Brydekirk

   BRYDEKIRK, lately a quoad sacra parish; consisting chiefly of part of the parish of Annan, and partly of portions of the parishes of Cummertrees and Hoddam, in the county of Dumfries; and containing 881 inhabitants, of whom about 400 are in the village of Brydekirk, 3 miles (N. by W.) from Annan. The parish forms a section of the vale of Annandale, about five or six miles above the entrance of the beautiful river Annan into the Solway Frith; the scenery is remarkably rich, varied, and extensive, rising on either side of the Annan, of which the banks are finely wooded, to a considerable elevation, and embracing, from different positions, the whole sweep of the surrounding country. The greater portion of the soil is under cultivation, in the usual routine of farming; and the remainder, to a large extent, is covered with timber and plantations. The village, which is connected with the burgh of Annan by a handsome stone bridge of three arches, is pleasantly situated on the western bank of the Annan, and is neatly built, and intersected by the road from Annan to Lockerbie; the woollen manufacture was established in 1824, but the spacious building for the purpose erected at the east end of the bridge, has been recently converted into flour-mills. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the presbytery of Annan and synod of Dumfries: the church, erected in 1835, chiefly at the expense of Mrs. Dirom, of Mount Annan, and her friends, is a neat structure, standing at the western extremity of the village, and contains 370 sittings. The minister's stipend, £55, is derived from the seat-rents, augmented by donations from the proprietor of Mount Annan, and a handsome house has been erected for his residence; the patronage is vested in the subscribers, managers, and male communicants, being seat-holders. There is a branch here of the parochial school, of which the master has a salary of £10, in addition to the fees, together amounting to about £40; and a parochial library is under the superintendence of the minister.