Gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 2

MOFFAT.
noiith, as, upon a mount above the junction of
Loch Skene Water with the Moffat, there are
the remains of a primitive species of battery,
which has evidently been raised for the pro-
tection of the country to the north-east. The
course of the Annan affords in this parish a
passage for the roads from Glasgow to Car-
lisle, and from Edinburgh to Dumfries, which
are here joined for several miles. This is a
circumstance of material advantage, as it' causes
a perpetual transit of conveyances. Moffat,
situated, as already mentioned, on a beautiful
eminence near the junction of the two streams,
and one of the prettiest small towns in
Scotland, is distinguished by its mineral
well, which, it appears, was first discovered
in 1633, by a daughter of Bishop White ford,
who, having used medicinal waters in Eng-
land, remarked in them a similar taste to those
of Moffat. We have seen a scarce Latin tract
upon the nature of the waters, written so far
back as the year 1659, by Mr. Matthew Mac-
kaile, a physician in Edinburgh. We borrow
the following account of this Scottish Chel-
tenham, as it has been called, from an intelli-
gent little work, Wade's Guide to Scottish
Watering-Places. " The situation of Moffat,
although in a degree solemn, from overshadow-
ing hills, is pleasant. [It is also healthy.] It
is distant from Edinburgh fifty miles south-
west, from Glasgow fifty-four south-east,
and from Dumfries twenty-one north-east ; re-
posing in the very lap of mountains, although
some of them nearest the town display culti-
vation in a greater or less degree, ascending
their sides. The situation of Moffat itself is
considerably elevated, [the writer of the Sta-
tistical Account says, about 300 feet above
the level of the sea : ] and only about three
miles to the north is Erickstane-brae-head,
whence issue streams that run east, west, and
south. Sheltering plantations rising in the
neighbourhood, especially to the north and
west of the town, impart considerable beauty
to the environs of Moffat, as well as an air of
comfort to the place itself; the church spire
of which appears, when viewed in some direc-
tions, to rise elegantly from the midst of an
extensive grove. One principal street looking
from the gentle declivity on which the town
stands towards the south, constitutes the body
of the place, and affords fine prospects of the
vale beneath. This street is judiciously laid
out, spacious, and well calculated to form an
agreeable promenade for both inhabitants and
strangers. The church, a good stone edifice,
was built towards the end of last century. Its
interior is regularly disposed, and must con-
tain about a thousand hearers. Independently
of this place of worship, the town is provided
with a meeting house for the United Associ-
ate Synod. Much of the town is new.
Among the buildings are two good inns, vari-
ous minor houses of entertainment, and many
private ones in which lodgings of the most
comfortable description may be had. The
population is about 1400, or, including the
country part of the parish, about 2000. Abun-
dance of good provisions may always be had,
chiefly brought from the southern district.
Mildness and salubrity are considered emi-
nently to attach to the climate of Moffat, which
is resorted to not merely by those who come
to quaff its mineral waters, but by many others
whose chief object is to drink goats' milk or
goats' milk whey. The springs are three in
number ; one of them sulphureous, and two
chalybeate. The sulphureous one is distinctly
styled Moffat Well. It is, however, a mile
and a half from the town, between which and
the well an excellent carriage road has been
formed. Adjacent to this are a long-room for
the company, stables, and other requisite ac-
commodations. The water oozes out of a
rock of compact grey wacke, which contains
interspersed pyrites. At a little distance there
is a bog, which, along with the pyrites in the
grey wacke, probably affords the sulphureous
impregnation to the spring. The water of this
spring is said to have an odour resembling
that of Harrowgate, it being, although in a
less degree, strongly sulphureous. Its taste is
somewhat saline ; it sparkles when poured into
a glass, and requires, so quickly do some of its
best qualities evaporate, to be drunk at the
fountain. No closeness of cork wfll j-uflice
to preserve it in bottles. The sides of the
well are covered with a yellowish grey crust of
sulphur, and when the water has been allowed
to stand some days without pumping, it be-
comes covered with a yellowish white film of
sulphur. Another spring, called, from its ris-
ing at the base of Hartfell, the Hartfell Spa,
is a chalybeate, pretty strong at all times, but
most so after heavy rains. A third spring,
also chalybeate, is near Evan Bridge, a little to
the south of Moffat. Of a wine gallon taken
from each of the three, the analysis made by