DUNSYRE, a parish, in the Upper ward of the
county of Lanark, I5 mile (W. N. W.) from Roberton,
and .5 miles (S. W.) from Linton; containing 288 inhabitants,
of whom 68 are in the village. This place, the
name of which, of Celtic origin, is supposed to signify
the " hill of the seer ", appears to have formed part of
the possessions of various families of distinction in the
earlier periods of Scottish history, and is now, with the
exception of a small portion, the property of Sir Norman
Macdonald Lockhart, Bart. The parish is more than
four miles in length from north to south, and from three
to four miles in breadth, and is bounded on the east and
south by the South Medwin, and on the north by the
North Medwin and Dryburn. It comprises an area of
11,000 acres, of which about one-eighth are arable, and
the remainder pasture and waste, with about forty acres
of woodland and plantations. The surface is generally
elevated, and rises into hills of considerable height, of
which that of Dunsyre forms the termination of the
Pentland hills, a range extending nearly twenty miles
from the immediate vicinity of Edinburgh. This hill has
an elevation of 500 feet above the general surface of the
lands, and of 1230 feet above the sea; and a small
range of gradually diminishing hills branches off from
it towards the west, stretching to the parish of Carnwath.
Between the Dunsyre and Walston ranges is the level
valley of the South Medwin, about three miles in length
and a mile broad. The scenery of the parish is enlivened
with plantations and with numerous streams, of
which the only one that may be called a river is the
South Medwin, having its source in the north-eastern
extremity of the parish, near the base of Cragingar, and
which, flowing through the valley, is, after a course of
two or three miles further, diverted towards the west,
where it receives a stream called the West water, issuing
from the hills to the north. Craneloch is about a mile
in circumference, but being situated in the moorland, its
scenery is destitute of beauty, presenting nothing but
marshy lands skirted with heath; it abounds with pike
and perch, and trout are also found in the Medwins.
The lands abound with springs of excellent water, and
there are some which have a petrifying quality, and
others strongly impregnated with iron.
The SOIL is generally light and sandy, in some parts
intermixed with clay, and in others almost a barren
heath; the crops are oats, barley, potatoes, and turnips.
The system of agriculture is advanced, and the rotation
plan of husbandry universally adopted; the lands have
been drained to a considerable extent, and the channel
of the South Medwin straiglitened to afford greater
facilities for draining the marshy grounds in its vicinity.
Attention is paid to the management of the dairy, and
to the improvement of stock; the milch-cows on the
dairy-farms are all of the Ayrshire breed, and a crossbreed
of cattle of a heavier stock is reared for agricultural
purposes and for the market. More than 3000
sheep, chiefly of the black-faced breed, are pastured.
Considerable quantities of cheese and butter are sent to
the neighbouring markets; and the dairy produce
generally is esteemed equal in quality to that of any
part of the county of Ayr. The annual value of real
property in the parish is £2624. The substrata are
mainly whinstone of a bluish colour, freestone, and an
indifferent kind of limestone, with partial seams of a
much purer kind resembling grey marble, and varying
from eight to sixteen feet in depth. Traces of iron-ore
are found in several places, and copper-ore is supposed
to exist. Coal is also thought to prevail in some parts,
but no efficient attempt to procure it has yet been made.
The woods and plantations are chiefly Scotch fir and
larch, but they are rather diminishing than increasing
in extent. The village is pleasantly situated in the vale
of the North Medwin: at Medwin Bank are a cardingmiU
and a dyeing establishment. Ecclesiastically the
parish is in the presbytery of Biggar, synod of Lothian
and Tvveeddale, and in the patronage of the Crown; the
minister's stipend is £156. 15., with a manse, and a
glebe valued at £28 per annum. Dunsyre church, situated
on an eminence on the bank of the river South
Medwin, is an ancient edifice, with a tower in the later
English style, which was added to it in 18'20, when it
underwent a complete repair; it is adapted for a congregation
of about 250 persons. The parochial school
is well attended; the master has a salary of £25, with
£5 fees, and a house and garden. There were formerly
numerous castles in the vale of Dunsyre, in one of which
the baron-bailie held his courts. Several relics of Roman
antiquity still remain, and the ancient Roman road
through the lands to the camp at Cleghoru may be
traced. The entrance to the glen in which the hill of
Dunsyre is situated, and which is called the Garvald,
forms a communication between the east and west portions
of the parish; the route of the army of Agricola
through this rugged defile is pointed out by a dyke of
earth, and some cairns are yet remaining, in which
sepulchral urns of burnt clay, rudely carved, have been
discovered.