WHITTINGHAM, a parish, in the county of Haddington,
3 miles (S. by E.) from Prestonkirk; containing
700 inhabitants, of whom 42 are in the village of
Whittingham. This place is supposed to have derived
its name, signifying in the Saxon language " the town
of the white meadow," from the colour of the soil. It
was in the fourteenth century the baronial residence of
the Earls of March, who held their courts here, and
whose descendant, Patrick, in 13fi3 granted to Sir
Alexander de Ricklington one-half of the lands of Spott,
forming part of their barony. In 1372 George, Earl
of March, gave in marriage with his sister Agnes, to
James Douglas of Dalkeith, the whole manor of Whittingham,
with the patronage of the chapel; and it
remained in the possession of that family nearly two
centuries. In 1564 Mary, Queen of Scots, conferred
the manor and castle, the patronage of the church, and
all appurtenances, on James, Earl of Morton, the representative
of the Douglas family, which grant was ratified
by the Scottish parliament in 1567. Soon after receiving
these lands, the earl was banished from his country
for the part he had taken in the murder of David Rizzio,
and took refuge in England; but having obtained
his pardon from the queen, he returned to Scotland,
and was restored to his possessions. It was not long,
however, before he again conspired against the laws;
and entertaining the Earl of Bothwell at his castle of
Whittingham, he concerted with that nobleman the
murder of Darnley, the queen's consort, for which he
was tried at Edinburgh, found guilty, and executed,
having the night previous to his execution confessed his
guilt. The manor, like other portions of the earldom
which had been forfeited by the earl's attainder, was
restored to the family by James VI.; and it remained in
their possession till, by marriage of the daughter of Sir
Archibald Douglas, who succeeded her father as heiress
of Whittingham, the manor was conveyed to Lord Seton
of Kingstone. Ultimately, the Seton title becoming extinct,
the ])roperty was vested in tiie last lord's sister,
Elizabeth Seton, who married the Honourable William
Hay of Drummelzier, by whose descendants the estate
was in 1817 sold to James Balfour, Esq., whose son, James
M. Balfour, Esq., succeeded him in 1845.
The PARISH is about eleven miles in length from north
to south, and about four miles in average breadth; comprising
20,675 acres, of which 3958 are arable, 215
woodland and plantations, and the remainder pasture
and waste. Its surface is varied and irregular, abruptly
undulated, and rising into hills of considerable elevation.
The highest of these is Stoneypath hill, having near its
summit the remains of an ancient castle which form a
conspicuous feature in the landscape, and commanding
a rich and extensive prospect, embracing part of the
German Ocean, the island of May, the Bass Rock, the
Firth of Forth, the coast of Fife, and a large portion of
East and Mid Lothian. Of two fine streams that water
the lands, that called the Whittingham has its source in
the parish of Garvald, and after being augmented by the
Nunraw burn, flows along a beautiful and romantic
glen, between banks whose acclivities are embellished
with stately trees; it falls into the sea atBelhaven. The
Whitadder has its source also in the parish of Garvald,
and after receiving some tributary streams in its course,
joins the Tweed within a few miles of Berwick. There
are numerous springs of excellent water, affording an
abundant supply.
The SOIL is various; in some parts light and sandy, in
others a sterile clay, and in some a rich and fertile loam:
the higher division of the parish comprises part of the
Lammermoor hills, in certain places arable, but generally
furnishing only pasturage. Crops are raised of wheat,
barley, oats, and turnips. On some farms the fences
are thorn hedges, and on others dykes of stone, both
kept in good order. The farm-buildings are substantial
and commodious, and all the recent improvements in
implements of husbandry have been adopted. In the
higher lands, among the Lammermoor hills, the farms
are very extensive; and though on some of them, as
already observed, part of the soil is arable, they are
generally grazing land. About 6000 sheep are fed, which
produce on an average between 800 and 900 stone of
wool annually; and a few black-cattle are also reared.
The woods and plantations are chiefly around the mansion
of the principal proprietor, and on the sloping banks
of the Whittingham water. In this parish the rocks
are mostly greywacke, of which the great range of
the Lammermoor hills is mainly composed, with granite
found in mass beneath, and red freestone of excellent
quality, which has been extensively quarried for building
and other purposes. Both iron and copper ores have
been met with on the banks of a stream in the Lammermoor
district. Whittingham House is a llaudsome and
spacious mansion in the Grecian style tJf architecture,
pleasantly situated on the bank of the Whittingham
water, and commanding an extensive view of the surrounding
country and of the sea; the grounds are
formed into walks and gardens tastefully laid out, and
the approaches to the demesne arc remarkably fine,
consisting of avenues of stately timber. The village
stands on an eminence having an elevation of about 360
feet above the level of the sea. It possesses facility of
communication with Haddington and Dunflii, the nearest
market-towns, by good roads, and also with the
other parts of the district by roads kept in excellent
order. In this parish the roads traverse more than
thirty miles in various directions within its limits. The
annual value of real property in the parish is returned at £7339.
This district anciently consisted of the two chapelries
of Penshiel and Whittingham, both of them subordinate
to the church of Dunbar; the former was appropriated
to the Lammermoors, and the latter to the lower district
of the parish, and each constituted the head of a prebend
in the church of Dunbar when it was made collegiate in
the year 134'2. The parish is in the presbytery of Dunbar,
synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and in the patronage
of Mr. Balfour: the minister's stipend is £266.
12. I., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £18 per annum.
The church, situated on the north bank of the
Whittingham water, was built in 1722, and was put into
complete repair in 1820; it is adapted for a congregation
of 350 persons. The parochial school affords education
to about seventy-five scholars; the master has a salary
of £34. 4. 4., with £30 fees, and a house and garden.
At Prieslaw, in the southern part of the parish, are the
remains of an encampment, of oval form, and nearly
700 yards in circumference. It is defended by three
ditches on the north side, and by four on the south.
These ditches are separated from each other by intervals
of about twelve yards, and the outer one is continued
round the whole area. There are some remains of the
ancient castle of Whittingham, part of which is in good
preservation, and still inhabited; and also of Stoneypath
Tower, which was the property of James Douglas,
first Lord Dalkeith: it appears to have been strongly
fortified, and great part of the lofty walls are yet left.
Some slight remains exist of the old baronial mansion
of Penshiel, and of the ancient chapel, which was situated
in a glen, near the house now called " Chapel
Haugh." At Papple, also, about twenty feet of one of
the walls of a religious house are still remaining; but
nothing is known either of its original foundation or of
its history.