Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 4

KELSO
KELTON
between If and 3| miles ; and its area is 5542 acres, of
which 153J are water. The Tweed, here a glorious
salmon river, curves If mile east-north-eastward along
the Roxburgh border, then 2 miles through the middle
of the parish ; and the Teviot flows If mile north-
north-eastward along the Roxburgh border, and next J
mile through the interior, till it falls into the Tweed
J mile above Kelso Bridge. The Teviot's average width
is 200 feet, the Tweed's 440 ; but, above and below the
bridge, the channel of the latter river is interrupted by
two low islets — Kelso and Wooden Anas ; and, above
Kelso Ana, it is ' bridled with a curb of stone ' — the
long mill-cauld ascribed by tradition to Michael Scott's
familiar. Eden Water runs 7 furlongs eastward along
the northern boundary ; and Wooden Burn, falling into
the Tweed 3J furlongs below the bridge, though only a
rivulet, is noteworthy for its romantic ravine and its
tiny but beautiful waterfall. Along the Tweed the
surface declines to 98 feet above sea-level, thence rising
northward to 289 feet near Sydenham, 324 near Stodrig,
and 400 at Easter Muirdean, southward to 281 at South-
field, 306 near Huntershall, 433 at Middle Softlaw,
and 526 at the Eckford boundary. As seen from Sweet-
hope Hill (731 feet), near Stichill House, the entire
parish looks to be part of a broad, rich strath, a plain
intersected by two rivers, and richly adorned with
woods, but from the low ground along the Tweed near
the town it shows itself to be a diversified basin, a
gently receding amphitheatre, low where it is traversed
by the rivers, but cinctured in the distance with sylvan
heights. Trap rocks prevail in the higher grounds, and
sandstone, shale, and marl-limestone in the vales. The
soil on the banks of the rivers is a rich deep loam, in-
cumbent on gravel ; in the north-western district is a
wet clay ; and in the S is thin and wet, on a red
aluminous subsoil. Enclosed plantations cover some
260 acres ; a large extent of ground is disposed in the
planted dells of Pinnacle Hill and Wooden, and in the
splendid parks of Floors and Springwood ; 365 acres
are in permanent pasture ; and all the rest of the land
is either regularly or occasionally in tillage. Several
antiquities of some note that once existed in the land-
ward districts are now reduced to little more than the
sites of a Roman tumulus and Bony Brae near
Wooden, of the ancient churches of Maxwell and St
James, and of a Maison-Dieu near the right bank of
the Teviot. There is still a well-defined 'kaim' at
Kaimknow, 1J mile N of Kelso. Mansions are Floors
Castle, Springwood Park, Wooden House, Sydenham
House, Broomlands, Edenside, Ednam House, Eden-
bank, Pinnacle Hill, Rosebank, Tweedbank, Walton
Hall, and Woodside, of which the first four are noticed
separately. The Duke of Roxburghe owns more than
one-half of the entire rental ; but 7 other proprietors
hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 19
of between £100 and £500, 48 of from £50 to £100,
and 100 of from £20 to £50. The seat of a presbytery
in the synod of Merse and Teviotdale, this parish is
ecclesiastically divided into Kelso proper and North
Kelso, the former a living worth £447. The public,
the infant, and the Duchess of Roxburghe's school,
with respective accommodation for 523, 219, and 177
children, had (1881) an average attendance of 220,
140, and 129, and grants of £214, 19s., £93, and
£108, 13s. Valuation (1864) £32,848, 14s. 4d., (18S2)
£32,458, 19s. 4d. Pop. (1801) 4196, (1821) 4860,
(1841) 5328, (1861) 5192, (1871) 5124, (1881) 5235, of
whom 2782 were in Kelso proper and 2453 in North
Kelso.— Ord. Sur., sh. 25, 1865.
The presbytery of Kelso comprises the old parishes of
Ednam, Kelso, Linton, Makerston, Morebattle, Nen-
thorn, Roxburgh, Sprouston, Stitchel, and Yetholm,
and the quoad sacra parish of North Kelso. Pop.
(1871) 12,3S3, (1881) 12,061, of whom 3241 were com-
municants of the Church of Scotland in 1878. — The
Free Church has a presbytery of Kelso, with 2
churches in Kelso, and 8 in Coldstream, Eccles, Gordon,
Makerston, Morebattle, Nenthorn, Westruther, and
Yetholm, which 10 churches together had 1877 members
348
in 1883. — The U.P. Church has a presbytery of Kelso,
with 2 churches in Kelso, 2 in Jedburgh, and 5 in
respectively Greenlaw, Leitholm, Morebattle, Stitchel,
and Yetholm, which 9 churches together had 2788
members in 1881.
See James Haig's Topographical and Historical Account
of the Town of Kelso (Edinb. 1825) ; Cosmo Innes' Liber
S. Marie de Calchou ; Segistrum Cartarum Abbacie
Tironensisde Kelso, 1113-1567 (Bannatyne Club, 2 vols.,
Edinb., 1846); and Rutherfurd's Guide to Kelso (Kelso,
1880).
Keltie Burn, a rivulet of central Perthshire, rising at
an altitude of 2200 feet above sea-level, and running 4£
miles south-south-eastward along the mutual border of
Crieff and Monzie parishes, till, after a total descent of
1970 feet, it falls into Shaggie Burn in Monzie Park, If
mile N of Crieff town. At a point 9 furlongs above its
mouth it tumbles over a smooth rocky precipice, 90
feet high, into a pool, Spout Bay, and, going thence
through a thickly-wooded dell, makes several leaps of
about 10 feet, then works its way along a narrow rock-
screened channel. An artificial footpath leads up its
dell to Spout Bay, where a hermitage stands in such
position as to command a full view of the cascade. —
Ord. Sur., sh. 47, 1869.
Keltie Water, a rivulet of Callander parish, Perthshire,
rising at an altitude of 2200 feet on the southern side
of Stuc-a-chroin (3189 feet), adjacent to the meeting-
point of Callander, Balquhidder, and Comrie parishes.
Thence it ruus 8J miles south-south-eastward, and 2J
south-by-westward along the Kilmadock border, till,
after a total descent of 2000 feet, it falls into the river
Teith in front of Cambusmore House, 2J miles SE of
Callander town. See Brackland Falls. — Ord. Sur.,
shs. 46, 38, 39, 1S69-72.
Keltney Burn, a rivulet of Fortingall parish, Breadal-
bane, NW Perthshire, rising at an altitude of 2700 feet
above sea-level on the northern side of Cam Mairg.
Thence it runs 5f miles east-by-northward to the boun-
dary with Dull parish, next 3J miles south-south-
eastward along that boundary, and falls into the river
Lyon 1£ mile above that river's confluence with the
Tay. It mostly traverses wild, rugged, romantic
scenery ; and, in the vicinity of Coshieville inn, it
makes a series of picturesque falls, the highest of them
issuing from a dark narrow opening, and leaping 60
feet over perpendicular rocks into a deep gloomy dell. —
Ord. Sur., sh. 55, 1869.
Kelton, a village on the mutual border of Dumfries
and Caerlaverock parishes, Dumfriesshire, on the left
bank of the Nith, 3J miles SSE of Dumfries. It is an
out-port of Dumfries for vessels unable to go further up
the river ; and it has carried on a small amount of ship-
building.
Kelton, a parish of Kirkcudbrightshire, comprising
the ancient parishes of Kelton, Gelston, and Kirk-
cormack, and containing the post-town and station of
Castle-Douglas, with the villages of Kelton Hill and
Gelston. It is bounded N by Crossmichael, E by
Buittle, SE by Rerwick, SW by Kirkcudbright, and
W by Tongueland and Balmaghie. Its utmost length,
from NNE to SSW, is 7| miles ; its breadth varies be-
tween 7J furlongs and 5J miles ; and its area is 11,424|
acres, of which 202J are water. Carlinwark Loch
(6x3 furl. ; 145 feet) lies immediatelyS of Castle-Douglas,
and sends off Carlinwark Lane 1J mile north-westward
along the Crossmichael border to the Dee, which itself
flows 6| miles south-south-westward along all the
western boundary, and is fed from the interior by
Mill, Black, Auchlane, and other burns. Along it, in
the extreme S, the surface declines to less than 200
feet above sea-level, thence rising to 500 feet at the
Fell, 400 at Over Arkland, 1125 at Screel Hill, 675 at
Dungy le Camp, and 300 at Kelton Hill, of which Screel
Hill commands extensive and brilliant views. Silurian
rocks are predominant ; soft argillaceous strata lie inter-
posed with strata of hard compact greywacke ; porphyry
occasionally occurs in veins or dykes ; granite is found
in the N ; and ironstone of superior quality is plentiful,