HOUNDWOOD, a quoad sacra parish (for a time), in
the parish of Coldingham, county of Berwick, 6 miles
(w. N. W.) from Ayton; containing, with the villages of
Auchincraw and Reston, 1334 inhabitants. This district,
which is situated in the southern portion of Coldingham,
comprised about 12,000 acres, of which 8500 are arable,
300 woodland and plantations, and the remainder meadow,
pasture, and waste. Its surface is diversified with
hills, the highest of which, Wardlaw Bank, has an elevation
of 640 feet above the level of the sea, commanding
from its summit a splendid view to the east, south, and
west, embracing the German Ocean, the Merse, part of
Roxburghshire, the heights of Lammermoor, and the
Cheviot hills in the distance. The lands are watered
by the small river Eye, which flows for nearly eight
miles through the district, and falls into the sea at
Eyemouth: common trout of excellent quality are found
in abundance. The soil is tolerably fertile, and the
arable grounds are in good cultivation, producing favourable
crops; the system of husbandry is improved; the
lands have been drained and inclosed, and the farm
houses and offices are substantial and commodious.
The plantations are chiefly oak, elm, birch, and fir;
they are under good management, and generally in a
thriving state. Renton House, the seat of Sir Samuel
Stirling, Bart., and Houndwood House, the property
and residence of Mrs. Coulson, are the principal mansions.
In the village of Reston is a small manufactory
for woollen cloths of the coarser kind; but the population
of the district is mostly agricultural. The cattle and
sheep bred in the pastures are sent to Ayton, Dunse,
and Morpeth; and other agricultural produce chiefly to
Dunbar, Eyemouth, and Berwick. The North-British
railway passes through the district from south-east to
north-west: at Reston the Dunse branch quits the line.
Ecclesiastically Houndwood is within the limits of the
presbytery of Chirnside, synod of Merse and Teviotdale,
and the patronage is vested in the male communicants:
the stipend of the minister is £8", arising from seat-rents
and collections; with a manse. A chapel which was
erected on the lands of Renton, in 1794, by the Renton
family, and in which divine service was performed by a
minister of their endowment, has been closed since the
opening of the present church in 1836. The church is a
handsome structure in the Grecian style of architecture,
and contains 500 sittings: it was built by subscription,
at a cost of £800, towards which £167. 10. were contributed
from the General Assembly's funds. Renton chapel
is still in good repair. There are a parochial school,
and a school supported by subscription. Formerly numerous
remains existed of strongholds, of which that of
Houndwood was the hunting-seat of the prior of Coldingham:
in this ancient residence, a small apartment is
pointed out as the place where Queen Mary rested in
1566, on her Berwickshire tour.