EAGLESHAM, a parish, in the county of Renfrew,
9 miles (S.) from Glasgow; containing 2428 inhabitants,
of whom ISOl are in the village. This place,
which is of considerable antiquity, is supposed to have
derived its name, of Celtic origin, from the erection of
its ancient church. It formed part of the district of
Mearns, and, together with other lands, was granted by
David I., King of Scotland, to Walter, son of Alan, the
first of the Stuarts, from whom Robert de Montgomerie,
of Oswestry in England, procured the manor of Eaglesham
about the middle of the twelfth century. After the
accession of the Stuarts to the Scottish throne, it was
held by Robert's descendants, John de Montgomerie,
who also obtained the baronies of Eglinton and Ardrossan,
by marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hugh
Eglinton by Egidia, sister of Robert II.; and this John
de Montgomerie, with the ransom of Harry Percy, surnamed
Hotspur, whom he had taken prisoner at the
battle of Otterburn in 1388, erected here the castle of
Polnoon, of which there are still some vestiges remaining.
The parish was almost exclusively the property of the
Montgomerie family, and is now in the possession of
Allan and James Gilmour, Esqrs. It is situated in the
south-east angle of the county, and measures about six
miles from north to south, and five and a half from east
to west. Eaglesham is bounded on the north by the
river Earn, which separates it from the parish of Mearns;
on the south by the parish of Loudon; on the east by
the river White Cart, which divides it from the parishes
of East Kilbride and Carmunnock; and on the west by
the parish of Fenwick. Its surface is generally elevated,
and is intersected from east to west by a ridge of hills,
the highest of which vary from 1000 to 1200 feet above
the level of the sea, and, with the exception of one or
two hills in Lochwinnoch, are the loftiest in the county.
The sources of the river Cart and its numerous tributaries
are within the parish: this river, which flows in a
northern course to Cathcart and Langside, then takes a
western direction towards Paisley, whence it deviates
towards the north, and receives the waters of the Black
Cart at Inchinnan Bridge previously to its influx into
the Clyde. The surface is also diversified with lakes,
and certain reservoirs for the supply of different mills
cover nearly 240 acres of ground, and are frequented by
various species of aquatic fowl.
The whole number of acres is estimated at 15,500, of
which about 6100 are arable, nearly 4000 meadow and
pasture, about sixty woodland and plantations, and the
remainder moorland, pasture, and moss. On the banks
of the Cart, and towards the west, the soil, though light,
is very fertile, and produces excellent crops of oats, barley,
and potatoes; but the inhabitants of the high lands
rely more on the pasturage of sheep and the rearing of
cattle than on the cultivation of the ground. The system
of agriculture has been greatly improved; much progress
has been made in draining, and considerable quantities
of waste land have been reclaimed. Many of the farmhouses
and offices have been rebuilt on a more commodious
plan, and all the recent improvements in husbandry
have been adopted; the dairy-farms are in general well
managed, and the produce finds a ready sale in the market
of Glasgow. The cattle are chiefly of the Ayrshire
breed, of which about 1000 cows are pastured on the
farms; and about 5000 sheep are maintained on the
moorland pastures: few horses are reared, the greater
number being purchased in the spring for agricultural
purposes, and sold again in autumn. The annual value
of real property in the parish is £11,800. The
moors abound with grouse and other species of game,
and afford a fine field of " sport " to the members of the
Clydesdale Coursing Club, the hares being numerous and
swift, and requiring greater energy and perseverance in
the chase than those in the more lowland countries.
Trout and various other kinds of fish abound in the lakes,
and a peculiar species found in the Clyde and the Avon
was originally introduced by Lady Anne Hamilton from
this vicinity. In this parish the plantations are chiefly
the common Scotch fir, which thrives admirably, and
larch, for which the soil is better adapted than for many
other sorts; hard-woods of different kinds are to be seen
in the lower grounds and more sheltered situations. The
rocks in the higher lands are generally of the trap species,
intermixed in some places with porphyritic claystone, and
abounding in others with jasper, chalcedony, blue quartz,
calcareous spar, and felspar containing crystals.
Alexander, the eighth Earl of Eglinton, obtained for
the inhabitants a charter for a weekly market and an
annual fair, in 1672; both these have been discontinued,
but there is still a fair held on the last Thursday in
August, when horse-races take place. The village, which
was laid out on a new plan by the tenth earl, is about
one-third of a mile in length, and consists of two ranges
of houses, between which is a spacious green, varying
from 100 to 250 yards in breadth, disposed in lawns,
interspersed with trees, and divided in the centre by a
streamlet of clear water. Behind each of the houses is
a rood of garden; and the inhabitants have also seventy
acres of ground rent free, which are laid out in meadows
and plantations. The village is lighted with gas. The
manufacture of silk was formerly considerable, employing
sixty-three looms in the village; but that branch of
trade has been superseded by cotton-weaving, for which
materials are provided by the manufacturers of Glasgow
and Paisley, who thus afford employment to nearly 400
persons, resident in the village. At the higher extremity
of the rivulet that flows through the green is an extensive
cotton-mill, the property of Messrs. Mc Lean and Brodie,
of Glasgow, in which are 15,312 spindles, set in motion
by a water-wheel of cast-iron, forty-five feet in diameter,
and equivalent to the power of fifty horses. It gives occupation
to 200 persons, of whom more than one-half
are females. There is also a mill at Mill-hall, employing
620 spindles, and nearly seventy persons, of whom about
one-third are females; this establishment is chiefly engaged
in spinning shuttle-cord for power-looms, and
wicks for candles, and the machinery is impelled by a
water-wheel of twenty-four horse power. In the parish
is likewise acorn-mill in which about 3000 bolls of grain
are ground annually. A bank is established, and there
is a post-office with a good delivery. Facility of intercourse
with Glasgow, Paisley, Hamilton, and other towns
is maintained by excellent roads, of which seven miles
of turnpike pass through the parish. Ecclesiastically the
parish is within the bounds of the presbytery of Glf'!^gow,
synod of Glasgow and Ayr: the minister's stipi'nd is
£278. 14., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £25 per
annum; patron, Allan Gilmour, Esq., of Eaglesham.
The church, erected in 1788, is a neat structure of octagonal
form, containing 550 sittings. There are places
of worship for the United Presbyterian Synod and Reformed
Presbyterians. The parochial school is attended
by about 120 scholars; the master has a salary of £30,
with a house and garden, and the fees average £50 per
annum. There is another school, in which sixty children
are taught. Robert Pollok, author of the Course of Time,
and equally remarkable for depth of piety and the beauty
of his poetry, was a native of the parish.