STENTON, a parish, in the county of Haddington;
containing, with the villages of Beil-Grange and
Pitcox, 686 inhabitants, of whom 236 are in the village
of Stenton, 3 miles (S. E. by S.) from Prestonkirk. This
place derived its name, either from the lands abounding
with stones, or from its proximity to a valuable quarry
of freestone, whence materials were taken for the buildings
in the vicinity. The parish extends into the Lammermuir
range, and is ten miles in length. The lowlying
part is about three miles and a half in length from
north to south, and about three miles in breadth from
east to west, comprising 3000 acres, of which 2000 are
arable, 500 meadow and pasture, 400 woodland and
plantations, and the remainder moor. In some parts of
the paris^h the land is very elevated, including Spartledown,
the loftiest peali of the Laramermuir. The scenery
is varied; and the lands are enriched by a lake of artificial
formation, more than two miles in circumference, the
shores of which abound with picturesque objects in richest
combination. Springs of excellent water are to be found
in several parts, from one of which, issuing from the
base of a lofty hill into a deep dell inclosed by embankments
at the extremities, is formed the lake alluded to,
which abounds with trout brought from Loch Leven, and
with carp and tench of superior quality. The hills that
encompass the lake are well wooded, and the scenery renders
it a place of frequent resort to parties of pleasure.
Near the village is another copious spring, called Rudewell,
over which is a circular building of stone, surmounted
by a sculptured cardinal's cap, upon the preservation of
which is said to depend the tenure of the Beil estate.
The SOIL is generally clay, of various qualities, in some
parts tenacious, and in others softening into fertile loam;
there is also a considerable portion of land of lighter
quality, which abounds with pebbles, but which is well
adapted for turnips. The crops are wheat, oats, barley,
peas, turnips, and potatoes. Agriculture is highly improved:
the lands are well drained; the introduction of
bone and rape-dust manures has been productive of
much benefit to the soil; and all the more recent improvements
in implements of husbandry have been
adopted by the tenantry. Considerable attention is paid
to live-stock; cattle at two years old are now in as great
perfection as formerly at three years. The annual value
of real property in the parish is £6368. Bed, once the
residence of the Belhaven family, and now possessed by
Mrs. Hamilton Nisbet Ferguson, of Dirleton and Belhaven,
a direct descendant in the female line, is an ancient
mansion much enlarged and improved. The late
Mr. Nisbet, whose father married the heiress of Beil, made
great additions to the mansion, at an expense of more than
£40,000. It is seated on an eminence, sloping gently,
and formed into a succession of terraces in front of the
house, which has been extended to a length of nearly 500
feet. The new building is in strict harmony with the
style of the ancient mansion, and the whole constitutes
one of the most splendid seats in the country; the
apartments are stately, and elegantly fitted up, and contain
a rich variety of marbles, and a well assorted collection
of paintings by the first masters. The terraces,
embellished with the choicest flowers, and kept in the
best order, give a peculiar character to the appearance of
the mansion, which is further heightened by a stream
that flows at the base of the eminence. In the grounds,
which are laid out with much taste, is one of the finest
cedars in the country, conveyed from London by the
anti-Union Lord Belhaven in a pot, and planted about
the beginning of the last century; it is fourteen feet in
girth and sixty feet high, and its branches spread over
an area '200 feet in circumference. The village is inhabited
chiefly by persons engaged in trades requisite for
the supply of the parish: a very small number are employed
in weaving, which was formerly carried on to a
greater extent. The nearest market-town is Dunbar,
with which, and with places in the more immediate
vicinity, conununication is afforded by good roads.
Ecclesiastically the parisli is in the presbytery of Dunbar,
synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and in thepatron-
age of Mrs. H. N. Ferguson: the minister's stipend is
£295. 10. 1., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £21
per annum. Stenton church is a spacious and handsome
structure in the later English style, with a lofty square
embattled tower, the whole built in 1819 at an expense of
more than £"2000, towards which the heritors contributed
£900; the remainder was given by Mrs. Ferguson, by
whom the erection was proposed, to remedy the deficiency
of the old church, which was ill adapted and inconveniently
situated. The edifice is adapted for a congregation
of 400 persons, and was opened for divine
service by the late distinguished Dr. Chalmers. The
parochial school affords a useful education; the master
has a salary of £34. 4., with £40 fees, and a house and
garden. A library is supported, and there are two itinerating
libraries.