Manor

   MANOR, a parish, in the county of Peebles, 2½ miles (S. W.) from Peebles; containing 270 inhabitants. This parish, of which the name is of very uncertain derivation, is nine miles in length from north-east to south-west, and about three miles in average breadth; it is bounded for nearly two miles by the river Tweed, and comprises 17,030 acres, of which 14,800 are hilly moorland affording tolerable pastures for sheep, 1630 arable and in cultivation, 400 woodland and plantations, and the remainder waste. The surface is varied, consisting chiefly of one continued valley, inclosed on either side by a lofty range of hills, and broken by two detached hills of considerable elevation, of which one is wholly, and the other only partly, within the limits of the parish. The hills on both sides of the vale are of steep ascent, and in some places project boldly towards the margin of the stream called the Manor Water, which flows through the whole extent of the parish. The highest point in these ranges is Dollar Law, 2840 feet above the level of the sea, and commanding an extensive prospect over the Lothians, the county of Berwick, and the English borders; the other hills vary from 1500 to 2000 feet in height. The Water has its source in the mountains towards the south boundary of the parish, and, after a winding course, flows into the Tweed about two miles above Peebles; it abounds with salmon, which in the season ascend the stream to deposit their spawn, and considerable numbers are then destroyed. Formerly it abounded also with yellow and dark-coloured trout of excellent quality, and was much frequented by anglers; a few sea-trout are still taken in the autumn, and par is found in great abundance.

   The soil in the plains, and lower portions of the hills, is a rich loam and clay, but of no great depth, and in other parts light and thin, intermixed with sand and clay, with some alternations of loam resting on gravel: in the higher lands is a considerable portion of moss, with which, also, most of the pastures are slightly interspersed. The crops are, oats, barley, wheat, peas, potatoes, and turnips. The system of agriculture is in an advanced state; the lands have been well drained, and considerable portions of waste reclaimed; the farmbuildings are substantial and conveniently arranged, and the lands are well inclosed. The average number of sheep annually pastured is 7400, of the black-faced breed, with a cross of the Cheviot; the cattle, of which about 300 are pastured, are chiefly of the short-horned breed, and seventy horses are bred, mostly for agricultural purposes. The plantations, which have very much improved and extended of late, are well managed and in a thriving condition. The substrata are principally greywacke, of which the hills are also composed, and clay-slate; the former has not, however, been quarried to any great extent, and but few minerals have been found imbedded in the seams. Rich specimens of galena have been met with, in boulders, in the channel of the Manor Water; and in some parts veins have been discovered: an attempt to work it was made some years since, but was abandoned. Barns is a handsome modern mansion, finely situated on the banks of the Tweed; and Hallyards is an ancient mansion, pleasantly seated in the valley. The nearest market-town is Peebles, with which, and with other towns in the neighbourhood, facility of intercourse is afforded by good roads.

   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 £155, with a manse, and a glebe valued at above £30 per annum. The church, an ancient edifice, and inconveniently situated, is in good repair, and is adapted for a congregation of 200 persons. The parochial school affords a liberal course of instruction, and is well attended; the master has a salary of £34 per annum, with £14 fees, and a house. The poor till lately had the interest of funded bequests amounting together to £184. Near the farm of Cademuir are the remains of an ancient circular camp, supposed to be of British or Danish origin; it appears to have been surrounded with four intrenchments, between which are regular intervals of about twelve paces. The ramparts are fifteen feet in breadth at the base, and about the same height, and are intersected by a road fifteen feet wide, leading to the interior circle; one half only of the lines is remaining, and there are no traces of the corresponding semicircles. There are also, in a commanding situation upon a hill called Chester Hill, the remains of a camp of oval form, with a double intrenchment of loose stones, of which the interior is about 660 feet in circumference; the area of the inner inclosure has a regular descent towards the centre. Some coins of Edward, and of Elizabeth, have been found near the site, and also in the vicinity of several similar intrenchments on a smaller scale. There are likewise remains of numerous strongholds belonging to various chieftains, which appear to have formed a continued chain of fortifications extending from one extremity of the barony to the other; the first of the series was at Manorhead, and the last at Barns, which communicated with Needpath Castle, on the Tweed. Dr. Adam Ferguson, author of the History of the Roman Republic, lived for many years at Hallyards. In 1845, Messrs. Chambers, of Edinburgh, erected a gravestone in the churchyard, over the remains of David Ritchie, the "Black Dwarf" of Sir Walter Scott.