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

EMA
500
ENH
of Anstruther, ancestor of the present proprietor.
The ruins of the ancient castle of Ardross, the manor-
place of the harony, still remain, about a mile east
of the village. Ely house, the present mansion-
house, is situated north of the village, and in its
immediate vicinity. It is a large building, erected
apparently rather more than 150 years ago in the
semi-classic style introduced by Sir William Bruce
of Kinross. The grounds are beautifully wooded, and
have been laid out with great taste, but have been
for some time greatly neglected. There are 1,370
imperial acres in the parish, of which 56 acres have
never been cultivated; and about 50 acres are in
wood. The rent of the arable land varies, accord-
ing to its quality, from £1 to £4 per acre; the
average being nearly .£1 15s. per acre. The valued
rent is £4,105 13s. 4d. Scots; the rental, in 1836,
was about £2,562 sterling This parish is in the
presbytery of St. Andrews, and synod of Fife.
Patron, Sir W. C. Anstruther, Bart. Stipend
£149 8s. 8d. ; glebe £28 17s. 6d. The parish-
church is situated in the village. It appears that
the spire was built in 1726, and it is probable
the church was built much about the same time.
The church received a thorough repair in 1831.
It is seated for 610 There are 3 schools in the
parish. The parochial school is in the village,
and is well-attended. The teacher has the maxi-
mum salary, besides school-house, dwelling-house,
and garden. About 50 children from this parish
attend school at Earlsferry.
The village of Ely, situated on the sea-shore, is
a burgh-of-barony. It is neat and well-built ; the
streets are wide, clean, and regular. It is well-
sheltered from the east wind, and has for a long time
been a place of considerable resort during summer
for sea-bathing. No market is held in the town, but
Colinsburgh — in the parish of Kilconquhair — which
is only 2^ miles distant — has regular weekly and
yearly markets. There is a post-office in the village,
which is a sub-office to that of Colinsburgh. A
coach from St. Andrews to Largo passes regularly
through Ely every day during the summer, to meet
the steam-boat for Newhaven; and the Aberdeen
and Dundee steam-boats land and take on board
passengers twice, and sometimes three times a-day.
There are also two regular packets that sail weekly
to Leith, exporting grain, potatoes, &c\, and import-
ing articles of merchandise for the shopkeepers in
the district. The harbour is naturally an excellent
one, and forms a safe and accessible shelter for ves-
sels, during a gale from the west or south-west.
Some care appears to have been at one time taken
to improve its natural advantages, by the erection
of quays and a pier; but nothing has of late been
done for their preservation.* Notwithstanding the
advantages which Ely enjoys as a fishing-station,
very little profit is derived by its inhabitants from
that branch of industry. There are few fishermen
in the place ; and these merely fish along shore for
white fish, to supply the consumption of the village
and neighbourhood.
EMANUEL, or Manuel Priory, an ancient
edifice, now in ruins, in the parish of Muiravonside,
on the north bank of the Avon, about a mile above
Linlithgow bridge. It was founded in 1 156, by Mal-
colm IV., surnamed the Maiden, and was occupied
by nuns of the Cistertian order. Besides the endow-
* Mr. Stevenson has given a plan for ita improvement, at an
expense of not more than from £1,000 to £5,000: and some
correspondence has in consequence taken place, but nothing
has, as yet, been done in the matter. To the eastward of the
harbour, and at a small distance from it, is Wadehaven, so
called, it is said, from General Wade, who recommended it to
Government as a proper harbour for men-of-war. It is very
large, and has from 20 to 22 feet water at common tides.
ments bestowed by the royal founder, it received
considerable donations from others at different pe-
riods. The prioress of this house swore fealty to
Edward I., on the 28th of July, 1291 ; as did Alice,
her successor, at Linlithgow, in 1296. Of this nun-
nery little now remains except the western end of the
church. It is of hewn stone, but unadorned; yet
there is an elegant simplicity in it, and with the
beauty of the surrounding objects, it makes a very
picturesque appearance. Grose has preserved a
view of it.
EMBO. See Dornoch.
ENDER (The), a streamlet in the parish of
Blair- Athol, formed by the junction of several smaller
brooks, which, uniting a little above Dalmean in the
west part of Athol, fall into the Garry, at the ham-
let just named.
ENDRICK (The), a small river which rises in
the Gargunnock hills, parish of Gargunnock, Stirling-
shire, and flowing towards the south-east, is joined
a small distance from its source by the Burnfoot
burn, after which it forms, for about a mile and a
half, the western boundary of the parish of St.
Ninian's. It then makes a sharp turn to the west-
ward, entering the parish of Fintry a little below
the old ruin called Sir John de Graham's castle. A
little farther on, it falls over a perpendicular rock
60 feet in height, forming a singular cataract well-
known in the district by the name of ' The Loup of
Fintry.' Continuing its westerly course, it leaves
the kirk of Fintry on the left, and the woods of Cul-
creuch a little on the right, and then quitting the
parish for Fintry, it forms, for about 5 miles, the
boundary between the parish of Balfron on the north,
and that of Killearn on the south. Near the western
extremities of these parishes it makes a bend to-
wards the south-west, and enters the parish of Kil-
learn between the mansion-houses of Boquhan and
Carbeth. After describing various windings it turns
directly southward, forms a singular and romantic
waterfall called the ' Pot of Gartness,' near the once
favourite residence of the illustrious Napier, and is
joined by the Blane near Croylecky. On receiving
this accession to its waters, it describes a sort of
curve, and turning abruptly towards the west, enters
the parish of Drymen. It is shortly afterward joined
by the Catterburn from the south, upon which it
makes a slight northerly bend, but immediately re-
verting to the original direction of its course, it
passes a little to the south of the kirk-town of Dry-
men and the Earl of Montrose's noble mansion-house
of Buchanan, forms the bounding-line between the
counties of Stirling and Dumbarton, and finally falls
into Lochlomond at the distance of little more than
a mile south-west from the kirk of Buchanan, and
about half-a-mile from the small island Aber in
Lochlomond. Many parts of the banks of the En-
drick are of great beauty, and the valley through
which it flows has been celebrated in Scottish song
under the name of ' Sweet Innerdale.' Franck, in
his quaint 'Northern Memoirs,' (1694,) speaks of
"the memorable Anderwick, a rapid river of strong
and stiff streams; whose fertile banks refresh the
borderer, and whose fords, if well examined, are
arguments sufficient to convince the angler of trout;
as are her deeps when consulted, the noble race and
treasure of salmon ; or remonstrate his ignorance in
the art of angling. Besides this Anderwick," he
adds, " there are many other small rivulets that
glide up and down these solitary parts."
ENHALLOW, one of the Orkneys, constituting
part of the parish of Rousay. It is about a mile in
circumference, and is separated from Rousay by a
reef of rocks, which, being covered at high water,
have sometimes proved fatal to the unwary mariner.