MOREBATTLE-AND-MOW, a parish, in the district
of Kelso, county of Roxburgh; containing 1051
inhabitants, of whom 365 are in the village of Morebattle,
7| miles (S. S. E.) from Kelso. The name of Morebattle
is supposed to have been derived from the Saxon words
Mere, " a marsh ", and Botl, " a hamlet ", descriptive of
its state in former times, when it seems to have been to
a considerable extent under water. The name of Mow
has been traced to the ancient British word Moel, which
signifies "bare" or " naked", and it is also descriptive
of the appearance of the district to which it is applied.
Few events of importance are recorded in connexion with
the parish. It contains some circular rows of stones
called the Trysting-stones, and on the heights are traces
of encampments which, like similar antiquities in many
neighbouring places, indicate the scene of military operations,
of the particulars of which we are altogether ignorant.
There is also a tower or fort called Whitton, now
nearly in ruins, which was demolished by the Earl of
Surrey in the reign of Henry VIII., on the occasion of
his making an inroad into this part of the country.
Another fort, called Corbet-House Tower, was burnt in
1522 by the English, who were then plundering the
banks of the Kale and the Beaumont, in retaliation for
a marauding expedition of the Scots into Northumberland,
of which Launcelot Ker, of Gateshaw, had been one
of the leaders. This tower was repaired and renewed
about thirty or forty years ago by the late Sir Charles Ker.
The length of the i'Arish from north to south is about
nine miles and a half, and its breadth from east to west
six miles. It contains 23,000 acres, and is bounded on
the north by the parishes of Yetholm and Linton; on
the south by the county of Northumberland, and Hounam
parish; on the east by part of Yetholm and by
Northumberland; and on the west by Hounam, Eckford,
and Linton. The surface is diversified throughout by
hill and valley, the parish extending to the summit of
the Cheviot range; and the lands exhibit the usual features
of mountain scenery. The principal hills are, part
of the Cheviots, the Curr, the Schell, the Wliitelaw,
Percy hill, Woodsidc hill, and Clifton hill, the last of
which rises majestically with its well-rounded top from
the eastern side of the valley of Beaumont. These hills
vary in height from 500 to upwards of 2000 feet, and in
general are covered with rich verdure. Some of them,
especially the Cheviot range, command beautiful prospects
of the counties of Northumberland, Bervvick, and
Roxburgh, with the German Ocean on the east, and on
the south and west the mountainous tract stretching
from Westmorland to the sources of the Clyde and the Tweed.
The circle embraced by the eye from the Grubit hills,
though not so extensive as that from some others, is
more picturesque and striking, and crowded with wellcombined
and interesting objects standing in a wide field
of the most attractive scenery. The fine vales of the
Kale and the Beaumont lie at the base of the eminence,
and are studded with the pleasant villages of Yetholm
and Morebattle, the Primside and Linton lochs, the romantic
church of Linton, the wooded villas of Marlfield
and Clifton Park, the celebrated ruins of Cessford Castle,
the tower of Corbet House, and many cheerful farmhouses
with their neighbouring and peaceful cottages.
The distant perspective includes on one side the lofty
range of the Cheviots, and on the other the district of
the Merse, ornamented with many seats of the gentry,
the rich vale of the Teviot, and the windings of the
Tweed, with other interesting features, the back-ground
of the prospect terminated by the hills ofLammermoor
and of Selkirkshire.
Wood is wanting generally throughout the parish,
and in several places waste patches prominently appear;
but some of these tracts have been recently cultivated
and planted, and it is expected that this description of
improvement will now make gradual progress. The
chmate is dry and salubrious, except in the higher parts,
where, on account of the peculiar character of the land,
the winters are severe and stormy. The chief rivers
are the Kale and the Beaumont, both of which rise in
the Cheviot range. At the close of autumn, salmon
from the Teviot and the Tweed ascend the Kale for the
purpose of spawning, and great numbers are killed by
poachers in the night by torch-light. The streams
abound in trout. The lochs are those of Yetholm and
Linton, but only parts of them are in this parish.
In general the soil is light, and well adapted to turnip
husbandry, which prevails to a considerable extent. The
higher lands are in pasture; but the lower are under
tillage, and produce, besides turnips, much barley and
oats, with a small quantity of wheat: the five years' rotation
is usually followed, in which case the land remains
for two years in grass; but in the four years' shift it lies
in grass only one year. Dung produced on the farm,
lime, and bone-dust are used; and the last of these has
vastly multiplied the turnip crops, the larger part of
which are eaten off the ground by the sheep, which thus
supply a sufficient manuring for the remaining years of
the rotation. Of late, the use of bone-dust has been very
much superseded by the introduction of guano. The
cattle are mostly of the short-horned or Teeswater
breed; and the sheep mostly Cheviots and Leicesters,
the former kept on the higher grounds, and the latter
on the lower: there is also a cross between these two
breeds on some of the farms. The annual value of real
property in the parish is £11,388. The village stands
on an eminence on the banks of the Kale: the houses,
formerly consisting of only one story, with a thatched
roof, are now principally of two stories, and covered with
slate. A small common near the village was divided
among the inhabitants about forty or fifty years ago by
consent of the Tweeddale family, of wliom the houses
are held on lease; it has since been inclosed and cultivated,
and now produces good crops, to the great advantage
of the villagers. The population of the parish
are employed in agricultural pursuits, and in the domestic
trades required by the neighbourhood. Coal is
the fuel used. A turnpike-road passes through the village,
communicating with the Kelso and Jedburgh road on
the west, and running to Northumberland on the east.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within
the bounds of the presbytery of Kelso and synod of
Merse and Teviotdale; patron, the Duke of Roxburghe.
The stipend of the minister is about £230, with a large
manse, and a glebe of eleven acres of good land: the
house is badly constructed, but has lately undergone
considerable repairs. The church, situated on the north
side of the village, was built in 17.50, and seats 450 persons:
the original church was dedicated to St. Lawrence,
from whom a well below the churchyard is still called
Lawrie's well. There are places of worship belonging
to the Free Church and United Presbyterian Church.
Two parochial schools are maintained, in which mathematics
and Latin are taught, with all the usual branches
of an ordinary education. The master of the school at
Morebattle has the maximum salary, with about £30
fees, and a house and garden; and the master of the
other school, which is situated at Mowhaugh, on Beaumont
water, a salary of £17, with about £10 fees, and
the allowance of house and garden. There is also a
parochial library containing nearly 700 volumes. About
ninety j'ears since, £1500 were left by Mr. Moir, a native
of the parish, for the support and education of indigent
orphans. Thomson, the author of the Seasons, occasionally
resided in the parish, at Wideopen, the property
of his maternal uncle.