Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

ABBOTRULE
c]ni'ct of TJrquhart, Elginshire. It is thi mo-
rijl of a Benedictine priory founded by Dav' il24.
Abbotrule (Lat. Rula fferev ei, ' Rule Her l 1 65),
a quondam parish of Roxburghshire, tMviq Jly in
1777 between the parishes \ii ' - ;idean.
It extended about 3 miles aloiflg the E , t> upper
part of Rule Water; and ij ishuroh, <i 3 Jed-
burgh by David I., still f/ > I -=rin » rmesNE of
Hobkirk (Orfjr. Paroch. &§& £ 3 49 .' ,K ; ? <tate of
Abbotrule, comprising 234* ,4 .- X * ed to sale
in 1818 at an upset price oi/^ ;cw belongs to
representatives of the late S j$ ,' r 'gham, Esq.
Abbotsford, the mansioi'/oi rtfe^ r Walter Scott
, Melrose parish, Roxburghsh ire. stands on the
right side of the river Tweed, opposite -ahjotsford-Ferry
station, and 2 miles W of Melrose. Sr Walter pur-
chased its site, together with ■»• iJ surrounding
acres, in 1811 ; he purchased an adjoinng tract, up to
Cauldshiels Loch, in 1813; and « 187 he made his
most extensive purchase, the iat-ids o Toftfield. His
original purchase was a plain, ti§i l rse, '-nimproved farm,
caUed Cartley Hole; but it cont a - a reputed haunt
of Thomas the Rhymer; contahW al ° some memorials
^ the battle of Melrose, and coi.maaded a view across
:he Tweed of a prominent exta nt prtion of the Cale-
lonian Catrail; and it therefore su>-ed his antiquarian
taste. His first care was to find a uphomous name for
: t, in room of Cartley Hole; ;'* with allusion to a
shallow in the Tweed, which the a ' D °ts of Melrose had
used for driving across their ca+tle, he called it Abbots-
ord. His next care was to b a residence ; his next
to improve the land. He fi: >uilt a pretty cottage,
and removed to it from Ash? '1 in May 1812; next,
between 1817 and 1821, hi 41t the present 'huge
-jaronial pile,' whose intern ittings were not com-
pleted till 1824 ; and he, all 1 , e while, carried forward
the improving and planting c ;he land. The mansion
stands on a terrace of a si pish bank, between the
Tweed and the public road roni Melrose to Selkirk.
The grounds comprise a trXct of meadow at the bank
foot, but are chiefly a br.' a dj l°w hill upward to the
southern boundary. Th. »' r present features of garden
and park, of walk and/vood, are much admired, and
were all of Sir Walter's wn creating. The mansion's
Erecincts comprise umbr§ geous shrubberies, curious out-
ouses, a cast-iron balcony walk, a turreted wall, a
screen wall of Gothic arc '- iron fretwork, a front court
of about -J acre in are3 md a lofty arched entrance
gateway. The mansioi itself defies all the rules of
architecture, and has singular features and extraordinary
proportions, yet looks (both beautiful and picturesque,
and is truly ' a roman f* in stone and lime.' It presents
bold gables, salient s> 'tions, projecting windows, hang-
ing turrets, and suit iMnting towers, in such numbers
and in such divers 1 it of style and composition and
ornaturo, as to bewih 1 the eye of any ordinary observer.
Many of its desigDs I parts are copies of famous old
architectural objecu. s a gateway from Linlithgow
Palace, a portal from Edinburgh Old Tolbooth, a roof
from Roslin Chapel, a mantelpiece from Melrose Abbey,
oak-work from Ho)fTood Palace, and sculptured stones
from anciept hour's in various parts of Scotland; so
that they make tl; mansion also a sort of architectural
museum. The eie 1 (ance-hall is a magnificent apartment,
about 40 feet loii% floored with mosaic of black and
white marble, panelled with richly-carved oak from
Dunfermline Pal' lce > and tastefully hung with pieces of
ancient armour. ' -A- narrow arched room extends across
the house, gives' communication from the entrance-hall
to the dining-ro >m an <l the drawing-room, and contains
a rich collection °f ancient small weapons and defensive
•inns. The dining-room has a richly-carved black oak
roof, a lai s en-ojeeting window, Gothic furniture, and a
fine colled ' pf pictures, and is the apartment in which
Sir W^ter d. The drawing-room is cased with cedar,
and c< ^eautiful antique ebony chairs, presented by
George yid several chastely-carved cabinets. The
library ± >;red from the drawing-room ; measures CO
feet by 50 roofed with richly-carved oak, after ancient
ABBOTSHALL
models; and contains about 20,000 volumes in carved
oak cases, an ebony writing-desk presented by George III.,
two carved elbow chairs presented by the Pope, a silver
urn presented by Lord Byron, Chantrey's bust of Sir
Walter, and a copy of the Stratford bust of Shakespeare.
The study, in which Sir Walter wrote, is a small, plain,
sombre room, entered from the library; and, after Sir
Walter's death, was fitted up as an oratory. A closet is
attached to the study, and contains, within a glass-case
on a table, the clothes which Sir Walter wore as a mem-
ber of the Celtic Society, the forest accoutrements which
he used to carry in his strolls through his grounds, and
the hat, coat, vest, and trousers which he wore imme-
diately before his death.
'Ah ! where are now the flashing eye
That fired at Flodden field,
That saw, in fancy, onsets fierce,
And clashing spear and shield, —
The eager and untiring step
Thatsought for Border lore,
To make old Scotland's heroes known
On every peopled shore, —
The graphic pen that drew at once
The traits so archly shown
In Bertram's faithful pedagogue,
And haughty Harmion, —
The hand that equally could paint,
With each proportion fair, i
The stern, the wild Meg Merrilees,
And lovely Lady Clare, —
The glowing dreams of bright romance
That shot across his brow, —
Where is his daring chivalry,
Where are his visions now?*
The mansion passed in 1S53 to Mr J. Hope Scott, who
had married Sir Walter's granddaughter, and added a
Roman Catholic domestic chapel; from him it passed, also
by marriage, to the Hon. Jos. Constable Maxwell-Scott.
Abbotshall, a coast parish, S. Fifeshire, containing
the Linktown or southern suburb of Kirkcaldy (incor-
porated with that burgh in 1876), and bounded W, NW,
and N by Auchterderran, E by Kirkcaldy and for \ mile
by the Firth of Forth, S by Kinghom, and SW by Aueh- ,
tertool. Irregular in outline, it has a varying length from
E to W of 7 furlongs and 3§ miles, an extreme breadth
from N to S of 3 miles, and an area of 4189 acres, of
which nearly 60 are foreshore and 25 water. Two
detached portions of this parish (respectively 27 acres
and 4 acres in extent), which were wholly surrounded
by the parish of Kirkcaldy, were in 1891 transferred to
that parish by the Boundary Commissioners. The sur-
face, low and level near the coast, rises gently, westward
and north-westward, to 283 feet beyond Balwearie, 400
near Haith House, 399 near Chapel, 500 near Torbain, and
484 beyond Lambswell, in the furthest west. Streams
there are none of any size, only Tiel Burn and another,
feeding the beautiful lake before Raith House, which
was formed in 1812. The rocks are partly eruptive,
partly belong to the Limestone Carboniferous system; and
sandstone and limestone, the latter abounding in fossils,
are quarried extensively, but no coal has been recently
worked. The soil towards the shore is fertile, though
light, growing good turnips and barley ; further inland
is mostly dark or clay loam, well adapted for wheat and
beans and other heavy crops ; and further still is chiefly
of inferior quality, on a cold, tilly subsoil. About four-
fifths of the whole area are in tillage, and one-sixth more
is under wood. Balwearie Tower is the principal an-
tiquity, only a large yew tree marking the site of the
hall or pleasaunce of the abbots of Dunfermline, \ mile
W of the church, from which the parish received its
name. Raith Hill, too, crowned by a conspicuous square
tower, has yielded some ancient urns and rude stone
coffins. William Adam, architect (flo. 1728), and
General Sir Ronald C. Ferguson (1773-1841), were
natives, the Fergusons having held the Raith estate
since 1707, and the Melvilles before them since 1296
and earlier. Raith House, IJ mile W of Kirkcaldy, is
a good old mansion, originally built by George, first
Earl of Melville, in 1694, with modern Ionic portico
and wings, and with finely-wooded grounds and park.
The present proprietor owns 7135 acres in the shire,