Tweedsmuir

   TWEEDSMUIR, a parish, in county Peebles, 13 miles (S. E. by S.) from Biggar; containing 276 inhabitants. This place derives its name from the moorish aspect of the ground in that part of the parish through which the river Tweed flows, immediately on issuing from its source. It appears to have formed originally part of the adjoining parish of Drummelzier, on its separation from which, in 1643, it assumed its present appellation. The parish is from eight to nine miles in length, and nearly equal in breadth; and comprises 42,000 acres, of which 375 are arable, 30 woodland and plantations, and the remainder meadow and hill pasture. The surface is strikingly diversified with hills and numerous small valleys. The highest of the hills are, Broad Law, in the north, which has an elevation, according to a survey made by government, of 2741 feet above the level of the sea; and part of the Hartfell range of heights, on the south, of which the highest point is 2635 feet: these hills are of gradual ascent, and perfectly level on the summit. The former commands an unbounded prospect, extending to the English border, and comprising the mountains which intervene in almost endless succession, and the German Ocean, with an interesting assemblage of highly picturesque and strikingly varied features. The scenery of the parish is greatly enlivened by the winding course of the Tweed and other streams, which flow through small valleys of romantic appearance, enriched with thriving plantations, and in a state of luxuriant verdure. The Tweed has its source in a spring in the upper part of the parish, which has an elevation of 1500 feet above the sea. It flows for ten miles through the parish, receiving in its progress numerous tributaries, whereof the Core, Fruid, and Tala, which all have their sources within the parish, are the principal; and after leaving the district, it pursues a winding course of more than ninety miles, and falls into the sea at Berwick. At the base of the hill in which the Tweed rises, and which is about half a mile from Lanarkshire on the west, and from Dumfries-shire on the south, are found also the sources of the rivers Annan and Clyde. All the streams abound with trout, par, and eels; and in the Tweed, salmon of considerable size are frequently taken. Among the smaller burns is the Gameshope, which is a tributary of the Tala, and in its course spreads into a small lake, about 600 yards in circumference, said to be the highest water in this part of the country; it abounds with excellent trout of a dark colour, and is much frequented by anglers. Near the summit of Broad Law is a powerful perennial spring called Giddes Well, affording an ample supply of excellent water; and at the southern extremity of Hartfell is a strongly impregnated chalybeate spring, in great repute.

   The soil in some parts is a strong loam formed of earth and moss, and in others a light loam intermixed in a few instances with gravel. The mountains are covered to their summits with luxuriant verdure, and may be mowed to almost any extent; they afford rich pasturage for sheep and black-cattle. The chief crops are oats, barley, turnips, peas, and potatoes, with artificial grasses of every kind, which thrive in great abundance. The system of agriculture is improved; the lands have been mostly well drained and inclosed; the farmhouses are substantially built of stone, and roofed with slate; and every improvement in implements of husbandry has been introduced. The want of lime, however, which is only to be procured from a distance, has greatly retarded the cultivation of the lands. The sheep, of which 16,000 are kept in the parish, and pastured on the hills, are of the Cheviot and black-faced breeds; there are 9000 of the former, and 7000 of the latter. Considerable attention is paid to the improvement of the breeds; and at the annual meeting of the Highland Society, the tenants of the farms of Carterhope and Menzion lately gained the highest premiums for specimens, the one of the black-faced, and the other of the Cheviot. The woods in the parish, formerly extensive, have almost entirely disappeared, and only a few trees remain on the lands of Fruid and Hawkshaw; the plantations are chiefly Scotch and silver fir, larch, birch, and poplar, which seem best adapted to the soil. Among the ancient residences were, Hawkshaw, which for some hundreds of years was the seat of the family of Porteous, and near which are remains of a chapel and burialground; Oliver Castle, the seat of the ancient family of the Frasers; Menzion House, and Fruid. Facility of intercourse with the market-town, and with the places in the more immediate vicinity, is afforded by good roads, of which the turnpike-road from Edinburgh to Dumfries passes for ten miles within the parish. The rateable annual value of Tweedsmuir is £3992. It is in the presbytery of Peebles and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and patronage of the Principal and Professors of St. Mary's College, St. Andrew's; the minister's stipend is £237. 9. 5, with a manse, and the glebe is valued at £12. 10. per annum. The church, beautifully situated on a peninsula formed by the junction of the rivers Tweed and Tala, was erected in 1648, and is in good repair, and adapted for a congregation of 160 persons. The parochial school affords a liberal course of instruction; the master has a salary of £32 per annum, with £12 fees, and a house and garden, which last being less than the usual size, he receives one boll of meal also. There is a school for the children of persons living at an inconvenient distance from the parochial school; the master has £8 a year from the heritors, in addition to the fees. Near the source of the Tweed, in a spot called Tweed's Cross, was an upright stone supposed to have been a Druidical relic, and subsequently a guide for passengers; there are still some remains of a Druidical circle elsewhere, of which, however, but one upright stone is left, the remainder having been taken away to furnish materials for dykes. On removing a cairn on the side of the Tweed, a kistvaen was discovered, formed of smoothed stone, and covered with a large flag, containing fragments of an urn of ancient character: a similar grave was discovered on the lands of Menzion. Sir Simon Fraser, who, assisted by Cumming, at the head of 10,000 Scottish forces, attacked and defeated the army of Edward I., consisting of 30,000 men, near Roslin, in 1303, was lord of Tweeddale, and resided at Oliver Castle, in this parish.