BORTHWICK, a parish, in the county of Edinburgh,
3 miles (E. by N.) from Temple; containing,
with the villages of Clayhouse, Dewartown, Middleton,
North Middleton, Newlandrig, and part of Stobbsmills,
1617 inhabitants. This place, anciently called Locherwart,
assumed the appellation of Borthwick about the
time of the Reformation, from the family of that name.
The most remote possessors of the extensive estates in
this district of whom we have any account, were the
family of Lyne, who occupied the domain till the reign
of Alexander H., when it passed to the Hays, who
in the time of James L disposed of the lands to Sir
William de Borthwick, founder of the magnificent castle
afterwards so celebrated in Scottish history. This
personage was created Lord Borthwick in 1433; and the
castle thus became the seat of a barony, and, by a special
license obtained from the king, was fortified in a
very complete manner, and supplied with every thing
necessary for its safety and defence. The descendants
of this baron were illustrious for the general character
of integrity and honour which they sustained, and for
the part they took in the public transactions of their
times. William, the third lord, was slain, with James
IV., at the fatal battle of Flodden. John, the fifth
lord, was a zealous supporter of Queen Mary, who
occasionally visited his castle, and made it an asylum,
before the commencement of her long series of troubles.
John, the eighth lord, in the time of the civil wars,
strenuously supported the cause of the Royalists, and,
being besieged in his castle by Cromwell after the execution
of the king, was obliged at length to surrender.
In 1449, the ecclesiastical revenues of the parish were
appropriated to the collegiate church of Crichton. But
in April 1596, James I. of England dissolved from that
establishment several prebendaries, with two boys or
clerks to assist in the performance of divine service
here, assigning to them proper salaries; and these prebends,
with the vicarage of Borthwick, manse, and
glebe, were then by royal charter erected into a distinct
charge, called the parsonage of Borthwick. This
arrangement was ratified by parliament, in 1606, and
confirmed by the Archbishop of St. Andrew's as patron
of the prebends.
The PARISH is about six miles long and four miles
broad, and contains about 21,000 acres, of which 19,100
are in tillage or pasture, 700 in plantations, and 1200
are uncultivated. The surface is of an undulated character,
presenting an agreeable succession of eminences,
most of which are well cultivated; and these, as well
as the low grounds, are in many cases sheltered and
ornamented with thriving plantations. The rising
grounds are intersected by a number of picturesque and
beautiful valleys, watered by winding streams. The
south-east corner of the parish lies high, and strikes
the traveller from the south as bleak; but as he proceeds
a short distance on the road to Edinburgh, and
obtains a view of the rich and wide valley of Mid-
Lothian, of which Borthwick at this point is the entrance,
the character of the landscape rapidly improves,
and presents, if not a rich, at least a romantic and
agreeable aspect. From the summit of Covvbrae Hill,
at the upper boundary of the parish, an extensive prospect
may be obtained of the surrounding country, well
repaying the labour of ascending the eminence. In the
proper seasons, the great profusion of plants and flowers,
especially of wild roses, for which Borthwick is famed,
makes it alike inviting to the admirer of garden scenery
and the lover of botanical research. Two burns traverse
the higher part of the parish, called the North and South
Middleton, which, after their junction at the end of the
neck of land on which the castle is situated, take the
name of the Gore, and at length, winding through the
whole extent of the valley, fall into the South Esk at
Shank Point.
The SOIL is various, being in some parts a fine light
mould, and in others loamy, and approaching to heavy
clayey earth: in the vicinity of the streams the alluvial
land is subject to occasional inundations. All kinds
of grain are raised, with the usual green crops; and the
lands are plentifully manured with farm-yard dung,
lime, and bone-dust: the farms are in general in a high
state of cultivation. The cattle bred here are the shorthorned,
and the sheep principally the black-faced and
the Cheviot, although a cross between the Leicester and
the Cheviot has been preferred on some of the large
estates. A long barren moor at the base of the Lammermoors,
with other ground of the same description,
has to a considerable extent beeu cultivated; and the
river locahties, with several low swamps, have been
cleared of their wild wood, and intersected with drains;
improvements that have greatly added to the value of
the land. The annual value of real property in the
parish is £6S37. The rocks consist chiefly of greywacke,
limestone, and sandstone; of the first kind are
the Lammerraoor hills, on the southern boundary of
the parish, and the substance of Cowbrae Hill is the
same. On the abrupt borders of Currie Wood, a coarsegrained
reddish sandstone is found, in layers, interlined
with some lighter-coloured varieties of the same rock.
The sandstone hitherto discovered in the parish contains
a strong admixture of calcareous matter, which greatly
deteriorates its value as a building material; but the
district contains very superior limestone and coal,
which are wrought extensively, and sent to Edinburgh
and some of the southern towns of Scotland. Limeburning
is regularly carried on, and large quantities of
lime are used for agricultural purposes. Great facilities
of intercouse are afforded by the Edinburgh and Hawick
railway, which has a station near Fushie-Bridge, in the
parish.
Among the chief mansions is the House of Arnision,
an extensive and majestic structure of baronial appearance,
ornamented by numerous ancient trees of unusual
size, with rich plantations, and finely laid-out grounds,
watered by the beautiful stream of the South Esk. Most
of its old wood is supposed to have been planted by the
first baron of Arniston, Sir James Dundas, who was
knighted by James V. about the year 1530. Middletou
House, situated in the higher part of the parish, is in a
similar style, but of smaller dimensions; it stands in
the midst of thick woods and verdant fields, and is surrounded
by grounds that are much admired. Currie
House was formed about thirty or forty years ago, by
enlarging and improving a house upon the property.
In the vicinity is Currie Wood, the prospects from
which comprise almost every object the union of which
may be conceived necessary to constitute a landscape of
finished and perfect beauty. Vorgie House is a narrow
long building, with little pretension to architectural
taste; but the adjacent grounds are rich, consisting of
romantic glens, ornamented with many fine and majestic
trees. Harvieston House, in its external appearance,
is somewhat similar to that of Vorgie; it was
originally of exceedingly plain appearance, but some
additions were judiciously made to it a few years ago,
and the lands around it have been greatly improved,
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Dalkeith, synod of Lothian
and Tweeddale; the Dundas family are patrons, and the
stipend of the minister is £19S. 12. 3., with a manse,
and a glebe of fourteen acres. The church was built in
1*80, on the destruction of the ancient edifice by fire,
and contains about 450 sittings. There is a parochial
school, in which the usual branches of education are
taught; the master has the maximum salary, with £40
fees, and the legal accommodation of house and garden.
Another school is endowed with a bequest of £3. 17-
per annum, the teacher deriving the rest of his income
from the scholars. The ancient castle of Borthwick,
the chief relic of antiquity in the parish, consists of a
single tower, having an embattled wall of hewn stone,
thirteen feet in thickness near the base, but contracting
gradually to about six feet towards the top. The proportions
of the building, without the walls, are seventyfour
feet by sixty-eight, and about 110 feet from the
area to the highest part of the roof. It has a sunk
apartment, above which are two large halls, one over
the other, the lower of which is ample, elegant, and
finely formed, and has a roof ornamented with numerous
antique devices. There are also two flights of bedrooms,
and various other internal and external appendages,
constituting the castle one of the most strilcing
buildings of the class in Scotland. It is beautifully
situated, and is famous in history for the visits and
residence of the unfortunate Queen Mary, while Bothwell
was lord of the neighbouring castle of Crichton.
The eminent historian. Dr. Robertson, was born in the
manse, where he received the earliest part of his education.