LANGHOLM, a parish and burgh of barony, in the county of Dumfries; the parish containing, with the village of New Langholm, 2820 inhabitants, of whom 1305 are in the burgh, 14 miles (N. E. by E.) from Ecclesfechan, 18 (E. by N.) from Lockerbie, 18 (N. E. by N.) from Annan, and 20^ (N.) from Carlisle. This place derives its name from the level lands, or holms, here, on the river Esk; and appears to have been indebted for its origin to the erection of an ancient border fortress by the powerful family of Armstrong: of this fortress the ruins are still in tolerable preservation. The town is situated on the east bank of the Esk, in a beautifully- wooded portion of the vale through which the stream flows, and on the road from Carlisle to Edinburgh. It consists principally of one spacious street of well-built houses, roofed with slate; and is connected with the village of New Langholm, on the west side of the river, by a handsome bridge of three arches. The streets are lighted with gas, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water. A public subscription library was established in the town in 1800, and is well supported; it contains a valuable collection of standard volumes and periodical works, and claims to receive a disputed bequest of £1000 by the late Mr. Telford, civil engineer, who was a native of this place. There is also a library for tradesmen, established in 1815, at New Langholm. The woollen manufacture is carried on to a considerable extent, in two factories, one about half a mile north from the town, on the side of the Ewes, and the other at New Langholm, both belonging to the same company, and together affording employment to about 120 persons. The cotton manufacture was established at New Langholm about the year 1800, and is still continued: about ninety persons are occupied in this and in the linen trade, working by hand-looms for the houses of Glasgow and Carlisle. There is a distillery situated half a mile from the town, on the road to Carlisle, and another erected lately on the side of the Tarras water, two miles and a half south-east from Langholm. In the town is a brewery. Langholm was erected into a burgh of barony by charter granted in 1643; and the Duke of Buccleuch, who is the superior of the burgh, appoints a baron-bailie and a baron officer. Courts are sometimes held for the trial of assaults and petty offences, punishable by fine or imprisonment; but the number of cases tried is very inconsiderable. The town-hall and gaol, situated in the market-place, were erected in 1811; they form a handsome structure surmounted with a spire. The postoffice has a good delivery; and there are two branch banks established here. A customary market is held weekly on Wednesday, for provisions. Fairs take place annually on April I6th, for seeds; the last Tuesday in May, O. S., for cattle; the Wednesday before Whitsunday, for hiring servants; the 26th of July, for lambs and wool, which is numerously attended; the 5th of November, for cattle; and the Wednesday before Martinmas, O. S., for hiring servants. At all these fairs, shoes, earthenware, haberdashery, and jewellery articles are also exposed for sale. Facility of communication is afforded by roads and bridges kept in excellent repair; the road from Carlisle to Edinburgh passes through the town, and roads to Annan, Lockerbie, Lochmaben, and Dumfries, through other parts of the parish. This parish, to which that of Ilalfmorton was formerly annexed for ecclesiastical purposes, was erected in 1/03, and was made the seat of a ])resbytery in 1743. It comprises about 14,320 acres, of which 12,800 are the property of the Duke of Buccleuch, and nearly all the remainder belongs to George Maxwell, Esq., of Broomholm: of the whole area, 1900 acres are arable, 420 woodland and plantations, and the rest meadow and pasture. Along the banks of the rivers the surface is level, and in other parts diversified with numerous hills of no great elevation, which are in general clothed with verdure to their summits, affording excellent pasturage for sheep. The river Esk has its rise in the mountainous districts to the north, and flows through the parish in a southern direction, receiving in its course the waters of the Black Esk, the Megget, the Ewes, the Wauchope, and the Tarras, and falling into the Solway Firth. In the lower lands the soil is a light and fertile loam, and on the hills of a gravelly quality: on the south-west of the town is some fine orchard-ground, producing fruits of various kinds in great perfection. The system of husbandry is in an advanced state, all the more recent improvements having been adopted; the lands have been mostly drained and inclosed; the fences are well kept, and the farm-buildings are substantial and commodious. Considerable attention is paid to the rearing of live stock: the sheep, of which the average number pastured on the hills is about 9000, are principally of the Cheviot breed. The cattle are in general of the Galloway breed, and thrive well; they are eagerly bought up by the Galloway dealers, and, after being kept for a year on the pastures of that district, are sent, with others, to the English markets. Horses of the Clydesdale breed are also reared, and many of them sell for £35 and £40 each; very large numbers of swine are fed here, and when cured forwarded to Newcastle, Carlisle, and Longtown. The plantations are oak, ash, beech, plane, and forest trees of every kind, of which there are many stately specimens. Beneath the surface of the parish are strata of greywacke, greywacke-slate, limestone, greenstone, and coal; there is abundance of fine white freestone, and lead-ore has been found on the lands of the Duke of Buccleuch, and also on those of Broomholm. The annual value of real property in the parish is £6026. Langholm Lodge, one of the seats of the Duke of Buccleuch, is a spacious mansion of white freestone, beautifully situated on the banks of the Esk, about half a mile from the burgh, in a demesne enriched with ornamental plantations, and containing a great variety of picturesque scenery. Over the river is a handsome cast-iron bridge of one arch 100 feet in span, leading to a private walk in the demesne. Broomholm House is an ancient mansion on the south-east bank of the Esk, two miles from the town, and also finely situated amidst richly-varied scenery; and about a mile to the south, near the confluence of the Esk and the Tarras water, is Irvine House, occupied by the chamberlain of the Duke of Buccleuch. Ecclesiastically the parish is within the limits of the presbytery of Langholm and synod of Dumfries. The minister's stipend is about £222, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £27. 10. per annum; patrons, the Crown, and the Duke of Buccleuch. The church was opened in 1845: it occupies a more eligible site than the old edifice, rebuilt for the last time in 1779. In the cemetery of the decayed church of Staplegorton is a handsome mausoleum, erected by the late Captain George Maxwell, of Broombolra, at an expense of £1000. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the United Presbyterian Church, and Burghers. The parochial school, situated at New Langholm, is well conducted; the master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees average about £40 per annum. The Broomholm free school, at Langholm, was established by Capt. Maxwell, who endowed it with £500, to which the Kirk Session added £100: the money is laid out by the managers to the best advantage, and the amount of interest given as a salary to the master, who is obliged to teach twenty-six poor scholars gratis, but may admit as many more as the house will contain, as pay-scholars. There are various other schools in the parish, some of the teachers of which have a house rent free or a small annual donation. In the western portion of the parish are two mineral springs, one of them chalybeate and one sulphureous. The castle of Barntalloch, near Staplegorton, was once the head of a barony; and around it rose an ancient burgh, where a large fair was annually held for many years, until at length transferred to Langholm. There are no remains of this castle; but some lands in the vicinity still bear the appellation of the Boroughroods of Staplegorton. Wauchope Castle, the site of which was afterwards occupied by the old manse, was the baronial residence of the Lindsays, adherents of Malcolm Canmore in the twelfth century; the small remains are situated on an abrupt precipice overhanging the river Wauchope, a short way to the west of the present manse, on the side of the public road. The remains of the old castle of Brooniholm were removed about the year 1745: near the site may still be traced a Roman road. About the year 1790, six golden denarii, three being of the reign of Nero, two of Vespasian, and one of Doraitian, were found, in good preservation, on the farm of Broomholm; and a few years after, two denarii, and a coin of the reign of Otho, were discovered near Wauchope bridge. Among the distinguished characters connected with the parish have been, John Maxwell, Esq. (great-grandfather of the present proprietor of Broomholm), the ingenious author of an Essay on Time; Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, who distinguished himself under Earl Howe, in the defeat of the French fleet, on the 1st of June, 1794; Major-General Sir Charles William Pasley, K.C.B., now living; William Julius Mickle, translator of Camoens' Liisiad; Capt. George Maxwell, R.N., already mentioned, who signalized himself in an action with the Dutch fleet off the Dogger Bank, in l/Hl; David Irving, LL.D., author of the Life of Geori;e liiwluinan; and the late Mr. Telford, already mentioned, all of whom were born in Langholm parish. A pillar 100 feet in height has been erected on a hill eastward of the town to the memory of Sir John Malcolm; and there is a monument iu the market-place, opposite the town-hall, to his brother, Admiral Sir Pultcney Malcolm. Both were of the Burnfoot family in the parish of Westcrkirk, and the latter resided a considerable number of years in the parish of Langholm.