TWYNHOLM, a village and parish, in the stewartry
of Kirkcudbright, 3 miles (N. by W.) from Kirkcudbright;
containing 777 inhabitants, of whom 216 are
in the village. This place, whose name, supposed to be
a corruption of Twynham, is descriptive of the situation
of the church and village on rising ground, appears to
have attained to some little importance at an early
period. During the contest between Bruce and Baliol,
Edward I. of England, after remaining with his court
for some time at the castle of Kirkcudbright, crossed
the Dee on the 9th of August, 1300, and took up his
abode here: he remained ten days, and made several
offerings at the altar of the ancient chapel. The parish
seems to have been enlarged by the annexation of that
of Kirk-Christ about the middle of the seventeenth century.
It is bounded by the river Dee, separating it
from the parish of Kirkcudbright; and is about ten
miles in length, and nearly three miles in extreme
breadth, comprising an area of 10,700 acres, of which
6500 are arable, 3270 meadow and pasture, 320 plantation,
and the remainder waste. Nearly one half of the
parish is the ])roperty of the Earl of Selkirk; and the
remainder is divided among several proprietors, of
whom Thomas Maitland, Esq., of Dundrenuan, and the
family of Mc Millan, of Barwhinnock, are the principal.
Its surface is diversified with hills, which in the northern
portion rise into considerable elevation, affording only
pasturage to cattle and sheep; in the southern portion
the hills are of inferior height, and arable to their summits.
The rivers are, the Dee, which bounds the parish
on the east; and the Tarf, which, after winding through
the north, takes an eastern course, and falls into the
Dee. The lower grounds are also watered by other
streams; and of the several lakes the most extensive
is Locli Wliinyeon, at the north-west boundary of the
parish, bordering on that of Girthon. The water of
this lake was formerly conveyed by the small burn of
Glengap into the Tarf; but a tunnel has been cut through
the hill, by which it is diverted to the cotton-works at
Gatehouse, in the parish of Girthon.
The SOIL is generally fertile, and the pastures in several
parts are luxuriantly rich; the principal crops are
wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, and turnips. Agriculture
is much improved; the lands have been well drained,
and are partly inclosed with fences of thorn, which have
been lately introduced, and are gradually superseding
the stone dykes formerly in use. The cattle are usually
of the Galloway breed, but on one or two farms are
some of the short-horned; the sheep are principally a
cross between the Leicester and Cheviot breeds. Great
numbers of sheep are bought in during the autumn, in
addition to what are reared; they are fed on turnips,
and, when fat, are sent by the steam-boats to Liverpool.
In this district the substratum is chiefly whinstone;
there is no sandstone: granite occurs in large boulders
in several places. The plantations are oak, interspersed
with larch, spruce, and Scotch firs; they are
under good management, and in a very flourishing condition.
The annual value of real property in the parish is £62.59.
Corapston, a residence of Mr. Maitland's, is a handsome
house, built by the late proprietor, Adam Maitland,
Esq.; and Barwhinnock, the residence of Mr. Mc
Millan, by whom it was erected, is also a handsome
building. The village, which is situated on the great
road from Carlisle to Portpatrick, is spacious and well
built: the inhabitants, with the excepti(m of a small
number employed in the various handicraft trades requisite
for the supply of the neighbourhood, are engaged
in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. There are a mill
for carding and spinning wool, and, on the same premises,
a mill for dressing flax, both for the farmers, who
work them up at their own houses for domestic use.
Facility of communication is maintained by the turnpike-
road to Portpatrick, which passes through the
centre of the parish, and by statute roads kept in good
repair. Across the Dee is a ferry to Kirkcudbright;
and that river, which is navigable to Tongland bridge,
affords ample means of procuring supplies of coal and
lime, and of conveying the agricultural produce to Liverpool and other markets.
Ecclesiastically this place is within the limits of the
presbytery of Kirkcudbright and synod of Galloway.
The minister's stipend is £225. 11. 1., with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £40 per annum; patron, the Earl
of Selkirk. Twynholm church, erected in 1818, is a neat
structure in the early English style of architecture; it
is situated nearly in the centre of the parish, and contains
410 sittings. The parochial school is attended by
about 100 children; the master has a salary of £34.
4. 4., with a house and garden, and the fees average £15
per annimi. At Doon, in the south of the parish, is a
female school, for which a house was built by the Earl
of Selkirk, wlio pays the teacher's salary. Remains exist
of several British forts, near one of wliieh, in a tumulus,
was found a stone colhn containing human l)oncs, some
coins, and an instrument rcscmhling a hammer. There
arc some slight remains of the ancient castle of Compston,
consisting of three of the walls of the tower, in a
very ruinous condition. Of the nunnery that existed
in the southern part of the parish, the only memorial is
preserved in the names of the farms of High and Low
Nunton, with that of a mill adjoining them, still called
Nunmill. The poet Montgomery once resided at Compston.