DALMELLINGTON, a parish, in the district of
Kyle, county of Ayr, 14 miles (S. E. by S.) from Ayr;
containing 1199 inhabitants. This place derived its
name, signifying in the Gaelic language " the town of
the valley of the mill ", from the particular local features
which distinguished it at the time. The parish is about
ten miles in length and three in average breadth, and is
bounded on the south and south-west by the lake and
river Doon, which separate it from the parish of Straiton,
in Carrick. It comprises 20,000 acres, of which 1304
are arable, 17,800 pasture and waste (whereof 1200
might be brought into profitable cultivation), 750 in
woods and plantations, and about 300 undivided common.
The surface is extremely varied. The upper portion
of it is intersected by three ridges of moderate elevation,
two of which are nearly parallel, and the third
crosses them obliquely. The lower part of the parish is
one continued ridge of heights, the principal of them
being Benwhat, Benbraniachan, and Benbeoch, which
last terminates the ridge, to the cast, in a splendid range
of basaltic columns nearly 300 feet in height, and about
600 feet in breadth. Between this ridge and the river
Doon is a plain, about three miles in length and one
mile broad, on which the village is situated. Several
deep and precipitous defiles are formed by the approach
of the ridges towards each other; and on the Dumfries
road they approximate so closely as, in some parts, to
leave only a sufficient passage for the road and a small
burn that flows by it. On the side of the Loch Doon
range of heights, where the river issues from the lake,
the precipitous rocks approach within thirty feet of each
other for nearly a mile, rising perpendicularly to the
height of 300 feet above the bed of the river, and presenting
a magnificent combination of features. This
pass, called the Glen or Craigs of Ness, forms the entrance
to the vale of Doon, which afterwards expands
into rich and luxuriant meadows. The river issues from
the lake through two tunnels excavated in the solid
rock, and, pursuing a north-western course along the
boundary of the parish, intersects a level plain, in part
of which, near the village, its waters expand into a wide
lake. This lake is called Bogton, and is frequented by
aquatic fowl of various kinds; and near the south-cast
of the parish is Loch Muck, in the form of a crescent,
covering about thirty acres in the middle of a heathy
moor; a lake of great depth, and abounding with black
trout.
The SOIL on the banks of the river is a deep rich
loam; along the bases of the hills in the lower part of
the parish, a moist clayey loam, resting on sandstone;
and behind the ridge, moss. In the higher part the soil
is light and dry, interspersed with peat resting on greywacke
rock, with some portions of heath. The principal
crop of grain is oats, and the green crops are chiefly potatoes:
the system of agriculture is advancing; tiledraining
is on the increase, and spade husbandry has
been adopted with success upon the mossy lands, on a
limited scale. About 8000 sheep, mostly of the blackfaced
breed, are pastured in the course of the year, with
a small number of the Cheviot and Leicestershire breeds;
about 300 Ayrshire cows, and about 500 head of young
cattle, partly of the Galloway breed, are also annually
pastured. The annual value of real property in the parish
is £3679. The plantations are principally larch and
Scotch fir, which appear to be well adapted to the soil,
and are in a thriving condition, with ash, and birch,
some oak, and other hard-woods. The substrata are
chiefly sandstone and greywacke, with coal, ironstone,
and hmestone. The coal has been worked in several
places, in some of which, especially in the lower parts
of the parish, it has been found at little more than two
fathoms from the surface. Pits have been opened, and
are now in operation, at Camlarg, about a mile from the
village; and at the extremity of the parish, about five
miles distant.
The village, which was a burgh of barony, is pleasantly
situated in the vale, sheltered in the rear by hills of
various elevation. There are, a library supported by
subscription, which has a collection of 800 volumes;
and a reading-room, which has also a library of more
than 600 volumes, bequeathed to it some years since by
a shopkeeper of the village. A penny-post has been
established here; and there are some inns for the reception
of the numerous visiters whom the interesting scenery
of the neighbourhood attracts to the spot, and of
the shooting and fishing parties who resort hither during
the season. In 1847 an act of parliament was passed
for the construction of a railway, about 6 miles in length,
from Dalmellington to Smithstown; to be called the
Ayrshire and Galloway railway. The woollen manufacture
is carried on to a small extent: two mills are in
operation, employing a moderate number of hands, in
spinning woollen-yarn, which is here manufactured into
plaiding, tartans, carpets, blankets, and packing-cloths.
Several of the inhabitants, also, are employed in weaving
cotton-cloth; and there was formerly an extensive
bleachfield, which, since the substitution of cottons and
the increased importation of Irish linens, has been discontinued,
and, in lieu, a thread-mill substituted on the
premises. Fairs are held on Easter Eve, the first Friday
after Whitsunday, and on Hallow E'en (all O. S.), chiefly
for wool and for hiring servants. Ecclesiastically the
parish is in the presbytery of Ayr, synod of Glasgow
and Ayr, and in the patronage of the Crown: the minister's
stipend is £158, with a manse, and a glebe
valued at £'20 per annum. The parochial school is well
conducted; the master has a salary of £34, with £10
fees, and a house and garden.
There was formerly a castle near the village, the site
of which only is now remaining, the materials having
been removed for the erection of a house in the village,
from that circumstance called the Castle House. It appears
to have been but of small dimensions; it was traditionally
styled Dame Helen's Castle, and between it and
the village is a mound, once the place for dispensing
justice. There was another castle, apparently of larger
dimensions, and of greater strength, situated on the projecting
side of a deep glen, and called Laght Alpine;
nothing, however, but the site remains. A Roman road
passed through the whole length of the parish, but it has
been destroyed to furnish materials for making dykes;
it has been traced through the parish of Dalrymple to
its termination at a ford on the river Ayr. Several
cairns, also, have been removed for a similar purpose,
one of which, on the summit of a hill above the village,
was 115 yards in circumference.