Edrom

   EDROM, a parish, in the county of Berwick, 3 miles (N. E. by E.) from Dunse; containing, with the village of Allanton, 1415 inhabitants. This place, of which the name, anciently Aderham, is said to have been derived from the situation of its village near the river Whiteadder, is distinguished as the scene of the death of Sir Anthony D'Arcy, a native of France, who, in 1517, was appointed warden of the marches and governor of Dunbar Castle, in the room of Lord Home, by the Duke of Albany, regent of Scotland during the minority of James V. D'Arcy is supposed to have inveigled his predecessor to Edinburgh, where, with his brother, Home was treacherously put to death; and in retaliation of this, David Home, laird of Wedderburn, attacked D'Arcy and his party at Langton, and put them to flight, and D'Arcy's horse being engulphed in a bog, he was compelled to fly on foot, and was overtaken at Broomhouse, in this parish, by the laird of Wedderburn, who killed him on the spot, and carrying his head in triumph through Dunse moor, fixed it on the battlements of Home Castle. In 1674, a very large meeting of Covenanters assembled at East Nisbet for the purpose of celebrating the sacrament, at which more than 3000 communicated. The parish is about five miles and a half in average length, and two miles and a half in average breadth, and comprises 8400 acres, of which 7500 are arable, 600 woodland and plantations, and the remainder rough pasture and waste. The surface is generally flat, with a slight degree of acclivity; and the scenery, which is enlivened by the windings of rivers, and enriched with woods and plantations, is in many parts exceedingly picturesque. The Whiteadder forms the northern boundary of the parish for nearly six miles, and, after embellishing much beautiful scenery, falls into the Tweed within two miles of Berwick: the Blackadder, a stream about fifty feet in breadth, intersects the parish, dividing it into two almost equal portions, and, after a course of about six miles within its limits, flows into the Whiteadder at the village of Allanton.

   The soil in some parts is shallow and poor, in others a rich and fertile clay, with some tracts of barren moorland; the crops are, grain of all kinds, with potatoes and turnips. The system of agriculture is in an advanced state, and the five-shift course of husbandry is generally prevalent; the lands are well drained and inclosed, the farm-houses and offices substantially built, and all the more recent improvements in agricultural implements have been adopted. Great numbers of sheep of various breeds, with a cross between the Leicestershire and Cheviot, are annually reared, and also many cattle are pastured. The rateable annual value of the parish is £15,020. The woods and plantations are in a thriving condition; the former consist of the usual varieties of hard-woods, and the plantations, of fir, intermixed with different kinds of forest trees: the thinning of the wood on one estate produces a return of £300 per annum. The substrata are chiefly clay, marl, and sandstone, of which the rocks in the parish are usually composed; the sandstone is of a whitish colour, occurs in beds varying from twenty to thirty feet in thickness, and is quarried in several parts. Red sandstone, resting on conglomerate, is also found, and there is an extensive tract of shell-marl bog on the lands of Kimmerghame, from which great quantities of marl have been obtained, and of which one cubic yard is considered to be equal in efficacy to a boll of lime. In draining this bog and removing the marl, several beavers' heads and deers' horns were discovered.

   Broom House, one of the seats in the parish, is a spacious and handsome mansion erected in 1813, on the site of an ancient baronial castle: in excavating for the foundation, several human skeletons were found, one of which, perfectly entire, was inclosed in a stone coffin. Within the grounds is the grave of D'Arcy. Nisbet House is a fine castellated mansion, beautifully situated; Kimmerghame is an ancient mansion on the Blackadder; and Kelloe, Allanbank, and Blackadder House, are all handsome residences, likewise seated on the banks of the Blackadder. In the grounds of the last is a beautiful conservatory in the early English style of architecture; the frame is of cast iron, and the windows, enriched with elegant tracery, are embellished with stained glass, the whole raised by the late Thomas Boswall, Esq., at an expense of several thousand pounds. Edrom House is beautifully situated, commanding some very rich scenery, with distant views of the hills of Dunse and Cockburn, and the Lammermoor and Cheviot hills. There are three corn-mills on the Blackadder, to two of which is added machinery for sawing timber; and on the Whiteadder is a paper-mill, chiefly for the manufacture of printing and writing papers, and which is conducted on a very extensive scale, affording occupation to eighty persons. The parish is in the presbytery of Chirnside and synod of Merse and Teviotdale, and patronage of the Crown; the minister's stipend is £242. 16., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £15 per annum. The present church, erected in 1732, and subsequently repaired, is a spacious and neat edifice, adapted for a congregation of 450 persons: from several inscriptions, with ancient dates, it would appear that portions of the old church have been incorporated with the building. The parochial school is well attended; the master has a salary of £34, with £15 fees, a house, and an allowance in money in lieu of garden. There are three libraries in the parish for the use of young persons, supported by subscription and donations.