CRAWFORDJOHN, a parish, in the Upper ward
of the county of Lanark; including th* post-village of
Abington, and containing 993 inhabitants, of whom 137
are in the village of Crawfordjohn. This place, the name
of which is supposed to have been derived from some
proprietor of lands within the district, appears to have
been originally a chapelry in the parish of Wiston. It
was granted, together with the church of that place, to
the monastery of Glasgow, and subsequently to that of
Kelso, which retained it till about the year 1450, when
it became a separate and independent parish. The lands
coming into the possession of two co-heiresses, were for
a considerable time held in moieties, till, in the reign of
James V., Sir James Hamilton of Finart obtained them.
After his decease, they descended to the Harailtons of
this place and Avondale, from whom, with the patronage
of the church, they were purchased by James, Marquess
of Hamilton, about the year 16'20. In the reign of
Charles II., the village of Crawfordjohn was, by charter
granted to Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, made a burgh of
barony, and the inhabitants were endowed with the
privilege of a weekly market and several annual fairs,
which have long been in disuse. Few events of historical
importance are recorded as connected with the place:
part of the rebel forces passed through it on their march
to Glasgow, in the year 1745.
The PARISH is for the most part pleasantly situated on
the banks of the river Duneaton, which partly separates
it on the north from the parish of Douglas. It is
bounded on the south by the river Glengonner. On the
east flows the river Clyde; while on the west are the
counties of Dumfries and Ayr, which unite with that of
Lanark on the border of the parish, at a point where a
stone has been erected called the Three-shire stone. The
length of the parish is nearly twelve miles, as seen upon
Forrest's map; and its breadth, which may be averaged
at nine, varies from two to ten miles; comprising an
irregular area of '26,600 acres, of which 4'200 are arable,
about 60 plantation, and the remainder pasture for sheep.
The surface is flat only upon the borders of the rivers,
and sometimes for a very short distance; the general
aspect of the greater portion of it is that of one beautiful
slen, inclosed by gently sloping hills of various elevation,
and along which the river Duneaton winds its course
for many miles, receiving in its progress the waters of
the Snar, Blackburn, and other streams. The rivers
abound with trout, and the Blackburn is celebrated for
a dark-coloured species, which excels in quality, and is
in great request, and also for eels, some of which are of
large size.
The SOIL is extremely various. On the banks of the
river it is a rich black loam, except in those parts which
are subject to inundation, where it becomes mixed with
sand and gravel. The sides of the hills are in some
places a deep red clay, capable under proper management
of producing excellent crops; and in several parts
is a deep moss, which, after judicious draining, has in
many instances been converted into fertile arable land.
The principal crops are oats, bear, potatoes, and turnips.
The pastures are very rich; the meadows afford excellent
hay and in large quantities, the crops of clover and ryegrass
are abundant, and the hills present good pasturage
for sheep, of which the permanent stock in the parish
exceeds 10,000. There are several large dairy-farms producing
butter and cheese which are of excellent quahty,
and find a ready market at Edinburgh and Glasgow. In
a few dairies, the curds of cows' and ewes' milk have
been wrought separately, and then put the one upon the
other into the same vat, and pressed: this cheese, having
two sides of different qualities, has brought a high price,
and is in great demand. The number of cows and
heifers exceeds 1000, chiefly of the Ayrshire breed, to
the improvement of which much attention has been paid;
the sheep are of the black -faced kind, except a few of a
mixed breed between the Cheviot and the Leicester. The
plantations, which are chiefly at Glespin, Gilkerscleugh,
and Abington, are Scotch fir, spruce, beech, lime, chesnut,
and oak. Some advance has been made in draining
and inclosing the lands; and a society for encouraging
the improvement of live stock has been established by
the farmers of this and the parish of Crawford, which
has been sanctioned by many of the heritors in both.
The annual value of real property in the parish is £6329.
The substratum of the soil and the bases of the hills are
mostly whinstone and freestone, of which several quarries
are worked; limestone is also prevalent, and works
have been established at Whitecleugh and Wildshaw,
the latter on the borders of Douglas parish. There are
indications of coal in several parts of the parish, though
no works have been opened; lead-ore has been found at
Craighead, and near the source of the Snar, at which
latter place it is wrought. Some vestiges remain of a
work opened at Abington for the discovery of gold; and
in repairing a road some years since, several pieces of
spar, in which copper was embedded, were found among
the rubbish. There is also a tradition that silver-mines
were formerly wrought in the parish: probably it originated
in finding small portions of that metal in combination
with the lead-ore. Through the lower part of the
parish the road from Glasgow to Carlisle passes for about
five miles, and in a neighbouring parish is the Abington
station of the Caledonian railway, presenting great facility
of communication. A subscription library has been
established in the village of Crawfordjohn, and there is
likewise one supported at Abington. Ecclesiastically the
parish is in the presbytery of Lanark, synod of Glasgow
and Ayr: the minister's stipend is about £235, with a
manse, and a glebe valued at £16 per annum; patron. Sir
T. E. Colebrooke. Crawfordjohn church, which is conveniently
situated, was enlarged in 181", and will accommodate
300 persons. The parochial school is attended by
about seventy scholars; the master has a salary of £32.
10., with about £26 fees, and a house and garden.
There were formerly the remains of the castles of
Crawfordjohn, Boghouse, Mosscastle, Glendorch, and
Snar, the last of which was celebrated for the exploits of
its proprietor during the border warfare. On the bleak
hill opposite Gilkerscleugh are traces of a circular encampment
consisting of two concentric circles, the innermost
of which is about thirty yards in diameter, and
has between it and the outer an interval of ten yards.
There are vestiges of a similar intrenchment near Abington;
and on the bank of the Clyde is the appearance
of a moat, within which is a mound fifty yards in circumference
at the base, and thirty feet higher than the
surface of the water. In the peat- bogs have been frequently
discovered alder-trees and hazel in a prostrate
position, and, at various times, coins of Antoninus, and
others of the reign of Edward I.