Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

PENPONT
and South- Western railway, and 2 W by S of Thornliill
town, under which it has a post office, with money
order, savings bank, and telegraph departments. A
pleasant little place, it is lighted with gas, and well
supplied with water. Pop. (1861) 494, (1871) 632,
(1881) 437, (1891) 407.
The parish is bounded N by Sanquhar, NE by Duris-
deer, E by Morton, SE by Closeburn, S by Keir, and
SW by Tynron and the Kirkcudbrightshire parish of
Dairy. Its utmost length, from WNW to ESE, is 13
miles; its utmost breadth is 4 miles; and its area is
34J square miles or 22,099f acres, of which 138J are
water. Scar Water, rising in the extreme NW at an
altitude of 1600 feet above sea-level, winds 17 miles
east-south-eastward — for the last 5| miles along the
Tynron and Keir boundary— until, at a point 1§ mile
above its influx to the Nith, it passes off into Keir.
During this course it is joined by Glenmanno, Chan-
lock, and eighteen other burns. The Nith curves 2§
miles east-by-southward along the eastern border; and
SIaar or Park Burn, its affluent, traces much of the
Durisdeer boundary. The surface is hilly, sinking at
the south-eastern extremity to 190 feet above sea-level,
and rising thence to 717 feet near Auchenaight, 996 at
Auchenbainzie Hill, 1211 at Merkland Hill, 1813 at
Cairnkinna Hill, 1441 at Craigdasher, 15S1 at Glen-
whargen Craig, 1640 at Countam, 1658 at Rough Hill,
and 1902 at Corse Hill, of which the three last culmin-
ate right on the confines of the parish. The scenery in
the NW is wildly but romantically upland, sending up
summits which compete in all the elements of mountain
landscape with any S of the Grampians; in the central
district it is still upland, but of softer feature and
lessened elevation; and in the SW it passes through
the gradations of towering hill, considerable eminence,
and gentle swell, till it finally subsides into a belt of
alluvial plain. Two-thirds or more of the whole area
are arranged lengthwise into four steep ridges and three
deep narrow glens, each of the latter watered by a very
pure and plentiful stream. Scar Water's hill-screens
over great part of its course are so steep and high, tufted
with copses below, and dotted over with sheep in the
ascent, and its basin is so narrow and rocky, so rapid in
gradient, and so embellished with trees and cultivation,
as to be rife with picturesqueness and romance. The
ridge between it and Chanloek Burn comes boldly and
steeply down in the form of a mountain-wedge, to their
point of confluence, there being feathered all over with
trees, and confronting hill-screens on the opposite sides
of the glens, arrayed in the richest green, with which it
forms, as seen a little down the course of the united
stream, one of the finest landscapes. In the bosom of
the Scar's left mountain flank, 2J miles above this point,
rises almost sheer from the glen the stupendous crag
of Glenwhargen, a mountain mass of nearly naked stone,
amidst highlands ,-vhere all else is green or russet — one
of the greatest curiosities in the South of Scotland.
About If mile SE of it appears the summit of Cairn-
kinna, crowning a gradual ascent and commanding a
view of large parte of Nithsdale and Annandale, con-
siderable portions of Ayrshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, and
Clydesdale, and some blue and hazy summits in
Cumberland. Park Burn runs cheerily through the
pleasure-grounds of Drumlanrig Castle, and on the
Durisdeer side is overlooked by that stately ducal pile.
The prospect down both the Nith and the lower Scar is
extensive and enchanting, and presents a foreground of
highly cultivated haughs and hanging plains, diversified
by swells and geatle eminences, thriving woods, and
pretty villas, wit? a singularly varied background,
now boldly and a '■" v ptly mountainous, and now retreat-
ing slowly upw'J^'from lowland to soaring summit.
From a plain, t , ±Lhe of the church and manse, on the
Scar's left bai^ a ^Vile from the nearest reach of the
Nith, both riv n * na N3 distinctly seen for about 8 miles,
first separate, ""hen united, their pools appearing at
intervals as si ' mlUs sheets of water, and their haugh-
ground conver Tes %i occasion of a heavy freshet, into a
little inland s. connei ,ile in breadth. Not far from this
PENPONT
point a modern bridge spans the Scar between two steep
rocks, on the site of an antique so-called Roman bridge,
whose one large semicircular arch, completely mantled
with ivy and woodbine, was removed in 1801. The
banks of the stream here are high and skirted with
wood, the channel rocky and obstructed with loose
blocks; and, at Glenmarlin Pool a little way above,
the stream forms a series of foaming cataracts.
Barely one-eighth of the entire area is capable of
cultivation ; but improvements of every sort on the land
have been conducted, and still are carried forward, with
the greatest energy and success. The woods of Drum-
lanrig are very extensive; and its magnificent gardens
(1830-36), which, together with the elegant cottage for
the gardener, from a design by Mr Burn, cost upwards
of £11,000, fling enchantment over the district along
the Park Burn. Orchards and small gardens are objects
of general care. The soil in the many arable spots
among the hills is light, early, easily improvable, and
very fertile. The herbage on the uplands is excellent.
White and red sandstone abounds in the lower district;
trap has been quarried for building material from among
the hills; lead ore exists, and is thought to be plentiful;
and coal is said to have been accidentally stumbled
upon, but has never been formally searched for. Dow
or Dubh Loch was famed in the days of superstition
for its alleged power of healing all sorts of diseases, and
had its water-spirit, to whom devotees left some part of
their dress as an offering. Glenmanno Burn, an early
and wild little tributary of the Scar, through a bleak
sheep-walk among the hills, is associated with curious
and stirring anecdotes of a sheep farmer, John M'Caul
or 'Strong Glenmanno' (1621-1705), an account of whose
strange feats of physical strength is still preserved in
the Session Records. At the confluence of Park Burn
with the Nith are vestiges of'Tibbers' Castle, supposed to
have been of Roman origin, and to have got its name in
honour of Tiberius Caesar. This castle was garrisoned by
the English in the early part of the wars of the succession,
and was taken by surprise by Sir William Wallace. The
barony on which the castle stands, and a hill in its vicinity,
also bear the name of Tibbers. A Roman causeway is
traceable up the Scar and into Tynron; and there are
vestiges of a Roman encampment. An ancient obelisk
or Runic cross, 10 feet high, fixed in a socket of two
steps, stands on the Boatford estate. Its sculptures or
inscriptions are almost defaced; nor does it figure in
either record or any distinct tradition. There are like-
wise in the parish two motes, and four very large cairns.
For 4-^ miles at the upper end, the parish has no road;
for 5£ more it has only one along the Scar, but elsewhere
it is tolerably well provided. Its southern margin is
traversed by the road from Thornhill to Moniaive; and
all its south-eastern district has near access to the Thorn-
hill and Carronbridge stations of the Glasgow and South-
western railway. The Duke of Buccleuch owns six-
sevenths of all the parish. Penpont is the seat of a
presbytery in the synod of Dumfries; the living is
worth £288. The parish church, built in 1867 at a
cost of £3000 from plans by the late Charles Howitt,
architect to His Grace, is a handsome Gothic edifice,
said to be one of the finest parish churches in Scotland,
with 500 sittings, an organ, and a spire 120 feet high.
The East Free church dates from Disruption times ; the
AVest (1791) till 1876 was Reformed Presbyterian; and
the present Reformed Presbyterian church was built in
1875, and contains 300 sittings. At Burnhead is a
U.P. church (1800); and two public schools, Penpont
and Woodside, with respective accommodation for 190
and 40 children, have an average attendance of about
175 and 15, and grants of nearly £195 and £30. Pop.
(1801) 966, (1831) 1232, (1861) 1326, (1871) 1323,
(1881) 1176, (1891) 1063.— Ord. Sur., shs. 9, 15,
1863-64.
The presbytery of Penpont, meeting at Thornhill,
comprises the quoad civilia parishes of Closeburn,
Durisdeer, Glencairn, Keir, Kirkconnel, Morton, Pen-
pont, Sanquhar, and Tynron, the quoad sacra parish
of Wanlockhead, and the chapelry of Moniaive.
1303