PENICUICK, a parish, in the county of Edinburgh;
containing, with the hamlets of Howgate, Nine-
Milc-Burn, and Kirkhill, 2.57'2 inhabitants, of whom 907
are in the village of Penicuick, 9 miles (S. by W.) from
Edinburgh. The present name of this place is supposed
to be derived from a British or Gaelic word signifying
" Cuckoo's hill "; and as several places in the neighbourhood
also received their names from the same bird,
it is probable that it was a frequent visiter in these
quarters. Formerly the parish was called St. Mungo,
this being the popular name of St. Kentigern, to whom
the first church was dedicated, and of whom some memorials
still remain, especially a spring near the church,
called St. Mungo's well. Penicuick was considerably
augmented in 1635 by the annexation of the parishes of
Mount- Lothian to the east, and St. Catherine's to the
north-west: the former of these was an ancient chapelry
belonging to the monks of Holyrood, who pastured their
flocks on its rich and extensive grounds, from which it
was often called by the name of Monk's-Lothian. There
are few events of historical importance recorded; but
mention may be made of New-Hall House, an ancient
and interesting edifice, situated about three miles above
Penicuick House, and which appears to have been a religious
estabhshment. It was held in 15'29, and during
the rest of the sixteenth century, by a family of the name
of Crichtoune; and not far from it is the ruin of Brunstane
Castle, which was occupied bj' a family of the same
name in 1568. New Hall lies on the border of a desolate
moor, on the principal route from Edinburgh to the
south-west. Here was a pass over the Pentland hills;
and it is supposed that the house afforded at night a
refuge and lodging for travellers in the midst of their
dreary journey, the lands in the neighbourhood and a
farm-house being still denominated Spital. There was
formerly a cross on the summit of the pass 1500 feet
above the sea, intended, as is thought, for a signal or
directory, and of which the stone forming the pedestal
still remains. The lands of New-Hall successively passed
from the families of Crichtoune, Penicuick, and Oliphant,
into that of Forbes, in which they remained for some
time. It is also worthy of notice that near Logan House,
surrounded on all sides by the Pentland hills, was a
favourite hunting tract of the Scottish kings, where the
celebrated match took place between the hounds of
Robert Bruce and Sir William St. Clair of Roslin.
This match led to the erection by the latter, out of gratitude
for his victory, of the chapel of St. Catherine, the
beautiful ruins of which were submerged some years ago
in the construction of the great reservoir of the Edinburgh
Water Company.
The PARISH is nearly twelve miles long, averaging
four miles in breadth, and containing 20,000 acres. It
is bounded on the north by the parishes of Glencross,
Colinton, and Currie; on the south by the county of
Peebles; on the east by the parishes of Temple and
Lasswade; and on the west by the parish of Kirknewton.
The surface is greatly diversified, exhibiting in the southeastern
parts a tolerably level country, but rising in
numerous undulations and abrupt breaks towards the
north-west, and comiirehending a considerable portion
of the Pentland hills, which rise 1/00 feet above the
level of the sea, and are overspread with numerous flocks
of slicep. The proportion of wet moorland is very large;
and this circumstance, together with the lofty elevation
of many of the hills, renders the aspect of the parish
in several i)arts wild and barren, and the climate bleak
and damp. Much interesting scenery, however, is
formed by the Pentland hills, extending from north-east
to south-west J and the lands are enlivened by the river
Esk, which, rising among the mountains, and flowing
for a distance of some miles, leaves the parish a little
below the village of Penicuick. The valley of the Logan
water, also, which divides the Pentland range, presents
some romantic scenery.
The SOIL about the village consists of sand and gravelly
earth resting upon sandstone and schistus. In
other parts clay is predominant; with large tracts of
moss, beneath which, at the depth of ten or twelve feet,
is found a soil of great richness and fertility. About
1000 acres in the parish lie under wood: some thousands
of acres are mere barren heath, moor, and moss,
capable, however, to a great extent, of profitable cultivation;
while the remaining parts consist of arable
ground producing most kinds of crops of good quality,
the total annual value of which is upwards of £'20,000.
Sheep are bred in considerable numbers, and the stock
has been of late much improved by crossing. The Galloway
breed of cattle was that which formerly prevailed,
but the Ayrshire is now preferred: dairy-farming is
much attended to, being chiefly relied on by the tenants
for the payment of their rent. The horses are mostly of
the Clydesdale breed. Among the changes recently introduced,
the superior character of the farm houses and
steadings deserves particular notice: all of these, in the
Penicuick barony, have been rebuilt with good slated
roofs, or improved in various ways. Large tracts of
waste land in the parish have been brought into tillage;
and south-westward of the village is a vast tract of
barren moor, the reclaiming of which, commenced some
time since, has received an impulse from the construction
of two new turnpike-roads. Inclosures have been
formed in the parisb to a considerable extent; they
generally consist of stone dykes, but on the superior
estates hedges and ditches are usually to be seen: draining,
also, has been extensively prosecuted. Lime is used
as a stimulant in very large quantities; and for obtaining
it, in order to the reclaiming of waste, great facilities
are afforded by the landlords. The land is portioned
among numerous heritors, of whom Sir George Clerk,
Bart., occupies more than one-half; and the annual
value of real property in the parish amounts to £60/0.
The rocks most common are sandstone, limestone, and
schistus, which are abundant in every direction. In the
eastern quarter the limestone is quarried on a considerable
scale, and on the plains the sandstone and schistus
run into the various alluvial formations of clay and
gravel; fossils of shell-fish and plants have frequently
been found, and of the latter class a very fine fossil-tree
was taken out some years ago. The Pentland hills consist
chiefly of porphyry, and on other high grounds
chlorite, granite, and sienite are often to be seen: sometimes
garnets are found, and iron-ore is met with in
beds and veins of schistus. Coal is abundant, and is
now rather extensively wrought.
Penicuick House, the seat of Sir George Clerk, built
in 1761, is an elegant structure in the Grecian style,
with a portico of great beauty, and commands a fine
prospect of the valley along which the Esk flows, embracing
the interesting ruins of Brunstane Castle, and
terminated by the western extremity of the Pentlands.
Its chief attraction to the visiter is Ossian's Hall, a spacious
room the ceiling of which is ornamented with
numerous designs from the poems of Ossian, painted by
the celebrated Runciman, whose death is supposed to
have been occasioned by tlic painful position and the
flexures of his body rendered necessary in painting this
roof. The library is well selected and extensive, and
there is a superior collection of Roman antiquities. The
village of Penicuick, the only village in the barony, contains
good shops of every description; and two fairs are
held in it during the year, (me on the third Friday in
March, and the other on the first Friday in October, the
chief business being the hiring of servants. A bailie
holds a monthly court, and has at command a police
force consisting of several special constables, whose services,
however, are seldom required. The three hamlets
of Kirkhill, Howgate, and Nine-Mile-Burn contain together
about 600 persons. There are a few weavers; but
the leading manufacture is that of paper, which has
been long established. The mills consume about 1200
tons of rags annually, manufacturing paper to a large
amount; and about .500 hands, including women and
children, are employed. In 1810 the premises were converted
by government into a depot for prisoners of war,
and the adjacent cottages adapted to military purposes;
the Valleyfield mill was fitted up to receive 6OOO prisoners,
and the Esk mill, used at that time as a cottonmanufactory,
quartered 1500 British troops. In 1814,
the premises were again ocrupied for manufacturing
purposes; an event which was hailed throughout the
parish with joy, manifested by a public illumination.
An iron-foundry employs about thirty hands.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within
the bounds of the presbytery of Dalkeith, synod of Lothian
and Tweeddale, and the patronage is vested in Sir
George Clerk. The stipend of the minister is £158, of
which about a third is received from the exchequer;
with a manse, a commodious residence, and a glebe of
six or seven acres, valued with the farm-offices at about
£26 per annum. Penicuick church is a neat structure
in the Grecian style, with a chaste portico of four Tuscan
columns supporting a pediment with architrave and
entablature; it was built in 1771, and has been since
enlarged. There are a place of worship for members of
the Free Church, and two places of worship for the
United Presbyterian Synod; one of the latter, at Howgate,
was built in 1750, and accommodates about 400
persons. A parochial school is supported, the master of
which has the maximum salary, with a house and garden,
and £40 fees; but only the common branches of
education, as reading, writing, and arithmetic, are taught.
There are also several private schools in the parish, supported
by fees; two infants' and four Sunday schools;
and a good subscription library, containing about 1200
volumes, with one or two other libraries of a minor character.
Of three friendly societies one has a capital of
£1200; and there is a savings' bank, in which the
manufacturing class are the chief depositors. It may
be observed in reference to this parish, that the romantic
scenery about the Esk, at New-Hall, is generally supposed
to have furnished the celebrated poet, Allan Ramsay,
with some of the pictures of his admired pastoral.
The Gentle Shepherd: on the opposite side of the river
is an obelisk raised to his memory. Near Valleyfield
is a neat monument in memory of 300 prisoners of war
who were buried in a beautiful spot here, while the mill
constituted a government dep6t. It has upon it the
following inscription, Grata qides patria, sed, et omnis
terra sepulchrum; and underneath is added, " Certain
inhabitants of this parish, desiring to remember that all
men are brethren, caused this monument to be erected."
Chalybeate and petrifying springs are to be met with in
the parish.