Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 3

HALLADALE
savings' bank departments ; a fair is held here on the
third Tuesday of Dec. ; and on the opposite side of the
river, J mile to the N, stands Thurso Combination
Poorhouse, which, bmlt in 1855, contain accommoda-
tion for 149 inmates. Pop. (1871) 391, (1881) 372.
The parish contains also Scotscalder and Altnabreac
stations, 2f and 12 miles SW of Halkirk. It is bounded
N by Thurso, NE by Thurso and Bower, E by Watten,
SE and S by Latheron, and W by Keay and a detached
portion of Thurso. Its utmost length, from NNE to
SSW is 21 § miles ; its breadth varies between 3 J and
13 miles ; and its area is 98,063f acres, of which 2301
are water. Of fully fifty lakes and lakelets the larger,
from N to S, are Lochs Caldee (2f mUes x 7^ furl. ;
205; feet), Olginey (5i x 3 furl. ; 235 feet), Madie (1
mUe X 3 furl. ; 372 feet), and More (SJ x 4 furl. ; 381
feet). Glut or Strathmore Water, rising in the extreme
SW at an altitude of 1400 feet, winds 14^ miles north-
eastward to Loch More, and, issuing thence as the river
Thurso, continues 19 miles north - north - eastward
through the interior, then 2J miles north-north-west-
ward along the boundary with Thurso. It is joined in
this course by a number of affluents, and drains the
greater portion of the parish, whose NW border, how-
ever, is traced or skirted for 5 mUes by Forss Water.
The surface, which sinks to 70 feet above sea-level along
the Thurso, is much of it flat and monotonous, the
higher points of the northern district being the HiU of
Sour (359 feet), the Hill of Calder (306), and, on the
Watten boundary, Spital Hill (577) ; but to the SW,
at the Latheron and Sutherland borders, rise Ben
Alisky (1142) and the Enockfin Heights (1442). The
rocks, of the Old Red Sandstone system, furnish plenty
of ' Caithness flag ' for home use and exportation ; lime-
stone too has been quarried, and marl has been raised
from Calder Loch ; whilst ironstone and lead ore are
also known to exist. The soil ranges from clay or loam
mixed with moss to gravel resting on a cold rocky
bottom, being mostly wet and difficult to dry ; still,
great improvements have been eff'ected in the way of
reclamation and building, Col. Guthrie alone having
nearly trebled the rental of his property in thirty years.
Little more than a tenth of the entire area is under
cultivation, by far the greater part being moor or flow-
moss. The arable holdings are for the most part small ;
the sheep farms, on the other hand, are large. Several
' Picts' houses ' and standing stones are dotted over the
parish, in which stood two pre-Eeformation chapels,
and special features of which are noticed separately
under Aohavabn, Beaal, Dielet, and Loohmoee.
Five proprietors holds each an annual value of £500
and upwards, 2 of between £100 and £500, and 2 of
from £20 to £50. The present parish comprises the
two ancient parishes of Halkirk and Skinnet. Skinnet
church was dedicated to St Thomas, and that of Halkirk
to St Fergus, a Pictish bishop of Ireland, who came to
Caithness in the 8th century. It is in the presbytery
of Caithness and synod of Sutherland and Caithness ;
the living is worth £327. The parish church, at the
village, was built in 1753, and, as enlarged in 1833,
contains 756 sittings. A Free church stands 2J mUes
S of the station ; and sis public schools — Calder, Hal-
kirk North, Harpsdale, Leurery, Spital, and Westerdale
— with total accommodation for 582 children, had (1881)
an average attendance of 260, and grants amounting to
£294, 17s. Valuation (1860) £9622, (1883)£16,639, 9s.,
of which nearly two-fifths are held by Sir John G. Tolle-
mache Sinclair of Ulbster. Pop. (1801) 2545, (1841)
2963, (1861) 2864, (1871) 2664, (1881) 2705, of whom
253 were returned as 'Gaelic-speaking.' — Ord. Sur., shs.
116, 117, 109, 110, 1877-78.
Halladale, a river of Eeay parish, NE Sutherland.
Rising at an altitude of 1200 feet above sea-level, close
to the Caithness border and 4J miles SSE of Forsinard
station, it runs 22J mUes north-north-westward and
northward along Strath Halladale between ranges of
hills, 500 to 747 feet high, till it falls into the North
Sea at the Bay of Boghouse, to the E of Portskerry
village. Dyke Water is chief of its many tributaries ; its
242
HALLYBUETON HOUSE
current is rapid till within 3 miles of its mouth, below
which point it forms a chain of about ten pools, being
tidal over the last 2 miles, yet navigable only by boats.
Its waters contain salmon, large sea-trout, and river
trout ; but the fishing — always uncertain — is rarely
much worth except in spring. Tradition records that
Halladha, son of Rognward, first Jarl of Orkney, was
slain and buried in Strath Halladale, to which he be-
queathed his name. The scene of the battle is towards
the middle of the strath, near Dal-Halladha. — Ord. Sur.,
shs. 109, 115, 1878.
Hallbar Tower. See Beaidwood.
Hallcraig, an estate, with a mansion, in Carluke
parish, Lanarkshire, 2 miles W by S of the town.
Halleath, a mansion in Lochmaben parish, Dumfries-
shire, on the right bank of the Annan, If mile E by S
of the town. Enlarged by David Bryce in 1866, it is
the property of John Johnstone, Esq. (b. 1820), who
holds 2122 acres in the shire, valued at £2734 per
annum. — Ord. Sur., sh. 10, 1864.
Hallforest, a ruined castle in Eintore parish, Aber-
deenshire, 1^ mile WSW of Eintore town. Said to
have been buUt as a hunting-seat by Eing Robert Bruce,
and by him to have been granted to Sir Robert de Eeith,
great marischal of Scotland, it came to his descendants,
the Earls of Eintore, and in 1562 received a visit from
Queen Mary. It was chiefly a battlemented tower four
stories high, and now retains two very lofty arched
apartments, one above the other. — Ord. Sur., sh. 76,
1874.
Hallgreen. See Halgeeen and Canonbib.
Hallguards, a romantic spot at the W border of Hod-
dom parish, Dumfriesshire, on the left bank of the river
Annan, 2 mUes WSW of Ecclefechan. Here stood the
original Hoddom Castle, which is said to have been a
seat of the royal Bruces, and was demolished some
centuries ago in terms of a Border treaty.
Hallhead, an estate, with a decayed mansion of 1688,
in Leochel and Cushnie parish, Aberdeenshire, 54 mUes
WNW of Lnmphanan station. It belongs to the owner
of ESSLEMONT.
Hallhill, an estate, with a mansion, in Glassford
parish, Lanarkshire, 2 miles NE of Strathaven. An
ancient baronial fortalice, near the site of the mansion,
contained an arch so spacious that a hundred men could
be arrayed beneath it ; but, falling into ruin, was taken
down about 1828, and then was found to contain frag-
ments of very beautiful china, with other relics.
Hallin. See Halen.
Hallodale. See Halladale.
Hallrule, a mansion in Hobkirk parish, Roxburgh-
shire, near the left bank of Rule Water, 8 mUes E of
Hawick. It is included in the Wells estate.
Hallside House, a mansion in Cambuslang parish,
Lanarkshu-e, near the left bank of the Rotten Cal-
der, IJ mile ESE of the town. It was built by Prof.
George Jardine, of Glasgow University (1742-1827),^ and
later was for some time occupied by Prof. John Wilson
(1785-1854). Hallside village, J mUe distant, is of
recent origin, having arisen in connection with large
steel-works. Pop. (1881) 955.— Ord. Sur., sh. 31,
1867.
Hallyards, an old-fashioned mansion in Manor parish,
Peeblesshire, on the left bank of Manor Water, 3 miles
SW of Peebles. During the close of last and the begin-
ning of the present century it was tenanted for fourteen
years by Prof. Adam Ferguson (1724-1816), historian of
the Roman Republic, who here in 1797 received a visit
from Sir Walter Scott, and,took him to see the ' Black
Dwarf '—Orrf. Sicr., sh. 24, 1864.
Hallyards, a ruined mansion in Auchtertool parish,
Fife, 1 J mile SE of Lochgelly. A seat of the Eirkcaldys
of Grange, it gave a night's lodging to James V. on his
way to Falkland after the defeat of Solway Moss (1542) ;
and it is said to have been the rendezvous of the lead-
ing Fife Jacobites at the rebellion of 1715. — Ord. Sur.,
sh. 40, 1867.
Hallyburton House, a mansion in Eettins parish, For-
farshire, 3 miles ESE of Coupar- Angus. It is the seat of