ECCLESMACHAN, a parish, in the county of
Linlithgow; containing, with the villages of Three-
Mile-town and Waterston, 303 inhabitants, of whom
97 are in the village of Ecclesmachan, 1 mile (N.)
from Uphall. This place derives its name from the
dedication of its ancient church to St. Machan, who
flourislied in the ninth century. It is separated into
two detached portions by the intervention of a part of
the parish of Linlithgow, and comprises altogether an
area of 2458 acres; about 2300 acres are arable and
pasture, 130 woodland and plantations, and the remainder
roads and waste. The surface rises into two
ridges, of which that in the western portion of the
parish attains an elevation of 600 feet, and is intersected
by several shallow ravines; the eastern ridge, of less
height, is precipitously steep, rising on the south into
an abrupt eminence called Tar or Tor Hill. The lower
grounds are watered by several small streams that flow
into the river Almond; and the prevailing scenery is
softened by the thriving plantations that have been
formed on the lands of Blackcraig. In general the soil
is fertile; the lands, which are divided into farms of
moderate extent, are under good cultivation, and the best
system of husbandry has been adopted. The crops are
wheat, barley, oats, beans, and turnips. The grounds
are well inclosed with hedges of thorn and ditches, and
draining has been practised to some extent, but there is
still great room for improvement. The rearing of hve
stock is confined chiefly to the Ayrshire breed of cattle,
with a cross of the short-horned; oxen of the Angus or
the Highland breed, and black-faced sheep, are fattened
on the pastures. Coal is plentiful, and was formerly
wrought in several parts: sandstone is found on most
of the lands; and in the vicinity of the most prominent
rocks, which are of trap, are found large beds of indurated
clay, interspersed occasionally with seams of ironstone.
The annual value of real property in the parish is £2718.
The village consists of a few houses near the church,
and facility of communication is afforded by roads kept
in excellent repair by statute labour, and by the road
from Edinburgh to Falkirk, which passes through the
northern extremity of the parish. Ecclesmachan is
within the bounds of the presbytery of Linlithgow,
synod of Lothian and Tweeddale; patron, the Earl of
Hopetoun: the minister's stipend is £256. 12., with a
manse, and a glebe valued at £15 per annum. The
church, which was nearly rebuilt in the beginning of
the last century, and thoroughly repaired in 1S22, is
a plain structure containing 153 sittings. The parochial
school is attended by about fifty children; the
master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden,
and the fees average about £20 per annum. A school
was erected on the border of the parish by the late
Robert Warden, Esq.; the master is solely dependent
on the fees, having only the house rent free, which in
summer is used as a preaching-station on the Sabbath
evenings. On the Tar hill is a spring called the Bullion
Well, the water of which is slightly impregnated with
sulphuretted hydrogen. William Hamilton, a poet of
eminence in the early part of the 18th century, was
either born, or resided in the parish.