 



1837. 

Tons. 
4834 



1838. 

Tons. 
9535 



1839. 

Tons. 
9295 



There are regular traders on the canal from Port Dundas to 
the principal ports on the east coast of England and Scotland, 
say to London, including the Carron Company's vessels, 12; 
Hull, 4 ; Newcastle, 6 ; Leith, 1 i ; Dundee, 8 ; Aberdeen, 5 ; 
Montrose, 2 ; Arbroath, 3 ; Alloa, 3 ; and to Rotterdam, 3. 

Their return cargoes consist principally of, porter, flour, yeast, 
seeds, &c. from London ; oil, iron, and paints, from Hull ; colours, 
lead, mill-stones, and glass, Newcastle ; grain, ale, &c. Leith ; bag- 
ging, osnaburgh, and yarn, Dundee; worsted, woollens, and granite, 
Aberdeen ; grain, Montrose ; pavement and grain, Arbroath ; 
ale, bottles, and aqua, Alloa ; Geneva, cheese, &c. Rotterdam. 

The officers of the Canal Company at Grangemouth are, a 
collector, overseer of works, and harbour-master. 

Number of Ships, with their Tonnage and Men, including 
their repeated voyages, that have arrived at the Port of Grange- 
mouth with Cargoes from Foreign Ports, in the year 1839, dis- 
tinguishing each kingdom and state, and the general description 
of goods imported therefrom : 



28 



STIRLINGSHIRE. 



Kingdom or 
State. 



Russia, 

Sweden, 

Norway, 

Denmark, 

Prussia, 

Germany, ' . 

Holland, • 

Belgium, 

Canada, 

New Brunswick, 



Ships. Tons. Men. 



General Description of Cargoes. 



12 

I 
25 
33 
30 
16 
12 
1 
7 
15 



2164 R9 Corn, tallow, flax, hemp, mats, tar, bristles,, 
and wood goods. 
75 5 Manganese ore, pitch, and linseed cake. 

2873 165 Wood goods. 

2416 160 Com. . 

5418 237 Com, flax, timber, and other wood goods. 
980 63 Corn. 

945 56 Bark, cheese, madder, and Genera. 
82 4 Bark. 

2859 116 / 

4915 191 I '^™^'' ^^^ other wood goods. 



Total, 152 

An Account, as 
Grangemouth, with 

Ships. 



Kingdom or 
Sute. 



22727 108^ 

above, for Vessels that have sailed from 
their Cargoes, for the year 1839. 

Tons. Men« General Description of Cargoes. 



Russia, 5 

Sweden, 1 

Norway, . 2 

Denmark, . 37 

Prussia, . 9 

Germany, 19 

Holland, . 4 

Belgium, • 4 

France, . 15 

Portugal, 1 

luly, . 1 

Turkey, I 
Van Dieman's Land, 1 

Canada, 8 

New Brunswick, 5 

Brazil, ^ 1 



749 
75 

166 
2660 
1576 
1349 



38 
5 
11 
180 
72 
89 



388 19 



271 

1293 

162 

191 

242 

433 

3088 

1886 

184 



16 

78 

8 

9 

12 

18 

140 

80 

9 



> Coals, glass, and bricks. 

Pig and wrought iron. 

Coals, pig-iron, soap, and woollens. 

Pig and cast iron. 

Coals, beer, pig and cast iron, and cotton 

manu&ctures. 
Pig-iron, linen-yarn, and alum. 

Coals, pig-iron, glass, and bricks. 



Glass, woollen and cotton manu&ctures. 
Coals, bricks, cordage, woollens and, cot- 
tons. 
Coals, beer, glass. 



! 



Total, 114 14713 784 

An Account of Duties received at the Port of Grangemouth 
(including the Sub-Port of Alloa) for the years 1837, 1838, and 
1839:— 1837, L. 30,267; 1838, L. 25,054; 1839, L. 38,238; 
average, L.3 1,186. 

An Account of Registered Vessels belonging to the Port of 
GrangemoOth (including the out-stations of Alloa, Kincardine, 
and Stirling) at 31st December 1839: — Number of vessels, 
179; tonnage, 25,561. 

Grangemouth has been, for many years, favourably known for its 
shipbuilding. The general size of the vessels which are built 
varies from 90 to 250 tons. In 1839 the first steam-boat built in 
the port was launched, being a towing vessel for the port of Me- 
mel. To favour this branch of employment, an excellent graving 
dock was built by Lord Dundas in 1811. It is capable of taking in 



FALKIRK. 29 

two vessels of 300 tons each, and has a depth of water at spring- 
tides of fourteen feet. The manufactory of sail and rope is also 
carried on here, and considerable exports of these commodities 
made to the colonies. 

The parish recently attached quoad sacra to the church of 
Grangemouth contains, exclusive of the ground occupied by the 
town and harbours, about 1035 acres Scots measure. The 
policy around Kerse- House comprises about 100 of these, and 
the remainder is divided into sixteen farms, giving an average 
of 58 acres to each. The aspect of the parish is that of a per- 
fect plain, and no part of it exceeds eight feet above the level 
of the highest tides. With the exception of some plantations 
around Kerse-House, and a few trees at the farm-steadings, the 
district is totally destitute of wood, for the growth of which,. from 
the unkindly nature of the subsoil, it is but indifferently adapted. 
The soil, to the depth of from 6 to 12 inches, is exceedingly 
uniform in its character, consisting of a rich and stiff alluvial clay 
intermixed with a very small proportion of fine white sand. Its 
quality, however, is considerably affected by the nature of the sub- 
soil, which consists, to the depth of from l^ to 3 feet, of very 
hard and retentive ferruginous clay or till, which, when not broken 
up by the spade, is very slowly pervious to water. This is suc- 
ceeded at a depth, varying from 1^ to 4 feet, by a layer of a few 
inches of shells interspersed with sand', underneath which is a bed 
of blue clay or till, in which the remains of larger marine animals 
have occasionally been found. 

The town of Grangemouth is three miles from Falkirk, of 
which parish it forms a part. The distance made the want of a 
church and burial-ground to be much felt So far back as 1814, 
L.750 were subscribed for the purpose of erecting a place of wor- 
ship. The proposal was ultimately dropped, from a want of sup- 
port on the part of the parish incumbent, whose church politics 
were opposed to the erection of chapels of ease. In 1 827 the at- 
tempt was renewed, but also proved unsuccessful. No stated pro- 
vision was made for the spiritual instruction of the town, until 1837» 
In that year, the late Earl of Zetland, from a due regard for the 
spiritual interest of the district, erected a substantial and commo- 
dious church. The edifice is of the Norman style of architecture, 
similar to that of Kerse House, from which it is not far situated. 
Accommodation is afforded for 700 sitters, the front gallery being 
reserved by the Noble founder for his family and dependents. No 



30 STIRLINGSHinF, 

free sittings are formally set aside for the poor ; but an application 
to the kirk-session or local factor is all that is needed to secure 
scatsior any who are not able otherwise to procure them. Ground 
to the extent of a Scots acre has been allotted for burial. As no 
vessel is permitted to pass through the canal on Sabbath, the 
town generally contains a greater proportion of unemployed sailors 
on that day than on week days; and, if a portion of the church, as 
in some other sea-ports, was appropriated for them, it might be 
the means of preserving them from spending the day in idleness 
and dissipation, and of inducing them to attend upon religious or- 
dinances, as they could thus occupy these seats with the confi- 
dence of right, and might feel an interest in seeing them filled. 
The average attendance of hearers is betwixt 500 and 600, and 
the number who joined in communion in November 1839, when 
the sacrament was dispensed for the first time, was 200. There 
is a parochial district attached to the church, extending from one 
mile to one mile and a half, in each direction, and containing a 
population of about 1430. This district has been chiefly de-> 
tached from the parish of Falkirk ; a small portion having been 
taken from the parish of Polmont, which forms the eastern boun« 
dary. The incumbent holds a bond from the Earl of Zetland, 
guaranteeing an annual stipend of L.80, to meet which the seat* 
rents and collections are applied. L.20 of the collections are, by 
the voluntary arrangement *6f the session and managers, annually 
distributed for the relief of the poor of the district Here dis- 
sent has obtained a long and a firm footing. The number of 
Dissenters fully exceeds that of Churchmen. There are a few 
adherents to the Episcopalian, Reformed Presbyterian, Scotch 
Independents, and Baptist persuasions, but the great body of Dis- 
senters is divided betwixt the Relief and the United Secession. 
Some of the present householders, who are engaged in the public 
works, are Roman Catholics. 

The parish is amply provided with the means of education. In 
1827, there was erected by the late Lady Dundas, an elegant 
building containing a school-room for boys, and another for girls ; 
an ante-room, which is used as a library, and dwelling-houses to 
the teachers. It is of the English cottage order, and is surround- 
ed with extensive play-ground. There are few parish schools su- 
perior to this, in point of comfort and neatness of appearance. Sa- 
laries of L. 10 and L. 5 have been secured by the Noble founder 
to the teachers, and an yearly allowance is made for the education 



FALKIUK. 31 

of poor children. The munificence of the family also enables 
the teachers to distribute prizes for the encouragement of me- 
rit. English reading, grammar, Latin, French, writing, arithme- 
tic, book-keeping, geography, and practical mathematics, are the 
branches taught in the boy's school. The average number of pu- 
pils is seventy. The fees vary from 4s. to 6s. per quarter. Eng- 
lish, reading, knitting and sewing are taught in the female school ; 
the average attendance at which is 36. Fees from ds. to 5s. 
Both of these schools undergo examination by the presbytery of 
the bounds. 

Besides those two, which are endowed, there are other three at 
present in the town, at which the ordinary branches of (education 
are taught One of these is intended chiefly for females. The 
charges in each are from ds. to 4s. per quarter. The average 
number of children who enjoy the benefit of education is 206. 
The general evil of early attendance and early withdrawal from 
ichool is much felt here. They enter at four and a-half years, and 
withdraw at ten ; thus entering before they are capable of profit- 
ing, and leaving when they begin to enjoy the benefit of instruc- 
tioD. 

There is a library in the town supported by subscription. A 
public reading-room has also been in existence for many years. 
The town is lighted with gas. There are an Auxiliary Bible So- 
ciety, a Temperance Society, and a Female Missionary Society, 
bU in active operation. 

Means of Communication. — There are several post-offices in the 
parish, a principal one being in Falkirk, and another in Grange- 
mouth. Camelon, Grahamston, and Laurieston, have each its sub- 
ofiice. There are two daily posts to and from Edinburgh, Glas- 
gow, &c. and also daily posts to Stirling, Alloa, and other neigh- 
bouring towns. Letters are delivered in Falkirk twice a day, and 
runners are dispatched to the country parts of the parish every 
morning. The inhabitants enjoy great facilities for travelling. 
During the summer, passage boats ply on the Union Canal to 
Edinburgh, to which there are three different opportunities every 
lawful day, and an equal number of night boats on their way be- 
twixt Edinburgh and Glasgow. In winter, however, there are 
only two day boats besides the night ones. To Glasgow by the 
Forth and Clyde Canal, boate leave Lock Ho. 16, a mile from 
Falkirk, four times a day. Two coaches pass through the town 



32 STIRLINQSHIRE. 

every day for Edinburgh, two for Glasgow, two for Stirling, one 
for Alloa, and one for Dunfermline and Kirkaldy. 

Roads, — There may be about teu miles of turnpike roads in the 
parish ; besides which, it is intersected in all directions by other 
public roads maintained from the Statute Labour funds. 

Bridges. — The parish is connected with Larbert by two bridges 
over the Carron ; with Denny by one over the water of Bonny ; 
with Polmont by several bridges, and with Bothkennar by a draw- 
bridge over the Carron, of thirty feet wide, to allow vessels to pass 
on the river. There are also bridges over different streamlets, and 
all are generally in good condition. The line of the Forth and 
Clyde Canal, in passing through the parish, is crossed by five 
drawbridges. Several highways are carried over the Union Canal 
by arches of stone. 

Fences. — These in the upland parts consist chiefly of thorn hed- 
ges and stone dikes. In some of the subdivision hedges, oak, elm, 
and beech trees have been planted. This occurs particularly on 
the grounds of Mr Forbes of Callendar. In the Carse, ditches 
prevail in a great degree, which serve not only for the division 
of fields, but also for the draining off the superabundant moisture. 
Here also, there are hedgerows of thorn; and the willow tree 
abounds, attaining a considerable size. 

Canab. — The Forth and Clyde Canal was begun in 1768, — 
opened to a certain extent in 1775, and completed in 1790. It 
commences at Grangemouth, and, passing westward through the 
whole length of the parish, leaves it half a mile to the west of Cas- 
tlecary drawbridge, where it enters the parish of Cumbernauld. 
For the first three miles, it runs through a dead level of carse 
ground, but the rise then becomes so rapid as to require an ele- 
vation of twelve locks within the space of little more than a mile. 
The turnpike road formerly passed under the Canal, about a mile 
west from Falkirk, but, by a recent alteration of that road, the 
Canal is now crossed by a drawbridge. 

The Union Canal, begun in 1818, and finished in 1822, runs 
through this parish to its termination at Lock 16 of the Forth 
and Clyde Canal, a distance of three miles. Here it falls 110 
feet by means of eleven locks, within the compass of half-a-mile. 
At the same distance south from Falkirk, it passes through a tun- 
nel cut out of the solid rock, nearly 1000 yards in length. This 
canal is used for the conveyance of passengers and of goods, coal, 
manure, &c. 



FALKIRK. 33 

BaUway. — The line of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway 
passes through this parish for about eight miles, entering from 
Polmont on the east It is to have a branch to the town of Fal* 
kirk, which is within half-a-nrile ot the main line. The ope- 
rations commenced in this neighbourhood early in 1839, and with- 
in the parish they consist of works of considerable magnitude. 
^moDg these, may be mentioned a bridge consisting of seven arches, 
of great height, going at once over the burn at Castlecary and 
over the turnpike road there, and a viaduct of three arches, one of 
^hich, being 130 feet span, crosses the Union Canal near to its 
western termination. A tunnel also is, at present, in the course of 
iformation, which, when finished, will extend to 845 yards under 
ground, will be 26 feet in width, 22 feet in height, and arched 
ivith brick. It is expected that this great undertaking, understood 
to cost a million of money, will be finished in 1842. 

EceUsiagdcal State. — The parish church is advantageously 
situated for the inhabitants of the town, and none of the villages, 
with the exception of Bonnybridge and Grangemouth, (which last, 
as already stated, has been erected into a parish quoad sacra) are . 
more than a mile and a-half distant. . In some of the country parts 
of the parish, the population may be still five miles from the church* 
But for upwards of a century past, considerable parts of it have 
been annexed quoad sacra to the neighbouring parishes of Slama- 
nan and Cumbernauld. 

Ancient documents show that, at one time, Denny, Slamanan, 
Muiravonside, and Polmont, formed parts of the then existing par- 
sonage of Falkirk. Of the period when the three first of these 
parishes were disjoined, no record has been found ; but Polmont 
was created a distinct parish in 1724. 

The church of Falkirk was founded by Malcolm Canmore in 
A. D. 1057. It was rebuilt in 1810. The ancient fabric consisted 
of four lofty arches, with extended aisles in the form of a cross, 
the centre forming the area or body of the church, and surmounted 
by a steeple. The present church contains sittings for 1500 
hearers. It is a square building, with windows of a Gothic form, 
and a circular gallery. The internal arrangements are convenient. 
The old arches and steeple were allowed to remain, and the former 
area now serves as a porch for the present church. The greater 
part of the pews were apportioned amongst the heritors ; and one 
of them was set apart as free sittings for twelve poor persons. 

Benefaction, — Some years ago, the sum of L.500 was bequeathed 

STIRLING. c 



34 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

to the kirk-session for behoof of the poor, by the late William 
Simpson, Esq. younger of Plean. The interest only of this sum 
is distributed, in terms of the will of the donor. 

The manse was rebuilt in 1746, and since then it has under* 
gone many alterations and repairs, particularly in 1 835, when it ' 
received a considerable addition. The house and offices are now 
in good order, and contain ample accommodation for a family. 
Adjoining is an excellent garden. Being in the town and near to 
the church, the manse is convenient for the incumbent and the 
parishioners. 

The glebe is somewhat less than the legal quantity of four acres, 
but the difference is made up by a portion of adjacent ground, 
which is rented by the heritors and possessed by the minister* 
The stipend being payable in grain, varies in its amount, and may 
be estimated on an average at L.400. 

There are no Chapels of Ease, but there are two additional 
churches, one at Grangemouth and another at Camelon, whereof 
notice has been already taken. There is also a church in the 
town, formerly of the Old Light Associate Synod, now connected 
with the Establishment, to which iio parochial district has been as- 
yet assigned. There is no Episcopal chapel. At present, while 
the railway is forming in the neighbourhood, a meeting of Papists 
is held monthly in the town, where Service is conducted by a priest 
from Stirling. The audience is chiefly composed of Irish labourers. 
There are several Dissenting chapels, one of which has already 
been noticed under the head of Laurieston. In the town, there 
are two of the United Secession Synod ; one of the Relief, and 
one of the Baptist persuasion. Of the three former, the ministers 
are paid from the seat-rents, and their stipends may be estimated 
at from L.100 to L.200, including the value of their manses. Of 
the latter, the services are conducted by laymen, and the sittings 
are free. The Congregational church, a few years ago, became 
extinct, and their place of meeting is now occupied by the Baptists. 
The average number of communicants at the Established 
Church, twice in the year, is from 600 to 700. 

Divine service there, and also at the Dissenting chapels, is, in 
general, well attended, which can scarcely fail to be the case in 
such a numerous population. It is to be lamented, that some in 
the more respectable walks of life give only a partial attendance, 
while multitudes in the lowest ranks of society are altogether care* 
less about the matter. 



FALKIRK. 



35 



There is at present no general Society for religious purposes. 
The Established and the Dissenting churches, however, contribute 
liberally for these objects, in connection with their own congre- 
gations, or with the ecclesiastical bodies to which they respectively 
belong. 

Education.— There are 25 schools in the parish, exclusive 
of Grangemouth. They are attended by about 1200 children. 
Two of these schools are parochial. In the one are taught 
Latin, Greek, and French. The salary is L.17, with a dwelling- 
house and garden ; the school fees 78. 6d. and lOs. 6d. per quar- 
ter. In the other, are taught English, at 3s. 6d. per quarter ; 
writing and arithmetic, at 4s.; botany, geography, and animal 
physiology, at 5s. 6d. Salary, L.34. In this department, there 
is great want of school accommodation; the room being only 
eighteen feet square for 110 scholars. Some of the other schools 
have small endowments. At Bonnybridge, the teacher has L.4 
per annum, arising from L.100 left by a Mr Scott for that pur- 
pose, about sixty years ago. He has also a school, dwelling-house, 
and garden, rent free. At Craigburn, the teacher has L.10 an- 
nually from Mr Forbes, besides a school and dwelling-house, rent 
free. At Laurieston, the teacher has a school and dwelling- 
house, besides L.5, 5s. of yearly salary from the Earl of Zetland. 
For the common branches of education, the fees are from 2s. 6d. 
to 4s. per quarter. Where the higher branches, such as geography, 
navigation, land-surveying, and mensuration are taught, the fees 
are 7s. 6d. and 10s. 6d. per quarter. One of the schools in Fal- 
kirk is for poor children exclusively, being usually attended by 
eighty, who are educated gratis. On Sabbath evenings, the chil- 
dren assemble for religious instruction. The teacher receives a 
salary of L.40 per annum, which is made up of an annual evening 
collection at the parish church ; on which occasion, service is con- 
ducted by a Churchman and a Dissenter alternately, and any de- 
6ciency is supplied by private donations. It has existed since the 
year 1812, and has been of great benefit to the place. The people, 
in general, appear to be alive to the advantages of education ; and 
there are no parts of the parish so distant as to prevent attendance 
at one or other of the schools. 

Literature. — There are in the town of Falkirk several public 
libraries. The principal one, instituted in 1792, contains about 
8000 volumes; a circulating library, 1200 volumes; andallelief 
church librar}', 1000 volumes. A School of Arts commenced in 
1827, in which there are weekly lectures during the winter seasov\« 



36 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

In 1839-40, lectures on Natural History were delivered. It has 
a library of about 600 volumes. There are two public reading- 
rooms for newspapers. There is at present no periodical work 
published here, although there are two printing establishments. 

Charitable Institution, — The only one is an hospital for the 
maintenance of four aged persons. . It was founded and endowed 
in 1640, by Lord Livingstone of Almond and Callendar. There 
belongs to it an acre of ground near the town, which is* let for 
gardens, &c. Each of the inmates receives from the proprietor 
of Callendar ten firlots of oatmeal annually, besides a small sum 
in money. He has the right of filling up vacancies as they occur. 

There are several private associations for the support of the 
sick, the infirm, and the aged. There was a savings' bank some 
years ago, but it does not now exist. 

Poor and Parochial Funds, — In 1833, the poor's roll contained 
160 persons. At present (1840), they amount to 250. All 
these receive regular supply, according to their circumstances of 
destitution, from Is. 6d. to I6s. per month. Another class receive 
ds. and 4s. per week. Besides these, sums to a large annual 
amount are bestowed in occasional relief. In the winter season, 
shoes and clothing are given in addition to pecuniary donations. 
In the course of the year ending June 1839, L.693, 14s. 3d. were 
expended in these different ways. The fimds requisite for these 
<^upplies arise from the interest of L.600 lent out by the kirk-ses- 
sion about fifty years ago, dues of proclamations, mortcloth, col- 
lections at the door of the parish church, but chiefly from an as- 
sessment imposed annually by a meeting of the heritors and kirk- 
session in terms of law. This assessment for many years consisted 
of L.1 Sterling on every L. 100 Scots of valued rent in the parish, 
and, along with a voluntary contribution from the inhabitants of 
the town and villages, amounted to L.200. This, in addition to 
the other funds, formed an adequate source of supply for the poor 
and incidental expenses. Of late years, however, the assessment 
has been rapidly increasing. In 1834-35, it was L.400 ; 1835-36, 
L.650; 1836-37, L.550; and, in 1837-38, L.950. The average 
collection at the church door for five years preceding June 1839, 
is about L.65. These contributions are decreasing to a great 
extent, in consequence of the enlarged assessments. A committee 
of heritors meets with the kirk-session monthly, for receiving ap- 
plications for aid ; and from the numbers who then apply, the re- 
ception of parochial relief does not appear to them to be degrading. 
A great defect prevails as to the proper management of the poor. 



FALKIRK. 37 

There is no superintendence of them, nor due investigation made 
as to their circumstances; and, for a few years back, almost every 
person applying has received assistance. From this cause, and 
from the idle and improvident habits of many of the lower classes, 
pauperism is much on the increase. 

Prison. — To this we have already adverted. The number of 
prisoners during last year was about 80, who were in general 
immured for petty offences. The prison is strictly a place of con- 
6nement, having no airing-ground. Its government is vested in 
the Sheriff, and under him one of his officers acts as jailer, and 
supplies the prisoners with food, &c. 

JFatVf • — ^Exclusive of the Falkirk trysts, which, as already stated, 
are held in a neighbouring parish, there are nine annual fairs in 
the town of Falkirk. Of these, seven are for buying and selling 
horses and cattle, and two for hiring servants. The markets and 
fiurs are held uniformly on Thursdays. 

LmSf AlehouseSi S^c. — Within the parish, there are 6 inns and 
110 other houses of public entertainment. So many houses of 
this description can scarcely be considered as favourable to the 
morals of the people. 

FmeL — This consists of coal, which is procured within the pa- 
rish. An ordinary cart-load of 15 cwt, delivered in the town, 
costs, carriage included, 7s. Id. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
Little remains to be added on this head. It will be seen from 

the foregoing statements, that much external improvement has ta- 
ken place since the former Statistical Account was written. Hus- 
bandry has beeti carried to a high pitch of melioration in its 
tarious departments, and the facilities of internal communication 
are abundant. When the railroad now in progress shall be 
finished, these will be greatly enhanced. In order that the moral 
improvement of the people may keep some equality with merely 
outward advantages, an additional supply of pastoral superinten- 
dence would, humanly speaking, be very serviceable. This can only 
be accomplished, by a subdivision of the town and country parts 
of the parish into separate districts, each with its church and school. 
In this way, would the progress of crime and of pauperism be most 
effectually checked, and the present and future happiness of all 
classes of the community promoted. 

Drawn up May 1840, revised March 1841. 



PARISH OF FINTRY. 

PRESBYTERY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. WILLIAM GRIERSON SMITH, MINISTER-* 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 
Boundaries^ §*c. — The parish of Fintry is bounded on the north, 

by Balfron and Gargunnock; on the east, by St Niniansand Kil- 
syth ; on the south, by Campsie ; and on the west, by Killearn and 
Strathblane. It is 17 miles due north from Glasgow ; 16 miles west 
by south from Stirling ; and 22 miles east by north from Dumbar-p 
ton. In the county and other maps of this parish, it is made to touch 
the parish of Strathblane on the south*west, at the Earl's Seat, the 
highest point of the Killearn range of hills. These maps, how- 
ever, are in that respect incorrect. The lands of neither of the pro* 
prietors of the parish, (for there are only two in it,) extend to the 
top of the Earl's Seat. The lands of Fintry, in that direction, are 
bounded by asmall stream, the source of the Finglenburn, at the foot 
of that eminence, upwards of half a mile from the point in question. 
The name " Fintry," is said to be derived from Gaelic words, sig- 
nifying " Fair land." 

The parish extends from east to west about 6 miles, and its 
breadth from north to south is 5. It contains about 20 square 
miles. Its figure is irregular. The whole parish may be said 
to consist of three ranges of hills and two valleys. The 
southern range may be denominated the continuation of the Camp- 
sie hills, and the Meikle Binn. The middle range is the conti- 
nuationiof the Killearn hills, passing through Fintry and joining 
the Dundaff hills, in the parish of St Ninians. The northern 
range forms what is properly called the Fintry hills. These con- 
stitute part of a chain of mountains originating near Stirling, in 
the east, running in a direct line west by south, and gradually in- 
creasing in height and magnitude, till it abruptly terminates in 
a bluff shoulder in Fintry, behind the house of Culcreuch. 

* Drawn up by the late incumbent, the Rev, James Coltart. 



FINXnY. 39 

Hydrography. — Two rivers of considerable name and import- 
ance take their rise in this parish. One of them, the Carron, flows 
into the Frith of Forth at Grangemouth, on the east coast, and the 
other, the Endrick, after a course of upwards of twenty miles, falls 
into I^Mshlomond near Balmaha. From this, it will be understood, 
that Fintry lies on the highest ground in the district of country 
■ betwixt the friths of Clyde and Forth. The Carron, famous in Scot- 
tish history, rises on the hill in this parish due south from the church 
of Fintry, and washes the skirts of the Campsie hills, forming the 
boundary, for upwards of two miles, betwixt the parishes of Fintry 
and Campsie. It then divides the southern valley of Fintry, men- 
tioned above, on the north side of the Meikle Binn, and, after a 
qourte of between two and three miles, it leaves the parish of Fin- 
try, and forms the boundary between Kilsyth and St Ninians, pas- 
sing Denny, &c. towards the Forth. 

The Endrick takes its rise on the north range, or on what wo 
have termed the Fintry hills. It is a very small stream, running 
east, till it reaches the parish of Gargunnock. It then takes a 
southerly course, aud, gaining strength by the accession of tributary 
streams from that parish, it separates it and St Ninians from the 
parish of Fintry, till it reaches the high road from Fintry to Denny. 
It then flows due west, through the northern valley of Fintry, or 
through what may be called Fintry Proper, about four miles, till 
it becomes the boundary betwixt the parishes of Killearn and Bal- 
fron, fourteen miles from Lochlomond. 

The Endrick is a bold and rapid stream till it reaches the vale 
of Fintry, and wants only wood on its banks in the upper part of 
the parish, to vie with the most beautiful and sublime of our sc* 
condary Scottish rivers. It comes down with a deafening noise 
over its rocky channel ; and, about two miles and a half to the 
east of the church, it pours its waters over a precipitous rock, 
90 feet high, vulgarly denominated the *^ Loup of Fintry." The 
grand appearance of this waterfall in dry seasons has been much 
injured by one of those circumstances, which, if they have added 
to the wealth of the countrv, have not increased its beautv. 
More than a mile above this fall, a great proportion of the river 
is carried off to supply a largo reservoir, formed by the pro- 
prietors of two cotton-miils ereclod on the stream. When the 
river is much swollen, nothing can exceed the grandeur of the 
scene. In its usual state there are three breaks in this fall ; 
but in a flood, it d:ishcs over the rock upwards of thirty yards 



40 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

wide, in one unbroken cataract, and rages with unbridled fury 
against the immense masses of unattached rock at the bottom, from 
which it, ^^ rising wets with misty showers," the high banks on 
either side to a considerable distance. 

' About three-fourths of a mile east from the church, the En- 
drick receives a tributary stream, nearly half its size. This is 
called the Gonachan Burn. It originates on the north side of 
that hill -south from the church, which we have said gives rise to 
the Carron. It separates, nearly through the whole of its course, 
the lands of His Grace the Duke of Montrose, from those of Mr 
Speirs of Culcreuch. The river Endrick, originating in thi^ pa- 
rish, and its course through it being but short, cannot be suppos-» 
ed to contain a great quantity of water. Yet it is the sole moving 
power of a considerable weight of machinery in the parish. The 
Culcreuch cotton factory is driven solely by its waters ; at the same 
time, it would be by no means sufficient for this purpose, but that 
a reservoir of considerable depth, covering about thirty acres of 
land, has been constructed on the high ground, supplied wholly by 
the Endrick, and calculated to contain water sufficient for the 
purposes of the mill, for nearly six weeks. 

Geology and Mineralogy. — The parish of Fintry affords a great 
variety of minerals, but never in great bodies. Coal in small seams 
is found in many places : granite occurs in detached fragments : 
there are also whinstone, freestone, andredstone, (locally called 6re- 
stone,) jasper, and fine specimens of zeolite. Rocks are numerous, 
and so disposed, as to contribute not a little to the grandeur of the 
scenery> These rocks belong to the trap formation, and lie in a po- 
sition very similar to those of Stirling Castle, Craigforth, and others 
in that neighbourhood. They exhibit the most sublime appear- 
ance on the northern or Fintry hills. They surround the western 
extremity of that range with much boldness, and on the south 
side, from some cause unknown, a great and rapid disintegration 
of the rock at its foundation seems to be going on. In the me- 
mory of persons still alive in the parish, a large portion of this rock 
began to subside. It is now separated from the hill by a chasm 
of more than a yard wide, and sunk below its original position up* 
wards of thirty feet. Masses of rock fall down every season.* At 

* The mass of sunk rock is, in extent, upwards of 60 yards in length, and from 10 
to 15 wide. The shattered and fallen masses are from its extremities. In the cen- 
trc, it remains solid and entire, as before it began to sink and separate from the hill. 
The writer of this article can imagine no more natural cause for this phenomenon 
than the action of water at the foundation of this rock, 'meeting with some soluble 



FINTRt. 41 

the foot of the rock which encircles the western brow of the hilly 
there is a considerable extent of table-land, affording excellent 
pasture for sheep and cattle, and on the descent below this, 
starts out a knoll, commonly known by the name of the Dun or 
DowHf of a singular appearance. Its front is a perpendicular 
rods, 50 feet high. The western extremity of this rock is one so- 
lid mass. Some fine specimens of zeolite have been found among 
tb^ rocks on the hill. Several attempts have been made to find 
eoal at its base, but hitherto, we regret to say, without success. 

Sodoffy^ ^— Game abounds in the parish. In the lower parts of 
iif in addition to the more common kinds, we have a plentiful 
supply of pheasants. The roe-deer is not unfirequently to be. 
se^ bounding through the woods, lind the moors are well stock- 
ed with grouse or heathfowl. The rocks give shelter to the moun- 
tain raven, hawks, and most of the smaller birds of prey. Among 
them also, the fox has long secured a very snug retreat. Polecats 
and other vermin of a like nature are not uncommon, and the harm- 
less and beautiful squirrel has long had a residence in our woods. 
Our streams supply us with no other kinds of fish than the common 
bum trout, which is much esteemed, and affords excellent sport 
to the angler. It has been asserted, that salmon have been taken 
as far up the Endrick as Fintry ; but this wants confirmation, and, 
indeed, a waterfall on the river seven miles below Fintry, upwards 
of twelve feet high, seems to falsify all such assertions. It has 
been lately proved in a court of law, that the Endrick above this 
fcll is not a salmon river. There is abundance of trout, known 
by the name of par, (a species only found in salmon rivers,) below 
this fall ; none above it.* Badgers, wild and martin cats are now 
extinct, though formerly abundant 

BUany. — This parish affords a very inviting field for the re- 

*UbsteDce« thereby undermining it, and occasioning the subsidence. In confirroa* 
tioo of this, weolMenre numerous copious springs of water issuing out, fitrther down 
^icbill. Yet it must be acknowledged, that, if this water was impregnated with 
foreign substances, it has lost them all by filtration before it reaches the surface, for 
^bere can be no springs of water more pure or agreeable. 

' The heritor, Mr Speirs, mentions, that, before he went abroad in 1810, the fish 
^«Iled •* par" was very numerous in Fintry waters, but that there were then no min- 
*Unrs : Id 1800 or 1810, a noted fisherman took minnows from below Gartness, and put 
Mi€in abore the faU : since that time pars have decreased, but there are now shoals of 
t^ionows. Mr Napier of Ballikinrain last year killed a sea. trout close to the borders 
^ th% pttrish ; which proves that the fall at Gartness can be surmounted. There are 
l^leaty of eek in the waters. Mr Speirs also mentions that, within his recollection, 
^reat additions have been made to the birds hereabouts. Kingfishers, redsUrts, cross- 
beaks, golden-wren, mistletoe- thrush, and starling, though even now not abundant, 
"Were formerly not at all known. 



42. STIRLINGSHIRE. 

searches of the botaDist. Its mountain ranges furnish almost the- 
whole family of the ferns, the mosses, the lichens, and the gnapfaa- 
liums. Most of those plants which court the moist shade flourish 
in rich luxuriance, in its rocky cliffs and deep ravines. On our moor 
pastures may be found the Gentiana campestrU^ the Empetrum nU 
ffruntf and the common juniper. In the woods, we have the Convalla" 
ria majalis^ and in great abundance the Jsperula odoratd. The 
Adoxa moschatellina has secured its residence among the shady 
moist rocks, and in the marshes, the Myrica gale. Hardwood of 
every description grows well in the lower part of the parish. Larch 
and spruces thrive in the plantations, though there are none of a 
very great age, all having been planted, it is believed, by the late 
Mr Speirs. The rarer and more recently introduced trees thrive 
well ; for instance, Abies Douglasice^ A. MenzezitB^ Pinus fjariceo. 
CorsiccBy P. SabincBy P. Deodarusy P> exceka. The first plant- 
ed in 1834 is 20 feet high. 

II. — Civil History. 
Secluded from social intercourse with the inhabitants of the 

surrounding district ; shut up in a narrow yet pleasant valley, on 
every side, by hills, which, till within the last fifty years, rendered 
it almost inaccessible, the inhabitants of Fintry formed a little 
community by themselves. They were content to follow the oc- 
cupations of their fathers, regardless of the changes and improve- 
ments taking place in other parts of the country. Father and son, 
through many successive generations, occupied the same farms, or 
inhabited the same cottages ; and, if they did not retrograde in their 
circumstances and comforts, they were abundantly satisfied. There 
are instances of families occupying the same farms for several cen- 
turies. In such a primitive and simple mode of life, there is little 
worthy of recording. The same mode of farming and grazing, till 
lately, was universally observed. Yet Fintry is not without its ho- 
nours. It gives a Baron's title to the principal proprietor of the pa- 
rish ; and there are still the remains of an old castle, which had evi- 
dently been a place of great strength, with its fosse and mound. It 
was the residence of the Grahams of Fintry in other times. It stood 
on the south side of the Fintry Hill, in full view of Sir John de Gra- 
ham's Castle, in the parish of St Ninians, with which, no doubt, in 
less happy times, intercourse was kept up by signal. Sir John de 
Graham's Castle was burnt down by Edward I. after the battle of 
Falkirk. Both these castles have long been in ruins; and many of 
the stones have been removed, for the purposes of building dikes and 



FINTRY. 43 

&rin-houses in the neighbourhood. The dilapidation, of late years, 
has been so great, that it seems probable, in a short time, nothing 
will remain, to mark out the place where such monuments of feu- 
dal pomp and pride stood. 

Two heritors, we have said, the Duke of Montrose and Mr 
Speirs of Culcreuch, possess the whole lands in the parish. Mr 
Speirs is the only residing heritor. Culcreuch House is situate 
at the west extremity of the Fintry Hill, and embosomed in wood, 
a great part of which is fine old timber ; notwithstanding its bar- 
tizans and thick walls, it is commodious, and yields to no other 
residence in the country, for the venerableness of its appearance, 
and the "beauty of its situation. The father of the present pro- 
prietor, the late Peter Speirs, Esq., a gentleman whose memory 
will long be cherished with much affection, not only by the parish of 
Fintry, but by all who had the happiness to live under him or near 
him, added much to the value of the property and the beauty of the 
place, by extensive plantations, all of which are now in a very thriving 
condition. Were His Grace to follow so good an example, by plant- 
ing clumps and belts in the upper part of the parish, its appearance 
liould not only be greatly improved, but the farms would be great- 
ly benefited by the shelter for their cattle, which such plantations 
would afford. The Duke is the principal heritor. 

Parochial Registers. — Parochial registers belonging to the ses- 
sion have been kept from a remote date. The oldest is dated 
1632. Some of them have fallen into careless hands, and been 
much injured : some altogether lost. Marriages and baptisms 
have been registered for upwards of a century. A registry of 
deaths has been kept, only since 1826. 

Births registered during the last seven years are 149, average 21^ 
Marriages, ... 65, 9Sf 

Deaths, . . . 188, 19i^ 

In the obituary of the above years, 39 are recorded to have died 
\mder twenty years of age ; 23 above seventy— of the latter, two 
Vrere seventy-eight, two eighty, one eighty-two, one eighty-three, 
three eighty- four, one ninety- one. 

III. — Population. 
In 1755, the number of the inhabitants was 891. After this pe- 
riod, the farms were enlarged, by the union of several small farms. 
The consequence of this was, that many of the small tenants were 
ejected, and obliged to seek a subsistence for themselves and fami- 
lies, elsewhere. Accordingly, in 1791, there is a decrease of popu- 
lation to the amount of 348. About this time, however, a change of 



44 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

an opposite nature caused a great increase of the population. Mr 
Speirs erected a large cotton factory, which required many 
hands ; and, to accommodate this new population, a village was 
built, which now contains about 650 souls. In consequence of 
this, the population is now nearly double that of 179 L 

Populatioa ptr census in 1801, . 956 

1811, 1003 

1821, , 1002 

1831 , . 1051 

This population is disposed of as follows : families, 203. Of 
these, 24 families are employed in agriculture; 131 in trade, 
manufacture, &c ; 48 families not employed in any of the above 
ways. 

IV. — Industry. 
Agriculture and Rural Economy. — This parish contains about 

12,800 imperial acres of land. Of these, about 1000 acres are 

arable ; considerably upwards of 100 are under wood ; and the rest, 

bill and moor pasture. 

Sent of Land. — The arable land low down in the valley, on 
the banks of the Endrick, lets at L.d per acre. Cows are grazed 
on such land for L.4 ; on hill pasture for L.2. The rent of th« 
whole parish is L.d822. The annual value of the real property 
in Fintry, as assessed in April 1815, was L. 4126. 

Rate of Wages. — Labourers' wages are Is. 8d. per day ; me- 
chanics, ds. 6d. ; tailors. Is. 6d. with meat. Farm-servants ge- 
nerally live in the farmer's house; their wages are from L.IO to 
L. 20 per annum. Women servants have from L.6 to L. 8 per 
annum. 

Husbandry. — Oats and barley are the staple grains, though the 
produce is far from equal ling the consumption. There may be, at an 
average, about 840 bolls of oats; barley, somewhat more than a third 
of that quantity annually. The late Mr Speirs gave his tenants 
good houses and farm-steadings. The Duke has begun to do so 
in his barony, in a very superior style. A house and farm-steading, 
lately erected in the upper part of the parish, cost, it is believed, 
nearly L.1000. New farm-houses are very much wanted. 

Grazing. — Stock of sheep and cattle chiefly occupies the at- 
tention of the farmer. On this, he depends for the payment of 
his rent. The parish is well calculated for such kind of farm- 
ing. It possesses very superior pasture, and is conveniently situat- 
ed for the great cattle and sheep-markets, Falkirk, Balgair, &c 



FINTRY. 45 

There are only twelve farmers in the whole parish, and, with the 
exception of two, they all possess extensive sheep-farms. The 
stock of the whole parish consists of 4000 sheep, 900 cattle, and 
200 milk cows. The cows are generally of the Ayrshire breed. 
One farmer keeps 25 cows; another 15; most of them 12» 
They make excellent butter and common cheese, for which they get 
a ready sale in the villages or towns in the neighbourhood. They 
rear a good many calves also. But they depend chiefly for their 
supply of cattle stock on the markets in the neighbourhood. In ear- 
ly summers, they purchase, at these markets, what stock they think 
will be sufficient for their summer's pasture. These, together with 
their winterers, (cattle laid on, in the end of the season, to consume 
their sprits and bog-hay, of which, in general, their farms yield a 
good supply, *) they take to one or other of the Falkirk harvest, 
trysts; and J if they succeed in securing L. 1, 10s. a piece for their 
summer's grass, they do not complain. It frequently hap- 
pens, however, that they do not obtain nearly that sum. The 
cattle-market has been, for years back, quite a game of chance. 
Sheep are a more steady and a more sure stock. Our hills raise 
excellent lambs, for which a ready sale is got from the butchers in 
Glasgow. The wool, too, of late years, has yielded a high price ; 
and altogether, from such stocks the farmer has a better prospect 
of a fiiir remuneration. Open drains are now cut very commonly 
along the sides of our hills, which have very much improved the 
sheep pasture, by carrying off the superfluous moisture. 

Manufactures. — Alhision has been made to a large cotton 
factory in this parish. It was erected by the late Mr Speirs, 
upwards of forty-five years ago. It occasioned a very great change 
in the aspect of the parish. In some respects, it may have 
been an advantage to the parish. It has perhaps occasioned 
the improvement of our roads, and it promotes a readier sale for 
much of our farm produce. But it is much to be feared, it has hitherw 
to been of no benefit to the proprietors. It is at a great distance 
from coals. It is eighteen miles from Glasgow; and cotton and 
yarn are carried, by a very hilly road, from and to it, at a very great 

• The mott abundant source of meadow hay Is the Carron Bog, an immense track 
of meadow Iwid on the banks of the river Carron, commencing in Fintry, and thence 
passiog into Kilsyth and St Ninians. This meadow extends in length fully three 
iniles, and averages in breadth about 400 yards ; though in some places its breadth is 
little short of a mile. It contains 358 acres. The hay it produces is excellent, and 
■o abundant* that it supplies not only the farms to which it is atuched, but much of 
it is told to £urmers not so well supplied, at the rate of from T^. 1, ds to L. 2 per 
•ere. When sold in the prepared state, it brings from 4d. to 6d. per stone, MoordmE 
to the state of the rye-grass crop. ^^ 



46 STIRL!NGSH!RK. 

expense* It contains upwards of 20,000 spindles, and employs 
constantly 260 hands. The mill people of Fintry are quiet, so- 
ber, and industrious. 

In the village, a distillery w^s erected by Messrs Cowan and Com- 
pany in 1816, and is now in active ^operation. It distils annually 
70,000 gallons of whisky, entirely from malt. This whisky is chief- 
ly carried to Glasgow, where it commands a ready market, having 
long maintained a high character. There is, also, a small wool 
factory in the parish ; but since the wool has risen to so exorbi- 
tant a price, it has scarcely been in operation. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 
For several years, a public coach ran from Kippen, through Pin- 
try, thrice a week to Glasgow; but, for want of encouragement, 
it is now withdrawn. There is no post-office in the parish, nor 
any nearer than Campsie, Balfron, or Kippen, the nearest of 
which places is distant from Fintry six miles. ' But we have car- 
triers of various descriptions to Glasgow, every alternate day. 
Ecclesiastical State, — The church is a very neat, plain building, 
with a tower on the west end. It was built in 1823, and contains 
500 sittings. It is three-quarters of a mile from the village, but 
quite in the centre of the parish. Indeed, with the exception of 
eight families, all are within a mile and a half of the church. It 
is an oblong square, with a gallery in one end, and the pulpit in 
the other. It is now sufficiently large; but if the population 
should be increased, it might easily be enlarged. The average 
number of communicants is about 380. There is no other pub- 
lic place of worship in the parish. The few Dissenters that are 
in it, go to one or other of the meeting-houses in Balfron. * 
The manse is a new building, and promises to be a very conve- 
nient and good house. The old manse has been converted into 
offices. It was built in 1732. The glebe contains nine Scotch 
acres, all now arable, and can be let at L. 3 per acre. The 
stipend is 44 bolls meal, 5 bolls, 3j pecks barley, and L.24, lOs. 
money. L.91, 17s. 6d. is drawn from the Exchequer. 

Education. — There is one parish school. The salary is the 
maximum, with a dwelling-house, and ground for a garden to the 
teacher. There is also a Sunday school in the village well at- 
tended ; and under the superintendence of the minister. A free 

* There are about thirty Dissenters in the parish, including two Bereans and 
four Roman Catholics. A few of them belong to the Rcliei', but the greater part 
to the United Associate S^nod. 



FINTRY. 47 

school has lately been erected in the village for the benefit of the 
parish, but chiefly for the children of those employed at the 
cotton-mill. The sum of L. 3000 was mortified for this purpose 
by the late Mr John Stewart, who carried on a mercantile busi- 
ness in Fintry for nearly fifty years, and died in 1836. The 
building is elegant and commodious, and includes a house for the 
teacher* The school is, at present, attended by about 100 day- 
scholars, and from 50 to 60 evening scholars. Mr Stewart also 
left L. 500 to form a fund for a Savings' Bank in Fintry. 

Literature. — There is a small subscription library in the parish, 
which was established about nine years ago. The books were 
read with eagerness, for two or three years after it was opened, 
but they are now much neglected. The taste for reading has de- 
creased. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — The number of persons receiving 

parochial aid, is from 9 to 16. The highest allowance that has 

been given, for years past, is L. 1 per quarter. A cart of coals in 

addition is given to the most needful, in very severe winters. Some 

get 15s., some 10s. or less, according to their necessities. There 

is no regular assessment in the parish ; but for the last ten or twelve 

years, the heritors have assessed themselves voluntarily in a small 

sum, varying, according to circumstances, from L. 10 to L. 20. 

With this exception, the poor are supported wholly by collections 

at the church, amounting to about L. 30 per annum, the interest 

of a fund of L.400, and by mortcloth and proclamation dues. The 

whole expenditure (including session-clerk, precentor's, and belU 

man's salaries, &c.) amounts to about L.60 per annum. 

Inns. — There are five licensed public-houses in the parish. 

Fuel. — Coals are generally carted twelve miles, from Kirkintilloch, 

by a very hilly road, at the rate, for some time past, of L.1* per 

ton ; or from Bannockburn or Banknock still farther. There are 

coals at Campsie, distant only eight milCs ; but the others are pre- 

ferred. 

• They are now reduced to about 15s. per ton. 

Revised March 1841. 



PARISH OF GARGUNNOCK. 

PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING, SYNOD OF PERTH AND STIRLING. 

THE REV. JAMES LAURIE, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 

Name. — The ancient name of the parish is Gargownno ; its 
modern name, Oargunnock. It is probably derived from the 
Celtic words Caer-guineachj which signify a sharp or conical for- 
tress. A fortress of this kind, called the Peel of GarguDoock, 
was situated near the north-east boundaries of the parish. 

Extent and Boundaries, — The length of the parish is 6 miles^ 
and its breadth 4 miles; and it contains about 20 square miles. 
It is bounded on the east and south by St Ninians ; on tbe'^west, 
by Fin try, Balfron, and Kippen ; and on the north, by Kincar- 
dine and Kilmadock. The Lennox hills, which run from Stirling 
to Dumbarton, extend through the breadth of the parish on the 
south. The greater part, by far, of the parish lies on the north 
side of these hills ; and, from their base, the land slopes gradually 
till it runs into the level plain, or carse ground, which is bounded 
by the windings of the Forth. The height of the Lennox hills 
above the level of the sea, is about 1400 feet ; and from their sum- 
mits, there is one of the most extensive and finest views in ScoU 
land, comprehending, perhaps, more than 12,000 square miles. 

Climate. — The temperature of the atmosphere is mild, and the 
climate wet, but not unhealthy. 

Hydrography. — There are in the parish a number of perennial 
springs, flowing from tilly or gravelly subsoils, resting on red and 
white sandstone rocks, which supply the inhabitants with abun- 
dance of excellent water. At the Burn of Boquhan, which forms 
the western boundary of this parish, there are two chalybeate 
springs, one on each side of the burn, perhaps little inferior to 
the Dunblane and Airthrey wells, though not so celebrated. 

The Forth is the only river in this parish. Its average breadth, 
where it forms the northern boundary of the parish, is 60 feet, and 
its average depth 12 feet. There are several cascades on the north 



GAUGUNNOCK. 49 

side of the Lennox hills ; one of them attracts particular attention 
in this neighbourhood ; it is about one mile from the manse, and, 
in time of heavy rains, it has a grand appearance, and is heard at 
a considerable distance. 

Geology, — The rocks of the Lennox hills are composed chiefly of 
trap or whiostone. In the gently sloping lands, between the hills and 
the carse, strata of red and white sandstone are found everywhere, 
under the soil and subsoil. Under the strata of white sandstone, 
there is abundance of limestone of different depths. It is the 
opinion of some men of experience, that there is plenty of coal on 
the estate of Gargunnock ; of which there are several indications, 
although no steps have been taken to ascertain the fact. There 
are also some veins of spar near the hills. There is great abun- 
dance of peat on the level parts of the Lennox hills ; and trees 
have been dug out of the moss ; which is an evidence that the hills, 
in ancient times, must have been covered with wood to their very 
summits. 

The lands of the parish consist of various kinds of soil, which 
are denominated moor, dry field, and carse. The moor consists 
of wet gravelly, and clayey soil; none of it is ploughed except a 
few acres near the sheep farm of Burnfoot, on the estate of Bo-> 
quhan. The most part of the moor affords sound healthy pasture for 
sheep and black-cattle, in the summer months. The term dryfield 
18 not descriptive of the nature of the soil, but is used merely to 
distinguish it from the moor and carse lands. The soil of the 
dryfield js, in general, sandy and clayey; but some of it is rich 
loam, where it joins the carse. The average depth of the soil of 
tbe dryfield is six or seven inches ; it rests on a subsoil of gravel 
or till, and under this subsoil are found strata of red and white 
sandstone. The soil of the carse lands consists of three or four 
feet of mixed clay of excellent quality, which lies on a subsoil of 
yellow or blue clay ; but the blue clay prevails. And below this 
blue clay, a bed of sea shells is deposited about ten feet from the 
surface. This bed of shells, it is said, is found everywhere in 
the rich and beautiful Strath of Monteath, which is twenty miles 
long, and in some places betwixt three and four miles broad. In 
some places along the banks, where the carse joins the dryfield, 
the ground has the appearance of having been washed at one time 
by a river, or by the waves of the sea. These facts prove almost 
to demonstration, that the whole of this picturesque and beautiful 
strath, has, at a remote period, been covered with the sea ; and after 

STIRLING. D 



50 STIRUNGSHIllK. 

the sea had receded, as it has evidently done in later times, from this 
part of the country, a forest, in the lapse of ages, must have grown. 
All this beautiful part of Scotland, both hill and dale, was covered 
vrith wood, and formed a part of the ancient Caledonian forest We 
are informed by the history of the Romans, who conquered this 
country, and kept possession of it about 500 years, that the Cale- 
donian forest was cut down by the Roman soldiers in the beginning 
of the third century. The marks of their hatchets have been seen 
on many of the large trees, lying beside their immense roots. And 
on the north side of the Forth, in the parish of Kincardine, where 
Mr Home Drummond of Blair Drummond, and Colonel Graham of 
Meiklewood, have cleared away the moss, to the depth of 12 or 15 
feet — roots were seen as thick as trees in a forest. Part of a Roman 
spear was found on Colonel Graham's propeirty, and also some 
smooth stones, in the shape of gun flints, which are supposed to 
have been used by the aborigines in flaying cattle. 

Zoology, — Roe-deer breed in great numbers, in the glen of Bo- 
quhan, at the western boundary of this parish. They also frequent 
occasionally the glen of Leckie, which affords an excellent cover 
for game, and which^the proprietor, Mr Moir, has with flne taste, 
and at great expense, beautified with winding paths and shrubs 
on both sides of the wobded banks of the bum. In the woods 
are seen, squirrels, foxes, polecats or foumarts, badgers, weasels, 
hedgehogs, hares, and rabbits. And besides the common speoies 
of small birds, there are pheasants, crows, jackdaws, magpies, 
woodcocks, wood-pigeons, grouse, partridges, snipes, wild-ducks, 
herons and hawks. The herons have, for time immemorial, built 
their nests on a row of Scotch firs, near the mansion-house of 
Meiklewood; but since the new house was built, they have taken 
their departure. The hawks build their nests on the almost inac- 
cessible clifis of Ballochleam, These are the falcon hawks ; and 
gentlemen in several parts of England have sent repeatedly to take 
their young, for the purpose of taming them for hunting. 

The cattle which are reared in the parish, are generally of the 
Ayrshire breed. Black-faced sheep are bred ; because it is the 
opinion of the farmers, that this kind agrees best with the soiL 
Some very strong, handsome, and valuable horses of the Clydes- 
dale breed, are reared. Hogs, both of a small and large kind, are 
bred* 

The river Forth abounds with perch, pike, and eels; but trout 
and salmon are not so plentiful, since moss began to be cast into 



GARGUNNOCK. 51 

the rirer. The time when the salmon go up to the higher streams 
to spawn, is in the end of October and the beginning of Novem- 
ber ; and they return about the beginning of January. There is 
abundance of fine trout in the burns of Boquhan, Leckie, and 
Gai^unnock ; and likewise in the burns which form the bound- 
aries of this parish, on the south side of the Lennox hills. 

II. — Civil History. 

We are informed by tradition, that, in the year 1746, Prince 
Charles the Pretender passed the Forth at the ford of Frew, 
breakfasted at Boquhan, and slept at Leckie. 

iMnd-aumers. — The chief land-owners are, Charles Alex- 
ander Moir, Esq. of Leckie, who is the first heritor of the pa- 
rish. The barony of Leckie extends through the length of the 
parish, from the south side of the Lennox hills to the river 
Forth. It therefore contains moor, dry-field, and carse lands. 
The next heritor, in point of valuation, is Henry Fletcher Camp- 
bell, Esq. of Boquhan. The barony of Boquhan runs parallel 
with the barony of Leckie on the west, and has the same kind of 
soils. The third heritor is John Stirling, Esq. of Gargunnbck, 
who 18 a minor. The barony of Gargunnock runs parallel with 
tbe barony of Leckie on the east. The fourth heritor is David 
Orabam, Esq. of Meiklewood. The fifth is Henry Seton Stewart, 
Esq. of Touch. The sixth is Mr Young of Easter Culmore. 
And the seventh is, Mr Kerr of Mosshead. 

Parochial Reffisters. — The earliest entry in the parish registers 
18 dated 1615. The registers are voluminous ; and, upon the whole, 
ihey have been regularly kept ; but, owing to accident or careless- 
ness, the registers of the last forty years of the seventeenth cen- 
tury have been lost. Since that time, many marriages, births, bap- 
tisms, and burials have been omitted to be recorded : and in con- 
sequence, several valuable legacies have been lost to the nearest 
heir. 

Antiquities, — The Keir-hill was a fortified place, in the end 
of the thirteenth century. It is considerably elevated, and is of 
an oval figure, and has been surrounded by a rampart; it is 
near the confluence of two rivulets which unite at the east end 
of the rillage ; and there must have been a ditch to the south. 
The circumference of the summit is about 140 yards. At 
the summer sacrament, the tent is placed at the bottom of the 
Keir-hill, and the people sit on its gently sloping side, and form 
an interesting sight The Peel of Gargunnock has been a much 



^ 



52 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

larger fortification than the Keir-hill. It was situated on a rising 
ground about fifty yards from the Forth, where that river takes a 
direction to the north, and about fifty or sixty yards east from the 
mouth of the bum of Gargunnock. It was surrounded by a ram- 
part and a ditch. Part of the ditch is still visible on the south, 
where it communicates with the burn. There is not a vestige of 
the Peel now remaining : the plough passes over the place where 
it once stood ; and the site must be pointed out to the inquiring 
stranger. The use of the Peel is supposed to have been for the 
protection of a ford, formed in the Forth by the influx of the bum. 
There was also a small fortress about three miles up the river, for 
the defence of the Ford of Frew. There is an account of the 
Peel of Gargunnock, in the history of Sir William Wallace. This 
patriotic and brave man and his followers were in possession of the 
Keir-hill, from whence they sallied forth, and attacked and put to 
flight the English who were stationed in the Peel. Wallace and his 
men crossed the Forth, on their way to the moss of Kincardine, by 
the bridge of Offers, part of the mins of which is still to be seen, 
about half a mile above the Peel. Between the old bridge of 
Offers and the Peel, and very near the new line of the Dumbar- 
ton road, a substantial and handsome suspension-bridge was erected 
nine years ago, by Colonel Graham of Meiklewood. He also made 
and repaired, at his own expense, a new line of road from the 
bridge, to the great road from Stirling to Callendar, a distance of 
two miles. A communication has thus been opened up, through 
this rich and beautiful strath of country. The public are much 
indebted to Colonel Graham, who, in this undertaking, has dis- 
played a well-informed mind, and a most liberal and public spirit. 
At Ballochleam, near the west end of this parish, a battle was 
fought between the Grahams and the Leckies, the date of which 
is not recorded. The late learned and accomplished Lieutenant- 
General Fletcher Campbell of Boquhan alludes to this battle in 
a curious manuscript left by him. " The ballad," says he, " that 
celebrated the battle of Ballochleam, was still sung by' a lady of 
our days. The Leckies must have been of considerable numbers 
at that time, if they could cope with the Grahams. Ballochleam 
signifies the hollow of the leap. In the hollow of one of those fields, 
searching for limestone, an old tenant found some pieces of brass 
armour, with the points of spears, and a great quantity of diffierent 
kinds of bones. He said he intended to go on, but a thought came 
that he might raise the plague." There was also a tower belong- 

3 



GARGUNNOCK* 53 

ing to the Grahams, who were Barons of Boquhan. The ruins of 
this aDcient tower were dug up, about eighty years ago, in the field 
of Old Hall ; and at that time, some aged men remembered the 
old iron door and grated windows. The glen of Boquhan is so 
grand and romantic, with wild and beautiful scenery, that it is 
sometimes called Trosachs. About a mile above the glen, the 
burn which descends from Ballochleam has washed out, in the soft 
freestone rocks, some very curious shapes, resembling wells and 
caldrons. 

Manrion^houses, — Mr Moir of Leckie has lately built a very 
elegant, commodious, and beautiful house, after the plan of the 
ancient English baronial mansion-houses. It stands on a higher 
situation than the old mansion-house of Leckie, and has a com- 
aianding view of the picturesque and beautiful strath of Monteath. 
And when the approach and pleasure grounds are finished, it will 
be one of the finest gentleman's seats in the country. Colonel 
Graham has built a very beautiful house at Meiklewood, near the 
site of the old mansion-house, and it is a prominent object among 
the fine old trees which surround it. 

III. — Population. 

The population in 1795 was 956 

1793, 830 
1833, 908 

The decrease is partly owing to the enlargement of farms, two 
or three.having been put into one ; and partly owing to emigra- 
tion to other parishes. The number of the population in the vil- 
lage is 466 ; and in the country part of the parish it is 442. 

'Hie yearly average of births for tlie lait seven years is, 24 

deaths, - - - 9 

marriages, - • 12 

The number of persons under 15 years of age, - 305 

between ]5 and 30, - 279 

30 and 50, - 207 

50 and 70, - 97 

uDwards of 70, - 20 

Hie number of bachelors and widowers upwards of 50 years of age, 16 

unmarried women upwards of 45, - - 47 

The average number of children in each family is about 3^. 
The number of male servants below twenty, is 46 ; and above 
twenty, 50; and the number of female servants below twenty, 
18 48; and above twenty, 51. 

Mr Moir of Leckie, Mr Campbell of Boquhan, and Colonel 
Graham of Meiklewood, are resident heritors. Gargunnock House 
ii at present occupied by Mrs Stirling of Gargunnock, and her 
family. The number of proprietors of land of the yearly value o{ 
L.50 and upwards is 7. 



54 STIRLINGSHIBE. 

IV. — Industry. 

Agriculture. — The number of cultivated acres in the parish, 
imperial measure, is 5332 ; the number of acres which have never 
been culti^ted, and which are in pasture, is 3762 ; the number of 
acres under wood, both natural and planted, is 574. The different 
kinds of trees which are planted, and which have been already 
mentioped under the head of Natural History, are, oak, asb^ 
Scotch and silver fir, larch, plane, elm, willow, and birch. The 
indigenous or natural wood consists chiefly of oak, ash, birch, and 
willow. The woods are under good management, and are regular* 
ly thinned, pruned, and felled, at the proper periods. 

Rent of Land* — The average rent of dry field is from L. I, 5s« 
to L.2 per acre ; and of carse land from L.2, 5s. to L.3 per acre. 
'Mr Moir of Leckie has lately let some capital farms at L. 3, Ss» 
per acre. The average rent of grazing in the high lands, is at the 
rate of 15s^ to L. 1, 5s, per ox or cow, and in the lowlands at the 
rate of L^ 3 ; and at the rate of 6^ per ewe or full-grown she^ 
pastured for a year* 

Wages. — The rate of labour^ winter and summer, for different 
kinds of farm- work, is jfirom 9s. to lOs. per week. The rate of 
wages for male farm-servants is from L. 12 to L. 18; and for fe- 
male-servants, from L.5 to L.7 per annum. Masons' and carpen- 
ters' wages are 14s. per week. 

Live-Stock. — Particular attention has been paid to the improve- 
ment of the breed of black-faced sheep, and of cattle of the Ayr- 
shire kind. 

With respect to the rotation of crops, it is as follows, viz. dry- 
field, three years pasture; if limed upon the sward, two crops of 
oats, but if not limed, one crop of oats; next, green crop of 
potatoes or turnips ; then barley ; and after that hay. The rota- 
tion of crops on the carse-land is, Ist^ summer fallow ; 2dy wheat ; 
Se/, beans ; 4M, barley ; 5/A, hay ; 6M, oats. In some farms where 
the soil is dry, the tenant pastures two years. 

WedgC'Draining. — The wedge drain is three feet deep, twelve 
inches broad at the top, and two inches broad at the bottom. 
Three kinds of spades and a cleaner are used in digging it ; Is*, a 
common spade ; 2<f, a spade four inches broad at the point ; 3rf, 
a spade two inches broad at the point. The clay is dug out with 
a gradual slope on both sides to the bottom. The cleaner is in 
the form of a half-cyhnder, about a foot or fourteen inches long, 
with a wooden handle, five or six feet in length. With this the 



GARGUNNOCK. 55 

^by is cleaDed out of the bottom of (he drain. Then peat or hard 
c;lay, and sometimes feed or green' turf, fourteen inches long, four 
inches broad, from three to five inches deep, and sloped at the 
mnda, is pressed firm into the drain, with the grassy side down- 
^^ards, leaving a space of five or six inches from the bottom ; and 
^en it is filled with clay to the top. The wedge drains are 15 or 
18 feet apart This mode of draining is a very great improve- 
vient. There is another kind of draining, which is a great im- 
provement to the dryfield. It is called wedge or furrow«draining. 
The leading drains are, at least, three feet deep. They are laid 
irith tiles at the bottom, with a foot of broken stones above them, 
somewhat larger than road metal. The other drains are two feet 
and a half deep, laid also with broken stones, about a foot or four- 
teen inches deep. The drains are about 15 or 18 feet apart. The 
wettest land may, in this manner, be made completely dry and va- 
luable. Mr Campbell of Boquhan is of opinion, that the greatest 
part of the dryfield land in the parish might be increased almost 
half its value, by this mode of draining. And he strongly re* 
commends this way of draining in all the carse lands, instead 
of the present system of wedge-draining ; and the reason he as- 
signs is that the Jeal or turf-draining continues good for six or 
eight years only, whereas the stone-draining will last for many 
years. Trench-ploughing above the stone drains is also a great 
icDprovement. This is done by a two-horse plough turning ofi" the 
Soil six inches ; then by the trench-plough^ drawn by four horses, 
immediately following, and opening the subsoil ten inches more, 
>irbich makes a furrow sixteen inches deep to the very top of the 
^tones* 

Farms are let on leases of nineteen years, which is consi- 
dered advantageous to the tenants. The farm onsteads are, in 
general, substantially built and commodious, and suited to the size 
^:^f the farms. The dryfield and carse lands are conveniently en- 
^csed with flourishing hedges, which are regularly pruned, and 
^ept in good repair. There are whinstone, and red and white 
freestone quarries in the parish. The former are blasted with 
^npowder, and the latter with plug, and feather, and wedges, 
l^otatoes, turnips, and sometimes cabbages are cultivated with 
great success, being fine in quality, and abundant in quantity. 
There is not much meadow-hay in the parish. The most of it is 
rye-grass sown with clover. 

The late General F. Campbell of Boquhan instituted the Far- 



56 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

mers' Club in this parish, in the year 1796; and in 1807 he en- 
riched it by his bequest of L.500 Steriing. Eleven parishes are 
entitled to the benefit of it, viz. Gargunnock, Stiriing, St Ninians, 
Kippen, Fintry, Balfron, Killearn, Drymen, Port, Kincardine, 
and Kilmadock. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 
Market'Town. — The nearest market-town is Stirling, which is 
about six miles distant from the church and village. 

Village. — There is only one village in the parish, very near the 
church, and situated on the eastern declivity of a small hill. The 
view from the top of the village, near the schoolmaster's house, is 
one of the richest and most beautiful of the Strath of Monteath. 
Almost the whole parish is seen from this commanding spot The 
prospect is bounded on the south by the Lennox hills ; on the west, 
by Ben-Lomond ; on the north, by Ben-Ledi and the Grampian 
mountains; and on the east, by the Ochil hills and Stirling Castle. 
The whole strath, from Gartmore to Stirling, stretches out before 
the eye like a beautiful map, adorned with many gentlemen's 
seats, enriched with a vast variety of corn-fields, and rendered pic^ 
turesque and interesting in a high degree by the windings of the 
Forth, and the delightful scenery of the low and rising grounds. 
The village is situated in the barony of Gargunnock. The lower 
part of it was feued, between eighty and ninety years ago, at the 
rate of L.l an acre; the upper part was feued at a later period, 
at the rate of L.2 per acre. Each feu has half an acre of ground 
attached to it, which is a great benefit to the inhabitants. 

Means of Communication. — There is no post-ofiice in the vil- 
lage; but a postman passes through the parish about ten o'clock 
in the forenoon, on his way to Kippen, and returns about three 
o'clock in the afternoon, which is a great accommodation to the 
parishioners. The great road betwixt Stirling and Dumbarton 
passes through the breadth of the parish, for the distance of four 
miles. A new line of road was made, some time ago, through the 
carse grounds, about half a mile from the church and village. No 
stage-coaches travel on this turnpike road, except the stage- 
coach from Kippen to Stirling, every Friday, which returns on the 
same day, for the accommodation of people going to, and return- 
ing from, the Stirling market The bridges and fences of the pa- 
rish are kept in good repair. 

Ecclesiastical State, — The parish church is conveniently situated 
for the greater part of the population. It is distant from the eastern 



GARGUNNOCK. 57 

eitremity of the parish one mile and a half, and from the western 
extremity two miles and a half. It was built in the year 1774, 
and is in a state of good repair, and affords accommodation for 500 
sitters. The seats of the church are free. The manse was built 
about the year 1750. It was enlarged and repaired io the year 
1602; and nine years ago it was again enlarged and thoroughly re- 
paired, soon after the present incumbent came to the parish, and it 
is now a commodious and comfortable house. The church and 
manse are situated on a rising ground, about 50 or 60 yards from 
one another. Few situations are more eligible, in point of roman- 
tic and beautiful scenery. The extent of the glebe, including the 
garden, is 7 acres; and the value of it is about L.20 per annum. 
The amount of the stipend is 148 bolls of oatmeal, and 2 bolls of 
barley, and L.25, lis. 3|d. from the Court of Exchequer, to aug- 
ment the stipend to L. 150. There is L. 9, Is. IJd. for commu- 
oioD elements. The number of families attending the Established 
Church is 1 95 ; and the total number of persons of all ages con- 
nected with it, is 880. The number of Seceders is 8 ; of Episcopa- 
lians is 9. Divine service at the Established Church is well at- 
tended ; and the average number of communicants is 340. The sa- 
csrament is dispensed twice a-year. The winter sacrament was com- 
^^nenced by the late faithful and much respected Dr Robertson of 
-South Leith, when he was minister of this parish, upwards of forty 
^ears ago. The expenses are defrayed by collections at the 
church gate. Collections are made regularly for the five schemes 
x>f the General Assembly, and occasional collections for local so- 
cieties, such as the Stirlingshire Bible Society, &c. 

A Sabbath school was commenced eighteen years ago at the 
Burntown, by a pious female ; and fourteen years cigo, another Sab- 
bath school was opened by the parish schoolmaster, and a member 
of the congregation, who is now an elder. It was patronized by 
some members of the kirk- session and others. The Sabbath 
school, so auspiciously begun, has continued to the present time; 
and last summer it was attended by nearly 100 children, and the 
school at the Burntown by 36. 

State of Religion. — This parish has been highly favoured with 
many pious ministers ; and at the time of the revivals of religion 
in Kilsyth, Muthil, and other parishes, in the year 1742, this pa- 
rish was also visited with the outpouring of the Spirit. And it is 
mentioned in Mr Robe's Narrative, that about 100 individuals 
were brought to the knowledge of the truth at that time; and that 



58 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

18 were converted on a Fast-day by a sermon preached by their 
aged pastor, the Rev. John Warden. Prayer-meetings were 
then held in several places of the parish, which continued for some 
time. The preaching of the Gospel and other means of graoe 
^have, through the Divine blessing, built up the people of God in 
their most holy faith ; and have been instrumental, from time to 
time, in bringing many to Christ. During the last two years, the 
Lord has been pleased, in answer to many prayers, to pour out 
his Spirit on Kilsyth. This wonderful event made the people of 
God more anxious and more earnest in prayer for the Spirit ; and 
the ministers whose parishes were visited in the year 1742, were 
very desirous that the Lord would again manifest his power and 
grace among them ;. and accordingly, in this parish, many week- 
day sermons were preached, which excited an interest in the 
people. Several of the neighbouring ministers were invited, and 
kindly came and preached on these occasions. The Rev. Charles 
F. Buchan, a devoted servant of the Lord, now minister of North 
Shields, was engaged last year, in the month of March, to assist 
the minister of the parish, during the summer months, in the ear- 
nest hope that the Lord would be graciously pleased to accom- 
pany with his effectual blessing the means employed. And it is 
with much gratitude mentioned, to the praise and glory of God, 
that several individuals have been brought to see their lost condi« 
tion by nature, and to flee to Christ, the refiige set before them 
in the Gospel. Prayer meetings are again established in the pa- 
rish ; and it is humbly hoped, that this day of small things may 
be the beginning of a more plenteous effusion of the Holy Spirit ! 

Education, — There are three schools in the parish, one paro- 
chial and two unendowed schools. One of the unendowed schools 
is near the village, and is numerously attended ; the other school, 
two miles distant, is attended by a small number. It is taught 
chiefly in winter, for the accommodation of the children in the neigh« 
bourhood. The parochial schoolmaster'^s salary is L.25, 13s. d^d., 
which is the minimum. Tjie plan of teaching in the parish school 
is excellent. The average amount of fees of the largest unendow- 
ed school is L.40 per annum. An infant school was begun in the 
manse six years ago, and is taught by Mrs Lawrie. 

Literature. — A parish library was established ten years ago. 
There is also a library for the Sabbath school. A Tract Society 
was formed in February 1835. The tracts are distributed every 
month, one to each family. 



OARGUNNOCK. 59 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — The average number of persons on 
^lie poor roll is 7 or 8 ; and about the same number receive occa- 
sional relief. The heritors, greatly to their honour, are very at« 
Ifc^Dtive to the necessities of the poor. The average sum allotted 
"i;^ each pauper is 4s. 6d. per month. Besides the weekly collec* 
^ons at the church gate, there are other funds, which have been 
^Qoortified at different times, by charitable individuals, for the bene* 
fit of the poor. The funds for the poor consist of two sums bear- 
ug interest ; one sum of L.266, Ids. 7d. is deposited in the Bank 
^f Scotland ; and the other sum of L. d65, is lent to the trustees 
of the turnpike road between Stirling and Dumbarton. The peo- 
ple ot this parish are of an independent spirit, and they do not ap- 
ply for parish relief, except in cases of extreme necessity. 
Alehauses.^^The number of alehouses in the parish is £Dur. 
There is one distillery, on the estate of Gargunnock. 
The people in general cultivate temperate habits, and very few 
of them drink to excess. 

Fuel. — The fuel chiefly used is coal, brought from Baunockburn, 

the distance of nine miles. The price of a cart load of coals of 

15 cwt., is 1 Is. 6d, including carriage. Peats are also brought 

from the moss of Kincardine, at 3s. 6d. per cart load. A few of 

the farmers bring peats on sleds from the Lennox hills. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
The present state of the parish is distinguished from that which , 

Existed forty years ago, by some striking variations and improve- 
t^ents. The elegant and beautiful house of Leckie, andalso the 
V>eautiful house of Meiklewood, Colonel Graham's suspension- 
V^ridge over the Forth, and the fine level line of road through the 
^sarse lands of the parish, did not then exist The new systems of 
>vedge or stone draining had not then been introduced and brought 
into general operation. In consequence of this superior system of 
^rai&ing, and other modern improvements in agriculture, the land 
lias increased above one-half in value; and, therefore, the rental of 
the parish has been more than doubled within the last forty years. 
The rental was then stated at L.3000; it is now upwards of 
L6500. The new line of road through the carse lands has been 
much improved, though it has lost much, in point of scenery. The 
oU Dumbarton road, which, at the time when the last Statistical 
Account was written, passed by Touch, Gargunnock House, the 
manse, and church, and village, Leckie, and Boquhan, to the vil- 
lage of Kippeo, was in many places beautified with fine scenery ; 



60 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

and the views from the rising grounds were varied, extensive, 
lively, and interesting. It is the opinion of some gentlemen, that 
the internal communication of the parish would be much improv- 
ed, were a new line of road made from Fintry, through the east 
end of Balfron parish, and by the foot of the Lennox hills, above 
Boquhan and Leckie, till it passes between the village and the 
church, and joins the new line of the Dumbarton road, near the 
new bridge which has been erected over the Forth. Others are of 
the opinion, that the new road from Fintry, instead of coming 
above Leckie, and past the east end of the village, should come 
down betwixt Boquhan and Leckie to the Dumbarton road. Were 
this line of new road to be made through the dryfield part of this 
parish to Fintry, it would be the nearest road from Dunblane and 
that neighbourhood, to the city of Glasgow. 

March 184L 



PARISH OF KILLEARN. 

PRESBYTERY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. JOHN GRAHAM, D.D. MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 

Name* — Killbarn seems to be compounded of three Celtic 
words, Kill-ear-rhin, signifying the cell or church of west-point. 
This etymology is descriptive of the situation, which is at the west- 
ern extremity of the Campsie Fells, a mountainous ridge running 
eastward from Killearn to Kilsyth, a distance of twenty miles. It 
is farther conBrmed by the circumstance, that the rising ground, a 
little below the site of the church, near the confluence of Enrick 
and Blane, still bears the name of Rhin, or Point. 

Extent, — The parish is of an irregular figure. Its length is 12 
miles ; its breadth, where greatest, 4, but at an average SJ. It 
contains 27 square miles, and probably 17,000 acres. It is situated 
in Strathenrick, now the western district of Stirlingshire, but ori- 
ginally a part of Lennox, or Dumbartonshire. 

Topographical Appearances, — The lowest part of the parish, at 
the confluence of Enrick and Blane, is about forty feet above the 



KILLEARN. 61 

level of the sea^ and eighteen above that of LochlomoDd ; into 
^^hich the united rivers flow after a course, in a direct line, of five 
sniles* The Enrick forms the northern boundary of the parish, for 
^ight miles nearly, dividing it from the parishes of Drymen and 
Balfron. Its course is rapid, and its waters peculiarly turbid in 
time of floods ; hence probably its name, Enrick, is a compound of 
the Celtic aim, or avon^ ruadhj the red river. Along its bank, 
there is a narrow slip of alluvial soil, the most fertile and valuable 
of the parish. Receding from this, the ground gradually rises, 
formiog a sloping tract of arable land, varying from one to two 
miles in breadth. The village, with the church, and Buchanan's 
Baonument} is situated in this tract, on a rising ground command- 
ing an extensive prospect. The limit of the arable ground is 
about 500 feet above the level of the sea ; at one place, Tam- 
Detberskins, * the height above that level exceeds 600. Still 
bigher, is another belt, rising about 200 feet farther, and extend- 
ing about a mile in breadth ; which, though, in some places, shew- 
'Qg marks of the plough in former times, is now kept permanently 
ID pasture* The surface is generally mossy, incumbent on white 
freestone, and producing coarse grass where it is marshy, and 
stunted heath where it is dry. Above this, is the mountainous 
t^idge, composed of trap rock, and rising to the height of 1200 feet 
^boTe the level of the sea. Except in some steep places, particu- 
larly in the Corrie of Balglas, the rock is concealed by soil form- 
ed of the debris of trap, whose rich verdure is a striking contrast 
Xo the dark heath below. It produces white clover, and the finest 
grasses in abundance ; some patches of it^ at an elevation of 800 
ieetf seem formerly to have been under tillage. 

Hydrography, — At the southern extremity of the parish, where 
it meets Kilpatrick, there is an artificial lake, covering about 150 
acres, — a reservoir to supply water during summer to the Partick 
mills, on the Kelvin near Glasgow, — as the sources of that river 
were taken to form the summit reservoir of the Forth and Clyde 
Canal. Besides the Enrick and Blane, already alluded to, there 
are many rivulets descending rapidly from the mountain's brow, 
and forming numberless cascades in their course. Of these, the 
finest is in the glen of Dualt, near Killearn House, where in a 
deep wooded ravine, amid many smaller falls, the rivulet rushes 

• Tamnethcrskins is a corruption of the Celtic words Tam-na-urhkiu^ the mount 
of goblins. Tarn is a common Celtic affix to places. It may be traced as a primitive 
root in noaoy languages, e. g. tumulus in Latin is the diminutive of it, and tumeo u a 
▼Mb formed from it. The original idea is a mount, a small round eminence. 



26 STIRLINOSHIKE. 

over a perpendicular precipice of sixty feet Id the same neigh- 
bourhood, the Carnock, another rivulet, has worn a channel seventjr 
feet deep, through red sandstone.* There are also many cascades 
on the rivulets of Ballikinrain and Boquhan, the steep banks of which 
have been planted by the proprietors ; and numerous walks have 
been made along them, that the scenery may be seen to advantage* 

Minerals. — The base of this district is the old red sandstone* 
In the rising ground, a variety of strata is exposed to view by the 
action of the mountain streams, consisting of clay, lime, and free- 
stone. Of the last, which is uppermost, some quarries are wrought 
for building houses ; and one quarry near Ballikinrain, if we may 
judge from the excavation, must have been of repute, formerly, for 
mill-stones. About ten pairs are still disposed of annually ; but 
they are reckoned inferior, as they wear too. rapidly. Near the 
mill-stone quarry is a spring, holding lime in solution, and petri- 
fying the moss on its brink. The mountains are all caped with 
trap rock, which seems, at some remote period, to have been forced 
upward through the sandstone in a state of fusion. During the 
same eruption, many fissures were made, extending like radii from 
the centre of the mountain down to the valley. These fissures 
were also filled with fused trap, and furnish excellent materials for 
the roads of the district. 

In the trap formation, near the south end of the parish, there 
is a singular chasm, called the Wanzie. A transverse section of 
a hill, running east and west, seems to have slipped off, probably 
from the partial decay of the subjacent sandstone leaving it with- 
out support. The chasm is 346 feet in length. The width 
where greatest is lOj'g feet, and where least 2x\ feet. The depth 
at present is about 30 feet at a medium ; but as the bottom is 
filled with rubbish, it must have originally been much greater. It 
takes a zig-zag direction, and it is easy to mark the exactness 
with which the angles and surfaces, on one side, answer to those on 
the other. There were many fissures in the same hill, which have 
been filled up by the tenants since the introduction of sheep. 
Near the north corner of the hill, there is still one left open, run- 
ning in a zig-zag direction, 185 feet in length, and generally 6 
inches in breadth. 

• Most names of places are Celtic, and significant. The chasm of Carnock is 
called Ashdow, a corruption of Vitk-dhuy black water, from the dark appearance of 
the rivulet, as the rays of the sun rarely reach it, on account of the high precipices and 
OYerhanging woods. Carnock is a diminutive of Carron, and signifies little wind- 
ing river. Dualt flows through mossy ground ; henco its origin dhu-alty black rivulet. 
Avon or Ann is the same in sense and sound with the Latin Amn-is. 



KILLEARN. 63 

Attempts have often of late, as well as formerly, been made to 
find coal in thi3 parish and 'neighbourhood. That they Have always 
been unsuccessful, is what should be expected from the mineralogy 
of the district The Grampians, a primary range, stretching from 
Dumbarton to the east coast, are accompanied on the south by a 
secondary ridge, at a distance varying from five to fifteen miles. 
Strath Enrick is the western portion of the intervening track be- 
tween those mountainous ranges. The base is the old red sand- 
stone, in which coal is never found. In ascending the southern 
range, we Ipse the red sandstone, and find strata of lime, clay, and 
freestone, with occasionally a coal seam of three or four inches 
in thickness, — a plain indication that we are risinff to the coal 
measures. The trap rock, forming the apex of the range, covers 
the previously existing strata. Passing that interruption, we enter 
OD Campsie and Kilpatrick, the great coal-field of Scotland, cros« 
sing the breadth of the island, but lying all to the south of the 
secondary range. The searches for coal have been made, both by 
iarinff and shanking ; but, with one exception, always in the lower 
parts of Strath Enrick ; whereas common observation, as well as 
geological science, indicates that the higher regions should have 
been diligently examined, as, if a workable stratum of coal exists 
^ny where, it must be found near the verge of the trap formation. 
7Vees.-^The arable part of the parish is generally well-wooded, 
9IS regards both shelter and ornament Besides the plantations 
^%vhich surround the houses of proprietors, every glen and ravine is 
^H>vered with copse-wood. The following table contains the di- 
snensions of some remarkable trees, as measured at present, and 
Qis reported in the former Statistical Account The yew trees are 
"near the House of Ballikinrain ; the others are on the estate of 
Killeam, near the old mansion-house* 

Trves. Girth 1794. 

Yev, berry-bearing, • 8 feet inches. 
Yew, barren,* . 10 8 

Omk, . . 12 

Silrer fir, • . Not reported. 

These trees are all in vigorous growth, yet the increase during 
forty years is inconsiderable. There is a possible error in the 
comparison. The former reporter does not state the height where 
he measured the circumference. I made all the measurements at 
three feet above the ground. From many observations on yew 

■ The former reporter must hmve measured this tree, and perhaps the others, where 
thickast, as bis measurement is greater than the present at three feet above the sur- 
bee. At sii feet, near the branches, the girth is eleven feet. 



00.1834. 


Cubic conteotr 


8 feet 5 inches. 


89 feet. 


10 3 


103 


13 3 


300 


12 Oi 


302 



64 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

trees, De Candolle of Geneva calculates their average annual in- 
crease in diameter at one-twelfth of an inch, — which is more than 
double of what is shown in this table ; and by that rule the age of 
the one yew is 404 years, and of the other, 492. If we assume 
that the increase of the oak, as in the table, is 15 inches in cir- 
cumference, or 5 in diameter, during a period of forty years; 
then, on the supposition that its growth has been equable, the age 
of the tree is 424 years. The age of the silver fir is known to be 
about 100 years, while it nearly equals the oak, however old it 
may be, in circumference, and, from its greater height, exceeds it 
in cubic contents. 

II. — Civil History. 
Land-owners. — The greater part of the parish belonged, at an 
early period, to the family of Montrose, who still retain the supe- 
riority, though they have alienated all the property but one farm. 
Originally, the patron of a church was proprietor of the parish an- 
nexed to it In 1429, six churches, Cambuslang, Tarbolton, 
Eaglesham, Luss, Kirkmahoe, and Killearn, were, with consent of 
the patrons, erected into prebends of the cathedral of Glasgow.* 
Vicars were appointed afterwards to these parishes ; and, as an il- 
lustration of their comparative opulence, the stipend assigned to 
Killearn was fifteen merks, while that of the others was twenty.^- In 
that erection, Patrick Lord de Graham is mentioned as patron of 
Killearn. In 1560, William, second Earl of Montrose, gave to 
his youngest son, by a charter of that date, the lands of Killearn, 
Ibert, and Drumbeg. % A descendant of that family represented 
the county in the British Parliament, during the earlier part of 
last century. When he entered England, he could not fail to ob- 
serve the nakedness of his native land. He was the first in this 
district who attempted, by plantations, to improve the climate, and 
to adorn the country. Besides the usual forest trees, of which 
there are many beautiful specimens at Killearn, he was among the 
first that introduced the larch into Scotland. From want of time- 
ly thinning, the larch trees have not thriven, as they are remarka- 
"Ne only for extreme height; many of them being 100, and one 

* Chartulary of Glasgow, quoted in Conncl on Tythcs, Vol. iii. Appendix, No. 18. 
f The following table shows the rent of Luss and Killearn at later times :— 
Luss, Valued rent 1656, L.1500 Scots. Real rent 1841, L.7000. 
Killearn, Do. 2840 Do. Do. 6900. 

:( Douglas* Peerage — Article Montrose. These names continue still unchanged. 
Ibert, according to Dr Macleod of St Columba's, Glasgow, signifies the Well of 
Sacrifice, equiTalent to Holywell in Ireland Drumbeg is Celtic for little ridge. 



KILLEAKN. C5 

114 feet higli. In the former Statistical Account, they are 
said, when sixty years old, to be three feet in diameter ; now when 
they are upwards of 100 years, I could 6nd only one that was Q^^.j 
feet, at the height of three feet from the ground. In 1750, the 
estate was sold to Mr Scott of Glasgow, whose only dauc^hter was 
married to Sir James Montgomery, Bart., Chief Baron of the Ex- 
chequer. That excellent man here, as well as in his native county 
of Peebles, patronized rural improvement, by feuing ground for the 
Tillage, by enclosing his whole estate with hedges, and by givincr 
leases generally of 6fly-seven years, to enable his tenants to reap 
the benefit of their outlay on their farms. The result of these leases 
does not seem encouraging either to tenant or landlord. The farms 
were all let at a fair rent, varying from 5s. to L.l per acre, and 
are all arable, except one fa^ m. During the first twenty years, 
the tenants seem to have been industrious. According to the 
former reporter, " they were, on the whole, doing very well." 
Now, forty years afterwards, when some of the leases have expir- 
ed, and the others will expire in the course of four years, — more 
than one-half of the tenants have become bankrupts, and have 
been ejected : only three are wealthy, yet their houses, fences, 
and lands, are behind the average rate of improvement 

The most efficient improver in this parish, and in others with 
which be was connected, was the late Mr Dunmore of Ballikin- 
rain. In the end of last century, he introduced turnpike roads, 
cotton manufactures, and a general system of planting waste 
ground* The manufacturing establishments were unfortunate, and 
have been abandoned ; but his other rural improvements have 
been zealously followed by his son, R. D. Napier, Esq. the pre- 
sent proprietor. The other proprietors, in a descending scries, are. 
Sir Archibald Edmonstone, Bart, of Duntreath ; John Buchanan of 
Carbeth ; George Wilson of Auchniven ; Thomas B. Buchanan 
of Boquhan; William Finlay of Moss; Alexander Speirs of Cul- 
ereucb ; William Macleroy of Glenboig ; William Edmond of 
Ballocbrain ; the Messrs Provan & Co. of I^dlewan, and the Duke 
of Montrose, — all of whom have estates rented at upwards of L.50^ 
a year, and most of whom are resident. 

Eminent Men. — In the year 1506, George Buchanan, the poet 
and historian, was born at Moss, about a mile south from the 
church. Part of the house in which he was born, with a thatch- 
ed roof resting on oak spars, remained till 1812, when a modern 
house was built on the site by the late proprietor, who made out 

STIRLING. E 



66 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

of the oak spars, a chair and table, to be preserved in memory of 
Buchanan's birth. An obelisk in honour of him was erected in the 
village in 178a The height is 103 feet. The expense, which 
was defrayed by subscription, amounted to L.200 for building, and 
L.95 for scaffolding. It is said to be an exact copy of the menu* 
ment erected at Boyne, in Ireland, to commemorate the victory of 
William III., in the vear 1690. 

Buildings. — The estate of Killearn was purchased in 1814, by 
John Blackburn, Esq. of Jamaica, who has recently fitted up an 
elegant mansion-house on the banks of Blane. Mr Buchanan 
also, last summer, finished a showy castellated mansion at Car- 
beth. The manse was built in 1825, and the church in 1826; 
both are comfortable and substantial. The expense of the for- 
mer, including L.300for offices builtin 1815, was L.1100. The 
church accommodates 500 sitters, and cost L. 1050. 

III. — Population. 
The amount of the population is slowly but steadily progressive. 

After the middle of last century, there was a temporary diminu-* 
tion, occasioped by the union of small farms ; but this was more 
than compensated by the increase of the village, which ancient- 
ly contained about twenty families, clustered near the church. 
About the year 1 770, Sir James Montgomery laid the foundation 
of its improvement, by granting building-leases of 999 years. 
The rent was L. 2 per Scotch acre. The extent varied from two 
roods to six acres. As the village is far from fuel, and even from 
running water, it did not seem a place favourable for the establish- 
ment of manufactures. It was desirable, however, to prevent the 
introduction of pauperism ; and for this purpose, by the suggestion 
of the late Rev. James Graham, it was stipulated, that each pos- 
session, as originally let, was to remain entire, and to be occupied 
by only one family. As the proprietor was non-resident, this sti- 
pulation was not strictly observed. When Mr Blackburn pur- 
chased the estate of Killearn in 1814, he expressed his approba- 
tion of the restriction, and his intention to enforce it. In 1830, 
he raised an action before the Court of Session, against those who 
would not dismiss their subtenants. By that time, there were 
two families at an average on each possession ; and fn many cases, 
the practice had continued, for upwards of forty years. Several 
tenants, trusting to the plea of prescription, resolved to litigate 
the point ; but before they entered the Court, a compromise was 
proposed, and ultimately agreed to, on the intervention of the 



KILLEAKV. C7 

minister, viz. that subtenant*^ should be allowed, provided they 
be natives of the parish, or strangers who had previously acquired 
a legal domicile by three years' industrial residence. This limi- 
tation, by excluding vagrants, secured every good puqoose of the 
original stipulation in the lease, while it allowed the tenants to 
enjoy the full benefit of their existing buildings. The village is 
scattered and irregular ; yet, as the generality of the inhabitants 
possess fixed property, they are free from the vices and vicissitudes 
of a manufacturing population. The number of inhabitants, at 
different periods, is shewn in the following table : — 

Village. Country. ToUl. 
1755. — _ 959 
1769, 74 854 948 
]794, 223 750 97.^ 

1831, 388 818 1206 

The register of baptisms and deaths is not correct ; that of 
marriages only can be depended upon. During the last seven years 
there have been 56 marriciges, and, consequently, 8 at an average 
every year. In this list are included those marriages, where both 
parties, or at least the males, resided in the parish. During this 
period, 20 female parishioners were married to males residing in 
other parishes : but of these, none are included in the present list. 
It were desirable that this rule should be observed, as otherwise, 
the same marriage may be twice reported, where the parties reside 
in different parishes. 

There may be one illegitimate birth in the parish, annually, at 
an average. 

It is not probable that any great diflerence will take place in 
the number or condition of the inhabitants, either in the village 
or country. The following particulars are taken from the Go- 
vernment census of 1831 : — 

Inhabited houses, - 182 

Families, - • 215 

Males, - - 623 

Females, - - 583 

Population, 1206 

Families employed in agriculture, _ - - 59 

trade, crafts, &c. - - - 60 

All other families, ... - . 87 

215 

The character of the parishioners is decent and pious, occa- . 
sioued mainly by the constant intercourse subsisting between 
householders and their domestics. Farmers, as well as villagers, 
sit ID the same apartment with the inmates of their houses^ aud eai 



68 STIRLINGSHIRK. 

with them at the same table. Kindly feelings are thus generated 
between masters and servants ; while the latter are prompted to 
diligence, and prevented from irregularity, by the presence of the 
former. 

IV. — Industry. 

Agriculture. — Of the 17,000 acres given as the probable extent 
of the parish, not more than 7000 are at present under the plough ; 
but additions are annually made to the arable district, and some 
thousand acres might still be brought into cultivation. In the 
present depressed state of the markets, it is advisable to expend 
capital in improving the ground already arable. The most fa- 
shionable and most profitable improvement, is what is called fur- 
row, or frequent draining. While every proprietor has commenced 
operations on the clay retentive soil, which abounds in the parish, 
Mr Blackburn has taken the lead. His drains are only sixteen 
feet asunder, and filled with broken stones. The effects of his 
system are now visible on a farm of 200 acres, which, from being 
drenched with moisture in winter, and from being baked with the 
heat of summer, was of little value either in crop or pasture ; but 
now, in consequence of draining and deep ploughing, it produces 
luxuriant crops of turnips and grain. In the latter years of his 
life, and since his death, in 1840, his son, Mr Peter Blackburn, 
has extended draining to every part of his estate. He erected, in 
1837, a kiln for burning drain tiles, which yields about 500,000 
annually. 

Plantations and Pasture. — There is little natural wood in the 
parish. The extent under plantation, is about 1140 acres. The 
object of proprietors is to convert these plantations into copse, fil- 
ling them entirely with oak, and cutting them, every twenty years : 
yet, as oak bark has fallen to about L.8 per ton — less than half 
of the war prices, and as there is a growing demand for fir, especial- 
ly larch, it is probable that the latter will be more extensively plant- 
ed. The annual value of wood sold, is about L. 400. It may 
increase considerably beyond that sum, as a great part of the oak 
copse is not arrived at perfection. 

The ground that is waste, or in permanent pasture, extends to 
8860 acres, and admits of some improvement by draining marshes, 
and by sheltering exposed ground by artificial plantations — even 
though not partially brought into cultivation. 

Rent and Produce. — Farms vary in extent from L. 560 a-year 
down to L. 35, besides some small possessions occupied by retired 



KlLLEAllN. 6d 

iarmers and by tradesmen. Among all of them, there is diffused 
a spirit of improvement. Within the last thirty years, the produce 
has been doubled : still much remains to be done. The soil is 
fiir from that state of fertility, of which it may be made capable, as 
the best patches near the village are let at L. 1, 12s. per acre, 
while the average of the whole arable land is about 15s. The 
rent of the whole parish may be stated as follows : 

Arable, 7000 acres at 15s., . L.5250 

Hill pasture, 8860 do. 1250 

Plaotation, 1140 do. 400 



17,000 L.6,900 

The following statement of the gross produce is perhaps near 
the truth : 

1. Crops. 

Imperial acres. Produce per acre. Total produce. Total value. 

*^ oats, 1500 30 bushels at Ss. 6d., 45.000 bushels, L.5625 

bariej, .960 96 do. Ss. 6d., 12,960 do. 2268 

vbeat, .60 40 do. 5s. 6d., 2400 do. 615 

potatoes, . 200 at L. 6 per acre, 1200 

bay, 600 at L. 2 do. 1200 
tumipSt beaos, 

tares, &c. 200 at L.5 per acre, 1000 



2. Stock. 

ilk eoirs, 500 at L. 5, . L.2500 

^at cattle, 200 at L. 4, 10s. 900 

beep, (Highland) dOOO at 10s. 1500 

Jorses, . 40 reared annually nt L.25, 1000 

-^Sbeep (English), swine and poultry, annual value of 200 



L.11,908 



6100 



Total annual value of crops and stock, . L. 18,008 

In explanation of this statement, it may be mentioned that the 
dairy produce of each cow, could not be rated at L. 5, without in- 
cluding the value of calves reared (for none arc fattened) ; that 
a half only of the horses annually reared is sold, the other half 
being required to keep up the stocks ; and that a part of hay, 
and the whole turnips, beans, and tares, are employed in feeding 
cattle and horses, and ought not, therefore, to be placed to the 
credit of the farm, were it not compensated by the value of old 
sheep and old cows annually sold, for which no charge is made. 
The sheep are sold as great ewes in spring, or fattened in the end 
of the season. The old cows are sold with most advantage to 
Glasgow dairy men, when they are near calving, and there is a 
regular demand for such, as they give milk only one year, and as 



70 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

they are nearly ready for the butcher, as soon as the milk season 

is ended. 

Manufactures. — There was a cotton^mill in the parish, which was 
burnt down in 1806, and has not been rebuilt; and a printfield^ 
which was abandoned about the same time, and is now become 
ruinous. There is now only one manufacturing establishment-— 
the woollen factory of Mr John Jamieson, where 400 cwts. of wool 
are used annually, and where it passes through all the various 
processes, till it is converted into cloth. 

V, — Parochial Economy. 

Ecclesiastical State, — The church and manse are both substan- 
tial and commodious. The former is well attended ; the number 
of communicants is about 480 ; the male heads of families in com- 
munion, by the roll of last sacrament, are 153. There is no Dis- 
senting place of worship in the parish ; only 26 families are Dissen- 
ters ; yet all of these, with one exception, occasionally attend the 
parish church. The last augmentation of stipend was in 1814, 
when the teinds were exhausted. The stipend consists of 184 
bolls of meal, 4 bolls of barley, and L. 3 in money. The glebe 
consists of 8 acres of land, worth L. 12 annually. The value of the 
living, at an average of four years, is L.150. 

Education, — There is one parochial school in the village, with 
a salary to the master of L.31 annually, and an allowance of L. 8 
in lieu of a house and garden. There are three private schools 
in different parts of the parish, maintained exclusively by school- 
fees. The number of scholars is about 170 : they are taught only 
the elementary branches. There is also a Sabbath school in the 
village, which is attended by nearly 100 children. 

Poor, — The regular poor are 12 at an average, and receive about 
L.4 each in the year: a few, perhaps six or thereby, receive occasion- 
al aid at Christmas, and at Lammas, when the sacrament is dispen- 
sed. The whole expense amounts to L.54. The income consists of 
collections in the church, amounting to L. 50, and the interest of 
capital, L.4. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
The parish, except in regard to education, may be said to be 

in a healthy state. A general spirit of improvement is promoted 
by the example and encouragement of the numerous resident heri- 
tors* One drawback is the distance from fuel, from manures, and 
from markets ; and good roads are the only means of obviating 
that disadvantage. In 1768^ the last minister introduced the no- 



STRATHRLANB. 71 

relty of bringing lime, on a single horse cart ; prior to that time, 
lime was never thought of as manure, and coals were carried on 
horses' backs. Turnpike roads were introduced 'from 1790 to 
1800; but the lines were very injudiciously chosen. The dis- 
tance from the village to Glasgow, is seventeen miles; but it is be- 
lieved a more level line can be found, two miles shorter. The ex- 
tent of turnpike roads is about twelve miles ; the surface is much 
smoother and 6rmer from the introduction of Macadamizing ; and 
in consequence, the usual load of a horse is raised to a ton ;— 
whereas till about ten years ago, it varied from 12 to 15 cwts., ex- 
clusive of the weight of the cart. 

February 1841. 



PARISH OF 8TRATHBLANE. 

PR£SBYT£RY OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. H. BUCHANAN, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 

Name. — From time immemorial, the name of this parish has 
been the same. It is derived from the Blane, a small stream which 
rises in the north-east extremity of the parish, and, after running 
southwards for more than three miles, turns to the west, and flows 
onwards, for more than four miles, towards the north-west. It is 
generally agreed, that Blane signifies " the warm river.*' The 
strath of the warm river is peculiarly descriptive of the valley, 
which is sheltered, in almost every direction, from the violence of 
the winds. 

Extent. — The average length of the parish is rather more than 
five miles. The breadth is about four. The surface comprises 
about 20 square miles. Its figure approaches the form of an ob- 
long square. 

Boundaries. — The parish lies in the south-west corner of Stir- 
lingshire ; and is bounded on the east, by the parish of Canipsie ; 
on the south, by Baldernock and East Kilpatrick ; and on the 
west and north, by Killearn. 

The Strathblane hills, forming a branch of what were formeriy 

• Drawn up by the late incumbent, Uic Rev. William Hamilton, D. D. 



72 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

denominated the Lennox hills, stretch along the whole of the nor- 
thern boundary of the parish. The Earl's Seat, the highest point, 
is 1400 feet abbve the level of the sea. The approach to the strath 
from the south is uncommonly romantic and enchanting. After 
proceeding for three miles along a road over rising-ground, where 
rocks and heath confine the labours of the husbandman, and seem 
to form the boundary of cultivation, the valley unexpectedly 
bursts upon the view of the traveller, and continues to unfold its 
beauties as he advances. The grassy hills with their varied glens, 
streams, and acclivities, rise before him to the elevation of 1300 
or 1400 feet On the west, the conical hill of Dungoiach, 400 
feet high, clothed with wood to the summit, contrasts nobly with 
the bare and desolate hill of Dunglass, 400 feet in height, which 
terminates the valley on the east. The sequestered seats of the 
gentry embosomed with wood ; the comfortable homesteads of the 
farmers, with the neat cottages of the artisans ; the lofty sheep- 
walks ; the undulating surface of the valley, under its varied crops 
or agricultural processes; the roots of the mountains, in some 
places, sloping on to the banks of the Blane, and, in others, re- 
tiring to a distance ; with a profusion of wood of every age and 
size, — give an idea of the magnificence of nature, adorned by the 
taste and industry of man, which is seldom seen and never sur- 
passed, even in this country. 

On the south side of the strath, and from 300 to 400 feet above 
the level of the sea, there is a stretch of table-land two miles wide, 
vyhich runs across the whole breadth of the parish. This land 
was originally wild and moorish ; but now, almost every part of it 
capable of improvement has been brought under cultivation. 

The vale of the Blane, running from the south-east to the 
north-west, passes into the vale of Campsie on the east, and the 
vale of the Enrick on the west. The highest part of this valley 
is understood to be about 340 feet above the level of the sea, and 
the lowest part, 100. 

The temperature and pressure of the atmosphere, together with 
the quantity of rain, may be estimated from the following abstract 
of the meteorological register at Carbeth, from daily observations 
with the barometer, thermometer, and rain- gage, at 10 a. m. 
Latitude, 55°, 59', 46"; longitude, 4**, 21', 20" west. This ab- 
stract has been kindly furnished by William Smith, Esq. of Car- 
beth-Guthrie. 



8TRATHBLA?^E. 



Abstract of Meteorological Register at Carbeth, from daily ob- 
servations with the barometer, thermometer, and rain-gage, ai 
10 A. M. ; latitude, 55% 59', 46" ; longitude, 4% 21', 20" west. 
Height above the level of the sea nearly 470 feet. 

Average Barometer. Average Thermometer. Raia. 



18^ 


29.ao 


49.69 


36 844 


lo26y • 


29.34 


50.10 


32.213 


1827. 


29.26 


4a75 


45.958 


1828, 


29.24 


50.28 


45.304 


1829, 


29.80 


47.26 


37.098 


isao. 


29.22 


47.71 


45.885 




183K 


• 


January, • 


29.29 


35.10 


2.563 


February, 


29.11 


39.46 


3.84 


March, 


29.17 


4a87 


5.6 


April, 


29.23 


50.33 


2403 


May, 


29.42 


54.64 


1.786 


June, 


29.34 


61.66 


3.529 


July, 


29.39 


63.25 


4.189 


August, 


2938 


63.67 


3 9 


September, 


29.33 


56.86 


a82 


October, 


29. 6 


53.19 


9.802 


NoTcmber, 


29.17 


40.70 


4.579 


December, 


29. 


41. 


4.08 



Average, 29.25 50.33 ^49.591 

From its lower situation, less rain falls in the Strath, and the 
barometer and thermometer stand much higher there than at Car- 
beth. Fevers are rare, and when they appear, seem to be gene- 
rally imported from other places. Bilious affections, inflammation 
of the lungs, and consumptions are frequent. But these probably 
arise from the exposure to which many of the people are subjected 
in the course of their occupations, and from their inattention to the 
means requisite for preserving their health, and not from any 
noxious quality in the climate. The climate in the valley is un- 
commonly salubrious. 

Hydrography. — The whole parish abounds with perennial springs. 
The only known mineral spring is in the farm yard of Ballewan. 
The water resembles the Spa. 

The parish is adorned with six lakes. Loch Ardinning, con- 
taining .60 imperial acres, is without any artiflcial ornament ; 
Craigmaddie, containing 10 acres; Dumbroch, 10 acres; Car- 
beth, 8 acres ; Craigallion^ 40 acres, — lie in romantic situations^ 
and are beautiiied partly with natural wood and partly with planta- 
tions. Mugdoch loch, containing 25 acres, is ornamented with 
trees, and derives grandeur from the ancient castle of Mugdoch 
on its south-west point. 

The spout of Ballagan, where the^Blane breaks away from 



74 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

the hills, is a cascade 70 feet in height, and forms a majestic ob- 
ject when the river is swelled with rain. 

Geology and Mineralogy, — Dr Scouler, the accomplished Pro- 
fessor of Natural History in the Andersonian University, Glasgow, 
speaking of the general geological features of this parish, says, 
that ** Strathblane, along with part of Campsie, forms a strath or 
valley, consisting of a level plain, bounded by hills on each side. 
On contemplating the physical appearance of the district, it ap- 
pears not improbable, that, at a former period, it was a fresh water 
lake.; and that, subsequently, the barriers in the direction of Loch- 
lomond have been broken down, and that its drainage has been 
accomplished by that event The nature of the soil also contributes 
to establish this opinion ; for it appears to consist of sand, gravel, 
and other comminuted fragments of the neighbouring rocks. As 
calcareous rocks are found in some parts of the parish, it is natu- 
ral to expect that the waters should be considerably impregnated 
with lime ; and in one situation, near the manse, these waters are 
cementing the gravel into a firm conglomerate. 

^^ The fundamental rock of the parish seems to be sandstone ; 
the old red sandstone of Werner. It is, however, observed in 
many places by the superjacent masses of unstratified trap. The 
sandstone is visible chiefly in the lower parts of the district, where 
several sandstone quarries have been opened. The hills in most 
places are covered with trap. The trap-rock appears, at a former 
period, to have covered the sandstone throughout the whole pa- 
rish, and still does so in many places. In travelling from the 
manse to Milngavie, we detected many disconnected masses of 
trap, which must formerly have been continuous ; nor need we 
be surprised at this, when we remember the rapidity with which 
trap decays in many places, and as we may see the process of dis* 
integration going on under our eyes. It would be interesting to 
trace the sandstone in a westerly direction towards Benlomond, 
and ascertain upon what rock it reposes. It rests, in all proba- 
bility, upon clay-slate, and forms the margin of the great coal-field 
of the west of Scotland. The Strathblane hills rest upon this 
sandstone ; but are capped with masses of trap. At the beautiful 
little cascade of Ballagan, we obtained a fine natural section of 
these hills; a section which is probably 1000 feet deep, and ac* 
cordingly clear and defined, as if it were a natural model, a co- 
loured specimen of stratification. This deep section consists of 
about 230 beds, varying in thickness, from one to two inches to 



STllATHBLANE. 75 

10 feet; and consisting of many alternations of sandstone^ lime- 
stone, and argillaceous limestone or marl. These are all in a 
state of rapid disintegration, and portions of them are detached 
and fall down almost every day. 

^' Jasper is found abundantly in the hills, both in horizontal 
and vertical veins. Stilbite, chalcedony, and zeolite, are occasion- 
ally found ; but are not so plentiful as in the Kilpatrick hills. 
Two varieties of gypsum are found ; the fibrous and the compact. 
The latter variety is of rarer occurrence ; and is found among the 
strata exposed at the section of the hill at Ballagan. It usually 
occurs in amorphous masses of a yellowish colour, but exhibits a 
white fracture.'' 

The strata are nearly horizontal. The vegetable soil in the 
lower part of the valley is argillaceous ; in the upper part, arena- 
ceous; and on the hills and high-grounds, it is composed princi- 
pally of an argillaceous brown matter, mixed with the small debris 
of the trap on which it rests. 

Zoology. — The parish abounds with game ; such as hares and 
rabbits ; partridges, black and red grouse ; wild ducks, woodcocks, 
and pheasants. A few of the common roes are also found. Ot« 
ters, weasels, stoats, polecats, wild cats, marten cats, and foxes are 
numerous. Buzzards, ring-tailed kites, goshawks, sparrow-hawks, 
merlins, ravens, hooded-crows, jays, magpies, and owls of different 
kinds, together with the smaller kinds common all over the low- 
lands, are frequently met with. Pike and perch abound in the 
lochs. Char is found in Dumbroch loch. 

The gooseberry caterpillar is very destructive in those gardens 
where the bushes are not dug round and plentifully manured in 
autumn. 

Botany. — The banks of the lochs and the glens, from having 
escaped the operations of the plough, furnish fields exceedingly 
rich in vegetable productions. Among the rarer plants may be 
classed : — 

AgriinoDU Eupatoria Kpiincdium ulpinuni Nyinpha-a lufea 

Antirrbinum inajus Krysimum Alli.iria Pulygoiium Isibtorta 

Arum maculatuni Fontinalis sqiiaiuos;! Ilubiis ( Iminsniorus 

Campanula latifulia Geranium lucidum Kumcx sa;iguiiuus 

Cbulidonium niajus Inula Ilelenium Sedum diisyphyllum 

Chenopodium Bonus Henricus Lobelia Dortraanna Sileiie inflatus 

Cicuta Tirosa Nymphsa alba Trollius Europeus 

The great varieties in the soil contribute to the vigorous growth 
of several kinds of trees. The Scotch fir and larch thrive in very 



76 STIHLINGSHIRE. 

different soils and situations. The Italian black poplar, the Hun- 
tingdon willow, and the oak attain to a great size. A beautifully 
shaped oak at Blairquhoss, four feet from the ground, is eleven 
feet in circumference. Another, near the same spot, forms an 
uncommonly noble specimen of the gnarled and knotty oak. 
Though it may be supposed to have seen seven centuries, it is still 
h ealthy and thriving. Four feet from the ground, it is fifteen feet 
ei ght inches round. The branches diverge at the height of nine 
feet, and cover a circle of 281 feet In the garden of Ballagan 
stands a yew in full vigour ; pos^sessed of the finest figure ; and 
supposed to be from 500 to 600 years old. Its circumference is 
ten feet. The Huntingdon willow grows most rapidly. One of 
these trees in twenty-three years has risen to the height of 45 feet. 
Two of these species, 70 feet high, at six feet from the ground, 
measure, — one, twelve feet, and the other, thirteen feet and a-balf. 

II. — Civil History. 
\ David Graham, great grandson of the first of the Grahams on 

record, obtained from William the Lion certain lands near Mon- 
trose. His son, David, acquired, under the succeeding reign, by 
exchange of his lands in Galloway, from Patrick Earl of Dunbar, 
the lands of Dundaff and Strathcarron, and from Maldwin Earl 
of Lennox, the lands of Strathblane and Mugdock. The Castle 
of Kincardine, in Stratheam, having been demolished by the 
Marquis of Argyle, March 16, 1646, Mugdock Castle became 
the principal seat of the Noble family of Montrose. After the 
Restoration, when the Earl of Middleton and his associates were 
Ittployed in subverting the civil and religious rights of their 
country, Mugdock Castle was one of the scenes of their baccha- 
nalian orgies. During the persecution which followed, the Pres- 
byterians were encouraged and patronised by Edmonstone of 
Duntreath, and the Episcopalian incumbent generously threw the 
shield of his protection over his harassed and helpless parishioners. 

Land-owners. — The principal land-owners are, the Duke of 
Montrose; Sir Archibald Edmonstone; Mr Graham of Ballagan ; 
Mr Stirling of Craigbarnet ; Mr Graham of Ballewan ; Mr Smith 
of Craigend ; Mr Graham of Craigallion ; Mr Buchanan of Car- 
beth ; Mr Robison of Leddriegreen ; Mr Smith of Carbeth. 

The history of the Montrose family, in its most eventful eras, 
is interwoven with the history of the country. The following ac- 
count of the Edmonstones of Duntreath has been obligingly fur- 





STRATHBLANB. 77 

^*^lied by its present distinguished representative, Sir Archibald 
^*^3inonstone, Bart. 

JSdnunutone Family* — The name of Edmonstone first appeared 
the county of Mid-Lothian in the beginning of the thirteenth 
Dtury. Tradition would, indeed, derive it 150 years earlier, 
an Edmundus of the family of the Counts Egmont of Flan- 
fs, who is said to have come to Scotland in the reign of Mai- 
Im Canmore, and to have had a grant from David I. of the said 
:iids, to which he gave his name ; but there is no authority for 
is whatever; and it seems more than probable that the powerful 
of Seton was the parent stock ; as the whole district round 
;bs in possession of that family, and the arms are identical : and, 
the earliest appearance of the name of Edmonstone is in a 
^^arter where Henry de Edmonstone is styled *^ Filius E," this 
J have been the very Edmund who thus founded the family, 
d gave his name to the lands. In the middle of the following 
otury, Sir John Edmonstone of Edmonstone appears a person 
considerable importance, and was appointed by David II. co- 
ner to the shire of Edinburgh in fee, accompanied by grants of 
^^ands in the county of Banff. His son, of the same name, was a 
^"jiersoD of still greater eminence, and was named a commissioner 
^or negociating with England, on three different occasions, during 
the captivity of James I. a. d. 1407, &c. He married the Lady 
Isabel, daughter of Robert IL, and widow of James Earl of Dou- 
glas and Mar, who was killed at the battle of Otterburiie. By 
this marriage he had two sons. Sir David, who succeeded him, 
and Sir William of Culloden, ancestor of the family of Duntreath. 
Sir David left two sons, of whom Sir James, the elder, died with- 
out issue male, and John, the younger, iu whom the elder line of 
the family, was continued, till the middle of the last century, when 
it became extinct bv the death of the last male heir. 'I'his branch 
of the family continued in possession of Edmonstone, in Mid- Lo- 
thian, till late in the seventeenth century, when it was sold to the 
family of Wauchope, who still retain it ; it resided, likewise, at 
Ednam, in Roxburghshire, a grant of Robert III. This last 
property has been purchased, within these few years, by the Earl 
of Dudley. 

To revert to the family of Duntreath. Sir William Edmon- 
stone of Culloden, second son of Sir John, as above, married the 
Lady Mary, daughter of King Robert III., who had been married 
three times previously ; first, to George Douglas, Earl of Angus ; 



78 STIRLINGSHIRK. 

secondly, to Sir James Kennedy M Dnnure, ancestor to the Earls 
of Cassilis ; thirdly, to Sir William Graham of Kincardine, an- 
cestor to the Duke of Montrose ; and, lastly, to Sir William Exl- 
monstone. By all four marriages she had issue ; and, from the 
last, the present family of Duntreath are lineally descended. 
This lady is interred in a vault beneath the church of Strathblane, 
and an inscription was put up to her memory in the family vault 
of Duntreath, by the late Sir Archibald Edmonstone. 

At what period the Castle of Duntreath was built, is unknown ; 
but the whole of the district originally belonged to the powerful 
family of the Lennoxes. At the attainder and decapitation of 
Duncan, the last Earl of this family, together with his son-in-law, 
Murdac, Duke of Albany, and two of his grandsons, on the return 
of James T. from his long captivity, the property, some portion of 
it at least, was allowed to remain in possession of the Duchess of 
Albany, as heiress to her father ; and she made a grant of the 
lands of Duntreath, erected into a barony, to Sir William Ed- 
monstone of CuUoden, and Mary, Countess of Angus, his wife, 
A. D. 1452, which graqt was conBrmed by a charter of James 11., 
and it has ever since remained the principal seat of the ikmily. 

For the next century, the house of Duntreath continued in the 
highest degree prosperous. Its wealth and possessions had con- 
siderably increased, and appanages were bestowed on many of its 
junior branches, nearly all of which are now extinct. A succession 
of honourable alliances, too, had greatly tended to keep up its 
^respectability. Sir William, (the fourth in descent from the first 
Sir William of Duntreath), who was killed at the unfortunate 
battle of Flodden, with King James IV., and the flower of the 
Scottish nobility and gentry, had been appointed steward of Men- 
teith, and constable of the Castle of Doune. His son, of the 
same name, was continued in the same offices by the Regent, 
John Duke of Albany, which he held for eighteen years ; but an 
heritable grant of them having been conferred by James V. on 
Sir James Stewart, (ancestor of the present Earl of Moray), Sir 
William and his brother Archibald were much irritated at beinsr 
thus deprived of what had now for so many years been in posses- 
sion of their family, and a fray ensued in the High Street of Dun - 
blane, in which Sir James was killed. This event occurred on 
Whitsunday, a. d. 1543. A pardon for this offence was after- 
wards granted to the two brothers under the Great Seal by the 
Regent, Duke of Chatelherault, and being connected with the 



STRATHBLANE. 73 

^5^1 family, in consequence of his inarringe with Lady Agnes 

^'^^wart, daughter to Matthew Earl of Lennox, (grandfather to 

*A^Hry Lord Darnley, the unfortunate husband of Queen Mary), 

oir Wiiliani was made one of the Privy Council during the Queen's 

^^tiority. 

His son. Sir James, was appointed Justice- Deputy under the 
^^1 of Argyle, Justice- General, and was named one of the asses- 
^vs on the trial of the Earl of Gowrie, for the celebrated conspi- 
^ against the liberty of King James VL, called the Raid of 
fiuthven, a* d. 158*2 ; but he appears himself implicated in a 
plot of the same nature soon after. He was accused, together 
m'th three others of the names of Douglas, Cunningham, and 
HamiltoD, of a design to convey the king to some place of con- 
finement, till those lords who had left the country in consequence 
of their concern in the above conspiracy should be advertised. It 
was believed to have been little more than an idle conversation ; 
however, the four were seized, and indicted for high treason. Sir 
James pleaded guilty, and threw himself on the King's mercy. 
Tbe others convicted of having held this treasonable design, were 
executed. Sir James seems to have acted an unworthy part in 
this business; and, being pardoned, he retired to Duntreath, which 
he considerably enlarged. A stone, with his arms and cypher, 
but without a date, marks this. The estate, however, was mort- 
gaged by his son and successor, William, to Sir William Living- 
ston of Kilsyth, and considerable estates purchased in the coun- 
ties of Down and Antrim, in the north of Ireland. Fortunately, 
however, his next successor, Archibald, resold part of the Irish 
purchases, and redeemed the estate of Duntreath, though the fa- 
mily residence continued to be, for above a century, chiedy at Red 
Hall, in a district called Broadisland, in the county of Antrim. 
This Archibald was a strict Presbyterian, and being returned 
member for the county of Stirling, in the Parliament which met 
at Edinburgh in 16:33, in presence of King Charles L, he strong- 
ly opposed every effort made by that monarch for the establibh- 
ment of Episcopacy in Scotland. He had two sons, William and 
Archibald. Of these the elder, known as the Dumb Laird of 
Duntreath, was disinherited, and put under the tutelage of his 
brother, on account of having been born deaf and dumb. He 
was, however, a person of great vivacity and cheerfulness, with a 
very retentive memory ; and, according to a portrait which exists 
of him, of a handsome and intelligent countenance. It is record- 



80 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

ed, moreover, that he had a strong sense of religion ; and a tra- 
dition is preserved that he was endowed with the faculty of second- 
sight. He lived to a very advanced life. A tower at Duntreath, 
which he is said to have occupied, still preserves his name. The 
inheritance, in consequence of the inBrmity of the elder, devolved 
upon the younger brother, Archibald. This gentleman followec 
the same line as his father, in opposing the tyrannical acts o 
the government, in their endeavour to establish Episcopal juris 
diction ; and was fined and imprisoned for holding a conventicli 
in the private chapel of his house of Duntreath. After his release 
he retired to Ireland, and died in consequence of his exertions ii 
defending the fort of Culmore, contiguous to Londonderry, at th< 
period of the famous siege of that city by King James II., a. e 
1689. He was succeeded by his son and namesake, who appear 
to have resided chiefly at Red Hall, so that Duntreath fell info 
decay. He represented, I believe, the county of Antrim, in th 
Irish Parliament. He married, first, the Honourable Anne Ers 
kine, daughter to David, Lord Cardross, ancestor to the preset) 
Earl of Buchan, by whom he had one daughter ; and, secondl} 
Anne, daughter to the Honourable John Campbell of Mammorc 
second son to the unfortunate Earl of Argyle who was beheade 
A. D. 1685. Her brother, John, succeeded to the dukedom c 
Argyle, on the death of his cousin, Archibald. By this marriag 
he had three sons and three daughters, and was succeeded by hi 
eldest son ; 

Sir Archibald, created a baronet 1774, who married, first, Su 
sanna, daughter lo Roger Harenc of Footscray Place, in Kent 
by whom he had five sons and three daughters ; and, secondly 
Hester, daughter to Sir John Heathcote of Normanton, in Rut 
landshire, by whom he had no issue. Sir Archibald sat, for abov< 
twenty years in Parliament, for the county of Dumbarton, and th' 
Ayr and Irvine district of burghs. He very judiciously sold th- 
estate in Ireland, and purchased that of Kilsyth, in 1783, whicl 
had been forfeited by the Livingstons, Viscounts of Kilsyth, ii 
1715, and thus established and concentrated the family in thei 
native country. He likewise began a liberal system of improve 
ment upon his estates, which was carried on to a greater exteti 
and completed by his successor. Sir Archibald died at the ad 
vanced age of eighty-nine, in 1807, and was succeeded by hi 
eldest surviving son ; 

Sir Charles, who married, first, Emma, daughter of Ricfaar 



STRATHBLANE. 81 

Wilbraham Booth of Lathorn House, in the county of Lancas- 
ter, Esq., and by her had a sod and daughter; and, secondly, the 
Honourable Louisa Hotham, daughter to Beaumont, second Lord 
Hotham, by whonni he had four sons and two daughters. Sir 
Charles represented the county of Stirling in Parliament, for se- 
. veral years previous to his death, which took place on the 1st of 
April 1821, in the 6fty>cighth year of his age. He was succeed- 
ed bv his eldest son ; 

Sir Archibald, the present Baronet, twelfth in lineal descent 
from Sir William of Culloden, the first of the branch of Dun- 
treath. Sir Archibald married, in October 1832, his cousin, Em- 
ma, daughter of Handle Wilbraham of Rode Hall, in the county 
of Chester, Esq. 

The Castle of Duntreath stands on the north side of the Blanc 
water, near the opening of the narrow and beautiful strath to which 
that stream gives its name. To the south rises the conical hill of 
DuDgoiach, covered with natural wood ; and across the valley op- 
posite, is another hill, clothed likewise with wood, called the Park 
hill. Tradition asserts that it was once intended to have built the 
castle here, instead of the valley below. The top certiiinly has 
been levelled, and a regular way formed up to it. The noble 
range of the Campsie Hills, which intersect the western end of 
the county of Stirling, is finely terminated above by the bold 
heads of Dumgoyn and Dumfoyn. 

The castle is approached from the west through a detached 
gate-house, and is rather of a rude construction, built round a 
quadrangle. The north and east sides arc completely in ruins, 
having b^en unroofed and left to decay about a century ago. In 
the former of these sides, is the chapel, of which, according to tra- 
dition, the gallery once gave way during the service, and several 
persons were injured. The southern front was never finished. In 
the south-eastern part of it, is the Dumb Laird's Tower. The castle 
is surrounded by a park or policy, of moderate extent, but very 
agreeably varied ; and the scenery of the whole unites cultivation 
and romantic beauty, in no common degree. 

Parochial RegUters. — In consequence of the recommendation of 
the General Assembly, 1816, correct registers have been kept, since 
that time, of marriagos and births. There is no register of deaths, 
and, prior to 1810, the registers of marriages and births were ex- 
ceedingly irregular. The (irst entry in the register of baptisms is 
dated April 1685. Registers had been kept long before that period ; 

STIRLING. F 



82 STIRLINGSHIUK. 

but perished through the negligence of those to whose care they 
had been entrusted. 

Antiquities. — The castles of Mugdock and Duntreathare the only 
baronial residences of the feudal ages that remain. The build- 
ings were large and capacious ; and have been long in ruins. A 
castle belonging to the Earl of Lennox stood at Ballagan, but 
every trace of it was removed fifty years ago, when the stones 
were employed to build the garden wall. 

An erect stone, on the north of the turnpike road to Campsie, 
marks the spot where, two centuries ago, Mr Stirling of Balla- 
gan was killed by a miller of the name of Abernethy. 

At a little distance from the south-east of the hill of Dungoy- 
ach, stand six stones. One rises six feet, and another five, above 
the surface of the soil. The rest are lower. They are placed ir- 
regularly, and seem intended to commemorate some important 
victory which our ancestors had achieved on the spot ; but of which 
no tradition has reached modern times. 

In 1800, a small enclosure, composed of stakes of oak and birch, 
was 'discovered under the surface of a moss at Craigend. The 
enclosure measured three feet nine inches in length, by twenty-two 
inches in breadth. The stakes were above five feet in length, driven 
closely together, and from the bruises on their sharpened ends, 
appeared to have been cut by a stone hatchet. There seemed to 
have been originally an entrance from the west ; and a few pieces 
of wood indicated that the enclosure had originally been roofed. 
The enclosure must have been formed, before the moss covered 
the soil. It may have been intended as a place of shelter; but 
its diminutive size gives it rather the appearance of ^a prison, 
though the frail nature of the materials shows that it was very un- 
fit for such a purpose. 

Modern Buildings. — The church is a beautiful building of mo- 
dern Gothic, reared in 1803. Carbetb, the property of Mr Smith, 
is an elegant building, finished 1810. Craigend, the residence of 
James Smith, Esq. completed 1812, isamagnificentedifice. There 
is one mill for grain of every description, furnished with a complete 
set of machinery of the most approved construction, and kept in 
good order. Calico-printing is carried on at Blanefield, according 
to the most recent improvements. At Dumbroch bleachfield, two 
spider wheels are employed, each thirty feet in diameter, and the 
company are masters of a process, which at once reduces the ex- 
pense of bleaching, and improves the fabric and appearance of the 



STRATHBLANE. 83 

cloth. Were the Irish Board of Linen in possession of the secret, 
it would add prodigiously to the value of the linen manufacture of 
Ireland. 

IIL — Population. 
' The average number of baptisms, 1729, 1730, and 1731, was 
SO. The average number for the years 1829, 1830, and 1831, 
^^ivas 24. If this be a fair criterion of the proportion of the popu< 
Nation at these two periods, the parish must have beep rather more 
populous a century ago, before the introduction of a large prints 
£eld and two bleachfields, than it is at present This excess in 
'^he ancient numbers must have arisen from the great subdivision 
^3f farms, and the multitude of cottaries with which the parish then 
^sdxiuDded. 

From the enlargement of farms and the decay of cottaries, the 
"^population decreased. 

In 1755 tba population amounted to 797 
1795, 620 

1811, . 795 

1821, . 748 

1831, . lOdO 

1841, 1045 * 

The recent increase is occasioned by the enlargement of the 
manufacturing establishments, which require a great number of 
hands. 

The yearly average of births for the seven years ending Whit- 
sunday 1831, was 7^ ; of deaths, do. 14; of marriages, do. 7^. 

Three families of independent fortune reside for the greater part 
of the year in the parish. 

There are seventeen proprietors of land of the yearly value of 
L.50 and upwards. Of these, eight are resident, and nine non- 
resident. 

Tbe number of bachelors and widowers above 50 years of age, 20 

unmarried women above 45, 13 

fiiroUics, . 186 

inhabited houses, • • 114 

iminhabited houses, . 4 

There is nothing peculiar in the strength, size, or complexion 
of the people. 
There are two insane persons, but none either blind, deaf, or 

dumb. 

IV. — Industry. 
JffricuUure, — 

There are either cultivated or occasionally in tillage, of standard 

imperial measure, 8150 acres. 

Formerly cultivated, but now in pasture, ^^ 

Never cultivated, but perpetually in pasture, 8200 



84 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

Under wood, natural or planted, • 2000 aerefl. 

Lakes, . . . • 190 

Occupied by streams, 100 

by roads, . 200 

i4oeo 

1000 acres might be profitably added to the cultivated land. 

Plantations.— 'The most common natural wood is birch, arrans 
or alders, hazel, and willow. A great variety of forest trees are 
planted. The most common are, the Scotch 6r, larch, oak, ash, 
elm, beech, Huntingdon willow, and Lombardy poplar. Great 
attention is paid to the woods. Most of the plantations are young, 
and give every promise of yielding their proprietors a rich return. 

Rent of Land. — The average rent of arable land per imperial 
acre is L.l, Ss. The average rent of grazing is L.2, 10s. per 
cow, and 6s. per sheep. 

The utmost pains are employed to suit the husbandry to the 
soil ; and the farmers are perpetually on the alert to adopt new 
discoveries, and to improve their different agricultural processes. 

Two crops of oats are generally taken. The second is sown 
down with peropnial ryegrass. The third crop is ryegrass, fol- 
lowed by three years pasture. In some cases, the 6rst crop is oats ; 
the second is green crop of potatoes or turnips;^ the third is wheat or 
barley, sown down with grass seeds ; the fourth is hay, followed 
by three or four years pasture. 

Few portions of the soil require either embanking or irrigation. 
Draining is much needed : and both covered and open drains have 
been carried to a great extent. Within the last twenty years, 
about 300 acres of waste land have been reclaimed. The 
process most frequently employed, is to trench two spadings deep ; 
smooth the bottom of the trench ; and place the tough and heathy 
side of the upper spading in the bottom of the trench. As 
the trenches run in the direction of the declivity, the heathy sur- 
face, when removed, acts as a drain. The large stones that are 
turned out are used for dikes, and the smaller ones for covered 
drains. This trenching is executed for L.5 per acre. Before the 
crop is sown, each acre is limed at the rate of four or 6ve chalders. 
The chalder of lime, according to the distance from the kiln, costs 
from L. 1 to L.1, 5$. 

The duration of the leases is generally nineteen years. The 
farm-buildings and enclosures are generally in good repair. 
The tenants are suffering greatly from having contracted to pay 
money-rents. While the nominal rent remains the same, the great 



STRATHBLANE. 35 

reduction id the price of produce has rendered it nearly double. 
This may be remedied by 6xing the rent of the arable farms in 
so many bolls of oats at the fiars prices ; and the grass farms at 
so many sheep or cattle, at the average prices of the three Fal- 
kirk trysts. 

Quarry. — The only quarry in the parish is of sandstone, which 
generally employs two men. 
There is no fishing. 

Average gross amount of raw produce raised in the parish of 
Strathblane : — 

Aena, Bolls. Toul. Price. 

^SOotOM^ 4| per acre, 2475 L.0 16 L.1980 

140burley« 5 do. 700 110 735 

BOwfatat, 7 do. 420 14 504 

8 beans, 7 do. 56 16 44 16 

40 turniiM, . 12 tons. 480 15 860 

laOpoUtoes, 24 Mia. 3336 8 1334 8 

aOOrjegnuB bay, lOOstonaa, 30,000 3 900 

110 natural bay, 75 do. 8250 1 15 144 7 6 

290 ndH^ cows yield L. 10 eacb, 2900 

100 yoiti^; and old cows sold, each L.6, . 600 

250 eowa grased till fattened, eaoh L.3, 750 

67 score of sheep yields 60 score of lambti, per score L.8, 480 

Eadi score of sheep yields 3} sUnies of wool, at Os. per stone, 70 7 

12 horses sold each at L. 18 216 

Tliinnings and periodical fdlings of wood, , 200 

Freestone quarry, ,_ , 12 

Total, 

The gross produce is balanced by 

47 men servants employed in farm work, each at L.15, 

Maintenanceof do. each at L.ld, .... 

47 female senrants, each L.8, ..... 

Maintenance of do. each L. 10, 

Nine shepherds, wages and maintenance, each L.22, 

Wages to 10 labourers at Us. per week, 

Keep of 88 horses for farm work, each L.25, 

Keep of 44 young and old horses, L.13, 

Dung and lime for 250 acres at L.5 each, 

Rent for 3150 acres arable, L.1, 3s., 

Rent for grazing 250 fat cattle, L.2, 10s., 

Rent lor 67 score of sheep, each L.5, 10s. 

L.1128'^ 

To this must be added the maintenance of 4:2 farmers with their 
families ; wages paid to extra hands in harvest and other hiring sea- 
sons ; and the wages paid to smiths, masons, wrights, saddlers, &c 

Manufactures. — An establishment for calico-printing employs 
20 journeymen block-printers, who gain each, at an average, 
L.], Is. per week, or L.54, 12s. per annum; 20 apprentices, who 
gain each, at an average, 10s. 6d. per week, or L. 27, 6s. per an- 
num; 30 male labourers, who gain each 10s. per week, or L.26 



L.llldO 18 


6 


L.705 





611 





376 





470 





198 





286 





2200 





572 





1250 





3622 10 





625 





366 10 






86 ST1KLING8HIUE. 

per aDnum ; 8 women, who gain 5s. per week, or L. 13 per annum ; 
25 boys, under fourteen years of age, who gain 2s. dd. per week, or 
L.5, 17s. per annum ; 20 girls, who gain each 2s. per week, or 
L.5, 4s. per annum. They work six days in the week, and ten 
hours a-day, and receive annually in wages L. 2772, 5s« 

One bleaching establishment employs 30 men, 20 women, 8 
boys, under fourteen years, and 6 girls. They work six days in 
the week, and eleven hours a day. The wages of the men vary 
according to the nature of their work, from 1 Is. to 21s. per week. 
The wages of the women are Gs. per week, and of the boys and 
girls Ss. 9d. Taking the average of the men at 14s. per week, the 
total annual wages will be L.1540, 10s. 

Another bleachBeld employs 3 men, above twenty years of age, 
at 12s. per week, making per annum, L. 93, 12s. ; 2 men, under 
twenty years, at 10s. per week, making L.52 per annum ; and 12 
women, all above twenty years, at 6s. per week, making Lb 187, 48. 
In all, L. 332, 16s. 

The wages are considered as affording a fair remuneration to 
those who are employed in these works. The labour is as healthy 
as that of farming. Many of the workers are distinguished for 
their piety and intelligence. By the constant employment which 
they give to many who would otherwise be idle, and by the de- 
mand which the workers make for farm-produce, these establish- 
ments are of great advantage to the parish. 

Farmers^ Society, — The Farmers' Society is the only Associa- 
tion in the parish for the purpose of improving its members in the 
theory and practice of their profession ; and it has done much to - 
promote a good style of ploughing. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 

Market-Town. — Glasgow, at the distance of twelve miles from 
the centre of the parish, is the nearest market-town ; with which 
communication is maintained every day by post ; by two Baliron 
carriers, who pass through the parish to and from Glasgow, four 
times in the week ; and by a stage-coach which runs betwixt Glas- 
gow and Balfron every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. 

Means of Communication. — Ten miles of turn pike- road intersect 
the parish. The narrowness of the road in the Strath, and the 
hilliness of the high ground amid which it passes, render it ex* 
ceedingly exhausting and injurious to horses in draught. There 
are ten stone bridges in the parish ; but an eleventh is wanted to 
render the accommodation complete. The Strath and table-land 



STttAlHBLANE. 87 

are thoroughly enclosed ; and the farms kept generally in good 
repair. 

Ecdetiastical State, — The church is the only place of worship 
within the parish. It is a handsome edifice, of modern Gothic, 
built 1303. It is seated for 450, and the sittings are all free< 
The people have furnished it with a steam-boiler and pipe for heat- 
ing it in winter. A few families are three miles from the church ; 
but the greater proportion of the inhabitants live near it. 

The manse was built in 1 828 ; and is a large, substantial, and 
commodious house. 'J'he glebe consists of 10 imperial acres ; and 
is worth L.16 per annum. 

The stipend consists of 9 bolls, 2 6rlots, 2 pecks, 2 lippies bar- 
ley, at L.l, Is. per boll, making L.10, 2s. 9§d.; 103 bolls, 2 lip- 
pies meal, at 16$. per boll, L. 82, 8s. 3d.; money, L.139, 6s. 9d. 
lnaUL.2dl» 17s. 9gd. 

Divine service is well attended. The average number of com* 
municants is 250. 

Bible Society, — A Bible Society for the circulation of the cano* 
nical Scriptures only, instituted December 1813, has already re- 
mitted to the London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow Bible Societies 
L.192, being L.9, 12s. per annum. 

A Missionary Society was instituted June 1823. 

The average amount of church collections yearly for religious 
and charitable purposes, exclusive of the ordinary collections for 
the parochial poor, may probably amount to L. 8. 

Temperance Society, — A Temperance Society, instituted July 
1830, contains 84 adult, and 56 juvenile members. It has been 
of the greatest service in checking dissipation, and improving the 
morals and comfort of the people. 

Education. — There are one parochial school and two private 
schools. One of the private schools is aided by subscription. 
The parochial school- room is 18 feet in length, by 16 feet in 
breadth, and 7 feet from floor to joists. Besides being badly 
lighted, and in every respect a most ill-aired, wretched hovel, it is 
by far too small. In order to enlarge it, some of the heritors 
strongly recommend an excavation, which will remove the floor 
farther from the ceiling. But they have not yet shown how this 
process will enlarge the area. 

The parochial school is near the centre of the parish, and few 
of the children are more than two miles distant. The greater 
part of the people are fully alive to the benefits of education ; 



88 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

but a few of the more stupid and dissipated are ignorant of its 
value, and allow their children to grow up without education. 
Many even above the age of fifteen read very imperfectly ; twelve 
adults cannot read at all. 

Literature. — A parish library was formed in 1817, which now 
contains, nearly 700 volumes of standard works in theology and 
general literature. 

A Young Man's Society combines the double object of a Me- 
chanics' Institution and a religious meeting. On an evening of 
one week, a literary paper is read, and its subject discussed. On 
an evening in the succeeding week, a paper is read, and a subject 
discussed for the religious improvement of the members. This 
Society consists of 6fteen members. 

Saving^ Bank. — A Savings' Bank was opened, January 6, 1832. 
Poor and Parochial Funds. — The average number of poor re- 
ceiving parochial aid is 11. The average sum allotted to eaclk 
annually is L. 4, 10s. The collections at the church door annu- 
ally, L. 30, 15s. Annual' donation from Sir A. Edmonstone, 
L. 5. The interest on L. 515 saved by the managers of the poor's 
money, L. 12, 17s. 6d. The dissipated and improvident have no re- 
luctance to ask parochial relief. The industrious, sober, and pious, 
regard parochial aliment as a disgrace. When reduced to pover- 
ty they are supported by the generous. 

Fair. — A fair is held on the 10th of November, for the sale of 
cattle, but especially of those that are fed. 

Alehouses, — There are six alehouses in the parish. They keep 
their customers in the most abject poverty, and have the most per- 
nicious effect on the morals and the domestic happiness of those 
who frequent them. 

Fuel. — Peats are occasionally used in a few houses : but coal 
is the fuel principally employed. It is procured from Campsie, 
Kirkintilloch, Baldernock, and New Kilpatrick ; when laid down^ 
costs, according to the distance, from 9s. to 15s. per ton. 

• ^ 

Revised March 1841. 



PARISH OF BUCHANAN. 

PRBSBYTERT OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

REV. WILLIAM FREELAND, MINISTER.* 



L — Topography and Natural History. 
Name and Extent. — This parish was originally called Inchcaile- 

och, from an island of that name in Lochlomond, where there had 
been a nunnery prior to the Reformation, and where the parish 
church remained for a century afterwards. It consists of several islands 
in the lake, and of a mountainous track on its eastern bank. In 
1621, there was annexed a detached part of the parish of Luss, 
containing the lands of the old family of Buchanan. Near the 
mansion, was the chapel of Buchanan, which, being more commo- 
dious for the population, was used as the ordinar}' place of public 
worship, and gradually gave its name to the whole parish. Bu- 
chanan is bounded by Lochlomond, on the west ; by the parish of 
Arrochar, on the north : by Loch Katrine, and by the parishes of 
Aberfoyle and Drymen, on the east ; and by the river Endrick, on 
the south. There has been no measurement of the parish. It is 
supposed to be 24 miles in length, and 5 in breadth ; its area, in- 
cluding the islands and mainland, may be stated at 120 square 
miles, or 76,800 acres. 

The 'annexed part is situated in the Lowlands of Scotland, con- 
sisting of fertile alluvial land on the bank of the Endrick, and of a 
track of ground gently rising towards the base of the mountains. 
Within this, is Buchanan House, the residence of the Duke of 
Montrose, with its extensive pleasure grounds and plantations. 
The rest of the ))arish is in the Highlands, and forms the western 
termination of the Grampian bills. It is a mountainous ridge, ex- 
tending along the bank of the lake ; deeply indented, on the east, 
by Glendow, where the river Forth has its rise ; and intersected 
near the north end by Glenarklet, a vale extending from Loch 
Katrine to Lochlomond. This Highland district is rugged and 
barren, and at an early period, if we may judge from the names of 

• Drawn up by John Graham, D. D, Killearn. 



90 STIRLINGSUIRK. 

places, seems to have been chiefly used as hunting-ground. At 
the head of Lochlomond stands Benlui, (Fawn's hilU) where the 
deer had their coverts, and reared their young. When roused 
from their lair, they generally directed their course along the 
east bank of the lake. At Chonan-nish, where the ground became 
somewhat level and practicable, there the chase began ; hence its 
name signifying, now for the dog$ ! If the pursuit were unsuc- 
cessful along the skirts of Benlomond, . it often had a melancholy 
conclusion at Conichill, which forms the southern acclivity of the 
Grampian range, and whose abrupt precipices were fatal to the 
eager dogs; Conichill, or more properly Chonnakill, signifying 
the dog^s grave. The most striking object is Benlomond. On the 
north, it is precipitous ; on the south, setting out from the Inn of 
Rowardennan, on the bank of the lake, you ascend easily in three 
hours, walking over a space of three miles. When you reach its 
conical summit, overtopping every surrounding eminence, and ele- 
vated 8000 feet above the level of the sea, you have on the north 
an endless succession of mountains, like the billows of the stormy 
ocean ; and on the south, you have presented before you, as on a 
map, the riches and beauty of the central district of Scotland, froooi 
the Western Isles to the Frith of Forth. 

Islands. — Of the islands belonging to this parish, several are of 
considerable extent and value. Inchcaileoch,* which once contain- 
ed a nunnery and the parish church, is now, without house and in- 
habitant, covered with copse-wood. Inchfad and Inchcruin are ara- 
ble and inhabited. Inchmurrin, the largest of the whole — being two 
miles long and one broad — is the deer park of the Duke of Mon- 
trose, containing about 200 fallow deer. The keeper cultivates 
some ground around his house. At the west end of the island, 
on a projecting eminence, are the ruins of a castle of the ancient 
Earls of Lennox ; near which is a modern lodge, erected by the 
present family. There also are some islets, uninhabited, belong- 
ing to Mrs M. Buchanan of Ross. 

Lakes and Rivers. — There are three small lakes within the pa- 
rish : but they attract no notice in the vicinity of Lochlomond, 
whose beauties have been often described. It is 24 miles long : 

The names of places are Celtic. IncJicaiieoch signifying old woman's island ; 
luc^ad, long island; Inchcruin^ round island; /«c/»mMrrln, the island of St Murrin, 
who was the tutelary saint of Paisley. The etymology of Buchanan is uncertain. 
Lochlomond is evidently the same name with Lac-us Leman-us of Helvetia, in the 
time of Cansar. Lomond, signifies bare hill or beacon. Benlomond was reckoned 
higher than 3000 feet, till the recent Trigonometrical Survey of Scotland. 



nUCllANAN. 91 

the greatest breadth is about 7 miles. It is 22 feet above the level 
of the sea. Its outlet is the river Leven, which meets the tide- 
way, after a course of three miles, about a mile above its junction 
with the Clyde. As the Leven flows in a narrow channel, it is 
insufiBcient for the rapid discharge of any sudden influx of water 
into the lake. The level of the lake, therefore, varies with the 
season; it is lowest in the drought of summer; it rises when the 
rains of autumn commence ; and reaches its maximum in the month 
of February. The difierence between the summer and the winter 
level is about seven feet. In winter, the lake overflows much va- 
luable land at the mouth of the Endrick ; and if the rainy season 
sets in early and copiously, much damage is done to the natural 
hay and corn crops. In 1782, the harvest was late and rainy, and 
followed by an early and severe winter. The corn, before it was ripe, 
was covered with water, and then with ice. The upper part of the 
lake, from its great depth, never freezes ; the lower part is occa- 
sionally frozen. In 1814, the ice was so strong between the main* 
land and Inchmurrin, as to admit travelling on foot. In 1740, 
the lake was frozen from Buchanan to Luss, so as to carry both 
men and cattle. It is understood that the surface of the lake is 
gradually and permanently rising. The cause is evidently the in- 
creasing bar at its outlet. The chief tributary rivers are the Eud- 
rick on the east, and the Fruin on the west, which flow into the 
lower part of the lake, and deposit their alluvion near its mouth. 

Geology. — The mountains, like the rest of the Grampian range, 
belong to the primary formation. Schistus is the chief mineral. 
Roof-slate and lime frequently occur ; but neither are used, nor 
can be used, to any extent. The former is too heavy to pay for 
land-carriage, now that the duty is taken off" slate carried coast- 
wise ; the latter cannot be burned with advantage, on account of 
the distance from coal. 

Zoology. — Wild animals abound, from the varied accommoda- 
tion which the parish affords. Ptarmigan and white hares arc 
found on Benlomond. The mountain eagle is still seen occa- 
sionally there. One was caught in a trap in 1836. Grouse is 
common on the bleak upland moors ; but it is remarked that this 
species is giving way to black game, which seem to multiply with 
the increasing shelter of wood. Roes, for' the same reason, are 
now common. Pheasants were introduced by the late Duke of 
Montrose, and have spread throughout the whole extent of Strath 
Endrick. Squirrels have recently come of their own accord. Hares 



92 STIRLINOSIIIRE. 

are numerous in Buchanan grounds, where they are strictly pre* 
served. It may be observed, that the ground . under crop bears a 
very small proportion to that in pasture, and that the depredations 
of wild animals are severely felt by corn-farmers. 

Wood. — Though the woods in the parish, both natural and plant* 
ed, are of great extent, there is no tree of remarkable size. Hiere 
are manv oaks from 10 to 13 feet in circumference. One near Bu- 
chanan House, at the height of five feet from the ground, is 14 feet 
in circumference, and contains 200 feet of timber. Another oak 
is 18 feet in girth near the surface, but immediately branches out 
into five stems, called the Five Sisters of Buchanan. These trees 
are supposed to be 300 years old. 

II. — Civil History. 
Family of Buchanan. — " The History of the Family and Sur« 

name of Buchanan," by Buchanan of Auchmar, contains the only 
ancient account of the parish. The founder of the family was 
Anselan, a native of Ireland, who is said to have arrived in the 
eleventh century. His descendants originally bore the name of 
M^ Asian, a corruption of Anselan, and were chamberlains to the 
Earls of Lennox. At an early period, they obtained a grant of 
part of the lands of Buchanan, which afterwards became the fami- 
ly name. In 1225, they received from Malduin, Earl of LennoXi 
a charter for Clarinch, an islet in Lochlomond, which was adopt- 
ed as the war-cry of the clan. In 1296, ** Malcolm de Bough- 
canian" appears in the list of proprietors of Stirlingshire * who 
swore fealty to Edward I. of England. In 1482, a younger son 
founded the house of Drumnahill, from which sprung, in i506| 
the celebrated George Buchanan. In 1519, " Walterus Buo- 
quhanan de eodem" conveyed to his son, Walter, the lands of 
Spittal.-f- In 1682, the direct line of male succession became ex- 
tinct; and, in the absence of other competitors, the late Dr H. 
Buchanan of Spittal and Lenny, claimed, in 1826, to be chief of 
the family. The Buchanans are a numerous clan in the Lennox 
and adjacent counties. Besides the M* Asians already mention* 
ed, they recognize as clansmen some other branches whose names 
are common in this district, particularly the Zuils and the Risks, 
— originally soubriquets of individuals, but afterwards surnames of 
their descendants. The one was so called from the day of his 
birth, Yule, (Christmas); the other from the place of his resi* 

* Nimmo's History of Stirlingshire, Appendix, No. 3. 
t Claim by Francis H. Buchanan, M. D. 1826. 



BUCHANAN* 93 

denoe, the Risk (a bare knoll) of Drymen. Many of the Bu- 
chaoans have settled and prospered in Glasgow, where they esta- 
blished a charitable society for the poor mentbers of the clan in 
the Lennox and elsewhere, which distributes the interest of their 
capital, amounting to upwards of L. 500 per annum, among all 
-their branches, whatever be their name. The family of Bu- 
chanan, though it flourished for upwards of 500 years, while Scot- 
land remained a separate kingdom, was never distinguished in po- 
litical transactions. One evident cause was the smallness of the 
family estate, which included only the lower part of the present 
parish. Their fame rests on their literary eminence. Besides 
the classical Buchanan, they can boast of Dr Buchanan, already 
mentioned, celebrated for his valuable works on the civil and na- 
tural history of India, (obiit 15th June 1829); and Dr Claudius 
Buchanan, who is entitled to respect and gratitude for having, by his 
writings and labours, excited the British nation to send the bles- 
aings of education and religion to their Indian empire, (ob. 9th 
February 1815.) 

Family of Montrose, — At the death of the last Buchanan of 
that Ilk, in 168t^, the estate was sold by his creditors, and pur- 
chased by the family of Montrose. They, too, claim high anti- 
quity. Without asserting the existence of the Caledonian, who, 
in the fifth century, is said to have broken down Agricola's Wall, 
and to have given it his own name of Graham's Dike, it may be 
stated, that the present Duke of Montrose is the twentieth lineal 
descendant from Sir Patrick de Graham, who fell, regretted by 
friend and foe, in the battle of Dunbar, in 1296. * This family, 
unlike their predecessor, is famed for their military achievements ; 
'and numbers among their sons, Sir John de Graham, the com- 
panion of Wallace ; the Marquis of Montrose, who flourished in 
the civil wars; the Viscount Dundee, who fell bravely, but vainly, 
attempting to support the tottering throne of James II. ; and the 
present Lord Lynedoch, who distinguished himself by his chival- 
rous exertions in the wars of the French Revolution. The late 
Duke (ob. 80th December 1836) must be mentioned as an able, 
persevering patron of agriculture. During a long life, he was un- 
wearied in embellishing his residence at Buchanan, in improving 
and extending his plantations, and in introducing superior breeds 
of farm stock. 

The Clan Gregor. — The history of the Macgregors is now 

* Httiles*s Annals of Scotland, anno 12$)6. 



94 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

familiar to all, from the ample account of them given by Sir Wal- 
ter Scott in his introduction to Rob Roy. It may be remarked, 
that their predatory and even sanguinary practises are characteris- 
tic rather of a state of society than of a peculiar family, and will 
occur wherever, under a feeble government, a rude tribe is settled 
in the vicinity of an industrious civilized population. Black mail 
was levied on the English border, as well as on the skirts of the 
Grampians ; and the exaction of that anomalous tribute by the 
Armstrongs of the south, was the same in kind, though inferior in 
degree and duration, with that of the Macgregors in the north. 
This sept occupied the upper part of Buchanan. Their noted 
chieftain, Robert Macgregor, better known as Rob Roy, (Red 
Rob,) was proprietor of Inversnaid in Glenarklet. A cave, bear- 
ing his name, is still shown in that neighbourhood ; but it has no 
other claim to notoriety, being merely the interstices between huge 
loose rocks, and well adapted for temporary concealment to an 
outlaw. In the beginning of last century, Rob Roy was a trou- 
blesome neighbour to the family of Montrose. I^ws were passed 
against the whole clan, and, to overawe them, a fort was erected at 
Inversnaid, and garrisoned by a company of soldiers. All these 
measures were of little avail. The Macgregors removed a few miles 
farther into the Highlands, and continued the exaction of black- 
mail till the suppression of the Rebellion of 1745, when an ef- 
fectual remedy was applied, by opening up roads to inaccessible 
districts, by abolishing the heritable jurisdiction of the larger pro- 
prietors, and substituting, for the feeble baronial courts, an eflB- 
cient national administration of justice. Relinquishing their law- 
less habits, the Macgregors soon learnt to emulate their country- 
men in arts and arms. They are still, after being doomed to re- 
peated proscriptions, and being engaged in successive rebellions, a 
numerous race, and are found everywhere, not only under their 
proper name, but also under the slight alterations of Gregor, 
Gregory, Gregorson, and Grierson. Their chief, in former times, 
was often elective. In 1798, Sir John Macgregor Murray, Bart 
was raised to that dignity, by the choice of 826 clansmen, able 
to bear arms. 

III. — Population. 
From the middle of last century, the population has constantly 
declined. It appears from the parish register, that, on an ave- 
rage of ten years from 1715, the number of baptisms was 49, 
which is four times more than the present amount. 



BUCHANAN. 95 

Dr Web«tcr*s return, 1755, gave 1099 
Statistical Account 1793, 1611 

Census . 1801, 748 

Do. 1831, (should have been) .600 

The number stated in last census is 787, which is greatly over- 
. rated. It was taken early in summer, when, besides the resident 
population, there were many women and children from the adja- 
cseot Yillages, and even from Greenock, employed in the annual 
cutting of oak copse : these were all included in the return to Go* 
▼emment The real amount is stated in the table. The decrease 
of the population is ascribed to the enlargement of farms, and to 
the introduction of sheep-husbandry. 

Th^re is no village in the parish. The whole population may 
be called agricultural ; for though there arc about ten families of 
tradesmen, none of them depends exclusively on his trade. There 
is a register kept of baptisms, marriages, and deaths ; but the first 
is incorrect, as many parents omit to register their children, and 
the omission is calculated at one-sixth of the whole number. 

The year! J average for last seren years of births registered, 10 

do. omitted, 2 

of deaths, . 7 

of marriages, 3 

In explanation of the marriages, or rather proclamation of banns, 
it must be stated, that the total number for the last seven years, where 
both parties, and where the male parties were parishioners, w<is 
21, — thus giving the average of three, as entered in the table : but 
during the same period, there were also nine other proclamations, 
where the female parties only were parishioners, which are exclud- 
ed, as belonging to other parishes where the male parties reside. 

The people are sober, industrious, and religious. As the parish 
18 on the Highland border, a part of the inhabitants still retain the 

Gaelic language. There are few, however, that do not understand 

English. 

IV. — Industry. 

. Agriculture. — As there is no survey of the whole parish, the 

following table, so far as the woods and wastes are concerned, is 

conjectural. 

Extent of arable )and, 1500 acres. 

Uwn at Buchanan House, 7o0 

improveable, . 550 

2,800 

natural woods, 9000 

planted do. 1250 

4,250 

7^050 



96 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

Brought over, . 7,050 
Extent of waste or irreclaimable pasture, . 69,750 

76,800 

Woods. — The planted woods are almost entirely the work of 
the late Duke of Montrose, and consist chiefly of oak and larch. 
The management of the natural woods was greatly improved by 
his Grace. They are divided into twenty- four hags, or cuttings, 
one of which is sold by auction every year. The whole are cut 
down in the space of twenty- four years. That period has been 
found most suitable for felling copse- wood, as the bark has then 
arrived at its most perfect state for tanning, and as the wood adds 
little to its growth, for some years afterwards. The old stools are 
cut over and neatly dressed, close to the surface of the ground, 
that the young shoots may send out roots to draw nourishment di- 
rectly from the earth. Blanks are Blled with young plants where 
the ground is wet, all the surface drains are scoured, and new ones 
added, if necessary. The young wood, for six years, is carefully 
fenced from cattle : afterwards, it is twice thinned and pruned. 
At every cutting, some of the fairest trees, especially if grown from 
seedlings, are preserved as standards, — greatly to the ornament 
of the country, and to the advantage of the proprietor. The sales 
of natural wood, for the last seven years, have averaged L. 950, 
while those of planted woods have averaged L. 1300, — amounting 
together to L. 2250 yearly, exclusive of timber used for houses 
and farms on the estate. A saw-mill, and one of Ryan's patent 
tanks are in full speration for the use of the estate, and all timber 
used in buildings is steeped in the solution. 

Manufactures. — A manufactory of pyrolignous acid has been 
established for several years at Balmaha, which annually consumes 
700 tons of small wood, not measurable. The wood costs 7s. per 
ton, laid down at the works. All kinds of hard-wood are used ; 
but oak is preferred. The products are acid and dye-stuffs, which 
are used in the print-works around Glasgow. 

Farms. — There are ten farms, varying in rent from L.1500 to 
L.40. There are a few possessions of smaller size, and the work- 
men employed under the proprietor have each a house, garden, 
and pasture for a cow, with liberty to gather winter fodder from 
the grass of plantations. The lower part of the parish is arable, 
consisting of alluvial soil on the bank of Endrick, and of inferior 
soil, of various kinds, clay, gravel, and moss, rising towards the 
mountain range. The rent may be stated at L. 1, 5s. per acre. 



BUCHANAN. 97 

Ifi the upper part, especially along the side of Lochlomond, there 
is some dry fertile ground, bearing good crops of oats and barley; 
but the arable proportion is so small to the mountain pasture, that 
it is little regarded when a tenant estimates the value of his farm. 
He ascertains the number of sheep which it keeps, and calculates 
the rent at from L. 3 to L. 3, 10s, per score. The sheep are black- 
faced, of small size. Some attempts are making to improve them. 
Cheviots have been tried, but found not to answer, on account of 
the elevated exposed situation. The whole parish, except some 
islets, and one farm of L. 40, belongs to the Duke of Montrose. 
The rent is L.5000, 17s. 6d: if the sales of wood, amounting to 
L.2250, be added, the annual return to the proprietors is L.725O9 
]7s.6d. 

Produce, — The following table contains the average gross pro- 
duce of the farmers and others : 



400 acres of oats, at 5 bolls, give 2000 bolls at I6s. L.1600 

90 do. of barky, at 6 bolls, 540 do. at 1^1, Is. 567 

110 do. of potatoes and turnips, at L 8, 880 



16,500 sheep, at 5s. 6d. each, . L.45d7 10 

240 milk cows, at L.4 each, 960 

%I0 black cattle, at L. i, lOs. each, . 1260 

250 cattle grazed in Buchanan ground, at L.d, 750 

10 young horses reared, and sold at L.20, 200 



L.3,047 



7,707 10 



Total produce of crops and cattle, L. 10,754 10 

In this table, no notice is taken of hay, though grass-seeds are 
sown with the white crop after turnips and potatoes, because, from 
the want of a market, the hay crop is generally pastured with 
cattle. No value is put on grass gathered from woods, or on natural 
hav, of which a great deal is made on many farms ; both being in- 
cluded in the estimated produce of live-stock. 

V. — Pakochial Economy. 

There are no towns or viUages, no post-offices, and no turnpike- 
roads in the parish. 

Ecclesiastical State. — The church is situated in the lowlands, 
and is a plain edi6ce, very neatly finished, sufficient to accommodate 
300 sitters. The number of communicants at last sacrament was 
255, of whom 79 are heads of families. There are 120 families, of 
which 10 families are Dissenters. About one-third of the popu- 
lation is upwards of ten miles distant from the church, scattered 
along the side of the lake, and in Glendow and Glenarklet. For 
them Divine service is occasionally, during summer, performed 

STIRLING. G 



98 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

at Inversnaid. It is most desirable that a missionary were esta- 
blished in that district 

The manse was built in 1797, at a little distance from the 
church. Previously the minister lived, at the distance of three 
miles, in the original manse which was situated on the bank of 
the lake opposite to Inchcaileoch. The glebe contains 35 acres, but 
mostly bad ground, not worth more than 10s. per acre. The sti- 
pend consists of L. 126 of money, and 24 bolls of oatmeal, with a 
small allowance from Government, to make up the annual value 
of L. 158, 6s. 8d. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — The number of paupers is 24. 
The ordinary funds for their maintenance are the collections at 
church, varying from L.20 to L.2d per annum, and the interest 
of L.400 of poor's stock. The family of Montrose are also very 
liberal to the poorer parishioners, giving clothes, meal, money, and 
sometimes grass for a cow. 

Education, — The parish school is attended by 50 scholars in win- 
ter, and by 40 in summer. During the latter season, the peeling of 
oak bark interferes with the attendance at school. The salary is 
L.dl, with house and garden. There is a charity school at Sa- 
lochy, in the upper part of the parish, attended by 40 scholars in 
winter, but scarcely by the half in summer. The teacher has, be- 
sides a house and cow's grass allowed by the proprietor, a salary 
of L. 15 paid by the Society in Edinburgh. A very few parents 
pay school-fees for their children. A small school is opened at 
Inversnaid. The teacher receives L. 8 from a lady in the neigh- 
bourhood, and is attended by 10 or 12 scholars. The best teacher 
there could not collect 20. To do justice to the scattered popu- 
lation, the school should be not 6xed, but ambulatory. 

Miscellaneous Observations. 
The population, though now only one-third of what it was a 

hundred years ago, is still likely to decline. In the Highland dis- 
trict, the people are straitened, and their numbers superabundant. 
They have work enough in summer, during the time of wood-cut- 
ting ; but they are next to idle, during the rest of the year. To 
give them constant employment, it may be recommended, 1. to 
extend and improve the arable land of the pastoral district, and, 
by introducing turnip crops, to ameliorate the stock of both sheep 
and cattle ; 2. to plant with larch, and with oak where practi- 
cable, bleak and barren tracts, not merely for the purpose of shel- 
ter, but as a profitable investment of capital, for it appears that 



DRYMEN. 99 

pknte d woods are far more profitable than natural ; and, 3. to open 
up roads throughout the whole parish, by continuing the present 
road from Rowardennan along the east bank of the lake, and join- 
ing it in Glenfalloch with Arrochar turnpike, and by repairing the 
old road to Inversnaid garrison, to maintain a communication 
through Genarklet to the western part of Perthshire. 

Drawn up February 1838. 
Revised March 1841. 



PARISH OF DRYMEN. 

PRESBTTERT OF DUMBARTON, SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. ALEXANDER LOCHORE, A. M., MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 

Namtj Boundaries. — The name Drymen, or, as formerly writ- 
ten, DrumeHf is obviously derived from the Celtic word Druinif a 
ridge or knolL The name is peculiarly descriptive of a consider* 
able part of the parish, — the face of the country being much di- 
versified by such knolls. This parish is bounded on the north, by 
Aberfoil and Port ; on the east, by Kippen, Balfron, and Kil- 
learn ; on the south, by Killearn, Kilmaronock, and Dumbarton ; 
on the west, by Buchanan and Kilmaronock. Its extreme length 
is 15 miles, and its breadth 10. It contains about 50 square 
miles, and 32,200 imperial acres. 

Topographical Appearances. — The outlines of the parish are 
very irregular, its figure- approaching to that of an isosceles 
triangle, the base of which runs east and west, while the apex 
points towards the south. A mountainous, moorland track per- 
vades it from east to north-west, and divides the parish into two 
parts, — the northern part is contained within the general basin 
of the Forth; the southern is included within that of the Clyde. 
The bog of Ballat, situated between these two portions, is the low- 
est summit level between the east and west coasts of Scotland, 
with the exception of the Dullater Bog, on the Forth and Clyde 
Canal. According to Smeaton's report, the former is 222 feet, the 
latter 156 above the level of the sea. Towar ds the western verge 
the moor rises into a lofty ridge, which separates this parish from 



100 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

that of Buchanan. The most conspicuous points of this ridge are, 
Benvraick (the spotted hill,) and Guallan (the shoulder,) — the 
former of which may be 1600 feet above the sea level, — the lat- 
ter 1300 or 1400. But, from the circumstance of their standing 
on a broad and elevated base, the appearance they present is not 
striking.* 

A second muirish track, of considerable extent, and forming 
part of the Stockiemuir, occupies a great proportion of the south 
angle of the parish. The largest portion of arable land is situated 
between these two elevated muirs, within the picturesque and well- 
sheltered vale of the Endrick. The rest lies to the east of the 
Bog of Ballat, before-mentioned, and has a northern exposure to- 
wards the Forth. There is also some cultivated land along the 
banks of the Duchray and Keltie waters : but the breadth of this 
is inconsiderable. 

The scenery of some parts of Strath Endrick is very beautiful ; 
and it is rendered not the less interesting from its being in con- 
trast with the wide and desolate muirland, from which you descend 
on either side. From an eminence not far from the manse, there 
is a prospect that is much admired. In the fore-ground, you 
look down upon the rich and extensive lawn of Buchanan, stud- 
ded with innumerable trees ; beyond which, is the wide expanse of 
Locblomond, with the mountains of Ben-Levenf and Argyle- 
shire in the back ground. 

In the north-east of the parish, there is the commencement of 
the low, flat, moss lands which extend all the way to Stirling — six- 
teen miles. This is called the Flanders Moss, It is generally 
supposed to have had its origin 1*rom the overthrow of a vast fo- 
rest, (part of the horrida sylva CaledonixB^) which was cut down 
by the Roman soldiers in the time of Severus, to prevent' the mo- 
lestations of the natives, who had their fastnesses within it. Trees 
of an immense size are frequently dug out, having the marks of 
the axe upon them ; and they are found lying in every direction* 
indicating that they were not overturned by a tempest, but by the 
hand of man. 

• The haughs on ihe banks of the Endrick, in the western extremity of the parish, 
are about 40 feet above the level of the sea, twelve miles distant. The land on the 
Forth, though still further from the coast, is rather lower. 'I'he greater part of the 
arable land in the parish may be at an elevation of from 100 to 250 feet. The high, 
est cultivated land is about 450. 

t Ben-Leven is the peninsula which stretches from Dumbarton to Arrochar, 

bounded on the one side by ihe Leven and l.ochlomond, on tlic other by the Frith 
of Clyde, the Gareloch, and Loch- Long. — called the Isle of Ben-Leven. 



DRYMEN. 



101 



Climate and Diseases. — The climate is moist and variable, as 
might be expected, in consequence of much of the country being 
elevated, marshy, and uncultivated. The prevailing wind is south- 
west In spring we have cold easterly. The writer of this sketch 
kept a register of the quantity of rain that fell in the years 1834, 
1835, 1836, 1837. The instrument employed was constructed 
by Mr Thom of Rothsay, and is similar to many which are now 
in use in the west country. The following are the monthly regis- 
trations, by which it will be seen that this parish has fully its own 
share of rain : — 



1834, 

isas, 

1836, 
1837, 



Jan. 

iImo 

4.20 
6.81) 
5.10 



Feb. 



3.20 
5.60 
3.20 
5.60 



Mar. 



3.60 
5.30 
4. 
1. 



Apr. May 



1.75 
3.20 
1.20 



June'jJul}- 



.25 2.25 a55; 2.05 



5.90 1.55 33() 
.30 4.10 6.40 

2.65 2.50i aao 



Aug. 8ep. Oct. 



3.65 
4 



4.25 
7.40 



4.70! 6.70 



5.25 
3.20 
8.90 



3.25: 2.55' 6.90 



Nov. 

6.25 
6.60 
5.90 
6.25 



Dec 



1.0 
3.90 
3.40 
2.30 




The diseases most prevalent in the parish are, rheumatism, con- 
tinued fever, and inflammatory complaints. Typhus fever has in- 
creased greatly, of late years. Cholera did not visit us in its 
destructive course in 1834; but scarcely a family escaped the in- 
fluenza of 1837, though there were comparatively few deaths. 

Hydrography. — There are no lakes in the parish. The prin- 
cipal rivers are the Duchray, the Forth, and the EndricL The 
Duchray, which is the southern and most considerable branch of 
the Forth, rises near the summit of Benlomond, and forms the 
northern boundary of the parish for some miles. It then leaves it 
to the .south, and after joining the branch from Loch Ard^ and 
acquiring the name of Forth, it approaches and again skirts the 
parish as far as its eastern extremity. The Forth, in this part of 
its course, is an uninteresting stream, its dark waters winding with a 
sluggish current between deep banks of moss, without any object 
that contributes to picturesque beauty. The Endrick intersects 
the parish for nearly two miles, and bounds it for about two more. 
It has its source among the Gargunnock Hills, to the north-east 
of Fintry, and, after a course of eighteen miles in nearly a direct 
line, empties itself into Lochlomond, being the largest river which 
that lake receives. It is a clear rapid stream, and (as its Celtic 
name* is said to imply) very subject to sudden floods, which often 
do considerable damage. In September 1836, it rose fearfully in 
the course of one night, and swept twenty score of lambs from the 
lawn of Buchanan into Lochlomond. On this river, at Gartness, 



• Auxm-eiric^ " river that rises." The old spelling is Anericke. 



102 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

about two miles east of the village of Drymen, there are conside- 
rable falls. For a quarter of a mile, the channel is scooped out of 
the solid rock, and the vexed water forces its way over a series of 
precipices. 

There are many fine springs of water to be found in this pa- 
rish. St Vildrin*s* well, on the farm of Finnich-Drummond, 
may be mentioned as remarkable for the large quantity of water 
which it discharges. In Roman Catholic times, and even within 
a hundred years, many a pilgrim drank of or bathed in its streams. 
An image of the patron saint, carved in stone, still presides over 
it. The world has either grown wiser, or these waters have lost 
their virtues, since not a knee bows now before the stony saint. 

Botany. — In the higher parts of the parish, there are not found 
any of the rare Scottish plants. The Erica vulgaris and cinerea 
prevail ; and where the heath does not grow, the Aira JUxuoMj 
Festuca ovina and vivipara are the principal grasses. In many 
parts of the muirland, are found the Empetrum nigrum^ and the 
Vaccinium Vitis Id(Ba and Oxycoccos. In the low marshy parts, the 
Myrica gale abounds ; also Tofieldia palustrisy Carex^ Juncus, and 
Pamassia palustris. It is worthy of remark, that, where these last- 
mentioned plants prevail, the soil is most congenial to the growth 
of oak coppice, producing bark of the best quality. Upon such 
ground, however, hard-wood will not grow to a large size ; nor 
does the Finns there outlive forty or fifty years. Finns larix^ e.g. 
begins to fail or rot in the heart. 

Wood, — There is no lack of wood in the parish, more especially 
in the vale of Endrick. But, with the exception of the plantations 
belonging to His Grace the Duke of Montrose, there is no great 
quantity in any one place. At the Park of Drumquhassle, Dal- 
nair, and near the manse, there are some magnificent oaks and 
beeches; and at the churchyard-gate, there is a noble ash, once 
the bell-tree^ which has weathered at least 200 years.f 

At the Castle of Duchray, and clustering round its walls, is 
some remarkably fine ivy, next, in age and strength, to that at 
Kenilworth. In the old orchard at Duchray, there are some aged 

• The writer cannot find this saint in the Calendar. The above is the name cur- 
rent in the country. 

t ThJ* ♦^ee is mentioned in the Agricultural Report of Sdriingshire, published in 
1 812, and it may be interesting to compare ito measurement at that date and the 
present. Its girth is there staled at 15 feet at one foot from tlic ground, and 13 feet 
8 inches at the middle of the trunk. It now measures 16 feet 7 inches in circurale- 
rence at one foot from the ground, and 16 feet 1 inch at the middle of the stem, 
about five feet from the ground. 



DRYMEN. 103 

filbert trees, which produce a nut of a larger size and higher fla- 
vour than the common nut of the wood. They were brought ori- 
ginally from the Monastery of Inchmahome, in the Isle of Men- 
teith, to which they had been conveyed from foreign parts. 

II. — Civil History. 

The only accounts of the history and statistics of the parish 
which the author of this sketch knows of are, ^* Description of 
Drymmen paroch, by Alexander Graham of Duchray, 1724," to 
be found in M^Farlan of M^Farlan's Geographical Collections, in 
tbe Advocates'. Library, Vol. ii. p. 439, * and the old Statistical 
Account. 

Family of Drummwd. — The parish gives name to the Drum- 
mond or Perth family. According to tradition, the founder of that 
ancient and noble house was a Hungarian, named Maurice, who 
came over from Hungary in the train of Margaret, Queen of Mal- 
colm Canmore, and obtained, in reward of his services, a grant of 
certain lands, and, among others, of Drymen in Stirlingshire. It is 
uot certainly known in what part of the parish the Drummonds had 
their residence. Mr Nimmo, in his History of Stirlingshire, says, 
that it was probably somewhere near the Endrick. The northern 
part of the parish, however, still goes by the name of the barony 
of Drummond ; and we are inclined to think, from this circum- 
stance, that it was there they had their original seat, though neither 
history nor tradition now indicates the spot. 

Tt is uncertain how or at what time, the Drummonds ceased to 
be connected with Stirlingshire. In the year 1360, in consequence 
of a feud which had long subsisted between them and the Earls of 
Menteith, a compact was entered into at a meeting on the banks 
of the Forth, in presence of the justiciaries of Scotland, by which 
Sir John Drummond resigned certain lands in the Lennox, and 
obtained in lien of them others of greater value in Perthshire. 
Shortly after this, and probably in consequence of it, their resi- 
dence seems to have been transferred, to Stobhall in Perthshire, 
which, along with other extensive estates in that county, had some 
vears before come into possession of the family by marriage. Pre- 
viously to this change of residence, however, Anabella, daughter 




twenty-two, and these miles long enough. " A large half mile from the church, on 
the «outh iide of the Enrick. is the house of Edward Buchanan of Spittal." We 
would now reckon it distant a tolerably large whole mile. v.. 



104 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

• 

of Sir John Drummond, married Robert, Earl of Carrick, High 
Steward of Scotland, who afterwards succeeded to the throne by 
the title of Robert III. The fruit of this marriage was two sons, 
one of whom afterwards became James I. Thus the parish may 
lay claim to the honour of having produced a lady from whom 
descended the Royal House of Stuart ; and who was not more 
distinguished for rank and station, than for the many virtues which 
adorned her character. 

Eminent Men. — The Napiers of Merchiston had, at one time, 
considerable possessions of land in this parish. On the 22d Fe- 
bniary 1494-95, Archibald Napier got a charter under the Great 
Seal, " of the lands and mill of Gartness, the lands of Dolnare, 
Blareour, Gartharne, the two Bollatis, Douchlass, Edinballie," &c 
with the woods and forests thereof, and the fishings of the waters 
of Anerich and Altquhore, in the Earldom of Levenaz and shire 
of Stirling. The whole, with some other lands in adjoining pa- 
rishes, was incorporated into a free barony, and called the barony 
of Edinbellie Napier.* 

The great grandson of this Archibald Napier was John Napier, 
the famous Inventor of Logarithms. According to some autho- 
rities, he was born at Gartness, in this parish, in the year 1550. 
At all events, he is known to have resided there, at various pe- 
riods of his life. Upon his return from his travels on the conti- 
nent, he betook himself to those studies and pursuits which have 
immortalized his name. The seclusion of Gartness, an isolated 
corner, far from the haunts of men, was congenial to a mind de- 
voted to the mysteries of theological and mathematical science. 
In that sequestered spot, living like a hermit, and engaged in 
studies, which few, if any, in these parts could comprehend, it is 
not to be wondered at, that he was looked upon b} the common 
people as a wizard, and was consulted as one who had insight into 
futurity, and intercourse with invisible beings. The retirement of 
Gartness was not without its annoyances. It is told of him that 
the noise of the waterfall and of the mill in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of his residence, tried his temper not a little by disturb- 
ing him in his studies. The former he could not prevent ; but 
often, when engaged in abstruse calculations, he was in the habit 
of ordering the miller to stop the constant clock-clack of his wheel. 

• A miserable cottage on the farm of Finnich. Drummond, in this parish, Is the 
last vestige, by name, of this once splendid barony. In the fann of Oaigievairn, there 
is a large field which still goes by the name of «' Lady Napier's Field." 



DUYMEN. 105 

There are still visible some fragments of the ruins of the castle 
in which he lived, overhanging the falls of Gartness. A stone, 
with the date 1574, taken from these ruins, is seen built into the 
gable of the mill. The present proprietor, Mr Govane of Park, 
(into whose family the estate of Gartness came, about a century 
and a half ago,) has in his possession some globular stones, with 
the circles of the sphere and constellations engraved on them — 
and concave stones, with engravings of a similar character, which 
are understood to have been made by Napier. There is also a 
stone of this kind to be seen, forming one of the rybats of a win« 
dow of the milL It is very probably to some such handiworks of 
Napier, that Butler in his Hudibras (Part ii. Canto 3,) refers, when 
he speaks of 

'* A moon-dial, with Napier*s bones,* 
And several constellation stones, 
Engraved in planetary hour, 
That over mortals had strange power.** 

As connected by birth, and as formerly minister of this parish, 
may be recorded under this head, the name of the Rev. Princi- 
pal Macfarlan, who so ably presides over the University of Glas- 
gow ; as also that of his father, who was minister of this parish from 
1743 to 1791. The latter is still remembered by the old people 
as a man of great shrewdness and vigour of mind — and of bold in- 
trepid character. 

Land' owners. — These are. His Grace the Duke of Montrose ; 
William C. C. Graham, Esq. of Gartmore ; Robert Govane, Esq. 
of Park of Drumquhassle ; Mrs M. Buchanan, of Drumakiln ; 
James Macfarlane, Esq. of Ballwill ; John Buchanan, Esq. of Car- 
beth ; General Graham Stirling of Duchray; John Todd, Esq. of 
Pinnich Malice; Miss M'Goune of Mains; William Lennie, Esq. of 
Ballochneck ; William A. Maclachlan, Esq. of Auchenlroig ; Rev. 
Dr Graham, of Balfunning; and James M'Nair, Esq. of Balvie. 

The only family of independent fortune residing in the parish 
is, that of Robert Govane, Esq. of Park. The number of proprie- 
tors of land of the yearly value of L. 50 and upwards is, 29. There 
are nine resident, who farm their own properties. 

Parochial Registers, — There are five volumes of session-records, 

' '* Napier's Bones." This has reference to an invention of Napier, whereby ho 
contrived, by means of some small rods with the digits inherited on thcin, to perform 
certain operations of multiplication and division. A tract was published in London, 
1684, containing " An Account of ihe Numbering Rods of the Right Honourable 
John, Lord Neeper ; enlarged. Printed for Joseph Moxon, at the sign of the Atlas, 
in Ludgate Street; where also these numbering rods (commonly called Neepcr's 
Bones) are made and sold.** 



106 ' STIRLINGSHIRE. 

the two oldest of which are now in a very decayed and imperfect 
condition. The earliest date is 1676. The record from 1677 
to 1721 is wanting. After that period, with the exception of a 
gap from 1740 to 1748, they seem fully and accurately kept. 
The earliest date of the minutes of session is 1723. The oldest 
date in the church-^yard is 1618. 

Antiquities. — On the farm of Grarfarrao, and within the barony 
of Drummond, are the remains of a Roman fort called the Peel of 
Garfarran, (castle of vexation.) It is at the western extremity of 
the Flanders moss, — and was erected by the Romans, probably 
to protect them from the assaults of the natives, who had betaken 
themselves to the forest. This fort is nearly square. 

The outer and inner rampart are still quite discernible — as al- 
so the fosse surrounding it, with the opening through which it 
might be filled from the rivulet which runs near. 

The names of two places in the parish indicate the sites of re- 
ligious houses, viz. Chapel* Laroch, (site of a church or chapel) 
near Gartmore ;-*-the ruins of this chapel, which existed in 1724, 
when the laird of Duchray wrote his account of the parish, have 
now completely disappeared. And Knockiuhaglish, (hill or knoll 
of the church,) on the lands of Finnich Drumroond, not far from 
the sainted well already spoken of. 

At a short distance from this, on the farm of £. Cameron, a 
large cairn was broken up, about twenty years ago, — in which a 
number of stone coffins were discovered, and human bones found 
therein ; but there is no tradition as to the origin of the cairn, or 
the occupants of these hist vaens, 

III. — Population. 

By the returns made to Dr Webster in 1755, the population was 2789 

By census of 1791, . 1G07 

Do. 18]], . 1500 

Do. 1821, . . 1652 

Do. 1831, 1690 

The great decrease which took place from 1755 to 1791, was 
mainly owing to the union of small farms — the breaking up of the 
system of cotteries — and the inducements held out to the rural popu- 
lation to settle in manufacturing towns. The vestiges of such de- 
populations are very visible. The desert walls and ruins of many 
a cottage, with the solitary trees overhanging them in the different 
districts of this parish, show the change, somewhat melancholy, 
that has come over it. And the many unclaimed lairs in the church- 
yard, tell of many families having passed away, who once lived here 
in simplicity and peace. It is for the moralist and the philanthro- 



DRYMEN. 107 

put to say, if such changes in the state of society have been for 
the better. 

The present population may be classified as follows, viz. 

Number of fiunilies in the paruh, - . 312 

empIo3red in agriculture, - - 160 

in trade, manufiotures, or handicraft, - 64 

Number of males, .... 863 

offemales, - ... 827 

ofmalesaboTe20, . ... 458 

of persons residing in the ▼illage, - - 404 

in the other parts of the parish, • 1286 

above, 70, • - . 62 

There are only two persons above 90. In one family, there 

are four persons, whose united ages make 317, viz. — 83, 84, 

80,70. 

It is diflScuIt to give a correct estimate of the number of births 

and marriages, — the registration of births being much neglected, 

especially by Dissenters ; and the mere proclamation of banns 

being no rule as to the number of marriages, as the solemnization 

of the marriage ofk;en does not take place in the parish of the pro. 

clamation. No regular record of the deaths has been kept Some 

legislative enactment is much wanted to regulate and enforce these 

registrations. 

There is one deaf and dumb man. There are two fatuous ; 
none insane. 

Character of the People. — It may be said of the people generally, 
that they are intelligent, industrious, and frugal, exemplary in their 
habits, and, with few exceptions, attentive to the public ordinances 
of religion. With respect to the enjoyment of the comforts of life, 
they are not behind their neighbours. They are generally well-lodg- 
ed and well-fed ; and at marriages, burials, and in church on Sab- 
bath, show, by their style of decent dressing, that they are in comfort- 
able circumstances. It cannot be concealed that the prevailing vice 
B drunkenness ; encouraged greatly, without doubt, by the too fre- 
quent sign- boards in the country, announcing ^^ porter, ale, and Bri- 
tish spirits."* About twenty-five years ago, smuggling was carried 
on to a great extent in this parish. A seizure is now a very uncom- 
mon occurrence. There is still occasionally some blaziiig in the 
burns ; as much, it is believed, for a winter-night's amusement, as 
for the spoil that is obtained. There is in this country great temp- 
tation to poaching ; the game being very plentiful. The proprie- 
tors generally keep a strict look-out after delinquents. But, upon 

* Vide MacnieH's Scotland's Skaith. 



108 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

the whole, whetljer from principle or restraint, few concern them* 
selves in such illicit practices. 

IV. — Industry. 
Agriculture and Rural Economy, — It has been already stated, 

that the parish consists of about 32,200 acres. The number of 
acres which are cultivated and occasionally in tillage, is about 
7000. It is not easy to say how much is arable. There are large 
tracts in the muirland, and along the lower parts of the mountains, 
which are quite susceptible of cultivation. In many districts where 
sheep and black-cattle are now wandering without inclosure, there 
.are traces of cultivation by a former generation. But, front the 
modern notions of farming, and the distance from lime and from 
markets, it is considered better to let such land lie in a state of 
nature. There may be about 21,700 acres of hill and muirland. 
The land under wood may be stated at about 180 acres of na- 
tural coppice, and 376 planted. 

Soil, — In a parish of such extent, it is to be expected that there 
will be much diversity of soil ; hence, we find every variety, from 
the most barren to the most productive. Along the Forth, there 
are nearly 3000 acres of deep moss, under which there is a rich 
clayey soil, capable of producing the most abundant crops. The 
prevailing soil of the lands on the Endrick, is rich brown loam. 
As you ascend from these low grounds, the soil is fight sandv 
dryfield. But the most common soil of the parish is poor and 
tillv, with a retentive cold subsoil. 

Renty Rate of Wages^ 8fc, — The average rent, per acre, of the 
inferior arable land, may be staled at, from lOs. to 15s. ; and that 
of better quality, chiefly in the lower parts of Strath Endrick, at 
L.2, lOs. The rent of a cow's grazing on the best land is L.3, 10s. ; 
of hill-fed sheep, from 5s. to 6s. The rate of wages for plough- 
men and men farm-servants is from L. 12 to L. 16 a-year, exclu- 
sive of board and lodging; for women, from L. 5 to L.9. La- 
bourers receive from Is. 8d. to 2s. a-day during three-fourths of 
the year, and Is. 6d. during the winter months. Masons and 
Wrights, from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d.; and tailors, when employed in the 
houses. Is. 6d. with victuals. 

Stocky 8fc. — The Ayrshire breed of cattle are generally and 
successfully reared in the south and west ends of the parish. ' The 
north and east districts are much behind in this respect, partly from 
carelessness, and partly from attachment to the old or mongrel 
breed. The sheep with which the muirlands are pastured, are of the 

4 



DRYMEN. 109' 

black-faced kind. For the improvement of the stock, Linton and 
Lammermoor rams are occasionally introduced. On the better 
farms, a few of the 6ner species, such as the Leicester, are kept, but 
chiefly for supplying the " gude-wife" with some better wool for 
her domestic purposes. 

Within the last twenty years, there has been a very great im- 
provement on the stock of this part of the country. This has 
been mainly owing to the exertions of the Strath- Endrick Club. 
By instituting an annual competition, and oflering high premiums 
for the introduction of superior animals, — the former breed, which 
was a mixture of all kinds of inferior stuck, has in a great measure 
disappeared. And the district can now challenge a comparison 
with any part of the country. This club was instituted in 1816, 
and holds its annual meeting in Drj^men in the month of August. 
Its funds are raised by yearly subscription of the members, con- 
sisting of the principal proprietors, clergy, and respectable farmers 
ID the district. His Grace the Duke of Montrose is patron of the 
Club. The late Duke, whose memory will be long cherished in 
this quarter, as an enlightened improver, and a kind and generous 
landlord, contributed greatly, by his influence and exertions, to its 
success. 

Husbandry. — The improvement in agriculture, in this parish, 
has been keeping pace with the improvement in the stock. There 
is, with many of the farmers, a laudable desire of adopting the new 
and approved processes in farming. We have still, however, in 
the remote quarters of the parish, an obstinate adherence, on the 
part of many, to the old system of " their fathers before them !" 
They are contented to " dodge on" in the antique fashion, with- 
out troubling themselves with the modern novelties. 

In the more fertile districts, the five-shift rotation of crops is 
adopted. On many farms, a great deal is now going on in furrow 
or parallel draining; one of the greatest improvements for a 
country like this, in farming. The expense, however, is so great, 
that, without the landlord's bearing a large proportion of the out- 
lay, the tenant cannot carry it on to any great extent. Not a few 
of our landlords, aware of this, are encouraging their tenants to 
drain to any extent, paying the half of the expense. 

On the estate of Finnich Malice, the late George Buchanan, 
Esq. drained in this way to the extent of 60 acres.* The present 

• The present proprietor, John Todd, Esq. is carrying on similar farming opera- 
tions to a very great extent. — 1S41. 



no STIRLINGSHIRE. 

enterprising tenant of Finnich Drummond, John Buchamm, Esq.of 
Ballat, brother of the above-mentioned gentleman, is carrying on 
much of this work, assisted by his landlord, the Duke of Montrose. 
James M^Nair, Esq., of Balvie, has most successfully brought into 
culture about 90 acres of black heathy ground. And now his farm 
of Auchineck, which, nine years ago, was of dismal and forbidding 
aspect, looks as smiling, and is as productive as any in the parish. 

Leases, Farm-houses^ S^c. — The duration of leases is generally 
nineteen years. On the Duke of Montrose's estate it is eighteen, 
and for grass ferms, nine. It would be a great benefit both to 
landlord and tenant, if more attention were paid, in the case of 
renewing leases, to grant the renewal within three or four years of 
the expiry of them. This would prevent the farm being ex* 
hausted, and, likewise, much anxiety of mind to the occupant in 
the prospect of removal. 

The farm-houses and steadings on the larger farms are, in general, 
good and commodious, — but, on the smaller, in many cases, both 
are unworthy of the style of farming and of living of the present 
day. 

Much attention is now paid to fencing with thorn-hedges. The 
trim dressed hedges in the western districts are much admired. 
In many places, however, the hedges have been planted too low ; 
the consequence is, that the thorns getting hold of the cold damp 
subsoil, canker and die. 

The rental of the parish is about L. 9000 ; the valued rent 
L.5069, 10s. 

There are three corn-mills in the parish, and a mill at Gart- 
ness for carding, spinning, dyeing, and weaving woollen goods, 
which are chiefly used in the country. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 
Village — Markets — Means of Communication^ ifc, — Drymen, 
the only village in the parish, contains a population of 404. With 
the exception of the ordinary trades-people, the inhabitants are 
chiefly employed in country labour. There used to be a fidr, al- 
most every month held here : but of late years, in consequence 
of the improved means of communication, and the increased faci- 
lities of obtaining commodities from other quarters, they are redu- 
ced to four ; chiefly for the hiring of servants. The people of this 
parish mostly avail themselves of the Glasgow markets, eighteen 
miles distant. In the populous districts of the Leven, about seven 
miles to the west of Drymen, and of Duntocher, about twelve 



DRTMEN. Ill 

miles to the south, the farmers find a convenient outlet for their 
produce. 

There are ten miles of turnpike road in the parish, viz. the 
great road leading from Glasgow and Dumbarton, by Drymen, to 
Stirling. And thirty-five miles of parish roads. The latter are 
kept in repair (not the best) by converted statute labour money ; 
the annual amount of which is L. 120. 

There is a very handsome bridge over the Endrick, within a 
mile of the village, connecting this parish with that of Kilmaro- 
nocL This bridge was built in 1765. There is another called 
the Finnich bridge, (recently widened and improved,) stretching 
over a deep romantic ravine, through which the bum is seen strug- 
gling far below. There is a stage-coach three times a week to 
Glasgow; starting at 7 a. m. and returning same day by 8 p. m. 
There is a weekly carrier, and a daily post* 

Eederiasiical State. — The parish church is situated near the vil- 
lage of Drymen— -but set down most inconveniently for more than 
half of the inhabitants of the parish. It is within half a-mile of 
the west extremity of the parish ; and there is a population to 
the north and east of it, of upwards of 700, from six to twelve miles 
from the church. This inconvenient state of things has been 
somewhat remedied, of late, to the inhabitants of the east parts of 
the parish, by the erection of a church in the village of Buchly- 
▼ie, within the parish of Kippen. To this church a population of 
400 belonging to this parish, have been attached quoad sacra ; 
and now many, who, from their distance from the house of God, 
could seldom be there, have a church so conveniently placed for 
them that they can enjoy the ordinances every Lord's day : — one 
of the good fruits of church extension. 

The inhabitants of the north of the parish, (about 300), being 
separated from the church and its ordinances by a wide and deso- 
lute muir, — seldom, excepting on sacramental occasions, come 
across. The minister has been in the habit of ofiiciating among 
them twice a-year. But they generally avail themselves of the be- 
nefit of public worship in the churches of Aberfoil and Gartmore ; 
with which, however, they have no privileged connection. 

The parish church is a plain substantial building, erected in 
1771, and is at present in good repair. It affords accommodation for 
about 400, and is sufficiently large for all who can attend. The seats 
are parcelled out among the heritors, according to their valuations. 



112 STIRLINGSHIRE. ' 

And their tenantry, servants, and poor, occupy tbeir respective al- 
lotments. 

The sacrament of the Lord's supper is dispensed twice a-year, 
in June and November. 444 communicants are at present on the 
roll, of whom 145 are male heads of families. 

The manse was built in 174b, and has, from time to time, receiv- 
ed repairs and additions. It is a substantial and commodious house ; 
delightfully situated on a bank overlooking the Endrick, and is per- 
haps not surpassed, in the beauty of the situation, by any manse in 
Scotland. The extent of the glebe, including garden and policy at- 
tached to the manse, is about seven acres. Its yearly value in rent 
may be about L.20. There is no grass glebe ; but the minister has 
an allowance of LI, 18s. 4d. in lieu thereof. The stipend, by de« 
creet of the Teind Court in 1831, is 17 chalders, half meal, half 
barley. But the heritors having since surrendered their teinds, 
it is now 319 bolls, 2 pecks of meal, and L. 7, 3s. 9d. of vicarage. 

By the statements laid before Her Majesty's Commissioners, 
when they visited Drymen in 1837, there are 340 Dissenters in 
the parish, belonging chiefly to the United Secession and Re- 
lief. The remaining 1350 belong to the Established Church. 
In the village of Drymen, there is a United Secession Chapel, 
built in 1819, at an expense of L. 370. The minister's stipend 
is L.85, and a house valued at L.15 per annum, raised from the 
seat rents, by ordinary and extraordinary collections, and by occa- 
sional aid from the synod fund. Those of the parish who are 
connected with the Relief dissent attend the Relief chapels in 
Balfron and Kilmaronock. 

Education, — The parish school is within half a mile of the vil- 
lage of Drymen ; but, like the parish church, is inaccessible to 
more than half of the population. The teacher has L.31 of sa- 
lary, and an excellent school and dwelling-house, together with 
the legal quantity of ground for a garden. 

There is in general a laudable desire on the part of the parents 
to give their children a good, useful education. But classical 
learning appears to be fast on the decline in this quarter, there 
being only two Latin scholars in the parish school, and only one 
college student resident in the parish. 

With the exception of about half a dozen, and these incomers 
into the parish, there are none above fifteen years of age who can- 
, not read. 

There are two schools in the northern and eastern districts of 



DRYMEN. 113 

the pariah, id which the ordinary branches are taught ; the former 
kaving, in addition to the school fees, L.5, lis. of salary, granted 
from the rents of the bishoprick of Dunkeld ; the latter having 
the interest of L. 88, left by the late Miss M^Lachlan of Auchin- 
troig. There is also, in the village of Drymen, an infant school, 
taught by a female; the building and ground granted by His 
Grace the Duke of Montrose ; and, in addition to the school fees 
of 2d. a-week, a few pounds are raised by contribution by the 
friends of the institution. 

There are two Sabbath schools; the one taught by the mhiister 
of the parish, the other by the Dissenting minister. 

The number of scholars in the parish is as follows, viz. — 

Parish sehoolf III 

Do. evening, . • .36 

Infimt school, . 30 

Dalroary, . .96 

Auchintroig, . 28 

Taught privately, . 12 

253^ 
Being rather more than one-Mventh of the population. 

Library.-^ A Parish Library was instituted in 1829. It con- 
oats of nearly 400 volumes, well selected, and consisting chiefly of 
books of history, travels, and religion. It is in a flourishing con- 
dition, and has tended not a little to diffuse a taste for reading. 

Sttmng^ Bank, — A Savings' Bank was begun here in 1829, 
and has proved most beneficial to many of the contributors, both 
in the habits of economy they have been thus led to practise, and 
in the means it has put in their power of improving their condition 
in life. There are at present forty depositors ; two-thirds of whom 
are servants. The following statement will show its progress for 
the last seven years : 



its in 1831, 




L.104 




Due at the year's end, L. 256 


1832, 




91 




311 


1833. 




49 




246 


]8&i. 




74 




305 


1835. 




45 




336 


1836, 




129 




416 


1837, 




67 




413 



Besides this, a considerable sum in small bills, belonging to some 
of the depositors, is lodged in the regular bank ; so that there 
may be in all about L. 700.* 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — There is no assessment for the 
poor in this parish. The funds available for their support, and 

• The funds of ihU taving^' bank hnve been transferred lately to the National 
Sarmga* Bank, Glasgow — the minister still acting as rccc-iTer. — I84L 

STIRLING. H f 



114 STlULlNliSHlRE. 

at the disposal of the kirk-session, are such as arise from ih4 
church collections, mortcloth money, donations, and the interest 
of L. 185, which has been realized frou) mortiGcations, and savings 
from church collections. The collections, on an average of the 
last seven years, amount to L. 35, 9s. dfd. There are at present 
on the roll 17, who receive, according to their circumstances, 
from 7s. 6d. to L. I, 12s. 6d. per quarter, besides occasiooally 
coals, cordials, and extra help, when in sickness or destitution. 

There is still much of the good old Scottish feeling among the 
people, of reluctance to receive parochial aid. The fact, that, at 
the period when the last Statistical Account was written^ there 
were 38 poor on the roll and now only 17, is a proof that the people 
are either in better circumstances, or that they are, if possible, 
more unwilling to receive such help. It is no uncommon occur- 
rence for the parishioners to raise by subscription, a sum of money 
in aid of some individual or family who have been thrown into 
destitute circumstances, by affliction or bereavement, rather than 
that they should be subjected to the humiliation of becoming pa^ 
rish paupers. An instance has just occurred. A poor, industri- 
ous family had their eldest son (a promising young man, a stu* 
tlentO brought home to them in fever; — and he died. The fa- 
ther and mother were seized. The father died ; their means were 
exhausted, and there were eight young children to provide for : 
and the poor, widowed, disconsolate mother, from her sick-bed, en«> 
treated of the minister who offered her relief, that whatever he 
bestowed should not be from the parish funds. The people's sym- 
pathy and prompt liberality have done for her what the parish 
funds could ill afford. Such a spirit, while it may be characteriz- 
ed as that of honest pride, it is to be hoped, has respect to the 
promise, " Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them 
alive — let thy widows trust in me." Such a spirit, there is no 
doubt, will lead to industry, and will raise up friends to help, and 
so will God ful61 his promise. 

Police^ Prison^ §-c — There is not a justice of peace, nor magis- 
trate of any kind resident within the bounds of this parish ; neither 
is there a jail or lock-up house from the most westerly verge of 
the county onward to Stirling, — a distance of nearly fifty miles. 
The consequence is, that crinre and misdemeanour frequently go 
unpunished, the arm of the law not being long enough nor strong 
enough to reach so far; and parties who have been injured, pre- 
ferring to suffer damage rather than be put to the trouble and ex- 



DENNY. 115 

t^ose of seeking redress at a distance. This is the cause of much 
complaint* 

Irnis^ 4*^ — There are 12 inns or public-houses in the parish ; of 
these, there are 7 in the village, certainly by far too many for any 
good or salutary purpose. Their influence on the morals and cir- 
cumstances of the people is exceedingly injurious. There is but 
one opinion among all well-thinking people in the community here, 
as to the necessity of something being done towards the reduction 
of the number of licenses. 

Fudy jrc— In consequence of the distance and expense of coal, 
its use is limited among the lower orders here. Their chief fuel 
is peat, which is to be had in abundance in the moors in the neigh- 
bourhood. The nearest good coal is to be had at Garscube,^ 
thirteen miles from Drymen. The price of a cart of 14 cwt., in- 
cluding carriage and tolls, is from Ids. to 14s. 

WriUm December \eaS— Revised March 1841. 



PARISH OF DENNY. 

PRKSBYTERT OF STIRLING, SYNOD OF P£RTII AND STIRLING. 

THE REV. JOHN DEMPSTER, MINISTER. 



I. — Topography and Natural History. 
Name. — Thb name, it is conjectured, is a corruption of the Gae- 
lic word Dun^ signifying a hill. It is descriptive of the locality, 
upon the height of a gentle acclivity, which slopes on the north 
to the river Carron, and on the south to Sclanders burn. The 
church is 400 yards from the nearest bank of Carron, and the 
boQses extend from the church down a neat street to the bridge 
over the Carron, here called Denny-bridge. The ancient village 
consisted of a broad street, having a row of houses on each side 
directly east from the church, on the road to Falkirk and Edin- 
burgh. A new street, parallel to this broad Street, with one row 
of neat bouses on the north side, has risen since this century 
commenced. This street is called, in honour of the principal he- 
.ritor, Herbertshire Street There are no houses on the southern 

• Within the ls«t year one of the recently appointed Rural Police has been sU« 
Hied at Balfron. But one man, who haa the supervision of 6ve parishes, can do us 
Tcrj little good — 1841. 



nC STIRLINGSHIRE. 

declivity of the little eminence on which the town stands, partly 
from the glebe being on the west side of that declivity, and part- 
ly from the nature of the ground on the east side, and high price 
of feuing.* 

Extent — The parish is generally computed at 6 English miles 
in length, and 4 in breadth, on an average. It is much about 
the same dimensions as laid down in a map of the county of Stir- 
ling, from a survey by Grassom, and published in 1817. About 
the same time, a survey and valuation of the rent of the parish was 
made by Mr William Kemp, land-surveyor, by direction of the 
Honourable Charles Elphinstone Fleming of Cumbernauld, supe- 
rior of a great part of the parish, — a copy of which is before me, 
dated 9th July 1818, subscribed by Mr Kemp. The extent in 
Scots acres, according to him, exclusive of the common, which 
was divided in 1800, is 5314 acres, 4 falls, valued at the yearly 
rent of L. 79 14. The extent of the common he makes 702 acres, 
20 falls Scots measure, and the yearly value, L. 173, 8s. 44d. 
Both together make the parochial territory 6016 acres, 24 falls 
Scots measure, and the rental, L. 8087, 8s. 4id. 

Boundaries. — The Darrach Hill, a principal feature of this 
parish, {^^Hill of Oaks,*) f forms the western boundary, fromwhich^ 
sloping to the eastward, in few places with abruptness, the whole 
parish stretches along to the parish of Dunipace, its boundary in 
that direction. The rivers Carron and Bonny are its lateral 
boundaries, Carron on the north, and Bonny on the south. On 
the^est and north of Carron, the contiguous parishes are St Ni- 
nians and Dunipace ; and on the south, Falkirk and Cumbernauld. 
The parish of Kilsyth is the boundary on the south west. 

Topographical appearances, — The figure of the parish is ir- 
regular, but has some resemblance to a parallelogram. In 
this figure, but more to the north side, there is a wide irregular 
ridge of whinstone and freestone through its whole length, from 
which the grounds slope on each side — on the north towards 
Carron, and on the south towards Bonny, dividing the parish into 
two nearly equal parts, both as to extent and population, 
often called South and North Herbertshire, and referred to in 

* The entry to Denny from the south is now improved by a new tumpUie 
being made. An excellent house, fronting botii the west and the notth, has been 
erected on the cast side of the road. The road is now wide, and of easy ascent, 
fi-om the erection of a new bridge over Sclandersburn. The height opposite tbe 
church-gate has been levelled, and the appearance of the town by this entry is even 
l)eautiful.— (1841.) 

f N'imnio's History of Stirlinfrsbiic, p. 740. 



DKNNY. 117 

Tarious tenures by these appellations, as the lands happen 
to lie on the north or south side of the parochial ridge. The 
reason of these appellations is unknown. If true, as the editor 
of the second edition of Nimmo's History of Stirlingshire states, 
page 789, that Herbertshire was the name of a parish,* Denny 
might have been part of that parish, and have thus got its natural 
divisions characterized. The surface of the parish is diversified 
by heights and hollows, blended together by varied and beautiful 
uodulations. The only hill within it, is Myothill, the property of 
John Graham, Esq. It is in the upper division of the parish, which 
is called Temple Denny. It is comparatively small, but beauti- 
ful, of a conical shape, and lies at the base of Darrach Hill, justi- 
fying, firom its general, lateral, and summit smoothness, its name 
of Myot, which is conjectured by the editor already mentioned to 
signify smooth or soft. Myothill- House stands at the bottom of the 
hill, embosomed in trees, and forms the most prominent parochial 
object to the traveller westward from Falkirk. The turrettcd 
antique grandeur of Herbertshire, the house of the lady of 
the late William Forbes, Esq. of Callendar, and mother of the 
present William Forbes, Esq. of Callendar, late Member of Par- 
liament for the county of Stiriing, first, indeed, attracts notice, 
from its fine elevated position on the northern bank of Carron, in 
a lawn adorned with ancient trees ; but, although the fourth part 
of the parish of Denny belongs to its proprietor, Herbertshire is 
ID the parish of Dunipace. The undulations of the surface for a 
mile about Denny, and more especially to the eastward, are no- 
ticed as varied and attractive, and by strangers particularly admir- 
ed for their beautv. The rush of the diluvial waters from Darrach 
Hill to the Forth, sweeping before them the softer mould, seems 
to have occasioned the tasteful knolls in this direction, which adorn 
the lower fields of the parish. 

Hydrography. — Springsabound in the parish. but none of them are 
remarkable for peculiar properties. Castlerankine (conjectured to 
mean Casik of the headland point J burn is the largest rivulet that runs 
through the parish. It forms the boundary between Temple Denny, 
and North and South Herbertshire, markingoff that portion of the 
parish — a third part, perhaps, of the whole — which, it is said, once 
belonged to the Knights Templars. It rises in the south-west, at a 
little distance from the base of Darrach Hill, and falls into Car- 

• It i» mentioned w a barony in a charter of Robert I. Nlinmo's Hist. p. 575. 



Il8 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

ron, near Denny Bridge. It takes part in contributing to the 
manufactured products of the parish. About a mile from Denny, 
there was once a lint-mill driven by its waters. Next, about five 
years ago, a small print field was set down, instead of the lint- 
mill. The printfield having not succeeded, was relinquished; 
and Messrs John Gray & Son have now, within these twelve 
months, in consequence of extending their dyewood manufactory, 
become proprietors of it. Lower down the rivulet, there are che- 
mical works, for making pyrolignous acid and its compounds, in 
which its waters are useful for keeping the metal conduits cooK 
But both these manufactories will be more particularly noticed 
afterwards. 

Cascades. — In the division called Temple Denny, and within a 
mile of the new bridge over Carron, on the road to Fintry, about 
five miles west from Denny, there is a cascade called AuchinliUy- 
lin-spout. In the first year of the present century, the wild 
natural beauties of the spot were transformed into a sort of fairy- 
land, by the genius of Robert Hill, Esq. W. S. Edinburgh, who 
had purchased the lands of Forrest Hill, of which it is a part. A 
rustic cottage of whinstone, with the angular points facing one 
in all directions, was built on the very margin of a deep fissure, 
through which the waters of Carron flow, to be tossed over the 
rock of Auchinlilly, within perhaps six yards of the heath-covered 
cottage. There were a kitchen, a- cellar, and other apartments ; 
and also a stable was dug chiefly out of the rock, below the level of 
the floor of the cottage. On that floor, were a handsome dining- 
room, drawing-room, and two small bed-rooms. A spacious win- 
dow in the dining-room fronted, westward, the rushing waters as 
they fell over the rock into the fissure, in their course to the spout. 
The river was seen, for some way up its channel, diffused in com- 
parative largeness of expansion, and studded with tiny rocks, which 
might be reached when the waters were low. At other times, the 
river, swollen by the rains around the Muckle Bin, from which it 
takes its rise, and by the various feeders of the Carron between 
the Bin and Auchinlilly, rushing forward in roaring majesty, pre- 
sented a magnificent spectacle from the dining-room window. On 
one occasion, the stream, having suddenly risen much above its 
usual elevation, struck the dining-room window with its surges, 
and, increasing in strength, burst through the window, and, 
rushing into the kitchen and cellar, made a new cataract 
over the rock adjoining the spout, into the channel of the riven 



DENNY. 119 

No lives were lost The damage was speedily repaired, and, 
to prevent in future such accidents, a deep excavation in the 
rock was made in front of the cottage, through to its east rocky 
banksi suflScient to receive any future overflowings. It was arch- 
ed over, and thereby easy access, as formerly, to the entrance 
to the cottage was provided. The banks on each side of the 
river were planted ; walks were made along their sloping sides, with 
resting-places at proper stations, for enjoying the picturesque beau- 
ties of the scene. A carriage way from the turnpike, from Denny 
to Pintry, was formed down to the cottage. A bridge of plank^ 
close to the spout, was thrown over the fissure, which divides 
Denny parish from St Ninians, to give access to the garden on 
the other side. For a time, it was the resort of the curious, who 
came even from a distance to see and enjoy the scenery of the 
Cliffs of Carron, the name by which it was known. A mother's 
fears for her offspring, amidst so many perils, soon made the ami- 
able and accomplished lady of the property, a stranger to its beau- 
ties. The last interesting inhabitant of this once enchanting and 
still beautifully wild place, was the widowed sister of the amiable 
Graham, the Sabbath poet. Since she left it, some dozen years 
ago, it has gradually decayed, and has at present only the ruins of 
its beauty remaining. It is now the property of Archibald Wish- 
art, Esq. W. S. Deputy- Keeper of the Register of Sasines, Edin- 
burgh. 

Rochi. — The rocks are whinstone and freestone. The dip in 
a recently opened freestone quarry in the parochial ridge, already 
mentioned, is from the north, cropping-out on the south. Its co- 
lour is whitish. There are other freestone rocks, of yellowish and 
greyish colour, as well as whitish. 

Sails. — On the lower banks of Carron and Bonny, the soil is 
loamy. In the upper parts, it is frequently marshy, and in the 
central parts, gravelly. 

Mines, — The mines in the parish are of ironstone and coal. The 
ironstone lies in Castlerankine division of the parish ; the coal is 
diffused over the upper part of the parochial surface, and more 
especially in the southern quarter, called Banknock. The coal 
QD the northern side of the parochial ridge, though nearest Denny 
imd the manufactories, is only occasionally worked, owing to the 
want of a level for drawing off the water ; and it is doubted whe- 
ther the quality of it be such as would indemnify the working it by 
steam. 



120 STIRLlNGSlllUE. 

Banknock coal is the common fuel of the parish and neighbour- 
hood, and is sent by means of the adjoining canal, both to Green- 
ock and Edinburgh. There are three strata of this mineral in 
the district of Banknock. No. 1. The upper seam of 60 acres, 
3 feet 6 inches thick. No. 2. The thin seam, 160 acres, 22 
inches thick ; and. No. 3. the main seam, of about 100 acres and 
b feet thick. The deepest pit at present is 68 fathoms deep. 

JVood. — There are no plantations in the parish ; but there may 
be about 200 acres of coppice wood on the property of William 
Forbes, Esq. 

11. — Civil Histoby. 

The parish of Denny was originally a part of the parish of Fal- 
kirk, from which it was separated, as is supposed, (for the records 
are lost), about the year 161 a The rector of Falkirk had a vicar 
at Denny, who, besides the small tithes, had a valuable glebe of 
28 acres, which was by the last vicar, before the Reformation in 
1560, in some way, secured to some of his family connections. 
The vicar's name was Oswald. The property was conGrmed to 
the family by a formal approbation of James VI. Excerpts from 
that proceeding, written in Latin, are before me. The text is 
not complete. The property continued in the name of Oswald 
until the death (about twenty-live years ago) of James Oswald of 
Dryborough. Dryborough is adjacent to Denny, and is the name 
by which the ancient glebe lands are at present known. The 
Protestant minister had 4^ acres Scots provided for him out of the 
glebe lands, — a provision which is still enjoyed by his successor, and 
which constitutes the whole glebe land which now belongs to the 
cure. There are deeds among the sasinesof Stirlingshire from 1 520 
to 1620, kept in the Register- Office, Edinburgh, which the curious 
will be rewarded by consulting on the subject of church lands, as 
applicable to the parish of Falkirk, and to Denny, as part of that 
parish. The minister of the parish of Polmont, disjoined also 
from Falkirk about a century ago, draws from the heritors in 
Temple Denny, in this parish, the equivalent for his grass glebe, 
a satisfying evidence that both parishes were, at one time, portions 
of the parish of Falkirk. 

Chief Land-owners. — William Forbes, Esq. of Callendar is 

the principal land-owner in the parish. He has lately added 

to his extensive domains in various parishes in Scotland, the 

fine estate of Donovan, on the opposite side of the Carron, 

and is now principal heritor in Dunipace as well as in Dennv. 

4 . 



DKNNY. 121 

Mr Forbes holds the fourth part of the valued rent of Denny ; 
John Graham, Esq. of Myothill is the other principal heritor of 
Denny, and resident in the parish, whose estate is about one- 
seventeenth part of the valued rent. The remaining heritors are 
about 120 in number. 

Parochial Registers. — The parochial registers consist of nine 
volumes. The births aqd marriages commence about 1679; but 
both the volumes are in a dilapidated state. They are merely a 
list of names, having no speciality connected with them but the 
date. 

The minutes of session commence in 1742. There are great 
gaps in them, not from decay, but from no minutes, so far as ap- 
pears, having ever existed.* 

Since the commencement of the present century, the session 
records exhibit all the meetings and the business done ; and are 
subscribed by the moderator. The births and marriages are also 
entered in properly bound volumes. It is to be regretted, however, 
that there are some who do not record the baptisms or births of 
their children. Not a year passes in which parties do not suffer 
from this neglect. 

Antiquities. — On the southern boundary of the parish, about 
Bankier (Fair- fort), are circular places said to be the sites of 
Caledonian camps. The great Roman station at Castlecarie, 
a small portion of the remains of which, after seventeen ceutu* 

* Mr Watson, proprietor of Knowhcad, a respectable property in the parish, and 
wboae ornamented tombstone is in good preservation in the churchyard, is supposed 
to have been the first minister of Denny after the Ilevohition in 1688. His induction 
it not mentioned in the Presb3rtery records, but his death in 1733 is mentioned. 

There Is one remarkable minute in reference to a point, which, a few years ago, 
was agitated between the heritors and the kirk-session, namely, the payment for the 
education of poor children. The act 1808 makes it imperative on the parochial 
teacher to instruct the poor gratis ; but in this parish, from the parochial school- house 
being in the northern extremity of the parish, and there being families four miles 
distant from school, the children of the poor not being able to attend the parochial 
teacher, on account of this distance, must either be neglected, or taught at some 
sdiool nearer theur dwellings; and in that case, it was contended, the school wages^ 
mutt, according to use and wont, be paid out of the parochial poor^s fund. This 
wa« resisted : but for peace*s sake, the session acquiesced. At that time also, some 20 
of the 121 persons entitled to vote at heritors* meetings, objected likewise to the 
payment of the salaries of the presbytery and synod clerk, and their beadle, &c. The 
argument from the use and wont payment of such charges was not listened to : and 
from the causes just mentioned, these officers of the church have not been paid, as 
hereU^ore, out of the parochial funds for the poor, since 1831. There is before me 
a distinct minute of session, dated 28th May 1746, with the list of the elders pre- 
sent nomknativts and signed William Bennet, moderator, in which these disputed 
charges are distinctly mentioned as paid, and reported accordingly. In settling the 
accounts, the words are, " also for the Synod and Presbytery clerk, and Presby- 
tery beddal, at by particular account, the sum of,** the amount paid is partly soiled, 
and partly torn, and not legible throughout, and '* also John Bane is allowed by the 
session twelve pounds Scots for teaching |KK>r scholars." 



122 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

vies, is still in good condition, is opposite and near to Bankier ; 
and the Fair- fort, it seems not unreasonable to conclude, once stood 
there to guard the terra invicta of Scotland. 

The only other antiquity in the parish is that mentioned in the his- 
tory of Stirlingshire. " In digging at Woodgate, ( Woodyet), on the 
Carron, for the foundation of the newly built house, there, (now cal- 
led Headswood Cottage,) a rude stone coffin, made of flags, about 
two-thirds of the ordinary length, placed nearly perpendicular, and 
containingthebonesof an adult person, was found. It is dated, as we 
have learned, 1301." The stone is placed in the lobby of thecot- 
tagOy and is seen by every one who enters it. Some of the bones 
found were, for a while, in the manse of Denny. They are suppos- 
ed to be the bones of some distinguished person, who fell in con- 
nection with the invasion of Edward I. in 1298. 

Modem Buildings.'-^The parish church, built in 1813, is the 
principal modern building. Next in point of date, is the church 
built at Denny Ix)nehead, for members of the United Seces- 
sion. These two churches are very much alike in external ap- 
pearance and interior arrangement. They are nearly the same 
in size, the latter having only about 40 sittings fewer than the 
Established Church. The parish church has a turretted steeple, 
about 75 feet in height, which was erected at the east end of the 
church by voluntary subscription, chiefly of churchmen. Hag^s 
Church, opened I9th July 1840, and built by voluntary subscrip. 
tion, is the neatest church in the parish, and has about 700 sittings. 

There is a decent place of worship in Denny, of a square form, 
belonging formerly to the Burghers, but now to the United Asso- 
ciate Synod Members. It contains nearly 200 fewer sittings than 
any of the other two. There are various modern buildings, in all 
parts of the parish, erected since this century commenced. Two- 
thirds and more of the present town of Denny have been built with*- 
in that space. The houses are generally of two stories, with garrets, 
slated roof of blue slates, and finished with sashed windows, &c 
Around Denny, and also in the village of Hags and its vicinity^ 
there are diflerent neat cottages as well as some houses of two 
stories. The most remarkable erection at Hacfs is a handsome row 
of collier cottages, amounting to twelve in number, terminated on 
the east with a large building as a store for the workers at the col- 
liery. These were built in 1836. A manifest improvement is 
taking place in the farm -steadings on the estate of Herbert- 
shire. The smaller proprietors have done much, within these 



DENNY. 123 

last thirty years, to improve their dwellings. Increased com- 
fort and tasteful .arrangement are gradually advancing. One now 
meets with boarded floors, plastered walls and ceilings, and in some 
iDstances, with parlours furnished with tables, sofas, and carpets. 

A commodious building, adjoining to the town of Denny, for 
the parochial school, is now in progress. This structure will 
be an ornament to the town, and serves, among other paro- 
chial improvements, to give evidence of the care with which Mr 
Forbes attends to the educational interest of the youth of the 
parish, and the domestic comfort of the teacher. 

Mills and Manufactories. — There are eleven of these on the 
banks of Carron, within a mile and a-half of the town of Denny. 
There are seven of them modem buildings ; one for manufacturing 
oatmeal and pot-barley, one for millboards, one for dye-stuffs, 
and three for spinning sheep's wool. Herbertshire Mill, the 
oldest establishment in the parish for manufacturing paper, 
and the other mills, were the work of last century. Two dis- 
tilleries have been also erected, one in Denny and another at 
Bankier, already mentioned. A spade-manufactory, about a 
mile and a-half down the Bonny from Bankier, has been set ago- 
ing, within these few years ; and, lastly, a considerable wheat- 
en, floui^ oatmeal, and pot-barley mill, with a small saw-mill, 
were built, some time since, at Bonnyford, in the eastern ex- 
tremity of the parish. The waters of Bonny not furnishing ade- 
quate power for meeting the demand for the manufactories here, 
a steam-engine is erected and put to work, when necessary. 

1 1 1. POPUL ATI ON. 

There are no accounts of the population previous to 1755. In 
that year, the parochial population, as reported by Dr Webster, 
amounted to 1-392 souls ; as reported by Mr Fergus in 1790, it 
was 1400 ; as taken by the writer hereof, by personal communica- 
tion in the years 1800 and 1801, it was found to be, 1967; by 
Government census in 1821, 3364 ; Ditto, 1831, 3843; as com- 
municated in 1837, and reported to the Royal Commissioners on 
Religious Instruction when in Denny on 27th February 1838, 
— 4300. 

The increase of manufacturing is obviously the main cause of 
the great and progressive increase which has taken place, and 
which seems to be steadily continuing. Denny has such advanta- 
ges of situation, that before another century revolves, it may be a 
large manufacturing town, with its provost and bailies, churches. 



124 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

ministers, and elders. About half a century ago, Denny was on- 
ly a hamlet adjoining the church, containing unsophisticated pray- 
erful families. 

Population in villages, • 2421 

in the country, • 1879 

4300 
The yearlj average of births for the last seven years is 86 

of deaths, . . 70 

of marriages, 95 

The average number of persons under 15 years of age, is 1597 

between 15 and 30» 983 

aO and 50, . 1837 
50 and 70, . 349 
upwards of 70, . 34 . 

4300 

Of proprietors of the yearly value of L.50 and upwards, there are . 41 

There are of unmarried men, bachelors and widowers, upwards of 50 years of age, 21 

females, upwards of 45, • . . 88 

Insane persons, 1 ; fatuous, 1 ; blind, 3 ; deaf and dumb, 2. 

Amusements. — Curling, in its season, is eagerly pursued, and the 
confidence of the Denny players, in their superior skill and tact, 
prompts a challenge every season to their neighbours. A year 
or two ago, a Denny Curling Club was formed. John Carnie, 
Esq. of Curling Hall, Largs, so well known to the curling world 
by his zeal for curling, received at Denny the rudiments of his emi- 
nent skill in curling, That gentleman is the second son of the late 
Mr Niel Carnie, who was a principal partner in the firm of Messrs 
Thomas Shiels and Co. of Herbertshire Printfield. On the 
Carron, and the reservoirs of the printfield, his son, John, first 
shone as a curler, and imbibed the knowledge which enabled him 
to write a standard work on curling, and to bear the palm for 
the invention of a curling rink, which, on any morning, when 
there is a little frost, may, by a slight suffusion of water over 
its surface, present in four hours, (the thermometer at 28°,) the 
finest and firmest ice- a curler could desire. 

A Denny Archers* Club was instituted in 1828, for the pur- 
pose of enjoying the amusement of archery. The club competes 
annually for the captaincy, at the distance of 100 yards, the 
captain being preses for the year, — for two poisoned arrows from 
the island of Mombase, at the distance of 160 yards, — for a sil- 
ver medal, at 50 yards, — for three prizes of arrows, at f30 yards, 
—and for a silver arrow, at the same distance, — the successful 
competitors becoming vice-presidents. The medal and arrows 
remain in the possession of the successful competitor ; the others 
are shot for annually. Members are admitted by ballot, — one 



DENNY. 125 

black-ball excludes. The club dine together in October, annu- 
ally ; and the greatest harmony has existed among its members, 
since its institution. 

The people generally enjoy in a good degree the comforts of 
society, and are contented with their situation. Unprincipled* news- 
papers, are the chief causes of any discontent that exists. Their 
general character, however, is good. They are rather what may 
be called a church-going population. There are sometimes, but 
not often, prosecutions for poaching. Smuggling is annihilated. 
Would that drunkenness were so also I 

IV. — Industry. 
Agriculture. — A practical and extensive agriculturist has favour- 
ed the writer with the following statements. He computes the 
whole number of acres within the parish at 7520. 

Gf the above number there are either cultivated, or in occasional tillage, 6000 

Acres which havft never been cultivated, and which remain constantly 

waste or in pasture, • - 1 139 

Acres which might, with a profitable application of capital, be added to 
the cultivated land of the parish, whether that land was afterwards 
to be kept in occasional tillage or in permanent pasture, - SCO 

There is no undivided common in the parish. 

Under wood, either natural or planted, there arc - J 81 

The kind of wood planted is Scots fir, larch^ spruce, ash, elm, 
birch, oak, lime, and plane. The natural wood is, oak and 
birch) all kept properly thinned and in good order. The time 
of felling the planted wood is generally in the months of February 
and March ; and the time of cutting the natural or copse-wood, 
and all oak for peeling, is the month of May. The time for 
thinning wood is in winter. 

Rent of J sand, — The average rent of arable land per acre, is 
L. 1, 15s. The average rent of grazing oxen and yeld cows per 
annum, is L. 3 each ; of milk cows, L. 4 each ; of ewes or full- 
grown sheep, 17s. each. 

Live-stock. — No sheep are bred in the parish except pete, which 
are mostly of the Leicester and Cheviot kind. Ewes are some- 
times grazed in parks, which are of the black-faced breed. The 
cattle are generally of the Ayrshire sort, and the breed very much 
improved of late years, by giving premiums for the best bulls and 
cows, &c. Horses are mostly of the Clydesdale description, and 
the breed also much improved by premiums for the best stallions 
and brood mares. The style of farming is also greatly improved 

* The public morals and peace are at this time both suffering from what is cnlled 
Chartism. The principles of Chartists, as exhibited hen*, are infidel and anarchical. 
I'*cw, happily, countenance them. — (1841.) 



126 STIRLINGSHIKE. 

by premiums bestowed annually on the best ploughman, and for the 
best managed farm. 

Draining is much neglected in the parish, from the want of capi* 
tal among the tenants. The general duration of leases is nineteen 
years, which is considered to answer well for both proprietor and 
tenant. The state of farm-buildings and enclosures is not good. 
The principal improvements which have recently been made in the 
parish, are by the Messrs Gilmour of Knowhead, by means of 
thorough draining and trenching the most part of their lands, which 
are now worth double the rent in consequence.* 

The want of capital prevents many a tenant from liming and 
purchasing manure for his land. Were landlords to allow so much 
for every chalder of lime which the tenant laid on the farm, it 
would increase both the produce and the rent To give premiums 
for the greatest quantity of draining on a farm — for the largest 
and best field of turnip and potatoes, — for the best laid down field 
of hay, &C. would give a stimulus to agriculture of the most 
beneficial description. Sheds and straw-yards are likewise much 
wanted in this parish, to enable the farmer to feed and rear more 
stock, and so to make more manure and sow more turnips for feed- 
ing, &c. ; for the more 'manure, the more turnips ; the mor^ 
turnips, the more cattle ; and the more cattle, the more manure 
again, and so on indefinitely. 

Quarries and Mines, — The quarries are of freestone and whin- 
stone. There are several mines of iron ore in the glen of Castle*- 
rankine, and on the estates of Herbertshire and Myot-hill : but 
they are not, at present, from the want of a remunerating price, 
worked. The coal mine at present at work in the parish, is that 
of Banknock, already described. About ninety workers, young 
und old, are employed in the various operations going on there. 
Three steam-engines are constantly at work. 

Produce. — The average gross amount of raw produce raised in 
the parish, as nearly as can be ascertained, is as follows : 



Oats, 

Barley, 

Wheat, 


• 


9000 quarters. 
1500 
500 


Beans, 


• 


100 


Pease, 


■ 


100 


Rye-grass hay, 
Meadow hay, 
Flax, 


200 tonft. 
100 
2 



* Draining may be said to be the rage at present. All proclaim the inereiae of 
produce which follows.— (1841.) 

3 



DENNY. 127 

«yfaich| estimated at the rates formerly mentioned^ makes the value 
of the raw produce to be as follows : 

Produce of grain of all kinds whether cultivated for the food of 

manor of the domestic animals, L. 15,190 

Potatoes, turnips, cabbages, beet, and other plants cultivated in 

the fidds for food, ... 3600 

Hay, whether meadow or cultivated, . 1050 

Crops cultivated for the arts, as flax, 70 

Land in pasture, rating at L.3» 10s. per cow or full-grown ox grazed, 
or that may be grazed ibr the season, at 17s. per ewe or full grown 
sheep, pastured, or that may be pastured fur the year, 2000 

Mines, whether ooals, quarries, or metals, . . 500 

MisceUaoeous produce not enumerated, 100 



L.22,450 

Farma^t Club. — A farmer's club was recently instituted in 
the parish for encouraging agriculture in all its departments : 
it is exciting attention to ploughing, breeding, &c. 

Manufactures. — The mills on the river Carron, in the parish 
of Denny, have been already stated to be eleven. The upper- 
most are Garvald mills. There are two of them, and both are em« 
ployed in grinding charcoal for moulders, &c. Each mill has a 
miller at 12.«. per week of wages, jamA a man, horse, and cart, to 
bring charcoal to the mills, and to carry the ground produce to 
the moulders. The carters have each 12s. per week. 

The next mill down the river is Tamaree, for grinding oats, and 
preparing pot-barley. 

The next lower down is Mr R. B. Lusk*s mill at Carron Grove, 
for manufacturing millboard, and different kinds of coarse paper. 
The workers employed are, 15 men, 2 women, 2 lads, and 6 
boys ; wages are paid every fortnight, and average about L. 27 
every fortnight. The materials used are almost exclusively old tar- 
Yed ropes, of which fully one ton, on an average, is used daily. 
No rags are made use of in this manufactory. The goods ma-^ 
nufactured are almost exclusively millboards, which are used 
for the boards of books, of which from four to five tons per 
week are manufactured. Sometimes a little coarse paper is 
made, used for sheathing ships and other purposes, as also some 
large coarse millboards, used by engineers for making steam-joints 
tight The mill is lighted by gas, and the manufactured goods 
dried by steam and heated air. The excise duty paid is from 
L.300 to L. 400 every six weeks. 

Next in order, down this lovely though busy spot on Carron Banks 
from Tamareelin, is Herbertshire Mill, the property of William 
Forbes, Esq. Messrs Alexander Duncan & Sons carry on at thismill 



128 STIRLINGSHIUE. 

the manufacture of writing-paper. They employ upwards of 20 
men and 50 women. The wages are paid monthly ; on an average, 
15s. per week for the men, and 5s. for the women : besides these, 
2 men and 4 horses are constantly employed carting rags and 
coals, and carting the paper to Grangemouth for shipment to 
London. The workers principally reside in Denny and Fanker- 
ton, a small village in the parish up the Carron, and in the neigh- 
bourhood. The following is an account of the process of pa- 
per-making at Herbertshire Mill : As soon as the rags are cut 
by women across a scythe blade fixed into a table covered with 
wire-cloth, for the purpose of getting rid of the dust and sand, 
they are passed into the boiling-house, where they are boil- 
ed for twelve hours; afterwards, they are washed, and broke 
into a pulp by an iron cistern, called a paper-engine, capable of 
holding one hundred weight of rags, which are beat by a roller 
with thirty-six steel bars, which tuni on a plate in the bottom of 
the cistern. Five of these endues, of twenty steel bars, are kept 
constantly going night and day, requiring upwards of forty horse 
power to drive them and the other requisite machinery. After 
the rags are broke in and bleached for twenty-four hours, they 
are beat into pulp or stuff ready for passing on to the paper- 
machine, perhaps one of the most complete pieces of machinery ^ 
ever invented in this country ; as, in one room of 60 feet in length, 
by 25 feet wide, one may see the stuff much resembling^^hurned 
milk, passing by means of a fine web of wire-cloth fifteen feet 
long into a series of rolls used in pressing out the water, and form- 
ing the paper into a firm body. It then passes into a set of cy* 
linders heated by steam, from which it is reeled into rolls in a 
perfectly finished state, quite dry and pressed, ready for use. Six 
of the rolls are then put on to the cutting-machine, which cuts 
them into the sizes required. The cutting-machine is the inven- 
tion of Messrs Foudrinier of Hanley, Staffordshire, and patent. 
It is capable of cutting 144 sheets per minute of post or writing- 
paper. On an average, 26 cwt. of rags are cut per day in the 
rag-house, and 21 cwt. of them beat into stuff, yielding an average 
of from 1600 to 1700 lbs. per day of twenty-four hours, as all the 
machinery is kept going night and day. The duty paid every six 
weeks averages L.d20 ; the wages every month, L. 100 ; carting, 
and other carriages, L. 40. The water-wheel for driving the pa- 
per engines is 24 feet diameter, and fully 12 feet wide, all iron, 
and weighs 33 tons. Another. small wheel is used for driving the 



DENNY. 129 

paper-machine, 22 feet diameter, and 16 inches wide. The works 
are lighted with gas, and four tons of coals are used daily. 

There has been a considerable branch of the woollen trade car- 
ried on in this parish, for thirty years past 

The next three milb are at work in this manufacture. They 
are dri?en by water power, and are extensively engaged at pre- 
sent in the manufacture of tartan and fancy shawls, and lin- 
sey-woolsey stuffs^ solely upon account of Messrs Wingate and 
Son and Company of Glasgow. Mr John Wingate of this firm 
is well known in the country, as a distinguished Constitutionalist, 
and one of the munificent Church Extensionists of Glasgow. The 
quantity of wool wrought up into these goods exceeds 160,000 
lbs. annually. The various branches of the manufacture are in- 
cluded, viz. spinning of the yarns, dyeing, weaving, and the fi- 
nishing of the goods, which afford employment to nearly 200 persons 
of both sexes, young and old. The wages paid average L. 300 
per month. The water of the river Carron being uncommonly 
pare and soft, is peculiarly adapted for cleaning and dyeing, pro- 
ducing bright fancy colours, so requisite in that description of 
goods. The three mills are all on Carron, and near each other, 
two at Stoneywood, and one at Randolph Hill, — lighted by gas, 
and heated by steam. A recent cut from Tamaree lin supplies 
plentifully with water four of these mills. Before that cut was 
executed, there was no paper-mill below Tamaree lin, excepting 
Herbertshire mill, at which, according to the old practice, paper 
was made by the hand. Combinations among operative paper- 
makers were, at that time, a frequent cause of great annoyance to 
masters, and of misery to many innocent families. The improve- 
ments mentioned have put an end to combinations among pa- 
per-makers. 

A mill for chipping, rasping, and grinding dye stuffs, belonging to 
the firm of Messrs John Gray and Son, stands on the river bank a lit- 
tle below Herbertshire mill. The company have lately enlarged 
their premises by the works on Castle Rankine Glen, so that 
they now not only furnish the dye stuffs, but, by means of the ad- 
dition referred to, provide at once to manufacturers of fancy wool- 
len, cotton, and linsey-woolsey articles, the liquor for the colours 
desired. The company employs 21 hands, and pays monthly 
L.46, 12s. of wages. 

Lowest on the river in this parish, is Denny corn and pot-bar- 
ley-mill, belonging to the estate of Herbertshire, which has a large 
thirlage astricted to it. 

STIRLING. I 



130 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

Distilleries, — There are two distilleries in the parish; one 
is in the close vicinity of Denny, under the firm of Macpher* 
son and Macnaughton. It consumes yearly 3500 quarters of 
malt made from barley, which produces 53,500 gallons of proof 
spirits. Two stills are used : contents of the wash still, 500 
gallons ; of the low-wines still, 400 gallons. Bear or big roakes- 
the finest spirits :. but this is not so profitable to the distiller^ 
The best season for distilling is in spring; and for fermenta-' 
tion, autumn. This distillery affords a ready market for the 
barley of the farmers in the vicinity, and of others more dis- 
tant. Such is the confidence of the farmers in the Company^ 
that it is a common practice to forward the grain at once to> 
the distillery, and, if received there, to leave the settlement of the 
price to the Company, without previous bargain. The other dis- 
tillery is at Bankier, in the southern division of the parish, on the 
Bonny, and is much the same in respect of consumption of barley^ 
and of the quantity and kind of spirits produced. 

Brick-lVorky Sfc, — A brick and tile-work has recently been set 
agoing in this district of the parish, which will be a great accom* 
modation to the parish and neighbourhood. 

About a mile and a half east, on the lands of Knowhead, a spade> 
manufactory, famed for the excellence of the article manufacture 
ed, has been erected. An adjoining morass furnishes water- 
power for working the ponderous hammer by which the materials 
for spades are consolidated, and afterwards beaten into plates. 
The wooden handles for the spades are likewise prepared at the 
mill ; and the goods sent to the market, fit for immediate use. 

It remains only to notice, that there are two extensive ca- 
lico-printing establishments in the immediate vicinity of the 
town of Denny, although locally in the parish of Dunipace, of 
whose labourers three-fourths and upwards have their habitations 
and families in the town of Denny. The labourers, old and young, 
employed at these printfields, amount, on an average, to 1000, 
three-fourths of whose monthly wages amount, on an average, to 
L.1200. On the whole, then, it appears, that there are about 
1100 individuals of the parochial population who are workers at 
manufactories, the average produce of whose monthly wages is 
L.1, 13s. to each individual, of whom some receive L. 8 per month, 
and others 8s. per month. 

The whole machinery of the mills enumerated, and of all the 
manufactories west from the junction of Bonny with Carron, (which 



DENNY. 131 

takes place about two miles east from Denny,) were driven, until 
within these few years, by Carron water alone. The supply of Car- 
ron, however, from agricultural improvements going on in the high 
grounds through which the river flows, was unsteady ; and, within 
these five or six years, the proprietors of the mills upon its banks, 
in order to obtain a fuller supply of water-power, were induced to 
form themselves into a society, and, by subscription, produced 
funds to erect an embankment for a reservoir upon the EarPs-burn, 
about nine miles above Denny. The artificial lake thus erected, 
covers an extent of nearly 60 acres. The embankment is 22 feet 
in height. The cost of the whole has fallen little short of L. 2000, 
jtfid was borne by a few individuals. On the 24th of October 1839, 
after a great fall of rain, the embankment gave way. Much in- 
jury was done, by the resistless torrent, to property along the whole 
eourse of the Carron downwards. 

V. — Parochial Economy. 

MarkeUTowns. — Denny is not a market-town. Arrangements 
were made, some twenty years ago, to have it erected into a mnr- 
ket-town, by the Honourable Charles Elphinstone Fleming of Cum - 
bemauld. But the diflerent dealers were not friendly to the propo- 
sal, and preferred petitioning for a baron bailie, before whom they 
might prosecute for payment of their accounts. The bailie was 
obtained, and has power to give judgment, and enforce payment 
to the extent of L. 2. 

Some idea of the business done in Denny, may be formed from 
tlie following statement, made from actual enumeration : — There 
are 21 houses and grocery shops licensed to sell, beside gro- 
ceries, ale and spirits, — of these 19 sell spirits over the counter, 
the remaining 2 are common whisky-shops ; 3 stationers ; 4 bak- 
ers ; 1 pastry-shop; 4 butchers; 2 excise-officers; 7 wrigbts; 
3 smithies ; 4 medical practitioners ; 4 schoolmasters ; 1 writer ; 
2 ministers of the Gospel; 4 haberdashers and cloth shops; 10 
shoemakers ; 1 tinsmith ; 1 gas manufactory*; 2 coopers ; 5 tailors, 
two of whom are clothiers ; 1 messenger ; 1 dame's school. 

Anintelligent member of the Total Abstinence Society has hand- 
ed me a note, which shows what becomes of a great part of the 
wages of labourers in this parish : '^ In Denny village, and that part 
of Deimy on the north of Carron, and between Denny anil 
Fankerton, from October 1835 to October 1836, there .were 
sold by the retaileft of spirits, 10,600 gallons of spirits, at a cost 



132 STIULINGSHlRli:. 

to the inhabitants of this small district of upwards of L. 4300, — be- 
sides the value of the time lost while drinking, and in consequence 
of drinking, which I am sure would be underrated at L«dOO more. 
This quantity of spirits, I understand, would consume nearly 700 
bolls of barley." Add to this enormous amount, the quantity of 
spirits sold on the southern side of the parochial ridge, and it will 
appear that there are'no less than L. 7000 annually spent in this 
parish, in the purchase of spirituous liquors ; a sum nearly equal 
to the rental of the whole parish. ^* How easy a matter it would 
be," observes the gentleman referred to, y for ihe working clas- 
ses to make grain cheap, without any alteration of the Com Laws, 
and to make themselves most comfortable, without any reduction 
of taxation." 

Villages, — There are four villages in the parish, — Denny, Hags, 
Fankerton, and Loanhead. From Broomage toll-bar to where 
the road strikes off right and left near Hags to Glasgow, for the 
space of a mile, the houses are so thickly planted as to promise to 
become, in the course of twenty or thirty years, one continuous 
street. 

There are about 190 parliamentary voters in this parish. 
There is one post-office, the average revenue of which is an- 
nually about L. 300. The length of turnpike roads in the parish 
is ten miles and upwards. In winter, the number of public car- 
riages which pass and repass daily through the parish, is 22. The 
bridges and fences within the parish are kept in good order. 

Ecclesiastical State. — The parish church stands west from the 
old village of Denny. Its situation is sufficiently convenient for 
the parishioners on the north side of the parochial ridge; but 
not so for the inhabitants of Hags and Bankier. It was built in 
1813, and cleaned and beautified internally, in 1838, by the vo- 
luntary contributions of the people, and is at present in good and 
comfortable repair. It contains 767 sittings, at eighteen inches 
for each sitter. On sacramental occasions, there may be 900 
persons within its walls. Ordinary Sabbath days' attendance 560. 
Communicants, on an average, 512. There are seven free sittings 
for the poor. The minister, elders, and schoolmaster have each 
separate accommodation ; and their sittings, amount to 28. The 
manse was built in 1803, and is in good repair and comfortable. 
The glebe consists of four arable acres, worth L.10 ; and half an 
acre for manse, offices, and garden. The stipend is 16 chalders. 



DENNY. 133 

ooe-balf meal, the other half barley. L. 10 are allowed for com- 
tDunion elements.* 

There are two Dissenting chapels in the parish, both now belonging 
to the United Secession Church. The one at Denny Loanhead is 
among the oldest and strongest, in point of wealth, in the Seces- 
sion Church. When the Royal Commissioners for Religious In- 
struction were here on 27th February 1838^ the minister of that 
eharch stated that the erection took place in 1738, and that the 
6rst minister of it was ordained in 1751. There was a dispute, 
as before noticed, in the parish, after Mr Watson's death in 173d« 
about his successor. The cruel operation of patronage was then 
beginning to be felt ; and some of the people, by proceedings that 
took place during the vacancy, were reluctantly constrained to se- 
cede. Another dispute arose after Mr Turnbull's death in 1765, 
—when, at length, the minister most unacceptable to the pa- 
rishioners was intruded upon them, and then another party be- 
took themselves to Loanhead. Since that time, the congregation 
there has not been augmented by any violent proceedings on the 
part of the Assembly. The minister farther stated before the 
Commissioners, that it is increasing but slowly; that the com- 
municants are on an average 512 ; and that of the adherents to 
the congregation, 10 were resident in St Ninian's, 67 in Duni- 
pace, and 250 in Falkirk, — in all, 357 beyond the bounds of the 
parish. His stipend, as understood to be reported to the Royal 
Commissioners, is, besides a manse and garden, L. 170, and L. 10 
for the expense of two sacraments annually, and L.2 for attend- 
ance at each synod. He said he had no bond or security for its 
payment His church was stated to have 731 sittings, and the 
average number of regular attendants to be 560. 

The other Dissenting chapel is in the town of Denny. It was 
originally Burgher, as the other was Antiburgher; and both are 
now of the United Secession. It was established in 1797, when Mr 
Fergus, the parochial minister, was incapacitated for duty by old 
age. This chapel has about 500 sittings, as is supposed. The con- 

* 5th February 1840. The Court of Teinds was pleased to augment the stipend 
to 19 chalders, one-half meal, and the other half barley, and the sum fur commu- 
nion elements to L. 15 per annum. 

A new church at Hags was opened for public worship on 19th July 1840. On 
loth Sepftoiber 1840, the Rev. Colin M^Culloch was, without one dissenting voice, 
chosen minister, and, on 14th January 1841, he was ordained pastor of the parish, 
gatoad tplrituaiia, of Hags. The cliurch has nearly 700 sittings and 5j0 Sitbbath oc« 
rupants. 



134 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

gregation, through no fault of the minister, who is the first that 
was placed in it, has fallen off to about 200 individuals in ordinary 
attendance on Sabbath. The communicants, he was understood* 
to say to the Royal Commissioners, were once 820, but are now 
not more than 271. His stipend is L. 100 per annum. He has 
no bond or security for its payment. He has a manse, a garden, 
and small glebe. 

I'here are not four Episcopalians in the parish : but the Ro- 
man Catholics may amount to 50, nearly all Irish. 

There is a Bible Society connected with the Established Church, 
for which there is annually collected and subscribed about L. 7. 
The four schemes of the General Assembly, and the new object 
for promoting the restoration of Israel to the Christian Church, 
are all less or more supported by the people of the Establishment. 
The Dissenting brethren do much in the way of similar works in 
their congregations ; in particular, the contributions to Christian 
objects by the congregation at Loanhead, are stated to be large 
and exemplary. The parochial contributions for these objects 
may be estimated at L. 80 annually. The church door collec- 
tions are not more than one-fourth of this sum. 

Ministers of the Parish of Denny since the Revolution 1688. * — 
Thomas Watson ; ordination, time unknown ; death, March 
1733. William Bennet,t 22d August 1738; translated to Dud- 
dingston. Edward Anderson, 23d September 1747 ; died April 
1749. James TurnbuU, 14lh August 1750 ; died 20lh Decern- 

• Communicated by the Rev. Alexander Lcitch, Clerk of the Presbytery of Stir- 
ling. 

t Probably ; for all the letters on the tombstone cannot be traced. 

t The parish was in a state of disquietude and dissatisfaction, during the five years 
which intervened between Mr Watson's death and the induction of Mr Bennet. A 
presentation was issued by the Crown in favour of Mr James Stirling, and another 
by Herbertshire ; but the majority of the parish were in favour of a Mr Penman. 
The great objection against Mr Stirling was his acceptance of a prewntation. This 
objection seems to have weighed very much with the Presbytery, which, at that 
time, was decidedly of an anti-patronage character. Once, the Presl)ytcry refused, 
at the order of tlio Commission, to take Mr Stirling on trials fur ordination, and 
^ twice thereafter, the ord«»r of the Assembly itself to the same efl'ect. For the 
third time, in 1737, the Assembly issued its order toctfcct the settlement before Sep- 
tember, that year ; and in case of its not being done by that time, the synod of Penh 
and Stirling, at its meeting in October, were to take up the case, and to proceed with 
the settlement ; and in case of (heir not doing so within a given time, the Assembly 
appointed a commission to accomplish it before their next meeting. Even this pe- 
remptory order, the 1 resbytery found means of evading. What became of Mr Stir- 
ling afterwards, docs not appear from the record. Some time thereafter, a i>etitioii is 
presented to the Presbytery, to allow certain probationers therein named, to preach 
as candidates. Mr William Ijcniiet, one of thcbc, was chosen and ordained 2iM 
August 17(38. 



DENNY. 135 

ber 1765. Tliomas Fergus,* 22d June 1769; died '25th January 
1601. John Dempster,! 25th April 180a 

Education. — The total number of schools in the parish is nine. 
There is one parochial school ; one partially endowed ; the rest are 
all unendowed. Besides these nine, there is one dame's school 
for reading, sewing, &c. carefully taught. 

The parochial teacher has all the legal accommodations. His 
salary is L.d4, 4s. 4^d. 

There are few of the young between six and fifteen years of age 
who cannot read a little. The schools are quite numerous enough, 
and sometimes injurious to each other. Two qualified and en- 
dowed teachers for the town, and three for the other parts of the 
parish, qualified and endowed also, would be sufficient, and might 
do more good than is done by all the ten at present. 

The people are partially alive to the benefits of education ; but 
the concern of parents for the education of their offspring seems 
on tbedecline« 

lAterature. — There is one parochial library in Denny, contain- 
ing at present 1100 volumes. Entry-money as members, L. I, 
Is., — and Is. every six months afterwards. It was instituted in 
1806. Books are lent to non subscribers at the rate of Is. 6d. 
per quarter. There is also a Denny Religious Library. Number 
of volumes about 400; entry-money, Is.; out reader?, 6d. per 
month; — and Denny Loanhead Congregational Library, instituted 
in 1831; numberof volumes nearly 500; dues, Is. Cd. per quar- 
ter. 

There have been several public reading-rooms, some for per- 
sons who were not artisans, and others for artisans; but, from dif- 
ferent causes, they have failed, and at present there are none. 

Societies, — The following are the names of the societies in Denny, 
besides those already mentioned : Denovan Printfield Friendly So- 
ciety, instituted 1802 ; Herbertshire Printfield Friendly Society, 
1816; Herbertshire and Denovan Friendly Society, 1817; D. L. St 
Andrew's Lodge, 1825; Hags Friendly Society, 1830 ; Banknock 
Friendly Society, 1834; Denny Ploughman's Society, 1834; 
Denny Horticultural Society, 183(5; Denny and Dunipace Total 

• After Mr Turnbuirs death, there was a dispute about the presentation, between 
the Crown and Herbert .hire. Mr Fergus was the Crown presentee. 

f Mr Fergus having beeomc, through the infirmities of age, unable for his pub- 
lic duty, agreed to have an assistant and successor. Through the influence of Wil- 
liam Morehead, Esq. of Herbertshiie, the Crown consented to give the parish a leet of 
five. Mr Dein,ster was one of the leet, and on the '21th July 1799, was chosen una- 
nimously, with the exception of one voice, assistant nnd successor to Mr Fergus. 



136 STIRLINGSHIRE. 

Abstinence Society, 1837; Denny and Dunipace Funeral So- 
ciety, 1837; Denny Farmer's Society, 1838; Denny and Duni- 
pace Mutual Instruction Society, 1838; Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows Friendly Society, 1838. 

Saving f Dank. — There was an attempt made, in 1825, to set 
on foot a savings bank, which failed. Mr Gray, the Actuary of 
the Glasgow Sayings Bank, and other benevolent individuals, re- 
newed the attempt in 1837. There is a fear of consequences, 
if masters should know what gains their servants make. It failed 
also. 

Poor and Parochial Funds. — The average number of persons 
receiving parochial relief is 32. The average amount allotted to 
each per month, 5s. 9d The average annual amount of contri* 
butions for their relief, collected at church doors, L.14, 5s. 7d. ; 
assessment, L.72. No other regular mode of procuring fiinds. 

Every winter, however, some benevolent persons give donations 
of coals, which the farmers lay down gratis at the doors of the 
poor. L.7 or L.8 per annum, on an average, used to be added to 
the poor's funds, by mortcloth dues. But there is hardly ever now 
a mortcloth put over the coffin. 

One meets now and then with persons who, in the old Scottish 
spirit, refuse aid from the poor's funds. In general, however, they 
are abundantly clamorous. 

When the new church came to be used as a place of worship 
in 1814, a dispute among the heritors arose as to the division 
of the sittings. This suit continued five years. Never was 
the parish happier than during these five years, and never 
was the church better or more regularly attended, and never 
were the collections at the church door more liberal. The peo- 
ple paid no seat rents, and they poured their money into the 
church plate ;^L.l, 6s. and L.1, 10s. were not uncommon collec- 
tions in these days, on ordinary Sabbath days. The average of 
each of the fifty-two Sabbaths of the year, was L.I, 2s. The plea 
was ended, and the heritors demanded seat rents. The people 
considered this unreasonable : but, rather than leave the Establish- 
ment, they came to an understanding that they would pay seat 
rents, but withhold their contributions at the church door. There 
was no assessment for the poor, at that time. The collections 
began gradually to diminish. Offence was taken at the session 
having sent a lunatic to the Glasgow Asylum. The lunatic was 
recalled ami given to his relations. Objections were then taken to 



DENNY. 137 

the payment of the wages o( teachers for instructing poor scho* 
larsy-^the payment of the presbytery and synod clerks, of the 
beadles of those courts, and of the precentor and parish beadle : 
all these payments were resisted. The cleaning of the church 
was considered an expense, that the heritors had nothing to do 
with. The session were prevented advancing money for any of 
tbese purposes, unless at their own risk, and the aliment of the 
poor woman that cleaned the church, was stopped. The ses- 
sion were even threatened with a prosecution, to cause them re- 
fund the outlays which had taken place ; but happily, at every 
annual settlement of accounts in presence of the heritors, the ac- 
counts had b.een docqueted as approved. The session, however, 
were prohibited making any of these payments in future, out of 
the poor's funds. In these circumstances, the elders resolved no 
more to collect. The funds were wholly handed over to the 
heritors, who have them still in their hands, to the great relief of 
the minister and elders. The procedure of the heritors was not 
approved by others, and the collections continued to decline. For 
a while, the heritors, under the excitement of novelty, stood at the 
collection plates : but at length they have, almost without excep- 
tion, given up collecting : and the grave-digger, the servant of 
the heritors, sits commonly at the plate, and receives, it is said. 
Is. per day, for the discharge of this duty. While the session took 
charge of the poor's funds, the expense to the heritors was only 
L.1, Is. per annum, as an acknowledgement to the session-clerk 
for acting as treasurer, beside his regular salary of L. 2, 2s. per 
annum, for discharging the duties of session-clerk. The state of 
matters now is instructive. The session did not interfere, after 
their surrender of the funds, to discourage the collections, except 
that they withheld their own contributions, understanding that 
the collections were to be employed in the prosecution against 
themselves. Instead of L. 70 per annum of collections at the 
church doors, there is now only L. 14, if so much.* Instead of 
L. 1, Is. to the treasurer, a writer in Denny is paid L. 10 per an- 
num for being treasurer and clerk, and the session-clerk's salary 
of L. 2, 2s. is continued, as it must be, by law. Instead of there 
being no regular assessment, there is now a regular assessment 
of L. 72 per annum, which threatens to rise, notwithstanding all 
possible care; and, moreover, there are hardly any seat-rents col- 

• The collections for eight weeks lately were reported to be 2s. every Sabbath — 
(1841.) 



138 STIttLlNGSHIKE. 

lected, for the people are utterly averse to the payment of such an 
impost. It is due to the memory of one of the kindest and most 
gentlemanly of characters, the late William Morehead,. Esq. of 
Herbertshire, to say, that he had no hand in the ruinous proceed- 
ings which have been mentioned ; and his successor, the present 
chief heritor, is far above such doings. 

Fairs. — There are two fairs held annually in the parish, — one 
about Whitsunday, and the other about Martuimas. 

Fuel — The fuel is chiefly coal from Banknock, and the neigh- 
bouring coal-pits. 

Drawn up February 1839. 
Revised April 1841. 



PARISH OF KILSYTH. 

PRESBYTERY OF GLASGOW, AND SYNOD OF GLASGOW AND AYR. 

THE REV. WILLIAM BURNS, MINISTER. 



L — Topography and Natural History. 
Name. — Anqently, Monaehrugli was the name of this parish, 
supposed to be a compound o(Monaugh^\i\\\yy and Ehrugh^ streams; 
and the name is very descriptive of the eastern district of this parish, 
which, till 1649, constituted the whole parish. At that period, what 
is called the West Barony was disjoined from Campsie, and added 
to Moniabrughj* or the East Barony, which continued to be the name 
of the parish till about a hundred years ago, when the whole pa- 
rish was more usually designated Kilsyth. The Rev. James Robe, 
who was ordained minister of Kilsyth in the year 1713, and wrote 
his " Narrative"in 1743, speaks of the parish " Kilsyth, till 
lately called Moniabroch." The oldest set of tokens, so late as 
the year 1755, have MK stamped upon them, doubtless " Moni- 
brugh Kirk ;" and the communion cups, 1731, are marke