Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

UNST
miles ; and its land area, inclusive of Uyea, Haaf-
gbtjnie, Balta, and some smaller islets, is 46§ square
miles, or 29,856 acres. The coast, over much the
larger part of its extent, is a constant alternation of
headlands, and of indenting bays and creeks. The
headlands, especially in the W and N, are precipitous,
rocky, and high — the loftiest attaining a height of over
400 feet. The bays, on the contrary, are, for the most
part, fringed with low, shelving, and sandy shores.
The chief are Burra Firth on the N, Nor Wick, Harolds
Wick, Balta Sound, and Sand Wick on the E, Uyea
Sound on the S, and Lunda Wick on the W: but
though most may often protect a vessel for a tide or
two, none of them are safe harbours. Burra Firth and
Nor Wick have a picturesque aspect, and are environed
with much good land. Balta Sound on the E, and Uyea
Sound on the S, are so covered by isles of their own
name, and screened by projecting headlands at their
entrances, as to afford good shelter to shipping. The
tides on the coast flow nearly southward, and ebb north-
ward, but are often flung from their direction, and
whirled into eddies, by the projections and recesses of
the coast; they run at spring with a velocity of 6 miles
an hour; and off Lamba Ness, the NE extremity of the
island, they form a tumbling and spouting sea, inferior
in its dangers only to that of Sumburgh Roost, and
so impetuous and heaving, even in calm weather, as
to prove dangerous to fishermen. Of numerous caves
upon the coasts, one at Sha displays a roof supported by
natural octagonal pillars; several in Burra Firth have
the sea for their pavement, and run backward under the
hills; one at the hill of Saxa-Vord, 300 feet long and
of considerable height, is entered by a grand natural
arch; and one a little E of the last resembles it in
character, but is inferior to it in magnificence.
The surface of Unst, compared with that of the other
Shetland Islands, is reckoned level; yet it has several
extensive and moderately high hills. Valla Field, ex-
tending from the N end of the island to within 1£ mile
of its S end, and attaining a maximum altitude of 703
feet, runs along the western coast, presenting a powerful
rampart against the tremendous onsets of the Atlantic,
yet often washed over its summit and down to the skirts
of its interior declivities by clouds of foam and spray.
Saxa-Vord, 934 feet high, and the loftiest ground on
the island, rises boldly up from the sea, in the centre of
the N coast, and forms a landmark to mariners within
a range of 14 leagues. Crossfield, at right angles with
Valla Field, but rising apart from it, extends nearly
across the middle of the island, and terminates on the
E coast in two conical peaks. Vordhill extends 3J
miles along the E coast S of Crossfield. Several other
heights occur, but are inconsiderable in magnitude.
The loftier hills are covered, to the depth of some feet,
by such moss as forms good fuel ; and the lower heights,
once similarly covered, but now denuded of their moss,
frequently show the bare rock, yet largely possess a
green dry sward which yields excellent pasturage. A
valley, immediately E of Valla Field, extends the whole
length of the island, and has, from end to end, a chain
of fresh-water lakes — the largest of which, the Loch
of Cliff, is 2§ miles long, and of pleasant appearance.
Much of the soil of the island is excellent, and produces
good crops. About 2000 acres are arable, and nearly an
equal number of acres are excellent meadow and grass-
lands, which might easily be brought into tillage.
Five-sixths of the whole area are in commonage, and
might to a considerable extent be improved. Gneiss,
serpentine, chlorite, slate, and diallage are the principal
rocks of the island; and talcose and micaceous schists,
primitive limestone, quartz, and hornblende also occur.
Amianthus, asbestos, hydrate of magnesia, and chromate
of iron, are the most noticeable minerals. The last occurs
in considerable quantity, and is an object of much com-
mercial value, on account of its yielding a fine yellow
pigment used in the dyeing of silk, wool, linen, and
cotton. Limestone is quarried and burnt as a manure.
Fishing here, as throughout Shetland, forms the prime
employment of the inhabitants. Shetland hosiery form9
1696
UPHALL
the staple manufacture. A chain of the Scandinavian
towers, called brochs and Picts' houses, extends round
the island; stone circles and barrows are numerous;
and on one of the cones of Crossfield were held the great
courts of Shetland, previous to their removal to the
vale of Tingwall. Though Unst has from time imme-
morial formed only one charge, the island is naturally
divided into three districts, which are known as the
North, Middle, and South parishes. Ruins or vestiges
exist of upwards of 20 pre-Reformation places of worship;
and three of these were, during part of the 18th century,
occupied in regular rotation as parish churches, whilst
six are still surrounded by graveyards. The Rev. James
Ingram, D.D. (1776-1879), discharged parochial duty
in Unst, first as Established and then as Free Church
minister, from 1821 till within a few years of his death.
Biot's and Eater's experiments at Buness have been
noticed in our article on Shetland. The parish of
Unst, comprising the island of Unst and the above-
named islands, is in the presbytery of Burravoe and
the synod of Shetland; the living is worth £290. The
church, near the head of Balta Sound, is a neat edifice,
built in 1827 at a cost of £2000, and containing 1224
sittings; it was repaired and improved in 1890 at a
cost of over £200. There is an Established mission
church at the village of Baltasound. There are also
two Free churches. Four public schools — Baltasound,
Harolds Wick, Uyeasound, and Westing — with respec-
tive accommodation for 80, 81, 70, and 50 children,
have an average attendance of about 35, 40, 40, and
35, and grants amounting to nearly £40, £30, £30,
and £45. Valuation of the parish (1884) £4173, 4s. 6d. ,
(1893) £3810, 17s. 8d. Pop. of parish (1801) 2259,
(1831) 2909, (1861) 3060, (1871) 2780, (1881) 2181,
(1891) 2280, of whom 2269 were in Unst island.
Uphall, a village and a parish of S Linlithgowshire.
The village stands on the left bank of the Brox Burn,
1J mile W by S of the town of Broxburn, and 7
furlongs N by W of Uphall station on the North
British railway, this being 13§ miles WSW of Edin-
burgh, and 5| E by N of Bathgate. It has a post
office, with money order, savings bank, and telegraph
departments, a public hall, a parish church hall, two
inns, one of them once a well-known coaching stage.
Pop. (1871) 360, (1881) 591, (1891) 922.
The parish, containing also the town of Broxburn,
originally was known as Strathbroke ('valley of the
brock or badger'); and it took that name from the
Burn of Brocks or Brocks' Burn, corrupted now into
Brox Burn. It is bounded NE and E by Kirkliston,
SE and S by Kirknewton and Midcalder in Edinburgh-
shire, and W and NW by Livingston and Ecclesmachan.
Its utmost length, from ENE to WSW, is 4 J miles; its
utmost width is 3J miles; and its area is 4561 J acres, of
which 20J are water. The Almond, near Amondell,
flows i mile north-north-eastward along all the Kirk-
uewton border; and Brox Burn, which joins it some
way lower down, takes an east-north-easterly course of
4J miles, partly along the boundaries with Ecclesmachan
and Kirkliston, but mainly across the interior. The
Union Canal, too, traverses the E of the parish for 2§
miles, here making a westerly bend round the town of
Broxburn. The parish is intersected from W to E by
the road leading from Glasgow to Edinburgh. The
surface is gently undulating, and at no point sinks
much below 200, or much exceeds 400, feet above sea-
level. The higher grounds, however, command mag-
nificent views of the Lothians, to North Berwick Law
and the Lammermuirs. The rocks are carboniferous,
belonging to the calciferous sandstone series, with
intrusive patches of basalt. They include oleaginous
shales, coal, many seams of valuable ironstone, excellent
sandstone, limestone, marl, reddish coloured chalk,
clay fit for the use9 of the brickmaker and the potter,
and some coarse fuller's earth. The manufacture of
paraffin oil from the shales is a recent and important
industry, and to this must be ascribed the extraordinary
increase in the population. There are three extensive
parffin works in the parish — Broxburn; Uphall, amal-