Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 2

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tion of this precious metal were abandoned. The
inhabitants of Leadhills, who are almost entirely
supported by the mines, have long maintained the
character of a primitive and excellent race. Almost
secluded from the busy world beyond — imvisited
either by the tourist or the commercial traveller, they
nestle in their bleak mountain homes, and contrive
to make themselves comfortable by an orderly life,
spent in the pursuit of knowledge and the practice
of industry. So early as 1741, a library was estab-
lished amongst them, which now numbers nearly
2,000 volumes, and this so far accounts for the re-
mark of casual visiters, that they are here surprised
to meet with men who mix so little in the busy
world, and yet know infinitely more of its concerns,
and of history and science, than the great mass of
well-paid workmen in our large towns and cities.
The soil is of the most wretched description, and
under ordinary circumstances only fit for the main-
tenance here and there of a flock of black-faced or
mountain sheep. But the Earl of Hopetoun having
kindly granted portions of land rent-free to the min-
ers, for the sake of improvement, this has given full
scope to spade husbandry, and they have reclaimed,
as it were from the wilderness, the soil of nearly a
mile square around their dwellings. Although only
two cows were kept in the village 100 years ago,
there are now between 80 and 90, and the produce
of the little fields of the miners is principally hay,
potatoes, and oats — the two latter, however, a most
precarious crop in backward seasons. The main
supplies of the miners and their families is drawn,
therefore, from more fertile districts around, and
about the beginning of winter a large supply of oat-
meal is stored by the company, and sold out to the
inhabitants at a moderate rate. Leadhills has the
honour of having given birth to Allan Ramsay, the
author of the pleasant pastoral of the ' Gentle Shep-
herd,' and whose reputation as a Scottish poet would
have been an envied one, but that the immortal
ploughman bard of Ayrshire succeeded him. Ram-
say's father was manager of the mines, and he was
born there in 1686, where he spent bis earliest years.
The site of the cottage is still pointed out. There
is a quoad sacra church in the village, and the emo-
luments of the minister are from £70 to £80 per
annum, with a house; the schoolmaster has about
£30, and also a free house. Leadhills is a post-
town, and there are two fairs held in the year, prin-
cipally intended for the supply of the villagers with
some of the necessaries of life ; but they are gener-
ally well-attended by the surrounding rural popula-
tion. Inhabitants, in 1836, 1,207.
LECROPT,* a parish of compact form, having
about two-thirds of its extent in Perthshire, and
about one-third in Stirlingshire, and lying, at its
nearest point, within 1 £ mile of the town of Stirling.
It is an oblong, stretching north-westward and south-
eastward ; and is bounded on the north-east by Dun-
blane ; on the east by Logie ; on the south by St.
Niniansj on the south-west by Kincardine; and on
the west by Kilmadock. Its mean length is about
2* miles; and its mean breadth about 1?. The
Teath traces the whole of the boundary on the
south-west, a distance, in a straight line, of 2^ miles,
and then falls into the Forth; the united stream, or
the Forth, traces the whole of it on the south, a
distance of 1 mile in a straight line, but of about
2 along the channel ; and the Allan traces the whole
of it on the east, a distance, in a straight line, of
1J- mile. The streams produce salmon, trout, pikes,
and perches. Across the Forth, after it begins to
* Lecropt — or Leernch, Letcroch, ' the half of the hill,' in
allusion t»i the configuration of the surface — anciently belonged
to the monks of Catnbitskenueth.
touch the parish, extends from bank to bank a ledge
of rocks which terminates the How of the tide and
the navigableness of the river. On the rocky ledge
are the well-known cruives of Craigfortb, which,
when kept in proper repair, produce a great capture
of salmon. All the rivers, but especially the Allan,
wear here richly ornamental dresses; and just after
the Allan comes down upon the parish, are the sweet
scenes of the Bridge of Allan and the circumjacent
country. See Allan [Bridge of]. Through
the middle of the parish, lengthways, and almost
from end to end, extends a beautiful bank. All the
surface south and south-west of this is rich carse
ground, without a single stone or pebble, tastefully
enclosed, and in the fullest and most luxuriant cul-
tivation. From the bank north-eastward, the sur-
face rises with a gentle ascent, partakes the charac-
ter of what, in the vicinity of carse lands, is called
dry field, is all enclosed either with stone walls, or
hedge and ditch, and exhibits many opulent results
of agricultural improvement. A great variety of
thriving planted trees shelter and adorn the dry field ;
and a large remnant of an ancient natural forest, con-
sisting chiefly of oaks, is cut twice in 24 years, and
affords a plentiful supply of timber for the various
purposes of husbandry. The carse is too valuable
for grain crops to be more than very thinly sprinkled
with trees. From the bisecting bank, and from
points of upland beyond it, magnificent prospects are
obtained of the rich flat basin of the Teath and the
Forth, and of the zone now of low heights, now of
bold hills, and now of grand mountain-summits
which encinctures it. The parish is conspicuous for
the produce of the orchard and the aviary ; and it has
several grain mills, and mills for the manufacture of
coarse paper. An artificial eminence on the east side of
the parish seems to have been a post of the Romans,
near the great road to the church at Ardoch. Near
the elegant mansion of Keir, j of a mile north-west of
the church, is one of the chain of rude forts, all called
Keir's, which run along the north face of the strath
of the Teath, and were built by the Caledonians to
watch the motions of the troops stationed on the
great Roman wall. In the immediate vicinity of the
church are those very marked monuments of feudal
times and jurisprudence, a Court-hill and a Gallow-
hill. The road from Stirling to Callander traverses
nearly the extreme length of the parish. Population
of the Perthshire part, in 1801, 260; in 1831, 189.
Houses 33. Assessed property, in 1815, £1,790.
Population of the Stirlingshire part, in 1801, 248;
in 1831, 254. Houses 41. Assessed property, in
1815, £3,383 Lecropt is in the presbytery of Dun-
blane, and synod of Perth and Stirling, Patron,
Stirling of Keir. Stipend £147 13s. 8d. ; glebe
£16 10s. The church is a very beautiful modern
Gothic edifice. Schoolmaster's salary £34 4s. 4id.,
with about £12 fees, and about £3 other emolu-
ments. There is an infant school.
LEDNOCK (The), a rivulet of the parish of
Comrie, Perthshire. It rises in the north-west ex-
tremity of the parish, and flows 8J miles south-east-
ward to the Earn at the village of Comrie, forming,
over the last 2-J- miles of its course, the boundary-
line with the Monivard. The valley along which it
passes lies from 200 to 350 feet above sea-level, is
romantic in its scenery, and takes from the stream
the name of Glenlednock. Several fine cascades oc-
cur on the stream, particularly one called the Cal-
dron, about a mile above its mouth. Small trout
are abundant.
LEE (The). See North Esk.
LEET (The), a rivulet of the Merse, Berwick-
shire. It rises near the extreme north of the parish
of Whitsome ; flows 5 miles south-westward through