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LOCHMABEN
LOCHMABEN
every parish of Annandale, what was called laird a
mairt, or a lairduer mart cow, which, it was required,
should be one of the fattest that could be produced,
besides thirty-nine meadow geese and ' Fasten's e'en '
hens. So late as the first half of last century this tax
was exacted. Although the rif;ht of fishing in all the
lochs was granted, by a charter of James VI., to the
burgh of Lochmaben, yet the proprietors of the castle
enjoyed the exclusive privilege of fishing in the Castle
and Mill Lochs with boats, nets, etc. — a privilege,
however, disputed by the townsfolk, who now exercise
the right of fishing in all the lochs. About the
year 1730 the inhabitants of Annandale, galled by the
exactions of the Marquis of Annandale, the governor,
resisted payment of his wonted claims, stoutly litigated
his rights, and obtained from the Court of Session a
decree forbidding the future levying of his usual receipts.
At the abolition of hereditary jurisdictions in 1747, the
Marquis claimed £1000 as compensation for his governor-
ship ; but was not allowed a farthing.
The dilapidation of the castle was probably commenced
not long after the place was abandoned as useless ; but
it must have been mainly incited by the triumph of the
people over pretensions based on the sinecure office of
its noble governor. Our good old Bellenden, in his
translation of Boece (1536), has given a very curious
picture of the character of the ancient inhabitants of this
district, and of the original reason of the erection of the
castle. ' In Annandail is ane loch namit Lochmaben,
fyue mylis of lenth, and foure of breid, full of uncouth
fische. Besyde this loch is ane castell, vnder the same
name, maid to dant the incursion of theuis. For nocht
allanerlie in Annandail, hot in all the dalis afore rehersit,
ar mony Strang and wekit theuis, inuading the cuntr^
with perpetuall thift, reif, & slauchter, quhen thay se
on}' trublus tyme. Thir theuis (becaus thay haue Inglis-
men thair perpetuall ennymes lyand dry marche upon
thair nixt bordour) inuadis Ingland with continewal
weris, or ellis with quiet thift ; and leiffis ay ane pure
and miserabill lyfe. In the tyme of peace, thay are so
accustomit with thift, that thay can nocht desist, hot
inuadis the cuntre — with ithand heirschippis. This vail
of Annand wes sum tyme namit Ordouitia, and the pepill
namit Ordouices, quhais cruelteis wes sa gret, that thay
abhorrit nocht to eit the flesche of yolding prisoneris.
The wyuis vsit to slay thair husbandis, quhen thay wer
found cowartis, or discomfist be thair ennymes, to give
occasioun to otheris to be more bald & hardy quhen
danger occurrit.' Whatever might be their character in
that early period, they have in later ages showed, at
least, a good deal of humour in their depredations. Of
this we have an amusing proof in the ballad of the
Loclimalen Haiyer, who, having been seized with a
strong attachment to the Lord Warden's ' Wanton
Brown, ' made his way to Carlisle Castle, blind though
he was, and so enchanted the whole company, and even
the minions, by the charms of his music, that he found
means, not only to send off the warden's charger, but to
persuade him, that while he was exerting himself to the
utmost to gratify the company, some one had stolen his
'gude gray mare,' and thus to secure far more than the
value of all his pretended loss ;
' " Allace ! allace ! " quo the cunning auld harper,
" And ever allace that I cam here !
In Scotland 1 lost a braw cowt foal ;
In England they've stown my gude gray mare ! "
* Then aye he harped, and aye he carped ;
Sae sweet were the harpingg he let them hear :
He was paid for the foal he had never lost,
And three times ower for his "gude gray mare.'"
The parish of Lochmaben, containing also the villages
of Templand, Hightae, Greenhill, Heck, and Small-
holm, is bounded N by Johnstone, E by Applegarth and
Dryfesdale, S by Dalton and Mouswald, W by Torthor-
wald and Tinwald, and NW by Eirkmichael. Its
utmost length, from N by W to S by E, is 9 miles ; its
breadth varies between If furlong and i miles ; and its
area is ll,367i acres, of which 555 are water. The
Annan, in mazy folds, flows lOf miles south-by-east-
72
ward along or close to all the eastern border ; Kinnel
Water winds 4| miles south-soutli-eastward through the
northern interior, till it falls into the Annan at a point
1§ mile NE of the town ; and the Kinnel itself is joined
by the Water of Ae, flowing 1^ mile north-eastward
along the Kirkmichael boundary and through the north-
western interior. Six lakes, with their utmost length
and breadth in furlongs, are Castle Loch (6 x 5J) and
Hightae Loch (2| x IJ), to the S of the town ; Kirk
Loch (SixlJ), to the SW ; Mill Loch (3 x IJ) and
Upper Loch (l^xl), to the NW ; and Halleath or
Broomhill Loch (4 x 2J), to the E. Under Castle
Loch we have noticed the vendace, which is also taken
in Mill Loch. Over most of the area the surface sinks
little below 140, and little exceeds 230, feet above
sea-level ; but in the SW it rises to 788 feet at Carthat
Hill, 816 at the Mouswald boundary, and 803 at the
Torthorwald boundary. Permian red sandstone, suit-
able both for masonry and for roofing, has been largely
quarried at Corncockle Moor, and there presents fossil
reptilian footprints. The soil towards the W is light
and gravelly, but elsewhere is uncommonly rich, con-
sisting over a large area of the finest alluvial loam,
occasionally 9 feet deep, and everywhere growing capital
crops. The land is too valuable to admit more than
some 90 acres of plantation ; but it is finely enclosed, and
sheltered by rows of trees. Excepting three small
mosses, which are of value for fuel, the whole parish is
capable of cultivation, though a largish proportion is
disposed in meadow-land and pasture. Overlooking the
Mill Loch, J mile NW of the town, is a rising-ground
called Woody or Dinwoody Castle. The summit shows
no vestiges of building, but is surrounded with a very
distinct trench. In a field SW of the town is the
circular trace of a tower, which is called Cockle's Field,
from one John Cock, or O'Cock, who resided in it, and
was one of the most renowned freebooters of Annandale.
An old ballad, still extant, details his feats of arms,
dilates on his personal strength, and narrates the manner
of his death. A party of the king's foresters, to whom
he had been an intolerable pest, and whom he had
relieved of many a fat deer, chancing one day to find
him asleep in the forest, cautiously beset him, and were
bent on his destruction. John suddenly awaking, and
perceiving at once the snare into which he had fallen,
and the hopelessness of escape, resolved to sell his life
dearly, and ere they could overpower him, laid seven of
their number dead at his feet. In the SW corner of the
parish is a large and artificial mound of earth, per-
fectly circular, quite entire, and terminating in a sharp
tower. It is called both Rockhall Moat and the Beacon
Hill, and possibly served both as a moat or seat of feudal
justice, and as a beacon-post for descrying the move-
ments of Border marauders, and giving the alarm. Its
position is on the summit of a low but conspicuous ridge
which divides Nithsdale, or rather the district of Lochar
Moss, from Annandale, and commands a map-like and
very brilliant view of a large part of the champaign
country of Dumfriesshire, a portion of Galloway, and all
the Solway Firth. The parish has remains of several
Roman encampments ; and must have been traversed by
Agricola, along a route easily traced, on his march
from Brunswark Hill to Glota and Bodotria. On
the lands of Rokele, or Rockhall, there anciently
stood an endowed chapel, the pertinents of which,
though seized by lay hands at the Reformation, now
yield some proceeds to the parish minister. Some other
pre-Reformation chapels existed in the parish, but cannot
now be very distinctly traced. Spedlins Tower has been
noticed under Jardine Hall.
The four villages of Heck, Greenhill, Hightae, and
Smallholm, with the lands around them, form the
barony of Lochmaben, or the Fourtowns. The lands
are a large and remarkably fertile tract of holm, extend-
ing along the W side of the Annan, from the vicinity of
Lochmaben Castle to the southern extremity of the
parish. The inhabitants of the villages are proprietors
of the lands, and hold them by a species of tenure,
nowhere else known in Scotland except in the Orkney
641
LOCHMABEN
every parish of Annandale, what was called laird a
mairt, or a lairduer mart cow, which, it was required,
should be one of the fattest that could be produced,
besides thirty-nine meadow geese and ' Fasten's e'en '
hens. So late as the first half of last century this tax
was exacted. Although the rif;ht of fishing in all the
lochs was granted, by a charter of James VI., to the
burgh of Lochmaben, yet the proprietors of the castle
enjoyed the exclusive privilege of fishing in the Castle
and Mill Lochs with boats, nets, etc. — a privilege,
however, disputed by the townsfolk, who now exercise
the right of fishing in all the lochs. About the
year 1730 the inhabitants of Annandale, galled by the
exactions of the Marquis of Annandale, the governor,
resisted payment of his wonted claims, stoutly litigated
his rights, and obtained from the Court of Session a
decree forbidding the future levying of his usual receipts.
At the abolition of hereditary jurisdictions in 1747, the
Marquis claimed £1000 as compensation for his governor-
ship ; but was not allowed a farthing.
The dilapidation of the castle was probably commenced
not long after the place was abandoned as useless ; but
it must have been mainly incited by the triumph of the
people over pretensions based on the sinecure office of
its noble governor. Our good old Bellenden, in his
translation of Boece (1536), has given a very curious
picture of the character of the ancient inhabitants of this
district, and of the original reason of the erection of the
castle. ' In Annandail is ane loch namit Lochmaben,
fyue mylis of lenth, and foure of breid, full of uncouth
fische. Besyde this loch is ane castell, vnder the same
name, maid to dant the incursion of theuis. For nocht
allanerlie in Annandail, hot in all the dalis afore rehersit,
ar mony Strang and wekit theuis, inuading the cuntr^
with perpetuall thift, reif, & slauchter, quhen thay se
on}' trublus tyme. Thir theuis (becaus thay haue Inglis-
men thair perpetuall ennymes lyand dry marche upon
thair nixt bordour) inuadis Ingland with continewal
weris, or ellis with quiet thift ; and leiffis ay ane pure
and miserabill lyfe. In the tyme of peace, thay are so
accustomit with thift, that thay can nocht desist, hot
inuadis the cuntre — with ithand heirschippis. This vail
of Annand wes sum tyme namit Ordouitia, and the pepill
namit Ordouices, quhais cruelteis wes sa gret, that thay
abhorrit nocht to eit the flesche of yolding prisoneris.
The wyuis vsit to slay thair husbandis, quhen thay wer
found cowartis, or discomfist be thair ennymes, to give
occasioun to otheris to be more bald & hardy quhen
danger occurrit.' Whatever might be their character in
that early period, they have in later ages showed, at
least, a good deal of humour in their depredations. Of
this we have an amusing proof in the ballad of the
Loclimalen Haiyer, who, having been seized with a
strong attachment to the Lord Warden's ' Wanton
Brown, ' made his way to Carlisle Castle, blind though
he was, and so enchanted the whole company, and even
the minions, by the charms of his music, that he found
means, not only to send off the warden's charger, but to
persuade him, that while he was exerting himself to the
utmost to gratify the company, some one had stolen his
'gude gray mare,' and thus to secure far more than the
value of all his pretended loss ;
' " Allace ! allace ! " quo the cunning auld harper,
" And ever allace that I cam here !
In Scotland 1 lost a braw cowt foal ;
In England they've stown my gude gray mare ! "
* Then aye he harped, and aye he carped ;
Sae sweet were the harpingg he let them hear :
He was paid for the foal he had never lost,
And three times ower for his "gude gray mare.'"
The parish of Lochmaben, containing also the villages
of Templand, Hightae, Greenhill, Heck, and Small-
holm, is bounded N by Johnstone, E by Applegarth and
Dryfesdale, S by Dalton and Mouswald, W by Torthor-
wald and Tinwald, and NW by Eirkmichael. Its
utmost length, from N by W to S by E, is 9 miles ; its
breadth varies between If furlong and i miles ; and its
area is ll,367i acres, of which 555 are water. The
Annan, in mazy folds, flows lOf miles south-by-east-
72
ward along or close to all the eastern border ; Kinnel
Water winds 4| miles south-soutli-eastward through the
northern interior, till it falls into the Annan at a point
1§ mile NE of the town ; and the Kinnel itself is joined
by the Water of Ae, flowing 1^ mile north-eastward
along the Kirkmichael boundary and through the north-
western interior. Six lakes, with their utmost length
and breadth in furlongs, are Castle Loch (6 x 5J) and
Hightae Loch (2| x IJ), to the S of the town ; Kirk
Loch (SixlJ), to the SW ; Mill Loch (3 x IJ) and
Upper Loch (l^xl), to the NW ; and Halleath or
Broomhill Loch (4 x 2J), to the E. Under Castle
Loch we have noticed the vendace, which is also taken
in Mill Loch. Over most of the area the surface sinks
little below 140, and little exceeds 230, feet above
sea-level ; but in the SW it rises to 788 feet at Carthat
Hill, 816 at the Mouswald boundary, and 803 at the
Torthorwald boundary. Permian red sandstone, suit-
able both for masonry and for roofing, has been largely
quarried at Corncockle Moor, and there presents fossil
reptilian footprints. The soil towards the W is light
and gravelly, but elsewhere is uncommonly rich, con-
sisting over a large area of the finest alluvial loam,
occasionally 9 feet deep, and everywhere growing capital
crops. The land is too valuable to admit more than
some 90 acres of plantation ; but it is finely enclosed, and
sheltered by rows of trees. Excepting three small
mosses, which are of value for fuel, the whole parish is
capable of cultivation, though a largish proportion is
disposed in meadow-land and pasture. Overlooking the
Mill Loch, J mile NW of the town, is a rising-ground
called Woody or Dinwoody Castle. The summit shows
no vestiges of building, but is surrounded with a very
distinct trench. In a field SW of the town is the
circular trace of a tower, which is called Cockle's Field,
from one John Cock, or O'Cock, who resided in it, and
was one of the most renowned freebooters of Annandale.
An old ballad, still extant, details his feats of arms,
dilates on his personal strength, and narrates the manner
of his death. A party of the king's foresters, to whom
he had been an intolerable pest, and whom he had
relieved of many a fat deer, chancing one day to find
him asleep in the forest, cautiously beset him, and were
bent on his destruction. John suddenly awaking, and
perceiving at once the snare into which he had fallen,
and the hopelessness of escape, resolved to sell his life
dearly, and ere they could overpower him, laid seven of
their number dead at his feet. In the SW corner of the
parish is a large and artificial mound of earth, per-
fectly circular, quite entire, and terminating in a sharp
tower. It is called both Rockhall Moat and the Beacon
Hill, and possibly served both as a moat or seat of feudal
justice, and as a beacon-post for descrying the move-
ments of Border marauders, and giving the alarm. Its
position is on the summit of a low but conspicuous ridge
which divides Nithsdale, or rather the district of Lochar
Moss, from Annandale, and commands a map-like and
very brilliant view of a large part of the champaign
country of Dumfriesshire, a portion of Galloway, and all
the Solway Firth. The parish has remains of several
Roman encampments ; and must have been traversed by
Agricola, along a route easily traced, on his march
from Brunswark Hill to Glota and Bodotria. On
the lands of Rokele, or Rockhall, there anciently
stood an endowed chapel, the pertinents of which,
though seized by lay hands at the Reformation, now
yield some proceeds to the parish minister. Some other
pre-Reformation chapels existed in the parish, but cannot
now be very distinctly traced. Spedlins Tower has been
noticed under Jardine Hall.
The four villages of Heck, Greenhill, Hightae, and
Smallholm, with the lands around them, form the
barony of Lochmaben, or the Fourtowns. The lands
are a large and remarkably fertile tract of holm, extend-
ing along the W side of the Annan, from the vicinity of
Lochmaben Castle to the southern extremity of the
parish. The inhabitants of the villages are proprietors
of the lands, and hold them by a species of tenure,
nowhere else known in Scotland except in the Orkney
641
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