LUSS, a village and parish, in the county of Dumbarton;
containing lOS'J inhabitants, of whom 309 are
in the village, 9 miles (N. f}. E.) from Helensburgh. The
name of this parish is derived from a Gaelic word signifying
a "plant" or "herb," and probably applied from
the circumstance of the river of Luss, or rather the valley
through which it flows, being once overspread with shrubs.
The most remote historical facts connected with the place
relate to St. Mackessog, a native of Lennox, who was a
bishop and confessor, and suffered martyrdom here in the
year .520: he was buried in the church, which was dedicated
to him; and from him, also, a cairn in the southern
part of Luss was afterwards called Curnnin-Clwasog. In
the thirteenth century, when Haco of Norway made a
descent upon Scotland, he conducted part of his fleet
up Loch Long to Arrochar. From this spot the boats
were dragged across an isthmus; and being floated on
Loch Lomond at Tarbet, they sailed to Luss, and carried
devastation and slaughter through the parish and its
neighbouring islands. The estate of Luss fell, about
the fourteenth century, into the possession of the family
who have ever since retained it. In the beginning of
the twelfth cent\iry, Alwyn, second Earl of Lennox, had
made the lands over, by charter, to Malduin, Dean of
Lennox; and his descendants, who were styled ile Luss,
had held them till the fourteenth century, when they came
into the hands of Colquhoun, of Colquhoun, through
his marriage with the sole heiress. The descendants of
this union kept the property till about the beginning of
the last century, when it came, by the marriage of the
heiress, to Grant of Grant, ancestor of the present proprietor.
Sir James Colquhoun, Bart. Robert, the younger
brother of Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, in 1395 obtained
the lands of Camstraddan and Achingahan by charter,
and thus was ancestor of the family of Camstraddan;
but the father of the present proprietor purchased the
estate of Camstraddan, and by re-annexing it to the estate
of Luss, became owner of the whole parish.
The PARISH is about eight miles and a half long, and
varies in breadth from two and a half to five miles. It
is bounded on the north by the parish of Arrochar; on
the south and south-west by the parishes of Bonhill
and Row; on the east by Loch Lomond; and on the
west by Row, and, for a very short distance. Loch Long.
The parish was formerly of larger extent, comprehending
in its boundaries Arrochar, the lands of Auchindennan,
Cameron, Stuckrogert, TuUichewen, and the lands of
Buchanan. The last-named district was separated in
1621, and Arrochar in 1658; the others were joined
to the parish of Bonhill about the year 1650. The
lands, however, of Caldanach, Conglens, and Prestelloch,
once belonging to Inch-Cailloch parish, are now
annexed to Luss. With few exceptions, the surface
throughout is hilly and mountainous. The least elevated
land lies along the Loch Lomond from the
southern extremity of Luss to Ross-Dhu; some of this
is perfectly level, and the rest is a continuous tract of
slopes and acclivities gradually rising till they merge in
the ascent of the abrupt and lofty mountains. Among
the chief mountains are Ben-Cornachantian, Aich, Dhu,
and Corafuar, which rise nearly 3000 feet above the
level of the sea, and are broken in every direction by
fissures and glens of the wildest and most romantic
kind. Of the numerous streams, the Froon runs into
Loch Lomond nearly opposite the southern extremity of
Inch-Murin, the largest of its islands: this river takes
its name from, or gives it to, Glen-Froon, through which
it runs, and which was the scene of a sanguinary battle
fought in the year 1603 between the clans of Colquhoun
and Mac Gregor. The rivers Luss and Finlass
rise at a small distance from Glen-Finlass, which is
parallel with Glen-Froon, and separated from it by a
range of mountains: these two streams, diverging from
their source, fall into the loch about three miles from
each other. On the extreme northern boundary of the
parish is Glen-Duglass, at the opening of which to the
lake is the ferry of Ruardinnan. All these glens run
in an eastern line; and their several rivulets flow
into the same great reservoir. Loch Lomond, which is
twenty-four miles long. The eastern boundary of the
parish embraces about eight miles of its shore. Its
e.vtrerae breadth is in the part near Ross-Dhu, which is
almost eight miles wide; and the islands contained in
it that belong to Luss are, Inch-Tavanach, Inch-Conagan,
Inch-Lonaig, Inch-Moan, Inch-Galbraith, and Inch-
Friechlan. Some of these islands are naked rocks;
others are covered with wood, or supply peat to the
poor; and one, converted into a park for about 150
deer belonging to the proprietor of the parish, is celebrated
for its vast number of ancient yew-trees. This
loch, so famous for its unrivalled scenery, exhibits the
finest views from the top of Inch-Tavanach, Inch-
Murin, and the northern point of Benbui. Loch Long,
already referred to, is a large estuary of the sea, extending
from the Firth of Clyde northward between the
counties of Dumbarton and Argyll.
The SOIL of the parish is light and gravelly, mixed in
some places with rich loam; a great portion of the land
is waste, and many hundreds of acres are covered with
wood. The average rent of good arable land is £^ per
acre. Agriculture has not made very rapid advances,
and the farm-buildings are still in rather an inferior
condition; but much encouragement has been lately
given by the formation of a society in the parish,
which distributes prizes annually for improvements
in husbandry and the breeding of cattle. The sheep
are the black-faced and the Cheviots; Highland cattle
are pastured on the hilly grounds, and the cows are
in some parts the Ayrshire, and in others a crossbreed
between these and the Highland. With regard
to the geological features of the parish, the rocks in the
south-east are the conglomerate or red sandstone; the
mountains comprise clay-slate with all its varieties, and
quartz is often found in the vicinity of the clay-slate, as
well as crystals of cubical iron pyrites. There is a freestone-
quarry, the produce of which is used in the parish;
and at Luss and Camstraddan are extensive slate-quarries,
from which superior roofing-slates are obtained,
and sent to the neighbouring parishes, and, by the river
Leven, to Dumbarton, Paisley, Glasgow, Port- Glasgow,
and Greenock. About fifty men are employed in the
works, which yield two varieties, viz., the light and the
dark blue, the latter bringing the highest price in the
market. The annual value of real property in the parish
is £4'21.'5. Ross-Dhu House, the seat of Sir James Colquhoun,
built about seventy or eighty years ago, stands
on the promontory of the same name. It is surrounded
liy several hundreds of acres of the best land in the
parish, beautifully laid out in pasture and plantations,
the scenery of which derives variety from the ruins of
part of the old family mansion, and a roofless chapel still
used as a cemetery for the family.
The village of Luss, romantically situated about thirteen
miles from Dumbarton, on the margin of the lake,
i.s a central spot from which much of the beautiful
scenery in tliis part of the county can be visited; it is
crowded with pleasure parties during summer, and there
is an excellent inn. A good turnpike-road leads to
Helensburgh, and the post-road from Dumbarton along
Loch Lomond to the Highlands traverses the whole
length of the parish. Several branch roads supply
further facilities of communication; and a post-oHice is
established in the village, with a daily delivery from
Dumbarton and Inverary. There are three bridges
across the Froon, on three respective lines of road; also
a bridge over each of the rivers Finlass, Luss, and Duglass.
Water communication is afforded by Loch Lomond,
by which access may be had to every part in the
vicinity of its shores. A fair is held at the village on
the third Tuesday in August, for the sale of sheep and lambs.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Dumbarton, synod of Glasgow
and Ayr, and the patronage is vested in Sir James
Colquhoun; the stipend of the minister is £234, and he
has a manse, and a glebe of nine arable acres, with two
or three occupied by wood. Luss church, built in 1771, is
a plain building in good repair, containing 500 sittings.
The members of the Free Church have a place of worship.
There is a parochial school in the village, the
master of which receives a salarj' of £34. 4.; he has a
house, and his fees average £1'2. Another school is
situated at Moorland, four miles south of the village, the
master of which has £15, with fees, and a house lately
built by the proprietor of the parish. A girls' schoolmistress
receives a similar amount for teaching in another
part of the parish. There are two libraries, one
of which has been long in existence, and contains about
100 old volumes, mostly in Greek and Latin; the other,
a circulating library, containing eighty volumes, chiefly
of practical divinity, was instituted a few years ago by
the incumbent. The chief relic of antiquity is the cairn
of St. Mackessog, called Carn-ma-Cheasog; and traces
exist of an old fortification at Dumfin, traditionally
represented as a stronghold of the celebrated Fingal.