Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 5

LUCE
very beautiful, with tlieir dark brown roofs near a stream
which hurried down the mountain, and after its turbulent
course travelled a short way over a level green, and was
lost in the lake. ' At Loch Lubnaig the tourist again is
among the scenery of the Lady of the Lake. It was up
the Pass of Leny that the cross of fire was carried by
young Angus of Dun-Craggan, who had just been obliged
to leave liis father's funeral in order to speed the signal
on its way.
' Ben Ledi saw the cross of fire ;
It glanced like lig-htning up Stratliyre ;
O'er dale and hill the summons flew,
Nor rest, nor peace, young Angus knew;
The tear that gathered in his eye,
He left the mountain breeze to dry ;
Until where Teith's young waters roll.
Betwixt him and a wooded knoll,
Tliat graced the sable strath with green,
The chapel of Saint Bride was seen.'
Here the messenger delivers up the signal to Iforman of
Armandave, who was about to pledge his troth at the
altar to Mary of Tombea ; and the bridegroom, leaving
his unwedded bride, starts off with the cross along the
shores of Loch Lubnaig, and away towards the distant
district of Balquhidder. The chapel of Saint Bride stood
on a small and romantic knoll between the opening of
the Pass of Leny and Loch Lubnaig. Armandave is on
the W side of the loch ; and Tombea, the residence of
Norman's bride, is also in the neighbourhood. — Orel.
Siir., sh. 38, 1871.
Luce. See Hoddam.
Luce, a river partly of Ayrshire but chiefly of Wigtown-
shire. Rising at an altitude of 1300 feet above sea-level
on the southern slope of Beneraid (1435 feet), it first
runs 3J miles south-south-eastward through Ballantrae
parish to the boundary between Ayrshire and Wigtown-
shire, and then winds 15J miles south-south-eastward
till it falls into the head of Luce Baj'. During the first
12 miles it bears the name of the Main Water of Luce,
which at New Luce village, where it receives the Cross
Water, it exchanges for that of the Water of Luce. From
a point a little way above New Luce village it is followed
pretty closely by the Girvan and Portpatrick railway.
Its waters yield capital salmon and sea-trout fishing —
the best in AVigtownshire, though not so good as
formerly.
Luce Bay {Alravannus Sinus of Ptolemy), a large
bay indenting the southernmost land in Scotland, and
converting the southern half of Wigtownshire into two
peninsulas — a long and narrow one between this bay
and the North Channel, and a broad one between it and
Wigtown Bay. Its entrance is between the Mull of
Galloway on the W, and Borough Head on the E.
Measured in a straight line, direct from point to point,
this entrance is ISj miles wide ; and the length of the
bay, measured^in a line at right angles with that chord
to the commencement of the little estuary of the Water
of Luce, is 16 miles. Its area is about 160 square miles.
Over a distance of 3| miles from the commencement of
the estuary at its head, it expands, chiefly on the W
side, to a width of 6| miles ; and thence to the entrance,
its coast-line, on the W, runs, in general, due S, or a
little E of S ; whilst that on the opposite side trends
almost regidarly due SE. At its head the seaboard is
low, and at the efHux of the tide displays a sandy beach
of J mile in mean breadth ; but elsewhere it is all, with
small exceptions, bold and rocky, occasionally torn
with fissures and perforated with caverns. The bay
contains various little recesses and tiny embayments,
some of which are capable of being converted into con-
venient harbours. It also offers to a seaman, acquainted
with it, anchoring-gi'ounds, in' which he may safely let
his vessel ride in almost any wind. In hazy weather
vessels sometimes mistake the bay for the Irish Channel,
and when steering a north-westerly course suddenly
take the ground on the W coast. The mistake, when
it happens, is almost certain destruction ; for the tide
no sooner leaves a struck ship than she settles down
upon quicksands, so that subsequent tides serve only to
dash her to pieces. But since the erection (1830) of the
562
LUCE, OLD
lighthouse on the Mull of Galloway, errors have become
comparatively infrequent, and navigation proportionally
safe. Two rocks, called the Big and the Little Scare,
lie 1^ mile and 2i miles within the strait between the
Mull of Galloway and Borough Head, the former 5| NE
by E of the Mull, and the latter f mile further. — Orel.
Svr., shs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1856-57.
Luce, New, a village and a parish of N Wigtownshire.
The village, standing 195 feet above sea-level, on the
left bank of the Water of Luce, at the influx of Cross
Water, has a station on the Girvan and Portpatrick
railway (1876), 5 miles NNW of Glenluce, under which
there is a post office.
The parish consists of the northern part of the ancient
parish of Glenluce, which was divided into the parishes
of New and Old Luce in 1647. It is bounded NW and
N by Ballantrae and Colmonell in Ayrshire, E by Kirk-
cowan, S by Old Luce, and Wby Inch. Itsutmostlength,
from N to S, is 9§ miles ; its breadth, from E to W, varies
between 3g and 6| miles ; and its area is 45^ square
miles or 28,929J acres, of which 53| are water. The
Main Water of Luce, entering from Ballantrae, runs 83
miles south-south-eastward along the Ayrshire and Inch
border till at New Luce village it is joined by the
Cross Water of Luce, also rising in Ballantrae, and
winding llf miles southward — for the first 1^ mile
along the Colmonell border, and then through the
interior of New Luce parish. As the Water of Luce,
their united stream flows 2J miles south-by-eastward,
mainly along the boundaries with Inch and Old Luce,
till, at Gabsnout, it passes off into the latter parish. A
number of rivulets flow to one or other of these streams,
or else to Taef Water, which runs 9J miles south-
south-eastward along all the eastern boundary, and
which, at the SE corner of the parish, is joined by
Drumpail Burn, running 4 miles southward through
the interior, then 2J miles north-eastward along the
eastern part of the southern boundary. At Gabsnout
the surface declines to 100 feet above sea-level ; and
thence it rises northward to 531 feet at Gleniron Fell,
607 at Bught Fell, 807 at Balmurrie Fell, 888 near
Artfleld, 834 at Quarter Fell, 725 at the Stab Hill, 900
at Murdonochee, and 970 at Miltonish. ' The scenery
around the village, indeed of th^ parish generally, is
not remarkable for beauty. There are plantings on
both the Main Water and Cross Water, which give
their banks a sylvan aspect ; but generally the land-
scapes are bare and monotonous. Still, a ramble in the
Moors in summer weather is never without pleasure, and
a visit to the " auld grey cairns " is always interesting.'
The predominant rocks are Silurian ; and lead was
mined on Knockibae farm in the latter half of last
century. The soil, for the most part naturally poor,
has been somewhat improved by draining. Chief atten-
tion is paid to the rearing of sheep and black cattle.
The 'prophet,' Alexander Pedeu (1626-86), was minister
for three years prior to his ejection in 1662, when, at
the end of his farewell sermon, he closed the pulpit
door, and, knocking thrice upon it with his Bible,
thrice repeated : ' I arrest thee in my Master's name,
that none ever enter thee but such as come in by the
door as I have done' — a prediction indeed fulfilled, as
no man preached there till after the Revolution. New
Luce is in the presbytery of Stranraer and the synod of
Galloway ; the living is worth £208. The parish
church, built about 1821, contains 400 sittings. A
neat Free Church station is of recent creation ; and two
public schools, Glenwhilly and New Luce, with respec-
tive accommodation for 32 and 101 children, had (1882)
an average attendance of 12 and 74, and grants of £23,
lis. and £61. Valuation (1860) £3900, (1884) £5608.
Pop. (1801) 368, (1831) 628, (1861) 731, (1871) 661,
(1881) 706.— Ord. Sur., shs. 3, 4, 7, 8, 1856-63.
Luce, Old, a coast parish of Wigtownshire, containing
the post-office village of Glenluce, with a station on
the Portpatrick branch of the Caledonian, 8f miles E by
S of Stranraer and 14| WSW of Newton-Stewart. It
is bounded N by New Luce, NE and E by Kirkcowan,
SE by Mochrum, S by Luce Bay, SW by Stoneykirk, and