DRUMMELZIER, a parish, in the county of Peebles
i containing 2'28 inhabitants, of whom 63 are in
the village, 2 miles (E.) from Rachan-Mill. This parish,
in ancient documents Drumellnr and Driimcler, anciently
formed part of the parish of Tweedsmuir, from which it
was separated in 1643; and in 1~42 it was augmented
by the annexation of part of the parish of Dawick, the
remainder of which was added to Stobo. It appears to
have been from a very remote period the property of the
family of Tweedie, of whom Sir James Tweedie, to whose
memory there is an inscription, dated I6l7, over the
entrance of a cemetery attached to the church, was the
last member. The parish is about fourteen miles in
length, and from three to four in average breadth, and
is bounded on the north for about eight miles by the
river Tweed, which, also, in the upper portion divides it
into two parts. It comprises 17,3S6 acres, of which
1030 acres are arable, 189 meadow and low pasture, 520
woodland and plantations, and 16,647 acres hilly moor,
affording tolerable pasture for sheep and cattle. The
surface is generally mountainous, but between the hills
and the river are some fine tracts of level pasture; the
hills are clothed with grass and heath, and the scenery
is enlivened by some stately timber, and thriving plantations
of modern growth.
The soil is sharp, and the crops are oats and barley,
with a few acres of wheat, also peas, potatoes, and turnips:
the system of agriculture is in an improved state;
the lands are well drained, and inclosed chiefly with
fences of stone. Considerable attention is paid to the
management of the dairy-farms, and to the rearing and
pasture of sheep and cattle; about 200 milch-cows are
kept, and 7000 slieep, chiefly of the black-faced breed,
are fed in the pastures. The annual value of real property
in the parish is £2993. The woods are oak, chesnut,
sycamore, and larch, and on the older lands are
many trees of luxuriant growth; the plantations are
Scotch fir and larch, intermixed with various foresttrees.
In this parish the substrata are mostly whinstone
(with veins of quartz), white and very compact
limestone, and slate; but no quarries have yet been
opened. Dawick, a seat lately rebuilt, is a handsome
mansion in the antique style of architecture, situated in
a well-planted demesne, containing a fine collection of
pine-trees from the Himalaya mountains and California.
The village, which is irregularly built, is pleasant, and
chiefly inhabited by persons employed iu agriculture.
The river Tweed and its tributaries abound with trout,
and salmon are also found in the former from September
till March.
The parish is ecclesiastically in the presbytery of
Peebles, synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and in the
patronage of the family of Trotter; the minister's stipend
is £192, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £10
per annum. Drummelzier church, situated nearly in
the centre of the parish, and at an elevation of 800 feet
above the sea, is an ancient structure in good repair,
adapted for a congregation of 200 persons. The parochial
school affords instruction to about thirty children;
the master has a salary of £32, with £10 fees, and a
house and garden. At Kingledoors, in the upper part
of the parish, was an ancient chapel dedicated to St.
Cuthbert, the early evangelist of Tweeddale. There are
remains of two castles: that called Tinnes or Thanes
Castle, of which there is no authentic record, was of
quadrilateral form, with circular towers at the angles,
and walls six feet in thickness; the other, called Drummelzier
Place, is supposed to have been the baronial
seat of the Tweedie family. On the summit of one of
the mountains, are vestiges of a road thought to have
been part of the Roman road communicating with the
line from Falkirk to Carlisle. Near the junction of the
Powsail rivulet with the Tweed, is a spot said to have
been the grave of Merlin.