Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

WHIT
WI A
for which he was tried at Edinburgh, fouud guilty, and
executed, having the night previous to his execution
amply confessed his guilt. The manor, together with
the other portions of the earldom which had been for-
feited by the attainder and execution of the earl, was
however restored to the family by James VI., and
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 con-
veyed to Lord Seton, of Kingstone. Ultimately, on the
death of her brothers, the title becoming extinct, the
property was vested in the Lady 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 April, 1845.
The parish is about eleven miles in length from north
to south, and about four miles in average breadth ; and
comprises 20,675 acres, of which 395S are arable, 215
woodland and plantations, and the remainder pasture
and waste. The surface is varied and irregular, abruptly
undulated, and rising into hills of considerable elevation.
The highest is Stoneypath hill, having near its summit
the remains of an ancient castle which forms a conspicu-
ous feature in the landscape, and commanding a rich
and extensive prospect, embracing part of the German
Sea, the island of May, the Bass rock, the Frith of Forth,
the coast of Fife, and a large portion of East and Mid
Lothian. The lands are watered by two fine streams.
That called the Whittingham water has its source in
the parish of Garvald, and after being augmented by
the Nunraw burn, flows through a beautiful and roman-
tic glen, between banks, of which the acclivities are
embellished with stately trees ; it falls into the sea at
Belhaven. The Whiteadder 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 likewise 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 some places arable, but generally
furnishing only pasturage. The crops are, wheat, barley,
oats, potatoes, and turnips. The system of husbandry
is improved, and the lands are well inclosed ; the fences
on some farms are thorn hedges, and on others dykes
of stone, both kept in good condition. The farm-build-
ings are substantial and commodious, and all the recent
improvements in the implements of husbandry have
been adopted. The farms on the higher lands, among
the Lammermoor hills, are very extensive ; and though
on some of them, as already observed, part of the lands
are arable, they are generally grazing land. About 6000
sheep are fed, which produce on an average between S00
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. The sub-
strata are mostly transition rocks and greywacke, of
which the Lammermoor hills are composed, with some
granite found in masses, and red freestone of excellent
quality, which has been extensively quarried for building
and other purposes. Iron and copper ores, also, have
been met with on the banks of a stream in the Lammer-
608
moor district. Whittingham House is a handsome and
spacious mansion in the Grecian style of architecture,
pleasantly situated on the bank of 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 are remarkably fine, consisting of avenues
of stately timber. The village is on an eminence having
an elevation of about 360 feet above the level of the
sea. It is small, but neatly built, and possesses facility
of communication with Haddington and Dunbar, the
nearest market-towns, by good roads, and also with the
other parts of the parish by roads kept in excellent
order by statute labour, and which traverse more than
thirty miles in various directions within its limits. The
rateable annual value of the parish is returned at the
sum of £7339.
The district anciently consisted of the two chapelries
of Penshiel and Whittingham, both 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
1342. The present parish is in the presbytery of Dun-
bar, synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and patronage
of Mr. Balfour : the minister's stipend is £266. 12. 1.,
with a manse, and the glebe is valued at £18 per annum.
The church, situated on the north bank of the Whitting-
ham water, was built in 1722, and was put into com-
plete repair in 1S20 ; it is a small edifice adapted only
for a congregation of 350 persons, and is at an incon-
venient distance from the extreme parts of the parish.
The parochial school affords a liberal 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 portion of the parish, are the
remains of an encampment, of an 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 Stoney-
path 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 situ-
ated 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.
WIA., an isle, in the parish of Barra, county of
Inverness. This is a small isle of the Hebrides, and
is uninhabited.
WIA, an isle, in the parish of South Uist, county
of Inverness. It lies on the south-east of the island
of Benbecula, from which it is separated by a very nar-
row channel called the Sound of Wia, where is a small
and safe harbour. The isle is about two miles in length
and one mile and a quarter in breadth, and is much
indented on every side ; its rocks, like those of nearly
all the islands in this quarter, are wholly gneiss.