PEEBLESSHIRE, or TWEEDDALE, a county (inland), in the
southern part of Scotland, bounded on
the north by Edinburghshire, on the east by Selkirkshire
and Edinburghshire, on the south by the county of
Dumfries, and on the west by Lanarkshire. It hes between
55° 24' and 55° 50' (N. Lat.) and ^°45' and 3° 23'
(W. Long.), and is thirty miles in length and twentytwo
miles in extreme breadth; comprising an area of
about 360 square miles, or 234,400 acres; 2275 houses,
of which 2118 are inhabited; and containing a population
of 10,499, of whom 5U8 are males and 5381 females.
This county takes the name of Peebles from its principal
town, and the name of Tweeddale, the more ancient and
descriptive, from its chief river, the Tweed, which divides
it into two nearly equal parts, flowing in a winding course
along an ample vale of great fertility and beauty. It
appears to have been originally inhabited by the Gndeni,
aBritish tribe, who maintained their independence against
the attempts of the Romans to reduce them under their
authority; and who, after the abdication of the Roman
government, associated themselves with the Britons of
Strathclyde, descendants of the ancient Damnii. During
the frequent aggressions of the Picts they continued to
retain their distinction as a people; and, secured by
their extensive forests, they maintained their power
against the invasion of the Saxons of the south, long
after the conquest of the Picts by the Scottish kings, till
they became identified with the emigrants from the coasts
of Ireland, who, settling in the peninsula of Cantyre, were
soon mingled with the native inhabitants.
Afterwards, a party of Anglo-Saxons, under Eadnlph,
who had settled in Lothian, established themselves in
the valley of Eddlestone, where they obtained a permanent
settlement, and built a town to which they gave the
name of their chieftain; and from these are descended
many of the most ancient families in the county. During
the wars consequent on the disputed succession to the
Scottish throne on the death of Alexander III., the
county became subject to Edward I. of England; but
being rescued from the English yoke by the valour and
intrepidity of Sir AVilliam Douglas, it maintained its independence
till it again submitted to the English after
the battle of Neville's Cross. Upon the restoration of
David II., however, its independence was finally secured.
For many years this part of tlie country suffered from
incursions during the border warfare; and many of its
gentry who attended James IV. to the battle of Flodden
Field, fell in that disastrous conflict. Prior to the abolition
of episcopacy, the county formed part of the diocese
of Glasgow; it has since been included in the synod
of Lothian andTwceddale, and comprises the presbytery of
Peebles, and fourteen parishes. For civil purposes the
county was originally under the jurisdiction of two
shcrilfs, one of whom resided at Tra(]uair, and the other
at Peebles; but since the al)olition of heritable jurisdictions,
it has been under one sheriff only, by whom a
sheriif-substitute is appointed, and who holds his several
courts at Peel)les, which is the shire town. Besides
Peebles, the only royal Inirgh in the county, it contains
Linton, a burgh of barony; the villages of Innerleithen,
Carlops, Eddlestone, Skirling, and Broughton, and a few
inconsiderable hamlets. By the act of the 2nd of William
IV., it returns one member to the imperial parliament.
In general the surface is hilly and mountainous, with
intervening tracts of level and fertile land. The most
mountainous district is on the south side of the Tweed,
towards the source of which the hills are usually covered
with verdure, but towards the confines of Selkirk are of
bleak and barren aspect. Most of the hills in the other
parts of the county are easy of ascent, and afford good
pasturage for cattle and sheep; they are chiefly of
conical form, and several of them are cultivated to a
considerable height above the base. The principal rivers
are the Tweed, the Lyne, the Peebles or Eddlestone, and
the Leithen. Of these the Tweed has its source in a
spring in Tweedsmuir, towards the western extremity of
the county, which has an elevation of 1500 feet above
the level of the sea; it takes a winding course eastward
between banks richly wooded, and, flowing through the
most romantic parts of the county into that of Selkirk,
ultimately falls into the German Ocean at Berwick. The
Lyne has its source near the western extremity of the
Pentland hills, on the northern confines of the county;
taking a direction southward, it passes the village of
Linton, to which it gives name, and, after a course of
about fifteen miles, joins the Tweed about three miles
above Peebles, the county town. The Peebles or Eddlestone
water rises near the south-west boundary of Edinburghshire,
and after a rapid course, in which it turns
several mills, falls into the Tweed at Peebles. The
Leithen water has its source in the north-east of the
county; flows through the village of Innerleithen, to
which it gives its name; and falls into the Tweed opposite
to Traquair House. Of several smaller streams
tributary to the Tweed, the Manor and the Quair are the
principal; and the Megget water, flowing through the
district of that name, falls into St. Mary's loch, in the
county of Selkirk. There are some lakes, but none of
sufficient importance to require particular notice, except
the lake of Eddlestone, as being the source of the river
South Esk, which flows into the North Esk at Dalkeith,
in the county of Edinburgh.
Not more than 35,000 acres are arable, about 8000
meadow and pasture, and the remainder moorland, hill
pasture, woodland, plantations, and waste. The soil on
the level lands is chiefly a sandy loam, interspersed with
tracts of richer loam resting on a gravelly bottom; on
the skirts and acclivities of the hills, a loose friable earth,
with a mixture of clay in some parts; and in other
places, unprofitable moss and moor. The crops are
barky, oats, potatoes, turnips, and a small quantity of
wheat. In the level districts the farms have a larger
proportion of arable land, and those in the hilly districts
a larger proportion of pasture. The system of agriculture
is in an improved state; the lower lands have been
well drained, and are inclosed partly with fences of stone
and (ialloway dykes, but chiefly with hedges of thorn and
ditches, and the plantations with mounds of earth. The
farm houses and offices of the larger tenants are substantial
and commodious, the former roofed with slate,
and tlie hitter with tiles. Lime is found only in the
northern part of the county, and is but little employed
in farming, for which purpose farm-dung and various
composts are used. Few cattle are pastured, the hill
pastures being chiefly appropriated to sheep, of which
more than 100,000 are reared; they are chiefly of the
Cheviot breed, and great numbers are sent to the English
markets. Though anciently abounding with timber, and
celebrated as the resort of the Scottish kings for hunting
in the forests, there are now scarcely more than twenty
acres of natural wood in the county. Within the last
thirty or forty years, however, extensive plantations
have been every where made; many of the hills, formerly
of barren aspect, are now crowned with thriving
trees, and the banks of the rivers richly wooded. The
plantations are of oak, ash, elm, beech, and Scotch, silver,
and spruce firs; but of the firs the Scotch only, of which
there are very large tracts, appears to thrive well.
In this county the principal substrata are whinstone
and freestone, of which the former is by far the more
abundant, and of which most of the houses are built:
coal is found towards the north-east extremity of the
county, but not under circumstances favourable to the
working of it. At Stobo is a quarry of blue slate of fine
quality, which is extensively wrought, and the produce
sent to Edinburgh and other parts of the country. The
seats are Traquair House, Cardrona, Kailzie, Cringletie,
King's Meadows, Hallyards, Darnhall, Pirn, Scotstown,
Romanno, the Whim, La Mancha, Stobo Castle, New
Posso, Quarter, Polmood, Portmore, Callends, Castle-
Craig, Cairnmuir, Mossfennan, Rachan, Broughton Place,
the Glen, and various other residences. The chief
manufactures are, those of carpets, serge, and coarse
woollen-cloths, to a very limited extent; and the weaving
of linen and cotton for the manufacturers of Glasgow.
In general the population is pastoral and agricultural,
and very little attention has been paid to any other
pursuits, though the county possesses many requisites
for the establishment of various branches of manufacture.
Facility of communication is afforded by roads
kept in good repair. The annual value of real property
in the county is £74,810, of which £67,675 are returned
for lands, £6247 for houses, fe^S for quarries, and the
rest for mines. Among the antiquities are the remains
of numerous peel-houses, of which in some instances
several are found within the limits of a single parish.
There are considerable remains of baronial castles, the
most important of which are those of Neidpath, Oliver
Castle, Henderland, and Drochil; the sites of camps,
chiefly of Danish origin, and of one thought to be Roman,
near which a handsome vase of bronze was discovered;
a few slight Druidical remains; and some tumuli. Stone
coffins containing human bones have been found; also
battle-axes and other military weapons; some Roman
coins; and, near Cairnmuir, a chain of twisted gold
with some gold-beads, supposed to have been worn by
the Celtic chieftains. Remains exist of ancient religious
houses; and other monuments of antiquity are noticed
under the names of the several parishes in which they
occur.