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

GLA
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GLA
them rounded by the attrition of the waves, and
others shapeless masses clothed with marine plants
and shells. The coast line, with the exception of
the small headland of Lay Point, and a tiny hay be-
side it, called Monreith bay, both in the north, is
nearly quite straight. Though there are two or three
places where small vessels may discharge or take in
cargo in fine weather, there is no port and no place
of safe anchorage. The surface of all the interior of
the parish is unequal, rugged, and knolly ; yet no-
where, except slightly in the north, rises into strictly
hilly elevations. The eminences or knolls are rocky,
and for the most part covered with furze, or coarse
grass. The intervening hollows are, in some in-
stances, marshy, but, in general, are carpeted with
fine arable soil, or excellent pasture. The influence
of spring is usually felt here — as in the adjacent dis-
tricts — somewhat earlier than in the other parts of
Scotland. Frost is seldom intense, or of long con-
tinuance ; and snow rarely accumulates, or lies long
upon the ground. A rill rises in two sources in the
parish, one of them less than a mile from the coast,
and after a circuitous course of 4 miles, begins, for
2 miles more, to form the boundary-line with Moch-
rum, and then falls into Monreith bay. There are
4 lakes, Dowalton- Loch [which see] on the north-
ern boundary, — -Appleby-loch, upwards of half-a-
mile long on the eastern boundary, — a loch nearly
half-a-mile long, having an islet, near the house of
Castle-Stewart, — and a lochlet 2J furlongs long at
Ersock. Pike, perch, trout, and eels are found in
them, but not in large quantity. A few leeches oc-
cur in Castle-Stewart loch. The mansions are
Castle-Stewart, Craigdow, and Rhysgill; the last
spacious and beautifully situated. The village is
traversed by two important and branching lines of
road, — one of them, that from Newton-Stewart to
Stranraer, by way of Whithorn. The hamlet of
Milltown of Monreith, stands on the latter road half-
a-mile from Monreith bay, 6 miles west of Whit-
horn, and 2 miles south-east of Fort- William. The
inhabitants here, and throughout the parish, are either
dependent on agriculture, or directly engaged in its
labours. Population, in 1801, 860; in 1831, 1,194.
Houses 219. Assessed property, in 1815, £10,910.
■ — Glasserton is in the presbytery of Wigton and
synod of Galloway. Patron, the Crown. Stipend
£201 12s. 5d. ; glebe £20. Schoolmaster's salary
£34 4s. 4|d., with from £12 to £14 fees. Another
school has attached to it, besides the fees, £15 of
salary, and a dwelling-house. The church was built
in 1732. Sittings about 270. The ancient church
belonged to the prior and canons of Whithorn, and
was served by a vicar. In 1606, it was granted to
the bishops of Galloway ; in 1641, it was transferred
to the university of Glasgow; and, in 1661, it was
restored to the bishops of Galloway, and it continued
to be held by them till the abolition of Episcopacy in
the year 1689.
GLASSFORD, or Glasford, a parish in the
middle ward of Lanarkshire, bounded on the north
by Hamilton ; north-west by East Kilbride and Blan-
tyre ; south by Avondale ; and east by Stonehouse.
Topographically speaking, this is an extremely irre-
gular parish, and its figure, as represented in the
map, is not unlike a sand-glass. It is about 8 miles
in length, and varies in breadth from 3|ths of a mile
at its. broadest extremity to 2 miles at the opposite
end, and about half-a-mile in the middle. It con-
tains 11 square miles, or 5,598 Scots acres. The
land in the parish consists of moor and dale ; the
former in many parts sufficiently bleak and barren,
but now under a gradual process of reclamation;
and the latter, which runs along the lower part of
the parish, and is bounded on one side by the Avon,
smiling and fertile. The characteristics of this dis-
trict are neither hilly nor mountainous. The soil
generally consists, of clay, moss, and fight loam. In
the Old Statistical Account it is stated that, al-
though the women of the parish possess a singular
dexterity in rearing calves, and the richest veal in
the Edinburgh market comes from Glassford or
Avondale, yet "there is in it only one man who
deserves the name of a farmer. They read no books
on agriculture ; nor do they seek the company of
those who might inspire them with a taste for im-
provement. They seem to be contented with what
they have rather than ambitious of more." Enter-
prise and improvement, however, now distinguish
the farmers of Glassford as creditably as it does
their neighbours ; and their efforts to ameliorate
the natural barrenness of a churlish soil have been
praiseworthy in the extreme. Wheat has been
grown in the parish, but the principal crops are
oats and potatoes, which are successfully raised to
great amount. Coal exists, but not abundantly ;
and there is only one mine going upon the estate
of Crutherland, the produce of which is not exten-
sive. There are four freestone quarries in the par
ish, three 'near the village of Westquarter, and one
at a place called Flatt, and a successful limework is
also in operation. The proprietary of this parish is
an extremely divided one, the number of owners of
land amounting to about 50, many of whom till
their own little patrimonial possessions. A large
portion of the population, including many of the
females, are engaged in weaving ; but here as well
as elsewhere, the remuneration of late years has
been extremely limited, and those engaged in it,
therefore, barely able to do more than keep " day
and way." There are three villages in the parish,
viz., Westquarter, Chapeltown, and Heads — the two
former containing a population of more than 500 each,
and the latter about 100. Strathaven is the nearest
market and post-town, distant about 2J miles from
the parish. The district, however, has ample means
of communication ; the turnpike road from Glasgow
to Strathaven, by East Kilbride, runs 4 miles through
Glassford, and the road from Strathaven to Hamil-
ton runs through it for 2£ miles. Population, in
1801,953; in 1811, 1,213; in 1821, 1,504; in 1831,
1,730. Houses 281. Assessed property, £5,627.
The parish is in the presbytery of Hamilton, and
synod of Glasgow and Ayr. Patroness, Lady Mont-
gomerie. Stipend £256 17s. lid.; glebe 8 acres.
Unappropriated teinds £736 7s. The present parish-
church was built in 1820. It is situated in the village
of Westquarter, and is calculated to accommodate
560 sitters. The former church was built in 1633,
and was of very uncouth appearance. With the
exception of a small congregation of Old Inde-
pendents, who have rented a place of meeting,
there is no Dissenting church in the parish, though
a large number of the inhabitants attend, and are
members of Dissenting congregations in other par-
ishes There are three parochial schools in the
parish; the salary of the first master is £25 13s. 3£d.
per annum, with £35 school-fees, and £6 annually
of other emoluments ; that of the second is £5 10s.
per annum, with £25 school-fees ; and that of the
third, £2 15s. annually, with £18 school-fees.
There are schools in the parish, not parochial, in
which the ordinary branches are taught. The re-
mains of the old church and belfry, which was
erected in 1633, and is alluded to above, are seen in
the grave-yard, and the place is still further hallowed
by the tomb of a martyr, which bears the following
inscription: — " To the memory of the very worthy
Pillar of the church, Mr. William Gordon of Earl-
ston in Galloway, shot by a party of dragoons on his