Laurencekirk - Leuchars

Laurencekirk

LAURENCEKIRK, a burgh of barony, and also a parish, in the southern part of the county of Kincardine, 9 miles (N. by W.) from Montrose, and 10 (N. E. by N.) from Brechin; containing 1904 inhabitants, of whom 1356 are in the burgh. This place, anciently called Conveth, derived its present name from the dedication of its original parish church to St. Laurence. The burgh, which was previously a very inconsiderable hamlet, owes its importance to Francis, Lord Gardenstone, a judge of the supreme court of session, who, about the year 1765, purchased the lands of Johnston and Blackiemuir, in the parish, which he greatly improved, and divided into inclosures by hedges and plantations. He also laid out the plan of a village, and portioned off sites for the erection of houses: these, being leased on advantageous terms, soon attracted tenants; and in 1772 a thriving town had arisen, which, increasing in population, was erected in 1779 into a burgh of barony. The town consists chiefly of one street, about a mile in length, on the road from Perth to Aberdeen; the houses are well built, a few of them of handsome appearance, and to each is attached a portion of garden-ground, giving to the place a pleasinglyrural aspect. A public subscription library, originated by Lord Gardenstone, and to which he attached a small museum, still exists, though the number of volumes has materially diminished. The library of the episcopal clergy of the diocese of Brechin, founded chiefly by the late Bishop Drummond, and containing more than 1000 volumes, is deposited in the episcopal chapel in the town, and is accessible to persons of literary pursuits. The chief trade is the spinning of yarn and the weaving of linen. For the former there was once a mill at Blackiemuir, in which twenty-five women and seven men were employed, and the quantity annually produced was valued at £5000. The weaving of linen by hand-looms for the manufacturers of Aberdeen, Montrose, and Brechin, who supply the yarn, is carried on mostly in the burgh, affording employment to a very considerable number of persons, including many children. The manufacture of snuff-boxes of wood, also, for which this place has long been celebrated, is still carried on, by the son of the original inventor, Mr. Stiven: these boxes are remarkable for their beauty, and the peculiar construction of the hinge, the principle of which has recently been adopted in the binding of valuable books or prints in wood.

The town was erected into a free and independent burgh of barony by royal charter, vesting the government in a bailie and four councillors elected triennially by the burgesses, and granting the privilege of a weekly market and an annual fair. Every resident proprietor of a house and garden is qualified as a burgess. The jurisdiction of the magistrates in civil cases has not been clearly defined, and scarcely any have been brought before them for decision; but in criminal cases their jurisdiction is exercised in petty delinquencies subject to small fines, though these have not in many instances been enforced. A treasurer, and a town-officer to whom the police is entrusted, are appointed by the magistrates, who hold their courts in a building used also for the purpose of a masonic lodge; and there is a gaol lately erected, but seldom used. The establishment of a weekly market has been attempted, but hitherto without success, except for the sale of grain, which, when purchased for exportation, is sent to Montrose and Gourdon. Fairs are held on the third Wednesday of January, O. S., for cattle, and for hiring servants; the last Thursday in April, for cattle; the 27th of May, or the day after Whitsunday, O. S., for hiring servants; the Thursday after the third Tuesday of July, O. S., for cattle and horses; the first Thursday in November, for cattle; and the 23rd of November, or the day after Martinmas, O. S., for hiring servants. Markets, also, for sheep, cattle, and horses, have been recently established, commencing on the second Monday after the first November fair, and continuing to be held on the second Monday of each month until the April fair. The post-office has a tolerably good delivery; and facility of communication with Montrose, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, and the city of Edinburgh, is afforded by roads kept in excellent repair.

The parish, which is situated in the eastern portion of the valley of Strathmore, is about four miles in length, and varies from less than one mile to almost three miles in breadth, comprising an area of 5381 acres, of which 5000 are arable, 60 pasture, 220 woodland and plantations, and the remainder roads and waste. The surface rises gradually towards the north and south, but is not diversified with hills or striking inequalities, the highest ground in the northern portion attaining only an elevation of 220, and in the southern of 450 feet. The river Luther, which intersects the parish in a direction from north-east to south-west, has its rise in the lower range of the Grampian hills, and falls into the North Esk, receiving in its course numerous burns, which flow into it both from the northwest and south-east. The soil of the district to the southeast of the Luther is a deep clay loam of great fertility; on the banks of the river are large alluvial deposits of clay and sand; and in the lands north-west of the river the soil is of inferior quality, generally cold, and comparatively sterile. The crops consist of oats, barley, small quantities of wheat, peas, beans, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual grasses: the system of agriculture is improved; the lands have been drained and partly inclosed, and a wide tract of unprofitable marsh has been reclaimed. The farm-houses, though not large, are convenient, and generally roofed with slate. Great attention is paid to the management of the dairyfarms, and large quantities of butter and cheese are sent to Montrose. The cattle are chiefly of a mixed breed between those of the Angus and Aberdeenshire; they are partly sold when three years old for the English markets, and some are fed in winter for Glasgow, where they obtain high prices. The horses used for agriculture are chiefly reared in the parish, and resemble the Lanark and Clydesdale breeds. The plantations, mostly of recent growth, consist of larch, and spruce and Scotch firs; and in the hedge-rows are some good specimens of ash, elm, beech, oak, birch, and sycamore, of more ancient date. There is nothing peculiar in the geology of the parish. Sandstone and freestone were formerly quarried, and Johnston Lodge was erected with stone raised from the quarries; but the working of them has been discontinued since the opening of the Laurieston quarries, in the adjacent parish of St. Cyrus, from which stone of finer texture and more durable quality is raised. The rateable annual value of Laurencekirk is £7388. Johnston Lodge is a handsome modern mansion, commanding a fine view of the valley of Strathmore and the Grampian hills.

The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Fordoun and synod of Angus and Mearns. The minister's stipend is £243.9.8., including £10. 4. 6., the rent of some land attached to the living from time immemorial; and there is a manse, as well as a glebe valued at £40 per annum: patrons, the Principal and Professors of St. Mary's College, in the University of St. Andrew's. The church, erected in 1804, and enlarged in 1819, is a very plain structure containing 766 sittings, a number inadequate to the increased population. An episcopal chapel was erected, and endowed chiefly, by Lord Gardenstone; and there are places of worship for members of the Free Church, and Independents, in the town. The parochial school is attended by about seventy children; the master has a salary of £20, with ten bolls of meal, and an allowance of £10. 2. in lieu of house and garden. The school fees average £30 per annum; and he also receives £3. 6. 8., the interest of a bequest of Sir Alexander Falconer, of Glenfarquhar, ancestor of the present Earl of Kintore, for teaching seven children gratuitously. The parochial library contains nearly 300 volumes, chiefly for young people. There are few monuments of antiquity in the parish; but coins have been found at various times, among which was a Roman coin with the heads of the Emperors, Aurelius on the one side, and Antoninus on the other. About forty large silver coins, mostly Spanish, and in good preservation, with dates from 1616 to 1623, were found about thirty years since on the farm of Northhill. Thomas Ruddiman, the grammarian, was master of the parochial school of this place from 1695 till 1700; and Dr. Beattie, author of the Minstrel, was a native of the parish. The lands of Halkerton give the title of Baron to the Falconer family, Earls of Kintore.

Laurieston

LAURIESTON, a village, in the parish of Balmaghie, stewartry of Kirkcudbright, 6½ miles (W. N. W.) from Castle-Douglas; containing 275 inhabitants. This place takes its name from William Kennedy Laurie, Esq., proprietor of the lands on which it is built, near Lochinbren, a sheet of water abounding with trout. It appears to owe its origin to the resort of numerous invalids, attracted by the medicinal virtues of a powerful chalybeate spring, and for whose accommodation a commodious inn had been erected near the spot. The water, which is perfectly transparent, is strongly impregnated with sulphate of iron and carbonic acid, and has been found efficacious as a tonic, and in complaints of the stomach arising from obstruction and debility. In cases of ague, also, and in obstinate intermittents, it has proved a complete restorative, when bark and other medicines have been unavailing. The road from Kirkcudbright to New Galloway passes through the village. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship. The principal parochial school is situated here, and a dwelling-house has been recently erected for the master by the heritors.

Laurieston

LAURIESTON, lately an ecclesiastical district, within the jurisdiction of the city of Glasgow, county of Lanark. This district was formed out of that part of the parish of Gorbals adjoining the suburb of Tradeston, and on the south side of the river Clyde. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the presbytery of Glasgow and synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and the patronage is vested in the Church Building Society of Glasgow: the church, which is of recent erection, is built upon a site purchased by the commissioners in Warwick-street.

Laurieston

LAURIESTON, a village, in the parish of Falkirk, county of Stirling, 1½ mile (E.) from Falkirk; containing 1198 inhabitants. This place, originally called New Merchiston, from Francis, Lord Napier, Baron of Merchiston, on whose lands it was built in 1756, received the name of Laurencetoun, of which its present appellation is a contraction, from Sir Laurence Dundas, afterwards proprietor of the estate, and whose descendant, the Earl of Zetland, is the existing lord. The village is pleasantly situated on the road to Edinburgh, and consists of a handsome square, and several wellformed streets intersecting each other at right angles; the houses are well built, and of modern appearance, and from its elevated site the surrounding scenery is extensive. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in weaving for the manufacturers of Glasgow, and in the manufacture of nails, which is carried on to a considerable extent. There are numerous well-stored shops; and many persons are engaged in the various trades requisite for the accommodation of the adjacent district, and for the large traffic which the place derives from its position on a great public thoroughfare. A post-office under that of Falkirk has been established here, and there is every facility of communication with the neighbouring towns. In the village is a place of worship for members of the Reformed Presbytery; and there are several schools, of which one was erected by the late Lord Dundas.

Leadhills

LEADHILLS, an ecclesiastical district, within the parish of Crawford, Upper ward of the county of Lanark; containing about 1200 inhabitants, of whom 950 are in the village, 18 miles (W. N. W.) from Moffat. The village derives its name from its situation in an interesting valley surrounded by hills that abound with mineral produce, of which the principal is lead-ore; the hills are generally covered with heath, and towards the south-east form a lofty ridge, rising to an elevation of very nearly 2500 feet above the level of the sea. From the summit of this ridge is an imposing and richly-diversified prospect, embracing the Solway Frith, the Isles of Arran and Man, and the mountains of Skiddaw, Ben-Lomond, and Helvellyn, with the whole range of the Pentland hills. The village is of peculiar appearance, the houses, which are chiefly inhabited by persons employed in the mines, being placed on eminences, or a kind of terraces. The principal mansion of importance is the Hall, a seat of the Earl of Hopetoun, whose family take their title from this place, formerly called Hopetoun; it is an ancient structure, and one of the wings has been converted into a chapel. The house, also, belonging to the representative of the Scottish Mining Company, is a handsome building in tastefully-disposed pleasure-grounds, surrounded by thriving plantations of beech, larch, mountain and common ash, elm, and other trees. A library established in 1741 is well supported, and has a collection of nearly 2000 volumes. The lands near the village are not by nature fertile; but a considerable part of them has been brought into profitable cultivation by spade labour, and good crops of potatoes, with hay and summer grass, are raised by the industry of the persons working in the mines, to whom the proprietor gives portions of land rent-free.

The mineral district extends about three miles in length and two miles and a half in breadth, and consists of a substratum of greywacke and greywacke-slate combined with transition clay-slate, in which most of the mineral ores are deposited. The chief veins of lead run in a south and north direction, with a dip of one foot in three, and have produced large quantities of ore. Mines of lead are believed to have been wrought here by the Romans, an opinion partly confirmed by the fact of one of their principal roads having passed through the parish, and by the remains of Roman camps, of which several may be distinctly traced in this and the adjoining parish. The chief mines at present in operation are those of High-Work, Meadow-Head, and Brow: that of Susannah, after having been worked to the depth of 140 fathoms, has been discontinued, the low price of lead being insufficient to remunerate the expense of sinking to a greater depth. The average produce of the mines is 500 tons annually, valued at about £8000. The common galena ore is that chiefly raised; but there are several veins of green, yellow, and black ore, sulphate and sulpho-tricarbonates of lead, and phosphate and earthy lead ores; and copper and iron pyrites, malachites, azure copper-ore, grey manganese, blende, and calamine are also found. In the various veins are likewise discovered quartz, calcareous and brown spar, and sparry ironstone; silver is found in the lead-ore, though in very small proportions; and gold occurs in all the streams that intersect the district. In the 16th century several men were, by permission of the Scottish regent, employed in searching for gold, of which considerable quantities were collected, and sent to Edinburgh, to be coined, or manufactured into different ornaments. Specimens of native gold, weighing some ounces, were at times discovered; but of late few have been found weighing more than half an ounce, and these are now of very rare occurrence. There are also considerable lead-works at Wanlockhead, in Dumfriesshire, not more than a mile distant from this place. A post-office has for many years been established in the village; the post is daily, and facility of intercourse with the neighbouring towns is maintained by good roads. Fairs are held on the second Friday in June, and the last Friday in October; the principal articles are provisions and merchandise, for the supply of the inhabitants. The district of Leadhills was separated from the parish for ecclesiastical purposes by an act of the General Assembly in 1834, but has now ceased to exist as a quoad sacra parish: the minister has a regular stipend paid by the Earl of Hopetoun and the Mining Company, with a house. The church is adapted for a congregation of 850 persons. A school has been established for more than a century, and is attended by about 100 children; the master receives a salary from the earl and the company. Allan Ramsay was a native of Leadhills.

Lecropt

LECROPT, a parish, partly in the county of Stirling, but chiefly in that of Perth, 4 miles (N. W.) from Stirling, containing, with part of the village of Bridge of Allan, 513 inhabitants. Some antiquaries identify this place with the ancient city on the west bank of the river Allan, about a mile above its confluence with the Forth, and which is by Ptolemy called Alauna; and they suppose that the Roman road to Ardoch passed through the lands of Keir, in this parish. There are still remaining here vestiges of one of a chain of forts designated Keirs, all extending along the north side of the vale of Monteith, and thought to have been erected by the Caledonians, to watch the movements of the Roman army: the sites are usually marked out by the mounds of loose stones, now covered with grass, on which they stood. Some of the forts, however, have been wholly destroyed to furnish stones for building inclosures and for various other purposes. The lands of Keir, according to records still extant, formed part of the possessions of the Princess Marjory, sister of Robert Bruce, which she surrendered to the king in favour of William de Monteith; and in the vicinity of the church is a hill where the ancient barons held their courts, and near it another called Gallow Hill, the place for the execution of criminals.

The parish is washed on the south-west by the river Teith, and on the east by the river Allan, both tributaries of the Forth, by which it is bounded on the south. It is nearly in the form of an equilateral triangle, and comprises by measurement 3102a. 1r. 24p., of which 2553 acres are arable, 30 pasture, 451 woodland and plantations, 18 peat-moss, and the remainder homesteads, roads, and waste. The surface is intersected by a high bank or ridge, stretching in a direction parallel with the north side, and which divides the parish into two distinct portions, the lower being rich carse land, and the more elevated of a dry light soil. From this bank is obtained an extensive and varied prospect of the adjacent country, including, in the foreground, the waters of the Teith, the Allan, and the Forth, flowing in one united stream, between wooded banks, through a tract of fine open champaign studded with well-cultivated farms having hedge-rows interspersed with stately trees. On the opposite side of the valley appear the castle of Stirling, covering the summit of a precipitous rock; the rocks of Craigforth and Abbeycraig; the tower of Cambuskenneth Abbey; the bridge of Stirling; and the meadows on the banks of the Forth, adorned by handsome villas and pleasure-grounds; with the hills of Falkirk in the distance. The Ochils are seen on the east, the mountains of Benvoirlich on the north, and Ben-Ledi and Ben-Lomond on the west. The soil of the carse land is extremely rich, and that of the uplands, though of lighter quality, is fertile; the crops are, wheat, barley, oats, peas, beans, potatoes, and turnips, with flax, ryegrass, and clover. The system of agriculture is highly improved, the farm-buildings generally substantial and well arranged, and the woods and plantations thriving. The substratum is a stiff clay, resting chiefly upon a bed of hard rock; and from an experiment lately made, it has been ascertained that coal and ironstone exist, but in seams too thin to remunerate the trouble of working them. The rateable annual value of Lecropt is £2227.

Keir House, the seat of Archibald Stirling, Esq., the principal landowner, is a spacious and handsome mansion, to which two wings have been added within the last twenty years. It is situated nearly in the centre of the parish, and contains numerous apartments splendidly decorated, and a picture-gallery seventy feet in length, having a valuable collection of paintings by the first masters; the grounds are tastefully laid out, and the gardens and hot-houses are extensive and productive. Bridge of Allan, a place of fashionable resort for invalids frequenting the mineral waters of Airthrie, is partly within the parish, in which there is no other village. An extensive bleaching establishment at Keirfield, conducted upon the most scientific principles, affords employment to nearly 100 persons, under the immediate superintendence of the proprietor. A flour-mill is in operation, as well as a mill for grinding oats and barley, both having machinery of the most approved kind driven by the river Allan; and there is a fishery, chiefly for salmontrout, producing a rental of about £20 per annum. The great road from Stirling to Perth, Aberdeen, and the Highlands passes through the parish; the Forth is navigable to Stirling for vessels drawing six or seven feet water, and the projected northern branch from the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway to Perth will probably intersect the parish. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Dunblane and synod of Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £147. 13. 8., with a manse, and the glebe is valued at £16 per annum; patron, Mr. Stirling. The church, built in 1827, is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower embellished with sculptured figures of some of the Scottish reformers, in high-relief, executed by Holmes, of Ayrshire. The parochial school embraces a very complete course of classical and commercial instruction; the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees, averaging £12 per annum. An infants' school is supported by the Stirling family; and the poor till lately had the proceeds of several bequests, yielding £7 per annum. Principal Haldane, of the university of St. Andrew's, is a native of this parish.

Leeds, New

LEEDS, NEW, a village, in the parish of Strichen, district of Deer, county of Aberdeen, 12½ miles (W. N. W.) from Peterhead; containing 203 inhabitants. This village lies in the eastern extremity of the parish, and on the high road from Aberdeen to Fraserburgh.

Leetown

LEETOWN, a village, in the parish of Errol, county of Perth; containing 112 inhabitants. It is the largest of three small villages or hamlets in the parish, all distant from the village of Errol: the population is chiefly agricultural.

Legerwood

LEGERWOOD, a parish, in the county of Berwick, 5½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Lauder; containing 571 inhabitants. The name of this place, signifying in the Saxon "the light or hollow wood," is supposed to have been derived from the situation of its church in a spot almost surrounded by woods. Prior to the twelfth century the lands belonged to the family of the Stewarts, to whom they were confirmed by charter of Malcolm IV., King of Scotland, in 1160; the greater portion of the barony is now the property of the Marquess of Tweeddale. The parish, which is about six miles in length and four and a half in breadth, is bounded on the west by the river Leader, and comprises 8430 acres; 3470 are arable, 1800 meadow and pasture, 400 woodland and plantations, and the remainder moorland and hill pasture. The surface is generally elevated, and is traversed in the northern part by three ridges of hills, of which the highest is nearly 1100 feet above the level of the sea; in the southern part is also a hill of considerable elevation, rising by a gentle acclivity from the east. The scenery is diversified with valleys, and enriched with woods of ancient growth, and thriving plantations. The Eden, a rivulet which has its source in the Boon hill, pursues a winding course through the parish, and falls into the Tweed below Newton-Don: numerous smaller streams, tributaries to the Leader and the Eden, rise in the higher grounds, and in parts of their course exhibit some highly pleasing scenery; and there are also many springs, affording an excellent supply of water. A lake of considerable extent, on the lands of Corsbie, has been drained, and partly converted into meadow land.

The soil is very various in different parts of the parish, but upon the whole is tolerably fertile, and, under good management, produces favourable crops of oats, barley, beans, potatoes, and turnips. The system of agriculture is in an advanced state, and the five-shift rotation generally practised; the lands are drained and inclosed; the farm houses and offices are substantial and well arranged, and all the more recent improvements in implements have been adopted. Much attention is paid to live stock, and considerable numbers of sheep and cattle are annually pastured; the sheep are of the Leicestershire and Cheviot breeds, with an occasional cross between the two, and the cattle chiefly of the short-horned breed. The woods are of oak, ash, alder, birch, and hazel: the plantations are larch, and spruce and Scotch firs, intermixed with various kinds of foresttrees; they are all well managed, and in a very flourishing state. The substrata are mainly sandstone of the secondary formation, greywacke, and greywacke-slate; small portions of copper-ore have been discovered on the lands of Dods farm, supposed to have been washed from the soil by rain, and particles of copper have been found in various parts of the parish. The Boon hill is composed of a species of conglomerate; and a quarry has been opened, supplying materials for the roads, for which use it is well adapted. The rateable annual value of Legerwood is £4856. Facility of communication with the nearest market-town and other places in the vicinity is afforded by good roads, of which those from Kelso and Hawick to Edinburgh pass, the former on the east, and the latter on the west, side of the parish; and there are also commodious bridges over the different streams, all kept in excellent repair.

The parish is in the presbytery of Lauder and synod of Merse and Teviotdale, and in the patronage of Henry Ker Seymer, Esq.; the minister's stipend is £205. 4. 6., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £15 per annum. The church, an ancient edifice, repaired in 1717 and 1804, and enlarged in 1837, is a substantial and neat building, adapted for a congregation of about 300 persons. The parochial school affords instruction to about seventy children; the master has a salary of £28, with £20 fees, and a house and garden. Several children of the parish, on account of their distance from this school, attend the schools of Westruther and Melrose. A small library, supported by subscription, is gradually extending its collection; and the parish regularly contributes to the various missionary schemes that are under the management of the General Assembly. On a small mount, richly wooded, and formerly surrounded by the lake of Corsbie, which has been drained, are the remains of an ancient castle, the residence of the lords of the barony; there are also, at Whitslaid, similar remains of a baronial castle. The date of their foundation is unknown; but they are thought to have been erected in the reign of James II. Upon the summit of Legerwood hill are traces of a camp supposed to be Roman, and there are vestiges of another on Birkenside hill; but they have been both much defaced by the plough, and have nearly disappeared under the modern improvements in cultivation. On the hill of Boon is an upright shaft of sandstone, rising from a block of the same material; it is called Dods Corse Stane, and is said to be an ancient cross, pointing out the site of a market formerly held here, or the place where a duel was once fought.

Leith

LEITH, a burgh and sea-port town, in the county of Edinburgh, 1½ mile (N. by E.) from Edinburgh, and 392 (N. N. W.) from London; containing, with the parishes of North and South Leith, 28,268 inhabitants. This place, which is of considerable antiquity, formerly belonged to the abbey of Holyrood, and, in a charter of David I. to the monks of that establishment, is noticed under the designation of Inverleith, from its position near the influx of the river or Water of Leith into the Frith of Forth. Its earlier history is almost identified with that of the city of Edinburgh, of which it forms a kind of suburb, and within the jurisdiction of which, notwithstanding its charter of incorporation, it is still in some respects essentially included. Previously to the commencement of the fourteenth century, though possessing every advantage of situation, it had acquired little importance as a commercial town: in 1329, its harbour, and the mills which had been erected, were obtained by the corporation of Edinburgh, by grant from Robert Bruce, on the payment of fifty-two merks annually. In 1398, Sir Robert Logan, lord of Restalrig, and superior of the town, resisted the claims of the corporation to the banks of the river of Leith, which they consequently bought of him for a very considerable sum; and in 1561 the superiority of the burgh, which had been sold by his family to Mary, queen of James V., then regent, for 10,000 merks, was purchased from Mary, Queen of Scots, by the town-council of Edinburgh, by whom the inhabitants of Leith were held in a state of abject vassalage. By act of the corporation, they were restrained from carrying on any trade, and from the building of warehouses for the reception of merchandise landed at the port, which, immediately on its arrival, was forwarded to Edinburgh. They were also prohibited from keeping shops of any kind, and from opening inns or houses of entertainment for strangers, or even for passengers arriving by the vessels; nor was it permitted that any merchant in Edinburgh should enter into partnership with an inhabitant of Leith, under a penalty of forty shillings and forfeiture of the freedom of the city for one year. In 1313, and also in 1410, the town suffered severely from the English, who burnt all the ships in the harbour; and in 1488, after the battle of Bannockburn, it was seized by the insurgent nobility who had taken arms against James III., during whose occupation of it the Frith of Forth was scoured by the ships of Sir Andrew Wood, the firm adherent of that monarch, with whose successor, James IV., he afterwards held an interview at this place.

The town was plundered in 1544 by the English forces under the Earl of Hertford, who had landed at Royston with an army of 10,000 men, and who, after securing the whole of the vessels in the harbour, and leaving 1500 of his soldiers here, advanced to Edinburgh, on his return from which, previously to the embarkation of his troops, he set fire to Leith. The place suffered a similar calamity in 1547, from the same leader, then Duke of Somerset, who seized thirty-five vessels at that time in the Frith. In 1549, the French General D'Esse landed at Leith with a force of 6000 men, for the assistance of the queen regent against the lords of the congregation, and strongly fortified the town, which the lords fruitlessly endeavoured to take by escalade, but which subsequently surrendered by capitulation. It was besieged by the English in 1560; and two of the mounds raised by the troops on that occasion, and from which they discharged their artillery, are still to be seen on the Links. In 1561, Mary, Queen of Scots, upon her return from France, landed here on the 20th of August, and, after remaining for a few hours to rest from the fatigue of the voyage, proceeded to Edinburgh, where she was received with joyful acclamations. Not long afterwards, the fortifications, which consisted of an octangular rampart, defended with strong bastions at the angles, were demolished by order of the corporation of Edinburgh; but the town was partly fortified by the Earl of Morton in 1571, when the regency was held by the Earl of Lennox, who made it his residence, and held his court here for some time, during which the misunderstandings between him and Morton frequently involved the inhabitants in all the calamities of civil war. In 1590, James VI. landed here with his queen, Anne of Denmark; he arrived in the roads on the 1st of May, but was compelled, from want of accommodation in the town, to remain on board till the 6th, during the preparation of Holyrood palace for his reception.

At the commencement of the war in the reign of Charles I., it was proposed again to fortify Leith; and considerable progress was made in the works by numerous volunteers who gratuitously gave their assistance, persons even of the higher classes undertaking the performance of most laborious tasks. In 1643, the solemn league and covenant was zealously subscribed by the inhabitants, who almost exclusively embraced the doctrines of the reformed religion. During the continuance of the plague in 1645, not less than 2430 persons fell victims to its ravages, and, for want of room in the churchyards, were buried in the Links, where immense quantities of human bones, wrapped in blankets, have at various times been discovered. In 1650, the town was taken possession of by the army of Cromwell, who made it their head-quarters, and levied monthly contributions on the inhabitants. After Cromwell's return to England, General Monk, his commander-in-chief, built a strong fortress here called the Citadel, at an expense of £10,000; but the site of this fortress, which was in the form of a pentagon, with bastions at the angles, and having an entrance towards the east, is now occupied by the buildings of the docks and the Mariners' church, recently erected. During the residence of Monk in the town, he induced several English families to settle here, who contributed greatly towards the establishment of its subsequent commercial prosperity.

In 1705, Capt. Green, of the Worcester East Indiaman, who had taken shelter in the harbour, was, by a singular incident, recognised as having committed murder and piracy on the crew of a Scottish vessel off the coast of Malabar, and, together with three of his crew who had been concerned in that transaction, was hanged within the flood-mark, on the shore. During the enterprise of the Pretender in 1715, Brigadier Mc Intosh of Borlane, with a party of his adherents, took possession of the citadel, which he occupied for some time; but, being pursued by the Duke of Argyll, he evacuated the post in the night, and, after plundering the custom-house, and liberating the prisoners in the gaol, retreated over the sands at low water. In 1779, a party of Highland recruits who had enlisted into the 42nd and 71st regiments, refusing to embark on board the transport vessels in the harbour, a serjeant with a detachment of soldiers was sent from Edinburgh Castle to enforce order, when a violent conflict arose, and the serjeant being twice severely wounded by the Highlanders, his party fired upon the mutineers, of whom twelve were killed, and twenty severely wounded. In the same year, the appearance of the notorious pirate, Paul Jones, with three armed vessels, excited some alarm; and a battery of nine guns was erected to the west of the citadel, to protect the town from the threatened invasion: but a storm which arose, dispersing his vessels, delivered the inhabitants from all further apprehension. The town was anciently celebrated for its public games, of which golf was the most prevalent; and it was while he was engaged in this sport, on the Links, that Charles I. was informed of the Irish rebellion, when he instantly left the ground, and on the following day returned to London. Races were formerly held on the sands, under the patronage of the corporation of Edinburgh, who annually gave a purse, and attended them in their habits of ceremony; but in 1816, they were transferred to the Links of Musselburgh, where they are still held, and numerously attended. George IV., on his visit to Scotland in 1822, arrived in the Leith roads on the 14th of August, and on the following day landed at the harbour, and was received by a vast concourse of the nobility and gentry, attended by the civic functionaries, who escorted him from the town to the palace of Holyrood House. Leith was also visited by Her present Majesty, when making a tour through her Scottish dominions, in September, 1842; and on the 3rd of that month the provost and magistrates presented a loyal address to the queen, who was then entering the burgh, from Dalmeny Park, on her way to Dalkeith. A triumphal arch was erected on the occasion, and every other means adopted to testify the joyous feelings of the inhabitants.

The town, which is situated on the south side of the Frith of Forth, at the influx of the Water of Leith, is of considerable extent, and has within the last few years been greatly improved by the erection of several spacious and well-formed streets, crossing each other at right angles. The more ancient part, situated between Kirkgate-street and the river, consists chiefly of narrow lanes and alleys of mean houses, inhabited only by persons of the lowest order; but that portion of the town which is of more modern date is uniformly built, containing handsome houses; and the public buildings are of elegant character. Kirkgate-street, in which are the church of South Leith and the Trinity House, forms a continuation of Leith Walk, a noble line of approach from Edinburgh, and contains several remnants of antiquity, among which was till lately the mansion of the Balmerino family, now demolished, where Charles II. slept on the night of his arrival in Scotland by invitation from the Scottish parliament, in 1650. Other houses are said to have been the occasional residence of the queen regent and of Oliver Cromwell. Parallel with Kirkgate-street is Constitution-street, a handsome and very uniform range of buildings, joined at one extremity by St. Bernard's-street, from which Balticstreet branches off, leading into Salamander-street. Great Junction-street, conducting to the fort, is a spacious avenue; and there are various other regular and wellformed streets. The town is lighted with gas, and amply supplied with water, which is carried by pipes to the houses.

Two public subscription libraries, containing extensive collections of interesting volumes, are well supported; and card and dancing assemblies take place in an elegant suite of rooms in the Exchange Buildings in Constitution-street, where also are held the meetings of the Philharmonic Society, established in 1831, concerts being given every Wednesday evening from the commencement of October till the end of April: in the same edifice are the library and lecture-room of the mechanics' institution. These Exchange Buildings were erected at an expense of £16,000, and form a spacious structure in the Grecian style of architecture, consisting of a projecting centre and two slightly-projecting wings. In the centre is a stately portico of four Ionic columns, rising from a rusticated basement to the roof, and supporting an entablature and cornice surmounted by a triangular pediment; the wings are also embellished with Ionic columns, between which are entrances to other parts of the building. The interior contains the assembly and concert room, with card, tea, and supper rooms adjoining, a library and reading-room, the lectureroom for the mechanics' institution, already noticed, and the post-office, in addition to the various offices and apartments for the purposes of the exchange. On the Links, behind Constitution-street, are the Seafield baths, to which is attached an hotel, erected in 1803, at an expense of £8000, by a proprietary of £50 shareholders, and replete with every accommodation. At Leith Fort, to the west of the custom-house, are the artillerybarracks, a spacious range. The ancient stone bridge across the Water of Leith, erected by Robert Ballendean, abbot of Holyrood, has been removed, and a handsome bridge of stone erected a little above the town; there are also two bridges of wood over the river, affording facility of communication between the districts of North and South Leith.

The principal manufactures carried on in the town are those of soap, candles, ropes, cordage, sailcloth, crown-glass, and bottles: there are several breweries, a distillery, a large establishment for the refining of sugar, extensive saw-mills, and cooperages; and in the vicinity are some iron-foundries and other works. The foreign trade of the port is chiefly with the North of Europe and the West Indies, in addition to which it has an important coasting-trade; the principal imports are, wine, tobacco, timber, hemp, and tallow. The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port, in 1843, was 263, of the aggregate burthen of 27,897 tons: the number which in that year entered inwards, was 266 British, of 38,647 tons, and 364 foreign, of the burthen of 33,671 tons; and the amount of customs was £628,008. There are three companies engaged in the trade with London, in which they collectively employ twenty-two vessels; five vessels are employed in the trade with Hull, four in that of Newcastle, five in that of Aberdeen, four in the trade with Inverness, several also with Greenock, Wick, Fife, Dundee, Stirling, Liverpool, and other ports, and seven in the Greenland trade. The harbour, upon the improvement of which very considerable sums have been expended without adequate benefit, is under the management of commissioners appointed by act of parliament in 1838. The entrance is defended by a martello tower: at the mouth is a lighthouse with reflecting lamps; and another, with a revolving light, has been erected on the small island of Inch-Keith, in the middle of the Frith, about four miles from the shore. The present docks were commenced in 1800, and completed in 1817, under the superintendence of the late Sir John Rennie, civil engineer, at a cost of £285,000, of which £265,000 were borrowed from government by the corporation of Edinburgh. The two wet-docks are each 250 yards in length and 100 yards in breadth; they are protected from the sea by a strong wall, and are capable of containing 150 ships of ordinary size. On the north side are three graving-docks, each 136 feet long and seventy feet wide, with an entrance thirty-six feet in breadth; and on the south side of the wet-docks is a fine range of spacious warehouses, for the bonding of grain, foreign wines, and other articles of merchandise. The pier has been greatly improved at the joint expense of government and the corporation of Edinburgh: the Leith roads afford good anchorage for vessels of any burthen; and of the vessels employed in the coasting-trade, the greater number lie in the harbour, and the remainder in the wet-docks. Ship-building is carried on to a considerable extent, and there are several yards for that purpose, from which various fine steamers and other vessels have been launched: in 1840, a government steamer and a merchantman of very large dimensions were built here.

The custom-house, situated on the north side of the harbour, and at the west end of the lower drawbridge, is a fine structure in the Grecian style of architecture, erected in 1812, at a cost of £12,617. In the centre of the principal front, which has a slight projection, is a receding portico of two lofty columns, rising to the roof, and supporting a triangular pediment, in the tympanum of which are the royal arms: the wings also project slightly beyond the main line of the building. The whole edifice is crowned with a handsome entablature and cornice surmounted by a parapet panelled in compartments, and relieved in the, intervals with an open balustrade. The National Bank, in St. Bernard'sstreet, is an elegant building likewise in the Grecian style, two stories in height. The centre of its main front has a semicircular projecting portico of four Ionic columns, sustaining an entablature and cornice continued round the building, and surmounted by a graceful dome; and the front on each side of the portico is embellished with pilasters of corresponding character. In the Tolbooth wynd is the market-place, which is well arranged, provided with convenient stalls, and plentifully supplied with fish and with provisions of all kinds. Facility of communication is maintained with Edinburgh and the neighbourhood by roads kept in excellent order; and a branch of the Edinburgh and Dalkeith railway, four miles in length, has its terminus here, contiguous to which are spacious inclosed yards belonging to the proprietors of the several collieries in the vicinity, whence the inhabitants are chiefly supplied with coal. In July, 1844, an act was obtained for the extension of the Edinburgh and Trinity-pier railway, now called the Edinburgh, Leith, and Granton railway, to Leith and to Granton-pier; these two branch lines have been commenced, and are expected to be completed in 1846, the whole forming a junction with the Edinburgh and Glasgow and the North-British railways.

The burgh, under a succession of charters from the time of David I. to that of Charles II., by which king they were recited and confirmed, was till recently subordinate to the corporation of Edinburgh; and its government was vested in one of the magistrates of that city, who had the title of Admiral of Leith, and in two resident bailies chosen from the inhabitants of Leith by the Edinburgh town-council. Under the provisions of the Municipal act of the 3rd and 4th of William IV., however, the burgh affairs are entrusted to a provost, four bailies, a treasurer, and ten councillors, appointed according to the directions of that act, and exercising jurisdiction independently of Edinburgh. There are four principal chartered incorporations, viz., the Shipmasters, or the Corporation of the Trinity House, the Merchants' Company, the Maltmen, and the Trades. The last is subdivided into the several crafts of wrights, coopers, hammermen, bakers, tailors, cordiners, fleshers, barbers, and weavers, each of which sends a member to the association of conveners, also deemed a separate corporation. The freedom of the burgh is obtained by entrance into one of these four bodies, for which the fees vary extremely according to the age of the person; in some, from £50 to £150 for strangers, about half that sum for sons and sons-in-law of freemen, and for apprentices from £20 to £30: in other companies the fees are very inconsiderable. The provost is admiral, and the bailies are deputy-admirals, of Leith; they hold courts of admiralty, and, as magistrates of the burgh, courts for the determination of civil pleas: there is also a sheriff's court. The police of the town is under the superintendence of commissioners, consisting of the provost and magistrates of Edinburgh and Leith, the masters of the several corporations, and others chosen by inhabitants renting houses of £15 per annum. There is a separate police for the docks, appointed by the dock commissioners.

The Town Hall, erected in 1827, at about the centre of Constitution-street, is a handsome building comprising convenient rooms for holding the sheriff's courts, and offices for transacting the police business of the burgh. The Trinity House, now called the Mariners' Hospital, situated in Kirkgate-street, was erected on the site of the ancient building designated Trinity Hospital, in 1817, at an expense of £2500. It is a handsome structure in the Grecian style, with a portico of two duplicated columns of the Doric order, surmounted by a balustrade, behind which is a Venetian window between duplicated columns of the same order, supporting an entablature and cornice, which are continued round the building, and are crowned in the centre by a triangular pediment having in the tympanum the emblems of navigation, well sculptured. On each side, the front is ornamented with pilasters, between which are handsome windows. In the hall where the masters hold their meetings are some good paintings, including portraits of the queen regent, Lord Duncan, and others; and in another of the rooms is an ancient view of the town. The Council Chambers, which have been rebuilt on the site of the ancient structure, form a neat building in the Norman style of architecture, and contain several well-aired apartments for the confinement of prisoners, besides the burgh court-house. In conjunction with Newhaven, Portobello, and Musselburgh, the burgh returns a member to parliament.

The parish of North Leith once belonged to the abbey of Holyrood, from which it was separated in 1606; and in 1630, the baronies of Newhaven and Hillhousefield were severed from the parish of St. Cuthbert, and annexed to this parish, which now extends rather more than a mile and a half along the shore of the Frith, and is about a quarter of a mile in average breadth, containing a population of 8492. The lands in the rural district are all inclosed, and, with the exception of a few acres of arable land, are laid out in gardens, and in pleasure-grounds and plantations attached to the numerous villas with which the parish abounds: towards Newhaven, the sea has made very considerable encroachments. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Edinburgh and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale; patrons, the heads of families. The minister's stipend, including the vicarage tithe on fish, is £285, with an allowance of £60 in lieu of manse, and a glebe valued at £394 per annum, subject to deductions for repairs. The church, erected by the heritors, in 1815, at an expense of £9000, and situated to the south-east of the fort, is an elegant structure in the Grecian style of architecture, after a design by Mr. Burn, with a stately portico of four Ionic columns, supporting a triangular pediment. Above is a tower of three diminishing stages, of which the first is of the Doric, the second of the Ionic, and the third of the Corinthian order; and this tower is surmounted by an elegant spire rising to the height of 158 feet from the pavement. The interior of the edifice is well arranged, and contains 1768 sittings, of which fifty-four are free. There are also places of worship for members of the Free Church and United Secession. The parochial school is well conducted; the master has a salary of £21, with a house and garden, and the fees average about £8 per annum. There are several other schools, of which four are supported by subscription.

The parish of South Leith, which is much more extensive than North Leith, includes the villages of Jock'sLodge and Restalrig, the late quoad sacra district of St. John's, and part of the late quoad sacra districts of Glenorchy and Portobello; and contains a population of 19,776, of whom 3428 are in St. John's. It is about three miles in length, from the harbour of Leith, on the eastern bank of the river, to the confines of Portobello, and is about a mile and a half in breadth, comprising 1200 acres, and including the east side of Leith Walk, the Calton Hill, the North Back of the Canongate, and other portions of the environs of Edinburgh. The rural district, with the exception of the Calton Hill, consists of rich arable land in high cultivation, and of fertile meadows, extensive nursery-grounds, and vegetable, fruit, and flower gardens; it is thickly interspersed with stately mansions surrounded by plantations and pleasure-grounds, and with numerous villas inhabited by opulent families. The ministerial charge is collegiate: the stipend of the first minister, who is appointed by the Crown, is £395. 19. 11., with an allowance of £80 in lieu of manse, and a glebe valued at £80 per annum; the stipend of the second minister, appointed by the Kirk Session and Incorporations, is £247. 1. 2., without either manse or glebe. The church, originally the chapel of the Virgin Mary, was made parochial in 1609, when the parish church of Restalrig was destroyed as a monument of idolatry, by order of the first General Assembly after the Reformation. It is a very ancient structure, erected prior to the year 1490, and has suffered no alteration, except in 1791, when a gallery that obstructed the light was removed; it contains 1717 sittings, of which 150 are free. The church dedicated to St. John was erected by subscription in 1773. A church dedicated to St. Thomas, with a residence for the minister, was erected and endowed in 1840, in connexion with an asylum for sick poor and some schools, by John Gladstone, Esq., of Fasque, a native of the town, at an expense of £10,000. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style; and the asylum, in which is accommodation for ten patients, and the schools, form a neat range of buildings of a similar character; the whole after a design by Mr. Henderson. There are five preaching stations, where divine service is performed by the missionaries, who are licentiates of the Established Church, and have a stipend of £50 each. The episcopal chapel dedicated to St. James was erected by subscription in 1805, at a cost of £1600; it is a handsome structure in the Grecian style of architecture, with a receding portico in the centre, and two slightly-projecting wings ornamented in the upper part with duplicated columns, and crowned by a parapet divided into compartments by pedestals supporting urns. The interior is well arranged, and contains 380 sittings. There also are two places of worship for members of the Free Church, two for the United Secession, one for the members of the Relief, two for Independents, and one for Wesleyans.

The High School, situated in the south-west part of the Links, in the immediate vicinity of the town, is under the direction of the magistrates of the burgh, the heads of the various corporations, and the ministers of the parish, to whom, as trustees, were paid over their share of Dr. Bell's bequest for the foundation of burgh schools on the Madras system, namely £4894. 16. 8. three per cent. consols, and £4895. 16. 8. bank annuities. The school is conducted principally by a classical master and an assistant, a mathematical master, two masters for English, and one for writing and arithmetic, who, in addition to the fees, receive certain salaries from the trustees. There were lately added an English master with a salary of £50, and a writing-master with a salary of £30, paid from Dr. Bell's endowment; and these teach on the Madras system. The building, erected in 1805, by subscription, is a handsome structure two stories in height, with two projecting porticos of two columns each, rising from a rustic basement; it is surmounted by a square turret, ornamented at the angles with columns of the Ionic order, and crowned by a graceful dome. The hall, and the several class rooms, are spacious and well arranged. There are various other schools, of which one for 120 boys, another for 80 girls, and an infant school in which are 170 children under the management of ladies, are supported by voluntary subscription. The Hospital of King James, to which James VI. in 1612 transferred the funds of the ancient preceptory of St. Anthony, with other endowments, has been long under the patronage of the Kirk Session, for the relief of poor widows, and indigent members of the several corporations. There are also a dispensary, a humane society, and various other religious and benevolent associations, including a Bible Society, a British and Foreign Bible Society, a Sabbath School Society, and a Religious Tract Society.

Leith-Lumsden

LEITH-LUMSDEN, a village, in the parish of Auchindoir and Kearn, Alford district of the county of Aberdeen; containing 233 inhabitants. This village has sprung up within the last twenty-five years, and is the only one in the parish: the population is agricultural.

Leith, St. John's

LEITH, ST. JOHN'S, lately a quoad sacra parish, in the parish of South Leith, county of Edinburgh, 1½ mile (N. by E.) from Edinburgh; containing 3428 inhabitants. This parish was separated for ecclesiastical purposes by act of the General Assembly in 1834; it was about three-quarters of a mile in length, and one-quarter of a mile in breadth, and entirely occupied by the buildings of the town. The stipend of the minister is £250, of which £200 are secured by bond of the managers, on the part of the congregation, who are the patrons, and the remainder is variable according to the state of the funds. The church, erected by subscription in 1773, is a neat structure containing 1000 sittings, of which sixty are free. There is a place of worship for a congregation denominated Separatists. A school is supported by the Kirk Session; and there are numerous Sabbath schools, in which about 500 children receive instruction.

Leith, Water Of

LEITH, WATER OF, a village, in that part of the parish of St. Cuthbert, city of Edinburgh, which formed the late quoad sacra parish of Dean, county of Edinburgh; containing 1024 inhabitants. This place is in the immediate vicinity of the Leith Water, whence the name; and is a western suburb of the city of Edinburgh, which see.

Leitholm

LEITHOLM, a village, in the parish of Eccles, county of Berwick, 5 miles (N. W.) from Coldstream; containing 365 inhabitants. It lies in the eastern extremity of the parish, near the Leet water, the boundary on that side, and is on the high road from Kelso to Berwick. This is the largest village in the parish, and has a by-post to Coldstream.

Lempitlaw

LEMPITLAW, a village, in the parish of Sprouston, district of Kelso, county of Roxburgh, 2½ miles (S. E.) from Sprouston; containing 119 inhabitants. This place was the head of the barony of Lempitlaw, which was formerly a distinct parish; at what particular time it was annexed to the parish of Sprouston is not exactly known. The village is on the road from Kelso to Coldstream, a short distance from the Tweed, which flows westward of it, and consists chiefly of a few small farmhouses in detached situations, and about twenty-five neatly-built cottages, inhabited by persons principally employed in husbandry.

Lennoxtown

LENNOXTOWN, a village, in the parish of Campsie, county of Stirling, 3 miles (N. W. by W.) from Kirkintilloch; containing 2821 inhabitants. This is a considerable place, situated in the centre of the parish, and deriving its name from the family of Lennox, of Woodhead, on whose property it is built. It is about nine miles north of Glasgow, and nearly a mile south of the base of Campsie fells; and the road from Kirkintilloch to the village of Campsie passes through it. On account of its very centrical position, and its proximity to large public works, it has now become the residence of almost one-half of the population of the parish. Here are prepared the various chemical products of the Campsie alum-work, at the east end of the village; and in the neighbourhood are several coal-mines and limekilns. The printing of calico is extensively carried on: indeed, the Lennox-mill printfield is said to be the largest establishment of the kind in Scotland, employing upwards of 700 persons. The Kincaid and Lillyburn printfields, and Clachan and Glenmill bleachfields, are in the vicinity of the village, and are also very extensive concerns, in which a great number of hands are engaged: all these works are within the parish. Numerous individuals are likewise employed in a variety of handicraft trades; and few places are the scenes of greater enterprise and industry. Both sheriff's courts and justice-of-peace courts are held in the village, which is also the polling-place for the district. A postoffice has been established under Glasgow. Among the most striking objects around Lennoxtown, is the elegant and newly-built mansion of Lennox Castle, the residence of J. L. Kincaid Lennox, Esq., the superior of the village; this splendid edifice was commenced in 1837, and completed in 1841, and is in the boldest style of the old Norman architecture. The principal entrance is by a handsome portcochere on the north front; and from the lofty towers, which overtop the aged trees that formerly adorned the ancient mansion-house of Woodhead, is a prospect of considerable extent and beauty. The grounds surrounding the castle are laid out with artistical taste, and plans for their improvement and extension are still in operation. The parochial church, a handsome edifice, built in 1829, is situated here; and a spacious school-house, consisting of two large rooms, one of which is at present used as a juvenile, and the other as an infant school, has lately been erected by Messrs. Lennox and Dalglish, assisted by subscribers, for the benefit of the numerous children in the locality. A Roman Catholic priest resides in the village, for the superintendence of the Irish population in Campsie, amounting to between 600 and 1000 persons; and there is a place of worship for the Relief persuasion.

Lentrathen

LENTRATHEN, Forfarshire.—See Lintrathen.

Leochel and Cushnie

LEOCHEL and CUSHNIE, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 3½ miles (S. S. W.) from Alford; containing 1084 inhabitants. These two ancient parishes, the etymology of the names of which is altogether uncertain, were united in 1618, by a decreet of the lords of Plat; but this union was dissolved about three years subsequently, by the influence of Bishop Patrick Forbes, a central church for the two districts not having been built according to the conditions of the annexation. In 1793, however, a process of annexation was commenced on the part of the heritors; and a decreet was passed by the Court of Teinds on the 28th January, 1795, for the union, in consequence of which, two years afterwards, a central church was built. The earls of Mar appear to have been the first possessors of land in Leochel of whom any account remains, Gilchrist, Earl of Mar, having, between the years 1165 and 1170, given to the church of St. Mary, Monymusk, and the Culdees there, the church of Leochel, with all its tithes and offerings, and the portion of land in which the church was situated. This gift was confirmed and enlarged by some of his successors, and was also ratified by a charter of Alexander II., about the year 1234. The most ancient and the principal estates in the district of Leochel are those of Corse, Craigievar, Easter Fowlis or Fowlis-Mowat, Wester Fowlis, and Lynturk; those in Cushnie are, Cushnie, and Hallhead. The lands of Corse are locally in the adjoining parish of Coull, but are annexed quoad sacra to this parish, a union supposed to have taken place about 1621, when Leochel and Cushnie were disunited by the exertions of Bishop Forbes.

The parish is situated in the upper part of the district of Alford, and is rendered extremely irregular in its outline by a projection on the north-west, and another on the east, independently of which it measures about five miles from east to west, and three and a half from north to south. Its whole extent is 11,208 acres, of which 5455 are arable, 963 pasture, 3790 moor, and 1000 wood. The climate is somewhat cold, causing the harvests to be in general rather later than those in the lower part of the district; and the scenery partakes of the variety and boldness produced by a combination of hills, valleys, and mountains in almost uninterrupted succession. The western boundary is marked by the Soccoch, or hill of Cushnie, a mountain range rising 2000 feet above the level of the sea, and from the base of which four lofty ridges stretch eastward throughout the whole length of the parish, each accompanied by its valley and refreshing stream. The summits of these eminences are barren, the cultivated ground lying on the southern and northern slopes, and in the beds of the valleys, the lowest parts of which are only 500 feet above the level of the sea. The prospects are extensive and beautifully picturesque, especially from the hill of Cushnie, comprehending in the panoramic range the fertile vale of Cromar on the south, backed by the lofty Grampians; Morven and Benavon on the west; the windings of the Don along the valley of Towie, Belrinnes, the Buck of Cabrach, and the Tap of Noth, to the north-west and north; and towards the north-east and east, the vale of Alford, well cultivated and wooded, with the district of Garioch, and the level tracts reaching to the Buchan coast. The locality is well watered with rivulets usually flowing from west to east, and falling into the principal stream, the burn of Leochel, which, after a rather circuitous route of several miles through the parish, falls into the Don at Alford. All these waters abound with trout, especially the Leochel; and frequently, by their sudden and violent floodings, they occasion much damage to the bridges and the adjacent lands.

The soil is in some parts a rich loam, and occasionally exhibits in the valleys, and near the streams, alluvial deposits; but it is in general much mixed with clay, and is incumbent on a retentive clayey subsoil. Grass and turnips succeed best, though a considerable portion of grain is raised, averaging annually in value £8000; and about 500 head of black-cattle are sold yearly. These are of the Aberdeenshire horned or polled breed, and are the chief live-stock, very few sheep being kept. Great improvements have been for some time going forward in most branches of husbandry, which is here practised sometimes by the six-shift, but most frequently according to the seven-shift, course; the farm-buildings are in good condition, and threshing-mills have been considerably multiplied, forty-five being now in operation, besides four meal-mills. The rocks in the parish consist principally of granite, of a red colour in some parts, and in others inclining to grey: limestone has been also found, though in too small quantities to repay the expense of quarrying. The rateable annual value of Leochel and Cushnie is £3298. The plantations are mostly of Scotch fir and larch, but the latter, after about fifteen years' growth, generally falls to decay: the whole of the wood has been planted since the year 1820, with the exception of some fine trees in the vicinity of the several mansions. Craigievar Castle, the seat of Sir John Forbes, Bart., is in perfect repair, having been new-roofed in 1826, and is considered a fine specimen of the old baronial mansion of the period of James VI. The hall, a noble apartment, with its lofty roof, its spacious fireplace, and venerable aspect of feudal grandeur, is particularly admired; and the surrounding grounds, ornamented with ancient ash and beech, render the scenery highly interesting. The house of Cushnie and that of Hallhead are each about 150 years old, and are both dilapidated and untenanted.

The chief manufacture in the parish is that carried on at a carding-mill, where plaids and blankets are made to a small extent. Many aged women are engaged in knitting stockings, from worsted, for a house at Aberdeen, and their joint labours produce an annual return of between £70 and £100. The fuel chiefly in use was formerly peat and turf; but these are now with great difficulty obtained, the mosses in the parish being nearly exhausted, and coal is frequently procured from Aberdeen. The Alford and Aberdeen turnpike-road passes within five miles of the centre of the parish, on the north; and that from Tarland to Aberdeen runs along the southern border of the lands of Corse. A good commutation road joins the Alford line at Whiteley, in the parish of Tough; and the government road from Donside to Deeside intersects the lower part of the parish. The nearest post-offices are those of Alford on the north-east, and Tarland on the south-west, each six miles distant from the middle of the parish. The chief communication for the sale of produce is with the market at Aberdeen. Fairs for cattle, horses, sheep, and wool are held on a moor near Scuttrie, on the estate of Craigievar, in April, May, July, August, and September. Leochel and Cushnie are ecclesiastically in the presbytery of Alford and synod of Aberdeen; and Sir John Forbes, Bart., and the Rev. Henry Thomas Lumsden, proprietor of Cushnie, are alternate patrons of the united parish, as respectively patrons of the two old churches. The minister's stipend is £197, with an allowance in addition from a proprietor, a manse, and a glebe valued at £18 per annum. The church, containing 500 sittings, is, though built as late as 1797, in a dilapidated state. The old churches are unroofed and ruinous; but the grounds attached are still used as burial-places. A small place of worship belonging to the United Associate Synod is situated near the eastern boundary. There are two parochial schools, affording instruction in the ordinary branches: the masters have each the minimum salary, with a house and garden, from £12 to £15 fees, and an allowance of £30 from the Dick bequest. A school is supported by the General Assembly, and two others by endowment, the one school by a bequest of £300 from the late Peter and Charles Ritchie, of Wester Leochel, and other persons, and the other school by the late Peter Mc Combie, Esq., of Lynturk. There is a small library belonging to each of the two districts; and considerable benefactions have been made for the use of the poor. About the year 1826, a gold coin of the Roman Emperor Constantius was dug up in Cushnie; and in 1839, a silver one of James VI., struck after the union of the crowns, was found near the manse. The chief antiquities are, several subterraneous places called Picts' houses, some intrenchments on the hill of Corse, and the ruins of the castles of Lynturk and Corse. Patrick Forbes, Bishop of Aberdeen, a prelate distinguished for his learning and piety; and his son, Dr. John Forbes, professor of divinity in King's College, Aberdeen, were both proprietors of Corse; and the latter was buried in the family aisle at Leochel. Dr. Matthew Lumsden, the celebrated Orientalist, and professor of Persian and Arabic in the college of Fort-William, Bengal, belonged to the ancient family of Lumsden, of Cushnie. Sir John Forbes is styled a Baronet from the property of Craigievar.

Leonard's, St.

LEONARD'S, ST., a parish, in the district of St. Andrew's, county of Fife; containing 554 inhabitants. This parish derives its name from the dedication of its ancient church, and appears to have had its origin in the frequent pilgrimages made by large numbers of devotees to visit the relics of St. Andrew, deposited by Regulus, a Grecian monk, in the church of St. Andrew in the city of that name. The conventual buildings were then wholly inadequate for the accommodation of these pilgrims; and to remedy this deficiency, a house was erected for their entertainment, with a church and other requisite appendages, forming together the hospital of St. Leonard, under the patronage of the prior and brethren of the Augustine monastery, by whom it was endowed, and within whose jurisdiction it was situated. After the practice of visiting the relics of departed saints had begun to subside, the hospital was converted into a college, in connexion with the university of St. Andrew's; and its original endowment was appropriated to the maintenance of a principal, four chaplains, and twentysix scholars, of whom six, under the direction of the principal, were to devote themselves exclusively to the study of theology. This college was afterwards united to that of St. Salvator; and the buildings and grounds of the ancient hospital of St. Leonard were sold, and the edifice subsequently converted into two separate dwelling-houses, forming handsome residences for the respective proprietors.

The parish is principally within the limits of the city of St. Andrew's, to which it forms an appendage, and with which in all civil matters it is intimately connected. That part of it not surrounded by the city is bounded on the north by the parish of St. Andrew's; on the east by the parish of Kingsbarns; on the south by Crail; and on the west by Denino. The surface of the rural district is pleasingly diversified, and the soil generally fertile; the whole number of acres is 981, of which about 650 are arable and in a state of profitable cultivation, and 300 in pasture and waste land. There is very little natural wood; and the parish contains few plantations of any extent. The system of agriculture is in an improved condition, and the crops are, oats, barley, wheat, potatoes, and turnips; the lands are partially inclosed, and the farm houses and offices in general substantially built and commodious. The substrata are chiefly freestone and sandstone; the former, though soft, is of good quality, and very durable, and both are quarried for building and other purposes. The principal landed proprietors are, the principal and masters of the united colleges of St. Salvator and St. Leonard, and the corporation of the city of Glasgow. The rateable annual value of the parish is £797. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of St. Andrew's and the synod of Fife: patron, the Crown. The stipend of the incumbent was formerly five chalders arising from the revenues of the priory of St. Andrew's, and the rent of half an acre of land bequeathed about 200 years since for the support of the minister; but, by act of parliament for the augmentation of small livings, passed in 1810, it has been raised to £150 per annum, of which £88 are received from the exchequer. There was neither manse nor glebe; but, within the last few years, a glebe of four acres, with half an acre additional for the site of a manse, has been appropriated, and is at present let for £18 per annum. The church, once belonging to the hospital of St. Leonard, and for more than two centuries the parish church, having fallen into a state of dilapidation, the chapel of St. Salvator's College has been since appropriated as the church of the parish. This chapel, erected by Bishop Kennedy in the fifteenth century, was, previously to its being mutilated at the time of the Reformation, an elegant and spacious structure in the decorated English style of architecture; and it still retains much of its original character, though greatly curtailed in its dimensions, and stripped of many of its ornaments. It is well adapted for a congregation of nearly 500 persons. There is no school of any kind; the children receive instruction in the various schools of the city of St. Andrew's. The walls of the old parish church are still in a state of good preservation, and within the area are numerous monuments, erected to the memory of individuals connected with the college, but which, from the perishable nature of the stone, are rapidly falling into decay. The tower and spire were taken down soon after the chapel of St. Salvator's College was appropriated as the parish church.—See Andrew's, St.

Lerwick

LERWICK, a parish, sea-port, burgh, and market-town, and the county-town, in the Shetland Isles; containing 3284 inhabitants, of whom 2787 are in the town, 95 miles (N. E.) from Kirkwall, 126 (N. E. by N.) from Wick, 166 (N.) from Peterhead, and 272 (N. by E.) from Edinburgh. This place, which has long been celebrated as the resort of whale-ships, Dutch herring-boats, and numerous foreign and wind-bound vessels, originated in the seventeenth century, in connexion with the Dutch fishermen. Capt. Smith, however, who visited the islands in 1633, describes the harbour, but makes no allusion to the town, and in 1700 it contained not many more than 200 families. It is situated on the eastern shore of Mainland, opposite the island of Bressay, from which it is separated by the narrowest part of Bressay sound, otherwise called Lerwick harbour, and well known to mariners who navigate these seas as a secure roadstead in stormy weather. The town is built on a tract originally covered with deep peat-moss, called the Commonty of Sound, and consists of one principal street leading to the harbour, from which avenues or lanes branch off at different places. The most ancient houses are constructed without any regularity, projecting from the line of parallelism, and nearly meeting each other by their abutment. Many improvements, however, have been made within the present century; and several houses have been erected in a more modern style, and with a greater regard to order, by which the general appearance of the town has been much altered. The gradual increase of the population led to the cutting up of the peaty soil of the surrounding land, for the purposes of fuel, in consequence of which the ground exhibited a rocky or stony exterior; but the aspect of the vicinity has, since the year 1820, been rendered more attractive by the inclosure of a common of about forty acres, encompassing the town, and by its partition into thirty-one parks, most of which are under grass. Considerable portions, also, of adjacent land have been brought into useful and ornamental cultivation by resident gentlemen, at a great expense; and neat and elegant houses and cottages have been raised, which are surrounded by well laid-out grounds and small but flourishing plantations. Among these villas is that of Gremista, the occasional residence of Sir Arthur Nicolson. A fort, said to have been erected in Cromwell's time, is situated on an eminence at the northern end of the town, and serves for the protection of the harbour at its entrance in that part. It was thoroughly repaired in 1781, when it was named FortCharlotte, after Her Majesty, the consort of George III.; and it was garrisoned till the peace of 1783. For the defence of the southern entrance of the sound, a government road has been formed, commencing half a mile south from the town, and reaching to a promontory called the Knab: by this road, the transit of artillery or military stores can be effected at any time.

The inhabitants are occupied partly in agricultural operations, and as shopkeepers and merchants, but chiefly in the ling, cod, and herring fisheries, the last of which engrosses considerable attention, though for some years it has not been attended with very great success. The ling-fishery, which continues from May to the middle of August, engages a few boats from this parish; and many sloops of small burthen are employed in the summer time in taking cod. To the herring-fishery, 174 boats were sent in 1839, chiefly from Lerwick. Independently of the fisheries, there is scarcely any traffic carried on beyond that arising from a good general mercantile business; and the only manufacture is that of various articles of hosiery, such as stockings and gloves, made by girls and women. A straw-plat manufactory formerly existed here; but it has long been discontinued. The making of herring-nets, however, which has been introduced into some neighbouring parishes, is considered, on account of the demand for the article, likely to be successful here, and is about to be commenced under the auspices of the leading residents. The general mercantile business transacted is very considerable; almost the whole exported produce of Shetland passes through the hands of the Lerwick merchants, and they import nearly all the groceries and manufactured goods used in the islands. The town contains a branch of the Union Bank of Scotland. Several schooners having accommodation for passengers are engaged in the coasting trade between Lerwick and Leith; it has a mail-packet to Aberdeen in winter, and steam communication with the Frith of Forth during summer. The exports are chiefly fish, butter, hides, tallow, calf and rabbit skins, and stockings; and the imports, coal, cloth, groceries, and grain. This being the seat of the custom-house, all Shetland vessels are registered here: the number belonging to Lerwick is about seventy, and their tonnage 2016 in the aggregate. The customs received at the port during the year 1844, amounted to £463. Several vessels have been built here by Messrs. Hay and Ogilvy, some of which are of 100 and 200 tons.

This is the county-town of the Shetland Isles, and the sheriff-substitute of this division of the united sheriffdoms of Orkney and Shetland resides, and holds his courts, here. The foreign cod and herring fishermen assemble at Lerwick in great numbers; and by an act of the 48th of George III., it was made the rendezvous of the British deep-sea herring fishermen, who are inspected here previously to their engaging in the fishery. For the furtherance of this object, by the establishment of a resident magistracy, a royal charter was granted in January, 1818, erecting the town into a burgh of barony, by which the council is declared to consist of two bailies and nine councillors, to be elected every three years, on the first Thursday in September. The bailies and council, as well as the electors, or burgesses, must be proprietors or occupants of premises of the value of £10 per annum, and must all reside within the burgh. At the time of the passing of the late Municipal Corporations act, the rental of property within the burgh was estimated at £3600; and the number of persons resident whose rents in property or tenancy amounted to £10 and upwards, was fortyeight, of whom forty-one were burgesses, and the rest females or minors. The annual income of the corporation does not exceed £5, and the expenditure is about £15, the excess of the latter over the former being provided for by a voluntary assessment of the inhabitants, as the magistrates are not empowered to raise any taxes for the support of the municipal establishment. By the statute 35 George III. c. 122, the magistrates consider themselves vested with the jurisdiction reserved to independent burghs of barony under the statute 20 George II. c. 43, and with other powers within the burgh competent to justices of the peace. Weekly burgh-courts are held under the Small-debt act; and there are courts, when necessary, for the punishment of offences and the removal of nuisances. A treasurer is appointed by the magistrates and council; and a fiscal, peaceofficer, and town-crier by the magistrates alone. There being no local act, the inhabitants have adopted the general police act in regard to its provisions for cleansing, paving, and the supplying of water; and for these purposes they assess themselves in the sum of sixpence in the pound.

The parish stretches along the coast, and measures about six miles in length, from north to south, and one mile in breadth. It is separated by the sea on the east and north-east from the island of Bressay, which here forms the harbour of Bressay Sound, at the northern extremity of which, not far from the shore, rises the dangerous rock called the Unicorn. The surface of the parish, as well as that of the surrounding country, is rocky and mountainous, the highest point reaching about 300 feet above the level of the sea; the soil on the elevated grounds is a deep peaty moss, and that of the arable land, which lies in patches along the sea-shore, light and sandy, and tolerably productive. The rocks consist of sandstone and conglomerate, and a quarry is in operation. The rateable annual value of the parish is £7006. It is in the presbytery of Lerwick and synod of Shetland, and in the patronage of the Earl of Zetland: the minister's stipend is £150 per annum, with an allowance of £8. 5. 9. for communion elements. Of these sums, £27. 15. 6. are derived from the bishopric rents of Orkney, £16. 13. 4. from the town of Lerwick, £23. 0. 8. from lands in the rural district, and £90. 16. 3. from the exchequer, under the Small-stipend act. There being neither manse nor glebe, a compensation of £50 per annum is paid by the heritors in lieu thereof. The church is a modern edifice, with a Doric front of hewn stone, and stands above the town, towards the northern extremity. The salary of the parochial schoolmaster is £34. 4. 8. per annum, with about £30 fees. The ruins of several chapels were recently visible at Gulberwick; but the only relic of antiquity of any note now remaining is a castle of Pictish origin, on a small island in a lake near Lerwick; and this is fast falling to decay.

Leslie

LESLIE, a parish, in the district of Garioch, county of Aberdeen, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Old Rain, containing 553 inhabitants. This place is said to have derived its name from a family who held the lands so early as the eleventh century. It is very pleasantly situated on the banks of the Gady, a beautiful stream celebrated by Arthur Johnstone, the elegant Latin poet; and was erected into a burgh of barony by James II. in favour of George, "dominus de Lesly," with the privilege of holding a weekly market on Thursday, and a yearly fair at Michaelmas, both of which, however, have long since been disused. The parish measures three and a half miles in length and two and a half in breadth, and comprises 4000 acres, 2800 of which are cultivated. It is crossed by a ridge, in some parts considerably elevated, stretching from east to west, and dividing it into two nearly equal parts, between which, and the high grounds separating the parish from the Alford district, is a valley watered by the Gady. The climate is moist and variable. The soil upon the north of the river is a light loam, on a gravelly or sandy bottom; and that upon the other side, a strong rich mould, incumbent on clay. The lands are well farmed, the seven-shift course generally prevailing; and they produce good crops of grain and turnips. The sheep are a cross between the Leicesters and Cheviots, and the cattle are the native Aberdeenshire, the latter producing yearly about £1620. The only landed proprietors are Sir Andrew Leith Hay and Colonel F. Leith. The substratum consists principally of serpentine rock, with felspar, quartz, and a variety of minerals in small portions. There is no good wood, the only plantation being very small and not in a flourishing state. The fuel used is, peat obtained from a moss in the parish, and coal from Inverury. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in agricultural pursuits, there being no manufacture with the exception of that of worsted stockings, in the knitting of which the aged females are particularly expert. The farm-produce is sold at Huntly and Inverury; but chiefly at the latter, for conveyance to Aberdeen by canal; and there are two commutation roads, the one running parallel with the Gady, by Premnay, to the turnpike-road between Inverury and Aberdeen, and the other, in the direction of Kinnethmont, joining the turnpike-road to Huntly. The rateable annual value of the parish is £2472. It is in the presbytery of Garioch and synod of Aberdeen, and in the patronage of Sir Andrew Leith Hay: the minister's stipend is £159, of which nearly a third is paid from the exchequer, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £11. 5. per annum. The church, containing nearly 300 sittings, is situated on the southern bank of the Gady, not far from the eastern extremity of the parish; it was built in 1815. There is a place of worship for Independents. The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches: the master has a salary of £25. 13. 4., and £2. 2. 9. in lieu of a garden, with about £13 fees; also £1. 13. 4. left for teaching the children of poor widows. The chief relic of antiquity is Leslie House, formerly the seat of the barons of Leslie, a castellated building now ruinous, founded in 1661, and once inclosed by a rampart and fosse. The parish confers the title of Baron on the Earl of Rothes.

Leslie

LESLIE, a parish and manufacturing town, in the district of Kirkcaldy, county of Fife; containing 3625 inhabitants, of whom 2000 are in the town, 9 miles (N. by W.) from Kirkcaldy, and 20 (N.) from Edinburgh. This place is by some writers supposed to have derived its name from the Gaelic Lis, a garden, or richly-cultivated spot, and from its situation on the river Leven; others, however, deduce it from the earls of Rothes, who became possessed of certain lands here, to which they gave their family name, and from which that appellation was in process of time extended to the whole parish. At the period of the Roman invasion of Britain, the Caledonians, who are said to have defeated the ninth legion on the Orr, disputed the passage of the Leven at this place, and on being repulsed, retired to the heights of Lomond, while the Romans encamped on the heights of Balsillie, in the western confines of the parish, where both Roman and Caledonian battle-axes and other warlike instruments have been discovered. The parish appears to have been distinguished at an early period as a favourite resort of the Scottish kings, for hunting and the celebration of various sports; and many of the lands are still called by appellations referring, in their Gaelic origin, to these games, which seem to have been continued till within a very recent period. The earls of Rothes, of whom one was created a duke by Charles II., granted the inhabitants numerous privileges by a charter which erected the place into a burgh of barony; and their descendants still retain possession of their ancient lands, the property of the present earl.

The parish is about five miles in length and from three to four miles in breadth, and is bounded on the south by the river Leven, which separates it from the parish of Kinglassie; it comprises nearly 6000 acres, of which 4300 are arable, 1000 meadow and pasture, and thirty undivided common. The surface is pleasingly undulating from the bank of the Leven to the heights of Lomond, and is intersected by two streams that flow into that river from the north and west respectively, enlivening the scenery, which is otherwise agreeably varied, and richly embellished with the plantations in the grounds of Leslie House, Strathendry, and other handsome seats. The Leven issues from the lake of that name, and, after a course of about twelve miles through a fertile and highly-cultivated district, falls into the sea at the thriving town of Leven. The banks of this river abound with beautiful scenery; and its stream gives motion to numerous mills, and affords an abundant supply of excellent water for the bleachfields in the parish, and for other works that have been erected on its sides. Previously to the establishment of the bleachfields, the river abounded with trout and eels of remarkably fine size and flavour; and so abundant were the latter that the lands of Strathendry, before the dissolution of monasteries, paid a tribute of many thousand eels annually to the abbey of Inchcolm, on which they were dependent. The soil is every where rich and fertile, and the lands are in the highest state of cultivation under an improved system of husbandry; the crops are, barley, oats, wheat, potatoes and turnips, with the usual green crops. The farm-buildings are substantial and well arranged; great improvements have been made in draining and inclosing the lands; the fences on some farms are hedges of thorn, and on others stone dykes, and both are kept in good order. The plantations are ash, elm, beech, oak, and silver fir, with some larch and sycamore; the trees on the Leslie estate are remarkably fine, and leading to the house is a noble avenue of beech, of more than two hundred years' growth, several of the trees measuring nearly seventeen feet in girth at a height of four feet from the ground. The substratum is generally whinstone, interspersed in places with gravel and sand, which rest upon it to a considerable depth; lime-stone, is also prevalent, and quarried for manure; and in the eastern part of the parish, coal is found, but the mines have been nearly exhausted, and are not wrought to any great extent. The rateable annual value of the parish is £5488. Leslie House, the seat of the Earl of Rothes, a noble quadrangular mansion erected by the Duke of Rothes in the reign of Charles II., was mostly destroyed by an accidental fire in 1763; but a remaining side of the quadrangle, forming the present residence, was repaired by John, Earl of Rothes, in 1767. It is beautifully situated in a tastefully-disposed and richly-embellished demesne, comprehending much interesting and picturesque scenery, and through part of which the Leven winds its course between banks crowned with flourishing plantations. The house contains many stately apartments, with a valuable collection of paintings and family portraits, and some beautiful tapestry: among the subjects of the last are, the Story of Leander, the Journey of the Children of Israel through the Wilderness, and the Anointing of Saul by Samuel. Strathendry is a handsome spacious mansion in the Elizabethan style, erected within the last few years; it is pleasantly situated in a wide domain, and has thriving plantations, chiefly of modern growth.

The town is neatly built, and mostly inhabited by persons employed in manufactures and in agriculture. The weaving of linen is one of the chief branches of trade, in which nearly 300 persons are engaged, for the manufacturers of Glasgow: there are six mills for spinning flax, affording occupation to more than 800 persons; and three bleachfields, in which almost 150 are occupied. Prinlaws, a very considerable village, has arisen since the recent establishment of an extensive flax-mill and bleaching-ground by John Fergus, Esq.; it contains 760 inhabitants, chiefly employed in the works. The houses, to each of which is attached a garden, are neatly built, and ornamented with shrubs and evergreens. Fairs are held on the first Thursday in April, O. S., for milchcows and horses, and the 10th of October for lean stock; the former of these is numerously attended, but the latter has been for some years declining. The town, as a burgh of barony, is under the government of two bailies and a council of sixteen; but they exercise no jurisdiction of any consequence, except in matters of police. A circulating library is supported by subscription, under the management of a committee. A daily penny-post has been established between this place and Markinch; and facility of intercourse with the adjacent towns is maintained by good roads, kept in repair by statute labour. The parish is in the presbytery of Kirkcaldy and synod of Fife, and in the patronage of the Earl of Rothes: the stipend of the incumbent is £257. 8. 6., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £18 per annum. The church situated in the centre of the parish, is a neat and substantial edifice, with aspire, erected in 1820, and adapted for a congregation of nearly 1000 persons, including 300 free seats. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church and United Secession, the former very lately erected. The parochial school affords a liberal education; the master has a salary of £34, with £38 fees, and an allowance in lieu of a house and garden. The poor have the interest of funds belonging to the Kirk Session for their use, and producing annually about £30. Leslie Green, in the parish, is said to have been the scene of King James' poem of Christ's Kirk on the Green. Upon several of the eminences are large erect stones, on the removal of one of which, some time since, a coffin containing human bones was discovered. On these eminences, which are generally called Knowes, and, in allusion to some warlike exploits, also distinguished by proper names, other relics of antiquity have at various times been found: on the Gallant Knowe, near Strathendry, an urn of Roman pottery was discovered in 1760. Near Pitcairn House, a tumulus was opened in 1770, in which was a kistvaen containing a great number of human bones; and at the eastern extremity were two urns of blueish clay, filled with bones which had evidently been burnt. A fragment of a deer's horn, nine inches and a half in circumference at the widest end, has been found in a bed of gravel, at seven feet below the surface. Arrow-heads of flint, and the head of a spear apparently belonging to a standard, have been also found here.

Lesmahago

LESMAHAGO, a parish, in the Upper ward of the county of Lanark, 6 miles (S. W. by W.) from Lanark, and 22 (S. S. E.) from Glasgow; including the villages of Abbey-Green and Turfholm, Boghead, Crossford, Hazelbank, Kirkfield-Bank, Kirkmuirhill, and New Trows; and containing 6902 inhabitants. This place is supposed to have derived its appellation from a Celtic term signifying "garden," and from the name of its tutelar saint, who is said to have had a cell here about the 6th century. In 1140, a monastery was founded by David I. for Tyronensian monks, wherein he placed brethren from his abbey of Kelso, to which it became subordinate: the last remains were removed on the erection of the present church. The Parish is about twelve miles in length and nearly eight in breadth; it is bounded on the north-east by the river Clyde, and comprises 42,840 acres, of which 26,900 are arable, 1500 woodland and plantations, 600 coppice, and the remainder moorland pasture, and waste. The surface is generally elevated, and towards the west and south-west rises into a range of hills, forming a boundary between the counties of Lanark and Ayr; the highest of these hills are 1200 feet above the level of the sea, and all afford excellent pasture for sheep. The chief rivers besides the Clyde are, the Poniel water, which has its source in the south-west of the parish, and, after a course of more than seven miles, falls into the Douglas; the Logan, Nethan, and Kype waters, which rise in the hills on the west, and, receiving numerous smaller streams, join the Clyde; and the Cander, which, traversing the parish for a few miles, flows into the Avon at the parish of Stonehouse. The banks of the Nethan are richly ornamented with plantations, and studded with handsome villas and neat farm-houses. The Kype displays little beauty in its course, and frequently, after rains, descending from the higher lands with impetuous violence, does much damage to the cultivated plains. There are springs of excellent water in various parts, several possessing medicinal properties; many of them issue in streams sufficiently powerful to give motion to mills and machinery. The falls of the Clyde are noticed in the account of the parish of Lanark, which is separated from this parish by the river.

The soil is chiefly clay of a yellow colour, with tracts of lighter and more friable quality, and some portions of gravel and sand; the crops are, grain of all kinds, potatoes, and turnips. The system of husbandry is advanced; draining has been practised to a considerable extent; the lands have been inclosed, chiefly with hedges of thorn, &c., but partly with stone dykes; and the farmhouses have within the last few years been greatly improved. Much attention is paid to the management of the dairy and the breeding of cattle; the cheese made on the several dairy-farms is principally the Dunlop kind. The cattle are of the Ayrshire breed: the sheep, of which large numbers are fed in the hilly pastures, are the old black-faced, these being better adapted to the nature of the soil than the Cheviots. A moderate number of horses, chiefly for agricultural uses, are annually bred, and are in much repute for strength and agility. The woods are judiciously managed, and the plantations are also kept in good order, and are very flourishing; the annual produce from both is estimated at about £700 per annum. The substratum is principally coal, which is wrought in several parts. A fine kind of cannel coal is found at Auchinheath; it occurs in seams varying from ten to twenty inches in thickness, and is sent in considerable quantities to the gas-works in Glasgow and other places. The rocks are chiefly whinstone; limestone of good quality is also abundant, and is extensively worked. Ironstone occurs in several places, but not in such abundance as to have led to the establishment of any works; lead-ore, likewise, is supposed to exist, and several attempts have been made to procure it, but hitherto without success: few minerals, indeed, have been found. Petrified shells are thickly imbedded in the limestone, as well as the fossil remains of various animals. The rateable annual value of the parish is £27,056.

Several handsome seats have been erected by heritors residing on their lands, and all of them are embellished with flourishing plantations: Stonebyres is a very splendid mansion, the oldest portion of which was built in 1398, and the most modern in 1844. The inhabitants of the parish are partly employed in the mines and quarries, and in Glasgow manufactures: many of them reside in the villages, which are all separately described. Fairs for hiring servants are held in March and October, and a cattle-fair in the spring. Facility of intercourse with Glasgow and other places is maintained by good roads, which have been greatly improved within the last few years, and of which the turnpike-road from Glasgow to Carlisle, and that from Glasgow to Lanark, pass, the former for eight, and the latter for about five, miles within the parish. A post has been established; and there is a small library, supported by subscription. The parish is in the presbytery of Lanark and synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and in the patronage of the Duke of Hamilton. There are two ministers, the church having been made collegiate at the Reformation: the minister of the first charge has a stipend of £283.4.2., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum; the minister of the second charge has an equal stipend, with a manse, but no glebe. The church, built in 1804, is handsome and substantial, and is adapted for a congregation of 1330 persons. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, and for Independents, the Reformed Presbytery, and the Relief. The parochial school affords a liberal education, and is well attended; the master has a salary of £34, with £45 fees, and a house and garden. A school for teaching girls to read and to sew is supported by subscription; it is situated in the village of Abbey-Green, and is attended by about thirty children. In different parts are several other schools, the masters of which receive annual donations from the heritors, in addition to the fees. The poor have the interest of various funded bequests yielding about £100 per annum; the principal is a bequest of £2600 by the late Dr. White, of Calcutta. There are three friendly societies; which have contributed greatly to reduce the number of applications to the parochial funds; and also a savings' bank, duly encouraged. Some slight remains exist of the ancient castle of Craignethen. Roman coins have been found near the site of a Roman road which has, within the last few years, been totally obliterated by the progress of cultivation; and many ancient cairns have been removed, to furnish materials for stone dykes. A Caledonian battle-axe, and about 100 silver coins of Edward I., were dug up in opening ground for laying down a drain.

Lessudden

LESSUDDEN, a village, in the parish of St. Boswell's, district of Melrose, county of Roxburgh, 4 miles (E. S. E.) from Melrose; containing 399 inhabitants. The name of Lessudden, though often given to the parish, is more appropriately applied to this village. It is probably derived from Edwin, king of Northumbria, who had a fortress here; and in a charter of Robert II., by which the lands were granted to the abbey of Melrose, this place is called Lessedwin, signifying "the manor of Edwin." The village is beautifully situated in the north-eastern part of the parish, adjacent to the south bank of the Tweed, and on the high road from Melrose to Jedburgh; it is built at the east end of a spacious flat green, amid pleasant gardens, and in the neighbourhood of woods that overhang the Tweed. The air is salubrious; and from the advantages the village possesses, it is likely to increase in extent and population. A subscription library, containing more than a thousand volumes, was established here in 1799, under the patronage of Sir David Erskine, of Dryburgh Abbey.

Leswalt

LESWALT, a parish, in the county of Wigton, 4 miles (N. W.) from Stranraer; containing 2712 inhabitants. The name of Leswalt is of doubtful origin, but is supposed to signify "the meadow along the burn." In the reign of James V. the parish was the property of the monks of Tongland, the vicarage then paying a tax of £12. 13. 4., a tenth of its estimated value: at the time of the Reformation the tax was £26. 13. 4. The church was made over to the king in 1587, and by him in 1689 vested in the bishops of Galloway; but when episcopacy was abolished, it became again the property of the crown. The parish is about eight miles in length, and nearly of the same breadth. It has the Irish Channel on the west, Loch Ryan on the east, the parish of Kirkcolm on the north, and Portpatrick on the south; and forms a portion of the peninsula called the Rhyns of Galloway. The surface is for the most part exceedingly hilly, and along the coast rugged and rocky, and frequently broken by immense chasms. There are two large streams, Soleburn and Pooltanton; and a beautiful sheet of water called Loch Naw, which covers a space of thirty acres.

The soil in some parts is rich and productive; but in many others, especially towards the south, it is wet and heavy, having large tracts of moss, totally unfit for tillage, but employed for pasturing sheep and young cattle. The oats produced are estimated at the value of about £6000 yearly: some attention is now paid to the cultivation of wheat, and considerable quantities of potatoes are raised. Much land formerly rough pasture, or waste, has been improved by lime and shell-sand manures and brought into good cultivation; and the care recently taken of the fences and the farm-houses has effected great changes in the appearance of the parish. Black-cattle of the Galloway breed are reared for the English markets; the sheep are chiefly the Cheviot and the black-faced. Greywacke and red sandstone form the principal strata of the parish. Lochnaw Castle, on the border of the loch of the same name, with its plantations and gardens, forms an object of admiration: the only plantations in the parish are those above the castle. There are two villages, Clayhole and Hillhead, forming a part of the suburbs of Stranraer. An excellent road runs through the middle of the parish, branching off in one direction round Loch Naw to Portpatrick, and in another by Kirkcolm to Stranraer. The rateable annual value of Leswalt is £5836. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the government of the presbytery of Stranraer and synod of Galloway, and the patronage is in the Crown. The stipend of the minister is £143, of which nearly a fourth is received from the exchequer; with a manse, built in 1811, and a glebe of nearly twenty acres, valued at about £30 per annum. The church, built in 1828, contains 550 sittings. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship; and there is a parochial school, the master of which has a salary of £25. 13. 3., with £20 fees, and a house and garden. There is also a parochial library of nearly 400 volumes.

Letham

LETHAM, a village, in the parish of Monimail, district of Cupar, county of Fife, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Cupar; containing 383 inhabitants. It is situated in the western part of the parish, about a mile north of the high road from Cupar to Collessie; and is a considerable village, of which the population is chiefly engaged in the weaving of linen. The Independents have a place of worship. A large subscription school was established here in 1821; and there is a miscellaneous circulating library, besides a religious library in the vestry of the parish church, which is about half a mile distant.

Letham

LETHAM, a village, in the parish of Dunnichen, county of Forfar, 5 miles (E. by S.) from Forfar; containing 745 inhabitants. This village, which is of comparatively recent origin, stands principally on the lands of the late George Dempster, Esq., of Dunnichen, by whom the plan of its erection was laid down. It is pleasantly situated, and regularly built, containing many neat and several handsome houses, inhabited chiefly by persons engaged in manufactures, and in the various handicraft trades requisite for the supply of the district. A public library is supported by subscription, and has a collection of more than 500 volumes of works on religion, morals, history, and general literature, several of which were donations from individuals interested in its success. The principal trade carried on is the weaving of the coarse linen cloth called Osnaburghs, and the finer sorts of linen for shirting and sheeting, in which great numbers of females are employed. In connexion with these, a mill has been erected in the Den of Letham, near the village, the works of which are propelled by the Vinney water, for spinning lint and tow into yarn. Several attempts have been made to introduce power-looms, but hitherto without effect, the weaving being still carried on in the houses of the weavers, many of whom have small farms, or portions of land, which they cultivate at their leisure hours for health and amusement. Connected with the manufacture is a linen-hall, which has for some time been appropriated as a schoolroom, and on the Sunday as a place of worship for a congregation of Seceders. The number of children attending the school varies from eighty to 100; and many of the children employed in the spinning-mill are taught the rudiments of general learning. Fairs are held twice in the year, for cattle, and for hiring farm servants. Near the Den of Letham graves have been discovered, containing vast numbers of human bones, and several urns, which crumbled into dust on exposure to the atmosphere.

Lethendy and Kinloch

LETHENDY and KINLOCH, a parish, in the county of Perth, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from Blairgowrie; containing 662 inhabitants. These two ancient parishes were united about the year 1806. The district of Lethendy measures five miles from east to west, and one mile and a half at its greatest breadth, comprising 1633 acres, of which 1486 are well cultivated, and the remainder in plantations, with the exception of a small portion of pasture. The district of Kinloch contains 2824 acres, of which 1503 are cultivated in the best manner, 269 are under plantations, and the remainder waste, or used only for pasturage. Lethendy is bounded on the east by the burn of Lunan, separating it from Blairgowrie; and the land gradually rises from that burn to within a short distance of the western limit, where it exhibits a sudden declivity about half a mile in extent. In Kinloch the surface in general is irregular. There are two large brooks, Lornty burn and Lunan burn; and three sheets of water, called respectively the loch of Drumelie, the Rae loch, and the Fenzies loch. The soil is partly a black mould, inclining in some places to a reddish argillaceous earth, and producing all kinds of crops of excellent quality: in the eastern quarter the lands become more heavy and wet, and the soil is blacker, and not so fertile. Between 200 and 300 head of blackcattle are kept, many of which are fattened for the market. The rateable annual value of the parish is £4489. The principal residences are, the house of Balleid, a very old building; the house of Marlee; and the house of Kinloch, a neat modern structure. The fuel in general use is peat and wood, obtained in the parish; but coal is procured from Fifeshire, and also from Newcastle and Sunderland, through Perth, to which place the agricultural produce is sent, especially potatoes for the London market. The parish is in the presbytery of Dunkeld and synod of Perth and Stirling, and in the patronage of the Crown. The minister's stipend is £211, with a manse, and a glebe of eight acres in Lethendy, valued at £18 per annum, and another of the same extent and value in the Kinloch district. The church of Kinloch is a plain modern structure; that of Lethendy very ancient, and much dilapidated. The members of the Free Church and the United Secession have places of worship. There is a parochial school in each of the two districts, where the usual branches are taught; the master of that of Lethendy receives a salary of £25, with a house and garden, and £12 fees, and the master of the school in Kinloch has a salary of £35, with a house and garden, and £12 fees. The remains of antiquity include the old tower of Lethendy, and a Druidical temple in Kinloch; and a great many tumuli are to be seen in the latter district, called the Haer cairns, on a moor where some suppose the famous battle to have been fought between Agricola and Galgacus.

Lethnott and Navar

LETHNOTT and NAVAR, a parish, in the county of Forfar, 7 miles (N. W.) from Brechin; containing, with the hamlet of Balfield, 400 inhabitants. These two ancient parishes, united in 1723, measure in length, from north-west to south-east, fifteen miles, and are about five miles in average breadth. The whole comprehends only 2324 acres under cultivation, the remainder being extensive hills and moorland in a state of undivided common, and used as sheep-walks. The parish is surrounded by the Grampians on all sides except the east; and among the many lofty hills the most elevated is that of Wirren, or "the Hill of springs." The cultivated portion chiefly forms an irregular glen watered by the West water, a tributary of the North Esk; the lands rise gradually from the stream, and stretch into the hills and mountains. The scenery is improved by about fifteen or twenty acres of wood, disposed in clumps; and in the southern quarter is some level ground, adjacent to rivulets, of which there are several in this and other parts of the parish. The soil in general is clay and loam on a tilly bottom, producing barley and oats, and the usual green crops; but no wheat is ever sown. The higher grounds are not so much loaded with the debris of the hills as the lower, whither it is brought down by the rains and streams; but the soil there is more gravelly, and much thinner, and the value of the farms in the hilly part consequently depends chiefly upon the right to hill pasture. The rotation system of husbandry is followed; and the average rent of arable land is 12s. per acre, the leases running for nineteen years. The inclosures are of stone, and are mostly in good condition; the chief deficiency is in the farm-buildings, which are very indifferent. Vast improvements have taken place within the last twenty-five years, in reclaiming, draining, and liming the lands; and in some districts the extent of ground under tillage has been nearly doubled. The greatest discouragements to the farmers are, the rugged and uneven state of the roads, and the distance of a markettown, the nearest being Brechin, to which, moreover, the road lies across a steep hill. Lord Panmure, the principal proprietor, in order to encourage his tenants in this parish and those of Edzell and Lochlee, several years since instituted an annual show of sheep and cattle, at which premiums are awarded for the best specimens.

The hills consist of clay-slate and mica-schist, upon a bed of gneiss. A vein of blue slate intersects the parish from east to west, extending, as is supposed, from the German Ocean to the Western Isles: this is thought to be a continuation of that found at Dunkeld and Easdale, and it was wrought a few years since for a short time, but the working was discontinued. A little limestone also exists; and in the lower parts of the valley are gravel, sand, clay, marl, and peat. The last partly supplies the inhabitants with fuel; but they also burn a good deal of turf, and coal brought from Montrose, the nearest sea-port town, sixteen miles distant. The rateable annual value of the parish is £1399. It is in the presbytery of Brechin and synod of Angus and Mearns, and in the patronage of the Crown: the minister's stipend is £158, of which nearly a third is received from the exchequer, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum. The church is a plain edifice, built in 1827, and accommodates 250 persons with sittings. The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches; the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and £7 fees. A school, five miles distant from the other, is supported partly by a small endowment, and partly by subscription. Lord Panmure takes one of his titles from Navar.

Leuchars

LEUCHARS, a parish, in the district of St. Andrew's, county of Fife; containing, with the village of Balmullo, 1901 inhabitants, of whom 592 are in the village of Leuchars, 7½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Cupar. This place appears to have derived its name, signifying in the Gaelic language "a marshy flat," from some low grounds to the east and west of the village, which, previously to the draining of the lands, were covered with water during the greater part of the year. It seems to have been the joint property of the earls of Southesk and the family of the Bruces, of Earlshall; but nothing of its origin prior to that period is known; nor has it been connected at any time with events of historical importance. From the style of the older portions of the parish church, it would appear that it was originally founded at a very early time; but by whom, or under what particular religious establishment, is not clear. There was also an ancient chapel dedicated to St. Bennet, which subsisted till the Reformation; but not a vestige of it is remaining. The parish is situated on the bay of St. Andrew's, and is about nine miles in length and five miles at its greatest breadth; it is bounded on the south by the river Eden, and comprises 12,350 acres, of which 7900 are arable, 3780 meadow and pasture, and about 500 woodland and plantations. The surface towards the bay on the east is an extensive level, but towards the west rises by a gradual acclivity to the height of nearly 300 feet above the level of the sea, constituting a range of hills which separate the parish from the parish of Logie: the principal of these hills, within the parish, are, the Lucklaw, the Airdit, and the Craigfoodie. The Eden receives the waters of the Moultry, which intersects the parish from north to south, and also of the Monzie burn, which falls into the Moultry before the influx of that stream into the Eden.

The soil near the sea-shore, which is a dead flat measuring about two miles in breadth, is sandy and comparatively barren, but increases in richness towards the inland parts, where it becomes a deep loam, alternated with extensive beds of strong blue clay. The system of husbandry is in a highly-improved state; and, according to the quality of the soil, a five, six, or eight years' rotation is pursued: the crops are, oats, barley, wheat, potatoes, and turnips, with the usual green crops. The farm houses and offices are substantial and commodious; the lands have been well drained, and inclosed with dykes of stone; and on most of the farms are threshing-mills, of which some are driven by steam. The chief fuel is coal, brought from Newcastle and the Frith of Forth. Great numbers of sheep are fed in the pastures during the summer, and on turnips during the winter; they are of the Leicestershire, Cheviot, and Highland breeds, the last kind generally fattened for the butcher, and the two former kept for breeding. The cattle are of the Teeswater, crossed with the Fifeshire; and the horses mostly of the Clydesdale breed. The plantations are well managed; on the light and sandy soils Scotch fir thrives well, and attains to a stately growth. The substratum is various; to the north-west chiefly whinstone: Lucklaw hill is composed of trap, alternated with greenstone interspersed with veins of calcareous spar and porphyritic felspar; and near the Eden is a stratum of red sandstone, but not sufficiently compact for building purposes. The rateable annual value of the parish is £15,527. The chief mansion-house is Earlshall, a castellated structure of venerable antiquity, part of which is still kept in repair: the walls and roof of the great hall, which is very spacious, are ornamented with heraldic devices, and it displays a fine specimen of baronial grandeur. The grounds are extensive, and embellished with thriving plantations. Pitcullo and Airdit are also castellated mansions, partly fallen into decay. A large number of the working classes are employed in weaving towelling and sheeting for home use, and coarse linens, dowlas, Osnaburghs, and Silesias for the manufacturers of Cupar and Dundee, to be exported to America and the West Indies: 130 looms are constantly in operation. A distillery at Seggie, on the bank of the Eden, for many years previously to 1836 consumed 100 quarters of grain daily, affording employment to about 100 persons. On the Moultry and the Monzie burn are meal and barley mills, driven by those streams; and there are mills in the parish for linseed, oatmeal, and for sawing timber. The village of Leuchars is extensive, and neatly built, and appears to have increased since the conversion of the tract of land called the Tents Moor into farms, and the consequent removal of numerous cottages on it, the occupants of which now reside in the recently-erected houses. It is pleasantly situated, and has a cheerful and healthy appearance; the surrounding scenery, also, is diversified. The inhabitants, who are chiefly employed in weaving, and in the trades requisite for the supply of the parish, have facility of intercourse with the neighbouring market-towns by means of good turnpike-roads, by which the village is intersected. The Eden is navigable for vessels of considerable tonnage to Guardbridge, near the village, where a small harbour has been constructed for the convenience of trade; and at Seggie is a pier for the use of the distillery there. A large number of salmon are taken during the season; and near the mouth of the river are extensive beds of muscles, which are let to tenants who bestow great attention upon the management of them. Two annual fairs for the sale of cattle and pedlery are still held in the village; but they have been for some years declining, and are but thinly attended. Balmullo, consisting chiefly of scattered houses, is pleasantly situated.

The parish is in the presbytery of St. Andrew's and synod of Fife, and in the patronage of the Crown The minister's stipend is £238. 11. 10., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £30 per annum, The church, situated in the village, is a highly-interesting structure, and appears to have been erected at different periods, exhibiting beautiful specimens of the ancient and later styles of Norman architecture, with additions of a much more recent character. It consists of three portions, of which that to the east, the most ancient, is of semicircular form, and decorated externally by a range of ten circular arches with zigzag mouldings, supported on double pillars: above is a series of nine similar arches and pillars, surrounding the walls. The interior of this portion of the building is lighted by a tier of three circular-headed windows of corresponding character, inserted in the intervals between the pillars; and above the upper series of arches are corbels grotesquely ornamented, from which spring the ribs of the groined roof. The central portion of the edifice differs from the former chiefly in having a series of pointed arches formed by the intersection of circular arches resting on the alternate columns, and in the higher elevation of the roof, which is not groined; it is lighted by two windows on the south, and one on the north. The western portion is not distinguished by any striking features of architectural embellishment: together with the central part, it has been fitted up as the parish church, and is adapted for a congregation of nearly 900 persons. There is a place of worship for members of the Free Church, and in the village of Balmullo is one for a congregation of the Original Secession. The parochial school is under good arrangement: the master has a salary of £34, with £10 fees, and a house and garden; also a glebe of two acres of land, and the interest of 2000 merks Scotch bequeathed by the Rev. A. Henderson. A school for English reading and sewing is supported by the Lindsay family; and a parochial library has been established in the village of Leuchars, which already contains a collection of some hundred volumes of general and religious publications. The poor have the rent of lands in the hands of the Kirk Session amounting to £24. At a short distance from the village is a circular mound once surrounded by a moat, on which the ancient castle of Leuchars was erected, but no vestige of the buildings is remaining; it was a place of great strength, and one of the strongholds of the earls of Fife, but the fortifications were demolished by the English in the fourteenth century. On Craigie hill, an earthen vase containing about a hundred silver coins of Severus, Antoninus, and other Roman emperors, was turned up by the plough in 1808: most of them are now in the possession of the Lindsay family. Pitlethie, in the parish, is believed to have been a royal hunting-seat.