GLENCROSS, or Glencorse, a parish, in the
county of Edinburgh, 2^ miles (N. by E.) from Penicuick;
containing 708 inhabitants. This parish, which
consists of portions severed from the parishes of Lasswade
and Penicuick in 16 16, derives its name from an
ancient cross in the cemetery of the old church of St.
Catherine, now covered by the water of the Compensation
reservoir. The battle of the Pentland hills, between
the Covenanters under Colonel Wallace and the king's
troops commanded by General Dalziel, took place on
Rullion Green, in this parish, on the 28th of November,
1666, and terminated in the defeat of the former, with
considerable slaughter. Glencross is bounded on the
north by the parish of Colinton, on the east and on the
south by that of Lasswade, and on the west by Penicuick.
It is three miles in length, and nearly the same in breadth,
comprising an area of about 1920 acres, of which 1680
are arable, and the remainder hilly moorland. The surface
is beautifully diversified with hill and dale, and
abounds in scenery of strikingly picturesque character;
in the northern district is a considerable portion of the
Pentlaud hills, and throughout the parish the laud is
irregularly undulated. The Glencross or Logan water
has its source in the Pentlands, and winding in an eastern
direction through the parish, flows into the river Esk
near Auchinderry, in the parish of Glencross. In its
course along a valley between the Pentland hills, it has
been formed, by the Edinburgh Water Company, at an
immense expense, into a reservoir for the supply of the
numerous mills upon the Esk, in consideration of their
having diverted from that river, for the supply of Edinburgh,
the powerful spring of Crawley, which rises near
the manse, and discharges sixty cubic feet of water per minute.
The SOIL varies from a fine rich loam to a gravelly
and stiff clay, and is adapted for crops of every kind
the principal crops are wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, and
turnips, with the various grasses. The system of agriculture
is in a very forward state; the lands have been
well drained, and inclosed in the lower parts with hedges
of thorn, and in the higher with stone dykes. The farm
houses and offices are greatly improved in appearance;
they are substantial and commodiously arranged, and ou
most of the farms are threshing-mills. Much waste land
has been reclaimed and brought into cultivation, yielding
fine crops of grain by the judicious use of lime formed
into a compost for manure. The hills afford good pasturage
for sheep, which are chiefly the black-faced, with
some of the Cheviot breed, and a few of a cross between
the black-faced and the Leicestershire. Plantations have
been formed on an extensive scale, which are well managed,
and in a thriving condition; they consist of almost
every sort of trees, both of hard and soft wood. There
are some remarkable specimens of Portugal laurel in the
gardens of Logan Bank, and of variegated holly at Woodhouselee,
some of the latter being more than thirty-five
feet in height; also a silver-fir at Woodhouselee, measuring
thirteen feet and a half in girth at three feet from
the ground. In this parish the substrata are very various:
coal was formerly wrought in Glencross muir; and
a beautiful rock of porphyry in the parish was worked
for some time, in the hope of finding copper or silver,
but not to any great extent. The annual value of real
property in Glencross is £5391. Woodhouselee, the
seat of James Tytler, Esq., is an elegant mansion beautifully
situated in an ample demesne tastefully laid out,
and embellished with plantations: Bush, Glencross
House, Logan Bank, Castlelaw, and Bellwood are also
good mansions. The old house of Greenlaw was
converted by government into a depOt for French prisoners
of war in 1S03, and in 1813 a new prison was commenced,
to accommodate 7000 men, but which was never used,
as the war terminated before the completion of the buildings:
the prisons are wholly unoccupied, but the barracks
are occupied by a small detachment of troops
from the castle of Edinburgh. There is no village, except
a few clusters of houses at Milton-Mill; the population
of the parish is entirely agricultural. A distillery
was formerly carried on; but a paper-mill, lately erected,
and a meal-mill, are the only works at present: a market
for sheep is held on the first and second Mondays in
April, at House of j\luir. Facility of communication is
afforded by good roads, kept in excellent repair, and by
bridges over the Glencross water and the river Esk: the
turnpike-road from Edinburgh to Dumfries intersects the parish.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs Glencross is within the
bounds of the synod of Lothian and Tweeddale and the
presbytery of Dalkeith. The minister's stipend is £156.
17., of which £88 are paid by government; patron, Mr.
Tytler. The manse, about a mile from the church, was
built in 1816; the glebe comprises nine acres, including
garden, and is valued at £19. 15. per annum. Glencross
church, situated on the summit of an isolated hill, in the
centre of the parish, was erected in 1665, and partly rebuilt
after sustaining damage from fire, and enlarged by
the erection of transepts, in 1699; it was repaired in
ISll, and contains 180 sittings, a number very inadequate
to the population of the parish. The parochial
schoolmaster has a salary of £34, with a good house
and garden, and the fees average about £20 annually.
There are vestiges of an ancient camp at Castlelaw, from
which that estate most probably took its name; and on
the high grounds of House of Muir are vestiges of another
camp. Upon an eminence near Marchwell, till
within the last few years, were some very perfect remains
of a Druidical circle; but they have been removed
for the sake of the materials, which have been used in
the erection of a wall. William Tytler, Esq., author of
an inquiry into the evidence against Mary Queen of
Scots; his son. Lord Woodhouselee, author of the Life
of Lord Karnes; and Patrick Eraser Tytler, Esq., youngest
son of Lord Woodhouselee, and author of the History
of Scotland, all resided on the estate of Woodhouselee.
The Rev. Dr. Liglis, author of a vindication of ecclesiastical
establishments, likewise lived for many years in the
parish.