LYNE-AND-MEGGET, a parish, in the county of
Peebles, 5 miles (w.) from Peebles; containing 17.5
inhabitants. The district of Lyne, though consisting
only of two farms, is, from being the site of the parochial
church and manse, regarded as the head of this extensive
parish, which comprehends also the suppressed parish
of Megget. This latter is nearly fifteen miles distant
from Lyne, and locally separated by the intervening
lands of Manor and the river Tweed, but notwithstanding
annexed to it under an act of the presbytery, both for
ecclesiastical and for civil purposes. Lyne is about three
miles and a half in length, and almost three in breadth;
while that portion of the parish which was formerly the
parish of Megget, situated at the southern extremity of
the county, is about six miles in length, and more than
five in breadth. The whole comprises 17,850 acres, of
which 910 are arable, about thirty in woodland and
plantation, and the remainder chiefly aiTurding pasturage
for sheep and cattle.
The surface of the lands of Lyne is for the most part
gently acclivous, but in some places diversified with a
range of hills of considerable elevation, extending in a
direction nearly parallel to the river Lyne, from which
the hills recede towards the north, leaving at the eastern
extremity a wide tract, very fertile, between them and
the stream. The river has its source near the confines
of Tweeddale, and after watering the district, and dividing
it from Stobo, falls into the Tweed a little below its
limits. There is also a small rivulet, which for some
distance forms a boundary between Lyne and Peebles
parish. The scenery is generally pleasing, the hills
being covered with verdure; but there is a deficiency of
timber, and few plantations have been made. In this
district the soil is gravelly; it produces fair crops, and
the lower grounds are exceedingly fertile. The surface
of the lands in the Megget district is ahnost all hill, with
very little intervening level. The hills extend in two
parallel ranges from east to west, having between them
a vale about a quarter of a mile in breadth, watered by
the Megget. This stream rises near the western extremity
of the district, and, after receiving numerous tributaries
from the hills in its progress, flows into a beautiful
sheet of water at the eastern extremity of the
district, called St. Mary's Loch, which abounds with
fish, and is much frequented by anglers. Even the vale,
though in some places producing good crops, has for the
most part a soil but ill adapted for arable operations:
the hills have a soil in some portions shallow and dry,
but in general deep and wet, affording excellent pasturage for sheep.
The crops raised in the parish are oats, barley, wheat,
peas, potatoes, and turnips. The system of agriculture
is much improved, and most of the tenants are connected
with local associations formed for the purpose of distributing
rewards for the promotion of husbandry among
the successful competitors. Draining has been generally
practised where requisite; much waste land has been reclaimed
and brought into cultivation, and embankments
have been constructed to preserve the lower lands from
inundation. The principal farm houses and offices are
substantially built and commodiously arranged; the
lands are inclosed chiefly with stone dykes, but there
are some few fences of thorn; six good cottages of stone,
roofed with slate, have been built in the Magget district
for the use of the shepherds. Great attention is paid to
the rearing of sheep and young cattle. About 9000
sheep are pastured, and about 150 head of cattle; the
former are of the Cheviot and black-faced breeds in
nearly equal numbers, and the latter are usually a mixture
of the Ayrshire and short-horned breeds. The
sheep are in very high repute, and the pastures are considered
superior to any in this part of the country. The
substrata of the parish are chiefly whinstone and slate;
but little of either is quarried, except for the supply of
the lands on which they are found. Facility of intercourse
with Glasgow, Hawick, and other places is maintained
by roads kept in excellent order, and by good
bridges, two of which cross the stream that separates
the district of Lyne from the parish of Stobo. The
annual value of real property in Lyne and Megget is £30'21.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of Peebles,
synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and in the patronage
of the Earl of Wemyss and March; the minister's
stipend is £153. 9. 1., with a manse, and a glebe valued at
£25 per annum. The church is an ancient and venerable
edifice of the later English style of architecture, and a
portion of the original building has been parted off, and
adapted for a congregation of 100 persons; it was thoroughly
repaired in 1S30, without any deviation from its
original character. A chapel of ease has been erected in
the JMegget district of the parish, to which a good schoolroom
is attached; but the distance of the chapel from
the manse, which is at least fourteen miles, and, when
the Tweed is flooded, and a circuitous route through
Peebles becomes necessary, twenty miles, is a serious
inconvenience to the incumbent. The parochial school,
situated at Lyne, is well conducted, and is amply sufficient
for the children of the district; the master has a
salary of £'25. 13, with from £10 to £15 fees, and a house
and garden. There is also a school at Megget, which,
however, on account of the difficulty of access to it, is
kept open only during the summer half-year; the master
receives a salary of £7 from the heritors, with the interest
of Mr. Mitchelson's bequest, mentioned below,
and is supplied with board and lodging by the parents
of the scholars in succession. At Megget are the remains
of two ancient towers, probably places of security
in case of sudden incursions of the English, to which
this place, situated so near the border, was peculiarly
exposed; or they might be watch-towers, from which
signals of approaching hostilities were displayed for the
purpose of raising the country. At Henderland are the
remains of a chapel and burying-ground; and about a
quarter of a mile westward of the church at Lyne are
distinct traces of a Roman camp, the form of which is
clearly marked out; and also of a road that led to it.
The area has been frequently cultivated, and various
Roman coins are said to have been discovered by the
plough. The Rev. Mr. Mitchelson, minister of Lyne
and Megget about a century since, bequeathed £50, the
interest to be appropriated to the promotion of literary
and religious kaowledge among the parishioners.