CRICHTON, a parish, in the county of Edinburgh;
including the village of Pathhead, and part of Faladam,
and containing 13.S4 inhabitants, of whom 122 are in
the village of Crichton, 2 miles (S.) from Ford. This
place is of considerable antiquity, and was known to the
Romans. Upon the property of Longfaugh are the
remains of a Roman camp, the lines and iutrenchments
of which are well defined; and there is no doubt as to
the ancient occupation of the place by armies, of the
particulars of whose operations in these parts we have
no information. Crichton was anciently remarkable
for its church, which was made collegiate in 1449 by
Sir William Crichton, chancellor of Scotland, with the
consent of James, his son; and a provost, eight prebendaries,
and two singing boys were supported out of
the rents of Crichton and Locherworth. It was a mensal
church, belonging to the archbishop of St. Andrew's;
but the bishop had the patronage of the prebends of
Vogrie, Arniston, Middleton, and Locherworth. After
the Reformation, Sir Gideon Murray, the last provost,
obtained a license to convert the church lands of Crichton,
with the tithes formerly belonging to the rectory,
into a temporal estate. He was treasurer- depute to
James YI., and died in 1621, leaving the estate to his
son Patrick, who in 1643 was created Lord Elibank:
the lands are now possessed bv William Burn Callender,
Esq.
The celebrated castle of Crichton, which is supposed
to have been partly erected in the fourteenth century,
was formerly the residence of Chancellor Crichton already
mentioned, joint guardian with the Earl of Callender
of James IL during his minority, and the promoter
of the vigorous measures against the powerful Douglas.
While Crichton held the castle, it was besieged and
partly demolished by William, Earl of Douglas, after a
resistance of nine months; but it was restored with
great splendour, and received additions at various times,
until it at length assumed the appearance of one of the
most magnificent structures of this kind in the country.
Though now in ruins, it is a sohd massive building, of
extremely venerable and imposing appearance. The
oldest part of the castle is a narrow keep or tower; but
so many additions were made subsequently to the erection
of this part that there is now a large court-yard,
surrounded by buildings of difiFerent ages. The eastern
front of the court is raised above a portico, and decorated
with entablatures bearing anchors. The stones of this
front are cut into diamond facets, of rich appearance;
and within this portion of the edifice, there appears to
have been a gallery of unusual size and elegance.
The PARISH, which is situated in the eastern part of
the county, is about five miles and a half long, and four
and a half broad, containing an area of about 4900 acres.
Its surface consists of a continued succession of undulations
and hollows throughout; a considerable part, in
the higher grounds, is covered with wood, and about
560 acres are moorland and outfield. The river Tyne
rises in the upper district of the parish, and after running
towards the north for two or three miles, makes
a bend to the east, passes through the county of Haddington,
and falls into the sea near Dunbar. The
soil in the lower grounds is mostly a deep rich mould,
producing heavy crops; in some other places it is dry
and sharp, well adapted to the growth of turnips, which
are cultivated to a considerable extent. On the high
lands it consists of thin moss resting upon a wet sand
or clay, unsuited to husbandry, but congenial to the
growth of trees, some of which thrive very well. About
4160 acres of land are in tillage, and all kinds of grain
of good quality are produced, as well as potatoes,
turnips, and hay. Several hundreds of acres, before
considered intractable, have been brought into profitable
cultivation within the present century, and improvements
in this branch of husbandry are still in progress.
The annual value of real property is £5610.
The rocks consist chiefly of limestone of a superior
description, large quantities of which have been for
many years sent to Edinburgh for the purposes of building;
much of it is also sent southward, for agricultural
use. Coal is found in different parts of the parish, in
thin seams, but no pits have been opened. The great
road to the south, by Lauder, passes through Pathhead,
where a splendid bridge has been erected over the Tyne,
consisting of five arches, each eighty feet high by fifty
feet span. The Edinburgh and Haw'ick railway skirts
the south-western boundary of the parish; it there
crosses the river Tyne by a great viaduct with corresponding
embankments, and has a station called the
Tyne-head station. Ecclesiastically the parish is within
the bounds of the presbytery of Dalkeith and synod of
Lothian and Tvieeddale; patron, Mr. Callender: the
minister's stipend is £264, with a manse, and a glebe
valued at £15 per aimum. The parish church, which
is a fine ancient structure in the form of a cross, was
the collegiate church; it was thoroughly repaired about
thirty years ago, and will accommodate 600 persons.
At Pathhead is a place of worship for dissenters. There
is a parochial school, in which the usual branches of
education are taught; the master has a salary of £34,
with a house, and £26 fees. A good circulating library
is supported at Pathhead, and the parish has two friendly
societies.