YETHOLM, a parish (formerly Yetham), in the district
of Kelso, county of Roxburgh; containing 1292
inhabitants, of whom 326 are in Kirk-Yetholm and 618
in Town-Yetholm, 8 miles (S. E. by E.) from Kelso.
This place derives its name, signifying "the hamlet of
the gate," from its position on the confines of Northumberland,
the open narrow valley of the Bowmont,
during the border warfare, having afforded facility of
entrance into either country for the purposes of depredation.
No events of historical importance are recorded
with reference to the place. It is said to have been
selected by Douglas as the rendezvous of the Scottish
army previously to the battle of Otterburn, and the
churchyard was the place of sepulture of many of the
Scottish chieftains who fell at Flodden Field, within six
miles of the church. The parish is about four miles in average
length and three in breadth, comprising 8400 acres,
of which 2000 are meadow land, and mountain or hill
pasture, 100 wood and plantation, 200 undivided common,
and the remainder arable. The surface is divided
into numerous small and beautiful valleys by the many
hills which intersect it, and of which the highest have
an elevation of nearly 800 feet above the level of the
sea. Of these valleys tiie principal is the vale of Bowmont,
through which runs the river of that name; it
is about two miles long, and varies from a quarter to
half a mile in breadth. The river has its source in the
Cocklaw hill, and flows with a rapid course into one of
the streams tributary to the Tweed: it is subject to
frequent inundations, which occasion much injury to
the surrounding lands; and abounds with excellent
trout. There is a fine sheet of water called Yetholm
Loch, of irregular form, and about a mile and a half in
circumference; it contains a great number of pike and
perch, and is the resort of various kinds of aquatic
birds. The inhabitants of Kirk-Yetholm have the privilege
of grazing their cattle, and cutting turf, upon the
common; and about 500 acres adjacent to the two villages
are occupied by the inhabitants at rack-rent, in
portions varying from two to fifty acres each.
The SOIL is in general fertile, and in the valleys a
rich loam; the lower hills are in cultivation, producing
good crops, and the higher afford excellent pasture to
numbers of sheep and cattle. Agriculture is much improved,
and the four and the five shift courses prevail;
wheat, barley, and oats are raised, of which a considerable
portion is sent to distant markets; and nearly onefifth
of the whole arable land of the parish is sown annually
in turnips. Great attention is paid to the rearing
of live-stock, upon which the farmers depend as much
as upon agriculture; the cattle are almost exclusively
of the short-horned breed, and the sheep, which number
about 5000, are the Cheviot and the Leicester, with an
occasional cross between them. Lime, procured within
a distance of ten miles, is much used as a stimulant to
the land; and besides the application of ordinary manure,
bone-dust and guano brought from Berwick have
been extensively introduced. The farms vary greatly in
size J the farm-buildings are commodious, and the lands
are fenced in some parts with hedges of thorn, and in
others with loose walls of stone. The hills are chiefly
of the transition series, consisting of felspar-porphyry
and pitchstone-porphyry, of which the former is most
prevalent, and thickly interspersed with nodules of jasper
and agate: occasionally, crystals of calcareous spar are
found; and there is red sandstone, but not of very good
quality. The vale of Cherry-Trees contains some moss
varying from eight to fourteen feet in depth, in which
trunks of various trees, especially of oak, of extreme
hardness, have been found; the moss has been drained,
and the land brought into cultivation. Cherry-Trees,
the seat of Adam B. Boyd, Esq., who is the only resident
heritor, is a very handsome modern building, pleasantly
situated in the vale, and surrounded with thriving plantations.
The villages ofTown-Yetholm and Kirk-Yetholm
are both situated in the vale of Bowmont, and are governed
by baron-bailies appointed respectively by the
Marquess of Tweeddale and Mr. Wauchope. These
villages communicate by a good bridge over the river
Bowmont. In Town-Yetholm was formerly a monthly
market. The roads are kept in proper order; a turnpike-
road extends for about four miles within the parish,
and affords facility of intercourse with Kelso and other
towns. Fairs are held at Kirk-Yetholm on the 27th of
June for Cheviot sheep one year old, and cattle, and on
the '24th of October for ewes and cattle; at Town
Yetholm on the 5th of July for lambs and wool, and
the 1st of November for cattle. This parish has been
for a long period the resort of gypsies, of whom the
largest body in Scotland seem from time immemorial to
have established their head-quarters here. The number
of these at present is about 100, and they live chiefly
by selling horn spoons of their own manufacture, and
coarse earthenware; their general habits are orderly and
peaceable. The annual value of real property in the
parish is £6/89.
Yetholm is ecclesiastically in the presbytery of Kelso,
synod of Merse and Teviotdale, and in the patronage
of Andrew Wauchope, Esq.: the minister's stipend is
about £200, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £2,5
per annum. The old church was a very indiflFerent
ijuilding, and insufficient for the accommodation of the
parishioners. A new church was therefore erected in
1S37, well adapted for a congregation of 750 persons.
There are places of worship for members of the United
Presbyterian Church and Old-Light Burghers. The
parochial school affords a useful education; the master
has a salary of £34. 4. 4., with the fees, and a house
and garden: the school-house is one of the best in the
country. Another school, and a girls' school, have been
lately built. A parochial library contains about 500
volumes; there are a library connected with one of the
dissenting places of worship, and two Sunday-school
libraries. On the summits of Castlelaw and Camp hill,
the former on the farm of Vencheon, and the latter on
that of Halterburn, are remains of fortifications, each
inclosing a circular area nearly 300 yards in diameter,
and defended by a double fosse and rampart. Upon
the summit of Yetholm Law are the remains of a camp
of quadrilateral form, and of considerable dimensions:
the supposition of its Roman origin has been much
strengthened by the discovery of an urn of brass containing
COO Roman coins, on the farm of Mindrum,
near the borders of the parish. On what was formerly
an island in the lake of Yetholm, stood the baronial
residence of the Kers, of Loch Tower, a branch of the
Roxburghe family. The churchyard of the parish contains
the remains of many of the border chieftains;
and at a depth of nearly six feet from the surface have
been discovered a stone coffin with a skeleton of gigantic
stature, and a kistvaen consisting of four upright stones
joined together, and covered on the top with a flat
stone, under which was a human skull. Dr. Scott, an
eminent chymist, and physician to King Charles II.,
resided at Thirlestane, in this parish, in an ancient mansion
lately taken down.