Scotland > 1868, 1878 - Slater's (late Pigot & Co.'s) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland > 1878 > Part 1
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EDINBURGHSHIRE.
T.
i HE County of EDiNBrRGH, or Mid-Lothian, lies in the Boutliern division of Scotland; bounded on the north by the Frith. of,
Forth (an arm of the German Ocean); by Linlithgowshire, or West-Lothian, on the west; by the counties of Lanark, Peebles, ana
Selliii-k on the south; and on the east by Haddingtonshire, or East-Lothian, with small portions of Berwickshire and Roxbor^'h-
shire on the east. Tho length of the county, from east to west, is about thirty-six miles; and its breadth, from its exti*eme ajjos
on the south, to near Musselburgh on the north, where the eastern extremity of the county abuts on Haddingtonshire, is about
twenty-four miles. The figure of this county, which is very irregular, may be said to describe the segment of a circle, indented
on its southern boundary by the counties of Berwick and Selkirk, and on its south-western verge by Lanarkshire. It contains
about three hundred and sixty-seven square miles, or 234,926 statute acres.
Najie and Early History. — In respect to the appellation "Edinburgh," all the information that can be obtained on this subject,
from the obscurity of ages, is furnished in the description of the capital ; while that of *' Lothian " will be given in the present article.
In the lirst century of the christian era, this district of Scotland, according to best authorities (including the Messrs. Chambers, from
whose valuable topography we have drawn largely), was inhabited by tribes of Ottadhia and Gadeni, tho British descendants of tho&p
enterprising foreign Celts, who had first landed in the island. The Eoman legions entered Edinburghshire about the year 80, when,
Agricola formed a chain of forts across the isthmus of land between the estuaries of Clyde and Forth. We shall pass over the imperfect
history of the wars of the natives and their irresistible enemies, the Romans, who finally secured the space they had at first marked
down as their own. The skilful general who restored the Roman power was Theodosi'us. under the Emperor Valentinian I., who in
compliment to his imperial master, entitled the extensive district he had thus conqui red the province of Valentia, which this warlike
people retained possession of three hundred and sixty years. During their residence they reared altars, baths, granaries, and other
works of art, still occasionally seen, and left those coins and weapons which from time toti-neare exposed in turning up the surface of the
soil. The exigencies of the state at length required their presence nearer the capital, but it was with extreme regret that they abandoned
their settlement. The date of their abdication is 446. and the epoch oi the re-subversion of the Romanised Ottadini, by Saxon invaders,
is only three years later. After a century of hard fighting, the superior genius of the Saxon Ida fixed this new race in those districts
now comprehended in the shires of Berwick, p_art of Roxburtih, Haddington, Linlithgow, and a portion of Stirling. In the course of time
this province obtained the distinctive appellation of Laodonie, Loihenc, and more recently, Lothian. The origin of this title has occa-
sioned much controversy, without arriving at a satisfactory conclusion, upon its derivation, in common speech the district is to this
day called Londian, or LowJon; thus the proper pronunciation is more correct, as regards etymology, than that which is in use among
writers. Every foot of ground covered by the metropolis and its environs has been the scene of warlike strife, frequently involving the
fate of the kingdom. In the struggle which Edward III. maintained for the restoration of the Ealiol dynastv, one of the most sanguinary
battles was fought on the Borough-moor of the metropolis. In 1385 Mid-Lothian was subjected to tlie horrors of piUage and conflagration,
in the expedition of Itichard II.; and a century and a half later, it suffered much from the invasion of the English, on account of the
treaty of marriage between the son of Henry VIII. and the young Queen of Scots. The county was, soon after, the scene of many of
the insurrectionary movements against the authority of Queen Mary, particularly that at Carberry HiU. Of the many interir sting events
connected with this county, the metropolis of it has been the nucleus — and our history of Edinburgh, therefore, in the succeeding
pages, will present many details.
Surface, Soil, and Climate.— The greater proportion of the county is, if not mountainous, hilly, and in many places wild
and pastoral. The most prominent rising grounds are the Pentland Hills, and the following eminences (with theii' altitude above
the level of the sea); Moorfoot Hills, 1,850 feet; Caerketton (Pentlaud range), 1,555; Spittal Hill, 1,360; Arthur's Seat (from its base,
700), 796; House of Whim, 884; Woodhouselee, 720; Dalmahoy Hill, 680; summit of Braid Hills, 630; Pennvcuick, 586; Salisbury
Crags, 550; Craig Lockhart Hill, 540; Battery of Edinburgh Castle, 510; Corstorphine Hill, 470; Calton Hill, 350; Dalkeith, 200. It
is ascertained that by the close of the eleventh centm-y agriculture had made some progress in the district of Mid-Lothian. During
the last and present century much has been accomphyhed in this part, in rearing xjlantations ;! but it is to the society of
Improvers, formea at Edinburgh, about the year 1723, that this county is mainly indebted for its advancement in agriculture. In
1744 potatoes were first raised in fields, and in about thirty years afterwards their cultivation was completely established in the
county. The agi'iculture of Mid-Lothian, like that of East-Lothian, is now conducted in the best manner that science can suggest,
or capital render efficient. Upon the whole, it may be remarked with regard to the soil of this county, and its management, that
a very active spirit of improvoment everywhere prevails ; cultivation is rapidly ascjuding the hills, while the boggy grounds are
gradually undergoing a process of drainage. The universally prevalent system of leases here, generally for nineteen years, gives
the tenant farmers of Scotland an indepGQdence which tenants at will, or from year to year, cannot have; and enables them with
confidence to expend money en the land. The Climate is, upon the whole, salubrious, and uot unfavourale to vegetation; its
greatest drawback is variability.
Minerals, Manufactures, and Commerce. — The county abounds in several valuable minerals, especially coal, sandstone, lime-
stone, and whinstone. In the western part is an extensive coal field and the eastern contains inexhaustible and rich beds of thi>'
valuable mineral, extending from the s!iore at Musselburgh, on both sides of the North Esk, about tiftvcn miles inward, to the head ot
that stream at Carlops,on the conhnes of Tweeddale. In the parish of Calder are extensive beds of rich bituminous shale, from wbi-Ji
paraffin oil and other chemical products are extracted. Blid-Lothinn possesses sandstone of different kinds, and of an excellent quaiif.;-.
The quarries of Edinburghshire have long enjoyed a pre-eminence, which cannot be so effectually indicated by anything as by tl^c
appearance of the New Town of Edinburgh. The works of Craigleith and Hailes, near the city, may be justly considered objecj..- of
curiosity. Almost all the houses of the ^fc\v Town, besides other bnildiugs, have boen rtared from the former niine. There are several
other quarries of inferior note throughout the county. Lead was, in former times, found at the head of the North Esk, on the south sida
of the Pentland Hills. A vein of copper is said to exist in ths parish of Ciu-ne, but it has never been worked. The manufacture^.! of
Edinburghshire canuot be traced to a remote date, and have never been remarkable for theii- extent. It is but little more than a centur-v
since th; t the fabrication of linen was known in the county. In Edinburgh, Lcith, and Musselburgh there are now numerous manaiac-
tories of-goods of different kinds, which will be found uuder their appropriate heads in the Directory of these places. Tlie princiijal
articles manufactured in the shire for exportation, either by outports or inland, besides Scotch linens, are glass, soap, salt, candfe.^,
refined sugar, beer, ale, wliisky, leather, bricks, tiles, pottery, iron, chemical preparations, printing materials, paper, and books. Tlio
manufacture of panov became first known in Scotland in this county, and the district stiU possesses large establishments employeJ iu
the manufacture of this invaluable material, chiefly situated nn the North Esk, at Pennycuick, and along its course to Dalkeith. Par;.lfi -i
oil has also become an important manufacture in tho neigh bo uriiood of Edinbm-gh. The maritime traffic of the county, which is ^ : ,
considerable, is comxmtrated at Leith. the only port suitable to th'j entrance of large vessels, and indeed the only one of any kindext: ■:
those of Fisherrow. or Musselburgh, Newhavcn, and the rising povt of Grantou. The Union canal, proceeding to;the west from Edi: -
bui-gh, conveys lnv'/v quantities of coals, and various kinds of goods to the city.
Rivers and R mlways.— This county does not possess any large rivers. This deficiency, however, is of little. or no importance, iu
consequence of being plact^d on the margin of a broad and navigable frith. Next the Forth, the Esk may be said to be the chief rive .-
it is composed of two streams, which unite their waters below Dalkeith, and glide into the Forth at Musselburgh. The Leith, a v?.l>.
able small river, takes its rise on thenorth side of the Pentland Hills, and after receiving several rivulets, discharges its waters, afttJ ■;
course of nineteen miles, into the Forth. The Almond, the rai)st westerly stream, rises in the high grounds on the borders of Lana^l
shire; it is joined by the Briech Burn, in its way to the Forth, which it enters at Cramond.— Railways. The shire of Ediubui (:
is extensively interested in the system of railways, which radiate from Edinburgh. No town or considerable village in the couj;'-/
is now destitute of the advantages of railway communication. *'
Civil Divisions, Kkprf^entation, Ac— This distiict became subject to tho government of a sheriff, prior to the reign.:
David I. The office of sheriff of Edinburgh seems to have been at all times an appointment of great trust and dignity; and ir
the thirteenth to the eighteenth century was filled by the heads of families of noto in the shire and its vicinity. The'countv i;,
now governed, and its affairs conducted, by the usual number of lunctiouaries, with about forty deputy-lieutenants, 'distributed ■' -r
six districts, each composed of a certain number of parishes. Besides Edinburi^'h, the shire'does not comprise any rnyal bu' J^.
but possesses threeof regality, namely, Musselburgh, Canongate, and Portsburgh and the town of Lcith. Its only burgh of bain,, ■■
is Dalkeith. The contributory burghs belonging to this county, represL-nted in Padiamont, are Leith, Musseiburgh, and Poi-f,obi'u>' i
the city of Edinburgh sends two members to parliament, and the county at large one. the present member Cl877j for the county Vn.i;
the Eight Hon. the Earl of Dalbeith, k.t., and.for the cityDurcan M*Laren,Esq., and James Cowan, Esq.
By the census returns presented to government in 1861, the entire county contained a population of 126^90 males, and J i; , ■' :
females, total, 273,997; in the year 1871 the numbers were males, 153,892 ; females, 174,487; total, 328,379, exhibiting an increa^' •■■ -.
1661 of 54,382.
1-1
T.
i HE County of EDiNBrRGH, or Mid-Lothian, lies in the Boutliern division of Scotland; bounded on the north by the Frith. of,
Forth (an arm of the German Ocean); by Linlithgowshire, or West-Lothian, on the west; by the counties of Lanark, Peebles, ana
Selliii-k on the south; and on the east by Haddingtonshire, or East-Lothian, with small portions of Berwickshire and Roxbor^'h-
shire on the east. Tho length of the county, from east to west, is about thirty-six miles; and its breadth, from its exti*eme ajjos
on the south, to near Musselburgh on the north, where the eastern extremity of the county abuts on Haddingtonshire, is about
twenty-four miles. The figure of this county, which is very irregular, may be said to describe the segment of a circle, indented
on its southern boundary by the counties of Berwick and Selkirk, and on its south-western verge by Lanarkshire. It contains
about three hundred and sixty-seven square miles, or 234,926 statute acres.
Najie and Early History. — In respect to the appellation "Edinburgh," all the information that can be obtained on this subject,
from the obscurity of ages, is furnished in the description of the capital ; while that of *' Lothian " will be given in the present article.
In the lirst century of the christian era, this district of Scotland, according to best authorities (including the Messrs. Chambers, from
whose valuable topography we have drawn largely), was inhabited by tribes of Ottadhia and Gadeni, tho British descendants of tho&p
enterprising foreign Celts, who had first landed in the island. The Eoman legions entered Edinburghshire about the year 80, when,
Agricola formed a chain of forts across the isthmus of land between the estuaries of Clyde and Forth. We shall pass over the imperfect
history of the wars of the natives and their irresistible enemies, the Romans, who finally secured the space they had at first marked
down as their own. The skilful general who restored the Roman power was Theodosi'us. under the Emperor Valentinian I., who in
compliment to his imperial master, entitled the extensive district he had thus conqui red the province of Valentia, which this warlike
people retained possession of three hundred and sixty years. During their residence they reared altars, baths, granaries, and other
works of art, still occasionally seen, and left those coins and weapons which from time toti-neare exposed in turning up the surface of the
soil. The exigencies of the state at length required their presence nearer the capital, but it was with extreme regret that they abandoned
their settlement. The date of their abdication is 446. and the epoch oi the re-subversion of the Romanised Ottadini, by Saxon invaders,
is only three years later. After a century of hard fighting, the superior genius of the Saxon Ida fixed this new race in those districts
now comprehended in the shires of Berwick, p_art of Roxburtih, Haddington, Linlithgow, and a portion of Stirling. In the course of time
this province obtained the distinctive appellation of Laodonie, Loihenc, and more recently, Lothian. The origin of this title has occa-
sioned much controversy, without arriving at a satisfactory conclusion, upon its derivation, in common speech the district is to this
day called Londian, or LowJon; thus the proper pronunciation is more correct, as regards etymology, than that which is in use among
writers. Every foot of ground covered by the metropolis and its environs has been the scene of warlike strife, frequently involving the
fate of the kingdom. In the struggle which Edward III. maintained for the restoration of the Ealiol dynastv, one of the most sanguinary
battles was fought on the Borough-moor of the metropolis. In 1385 Mid-Lothian was subjected to tlie horrors of piUage and conflagration,
in the expedition of Itichard II.; and a century and a half later, it suffered much from the invasion of the English, on account of the
treaty of marriage between the son of Henry VIII. and the young Queen of Scots. The county was, soon after, the scene of many of
the insurrectionary movements against the authority of Queen Mary, particularly that at Carberry HiU. Of the many interir sting events
connected with this county, the metropolis of it has been the nucleus — and our history of Edinburgh, therefore, in the succeeding
pages, will present many details.
Surface, Soil, and Climate.— The greater proportion of the county is, if not mountainous, hilly, and in many places wild
and pastoral. The most prominent rising grounds are the Pentland Hills, and the following eminences (with theii' altitude above
the level of the sea); Moorfoot Hills, 1,850 feet; Caerketton (Pentlaud range), 1,555; Spittal Hill, 1,360; Arthur's Seat (from its base,
700), 796; House of Whim, 884; Woodhouselee, 720; Dalmahoy Hill, 680; summit of Braid Hills, 630; Pennvcuick, 586; Salisbury
Crags, 550; Craig Lockhart Hill, 540; Battery of Edinburgh Castle, 510; Corstorphine Hill, 470; Calton Hill, 350; Dalkeith, 200. It
is ascertained that by the close of the eleventh centm-y agriculture had made some progress in the district of Mid-Lothian. During
the last and present century much has been accomphyhed in this part, in rearing xjlantations ;! but it is to the society of
Improvers, formea at Edinburgh, about the year 1723, that this county is mainly indebted for its advancement in agriculture. In
1744 potatoes were first raised in fields, and in about thirty years afterwards their cultivation was completely established in the
county. The agi'iculture of Mid-Lothian, like that of East-Lothian, is now conducted in the best manner that science can suggest,
or capital render efficient. Upon the whole, it may be remarked with regard to the soil of this county, and its management, that
a very active spirit of improvoment everywhere prevails ; cultivation is rapidly ascjuding the hills, while the boggy grounds are
gradually undergoing a process of drainage. The universally prevalent system of leases here, generally for nineteen years, gives
the tenant farmers of Scotland an indepGQdence which tenants at will, or from year to year, cannot have; and enables them with
confidence to expend money en the land. The Climate is, upon the whole, salubrious, and uot unfavourale to vegetation; its
greatest drawback is variability.
Minerals, Manufactures, and Commerce. — The county abounds in several valuable minerals, especially coal, sandstone, lime-
stone, and whinstone. In the western part is an extensive coal field and the eastern contains inexhaustible and rich beds of thi>'
valuable mineral, extending from the s!iore at Musselburgh, on both sides of the North Esk, about tiftvcn miles inward, to the head ot
that stream at Carlops,on the conhnes of Tweeddale. In the parish of Calder are extensive beds of rich bituminous shale, from wbi-Ji
paraffin oil and other chemical products are extracted. Blid-Lothinn possesses sandstone of different kinds, and of an excellent quaiif.;-.
The quarries of Edinburghshire have long enjoyed a pre-eminence, which cannot be so effectually indicated by anything as by tl^c
appearance of the New Town of Edinburgh. The works of Craigleith and Hailes, near the city, may be justly considered objecj..- of
curiosity. Almost all the houses of the ^fc\v Town, besides other bnildiugs, have boen rtared from the former niine. There are several
other quarries of inferior note throughout the county. Lead was, in former times, found at the head of the North Esk, on the south sida
of the Pentland Hills. A vein of copper is said to exist in ths parish of Ciu-ne, but it has never been worked. The manufacture^.! of
Edinburghshire canuot be traced to a remote date, and have never been remarkable for theii- extent. It is but little more than a centur-v
since th; t the fabrication of linen was known in the county. In Edinburgh, Lcith, and Musselburgh there are now numerous manaiac-
tories of-goods of different kinds, which will be found uuder their appropriate heads in the Directory of these places. Tlie princiijal
articles manufactured in the shire for exportation, either by outports or inland, besides Scotch linens, are glass, soap, salt, candfe.^,
refined sugar, beer, ale, wliisky, leather, bricks, tiles, pottery, iron, chemical preparations, printing materials, paper, and books. Tlio
manufacture of panov became first known in Scotland in this county, and the district stiU possesses large establishments employeJ iu
the manufacture of this invaluable material, chiefly situated nn the North Esk, at Pennycuick, and along its course to Dalkeith. Par;.lfi -i
oil has also become an important manufacture in tho neigh bo uriiood of Edinbm-gh. The maritime traffic of the county, which is ^ : ,
considerable, is comxmtrated at Leith. the only port suitable to th'j entrance of large vessels, and indeed the only one of any kindext: ■:
those of Fisherrow. or Musselburgh, Newhavcn, and the rising povt of Grantou. The Union canal, proceeding to;the west from Edi: -
bui-gh, conveys lnv'/v quantities of coals, and various kinds of goods to the city.
Rivers and R mlways.— This county does not possess any large rivers. This deficiency, however, is of little. or no importance, iu
consequence of being plact^d on the margin of a broad and navigable frith. Next the Forth, the Esk may be said to be the chief rive .-
it is composed of two streams, which unite their waters below Dalkeith, and glide into the Forth at Musselburgh. The Leith, a v?.l>.
able small river, takes its rise on thenorth side of the Pentland Hills, and after receiving several rivulets, discharges its waters, afttJ ■;
course of nineteen miles, into the Forth. The Almond, the rai)st westerly stream, rises in the high grounds on the borders of Lana^l
shire; it is joined by the Briech Burn, in its way to the Forth, which it enters at Cramond.— Railways. The shire of Ediubui (:
is extensively interested in the system of railways, which radiate from Edinburgh. No town or considerable village in the couj;'-/
is now destitute of the advantages of railway communication. *'
Civil Divisions, Kkprf^entation, Ac— This distiict became subject to tho government of a sheriff, prior to the reign.:
David I. The office of sheriff of Edinburgh seems to have been at all times an appointment of great trust and dignity; and ir
the thirteenth to the eighteenth century was filled by the heads of families of noto in the shire and its vicinity. The'countv i;,
now governed, and its affairs conducted, by the usual number of lunctiouaries, with about forty deputy-lieutenants, 'distributed ■' -r
six districts, each composed of a certain number of parishes. Besides Edinburi^'h, the shire'does not comprise any rnyal bu' J^.
but possesses threeof regality, namely, Musselburgh, Canongate, and Portsburgh and the town of Lcith. Its only burgh of bain,, ■■
is Dalkeith. The contributory burghs belonging to this county, represL-nted in Padiamont, are Leith, Musseiburgh, and Poi-f,obi'u>' i
the city of Edinburgh sends two members to parliament, and the county at large one. the present member Cl877j for the county Vn.i;
the Eight Hon. the Earl of Dalbeith, k.t., and.for the cityDurcan M*Laren,Esq., and James Cowan, Esq.
By the census returns presented to government in 1861, the entire county contained a population of 126^90 males, and J i; , ■' :
females, total, 273,997; in the year 1871 the numbers were males, 153,892 ; females, 174,487; total, 328,379, exhibiting an increa^' •■■ -.
1661 of 54,382.
1-1
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Scottish Post Office Directories > Scotland > Slater's (late Pigot & Co.'s) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland > 1878 > Part 1 > (49) |
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Description | Directories of the whole, or large parts of, Scotland. |
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Description | Around 700 Scottish directories published annually by the Post Office or private publishers between 1773 and 1911. Most of Scotland covered, with a focus on Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. Most volumes include a general directory (A-Z by surname), street directory (A-Z by street) and trade directory (A-Z by trade). |
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