NEWBATTLE, a parish, in the county of EdinBURGH; containing, in 1841, with the villages of Easthouses and Stobhill, 2033 inhabitants, of whom 159 were in the village of Newbattle, 1 mile (S.) from Dalkeith. This place originated in the foundation of a monastery by David L in 1140; he endowed it for brethren of the Cistercian order, from the abbey of Melrose, and the institution continued to flourish till the Dissolution, when its revenue was returned at £1413 in money, and various payments in kind. At the Reformation, the small parish of Maisterton was joined to this parish, and the church of the abbey was made parochial. The patronage of the united church, with the lands of Maisterton and the manor of Newbattle, was held by Mark Kerr, the last commendator of the abbey, and ancestor of the Lothian family, who died in 1584, and was succeeded by his son Mark, who in 1587 obtained from James VI. a patent erecting the lands into a barony, and who in 1606 was created Earl of Lothian. The estate has since that time remained in the family, and is now the property of the eighth Marquess of Lothian. The PARISH of Newbattle, part of which is beautifully situated in a romantic valley watered by the South Esk, is in shape something like an equilateral triangle, each side being four miles; and contains rather more than 5000 acres. Of this area, 4700 acres are arable, 300 occupied by wood, and the retnainder waste, consisting of the mouths of coal-pits and tlie ground used for limekilns. The surface is finely varied, the main part rising gradually from the margin of the river, and terminating in a bold ridge, the highest point of which has an elevation of 700 feet above the level of the sea, and commands an extensive and richly-diversified prospect over the adjacent country. In the lower lands the soil is luxuriantly rich, and of great depth; but in the higher districts, comparatively light and shallow. The system of agriculture is in an improved state, and the rotation plan is prevalent; the crops are wheat, oats, barley, beans, potatoes, and turnips. In general the farm-buildings are old, and in very indifferent condition, inferior to many in the vicinity. The plantations are under good management, and are regularly thinned and pruned; they consist of oak, ash, elm, beech, plane, and various kinds of fir. The substrata are chiefly coal and limestone, which are both abundant, and of good quality; and the former is wrought to a very great extent by the Marquess of Lothian, whose mines of parrot-coal of the finest description are apparently inexhaustible. The annual value of real property in the parish is £12,706. Newbattle Abbey, the seat of the marquess, is an imposing mansion erected on the site of the ancient monastery, and beautifully situated on the north bank of the South Esk, in a well-wooded park. It contains many stately apartments; an extensive and valuable library, enriched with splendidly illuminated missals and curious manuscripts formerly belonging to the abbey; a large collection of paintings by the first masters, and numerous family portraits. The grounds are tastefully laid out, and embellished with thriving plantations, and with many trees of ancient and majestic growth, among which are some beeches of extraordinary size, planted by the monks. Within the park is an old bridge of one arch over the river, called the Maiden Bridge, said to have been erected by a young lady whose lover was drowned while attempting to ford the stream at this spot; it is now overgrown with ivy, and has a strikingly romantic appearance. Woodburn is a handsome modern house on the east bank of the river, pleasantly situated in a well-planted demesne, and commanding some fine views. There are several villages. The houses in that of Newbattle are old, and gradually coming down, while no new ones are being erected, so that ere long the village will cease to exist. Easthouses, in its vicinity, a place also gradually falling into decay, is inhabited by persons employed in the collieries of the Marquess of Lothian. A large new village for colliers has recently been built at Newton- Grange, and the parish also contains the village of Stobhill, and several rural hamlets. Great facility of intercourse is afforded by the Edinburgh and Hawick railway, which runs through the western part of the parish. Ecclesiastically this place is in the presbytery of Dalkeith and synod of Lothian and Tweeddale: the minister's stipend is £188, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £21 per annum; patron, the Marquess of Lothian. The church, situated near the principal lodge of Newbattle Abbey, was erected in 1/27, and is a plain structure containing 400 sittings, a number that might be considerably increased by the erection of a gallery. There is a regular preacher at Stobhill, where a chapel has been raised: he is supported by a subscription, chiefly of the neighbouring gentlemen, which is headed by Mr. Dundas of Arniston, who has likewise given the minister a comfortable free house. The parochial school is well conducted, and attended by about eighty children i the master has a salary of £34. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £25 per annum. Another school, an infant school, and a school for girls, are all specially attached to the eoal-works; the scholars are numerous, and the teachers partly paid by salaries, and partly by a deduction from the wages of the colliers. Some friendly societies operate to keep down the number of applicants for parochial relief. On the summit of the ridge rising from the bank of the river, are distinct traces of a Roman camp about three acres in extent, the area of which has been planted with trees; and to the north of the abbey was a conical mount, ninety feet in diameter at the base, and thirty feet high, on the removal of which, for the erection of the present mansion, a stone coffin seven feet long was found, containing a human skull. Archbishop Leighton, so remarkable for his piety and eloquence, was for some time minister of this parish, to which he was inducted in 1648.