Linton

   1) LINTON, a village, in the parish of Prestonkirk, county of Haddington, ½ a mile (S. W.) from Preston; containing 775 inhabitants. This place derives its name, by which the whole parish was originally designated, from its situation on the banks of the river Tyne, which, in this part of its course, obstructed by precipitous and overhanging rocks, once formed a Lynn, or water-fall, of great beauty. This fall, however, since the recent levelling of the crags to facilitate the progress of salmon up the stream, is now scarcely perceptible, except after continued rains, or sudden floods. The village is neatly built and well inhabited; the surrounding scenery, also, is agreeably diversified. The principal approach is by the London road, which passes for four miles through the parish, crossing the river by an ancient bridge near the village, which is inconvenient for the passage of carriages. A post-office has been established, with a daily delivery; and facility of intercourse is afforded by good roads. There is no trade but what is requisite for the supply of the inhabitants; the spinning of wool and the weaving of blankets were formerly carried on to some extent, affording employment to many of the inhabitants, but they have been for a long time discontinued. The parochial and other schools are in the village, it being conveniently situated for the purpose; there are also a subscription library, a branch of the East Lothian itinerating libraries, and several friendly societies, which have contributed greatly to diminish the number of claims on the parish. A little to the west of the village is an upright stone supposed to point out the site of sepulture of some chieftain who was killed in battle.

   2) or West Linton

   LINTON, or WEST LINTON, a parish, in the county of Peebles; containing, with the village of Carlops, 1515 inhabitants, of whom 550 are in the village of Linton, 11 miles (N. E. by N.) from Biggar. This parish, the name whereof is derived from the river Lyne, comprises 25,400 acres, of which 4000 are arable, 400 woodland and plantations, and the remainder hilly moor, affording excellent pasturage for sheep. The surface is pleasingly varied, and the lands have a general elevation of about 600 feet above the level of the sea; the scenery is diversified with wood and water, and from the higher grounds are obtained some interesting and extensive prospects over the adjacent country. The Lyne, which has its source in the hills to the north, traverses the parish, and flows into the Tweed; and in the same range rise the smaller rivers Esk and Medwin, of which the former constitutes the eastern, and the latter the western, boundary of the parish. There are every where springs of excellent water, yielding an abundant supply. On the lands of Rutherford is a spring called Heaven-Aqua, the properties of which are similar to those of Tonbridge-Wells, in England; it has been rendered easy of access by the new line of turnpikeroad which passes close by the spring, and an elegant and commodious hotel has been erected for the accommodation of persons who visit the spot. Near Slipperfield is a fine lake, about a mile and a half in circumference, and of great depth, which abounds with pike and perch, and is frequented by almost every variety of aquatic fowl in great numbers. It is situated in the centre of a wide tract of barren heath, for the improvement of which considerable efforts have been lately made.

   The soil in the upper part of the parish is much interspersed with patches of heath and moss of various kinds, and of different degrees of depth. In the lower parts is a rich loam, occasionally intermixed with sand; in some places, a light dry soil well adapted for the growth of turnips; and in others, a sandy loam mixed with clay and moss. The chief crops are, oats, turnips, and potatoes; the system of agriculture is highly advanced, and all the more recent improvements in the construction of agricultural implements have been extensively adopted. The farm houses and offices are substantially built, and well arranged; and on all the farms threshing-mills have been erected. Considerable attention is paid to the management of the dairy and the rearing of live stock. About 350 milch-cows are kept on the several farms, of the Ayrshire and Teeswater breeds, with an occasional cross of the two; 450 young cattle are pastured, and several of them are sold off annually to the butcher. The number of sheep on the various pastures is 9700, of which 3700 are of the Cheviot, and the remainder of the black-faced breed; and about 180 horses are kept for agricultural uses. There are very few remains now to be seen of the ancient woods that formerly abounded in the parish, which is situated in the immediate vicinity of Ettrick forest; the plantations are generally of modern growth, well managed, and in a very flourishing condition. The substrata are mainly limestone and coal, both of which have been worked to a considerable extent. There is a very extensive limestone quarry, and lime-works are carried on at Carlops and also at Whitfield; the average quantity of lime is estimated at 20,000 bolls annually. The coal is wrought at Carlops, and also at Harlamuir and Coalyburn; freestone is quarried at Deepsykehead; and near the village is a bill called Leadlaw from a supposition that it contained lead-ore, frequent attempts to obtain which have been made without success. Pebbles of great beauty are frequently found, closely resembling, and in some instances nearly equal to, the Cairngorum. The rateable annual value of the parish is £7696.

   The village of Linton is pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Lyne; it is irregularly built, and many of the houses are of antique appearance. It is inhabited by persons employed in hand-loom weaving for the manufacturers of Glasgow, and in the various trades requisite for the supply of the neighbourhood. A fair is held on the last Tuesday in June, for sheep, and is well attended from the neighbouring districts; fairs are also held on the Friday before the first Monday in April, and the Friday before the 25th of September, for the sale of live stock, and the hiring of farm servants. There is a public show of stock annually in August; and in the winter a ploughing-match takes place, when prizes are awarded to four of the most successful competitors. The approach to the village has been greatly improved by a new line of road lately formed, which has also facilitated the intercourse of the inhabitants with the market-town and other places in the vicinity. The parish is in the presbytery of Peebles and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and in the patronage of the Earl of Wemyss; the minister's stipend is £232. 14. 11., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum. The church is a neat and substantial edifice, erected in 1776. There is also a place of worship for the members of the United Secession. The parochial school is well conducted; the master has a salary of £34, with about £35 fees, and a house and garden. A parochial library has been established for some years, and has a collection of more than 500 volumes of standard works in the general branches of literature. The poor have the interest on £229, funded bequests. Cairns are found in several parts of the parish; and in one on the lands of Temple, near Linton village, was discovered a stone coffin of very rude formation, containing human bones: in another, which is still remaining on Garvaldfoot moor, a Roman urn is said to have been found. Stone coffins have at various times been dug up in several places.

   3) LINTON, a parish, in the district of Kelso, county of Roxburgh, 6 miles (S. E. by S.) from Kelso; containing 526 inhabitants, of whom 40 are in the hamlet. This place derives its name, signifying "the town of the lakes," from its situation once on the north-west border of a lake of great extent called Linton loch, and from another lake designated Hoselaw, in the eastern extremity of the parish. The church appears to have been bestowed in the reign of David I. upon the abbey of Kelso by Sir Richard Cumyn, ancestor of John Cumyn who aspired to the crown of Scotland; and the lands of the parish were granted in the reign of William the Lion to William de Somerville, son of Roger, Baron of Whichnor, in England, as a reward for his having destroyed a ferocious animal which committed great depredation in the neighbourhood. He was afterwards made principal falconer to the Scottish king, and sheriff of Roxburghshire; and resided in the castle of Linton, which he had founded, and which afforded an asylum to his father, Roger de Somerville, on the subsequent defeat of the English barons who had extorted from King John the grant of Magna Charta. Roger died in this castle, which continued to be the seat of his descendants till near the close of the fourteenth century, when they removed to the castle of Cowthally, in Carnwath. The castle of Linton was besieged by the Earl of Surrey in the reign of Henry VIII., and razed to the ground; and scarcely any vestiges of the building are now to be traced, though, within the last forty years, a large iron door was dug out of the ruins, which appears to have belonged to the dungeon. Walter de Somerville, the third baron, was a faithful adherent to the fortunes of Wallace, under whose banner he fought against Edward I., for the defence of his country; and his son, John de Somerville, strenuously maintained the cause of Bruce, after whose defeat at Methven he was taken prisoner by the English. During the border warfare, this parish, forming part of the Dry Marches, was the principal thoroughfare between the two kingdoms, and consequently participated largely in the transactions of those times, in which the family of the Kerrs, of Graden, eminently distinguished themselves. There are still some traces in the parish of their ancient residence, which seems to have been a strong fortress, surrounded by a moat.

   The parish is about six miles in length and two in breadth, and is bounded on the east by the county of Northumberland; it comprises about 6500 acres, of which nearly 5500 are arable, eighty woodland and plantations, and the remainder rough pasture and waste. The surface rises in gentle undulations from a rich and fertile vale near its western boundary, and is inclosed on the north by a range of hills, of which Kiplaw, Hoselaw, and Blakelaw are the principal. The larger of the two lakes from which the parish took its name was nearly circular in form, and had an area of about fifty acres; it was surrounded by hills of considerable height cultivated to their summit, except on the west, where was a valley through which its superfluous waters found their way into the river Kale. The lake has, however, been drained, and at present forms a valuable tract of land appropriated to corn husbandry, for which it appears to be well adapted. The substratum is moss of various kinds, resting on a bed of rich marl, which, however, from its great depth below the surface, has only recently been wrought. Hoselaw lake comprises a rectangular area of about thirty acres, and is of an average depth of fifteen feet; it abounds with perch and silver-eels, and is much resorted to during the summer by anglers. There are springs of excellent water in various parts of the parish, more especially in the vicinity of Loch Linton; and numerous rivulets descend from the neighbouring hills. The soil of the western district is various, consisting of loam, clay, and gravel; that in the eastern portion, of a lighter quality. The chief crops are wheat and barley, with a due proportion of oats; the plantations consist of fir, oak, ash, and elm, for which the soil seems favourable. The principal manure is lime, obtained from Northumberland, whence also is brought coal, which is the chief fuel; a small seam of coal was discovered within the parish, but found incapable of being wrought with any profit. The substratum is generally whinstone rock, in which crystals are frequently discovered; and there is a quarry of freestone of excellent quality, but not worked to any great extent, Considerable improvements have been made in draining, and much waste land has been lately brought into cultivation. The fences of thorn are kept in good order, and interspersed with hedge-row timber, which is highly ornamental; the farm-buildings are substantial and commodious, and the cottages of the labouring class have an air of cleanliness and comfort. The pastures are generally fertile, and great attention is paid to improvement in the breeds of cattle and sheep; the former are principally of the shorthorned kind, and the latter principally of the Leicestershire. The agricultural produce finds a ready market at Berwick, between which place and Kelso, a railroad, which has been long in contemplation, would afford a most desirable facility of intercourse; the live stock is chiefly sent to the markets of Edinburgh and Morpeth, which are nearly at the same distance. The principal landowner is Mr. Elliot, to whom rather more than two-thirds of Linton belong, and whose seat, Clifton Park, is situated in the valley at the western extremity of the parish, in the centre of a thriving plantation. The rateable annual value of the parish is £5586.

   Linton is in the presbytery of Kelso and synod of Merse and Teviotdale, and in the patronage of Mr. Pringle; the minister's stipend is £239. 2. 10., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £12 per annum. The church, situated on the summit of a circular hill, and approached by an avenue of stately trees, is of very great antiquity, and has been put into a state of substantial repair within the last fifty years; it affords accommodation to 200 persons, and, though at a great distance from the eastern part of the parish, is easily accessible to the great majority of the parishioners. The parochial school affords education to about forty children; the master's salary is £34, with £30 fees, and a house and garden. There are several mineral springs, of which one, on the farm of Bankhead, is deemed efficacious in scorbutic complaints. Jasper in large masses is frequently turned up by the plough in different parts. The site of Linton Castle may still be traced on the summit of a hill near that on which the church is situated; but it has recently been planted with trees. On the summits of various other hills are remains of circular encampments, probably formed during the wars of the border; and in many places are tumuli, some of which have been opened, and found to contain urns of clay of circular form, inclosing human bones. Some of them are supposed to be of Roman origin; and in parts of the parish the tumuli are so numerous as to warrant the conjecture that it must have been the scene of some considerable battle. In repairing the church, a large grave was discovered containing fifty skulls, many of which showed marks of violence, and which are supposed to be those of warriors slain in the battle of Flodden Field; and in the moss, about three feet beneath the surface, was found within the last few years a Roman spear of brass.