Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

TR A N
T R A N
school affords instruction to about ninety children : the
master has a salary of £28, with a house and garden,
and the fees average £20 ; he has also a portion of the
Dick bequest. Of the ancient castle of Towie, one
square tower is remaining, but in a very ruinous state.
There are ruins of ancient chapels at Nether Towie,
Kinbattoch, Belnaboth, Ley, and Sinnahard ; and on
the farm of Kinbattoch are several tumuli in which, on
being opened in 1750, were found some kistvaens con-
taining urns, human bones, trinkets, and some Roman
medals. On the Glaschul, or"grey moor,"are also tumuli,
which appear to have been raised in commemoration of
the defeat of Lord Atholl and his party ; and at Fech-
ley is a mound sixty feet in height, 200 feet in length,
and 127 feet in breadth, surrounded at the base by a
broad fosse, and on the summit of which are the re-
mains of a vitrified fort.
TRADESTON, a suburb of the city of Glas-
gow, in the parish of Gorbals, county of Lanark.
This flourishing place, which is situated on the south
bank of the river Clyde, and forms one of the most
interesting of the suburbs, was founded in 1790, for
which purpose lands were purchased from the Trades'
House and corporation of the city. It consists of
several spacious and well-formed streets, intersecting
each other at right angles, and of which the principal
are in a direction nearly parallel with the river. The
houses are generally three and four stories in height,
handsomely built of stone, and roofed with slate ; and
attached to each is a court-yard or garden : the streets
are lighted with gas, and the inhabitants amply sup-
plied with water. Facility of communication with the
city is afforded by the Jamaica-street bridge, from
which, on this side of the river, a spacious quay extends
towards the west for nearly 700 yards, in front of the
Clyde-buildings, an elegant range of houses, beautifully
situated in Clyde-street, which, with Carlton- place,
forms an extensive and delightful promenade on the
margin of the river. The inhabitants include many of
the most opulent merchants and manufacturers of the
city, and others connected with the trade of the port ;
and some of the population are employed in the various
branches of manufacture carried on in the vicinity. A
factory for the weaving of silk veils, satin, velvet, and
other articles, affords employment to fifty persons ; the
bleaching and printing of cotton and calico are also on
a considerable scale.
TRAILFLAT, a hamlet, in the parish of Tinwald,
county of Dumfries, 3 miles (N. W. by W.) from Loch-
maben ; containing 44 inhabitants. This is a very small
place, lying in the eastern part of the parish, and watered
by the river Ae. The lands around it formed an ancient
parish, now united to Tinwald, which see.
TRANENT, a parish, in the county of Hadding-
ton ; containing, with the villages of Cockenzie, Elphin-
stone, Meadowmill, and Portseaton, 3S87 inhabitants,
of whom 2000 are in the town of Tranent, 7 miles (W.)
from Haddington, and 10 (E.) from Edinburgh. The
name of this place is of uncertain derivation, though it
is generally supposed to be of Gaelic origin, and descrip-
tive of the position of the ancient village at the head of
a deep ravine watered by a small rivulet. Tranent has
been the residence of some of the most distinguished
families of antiquity, and was the frequent resort of
many of the earlier Scottish monarchs, and, in subse-
558
quent times, the scene of many events of historical
importance. On the invasion of Scotland by the Earl
of Hertford, in 1544, the parish church was plundered,
and almost destroyed, by the English soldiers under
his command, who defaced and burnt the timber- w T ork
of the interior, and carried away the bells and every
thing of value. During the invasion of the country by
the English under the Protector, the Duke of Somerset,
in 1547, an engagement took place here between the
English and Scottish cavalry, in which the latter were
defeated with the loss of 1300 men. After this defeat,
many of the Scots, having taken refuge in the coal-pits
in the parish, were pursued by the English, who, unable
to dislodge them from their retreat, stopped up all the
avenues that admitted air to the mine, and kindled
large fires at the entrances, with a view either of forcing
them to surrender or of suffocating them. The battle
of Pinkie occurred on the following day, September 10, in
which, according to some historians, 14,000 of the Scots
were slain by the English. In 1745, the battle of Preston
was fought within less than a mile from the parish
church, on the 21st of September, when the royal forces,
consisting of nearly 3000 men, were defeated by the
Scottish adherents to the fortunes of the Pretender.
After the engagement, the military chest belonging to
the royal army was found at Cockenzie. In this battle,
Colonel Gardiner was killed while endeavouring to rally
a body of infantry near the present village of Meadow-
mill ; he was buried in the parish church, and the
bodies of others who were slain were interred on the
farm of Thorntree-Mains, where, towards the close of
the century, some of the bodies were discovered by
workmen employed in making a drain, their clothes
being in such preservation as to distinguish the royalists
from their opponents.
The parish is about five miles in length from north-
east to south-west, and three miles in breadth ; it is
bounded on the north by the Frith of Forth, and com-
prises 5464 acres, of which, with the exception of 100
in woodland and plantations, and about fifty along the
sea-shore, the whole are arable. The surface rises in
gentle undulations from the Frith towards the south,
attaining at its greatest height an elevation of 300 feet
above the level of the sea ; the sea-shore is fiat and
sandy, and the coast, which extends for about two miles,
is a regular range of greenstone rock. The scenery is
not strikingly varied, but is generally pleasing, and in
some parts enriched with wood ; and the views from
the higher grounds embrace many interesting and
romantic features. The lands are watered by a few
small rivulets, which are concentrated in the coal-field,
and thence conveyed to the sea in one united stream,
thus rendered powerful enough to give motion to several
mills in its progress. The soil towards the coast is
light and sandy, though of late considerably improved j
in some parts, an unproductive moor, of which a por-
tion has been reclaimed by draining ; in others, a deep,
rich, and fertile loam, occasionally intermixed with clay.
The crops are, wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and turnips.
The system of agriculture is in a highly improved state ;
the lands are inclosed with hedges of thorn, kept in
good order ; tile-draining has been carried on to a very
great extent, and rape and bone-dust manures have
been introduced : the farm-buildings are substantial.
The woods consist of oak, elm, and plane ; and the