Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

LARB
L A R G
the rebellion in 1*15, are traces of the military works
thrown up on that occasion. Upon Crumstane hill was
a large cairn, on the removal of which, in 179*2, were
found several urns of different dimensions, containing
human bones, but without any inscription ; various
stone coffins were also discovered on the lands of Mid-
dlefield and Crease. In 1813 was found, in a small
streamlet flowing through a spot called the Battle-Muir,
a bracelet of gold, nine inches in circumference, and
which weighed nearly ten ounces.
LANTON, a village, in the parish and district of
Jedburgh, county of Roxburgh, I5 mile (N. W. by W.)
from Jedburgh ; containing 175 inhabitants. The village
is chiefly distinguished for its tower, which is still entire,
and almost the only one remaining of the numerous for-
tifications raised in various parts of the parish for the
defence of the surrounding district. The land is of good
quality, and the system of agriculture greatly improved.
LARBERT, a parish, ecclesiastically united to the
parish of Dunipace, in the county of Stirling ; con-
taining, with the villages of West Carron, Kinnaird,
Stenhouse-Muir, and part of the village of Carronshore,
4404 inhabitants, of whom 487 are in the village of Lar-
bert, 2 miles (N. W.) from Falkirk. This parish is
bounded on the south by the river Carron, and is about
three miles in length and two and a half in breadth,
comprising an area of 3400 acres, of which, with the
exception of '200 acres of woodland and plantations,
the whole is arable, meadow, and pasture. The sur-
face rises gradually from the south-west to the north-
east, where it attains an elevation of nearly 100 feet ; and
though not commanding an extensive prospect, yet it
embraces numerous interesting and impressive features.
The river formerly abounded with salmon ; but, since
the establishment of the Carron iron-works, they have
almost disappeared. A small stream called the Chapel
burn rises in the adjoining parish of Dunipace, and,
after a course of about three miles, in which it turns a
couple of mills, falls into the Carron near the village of
Carronshore. The soil is generally fertile, and near the
confines of Falkirk is a considerable tract of rich carse
land; the crops are, wheat, oats, barley, beans, and
hay. The system of agriculture within the last few
years has been greatly improved ; the lands have been
drained and inclosed, and the farm-buildings are com-
modious. The plantations are chiefly confined to the
grounds of the principal landholders, and consist of
oak, ash, beech, sycamore, Huntingdon willow, and firs.
In the grounds of Kinnaird are some fine oaks, and an
avenue of lime-trees, and there are also some stately
trees at Carron Hall ; but in general the soil is unfa-
vourable to the growth of timber. The main substrata
are sandstone, coal, and ironstone, all of which are
wrought to a great extent; the coal on the lands of
Carron Hall and Kinnaird are worked by the Carron
Company, who employ about 150 men in the collieries.
The rateable annual value of Larbert is £26,246.
The village of Larbert is situated in the south-west-
ern portion of the parish, on the road from Stirling
to Falkirk, with which latter town it has a communica-
tion by a bridge over the Carron ; the inhabitants are
chiefly engaged in the iron-works. A post-office has
been established here ; and the Falkirk trysts are held
upon a heath near it, the property of Sir Michael Bruce,
on the second Tuesday in August, September, and Octo-
149
ber, chiefly for black-cattle and horses. The number of
cattle sold at. the first of these trysts seldom exceeds
4000, and of horses 400 ; at the second, 17,000 cattle
and 700 horses ; and at the October tryst, 20,000 cattle
and nearly 1000 horses. For the accommodation of the
persons attending these meetings, there are numerous
inns. Facility of intercourse with Edinburgh and Glas-
gow is maintained by good turnpike-roads which pass
through the parish. The ecclesiastical affairs are
under the superintendence of the presbytery of Stirling
and synod of Perth and Stirling : the minister's stipend
is £272, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £26. 10.
per annum ; patron, the Crown. The church, situated
at the western extremity of the parish, is a handsome
structure in the later English style of architecture,
erected in 1819, after a design by Mr. Hamilton, of
Glasgow, and containing 1200 sittings. The members
of the Free Church have a place of worship. The paro-
chial school is well attended ; the master has a salary
of £34, with a house and garden, and the fees average
£60 per annum. Among the relics of antiquity for-
merly existing, was a conical building of stone called
Arthur's Oven, supposed to have been of Roman origin,
and which was demolished in 1743 for the sake of the
materials. The interior, twenty feet in diameter, was sur-
rounded with two stone shelves near the base, and was
open towards the vertex ; the entrance was arched, and
over it was a kind of window of square form, tapering
towards the summit. Roman mill-stones and fragments
of pottery were found within 300 yards of the site, by
some labourers draining a peat-moss, in the year 1800 ;
and in other parts of the parish are some remains of
ancient square towers, thought to have been the resi-
dences of old chieftains. The most distinguished per-
son connected with the parish was James Bruce, the
Abyssinian traveller, who died at Kinnaird in 1794. —
See Carron, Dunipace, &c.
LARGO, a parish, in the district of St. Andrew's,
county of Fife ; containing, with the villages of Dru-
mochy, New Gilston, Kirkton, Lundinmill, Temple, and
Woodside, 2751 inhabitants, of whom 423 are in the
village of Largo, 3 miles (E. N. E.) from Leven. This
barony was given by James III. to Sir Andrew Wood, a
distinguished naval officer, in recompense for his emi-
nent services ; and the grant was confirmed by James
IV. It afterwards became the property of the family of
the Gibsons, of Durie, from whom it was purchased, in
1663, by Sir Alexander Durham, lyon king-at-arms,
whose descendant is the present proprietor. The estate
of Lundin, which formerly included the greater part of
the parish, belonged to the Lundins from the time of
David I. till the reign of William the Lion, King of
Scotland, when it passed, by marriage with the heiress
of that family, into the possession of Robert, son of thy
monarch. Subsequently, by marriage with another
heiress, it became the property of John Drummond,
second son of the Earl of Perth ; and on the attainder
of that family in 1745, it came to Lady Willoughby
D'Eresby, from whom it passed to the family of the
Erskines, and thence to Capt. Erskine Wemyss, of
Wemyss Castle, its present owner. The parish, which
is situated on the bay of Largo, is about six miles in
length, from north to south, and three miles in breadth ;
and is bounded on the north by the parish of Ceres, on
the south by the bay, on the east by the parish of New-