TORTHORWALD, a parish, in the county of Dumfries;
containing, with the villages of Collin or CoUyn,
and Roucan, 1346 inhabitants, of whom 178 are in the
village of Torthorwald, 4\ miles (E. N. E.) from Dumfries.
The name of this place is supposed to be Saxon,
and to signify " the tower or castle of Thor in the
wood "; the ruins of an ancient castle are yet remaining,
and the parish is said to have been originally surrounded
by an extensive forest. The castle appears to
have been erected during the Saxon heptarchy, probably
in honour of Thor, the chief of the Saxon deities. It
was subsequently the residence of the Torthorwald family,
of whom David de Torthorwald swore fealty to
Edward I. of England, at Berwick, in 1291. The castle
and the lands were afterwards the property of Sir William
Carlyle, Knt., who married the sister of Robert Bruce,
and whose son obtained from that monarch a grant of
the whole barony of Torthorwald, which in the reign of
James HL was confirmed to his descendant. Sir John
Carlyle, who was elevated to the peerage by the title of
Lord Carlyle. After the decease of Michael, Lord
Carlyle, without issue male, the estate passed to his
grand-daughter Elizabeth, who conveyed it, with the
title, to Sir James Douglas; on the death of whose son,
in 1638, the title became extinct, and the estate went
into the possession of William, first Earl of Queensberry,
whose descendant, the Marquess of Queensberry,
is now principal proprietor in Torthorwald.
The PARISH is bounded by the river Lochar, separating
it from the parish of Dumfries. It is about six
miles and a half in extreme length, varying greatly in
breadth, and comprising an area of 5500 acres; about
2600 acres are arable, 1050 meadow and pasture, and
the remainder moss and waste, of which part has been
reclaimed. The surface in the west, along the river, is
low, forming a portion of the tract called Lochar Moss.
Towards the east it rises into a ridge of hills of considerable
elevation, of which one, the Beacon, commands an
extensive view over the surrounding country, embracing
the southern portion of Dumfriesshire, the eastern parts
of Galloway, the coast of Cumberland, Solway Firth,
and the Irish Channel. The river Lochar, which for
more than seven miles forms the western boundary of
the parish, flows in a gently winding course southward,
through the centre of Lochar Moss, and, deviating
towards the cast, falls into the Solway Firth. This
river, from the level nature of the ground, has scarcely
any perceptible current. It abounds with pike, perch,
trout, and eels.
In this ])arish the soil is various; for some breadth to
the cast of the moss, light and sandy, and well adapted
for turnips, potatoes, and barley; for some distance up
the sides of the ridge, of stronger quality, and equally
fertile, producing excellent crops of wheat; and thence
to the summit of the ridge, of an inferior description,
cold, and resting on a substratum of retentive till. The
crops are oats, barley, wheat, potatoes, and turnips,
with the usual grasses. Husbandry has been gradually
improving; and the lands have mostly been inclosed,
partly with stone dykes, which, however, soon fall into
decay from the perishable nature of the stone; and
partly with hedges of thorn, which, with moderate
attention, are kept in good order. The lands in general
are better adapted for tillage than for pasture; but
owing to the introduction of turnip-husbandry, 2000
sheep are fed on turnips in winter, for distant markets.
Considerable attention is also paid to the dairy: about
360 cows are pastured; and large quantities of milk,
butter, eggs, and poultry are forwarded to Dumfries.
Of young black-cattle the number in the parish is
about 500; and about 400 swine are annually fattened.
There are scarcely any plantations, and no remains of
ancient wood, but the numbers of trunks of trees dug
up in the mosses afford sufficient evidence that the
parish was originally thickly wooded; oak, fir, birch,
and hazel trees are met with in a sound state, and
used by carpenters for various purposes. The substrata
are chiefly greywacke and transition rock, of which the
ridge is chiefly composed. Stones found on the surface
of the lands are employed for forming dykes on some of
the farms, but there are neither quarries nor mines. The
annual value of real property in the parish is £4960.
The village of Torthorwald is situated on the acclivity
of the ridge, about half way from its base, and on the
road from Lockerbie to Dumfries. It consists chiefly of
clusters of cottages, irregularly built, and inhabited by
persons employed in agriculture, and the various handicraft
trades requisite for the accommodation of the
neighbourhood. Letters are delivered every day from
the post-office at Dumfries; and facility of communication
is afforded by turnpike-roads, which pass for more
than seven miles through the parish, and by roads kept
in repair by statute labour. The villages of Collin and
Roucan are described under their respective heads.
Ecclesiastically this place is within the bounds of the
presbytery and synod of Dumfries: the minister's stipend
averages about £200 or upwards, with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £20 per annum; patron, the Marquess
of Qucensbury. Torthorwald church, conveniently
situated nearly in the centre of the parish, is a
substantial structure, erected in 17S2, and containing 500
sittings. There are two parochial schools; one of them
near the church, and the other in the village of Collin.
Of the former the master has a salary of £31. 6. 6.,
with a house and garden; and the fees average about
£28, in addition to which he receives the interest of
a bequest of £160. The master of the school at Collin
has a salary of £20, with a house, and three-quarters
of an acre of land reclaimed from the moss; the school
fees average £20. The remains of the ancient castle
are situated on rising ground near the church, and form
an interesting feature in the scenery: the building
appears to have been strongly fortified; and the walls,
of extraordinary thickness, seem likely, from their
solidity, to bid defiance to the ravages of time. On the
west, and also on the cast, of the castle, are the remains
of a British camp, thirty yards in diameter, and surrounded
in some parts with two, and in others with
three, strong intrenchments. In Torthorwald churchyard
is the burying-place of the family of the first Lord
Douglas of Dornoch, who was proprietor of the ancient
castle.