LINTON, a parish, in the district of Kelso, county
of Roxburgh, 6 miles (S. E. by S.) from Kelso; containing
526 inhabitants. This place derives its name,
signifying "the town of the lakes," from its situation on
the north-VFest border of a lake of great extent called
Linton loch, now drained, and from another lake designated
Hoselaw, in the eastern extremity of the parish.
The church appears to have been bestowed in the reign
of David I. upon the abbey of Kelso by Sir Richard
Cumyn, ancestor of John Cumyn who aspired to the
crown of Scotland; and the lands of the parish were
granted in the reign of William the Lion to William de
Somerville, son of Roger, Baron of Whichnor in England,
as a reward for his having destroyed a ferocious animal
that committed great depredation in the neighbourhood.
He was afterwards made principal falconer to the Scottish
king, and sheriff of Roxburghshire. The new proprietor
resided in the castle of Linton, which he had founded,
and which afforded an asylum to his father, Roger de
Somerville, on the subsequent defeat of the English
barons who had extorted from King John the grant of
Magna Charta. Roger died in this castle, which continued
to be the seat of his descendants till near the close
of the fourteenth century, when they removed to the
castle of Cowthally, in Carnwath. Linton Castle was
besieged by the Earl of Surrey in the reign of Henry VIII.,
and razed to the ground j and scarcely any vestiges of
the building are now to be traced: within the last half
century, a large iron door was dug out of the ruins,
which appears to have belonged to the dungeon. Walter
de Somerville, the third baron, was a faithful adherent to
the fortunes of Wallace, under whose banner he fought
against Edward I. for the defence of his country; and
his son, John de Somerville, strenuously maintained the
cause of Bruce, after whose defeat at Methven he was
taken prisoner by the Enghsh. During the border warfare,
this parish, forming part of the Dry Marches, was
the principal thoroughfare between the two kingdoms,
and consequently participated largely in the transactions
of those times, in which the family of Kerr of Graden
distinguished themselves. There are still some traces in
the parish of their ancient residence, which seems to have
been a strong fortress, surrounded by a moat.
The PARISH is about six miles in length and two in
breadth, and is bounded on the east by the county of
Northumberland. It comprises about 6500 acres, of
which nearly 5500 are arable, eighty woodland and
plantations, and the remainder rough pasture and
waste. The surface rises in gentle undulations from a
rich and fertile vale near the western boundary, and is
inclosed on the north by a range of hills, of which Kiplaw,
Iloselaw, and Blakelaw are the principal. Linton
loch, the larger of the two lakes from which the parish
took its name, was nearly circular in form, and had an
area of about fifty acres; it was surrounded by hills of
considerable height cultivated to their summit, except
on the west, where was a valley through which its superfluous
waters found their way into the river Kale.
The lake has, however, been drained, and the soil is
now under corn husbandry: beneath is a bed of rich
marl, which is wrought by the tenant to a good extent.
Hoselaw lake comprises a rectangular area of about
thirty acres, and is of an average depth of fifteen feet;
it abounds with perch and silver-eels, and is much resorted
to in summer by anglers. There are springs of
excellent water in various parts of the parish, and numerous
rivulets descend from the neighbouring hills.
The SOIL of the western district is various, consisting of
loam, clay, and gravel; in the eastern portion the land
is of a lighter quality. The chief crops are wheat and
barley, with a due proportion of oats j the plantations
consist of fir, oak, ash, and elm, for which the soil seems
favourable. Lime is obtained from the county of Northumberland,
whence also coal is brought for fuel; a
small seam of coal was discovered in the parish, but
found incapable of being wrought with any profit. The
substratum is generally whinstone rock, in which crystals
are frequently discovered: and there is a quarry of freestone
of excellent quality, but not worked to any great
extent. Considerable improvements have been made in
draining, and much waste land has been lately brought
into cultivation. The fences of thorn arc kept in good
order, and interspersed with hedge-row timber, which is
highly ornamental. The farm-buildings arc sul)stantial
and commodious, and the cottages of the labouring
class have an air of cleanliness and comfort. In general
the pastures are good; and great attention is paid to
improvement in the breeds of cattle and sheep: the
former are principally of the short-horned kind, and the
latter of the Leicestershire. The agricultural produce
finds a ready market at Berwick; the live stock is
chiefly sent to the markets of Edmburgh and Morpeth.
The principal landowner is Mr. Elliot of Harwood and
Clifton, to whom rather more than two-thirds of the
land belong, and whose seat, called Clifton Park, is in
the valley at the western extremity of the parish, in the
centre of a thriving plantation. The annual value of
real property in the parish is £5586.
Linton is ecclesiastically in the presbytery of Kelso,
synod of Merse and Teviotdale, and in the patronage of
Mr. Elliot: the minister's stipend is £239. 2. 10., with
a manse, and a glebe valued at £1'2 per annum. The
church, occupying the summit of a circular hill, and
approached by an avenue of stately trees, is of very
great antiquity, and has been put into a state of substantial
repair within the last fifty or sixty years; it
affords accommodation to 200 persons, and though situated
at a distance from the eastern part of the parish, is
easily accessible to the great majority of the parishioners.
The parochial school affords education to about forty
children; the master's salary is £34, with £30 fees,
and a house and garden. There are several mineral
springs, one of which, on the farm of Bankhead, is
deemed efficacious in scorbutic complaints. Jasper, in
large masses, is frequently turned up by the plough in
different parts. The site of Linton Castle may still be
traced on the summit of a hill near that on which the
church is situated; but it has been planted with trees.
On the summits of various other hills are remains of
round encampments, probably formed during the wars
of the border; and in many places are tumuli, some of
which have been opened, and found to contain urns of
clay of circular form, inclosing human bones. Some of
them are supposed to be of Roman origin: and in parts of
the parish the tumuli are so numerous as to warrant the
conjecture that it must have been the scene of some
considerable battle. In repairing the church, a large
grave was discovered containing fifty skulls, many of
which showed marks of violence, and which are supposed
to be those of warriors slain in the battle of
Flodden Field. In the moss, about three feet beneath
the surface, has been found a Roman spear of brass.