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PEEBLESSHIRE, or TWEEDDALE

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Originally appearing in Volume V21, Page 39 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PEEBLESSHIRE, or See also:TWEEDDALE , a See also:southern inland See also:county of See also:Scotland, bounded N. and N.E. by See also:Edinburghshire, E. and S.E. by See also:Selkirkshire, S. by See also:Dumfriesshire, and W. by See also:Lanarkshire. Its See also:area is 222,599 acres or 547.8 sq. m. The See also:surface consists of a See also:succession of hills, which are highest in the See also:south, broken by the vale of the See also:Tweed and the glens formed by its numerous tributaries. South of the Tweed the highest points are Broad See also:Law and Cramalt See also:Craig on the confines of Selkirkshire (each 2723 ft.), while See also:north of the See also:river are, in the See also:west centre, See also:Broughton Heights (1872), Trahenna See also:Hill (1792), Penvalla (1764) and Ladyurd Hill (1724), and in the north-west the Pentland eminences of See also:Mount Maw (1753), Byrehope Mount (1752) and See also:King Seat (1521). The lowest point above See also:sea-level is on the See also:banks of the Tweed, where it passes into Selkirkshire (about 450 ft.). The See also:principal river is the Tweed, and from the fact that for the first 36 m. of its course of 97 m. it flows through the south of the See also:shire, the county derives its alternative name of Tweeddale. Its affluents on the right are the See also:Stanhope, Drummelzier, See also:Manor and Quair; on the See also:left, the See also:Biggar, Lyne, Eddlestone and Leithen. The North Esk, rising in Cairnmuir, forms the boundary See also:line between Midlothian and Peeblesshire for about four See also:miles, during which it presents some very charming pictures, especially at Habbie's See also:Howe, where See also:Allan See also:Ramsay laid the See also:scene of the See also:Gentle Shepherd. For 4 M. of its course the South Medwin divides the south-western See also:part of the See also:parish of See also:Linton from Lanarkshire. Portmore See also:Loch, a small See also:sheet of See also:water 2 M. north-See also:east of Eddlestone See also:church, lies at a height of l000 ft. above the sea, and is the only See also:lake in the county. The shire is in favour with anglers, its streams being well stocked and unpolluted, and few restrictions being placed on the fishing. See also:Geology.—The southern elevated portion of the county is occupied by See also:Silurian rocks, mainly by shales and grits or greywackes of See also:Llandovery See also:age.

Owing to the repeated folding and crumpling of the rocks in this region there are numerous elliptical exposures of Ordovician strata within the Silurian See also:

tract; but the principal area of Ordovician rocks lies north of a line See also:running south-west from the Moorfoot Hills through Lyne and Stobo. Here these rocks See also:form a See also:belt some four to five miles in breadth; they are composed of radiolarian cherts and mudstones with associated contemporaneous volcanic rocks of Arenig age, and of shales, grits and limestones of Llandeilo and Caradoc age. The See also:general direction of strike of all these formations is south-west–north-east, but the dips are sometimes misleading through occasional See also:inversion of the strata. Patches of higher Silurian, with See also:Wenlock and See also:Ludlow fossils, are found in the north of the See also:country in the Pentland Hills, and resting conformably upon the Silurian in the same See also:district is the See also:Lower Old Red See also:Sandstone. The Old Red Sandstone here consists of a lower See also:division, red and See also:chocolate marls and sandstones; a See also:middle division, volcanic rocks, porphyrites, tuffs, &c., which are unconformable on the lower marls in this area; and an upper division, sandstones and conglomerates. The south-west extremity of the See also:Edinburgh coalfield just enters this county over the north-west border where a slice of Carboniferous strata is found let down between Silurian and Old Red rocks by two important faults. Both Calciferous sandstone and Carboniferous See also:limestone occur, with useful beds of See also:coal, limestone, ironstone, fireclay and See also:alum shale. An outlier of Carboniferous limestone, surrounded by Lower Old Red Sandstone, lies south of Linton. Much glacial See also:boulder See also:clay with See also:gravel and See also:sand rests upon the higher ground, while morainic deposits are found in the valleys. See also:Climate and See also:Industries.—The See also:annual rainfall averages from 33 to 41 in.; the mean temperature for the See also:year is 47.50 F., for See also:January 38° F., and for See also:July 59° F. The See also:character of the See also:soil varies considerably, See also:peat, gravel and clay being all represented. The See also:low-lying lands consist generally of See also:rich See also:loam, composed of sand and clay.

The farming is See also:

pastoral rather than arable. The See also:average holding is about 200 acres of arable See also:land, with pasturage for from 600 to 800 See also:sheep. Roughly speaking, one-fifth of the See also:total area is under cultivation. Oats are the See also:chief See also:grain and turnips the chief See also:root See also:crop. The hill pastures are better suited to sheep than to See also:cattle, but both flocks and herds are comparatively large. Cheviots and See also:half-breds are preferred for the grass lands, the heathery ranges being stocked with See also:black-faced sheep. Crosses of Cheviots, black-faced and half-bred ewes with See also:Leicestershire rams are See also:common. The favourite breed of cattle is a See also:cross between Ayrshires and shorthorns, the cows being See also:Ayrshire. Many of the horses are Clydesdales bred in the county. See also:Pig-keeping is on the decline. A few acres have been laid down as nurseries and See also:market gardens, and about ro,000 acres are under See also:wood, especially at Dalwick, where See also:larch and See also:horse-See also:chestnut were first grown in Scotland. Apart from See also:agriculture, the only industries are the woollen factories and See also:flour See also:mills at See also:Peebles and See also:Innerleithen.

The North See also:

British railway crosses the county in the north from Leadburn to Dolphinton, and runs down the Eddlestone valley from Leadburn to Peebles and Thornielee, while in the south the Caledonian railway connects the county See also:town with Biggar in Lanarkshire. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—In 190I the population numbered 15,o66 or 43 persons to the sq. m. In Igor one See also:person spoke Gaelic only, 72 Gaelic and See also:English. The chief towns are Peebles (pop. 5266) and Innerleithen (2181). West Linton, on Lyne Water, is a See also:holiday resort. The shire combines with Selkirkshire to return one member to See also:parliament, the See also:electors of Peebles town voting with the county. Peeblesshire forms a sheriffdom with the Lothians and a See also:sheriff-substitute sits in the county town. There is a high school in Peebles, and one or more See also:schools in the county usually See also:earn grants for secondary See also:education. See also:History.—The country was originally occupied by the Gadeni, a British tribe, of whom there are many remains in the shape of camps and sepulchral mounds (in which See also:stone coffins, axes and hammers have been found), while several See also:place-names (such as Peebles, Dalwick and Stobo) also attest their presence. The See also:standing stones near the confluence of the Lyne and Tweed are supposed to commemorate a Cymric chief. The natives were reduced by the See also:Romans, who have left traces of their military See also:rule in the See also:fine See also:camp at Lyne, locally known as Randal's Walls.

The hill-See also:

side terraces at Romanno are conjectured, somewhat fancifully, to be remains of a See also:Roman method of cultivation. On the See also:retreat of the Romans the Gadeni came into their own again, and although they are said to have been defeated by King See also:Arthur at Cademuir in 530, they held the district until the consolidation of the See also:kingdom after See also:Malcolm II.'s victory at Carham in ror8, before which the land, constantly harried by Danes, was nominally included in the territory of See also:Northumbria. This tract of Scotland is closely associated with the See also:legend of See also:Merlin. See also:David I. made the district a deanery in the archdeaconry of Peebles, and it afterwards formed part of the See also:diocese of See also:Glasgow. Towards the middle of the 12th See also:century it was placed under the See also:jurisdiction of two sheriffs, one of whom was settled at See also:Traquair and the other at Peebles. At Happrew, in the valley of the Lyne, the English defeated See also:Wallace in 1304. The Scottish sovereigns had a See also:lodge at Polmood, and often hunted in the uplands and the adjoining forests. English armies occasionally invaded the county, but more frequently the See also:people were harried by Border raiders. Many castles and peels were erected in the valley of the Tweed from the Bield to See also:Berwick. Several were renowned in their See also:day, among them See also:Oliver See also:Castle (built by See also:Sir Oliver See also:Fraser in the reign of David I.), Drumelzier, Tinnis or Thane's Castle, and Neidpath. Three miles south of Romanno stand the ruins of Drochil Castle, designed for the See also:Regent See also:Morton, who was beheaded at Edinburgh in 1581, and the See also:building was never completed. Memories of the See also:Covenanters cluster around Tweedhopefoot, Tweedshaws, Corehead, Tweedsmuir, Talla Linns and other spots.

In the See also:

churchyard of Tweedsmuir is the tombstone of See also:John See also:Hunter, the See also:martyr, which was relettered by " Old Mortality." The " men of the See also:moss hags " did little fighting in Peeblesshire, but See also:Montrose first See also:drew See also:rein at Traquair See also:House after he was defeated at Philiphaugh on the See also:Yarrow in 1645. The See also:plain of See also:Sheriffmuir near Lyne is the place where the Tweeddale wapinschaws used to be held in the 17th century. The Jacobite risings left the county untouched, and since the beginning of the 19th century the shire has been more conspicuous in literature than in politics.

End of Article: PEEBLESSHIRE, or TWEEDDALE

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