Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1

DUN
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DUN
DTTNDROICH, or ' the Druids' hill,' a mountain
on the boundary line between Peebles-shire and
Edinburghshire, but chiefly within the limits of the
parish of Eddlestone in the former county. It rises
2, 1 00 feet above the level of the sea, and commands
a view, on one side, of Lanarkshire ; on another, of
Annandale ; on a third, of Teviotdale ; and on a
fourth, of the three Lothians and Fifeshire.
DUNDURN, a solitary little chapel in the parish
of Comrie, at which service is occasionally performed
for the benefit of those parishioners residing in that
extremity of the parish which extends towards
Lochearnhead.
DUNEARN. See Burntisland.'
DUNFERMLINE,* a parish, the largest in Fife.
Its extreme length from north to south is about 8
miles ; its breadth towards the south end about 4^
miles, but towards the north only 3 miles. It is
bounded on the south partly by the frith of Forth,
and partly by Inverkeithing ; on the east by Inver-
keithing, Aberdour, and Beath ; on the north by the
parish of Cleish ; and on the west by Saline, Car-
nock, and Torry-burn parishes. The greater portion
of the parish has a southern aspect, the ground rising
gradually from the sea towards the north. South of
the town of Dunfermline, it is well-cultivated and
enclosed ; and the number of gentlemen's seats, with
their wooded grounds, gives much beauty to the
scenery. Towards the north, the soil is not so good ;
and although much has been done in the way of im-
provement, the general appearance of that part of
the parish is not so interesting as it is to the south.
The Lyne is the only brook deserving attention in
the parish. Its source is near the eastern extremity
of it. Having received various accessions, it becomes
considerable below the town, frequently overflows
its banks, and lays the rich fields of Pittencrieff,
Loggie, Cavil, and Pitliver under water. After
running towards the western extremity of the parish,
it unites with another small brook, and takes a
southern direction towards the frith of Forth. There
are several lakes of considerable depth and extent,
in which perch, pike, and eel are found. Besides
the town of Dunfermline, there are 7 villages in the
parish, viz. : — Limekilns, Charleston, Cross-
ford, Patiemoor, Mastertown, Crossgates,
and Halbeath : see these articles In the imme-
diate neighbourhood of the town, towards the south-
west, is Pittencrieff, the property and residence of
James Hunt, Esq. " The moment you leave the
street," says Mercer, "you enter a private gate,
and are on the verge of a deep glen filled with fine
old trees, that wave their foliage oyer the ruins of
the ancient palace. A little farther on is the pen-
insular mount, on which Malcolm Ceanmore re-
sided in his stronghold, — the original germ of Dun-
fermline. Round the base of the mount winds a
rivulet, over which is a bridge leading to the man-
sion-house, situate on the farther bank, in a spaci-
ous park well-wooded, adorned with shrubberies,
and having a splendid prospect to the south. The
ground, too, is classical; for amidst this scenery,
three centuries ago, when it was even more romantic
than it is at present, must often have wandered the
poet Henryson, holding sweet dalliance with the
muses. There can be no doubt that here was the
* The name of thi9 parish is derived from the Celtic Dnn-fiar-
llt/n, signifying 'the Fortified hill by the Crooked stream. 1 The
hill-fort here referred to, from which the parish has taken its
name, was most probably tiiat, a minute fragment of the ruins
of which still appears or; a small peninsular mount in PiUen-
crieff glen, and which is called Malcolm Canmore's tower.
The arms of the town are a tower, supported by two linns,
with the motto Esto rttpes inacceitsa, — ' Jie thou an inaccessible
rock,' alluding to the rocky height on which the tower was
built.
very 'wod' he so beautifully describes in the in-
troduetion to one of his fables : — .
In myddis of June, that jolly sweet sessoun,
Quhen that fair Phebus, with his heamis brycht,
Had dryit up the dew fra daill and doun.
And all the land maid with, his lemys lyeht;
In a morning betwene mid-day and nyclit,
I raiss and put all sluith and sleep on syde;
Ontill a wod I went allone, but gyd.
Sueit was the smell of flouris quhyt and reid.
The noyis of birdis rycht delitious ;
The bewis brod blwmyt abone my heid;
The grnnd growand with grassis gratious.
Of all pleasans that place was plenteous,
With sueit odours and birdis armonie ;
The mnrnyng mild my mirth was mair forthy.
The roseis reid arrayit rone and ryss,
The primrose and the purpure viola :
To heir it was a poynt of paradyss,
Sic myrth the mavyss and the merle enwth ma :
The blossoms blyth brak up on bank and bra;
The smell of lierbis, and of foulis the cry,
Contending quha suld have the victory.'
In the 13th century this property belonged to "Wil-
liam de Oberwell, who, in 1291, granted a right to
the monastery of working coal for their own use in
his lands. In 1632 Thomas, 3d Lord Bruce of Kin-
loss, afterwards Earl of Elgin, had a charter of the
barony of Pittencrieff ; and Sibbald informs us that
in his time it was the property of a Mr. Forbes.
About the middle of the last century it belonged to
George Chalmers, Esq. It was afterwards pur-
chased by the father of the present proprietor .
The mansion-house and finely-wooded grounds of
Pitferrane, the seat of Sir John Halket, baronet,
have been held by this family since the end of
the 14th century, having been acquired from the
Scotts of Balwearie, the previous proprietors,
about 1399. From a remote period this family had
the right of exporting coals from their lands to
foreign countries free of duty. In 1707 the privilege
was purchased by government for .£40,000 sterling.
— Near the sea-coast, is Broomhall, the elegant man-
sion of the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, situated
on an elevated lawn overlooking the village of Lime-
kilns East of Broomhall is Pitreavie, in the 17th
century the property of a family of the name of
Wardlaw. Sir Henry Wardlaw of Pitreavie founded
an hospital at Mastertown. His lady, Elizabeth
Halket, of the family of Pitferrane, is now admitted
to have been the authoress of the fine ballad of
Hardyknute, which so long puzzled the antiquaries
of the day, and to which Pinkerton wrote a second
part, which gave rise also to much controversy.
She is buried in a vault on the outside of the church
of Dunfermline. The Scottish troops were defeated
here by a detachment of Cromwell's forces under
Colonel Overton, on the 20th of July, 1651, when
3,000 fell, and 1,200 were taken prisoners.
The coal- works in this parish are very extensive ;
and an able account has been given of them by the
Rev. Peter Chalmers, in the ' Quarterly Journal of
Agriculture,' from which we have condensed the
following abstract: — The largest colliery is the
Elgin colliery, belonging to the Earl of Elgin. The
whole area of the coal-field belonging to him, wrought
and unwrought, may be stated at from 2,600 to 2,700
acres. About 800 or 900 of these, which are the
most southern, are nearly exhausted. A large por-
tion of this extensive coal-field Lord Elgin holds on
a lease of 999 years, from the Pitferrane family.
Almost all the coal partakes more or less of the
caking quality and soft texture of the Newcastle coal.
— A new pit has lately been opened near the West
Baldridge farm-house, named the Wallsend pit, which
is the deepest coal-shaft in Scotland, and probably
one of the most valuable. It is in depth 105 fathoms,
1 foot. There arc 19 beds of coal, containing alto-