CASTLETON, a parish, in the district of Melrose,
county of Roxburgh; containing 2135 inhabitants, of
whom 1030 are in the village of New Castleton, 9 miles
(E. byN.) from Langholm. This place derived its name
from an ancient castle here, which stood on the east
bank of the Liddel, upon a perpendicular precipice
upwards of 100 feet in height, and was defended on the
west and south by two strong ramparts, and a deep fosse,
which are still entire. The parish was anciently denominated
Liddesdale, from the river, which runs through it
from the north-cast to the south. Camps, forts, cairns,
and castles remain in various places; and on account
of its situation directly along the English border, it was
formerly the scene of violent contentions. Hermitage
Castle, a building about 100 feet square, protected by a
strong rampart and ditch, and standing on the bank of
a river of the same name, is said to have been built by
Sir Ranulph de Soules, warden of the Border in the
reign of David I. One of his descendants. Lord Soules,
and also governor of the castle, according to the current
tradition, was burnt near the site of a Druidical temple,
on a hill here, called Nine-Stone Ridge; and in 1342,
Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie was starved to death
in the castle by Sir William Douglas, lord of Liddesdale.
The castle was visited in 1561 by Mary, Queen of Scots,
who travelled from, and returned to, Jedburgh in the
same day, over mountains, and through marshes almost
impassable. Near it stood the chapel of Hermitage,
now a ruin, in the middle of a burying-ground, which is
still in use, and in the wall of which is fixed the ancient
font. The lauds of Liddesdale were annexed to the crown
in 1540, by act of parliament, and in 1648 were granted
to Francis, Earl of Buccleuch, whose descendant, in I747,
upon the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, was allowed
£600 as a compensation for the regality. In January
1649 Castleton kirk sustained considerable injury from
the adherents of Cromwell.
The PARISH is the largest and most southern in the
county, measuring about eighteen miles long and twelve
broad, and containing 65,200 acres. It is bounded on
the east by Northumberland, and on the south-east by
Cumberland: the southern extremity is nearly of triangular
form. The surface is diversified in a high degree;
the lower part of the parish is hilly, and in the
upper part the country is entirely mountainous, rising
abruptly in many instances to a great elevation, and
affording excellent pasture for numerous flocks of sheep.
The principal mountains are Greatmoor, Millenwood
Fell, Tudhope, Windhead, and Tinnis Hill, which last is
seen as a landmark from the Solway Firth and Irish Sea:
some of these rise as much as 2000 feet above the level
of the sea, and give a wild and romantic appearance to
parts of the parish. The part inhabited consists of two
valleys, one of which, bordering on the river Hermitage,
is about ten miles long, from the source of that stream
until it loses itself in the Liddel; the banks of the water
are clothed with natural wood, which, with the scenery
generally, enlivened by the beautiful current, exhibits a
rural picture of the most attractive kind. The other
valley is that lying along the sides of the Liddel, which
river, as well as the Tyne, rises near the head of the parish,
on the north-east. The Liddel runs directly west
for a few miles, after which it turns to the south; the
Tyne takes its course to the east, slowly winding through
Northumberland. The country through which the former
passes is wild, bleak, and mountainous, and for ten miles
the banks are entirely naked; where it is joined by the
Hermitage, however, they are covered with trees, and
flourishing plantations there constitute prominent features
in the improving and beautiful landscape. In
addition to these streams are the Tinnis, Blackburn,
Tweeden, Kershope (which divides the two kingdoms),
and several others, all famed for their supply of trout.
There are numerous mineral springs, and several beautiful
cascades and waterfalls on the various streams.
The SOIL varies considerably, that in the neighbourhood
of the rivers being soft and rich, while the higher
grounds exhibit a poorer mould; in some parts it is of
a mossy character. Most of the arable land lies on the
banks of the rivers; wheat of average quality has been
produced, but the ordinary crops are barley, oats,
potatoes, and turnips. The mossy ground is esteemed
for pasturing black-cattle and sheep; the cattle are
chiefly of the Galloway, Dutch, and Highland kinds,
many of which last are brought by the farmers from the
Falkirk and Doune markets, and supported during the
winter upon coarse hay and other fodder, then fattened
on the pastures, and sold towards the end of summer.
The annual value of real property in the parish is £12,126.
Several plantations have been made of Scotch fir, spruce,
larch, oak, ash, and beech, which are for the most part
in a flourishing condition; and the natural wood consists
of some of the same species, with a considerable quantity
of alder. There is a large supply of limestone of various
qualities, which is wrought to a great extent on the
estates of Lariston and Thorlieshope: coal is obtained on
the estate of Liddelbank; and there are quarries of freestone
in every direction, except at the head of Hermitage,
where is nothing but blue whinstone.
The village, the building of which was commenced in
1*93, by the Duke of Buccleuch, consists principally of
two streets, named the Liddel and the Hermitage.
Several other streets cross these at right angles, and in
the centre is a market-place called Douglas-square, the
CAST C ATH
buildings round which consist of two stories. Tliere are
also smaller squares near each extremity of the main
street. Fairs for the sale of sheep are held twice a j'ear,
and three for hiring servants in April, May, and November,
respectively; and the Eskdale and Liddesdale
Farmers' Association meet once in every three years at
Castleton. Sheriff circuit small-debt courts, for the recovery
of sums not exceeding £8. 6. 8., are holden in
the village on the first Tuesday of April, of August, and
November. Ecclesiastically the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Langholm, synod of Dumfries,
and the patronage is exercised by the Duke of
Buccleuch; the minister's stipend is £250, with a good
manse, and a glebe of twenty-five acres. Castleton
church, built in 1808, accommodates between 600 and
700 persons, and occupies a convenient situation, at the
junction of the Liddel and the Hermitage. The United
Presbyterian Synod have a place of worship. There is
one principal parochial school, with three auxiliaries:
the salaries of the masters amount to £51, of which the
bead master receives £30, leaving the remaining sum to
be equally divided among the other teachers; the fees
of the four schools are about £"0. A good subscription
library has also been established in the village. Dr.
Armstrong, author of the Art of Preserving Health, was
a native of Castleton.